CafeChatNoir

He wasn’t as miserable as he looked, I swear I did not throw him out in the backyard for a photo op.

Just for this, the patch of Leyland Cypresses aren’t going anywhere anytime soon - a hound needs a dry spot…

And it’s not even a bad drive. Dave & I went out this afternoon to the wilds of Catlett, VA to go to the slaughterhouse/butcher that he had been telling me about (and making me drool in the process.) It is fantastic.

You walk in, there are 2 chalkboards with everything they have on them and a counter. No displays. No fridge of cut items. No - you tell them what you want and they cut it right then and there. Got 2 pounds of sausage, 2 pounds of center cut pork chops, a beautiful sirloin steak and a pound of paprika bacon, at an insanely good price.

Everyone has their thing of what makes a butcher the real thing - for me, it was the fact that they had chitlins on the board. These folks have everything. It’s a great place, and I will be making return visits.

It’s Wilson Farms Meat Co. Take 234 to 28 South, and then left at the second light after the “Welcome to Nokesville” sign/barn with the pig & cow on it, and an immediate left. Hours are M 8-5, T-F 7-5, Sa 7-4. 540-788-4615

And it’s really not a bad drive out there at all, and completely worth it.

ETA: I don’t know if they take credit cards, didn’t see a machine and I was paying cash anyway.  Checks only for “established customers”.

As of 6PM last evening, it was supposedly snowing in Rockville, a mere 30 miles from here. As of 11 PM, nothing. As of 2 AM, nothing. As of 6 AM, nothing. By 9 AM, a dusting. Now, it seems to be tapering off already.

I thought we were going to be looking at the end of the world today?

Or something. They’re calling for snow on Tuesday. They have no idea how much but are saying it could be “significant” - which means, “we have no freakin’ idea.”

What this means is get everything you need to hold you through Wednesday at the market tomorrow, cause on Monday, the locusts will be swarming in and the aisles will be cleared of milk, toilet paper, bread and boneless chicken breasts. I on the other hand, will be purchasing beef, tortillas, and porkchops if they have ones that look good.

Oh, , I found the plug-in that lets you subscribe to comments over on the WP side so you can get replies! And it seems to actually work! (I may eventually just turn off the LJ comment side so I can have everything in one place.) Unfortunately, I still don’t seem to be able to get the comment count thing working - it works in the RSS feed, but not in the crossposted stuff, which is frustrating, because it seems to be working for . It’s not the end of the world by any means, but annoying nonetheless.

Virginia is on the Texas bandwagon now, but there will be opt-out options.

Link via DCist.

Perfect for lunch on a cold, snowy day: Pulled pork sandwiches. Made it last night and oh my but the leftovers are GOOD.

Finally saw Alton Brown’s Feasting on Asphalt last night. Cross country motorcycle trip in search of road food. What’s not to love?

Hey locals - the chocolate festival is just around the corner - Feb 3/4.

On a completely unrelated note, check out this thread if you’re in the market for a fake ID in the DC area - maybe the answer will eventually appear… Damn, it’s been deleted. Doesn’t everyone post in a public forum asking where to buy a fake ID?

Pulled Pork Goodness

Note: I make no claims of this to be “authentic” of any type or style of pulled pork - it’s just how I make it and it’s tasty. Takes a while, but worth it.

First, I use pork tenderloin. I know lots of folks use pork butt for this, but it just makes too much, and a lot of the time I’m making it w/leftover pork tenderloin from a previous meal, so when I am making it as the first meal, I still stick with the tenderloin cause I know it works.

Brine the pork tenderloin in a salt/sugar brine for 1-2 hours. (about 1/2 c. kosher salt & 1/4 c sugar. Feel free to toss in some peppercorns, garlic, whatever spices float your boat.)

Rinse and rub down with cracked pepper, garlic, onion, thyme, again switch it up to suit your tastes, and then pan sear.

Transfer to saucepan, add enough liquid to cover it about 1/2 to 2/3. I use some beef stock and a bit of wine or dark beer. (Would have used pork stock if I’d had it, but it works.)

Start simmering on low…for a long time. (I think it ended up going about 2 hours in total) Check it every 20 minutes or so to turn things and see if it’s “pullable” yet. As the liquid reduces, I start adding barbecue sauce. Once it’s to the point where you can pull it, start shredding it, keep simmering and adding more barbecue sauce. I think I kept it on about 30 minutes past the shredded stage.

Start eating. (I think it’s great on toasted onion rolls.) Great the next day and freezes well, too.

Has anyone heard anything about the state wanting to implement waiting periods for gun show purchases? Little bro heard something in passing about it yesterday, but I haven’t been able to find anything on it this morning.

I can only guess some legislator has decided that the background checks that are done at the shows aren’t adequate. (Or just doesn’t understand that they actually DO background checks at the shows…)

If anyone has any info, can you let me know?

ETA: VCDL has nothing on this, that was the first place I checked this morning.

It’s probably not news to you, but I’ve been cut off from most of the world for the past 2 weeks.

Nation’s Gun Show at Dulles Expo Center this weekend!!

String of 3 Slayings Startles Authorities (Sorry the WP website sucks so badly.)

The first in the list happened about 2 miles from where I live and the Glory Days that the victim’s friend drove him to? Yup, mine. From talking to folks at the bar last night, it was definitely drug related, possibly self defense, and that the shooter has already turned himself in. Basically, this guy got himself killed over a dime bag.

