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The Avenue

November 18, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

I often worry about unfinished business. It keeps me up at night, which is crazy because, ultimately, we all leave the game with pieces on the table. Plans unfinished, things left unsaid and plenty of stuff we just never got around to, those are the things that worry me. So let’s complete a task as we stand and make The Avenue.

DeGroff’s Harvest Moon

November 17, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It has turned off chilly here, so I was looking for something autumnal, as one does. A quick peek in the fridge revealed that I had some fresh apple cider left and that dictated the rest of my choices. So, please, won’t you join me now as we stand and make Degroff’s Harvest Moon.

Pignoli Alexander

November 16, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

It has been a relatively austere day, so I’m feeling a bit of a craving for something smooth and sweet. I’m all for moderation, in moderation, but sometimes you need a little something special for yourself. So, please join me now as we stand and make the Pignoli Alexander.

Buffala Negra

November 15, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

The local farmer’s market is finished for the season, so I assumed that the days of randomly available ingredient inspired drinks were over, but I was wrong. This morning walking home from grandma’s I noticed that the basil was still doing it’s thing in the side garden, being all hardy and such, and that put me in mind of a drink. So, please join me now as we stand and make the Buffala Negra.

Norwegian Paralysis

November 14, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

Stubbornness is not a virtue, but I have it in excess, as anyone who knows me will tell you. I have not felt well the last few days and woke up feeling particularly off this morning After drowning in self pity for a while I got up and got to work on the farm. I really leaned into it figuring if I was gonna feel bad, I might as well get something done. You ever do that? Punish your body for feeling bad for too long? Just me? Ok. Well, now I’m am tired. Proper tired. Arms trembling, pushing water tired, cause I’m stubborn and tired of feeling bad and trying to rest. So, in honor of my current situation, please join me now as we stand and make the tiki inspired Norwegian Paralysis.

Lake at Night

November 13, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

I grew up in a pre-internet world. I remember those first shuddering steps online, back when internet CB was a thing and Netscape was the height of modernity and we weren’t even on the cutting edge. Liam and I had a long talk today about how things were in those BI (before internet) days. Back when you had to go to libraries to look things up, or amass your own library. It was fun to watch the lights come on as he figured out why we have thousands of books at home, when we could just look things up on our phone. Not that all of those volumes are BI relics, I still have a love for the tactile and old books, well, there is just something special about them. One of the great things about this free exchange of easily accessible information is how distracted you can get looking up something simple, which we will delve into deeper as we stand and make the tiki inspired Lake at Night.

Avenue Scotch Cocktail

November 12, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 1 Comment

I’ve been out cruising the backroads most of the day and I enjoyed that immensely. I don’t get out much these days so a full day on the road was a bit of excitement for me. I got to go all the way to Celina on backroads in no particular hurry, listening to my music with the sunroof open and I didn’t have to use my AK. It was a good day. So in the spirit of a slightly different kind of cruising won’t you please join me as we stand and make the Avenue Scotch Cocktail.

Lucien Gaudin

November 11, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

We turn to Shakespeare for the text of today’s lesson. Please turn in your hymnals to Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5, Scene 1, where we find Antonio attempting to comfort Leonato, who is having none of it. And he spake, “I pray thee peace, I will be flesh and blood; For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently.” I get it, Leonato was upset and why not, they had just accused his daughter of “knowing the heat of a luxurious bed”. Shocking, I know. The point is, he was angry and when cautioned to not indulge his self pity and fury he told Antonio to step off and let a man have his space. I get that too. That toothache thing always stuck with me, the simple wisdom of it. It is true, no matter how many high platitudes we speak and how detached and above the fray we want to be, when something as simple as a toothache makes things personal, our true colors show. Whether sharp or dull, a toothache can just sort of linger there, a reminder that all is not well. Reminding you that you don’t control much in life, even your own body. So, please join me now and explore the bitter and the sweet, as we stand and make the Lucien Gaudin.

Twentieth Century

November 10, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 0 Comments

In his immortal “Still Life with Woodpecker”, Tom Robbins wrote, “If you’re honest, you sooner or later have to confront your values. Then you’re forced to separate what is right, from what is merely legal.” That can be tricky. There are a ton of things that are or were legal that were definitely not right. I know a bunch of you want to argue today, you are just itching for a fight, but I’ve still got that headache, so I’m not here for that. Slavery was the law of the land, that didn’t make it right, so concede the point and let’s move on. Old Tom has been on my mind lately. I am a child of the time that book was created for “the last quarter of the 20th century”, but I am living closer to the end of the first quarter of the 21st. I’m an Aries born under Nixon ascendent, so I am charismatic, clever and perpetually wary of all earnestness. A lot of things have changed since I joined the planet, but it looks like this century is working extra hard to repeat the lessons of the last, for those who weren’t listening to Santayana. So, let’s take a look back as we stand and make the Twentieth Century.

Mezcalita

November 9, 2020 / Monkeybrad / 2 Comments

Lagniappe is a French term that means “a little extra”, that little something that you weren’t expecting. Today a friend shared a little lagniappe with me. A couple of actual months ago, or three relative years in pandemic perception time, I discovered “sal de chapulin” or “grasshopper salt” and its relationship with mezcal. I shared some with a friend who’s family is from Oaxaca to test the quality. I have zero experience in ground grasshoppers mixed with salt and citrus, so she served as my guide. Well, today, she continued my education by bringing me a sackful of chapulins. A whole little bag of grasshoppers salted and covered in citrus and spices. Turns out they are super tasty, but all that salt makes a fella thirsty and makes him think about that delightfully smoky, Oaxacan mezcal. So, won’t you join me now as we stand and make the Mezcalita.

Inside the Mind of the Monkey