Icewind's Ramblings

I have not been writing much lately for several different reasons.   With the extreme cold this winter I could say it has been “brain freeze” but that would only be a small part of it.   Things have been quite busy for me in a non-busy way if that makes any sense.   I have been traveling a bit around the state so it has been very cold and isolated going out to the villages preparing for new projects this season or checking on ongoing projects from last.   At work it has been busy with so many things going on with new work and dealing with the logistics of such remote places to get people, equipment and materials to the jobsite.   Around town it has been a time for reflection and throttling back a bit from going a hundred miles an hour.   In that sense I guess I have become a semi-recluse.   What is a recluse, really?   Well, it's someone who chooses to live a life of solitude.   This kind of lifestyle isn't for everyone, obviously.  ...

Tomorrow is Bike to work day and my company is hosting a BBQ for our new interns who come in to work with us during the summer months.  The combination bike day and a welcoming BBQ will make it a fun time and the weather is looking great for the event.  I was volunteered to help cook and people were bringing side dishes and deserts.  I figured I would give everyone a treat with my slightly different baked bean recipe. Baked beans are a favorite side dish in the South.  It's rare to go to a barbecue or to a pot luck dinner and not see a baking dish with baked beans. Some baked beans are a whole lot better than other baked beans . . . it takes some "doctoring up" to make the really yummy baked beans . . . the kind that means you come home with an empty casserole dish or crock pot.  If you’re really lucky someone will take the cornbread and lap up the juice in the bottom of the dish. There are probably as many baked bean secrets in the South as there are South...

Thanks to AMC cable channel it was nice that they are playing Christmas Vacation over and over again today.  I awoke early and was able to watch it in the quiet of my man cave . . . no laundry going at this early hour. The days this week leading up to this morning were filled with all of the necessary items that make up “that perfect family Christmas” that Clark Griswold so earnestly tried to bring together. My family was probably no different from his as everyone scrambled with busy lives, work, doctors appointments, and the waiting for when those that had been out of town returned home for the holiday’s . . . then add to the mix our family dysfunction and the stage was set. "I don't know what to say, except its Christmas and we're all in misery. (Ellen Griswold)" - Christmas Vacation Dog barking, kids screaming and running around like chickens with their head cut off (if you’ve lived in the South and watched your grandmother do this before the holiday mea...

Sorry this is not another tasty treat from my Alaska Road Kill Recipe book but one you should really like. Here’s a little holiday recipe to serve your houseguests who drop by.  If you are lucky and no one comes by feel free to enjoy these with your favorite beverage . . . it leaves more for you to enjoy while kicking back on the sofa. Crab Nachos 2 packages Hollandaise sauce (made as directed on the package – with milk, not water) 1 pound lump crab meat 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped 4 tablespoons green onion, chopped 4 pieces bacon, well cooked & chopped 4 teaspoons pickled jalapenos, chopped (for that little extra bite) 1 package shredded cheddar 1 package shredded Monterrey Jack Tostitos Scoops Prepare Hollandaise sauce according to package directions; reserve. Preheat broiler. Mix crab meat, cilantro, onion, bacon, cheese, and jalapenos in a bowl.  Add hollandaise sauce.  Generously spoon mixture into Tostitos Scoops and place und...

The time between posts at times seems like it becomes shorter and shorter when I write things on a ‘normal’ basis while other times the added items of life make it seem like there is no time at all to put anything down from which to build ideas or things to write about. My gaming Community has forums that I help moderate and in one of the topics that caught my interest was just before the Super Bowl weekend about different foods people were going to be before, during, and after the game. It was interesting and one food group seemed to go off on a tangent of its own which was discussing different bacon dishes or recipes people were doing. It was pretty amazing what is out there . . . some looked delicious and why not, its bacon and everyone knows that you can’t go wrong adding bacon to almost anything. What’s your favorite bacon dish? If you really want to get a few ideas to make you go overboard for a couple of unwanted pounds try this site for a few ideas. ...