Althouse: At the Wisconsin Dinner Café...

December 16, 2012

At the Wisconsin Dinner Café...

... in Darkmonth, we're eating light.

***

A whole dead month in the dark,
A dawn in the mists that o'ercome her
Stifled and smothered and sad—
Swift speed to it, barren and bad!
And return to us, voice of the lark,
And remain with us, sunlight of summer.

24 comments:

rhhardin said...: A snake emerged to check his shadow.

He's still remembering the dog that discovered him.; 12/16/12, 6:10 PM
rhhardin said...: There was a Get Smart episode with Max killing a tarantula by submerging it in horseradish; the king of something upstairs, with a great sense of smell, emerged and asked, "What's that smell?"

"Horseradish," said Max.

"It smells like tarantula," the king responded.

Dogs are like that when there's a snake anywhere. Ball is dropped, hunt begins for snake.; 12/16/12, 6:14 PM
Hagar said...: With all this talk about the lack of provisions for involuntary commitment to mental institutions, what are the chances for getting some help for voluntary commitment?
And for getting some decent treatment if you do?

Senators Schumer and Feinberg both are promising to re-introduce "assault weapons ban" bills. That they are still using this language tells me they are both just posturing for the cameras. Both are intelligent people and must have had the distinguishing characteristics of an "assault weapon" explained to them many tmes by now.; 12/16/12, 6:39 PM
Hagar said...: Nice for a snack while dinner is cooking, maybe.; 12/16/12, 6:41 PM
Libertarian Engineer said...: You forgot the Central Market olives with chilies to go with that cheese. And some good flat bread.; 12/16/12, 6:45 PM
test said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/16/12, 6:57 PM
edutcher said...: Prolly a good idea.

Stuff grown by Meade's own hand.

Primordial.

Let's hope he's that way with everything in the dark.; 12/16/12, 7:11 PM
Penny said...: Yes! Let's imagine that Adam sliced and diced the rest of that Garden of Eden apple up as a tasty appetizer to be served, and even enjoyed tonight in the Althouse Cafe.

Who among us will save two slices for rh and vicki?

They're hunting snakes while we snack, for cripes sake!; 12/16/12, 7:18 PM
Penny said...: Anyone here a friend of Johnny Appleseed?; 12/16/12, 7:19 PM
Penny said...: Your turn!

Make it work.; 12/16/12, 7:20 PM
Joe Biden, America's Putin said...: Cheese and apple - yum.; 12/16/12, 7:36 PM
Penny said...: Should have been "Cheese and crackers", April. lol

Still got a good laugh. ;); 12/16/12, 7:45 PM
sabeth.chu said...: i feel healthier already just looking at this.

virtuous too.

in the dark time i mostly dream decadent dreams of the times when peoples had extra attendants to make the perfect cup of chocolate for them. lots of cinnamon and red pepper and non-virtuous vanilla and heavy cream.

ya se queda la sierra triste y oscura,; 12/16/12, 8:36 PM
Balfegor said...: A whole dead month in the dark,
A dawn in the mists that o'ercome her
Stifled and smothered and sad—
Swift speed to it, barren and bad!
And return to us, voice of the lark,
And remain with us, sunlight of summer.

Swinburne's poetry does stick in the mind. Had never read this one before. Nice!; 12/16/12, 8:40 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/16/12, 8:56 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: At the South Texas Dinner Cafe--which for me tonight was the taqueria on the corner--I glanced at the tongue tacos on the menu, but ultimately did not dare.; 12/16/12, 8:57 PM
Peter Hoh said...: in the mists that o'ercome her

Had to cross the Mississippi several times yesterday, ferrying a group (or is it a gaggle) of girls on a multi-stop birthday outing. Each trip, the Mississippi gorge was mistier, and darker, than the previous. By 7:00, the river was swallowed by the mist, the lights from the next bridge over barely piercing the darkness.

The final stop was Cupcake, and I can assure our blog mistress that my cupcake was anything but dry. And while these cupcakes could stand on their own, I suspect the appeal of cupcakes is that they are really delivery devices for the mound of buttercream that sits on top.

Tonight, we ate a small winter meal. Not light, however. I whipped up some mirepoix, into which I added generous amount of cream and the leftover roast chicken. Served over egg noodles, it was mmm, mmm, good.; 12/16/12, 10:05 PM
Unknown said...: Honey Crisp apples are the best eating apples I ever tasted. If that's a Honey Crisp it's fit for a king.; 12/16/12, 10:32 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: You know if you have heavy whipping cream around, who doesn't? you can chill a metal bowl and pour in 1/4 cup cream, vanilla, sugar, and whisk it back and forth, swish swish shish, and within seconds it's firm enough to properly whisk, just a few whips and it's stiff enough to top anything. The cold bowl is what does it.

I'm thinking about doing that with persimmons. The fuyu kind, which is Persimmon for fuck you I'm hard inside. Make a pie out of them or a tort or galette or whatever then top it with whipped cream.

Persimmons are a hybrid plant developed by two agrigeneticists named Persy and Simmons who were looking for a mushy fruit that cracks open into its own bowl. They were partially successful with the hachiya type.; 12/16/12, 11:34 PM
Aridog said...: Penny said...

Should have been "Cheese and crackers", ...

That's racist you know...Jamie Foxx, says so.; 12/17/12, 12:10 AM
Alex said...: Pears have a high glycemic index, you'd be better off eating a steak.; 12/17/12, 1:19 AM
Steve Koch said...: The construction of the serving plate is interesting, reminiscent of parquet floor. Why is the wood at the ends a lighter color than the wood in the middle?

The food is not presented artistically. I love it when food presentation tends to be engineering oriented, such as a gingerbread house or an Eiffel tower salad.

Using a cold bowl when whipping cream is a useful hint.; 12/17/12, 6:44 AM
MadisonMan said...: Anyone here a friend of Johnny Appleseed?

Does being a distant descendant count?; 12/17/12, 6:49 AM
sakredkow said...: Till a child's face lighten again

On the twilight of older faces;

Till a child's voice fall as the dew

On furrows with heat parched through

And all but hopeless of grain,

Refreshing the desolate places—

- Swinburne; 12/17/12, 7:52 AM