Kind of an odd day. Slept in some. Still woke up with a sore shoulder. At work I attended to various tasks, but generally felt pretty unmotivated. By the time I headed home at 5:30 I was ready for the (short) day to be over.
The Fish House Punch turned out well--but will get better as the days go by. Slightly less lemon than the last time I made it, I think.
A friend wants me to preside at his wedding this summer. I'm pleased about this. It means going down to Virginia and catching up with some old college friends. Hard to believe I've been out of college for ten years!
On my mind: cloth diapers or disposable? They say in the first few weeks you can average more than 25 diaper changes a day! Yikes. Cloth options seem very attractive. Even with a service to do the washing they are still something like 40% cheaper than disposables. Modern cloth diapers are also much easier to use than the old fashioned style. Generally, you cloth diapers into a leak-proof nylon shell that keeps the absorbent cotton part snug with snaps or velcro. And, of course, there is no reason you can't still use disposables for trips, etc. The service picks up the soiled diapers and replaces them with a fresh set once a week. Hmm...
-t
Showing posts with label Fish House Punch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fish House Punch. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sailing Stories
I got called to the church at 11pm last night to deal with an unpleasant situation that lasted a few hours and wasn't resolved until the police finally showed up. Not a disaster, just unpleasant. And then I had to be at church early this morning to say the Contemplative Eucharist, so I compensated by leaving work early to do some errands in preparation for this weekend.
My mom is flying in on Friday to spend a few days. And what a few days it will be! Saturday is Rathnelly Day--a big all-day block party held every other year where we live. It's going to be a blast. This year is a pirate theme--so naturally I'll be in costume as an 18th century ship captain. The food contest this year is rum-drinks, so I whipped up a batch of Fish House Punch this evening. The distinct combination of brown sugar, lemons, rum, and brandy stirs up a lot of memories for me.
One of the steps in Fish House Punch is letting it cool down for a few hours. I spent the time profitably crewing another sailing race. It's amazing how convenient it is to go over to the club on the 4:45 Tender and come back on the 9:30. Plenty of time for beer-race-supper-beer. It was rainy and cool, but the wind was strong (15-20 knots) which made for some very exciting racing. As we came up to the line we were doing some very close quarters maneuvering. I was pretty busy on the bow keeping the jib lines from getting tangled and watching out for other boats that the skipper might not be able to see through the sail. Our timing across the start line was almost perfect except that we crowded a boat that had right of way, which is a foul.
Moments after that the gun went off and we crossed the line and were caught up in a hair-ball of boats. Twice we heeled the 27 foot Catalina over far enough to put a gunnel in the water. in one particularly exciting moment mid-tacking I had mere seconds to untangle a jib sheet from a stowed jib spar before the sail would fill and pull the line tight. In the process of freeing the sheet I managed to cut my finger pretty good, but didn't notice until I saw the blood on the mast where I had been holding on! Keep in mind the deck was slick with water! shortly after we decided to put the spar below, but then the skipper calls out, "15 seconds to tack," so I got that spar unlashed and below deck pretty quick!
Not long after that the guy working the winches in the cockpit took a bad step and sent the stairs into the cabin flying. When I went down there later to get first aid for my finger the place looked like a war zone--fenders and stairs and rain gear everywhere!
It was blast sailing a reach from the second mark. But as we rounded the third we found a problem with our jib and had to withdraw from the race. Bummer. But the three of us learned a lot and will definitely do better the next time out. These races are a just terrific fun and good exercise on a windy day. Now we are just hoping to have both beautiful sun and good wind!
Back at the clubhouse we warmed up with Ale and Shepherd's Pie. I felt like I had earned it!
Tomorrow... I have a job description to finish and I need to start thinking about my sermon for Sunday. There are a couple of other projects of a non-emergency nature that I should work on as well. Sigh.
-t
My mom is flying in on Friday to spend a few days. And what a few days it will be! Saturday is Rathnelly Day--a big all-day block party held every other year where we live. It's going to be a blast. This year is a pirate theme--so naturally I'll be in costume as an 18th century ship captain. The food contest this year is rum-drinks, so I whipped up a batch of Fish House Punch this evening. The distinct combination of brown sugar, lemons, rum, and brandy stirs up a lot of memories for me.
One of the steps in Fish House Punch is letting it cool down for a few hours. I spent the time profitably crewing another sailing race. It's amazing how convenient it is to go over to the club on the 4:45 Tender and come back on the 9:30. Plenty of time for beer-race-supper-beer. It was rainy and cool, but the wind was strong (15-20 knots) which made for some very exciting racing. As we came up to the line we were doing some very close quarters maneuvering. I was pretty busy on the bow keeping the jib lines from getting tangled and watching out for other boats that the skipper might not be able to see through the sail. Our timing across the start line was almost perfect except that we crowded a boat that had right of way, which is a foul.
Moments after that the gun went off and we crossed the line and were caught up in a hair-ball of boats. Twice we heeled the 27 foot Catalina over far enough to put a gunnel in the water. in one particularly exciting moment mid-tacking I had mere seconds to untangle a jib sheet from a stowed jib spar before the sail would fill and pull the line tight. In the process of freeing the sheet I managed to cut my finger pretty good, but didn't notice until I saw the blood on the mast where I had been holding on! Keep in mind the deck was slick with water! shortly after we decided to put the spar below, but then the skipper calls out, "15 seconds to tack," so I got that spar unlashed and below deck pretty quick!
