The Botanic Martini

All right, I tried my hand at the Botanic Martini, which I discovered at the lovely Nord Social establishment in Midland, MI, when Ms. B. and I went there recently (see "Michigan Misadventures, Madness, and Merriment, Part 1," August 1, 2026). I couldn't find all the ingredients locally as they were listed on the "recipe," but I came up with a pretty fine approximation of this concoction. 'Tis happier than a clam.

1 part Polish vodka
1 part Mezcal
1 part The Botanist gin
2 parts Clamato juice
splash of Angostura bitters
BIG splash of habanero sauce
Sprinkle of black pepper
Sprinkle of lemon pepper
Sprinkle of fresh dill weed
A dried red chili
If you've got cucumber, muddle some up, but I did not; I used basil (delicious!)

Actually, go ahead and add another splash of Mezcal. Load up that shaker with ice, shake thoroughly, and pour into a chilled glass. Toss in a little extra dill to make it look... fancy. Then pour the whole thing in your mouth*. And ohhhh, baby. That's good.

*Sip it.

Michigan Misadventures, Madness, & Merriment, Part 1

Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Well, Kimberly and I were supposed to to leave for a ten-day trip to Michigan early this morning — Greensboro to Midland/Bay City/Saginaw Airport by way of Detroit — but during the night, we received an alert that our outbound flight was delayed long enough that we'd miss our connection to MBS. Our only option was to book a 7:00 p.m. flight out of Greensboro and arrive at MBS around 10:30 p.m. Thus, we went for it... but this flight, too, ended up delayed, so guess what? No Michigan trip for us on this day. We rescheduled yet again, this time for tomorrow — the 6 a.m. flight out of Greensboro, which meant getting up at 3:15 a.m. Then, of course, just before bedtime, Delta Airlines notified us that the 6 a.m. flight to Detroit was delayed an hour.

So... will we make it tomorrow? Who the fook knows?

---

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Given our flight delay, instead of getting up at 3:15 a.m., we slept in late (4:15 a.m.) and hit the highway for GSO. We arrived on time, checked in, and... wait, what?! Our plane has no crew? Correct. We have no crew. So, for most of an hour, we're waiting for word on whether we'll actually get airborne sometime today.

Finally, the pilot and co-pilot stumbled in off the street and mounted up. They managed to get the engines going, but we didn't go wheels up until well after 8:00 a.m. Our schedule originally called for a two-hour layover in Detroit, so, given the extended delays, the chances of making our connection now — again — appeared slim. However, to their credit, the pilots made up incredible time in the air because, upon landing in Detroit, we deplaned, made a beeline to our gate, and somehow ended up with a few minutes to spare before boarding. Thankfully, the DTW to MBS flight went off without a hitch, and Ms. B.'s friend Darren very kindly came to pick us up and transport us to her folks' place.Yay! Thank you, Darren!

 

We spent some quality time with Del & Fern, who've both been through the ringers, health-wise. Then, after a wee bite of lunch, Ms. B. went to take to a nap, and I wandered down to find a fun, relatively new geocache in the neighborhood.

 

Once Kimberly was out of bed, we hied ourselves over to Meijer for provisions (always a necessity upon our arriving in Midland) and stopped for a geocache on the way (also a necessity upon arriving in Midland).

 

I discovered that we are (thankfully) missing out on some serious storms back home. A friend just posted the photo below from our neighborhood. They live at the end of a cul-de-sac, so they won't be going anywhere until that big honking tree is removed. I'm hoping the many monster trees that surround our house continue to hold out.

After showering and washing off the vestiges of airplanes, airports, and big box stores, Ms. B. and I drove into downtown Midland, grabbed a couple of geocaches, and killed some vittles at Beatniks. It's a relatively new restaurant she'd visited on a previous visit or two, but this was my first time. We sat at their nice outdoor terrace, and I quite enjoyed the atmosphere and dinner— banh mi buns and an excellent gin martini for me and veal & beef meatballs and a nice chardonnay for Ms. B. We wandered around downtown for a spell and stopped in for a final drink at Gratzi, a reasonably upscale Italian restaurant we've enjoyed a handful of times, though this time just for spirits.

 

Since this was our first night in Midland, we wanted to spend most of the evening with Del & Fern, so once back at Casa di Brugger, we settled ourselves in the downstairs family room, which is a long-time tradition with the folks, and enjoyed each other's company until it was time to retire. Since we'd started our day well before dawn, I'm surprised Kimberly and I lasted as long as we did. It's been over a year since I've been here, though now that I'm back, it feels like no time at all.

I had some coffee early in the evening, but it was obviously broken because I'm told I started snoring. So, I reckon we'll be hard at it again tomorrow. G'night, all.

---

Thursday, July 23, 2026

I woke up to a pleasant chill in the air, rather than the disgusting, tropical humidity that has become the standard summertime environment back home. There are indeed times that Michigan's general climate suits me far better, but then... oh, my lord... here comes winter. Hoo dogs! Maybe it is not my environment...

