the story of how I climbed way up to the 44th floor and then fell all the way down but didn’t quite squish myself

On January 30, 2013January 31, 2013 By Emily KeithIn 5-cylinder sense experiences, ephemera, libations, new to me, new to you, PortlandLeave a comment

I’m rattling around Alphabet Town these days. My new professional gig provides a vantage point for the big possibilities in life that can so often dampen and darken if you stand out in the elements too long or turn the volume too low.

"do do du dut do do du dut" - Suzanne Vega — “do do du dut do do du dut” – Suzanne Vega

Today I dropped into the Pearl District for lunch at Byways Cafe. I listened to “Left This World” by La Sera on my headphones, volume all the way up, and I thought about New Things, Old Things, and Things I Haven’t Seen Yet. These concepts are all around me as I swim upstream – gathering strength for the next invertebrate drift.

At 2:00pm on a Wednesday Byways Cafe is as locals-only as Yur’s Tavern up the street. I chatted with a few people at the counter about our respective books and gazed in wide-eyed wonder at the awesome interior.

I settled into one of my main Life Skills, ordering.

You Are An Arnold Palmer It Is Too Early For John Daly

Whatever the importance of ordering as a Life Skill, it’s infectious. The two people on either side of me replicated my selections without hesitation.

Multnomah Melt - You Are Fresh Fruit — Multnomah Melt – You Are Fresh Fruit

Twice grilled Challah, smoked turkey, ham, havarti, red onion, avocado. This is about as perfect a sandwich as I can imagine. My Life Skill brethren and I jawed into this serenely cloudy lunch, melty and giddy. The waitress behind the counter beamed while espousing how good three Multnomah Melts smell when lined up together.

At the end of The Hudsucker Proxy, the movie responsible for the origin of the post title, Moses The Clock Man shoves a broomstick into the gears of a large clock allowing time to stop and the hero of the story to live; not only to survive, but to commune with an Angel of Advice. Life braces and the weather keeps falling. On my terms, this is exactly what Peace is about. For the past few weeks the Hudsucker finale has played over and over, both waking and sleeping, on the Super 8 reel in my brain.

Whoever my Moses is, wherever the realm my Moses inhabits, whatever Moses had to shove in the grinding gears of my life to keep me from squishing myself, to suspend me in truth and grace; I am deeply and extraordinarily thankful.

May we all have lunch every Wednesday.

*a very special birthday to my best friend extraordinaire, and Clock Man Contender, Mr. John Waggoner Junior.*

Operation Orgeat

On July 11, 2012July 13, 2012 By Emily KeithIn libations, miscellany, new to me, unsolicited adviceLeave a comment

I’m no stranger to fool hardy kitchen projects: 100 layer crepe cakes, pastas, kimchi (totally worth it), 6-hour french onion soup recipes, homemade ketchup (don’t bother). Thanks to my genetic history, re: Depression strained Appalachia, I’m not a time vs. money type of lady. If the output is superior when maximum effort is sustained, I’m all in, all the better. Hint: you usually save money this way, more bang for your buck, smart shoppers buy bulk!, etc.

When I needed an idea for a crowd worthy punch to take to a crawfish boil my Senior Booze Consultant suggested the Scorpion. I nearly ignored this advice until he revealed that I would need Orgeat and a store-bought version would simply not be acceptable. That’s all I needed to hear, the next several hours were filled with almonds and labor.

I used this recipe and, deferring to the professional, doubled the brandy. I “invested” in quality organic almonds by ringing them up as dried corn kernels in the you-check-yourself-out-line (sorry, Mom).

This is where things get simultaneously fun and a little boring.

After grinding all the blanched almonds in a food processor immerse them in water for two hours. The “inactive” cook time for this chore is a little daunting, I took my dog on a long walk and then folded laundry. You might choose to live a bit more wild and free, I wouldn’t blame you.

A while back I purchased a reusable cheese cloth thingy, you can see it holding the almond grinds. Best non-gadget for the kitchen, allowed me to wring the heck out of those almonds.

The grinds steep two more times for an hour each, then it’s time to heat up the milk and add the sugar, remove from heat and stir in the brandy and orange blossom water. At this point Operation Orgeat is getting pretty hot so let the syrup cool down while you, I don’t know, shop for a decent camera online.

A few days later:

07.11 014 — looking out for trouble is what we call fun

Juice some oranges, juice some lemons, add some brandy, white rum, and the orgeat, absentmindedly stir with a whisk.

6 oz orange juice
4 oz lemon juice
1.5 oz orgeat
6 oz white rum
1 oz brandy

Serves 3-4

“Bartender’s Guide” by Trader Vic, 1947

Keep it in the refrigerator for a while. Have some wine. Load the glass vessel containing the punch into your friends backpack, walk to the #17, arrive, add ice.