Building a Pizza Oven: Wrap It Up

Question: How do you keep 900 degree heat from escaping your oven? Answer: Wrap it in abrasive fiberglass insulating blankets. Question: How do you keep fiberglass insulation from embedding itself into your forearms? Two words: gloves, long thick gloves. The good news is, the energy from your aged Oak wood will be encased in your oven. So, all that hard work putting on irritating insulation will pay off.

Forget prison. If you want to keep someone contained, wrap them in Stucco Lath screen. Then, give them a pair of tin snips (and no gloves) and tell them they are free to go at any time. Believe me, after and hour of trying to get out, their bloody stumps will be begging for mercy (Hey, Coen Brothers, I have screen play for you).

With the lath screen in place, the stucco will have something to adhere to. It might have stuck to the fluffy, white, abrasive insulating blankets, but why take that chance when cutting one’s self to ribbons is so much fun.

Previously : Building A Pizza Oven: Puzzle Pieces

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Green Pasta

Green Pasta with tomatoes, olives and peas. Why peas? Why not peas. Shave some Parmesan on there just to be safe.

Minced, blanched spinach is what makes this green pasta green. Parsley also works (and tastes less spinachy). Mix the spinach with flour and eggs at the beginning of the pasta making process. It looks cool and freaks out little kids.

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Deep In the Middle of Summer

The weather isn’t as brutal as it could be, but it’s still hot. One of my favorite Summer dishes is Fried Chicken (eaten cold out of the fridge) and Cole Slaw. Fills you up without heating you up.

In an attempt not to be eaten, chickens employed a smart tactic. They named themselves after human body parts: leg, thigh, breast. Very crafty, chickens. But, I’m not falling for it.  Just mention a leg or a thigh and I start salivating. (Thought I was going to make a breast joke, didn’t you?) Coat those parts with flour, salt and pepper and I fry them in a cast iron grill…on my grill! Why heat up the house?!

My standard Cole Slaw is three quarters shaved cabbage, one quarter grated carrot and yellow onion. Sauce it with a heaping spoonful of mayonnaise, splash of apple cider vinegar, drizzle of honey and salt & pepper. If you let it sit for an hour it’s even better.

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Cafe Josie Happy Hour

Go ahead and rub your eyes, that headline ain’t no lie. Cafe Josie happy hour specials start today. Just keep your mitts off my Crispy Calamari.

1/2 off appetizers: Grilled Lobster Cakes, Herb Crusted Goat Cheese, Crispy Gulf Oysters, Crispy Calamari, Habanero Hummus, Crispy Artichokes, Shrimp & Blue Crab Cocktail, Truffled Mac & Cheese.

1/2 off Wines by the Glass: Shaya Verdejo, Gine Priorat, David Bruce Petite Syrah and more.

1/2 off select Beers: Blue Moon Belgian White, Avery IPA, Negra Modelo and more.

Cafe Josie : 1200 B. West Sixth Street Austin, TX (512) 322-9226
Happy Hour : Tuesday – Friday, 5:30 – 7pm

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Sustainable Food Policy Board

Skip lunch today to talk about food. The Sustainable Food Policy Board is meeting at City Hall at 12:30pm. The board helps form opinions to be passed on to the City Council. Come on over and sign up to voice your thoughts on food policy in Austin. Public input is encouraged. Today’s agenda:

1. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION
Each speaker signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will be called in order of
sign-up and will be allowed three minutes to speak about items not posted on the agenda
2. APPROVAL OF MAY 24, 2010 (AMENDED) AND JUNE 28, 2010 MINUTES
3. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION
A. Discussion of officers and committee structures and leadership
B. Receive feedback from Committee Members on the Farm to Market end seller video
roundtable discussion
C. Update from the Communication Workgroup — Brandi Burton:
i. Draft annual report to the City Council and County Commissions Court
ii. Preliminary stakeholder distribution list for electronic communications
D. Discussion of Health and Human Services Department memo to Council on Farmer’s Market
– Hot Food Resolution
4. DISCUSS AND TAKE ACTION ON FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
A. David Lurie to present the FY2011 proposed budget – August 23, 2010
B. Election of Officers – August 23, 2010

Sustainable Food Policy Board: City Hall, July 26th, 12:30pm : 301 W. 2nd Street Austin, TX

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Sonic is a Patriot

$2.99, really? A nine month old hog (probably along with other assorted animals) ground up and pumped into a tube, shipped all over creation (bad choice of words) to feed the huddled masses for $2.99? That seems to be less than the process (and the noble animal) should be worth. How about a mystery-free hot dog for a few dollars more? Could Sonic be hiding something else in there? Na, probably just savvy packaging. Touche Sonic, touche.

Hey, do you smell that? It’s the smell of mass food producers grinding out a profit (like a roll of caustic dimes in tube form). I’m embarrassed for the cheese. Can I get a gallon of Coke with that for an extra .99 cents?

Meaty Chili and Melty Cheese, indeed. I hope there is some sort of meat-tube marketing award, because Sonic would be running away with it. Instead of us just posturing militarily towards North Korea, we should send them a few cases of these dirty water hot dogs. They would either nap through this whole crisis or be killed by the additives. Capitalism rules!

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