What the hell kind of jackass steals $1500 worth of Christmas trees from the Jaycees?

Seriously - what the hell is wrong with people? Nice job guys, stealing from kids. I hope you’re proud of yourselves.

And there goes the power.

I find it rather appropriate that even the demolishing of the Woodrow Wilson bridge is delayed. It was supposed to go down at 11:59, they’re still standing around at 12:17.

If you’re still up and want to watch, the live feed is here:
http://www.nbc4.com/videostream/6025072/detail.html

For weekend users of Metro’s blue line.

From now through mid-October, there will be ONE train going between Franconia/Springfield and the King Street stations on the weekends. This will add ~30 minutes on to your trip and Metro’s trip planner feature does not incorporate this delay into the times when you try to figure out trip times.

OK, so I went up to the city today to see a rally/protest/march/whathaveyou to see if actually seeing it in person would give me some more insight into why people do this and what it accomplishes.

Color me somewhat underwhelmed. It was interesting, but I still don’t think these activities necessarily accomplish anything, and the message gets lost when other groups come out and join in. (I was approached by the socialists a couple of times…thanks, just observing.) Did get some pics - I’d toss it in the photo gallery, but I wanted some narration so they’re behind the cut, and it is very image heavy.

They said that there were 30,000 in attendance. I don’t think it was quite that high.

Pick your sign, any sign…

Or, a button

This idiot nearly got his ass kicked by the folks at the rally - the police eventually convinced him it would probably be in his best interest to not provoke people. This was not a quashing of free speech, this guy was there for no other reason than to cause trouble. He was hollered at by several people that this was not a racist event and to please take it elsewhere.

Prayers

Just not what I’d expected to see

The police had it fairly easy today - things were pretty well controlled overall. The officer on the right asked if I was Muslim or a sympathizer - basically just trying to figure out what this decidedly out of place looking gal was doing. “Just observing.”

After the rally, they marched in front of the White House and over to 15th Street:

No anti-war march is complete without the Grim Reaper:

No official counter protests, but there were these rather hateful people over on the side. No, the police aren’t protecting them, they’re at the corner of the route where they have to make sure the march turns and goes down the right street:

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dta/

Tax is still due 10/5, but you don’t have to worry about the stickers anymore!

If you look on the back of a $20 bill, there is an Elm tree to the right of the White House. 140 years old. That tree came down in the storms last night.

So, the weather ticker is showing…

– Flash Flood Statement
– Flash Flood Warning
– Flood Statement
– Flash Flood Watch.

Yeah, we’ve gotten just a little bit of rain lately… I had to rescue a frog from the window well in the basement - I couldn’t just leave him there, and there wasn’t any way he could get back out. Got fairly well soaked for my efforts…

BT’er comment on frog rescue: For someone into guns and military stuff, you’re just a big ol’ mushy bucket o’ love.

OK, so the DC Metro area is about to float away, so if I no longer update, it’s because I am halfway down the Potomac River. Flash floods all weekend, now we have a coastal flood warning for the river, and apparently there are tons of roads underwater around here. Was out running errands earlier and there were definitely some roads that could become impassable at the rate things are going.

The sun also just came out for a while, and there was steam pouring off the wet deck - somewhat disconcerting at first glance.

I’m also not getting any email comments, so it’s taking me a while to go back and find things that were left - so if you’re expecting a response from me, I’m still going through the comment list to see what I missed.

CNBC is talking about Warren Buffet’s $37B gift to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - they’re trying to put that much money into perspective - the one I liked the best was, “It’s a big ol’ truckload of money” :) They’re also talking about how a charitable group deals with such a large donation - first I’d say make sure you actually GET it - there have been a few instances of large donations being pledged and the donors not coming through with what they promised.

So - if you could run your own charitable foundation, to help whoever or whatever you wanted - what would it be? As for me, I think it would end up helping random people/organizations in need - no stated target group, just help where it’s needed.

I’ve been meaning to post about this since last weekend - & I hit the National Archives and they had this great little photography exhibit, The Way We Worked - if you’re in the area, stop in and check it out - it’s small but quite good.

Playing tourist yesterday…

Television Host Louis Rukeyser Dies

I don’t even know how many of you would even recognize the name, but Louis Rukeyser hosted Wall Street Week on MPT for I don’t know how long. This was a Friday evening ritual for me & my Dad to sit and watch together for many years.

He knew his stuff, was a good interviewer, had horrific puns, and bore a bit of a passing resemblance to George Washington. I’m thinking he’s doing all the interviews with all the old school economist types he never got a chance to do before…

Bird Flu in Maryland

Lecture was great, presenter was Carol Reardon, who you may have heard of if the Civil War is your thing as she’s written a couple books on that, but tonight it was the VA 75 attack squadron and their part in the Linebacker Campaigns in 1972. Very interesting stuff, and I couldn’t help myself and snagged the book she wrote on the subject as well. Completely worth the drive up & back for it.

Alert just came in on my phone - I’d actually forgotten I’d signed up for it.

The alert has been cancelled, but no word on the condition of the child.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041800855.html

Anyone with information on their whereabouts should contact the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office at 540-582-7115 or the Virginia State Police at 1-800-822-4453.