 

Still, it was a beautiful morning for going out geocaching. After a light breakfast and plenty of coffee, I set out on Del's old bicycle for Stratford Woods Park, a couple of miles down the road. A good many newer caches had been placed there since my last trip to Midland, although even those now date back a ways. I ended up going bust on a couple of the hunts, leading me to believe those containers have gone missing. Happily, I found several others, a couple of which were tricky. Although it did get warm and fairly humid out there, It wasn't like trying to breathe the mayonnaise as it is back home, and I didn't suffer any assaults by mosquitoes. Now, here's a thing: Michigan mosquitoes may be the meanest, rotten, bitingest little fuckers I've ever encountered anywhere... well, except for maybe Venice, Italy. But Midland is the only location where I've had to give up on a geocaching outing due to mosquitoes.Thankfully, not today.

Well, damnation. I'd had a (very mild) migraine yesterday during our flight up, and wouldn't you know it, here comes another one. At least this one was no worse than yesterday's, so I was able to continue caching without undue difficulty or pain (sometimes my headaches can turn pretty monstrous). After returning to la casa, I still needed about 3,000 steps to meet my daily goal, as my phone doesn't count pedaling the bike. So, I went out and ran around the neighborhood, much like I do at home, although it's considerably easier here because the terrain is mostly flat.

 

Mid-afternoon, I started cooking tonight's dinner: a hamburger soup loosely based on a recipe from Drew Cooks, which I follow religiously. Drew is funny as hell, and some of the recipes I've tried have turned out to be dynamite. Not necessarily healthy, but delicious. I always customize, improvise, or otherwise fuck around with every recipe that I attempt, and we always enjoy what I cook. It's my custom to provide at least a dinner or two for the family when we're here, and I think there will also be some Italian goodies in the works on this trip.

 

The soup turned out fantastic, by the way. It's like a delicious hamburger in a bowl.

After dinner, Kimberly and I went out and about for a bit, first to Clock & Candle Brewatorium, a relatively new establishment with a cool selection of their unique brews. I tried their Bag o' Beans Coffee Brown, which is brewed with the coffee made by Live Oak Coffeehouse here in Midland, which we love. Twas good. Then we shifted over to nearby Nord Social, which, I must say, played the best mellow, evocative techno music I may have ever heard. It was beautiful. Now, I understand that on some nights, it gets so crowded and loud that you can't hear yourself think. That's definitely not my thing, so I'm glad the noise level was tolerable. Ms. B. has been going through a hell of a tough time dealing with her folks' health situations for quite a while now, so she and I spent quite a while talking about her life in Midland, friends, current experiences, joys, stressors, etc. We've been together for roughly sixteen years, yet this turned out to be some of the most meaningful sharing of history and feelings between us, well, ever. This meant the world to me, and I think to her as well.

 

Tomorrow looks busy. I sleep now.

At Clock & Candle Brewatorium

---

Friday, July 24, 2026

I woke up pretty early, had a quick breakfast, ran three miles around the neighborhood, and cleaned out some gutters for Del. Then Kimberly and I went in search of new phones because our current ones are going on seven years old and have been sputtering along for a while now. We'd bought them just before we went on our first Europe trip in 2019, so these critters feel like they're almost as old as we are. Kimberly had gotten her dad's new phone at the Walmartz on her previous trip here and was impressed by the gentleman who'd helped them. Happily, he was on hand again to help us. Indeed, he set us up with the best deals we could get, and now we now have new phones (which are in the process of updating as I write). I hope the new ones hold out at least as long as the old buggers. We shall see...

 

There — I took a photo of me with the new phone camera. Somehow, I think the old one picked up less of the ugly. 

 

It took a couple of hours to get the phones purchased and set up, so by the time all was said and done, the Great Starvation had gripped us. Lunch at Molasses sounded good, so that's where we headed — after stopping for me to grab a quick geocache. Molasses has long been my favorite BBQ joint anywhere... seriously, yes, in Michigan... and the foodz today was first rate, as always.

Since we've been out and about very evening since our arrival, Ms. B. and I opted stay home with Del & Fern, help them watch television; futz around with the settings, apps, and updates on our phones; and other such business. Till laters!

---

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Up pretty early again today. Light breakfast, coffee, and then out to Stratford Woods Park again for some more woodland geocaching. The temperature was perfect — mid 70s with low humidity — and I found three fun hides. Then I rode a short distance over to what is apparently a popular local fishing spot called Three Ponds (maybe because there are three ponds here) to hunt a cache called "Fishing for a Cache" (GCBE9TX). This one was pretty challenging because it resides on a very steep bank close to the water's edge, and you really don't want want to lose your footing here, especially when you have a brand new phone in your pocket. Fortunately, I maintained my balance and happened to spy the cache in fairly short order (you can see it in the photo at left). A fun outing all around.

Kimberly and I had entertained the idea of getting pasties for lunch at Midland Pasty Company, but dang if they weren't closed today. If you don't know about pasties, well, by Yog, you oughta. And maybe watch Jeff Daniels' screamingly funny Escanaba in da Moonlight (2001). We ended up grabbing chicken from Popeye's, about which I have not one complaint. I love me some Popeye's chicken, and I got the wings with ghost pepper rub. Not as hot as all that, but delicious nonetheless.

A carpet of ferns in Stratford Woods Park

Big turtle, baby Gamera, or geocache?

