For Memorial Day

In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Dogfish Head in Troy

The Ruck hosted a bevy of beers from the Dogfish Head Brewery.

My first beer of the tasting was the Ta Henket, which I found to be interesting however one of the people I was with, along with someone from the crowd, both self identified "beer people", thought that it tasted like sweat socks or other equally derisive flavors and fragrances.

The other beers that were tried:
World Wide Stout through a randall (featuring coffee and vanilla beans that were infused with Knob Creek) which has been given the moniker "Prestige World Wide" (if you do not get the reference, I feel for you).
Saison du BUFF through a randall (featuring pineapple and habenero) which is being called Dogfunkel Saisonala. This may be my favorite.
Sah Tea (which also was a favorite)
Hellhound on my Ale (great name)
Chateau Jihau

Photo credit to Shauna

It was a nice day, with some great beers (and assorted other fermented beverages) and good people.

Poached Eggs and the Lack of Perfection

My love of poached eggs is well documented.

Last week, at Stella's Diner in Syracuse, I was disappointed because the yolk was served to me broken to me in the bowl. Now, I know that some people serve poached in a bowl for various reasons, and I understand and accept them, but broken in the bowl is unacceptable. I did not say anything while eating last week because the likelihood of me going there again is/was low.

Then I had this breakfast at Manory's...

The eggs were overcooked and the yolk was broken in the bowl. I asked the server, because I heard new cooks being trained, to mention something, but she looked unconcerned, at best, about my issue.

Poached eggs are not difficult. They are cooking 101. Sometimes the yolks break. When that happens, you drop another egg. You do not serve them. Duncan's, which is much maligned, knows to do this. That when I mentioned it to the server, I received an unconcerned look, was...at least to me...a breakfast foul.

I am not willing to give up on Manory's but...what would you have done?

Lost Cat in Mechanicville

Yeah, this is not normally something that I would post, but my sister and nephew are devastated by their cat, Mila, escaping from their home in Mechanicville last night.

Mila, as you can see is beautiful, and she can be very sweet. She is also dumb as a post due to the nature of her parentage (think the banjo playing albino child in Deliverance)and may not be the best animal to survive in the "wilds" of Saratoga County.

She is fixed, has her claws, and as I said, she is not equipped to survive in the wild.

A reward for her safe return will be offered and, more than the reward, you will make a single mom and her son very happy.

Please contact me at ned@afutilemistake.org with any information.

Thanks, and if you could repost this, retweet it, and share it around the interwebs, I will be forever grateful.