A Blessing by James Wright

Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,

Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.

And the eyes of those two Indian ponies

Darken with kindness.

They have come gladly out of the willows

To welcome my friend and me.

We step over the barbed wire into the pasture

Where they have been grazing all day, alone.

They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness   

That we have come.

They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.

There is no loneliness like theirs.   

At home once more,

They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.   

I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,

For she has walked over to me   

And nuzzled my left hand.   

She is black and white,

Her mane falls wild on her forehead,

And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear

That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.

Suddenly I realize

That if I stepped out of my body I would break

Into blossom. 

Mark Steinmetz: Summer Camp

I miss my father

Your absence has gone through me 
Like thread through a needle. 
Everything I do is stitched with its color.

W. S. Merwin

Carnivorous

Bone-In Ribeye 

The False Coin--Paris Spleen--Charles Baudelaire

As we were leaving the tobaccoist’s, my friend carefully sorted his coins.  Into his left vest pocket he slipped little pieces of gold; into his right, silver pieces; into the left pocket of his trousers, a clutch of pennies; and finally, into the right, a two-franc silver coin he had carefully checked.

“Odd and fussy distribution,” I said to myself.

We came upon a beggar who held his hat out shakily. –I find nothing more disquieting than the mute eloquence of such suppliant eyes, containing a once, for who can read it, so much humility, with as much reproach.  Something nearing that profoundly complicated feeling can be seen in the eyes of dogs when they are whipped.

My friend’s offering was much larger than mine and I said to him, “You are right; except for the pleasure of being astonished, there is no greater than to cause surprise.”---“That was the false coin,” he replied tranquilly, as if to justify his prodigality. But my poor brain, always scouting out imaginary byways (what a tiresome head nature foisted on me), suddenly arrived at the idea that my friend’s conduct was excusable only if it meant to create an event in the life of this poor devil, maybe even to understand the diverse consequences, baleful or other, that could result from a false coin in a beggar’s hand.  Might it not multiply into genuine coins?  Could it not get him thrown in prison?  An inn-keeper, for instance, or a baker, could have him arrested as counterfeiter or passer of false coins.  Just as likely, the false coin might prove, for a petty speculator, he germ of a few days wealth.  So my fantasy went on, lending wings to my friend’s wit and deducing all the possibilities of all possible hypothesis.

But then my reverie was rudely broken by my own words recurring: “Yes, you are right; no pleasure can be sweeter than a man’s surprise, getting more than he hoped for.”

Looking at my friend squarely in the eye, I was appalled to see his eyes shining with uncontestable candor. Clearly then I saw how much he wanted to make at once a charitable act and a good deal; a bit of gain along with God’s approval; to win paradise at a bargain; finally, to get for nothing a reputation of being charitable. I could almost have pardoned the desire for criminal enjoyment I had just thought him capable of; I could have found curious, singular, that he was amused to compromise the poor; but I would never pardon the ineptitude of his calculation. Meanness is never excusable, but there is some merit in knowing you are mean. The most unredeemable vice is to do evil from stupidity.

Charles Baudelaire

A Study of Boneless Short Ribs

Short Ribs are better known as Kalbi in Korean terms and are a rich and flavorful portion of beef that lend themselves well to many styles of preparation.  They are used in various capacities in Korean cooking like soups, stews, and bbqs. I have never bought boneless short ribs before this week bc I tend to think the bone portion adds depth, substance, and texture to dishes, but shopping at Costco brought them into my proximity so I decided to cave into curiosity and attempt to make something yummy with them. After a day of indecisive contemplation, I started the marinating process without any concrete idea of how I would prepare them. I just knew I wanted to try something different in the final execution.

After a day of basking in the marinade, I vertically sliced one steak into fourths 

and broiled them as they would traditionally be prepared, a) to feed my ravenous child and b) to check the flavor and texture of the beef.

The marinade lent the beef a delicious flavor, but the meat seemed a bit more dense and chewy than the bone-in short ribs I usually use for Korean bbqed kalbi.

Later on in the evening, I found myself extremely hungry and desperate for food, 

so I broiled a thicker portion of short rib "steak" with the intention of slicing it into thin strips, but didn't need to do so because it was perfectly tender and tasty. I think my error in the first preparation was that I didn't bring the beef to room temperature before broiling it.  (My bad.)

The following day, I was hit with the inspiration to put my Smoke N' Grill to use, so I seasoned it with oil,  let the charcoal do it's work for a few hours, and then added the browned pieces of short rib into the smoker for a couple of hours to infuse it with cherrywood smokiness.

(Initially, I wanted to grind the meat for kalbi burgers, but I don't have a grinder at home, so I opted for another conceptual option in the meantime.)

The following day, I rendered the fat, sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, onions, shiitake mushrooms, deglazed with sake, then added the smoked short ribs and whatever liquid was left over into the pot and let the meat meld with the vegetables. 

The final plating of the short ribs was highly successful in its flavor profile.  However, I think my browning, smoking, then braising of the beef jerked it a bit into a pleasant, yet unexpectedly

 thicker and richer consistency. It was still incredibly tender, but the beef was not the melt-in-your- mouth texture one expects in a traditional kalbijim.  The next time I attempt to smoke short ribs, I will marinate and put the beef into the smoker in its raw form.  I think I may get better results treating the short ribs like brisket ala Pit/BBQ masters. It wasn't a perfect ending, but I'm excited to attempt the dish again and see where a new technique will take me in my study of short ribs.

Ode to Chicken- Kevin Young

You are everything
to me. Frog legs,
rattlesnake, almost any
thing I put my mouth to
reminds me of you.
Folks always try
getting you to act
like you someone else --
nuggets, or tenders, fingers
you don't have -- but even
your unmanicured feet
taste sweet. Too loud
in the yard, segregated
dark & light, you are
like a day self-contained --
your sunset skin puckers
like a kiss. Let others
put on airs -- pigs graduate
to pork, bread
becomes toast, even beef
was once just bull
before it got them degrees --
but, even dead,
you keep your name
& head. You can make
anything of yourself,
you know -- but prefer
to wake me early
in the cold, fix me breakfast
& dinner too, leave me
to fly for you.