View of the pond from "Fishing for a Cache"

Ms. B. spent a good portion of the afternoon working, running errands with her mom, and going shopping with friend Darren, so I devoted myself to working on the blog and some new fiction. Once she returned, I cooked up a couple of killer burgers and mixed vegetables for dinner. We then made ourselves almost presentable and ventured out to Oxygen, where I found a fookin' fine dirty gin martini. Then we wandered back to Nord Social, which we'd visited a couple of evenings ago. Here, they have this thing they call the Botanic Martini. I'm not sure it's really a martini, but it's certainly botanical, and it's one of the most distinctive, spicy libations ever to burn my lips. To say I fookin' love it is an understatement so grotesque it's like saying Kimberly is just kinda purty. Here's the description at the top of the menu:

At last, it was back to Casa di Brugger to spend a nice evening hanging out with Del & Fern. In the morning, we'll be off to the next phase of this particular Michigan Madness. And so, friends, till then.

---

Sunday, July 26, 2026

It wasn't planned (not by a long shot), but I woke up very early, and so decided to tumble out of bed and get going. Coffee (lots), breakfast (a little), running (fast and hard), and then packing. Yep, one of the primary reasons for the timing of this trip — in addition to helping Kimberly's parents out at every turn — was to meet longtime friends and geocaching partners Skyhawk63 (a.k.a. Tom) & Punkins19 (a.k.a. Linda) from Greensboro in Traverse City, MI, and take a boat trip out to Power Island in Grand Traverse Bay (in the southeastern arm of Lake Michigan) to hunt Michigan's oldest geocache, "Power Island" (GC35). They've been devising this plan for a while, and since Kimberly and I knew we'd need to come to Michigan around this time, the plans to meet up here wove together beautifully.

 

The only complication now is that there are potentially severe storms in tomorrow's forecast. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it.

 

Anyway, Brugger and I left Midland at 11:00 a.m. sharp for a roughly three-hour drive to Traverse City. We stopped in Clare for lunch at Mancino's, listened to a lot of 80s music as we drove, grabbed a few caches, and arrived at our lodgings (The Vic Hotel) around 2:00 p.m. It's a cool place, very comfortable, with all the necessary amenities and more. Once we'd settled in, we decided to make our way around the town and see what we could see. The first place we found was Left Foot Charley Wine & Hard Cider, a few miles to the west, which frankly surprised us with its high quality. This corner of Michigan has long been known for its Reisling wines, but we discovered some utterly delicious reds and other whites here as well. Their Blaufrankisch stood out as particularly good.

 

From there, we ventured over to Rove Winery, a few more miles out of town, which might have been even better. Here, the tasting room and environs offered a lovely, panoramic view of the surrounding countryside, which struck us as rather akin to our region back home (Virginia's Piedmont). Their TrÍ red wine made me even happier than a slap in the belly with a wet trout. Make no mistake, wine-wise, we're not talking Europe, California, or Pacific Northwest, but compared to the up-and-coming wine regions of North Carolina and Virginia, these vintages more than held their own. They actually put the North Carolina stuff to shame (admittedly, not a huge compliment).

 

By now, we needed some solid vittles, so we found a lovely dinner at Harrington's by the Bay, which fulfilled all our cravings except for those of the economic variety. Hoooey, shit is expensive around here. After that, I found a couple of more caches, and then we settled in at The Vic to mellow out. Tomorrow promises to be a big day... I just hope the weather doesn't deal us any nasty blows.

 

Till then.

View of the countryside from Rove Winery

Oh, look. They have wine glasses in their hands. Go figure.

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Go to "Michigan Misadventures, Madness, & Merriment, Part 2"

Midland Meanderings

Since Brugger's folks in Midland, Michigan, are getting up there in years and require more help than they did once upon a time, we do our best to venture northward and spend time with them several times a year. This was the week for our Spring trip, which coincidentally fell over Easter weekend.

Waiting for Del & Fern to pick us up from the airport as the rain pours down

Friday, April 18, 2025
Because getting an even remotely reasonable rate for flights typically means traveling at the least desirable times of day, Brugger and I got up at 4:00 a.m. and drove to Greensboro for a 7:15 a.m. Delta Airlines flight to Saginaw (MBS) by way of Detroit (DTW). Both outbound flights were slow to get off the ground but made up time in the air, so we arrived in Saginaw right on time at 11:15 a.m. Shortly thereafter, Del & Fern arrived to pick us up, and so, off we zoomed to Casa di Brugger. Rain was coming down in blinding sheets, and driving proved kind of hazardous, but we thankfully made it to our destination damp but none the worse for wear.

 

I'd had a miserable night, with less than three hours of sleep, so once we were settled in, Brugger and I half-zonked out for a little while. We needed groceries and other provisions, so once she and I had at least partly regained our senses, we made our traditional first-day-in-Midland pilgrimage to Meijer...which was a freaking madhouse. Usually, things in this town are pretty mellow, but Judas Priest...I've never seen such a frenetic, wall-to-wall, oppressive bunch of human beings seething and roiling in confined spaces since I lived in Chicago. Oy! Anyhoo, we stocked up with goodies, I grabbed a geocache, and back to the barn we flew.

 

For dinner, Ms. B. and I headed to Molasses, where they smoke the best dead animal this side of Hillsborough, NC. The Three Amigos sandwich—loaded with brisket, pulled pork, and bacon—may be the finest concoction of smoked meats anywhere. The accompanying Maple Old Fashioned didn't cause me any grief, either. Once done, I sought and found another nearby geocache, and then we returned to the casa, to spend the rest of the evening in traditional fashion: with the family in front of the downstairs TV.