Not long after that the guy working the winches in the cockpit took a bad step and sent the stairs into the cabin flying. When I went down there later to get first aid for my finger the place looked like a war zone--fenders and stairs and rain gear everywhere!
It was blast sailing a reach from the second mark. But as we rounded the third we found a problem with our jib and had to withdraw from the race. Bummer. But the three of us learned a lot and will definitely do better the next time out. These races are a just terrific fun and good exercise on a windy day. Now we are just hoping to have both beautiful sun and good wind!
Back at the clubhouse we warmed up with Ale and Shepherd's Pie. I felt like I had earned it!
Tomorrow... I have a job description to finish and I need to start thinking about my sermon for Sunday. There are a couple of other projects of a non-emergency nature that I should work on as well. Sigh.
-t
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
How the Moss's Got Into Fish House Punch
My Dad just finished his 7th round of Coffee picking this season on the farm. That makes for about 3,500 lbs. of cherry--he expects to set a new production record. Interesting to me how a farmer can radically improve the yield of even a well established orchard with good practices. At first the yield declined as he pruned and weeded, but then it started producing more than twice what it when he first inherited the farm from my grandparents.
BTW, my father has a weather station at the farm that logs the data online. Those of us shoveling snow can just look on data like this and be jealous:
Sick--just sick.
Anyway--about Fish House Punch. Our version this year substituted Apricot Brandy for Peach Brandy (which is hard to find in the LCBO, for some reason). It turned out really well, but I think I should experiment more with the recipe. Different rums, for example.
So my mom decided to share the story of how we got into making this deadly brew:
By "Tay" above she means my Aunt Tay, not me. Yes, Tay has been both a man and woman's name in family (which I think is pretty cool).
-t
BTW, my father has a weather station at the farm that logs the data online. Those of us shoveling snow can just look on data like this and be jealous:
Sick--just sick.
Anyway--about Fish House Punch. Our version this year substituted Apricot Brandy for Peach Brandy (which is hard to find in the LCBO, for some reason). It turned out really well, but I think I should experiment more with the recipe. Different rums, for example.
So my mom decided to share the story of how we got into making this deadly brew:
Fish House Punch--from my memory---the very first time that I heard of it was when we tasted some at Tay and Chris' home in Ohio. They had made some for a party they had hosted. We started to make it the first sunday in Advent after we moved to Wichita and we had the lvingroom furniture rehopolstered and custom drapes made at the Ethan Allen store for the livingroom picture window. The reason I remember this is because I had gone to a presentation at the store about colonial christmas traditions and was given a handout with recipes. I had watched a film that day that showed an old New England village and in one of the homes, the family had made Fish House Punch and was serving it to people who stopped by to visit. One of the recipes on the handout was for Fish House Punch. We decided to try making it and when I checked in my Williamsburg Cookbook (which I think Lynne now has) the recipe matched the one from the handout from the store. It became a tradition quickly to make Fish House Punch the first sunday of Advent. We learned early on that it is very potent and people can get easily plastered!! Anyway, that is the story as I remember it.
By "Tay" above she means my Aunt Tay, not me. Yes, Tay has been both a man and woman's name in family (which I think is pretty cool).
-t
Thursday, December 18, 2008
2008 Fish House Punch
I made Fish House Punch last night. It's a tasty, alcoholic brew that my family enjoys this time of year. Any recipe that begins with a pound of brown sugar and a dozen lemons has to be good.
It tastes best a few days after it's made, so it should be reaching perfection around the time that my in-laws come to visit. They enjoyed it last year, as I recall!
-t
It tastes best a few days after it's made, so it should be reaching perfection around the time that my in-laws come to visit. They enjoyed it last year, as I recall!
-t
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Advent II Recap
Luckily, I didn't get too far in my sermon prep before I realized that Megan was on to preach this morning. She did a fine job. Turnout was descent, and the new space arrangement worked fine with a bit of a tweak. The spirit of worship these days is really nice--I feel that we are really dialing on what we want.
Last night I whipped up a batch of Fish House Punch. It takes a few days to reach it's peak mellowness, but I did try some of it and was delighted with warm memories. I'm looking forward to sharing this treat with the many guests we are going to have by the house this holiday season. Betsy parents and her sister and her family are coming by. We are also hosting a Chancel Guild party and maybe some other events. Rectories are really meant to be used for stuff like this.
-t
Last night I whipped up a batch of Fish House Punch. It takes a few days to reach it's peak mellowness, but I did try some of it and was delighted with warm memories. I'm looking forward to sharing this treat with the many guests we are going to have by the house this holiday season. Betsy parents and her sister and her family are coming by. We are also hosting a Chancel Guild party and maybe some other events. Rectories are really meant to be used for stuff like this.
-t
Friday, December 7, 2007
Fish House Punch
Here's the Recipe for a Moss Favorite: Fish House Punch. My parents used to make it every year, and now my sisters are making it. I made it back in New Haven at least once. This stuff is delicious but deadly: perfect for out of town guests who are staying over. It reaches peak taste after about a week of sitting in the fridge. This is my Dad's recipe, which I got a copy of from my sister Lynne.
Tis the season!
-t
Fish House Punch
12 lemons
1 lb brown sugar
1/2 gallon hot water
1/2 gallon dark rum
1 quart brandy
12 oz peach brandy
Squeeze lemons and put juice and rinds in crock. Boil water and dissolve sugar into water. Add to the lemons and let cool for several hours. Strain. Add rum, brandy, and peach brandy. Dad says to put only part of the peach brandy in and then add more later.
Tis the season!
-t
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