I didn't make it very late.

The Three Amigos sandwich with dill potato salad at Molasses in Midland

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Having been seriously sleep deprived the past few nights, I slept in a little later than usual this morning. Once up and reasonably refreshed, I set out after some geocaches, the first couple of which were out on the Père Marquette Rail Trail, near downtown Midland. The morning started out dreary and cold, with a stiff wind blowing, but after a while, the sun came out and I warmed up very quickly. Once off the trail, I parked the car at a fairly central location near downtown and set out on foot after several more caches. Most of them were quick and easy, but at one of them, I dropped the unique container as I was returning it to its proper location, and...horror of horrors...I was unable to find it again. I never like to be responsible for losing anyone's cache, so I drove up to Meijer, picked up some implements to fashion a replacement, and returned to the scene of the accident. It's not the world's most permanent solution, but I hope the substitute container will hold up until the cache owner can set it back to rights, if he so desires.

 

At the Jefferson Street overpass above Highway U.S. 10, one of the nationwide "Hands Off!" protests of the current administration was going on, so I headed over to support the effort; I didn't realize an advance sign-up was required, though (I'm guessing because a limited number of people could occupy the bridge at the same time), so I sufficed to drive by and offer some serious honking and waving to show solidarity. I don't know how much good these protests stand a chance of doing, but it is heartening to see the growing pushback against the malignant policies of a narcissistic, moronic tool who's done more damage to this country, our international relations/alliances, and basic human rights than any other in my lifetime, if not ever. I'm glad to see increasing resistance from official quarters as well, and it's more than about time.

 

For dinner, Ms. B. slow-cooked a pork tenderloin all day to make Bahn-Mi rice bowls. We'd made this dish at home a while back, and it was good, so the folks were keen on trying it out. This time... it was even better. One of Brugger's finest concoctions! 

Art under the U.S. 10 overpass on the Pere Marquette Rail Trail

The trail along the Titabawassee River

The Currie Street suspension bridge viewed from the trail

View of the "Hands-Off" bridge takeover (from the event's webpage)

Brugger's pulled pork banh mi rice bowl. Delicious!

Afterward, I spent some time writing, and Ms. B. had freelance work she needed to complete. Eventually, we retired to the downstairs den for our traditional family time, mainly watching some of Del & Fern's favorite evening shows. A most welcome, mellow evening.

Tomorrow...believe it or not...we are going to church with the folks.

Sunday, April 20, 2025

There's a bing-bonging clock in the house that chimes the hour, starting at 6:00 a.m., and it usually doesn't wake me up, but today it did. I lay there for a while but didn't go back to sleep, so when the chiming started again at 7:00, I staggered on out of bed. It was as well that I did because I wanted to start prepping our midday dinner fairly early. Fern had very kindly prepared some breakfast for me—waffles and sausage, which were delicious—so once I'd laid waste to those and fortified myself with coffee, I commenced to chopping up steaks, browning the meat in the skillet, and dropping it in the crock pot. If all goes as planned, it'll turn into Beef Stroganoff somewhere around 1:00 p.m.

 

I still had plenty of time before getting ready for church, so I went walking after a couple of newer geocaches less than a mile from the casa. I found those with no problem and then hoofed it back home.

 

So, off to church we went, and Del & Fern saw many of their friends they hadn't seen in some time, many of whom knew Kim. The services there are "contemporary," with a band that plays modern Christian music. Today, it was an uplifting, to-the-point message with lots of rocking Christian tunes. If you follow me, you probably know I'm not exactly "of the faith," but I grew up in it, and my experiences were generally positive. I know a lot of people who can't say that. For today, the only thing that has really pissed me off was Trump's disgusting, wholly false, and inappropriate Easter message. "Unfit" is a gross understatement. Whatever failings this country has ever had in the past—with our policies, our politicians, our relationships—Trump exemplifies everything that we as a country should never be.

Thing is, in that church we went to this morning, that awful human being clearly has an awful lot of devoted fans. I do not approve.

 

The Beef Stroganoff turned out to be fantastic. As with most of my concoctions, I'll probably never quite reproduce it since I rarely use an actual recipe, and when I do, I usually turn it inside out before all is said and done. And dammit, I forgot to buy parsley, which I like to throw on top of the dish, both for garnish and because parsley is delicious.

During the afternoon, I put in some serious writing time and a bit of fussing on Facebook. Ms. B. had to work on some more freelance projects, but after she finished, we needed to make another provision run to Meijer. I found some oysters, so I made oyster stew for my supper—which was fantastic, no matter what any of the non-aficionados of snotty shellfish in the house (which is all of them) might tell you. And we ended the shopping outing by hunting a geocache, which was marginally challenging and a lot painful, given the particular variety of greenery sheltering its hiding place.

 

I may have overtaxed my brain "debating" some contentious points with people on Facebook, but sometimes, it's what I must do. Apart from that, for the rest of the evening, we spent our traditional family time in front of the television. And that's all kinds of perfect.

Midland Nazarene Church

The plated Beef Stroganoff (sans parsley). Delicious!

Monday, April 21, 2025

I woke up before dawn to the sound of crashing thunder and heavy raindrops on the roof. The storm didn't last long, though, so I went back to sleep and remained oblivious even through the bing-bonging of the living room clock until I crawled out of bed about 8:00 a.m. Coffee. Coffee! COFFEE!

 

Midland is full of squirrels, more than anyplace I've ever visited, I'm pretty sure. Gray squirrels, black squirrels,  red squirrels, and big brown fox squirrels. In Virginia, we have lots of grays, mostly small and skinny, but here, like most of the wildife, squirrels grow big and chubby. And most of them are tamer than our skittish little guys back home. Once Ms. B. got up and going, she went out to the backyard to feed critters, and one big fox squirrel came around and immediately made friends with her. This one didn't eat out of her hand, as some have been known to do here, but he was perfectly relaxed and ready for Ms. DeMille to take his close-up.

Sometimes, one finds odd things when out geocaching. The rain appeared to have let up for a while, so I headed out mid-morning to seek a few caches. I found all but one of them, which appeared to be missing; I found only a wire hanger where there should have been a container. At the base of its host tree, though, there were two dead little critters with a few rocks and sticks placed around them. I'm guessing one or more youngsters found the poor animals but also found the cache and removed it. I notified the cache owner, who indicated he'll replace it.

 

On Ashman Street, there's a house whose yard, every Halloween, is decorated with about a hundred skeletons, including one of the twelve-foot-tall variety. Looks like the big fellow has become a permanent fixture there. Fun stuff.

After lunch, the rest of the family went on a shopping excursion, while I stayed home to work on my current novel-in-progress. It was a productive session.

 

For a long time now, it has been clear that telemarketers have mercilessly targeted my in-laws. Because their landline rings every five to ten minutes all day, every day, I've recommended that Fern turn off the ringer and let the calls go straight to their answering machine; however, she doesn't much want to do that because they also receive a handful of legitimate calls each day. After a persistent, infuriating series of bell rings this afternoon, Fern finally yelled at the caller, "No, I'm not interested, I'm tired hearing from you, and why don't you just go into your bathroom and play with yourself?!"

 

You tell 'em, Fern.
 

Family time and bed. And g'night.

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Coffee and bacon and eggs, oh my! What a fine breakfast!

Kimberly had to take her mom to a doctor appointment this morning, so I spent the morning getting in a couple of miles of walking and then writing. Again, I made decent progress. Once they got back, we went out and helped her folks with some yard work that needed doing.

Ms. B. wanted to visit an arts & crafts store in Saginaw, about thirty minutes away, so after lunch, we drove over. She headed into the store, and I headed after a couple of nearby geocaches. One of the containers was a 3-D-printed tiki figure (at left), which was kind of cool. About 30 minutes after I dropped her off, Brugger called, so I returned to pick her up. From there, we went after a couple of more hides, my favorite being one that was about 20 feet up in a big pine tree. Tree caches are among my favorite kinds, and it's been a long time since I've had a good tree climb, so this one really hit the spot. I didn't even fall out and go boom!

L: Starting the ascent; R: Hey, where's the old dude?

Oh, there he is!

At the cache

That pretty much did it for the afternoon caching, and so, from there, we returned to Midland and decided to visit Whichcraft Taproom, one of our semi-regular bar & grill hangouts in downtown. We enjoyed a couple of refreshing beverages, and then we hauled ourselves out for dinner at Fuji Sushi, the best of the Japanese/Asian restaurants we've found in Midland (there are some newer ones we haven't tried, so we'll be giving them a go on a future trip, no doubt). The sushi was very, very good, though—as with so many restaurants now—instead of a large variety of fish, you get three pieces of three different fishies. Definitely tasty, but I much prefer having several options on the plate.

Back at the casa, I had a Lovecraft eZine book discussion podcast to attend. Tonight's story discussion was "The Dunwich Horror," which is one of my favorite H.P. Lovecraft tales. It was a good discussion, as we all had unique perspectives on the story, and several of us rated it very differently in the "HPL Favorites" column. Tonight's discussion was for Patreon subscribers only, so if you have any interest in Lovecraftian horror—or cosmic horror in general—you might want to consider supporting the eZine. The amount of content and entertainment that Mike Davis provides is exceptional.

 

The usual family time in the family room followed (and I worked on this blog). Tomorrow is the last day of this Midland trip for us, but our flight doesn't leave till early evening, so we'll have most of the day here before we leave. Hopefully, we won't have any flight delays; the late-night arrivals back in Greensboro have tended to be problematic in recent days.

 

We'll see. For now, nighty-night.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

The family had a few guests pretty early this morning—Kim's cousins JoyAnn and Rosemary, and JoyAnn's husband, Bill. We spent a good while having enjoyable chats, largely about cats. Following that, Kim had to take her Dad to a doctor appointment, so I put in my daily steps and made some forward progress with the current novel.

 

Late in the afternoon, we packed up to leave and headed out to the Saginaw airport (MBS). Our departing flight was slightly delayed, but it wasn't significant enough to impact our connection in Detroit. I must say, they make very good, very spicy bloody marys at the single little bar & grill at MBS. Once in Detroit, we found that our Greensboro flight was also delayed, but again, not significantly. We had just enough time to grab fair-to-middlin' sandwiches from Subway for worse-than-extortionate prices.

 

We arrived back in Greensboro around 11:00 p.m., less than an hour later than our scheduled arrival time. And wonder of wonders, by the time we got down to baggage claim, our single suitcase was already there waiting for us. Hooray! Anyway, we hit the road for Martinsville and got home just about midnight. We'd found some hot red-pepper stuffed olives in Midland, and I couldn't resist having a martini nightcap with a couple of those. HOOOO, YEAH, they is delicious!

All in all, it was a nice trip to see the folks, and I'm especially glad that we've been able to give them some help (Kimberly doing a hell of a lot, of course), particularly with things that have become more physically challenging for them. I so hope that we'll be able to keep this arrangement going for the foreseeable future.

 

A new cache in Martinsville awaited my attention once we returned. A nice first-to-find on Thursday, April 24, at 8:15 a.m. Yay!

Happy, Horrific Valentine’s Day and Damned Rodan’s Madre de Dios Spiked Salsa

While St. Valentine's Day might be a real "thing" in certain religious circles, neither Ms. B. nor I see it as much more than a typical "Hallmark Holiday." Still, we love having a handy excuse to get a little fancy, go out for dinner, and drink wine, that kind of thing. So, every year, Brugger gives me one of her beautiful hand-made Valentine's Day cards, we get a little fancy, go out for dinner, and drink wine, that kind of thing. Last night, we treated ourselves to Rania's uptown, which is our go-to restaurant in Martinsville when we're looking for something that resembles upscale. Their food is usually excellent, and it definitely hit the spot last night. A bottle of Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon (2018 vintage), which was decent; Veal Scallopini for me; and Baked Ziti with Meatballs for Ms. B. The place does have a lovely atmosphere as well.

This weekend, friends Joe and Suzy are hosting a gathering where folks bring their own homemade salsa, so I spent a portion of the afternoon conjuring up Damned Rodan's Madre de Dios Spiked Salsa, which gets its heat from a combination of cayenne, jalapeno, habanero, and ghost pepper in the ingredients. I'd post the recipe if I had one, but for this, I just gathered all the stuff that one puts into fresh salsa (Campari tomatoes, onion, green onions, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, cumin, chili powder, lemon pepper, and the various peppers; chopped everything up; and threw it together in what looked like reasonable proportions. I hit the mix with our immersion blender and... voilà! Damned Rodan's Madre de Dios Spiked Salsa. The heat is not trivial, but the stuff is fookin delicious. Needless to say, I'll probably never be able to duplicate it precisely.

Spent a portion of the afternoon on the Lovecraft eZine Podcast with host Mike Davis and author Jeff Thomas, which was a blast. I hope to be meeting them both face-to-face for the first time in August at Necronomicon in Providence, RI. And I managed a fair amount of forward progress on my current novel, The House at Black Tooth Pond.

Till whenever...

L: Brugger's homemade 2024 Valentine's Day card for the Old Dude; R: Damned Rodan's homemade
Madre de Dios Spiked Salsa

There Is Fire Where You're Going

Last night, friends Joe & Suzy hosted a chili cook-off with a bunch of folks, complete with awards for numerous recipe superlatives. Ten variations, with a wide range of ingredients, flavors, and spices. It may come as no surprise to most who know my tastes that I took the award for the deadliest heat (see the trophy at left).

I had cooked up a sizable batch of chili a few weeks ago and froze the leftover, which was almost a full pot in itself. The heat for this batch proved damned near inedible for some, and while I enjoyed its very rich, full flavor as much as any I've ever made, the fire was almost too much for me to handle. That, my friends, is some pretty special fire.

I rarely use a set recipe for my dishes — I tend to start throwing stuff together and see where it leads. Almost without exception, this method has led me to some fantastic dinners, the obvious problem being that reproducing it reliably is usually out of the question. Regardless, here's a recipe that I'd say comes about as close as possible to this most deliciously painful concoction.

Damned Rodan's Nuclear Fusion Chili

What You Need (serves four):

• 1 lb of ground Angus beef

• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped

• 16 oz. can mixed chili beans

• 10 oz. can diced tomatoes with habanero peppers (I use Ro-Tel brand)

• 2/3 cup Clamato juice 

• 7 oz. can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I use La Costeña)

• 6 oz. can tomato paste

• 1.5 oz. packet of chili seasoning powder (I use McCormick)

• tbsp chili powder

• tbsp cumin

• 2 habanero peppers, chopped fine

• juice and zest of 1 lime

For topping:

• green onions, chopped

• cilantro, chopped

• grated pepper jack cheese

What You Do:

1)  Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain the excess grease.

2)  Move ground beef to large soup pot. Add onion, chili beans (drained or undrained, depending on personal preference), Clamato juice, tomato paste, chili seasoning powder, chili powder, and cumin. Cook on medium for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.

3)  Add diced tomatoes, chipotle peppers/adobo sauce, chopped habaneros, lime juice & zest. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

4)  Serve with your choice of toppings.

5)  Break out the fire extinguisher.

Damned Rodan’s Damned Egg Foo Young

Egg Foo Young is one of my favorite Chinese-American dishes, and several of the Chinese restaurants in our old Greensboro neighborhood did it very well. Sadly, the one nearby Chinese place in Martinsville is temporarily closed — at least, that’s what their sign says, but it’s been shuttered for quite a while now. A shame, since I quite like the place. I had an Egg Foo Young craving last night, and I knew that if I wanted to satisfy it, I had to make the Foo myself. I do this now and again, and I really love it; sometimes, though it’s just nice to have somebody hand over a ready-to-eat dish. Alas, not this time.

Anyhoo, here’s my recipe for Shrimp Egg Foo Young. This serves four. You’re basically making an omelet with whatever protein you wish — shrimp, beef, pork, chicken... about any dead critter works well. You can put small, raw shrimp right into the egg mixture, as it cooks well with the other ingredients. For other meats, chop fairly fine and cook until about half-done in advance.

Damned Rodan’s Damned Egg Foo Young
What You Need for the Sauce:
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil

What You Need for the Foo:
6 eggs 

1 1/2 cups protein of your choice (I use small, raw shrimp)

1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
3/4 cup green peas (I use frozen, thawed)
3/4 cup chopped celery
3/4 cup diced water chestnuts
3/4 cup chopped green onions
4 tbsp cooking oil (I use extra virgin olive oil almost exclusively for every savory dish I make)
2 tsp (more or less, depending on your taste; I use a lot) black pepper
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground ginger
dash of soy sauce
dash of hot chili oil

What You Do For the Sauce:
Stir the ingredients (except for the corn starch) together in a saucepan and bring to a slow boil; then reduce the heat to medium-high. Stir in the dissolved corn starch until the sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring occasionally while the Foo cooks.

What You Do For the Foo:
1) Add the cooking oil to a wok or skillet (I use cast iron) and heat on high until the oil begins to smoke. Reduce heat to medium high.

2) Scramble the eggs thoroughly. Dump the rest of your ingredients into the eggs and mix well.

3) For each serving, ladle a quarter of your mix into the hot skillet. You can use a spatula to shape the spreading mix into a rough circle. Let cook for about five minutes, then reduce heat to medium. Flip your patty over (the cooked side should be a nice golden brown) and cook for another four to five minutes.

4) Plate your Foo and spoon a goodly portion of the sauce over the top. If desired, garnish with additional bean sprouts and/or green onions.

5) Eat up. Holler!

Damned Rodan's Chicken Dijon

Ms. B. and I eat a lot of chicken, and I have quite a few recipes, most resulting from trial and error while trying to reproduce (or come close to) some dish I've had at a restaurant or friend's place. Now and again, I find a recipe online and follow it with varying degrees of faithfulness (usually, I go all kinds of nuts with such things, and I'm pretty sure that what I come up with is usually better than if I'd simply followed the recipe to the letter).

Last night, on a whim, I decided to try my hand at Chicken Dijon, which I'd never made before. I found a base recipe (where, I'll never remember), and fucked around with it until I came up with what turned out to be a winning formula. Now, most of my recipes are for fiery things (some of my Thai-based concoctions have on occasion been almost too much for me), but not always. The Chicken Dijon certainly wasn't loaded with heat, although it did have a pleasant little kick.

Feel free to try this (or screw around with it to your heart's content).

WHAT YOU NEED:
• 3 slices bacon
• 4–6 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lb.)
• 2 c angel hair pasta (4 servings)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 medium carrots, cut into chunks
• 1/4 c fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/3 c white wine (I used Vermouth, since it was the nearest thing at hand)
• 1 c chicken broth
• 1 c half-and-half
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 3/4 c frozen green peas
• 1/4 c capers
• 4 to 6 Lemon wedges

WHAT YOU DO:
1) In a large skillet (I prefer cast iron), cook bacon until very crisp. Remove when done and crush into bits.

2) Add chicken, skin-side down; season to taste with salt and pepper and cook in the bacon fat on medium-high heat until skin is gold and crispy, about 8 minutes. Flip and cook for 5 minutes more. Transfer to a plate.

3) Add butter, onion, garlic, carrots, thyme, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently and scraping up any brown bits on bottom of pan. Stir in mustard, wine, chicken broth, half-and-half, and sugar. Cook until mostly reduced, about 10 minutes.

4) While ingredients simmer, cut chicken and skin from bones into bite-size pieces. This is a good time to start cooking the angel hair.

5) Reduce heat to medium and return cut chicken to pan. Simmer until sauce has thickened, about 10–12 minnutes. Add peas and capers and let simmer for another 3–4 minutes.

6) Plate the angel hair, and squeeze the juice from the lemon wedges directly onto the pasta. Ladle the chicken and sauce onto the pasta and garnish with thyme and crushed bacon bits.

Et voilà!

Larb Gai — Thai Chicken

Larb Gai is probably my favorite Thai dish, and I make it frequently. It's spicy (in my case, damn near lethal), tangy, and salty. It's not complicated, and total prep plus cooking time is no more than 30 to 40 minutes. This recipe makes a mildly spicy concoction. You can adjust it, as I do, to your particular taste.

Ingredients (Serves 2–4):
• 16 oz. ground (or finely chopped) chicken (I usually use white meat)
• ½ cup diced onions (I prefer red)
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• tsp Thai chili oil
• tbsp water
• tsp Thai chili powder (can adjust for heat preference; I use about 2 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
• juice from 2 limes
• ⅓ cup chopped basil
• ⅓ cup chopped mint
• ¼ cup cilantro
• 1 or 2 chili peppers sliced into slivers
• several whole mint and basil leaves for garnish
• lettuce leaves (or other greens) and cucumber coins or spears for serving
• 1¼ cup rice (pre-cooked)

Sauce Ingredients (per serving):
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)

• tbsp chili garlic sauce (can adjust for heat preference)
• tsp lime juice
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp soy sauce (optional)

What You Do:
1. Mix sauce ingredients for individual servings and set aside.
2. Heat chili oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add tbsb water, garlic, and chicken. Add onion while chicken is cooking. Stir frequently to break up lumps. Cook till done (about three minutes) and then transfer to mixing bowl.
3. While chicken is warm, add chopped basil, chopped mint, lime juice, fish sauce, and chili powder. Mix thoroughly.
4. Serve over rice. Add sauce over chicken as desired. Top with cilantro and slices of chili peppers.
5. Surround with whole mint and basil leaves, lettuce or other greens, cucumber spears, tomatoes, or any veggie of your choice.

Damned Rodan’s Fiery Thai Beef with Basil

It’s recipe time. I frequently make a Thai dish or two that generally turns out acceptable in the extreme. Granted, my Thai cooking is quite simple, but the results are always satisfying. Here is a rough outline; I always tweak it a bit based on ingredients — and time — I have on hand. The amounts are approximate; all can be adjusted to taste.

Damned Rodan’s Fiery Thai Beef with Basil
What You Need (serves two): 

2 eight-oz. Angus beef steaks, thick cut

1 cup jasmine rice

1/2 cup white onion, chopped

1/2 cup green onion, diced

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

2 hot chili peppers, sliced

2 tbsp hot chili oil to marinate; 2 tbsp to cook

1 tsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or, if you’ve time and inclination, roast your garlic cloves)

For sauce:

1/3 cup chili garlic sauce

1/3 cup fish sauce

2 hot chili peppers, sliced

juice from 2 limes

1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar

Prep:
For best results, marinate the beef in hot chili oil, garlic, and a portion of the sauce for an hour or so before cooking. Save the rest of the sauce either for dipping or to pour on individual portions. Make sauce by combining chili garlic sauce, fish sauce, 2 of the hot chili peppers, lime juice, rice wine vinegar, and brown sugar. Stir together thoroughly. Combine basil and green onions in a separate bowl. Cook the rice prior or during beef prep.

What You Do:

1. Pour hot chili oil into a skillet (preferably wok or cast iron). Heat to medium high.
2. Place beef in skillet. Sear both sides of the beef — three to four minutes per side. After the first turn, drop the butter into the skillet and add the lime juice, chopped onions, and sliced chili peppers. Note: Your eyes will burn.
3. When the beef is seared, reduce heat to low. Remove beef from skillet and cut into slivers, against the grain. Place slivered beef back into skillet and cook on medium low to — preferably — no more than medium rare.
4. Spoon beef, peppers, onions, and reduced sauce onto rice. If you wish, add additional sauce. Top with basil and green onions.
5. Partake of the goodies and scream in agonized ecstasy.

Damned Rodan's Bloody Bacon Fire Thing

The Bacon Bloody Mary. Highly recommended. This one is hot. HOT, I tell you.

Damned Rodan's Murderous Margarita Chicken Wings

It just seemed like the thing to do at the time. I'd was drinking a margarita, and I had planned to cook chicken wing drummies for dinner. So this happened.

I bake my chicken wings in the oven on a cooking grate, which is elevated an inch or so above the bottom of my baking tray, so the wings will cook evenly all the way around.

What You Need:
8–10 chicken wing drummettes
2 oz. tequila
juice from 2 limes
tsp ghost pepper sauce (I used Melinda's)
tbsp margarita salt
tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp hot chili powder

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. Pour the tequila, lime juice, and ghost pepper sauce into a bowl and stir vigorously for a minute or so.
3. Pour margarita salt, Old Bay, and black pepper into another bowl
4. One at a time, dunk each chicken drummie in the tequila/lime juice/ghost pepper sauce to coat thorougly
5. Roll each soaked drummie in the salt, Old Bay, black pepper, and chili powder
6. Distribute drummies evenly on the cooking grate. Cook at 250 degrees for 30 minutes, then crank up the heat to 450 for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let sit for 4–5 minutes before serving.

My wings turned out bang-on perfect. The outside seared crispy, the inside moist and tender. On the heat scale, Melinda's is relatively mild for a ghost pepper sauce. This is not to say it doesn't pack some heat, it's just a couple of levels down from something like Dave's Ghost Pepper sauce, which is not fooling around. While I love hot, hot stuff, I'm keen on Melinda's because it's got a nice burn without scalding your taste buds right out of your mouth.

I made a super-spicy Bloody Mary to accompany the wings, so I did get some bonus heat points.

Warning: As with any Damned Rodan recipe, Spontaneous Human Combustion may result from even careful and conscientious consumption. Do not smoke cigarettes or consume this product near any open flame, inflammable materials, children, most animals (including hedgehogs, pygmy goats, and llamas), and overly sensitive individuals.