Roasted Corn Soup

It was the British voice of Nigella Lawson which coaxed me into a preparing a corn soup. We had just received our first big snow, and I was on my way home from work, maneuvering my car through the slush, and listening to NPR. Already starving, I imagined the taste of a velvety soup. Hers sounded healthy, but in my midday soup dream, I was dumping in the cream, stirring slowly until white, radial streaks appeared, offset by the deep yellow soup. I swerved to miss a squirrel family, then returned to ladeling my soup into a bowl. And then there were toppings. Oh, the toppings. Piled high over my soup were layers of cold sour cream, crisp scallions, pepperjack cheese, and crunchy tortilla strips. Forget the soup, I wanted nachos. But in the end, the soup won out. After all, if I've learned one thing so far in my life, it's that when a British voice tells you to do something, you do it.

WARNING: The following recipe may contain multiple toppings. Strict compliance with all topping guidelines is absolutely critical. There are to be no exceptions.

Roasted Corn Soup
makes 1 huge serving

2 lbs frozen corn
4 tbsp butter
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
chicken stock, a few quarts
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
5 oz pepperjack cheese, grated
4 scallions, minced
1 cup half and half
2 gallons sour cream
corn tortilla chips
salt/pepper

1. Thaw corn under hot water. After shaking off the excess water, add the corn kernals with a pinch of salt to a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Work in one layer batches so the corn has plenty of room to roast. Let them burn slightly, giving them a stir every few minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook the onion in butter over low heat until translucent. Remember to add some salt to help pull out the moisture of the onions.
3. Add the jalapeno and about 3/4 of the corn to the onions along with the chicken stock and bring to a boil. If you don't add enough, you can always add more later if you need it, but if you add too much, you'll have to wait for the soup to reduce.
4. Using a blender (or hand blender) puree the soup. At this point, you can strain the soup through a sieve or leave the corn "pulp" for a more rustic soup.
5. Dump in most of the cheese and scallions, reserving a small portion as toppings.
6. Remove from heat for a little bit before adding the half and half.
7. Here, you might let the soup sit on low heat for half an hour or so. Flavors in soup don't come together instantly, and the longer the soup sits, the better it tastes.
8. Just before serving the soup, taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper if needed. Sometimes the smallest squirt of lemon juice can keep a soup from tasting flat.
9. Finally, and this is crucial, you will need to add the toppings to each bowl.

Things to do differently...

• Next time, I think I should roast the jalapeno along with the corn.
• I think I might try a more strongly-flavored cheese, like asiago.
• Half and half is a cop out. I'm going with cream from now on.
• The 2 gallons of sour cream goes fast.

Things to keep the same...

• Roasting the crap out of that corn. The sweetness of the corn starts to caramelize, and it's pretty much amazing.
• Adding that squirt of lemon juice really brightened up the flavor.
• The cold sour cream was a great contrast to the hot soup.
• The corn tortilla chips added some nice, crunchy texture to the soup.
• The scallions gave each bite a crisp freshness.

So, as I sit here now, the snow has melted, the slush is gone, and that squirrel family is probably roadkill. The sun is out, and the world seems to have rebalanced. Yet far, far away, across thousands of miles of ocean, the proverbial butterfly flaps its wings, and Nigella Lawson issues her culinary edicts.

-Taylor

The Internet, the Economy, & John Hagee.

Warning: This has nothing to do with anything.

As I left the Coffee Ethic tonight, a song I heard there stuck in my head. A tune so catchy that it would not stop its nagging replay until I discovered what it was. I pulled out my iPhone to search some keywords online. After a few minutes, and to my horror, I discovered that the Edge Network was down, rendering my iPhone internetless. I became genuinely annoyed that I would have to endure a 10 minute drive home before I could begin my song sleuthing. I pay a premium every month to have this convenience at my fingertips at all times. And it occurred to me what those before me would have done without the endless search capabilities of Google. Such a song would disappear from their mind after awhile, and no matter their unquenchable urge to hear it again, that experience would lie in Fate’s hands, or perhaps a barista's named Fate. Now, I can get online and listen to it a hundred times every few days and become so disgusted with it that I delete from my library the song I paid $0.99 for. And with a dollar coming out of someone’s pocket every time someone strains to meet their need for convenience, I wonder how our economy could be doing so poorly right now. All I know, is that if it has anything to do with oil, John Hagee has something to say about it. Which reminds me of last Sunday morning when I sat transfixed in front of the television as his weekly Doomsday message was broadcast across the nation. The xenophobia literally condensed into beads and oozed from my television screen. And in between the ethnocentric rhetoric and the sound of my own dry heaving, I wondered how a “ministry” whose message is so tainted with political bias could possibly retain a nonprofit status.

David Foster Wallace

I was listening to NPR today and was drawn into an interview with author David Foster Wallace. He was describing his youth in playing tennis and the mindset of athletes compared to his own. Plagued with doubts about his ability, he was never able to perform on the courts.

He went on to talk about life and the emptiness of material things. He was engaging and interesting. Seemingly upbeat and somewhat positive, he offered the occasional chuckle to punctuate his weighty insight. What a valuable mind, thoughtful and provoking.

The segment ended with a note that it had been cut from a 1996 interview with the author and that last Friday night he had taken his own life.

He speaks... about summer.

So, the posts are starting to come a little less frequently, I know. School has me busy again. There are a few preliminary things that take up my free time right now, but once those are out of the way, I think my schedule will become a little more natural, and I'll be able to devote more time to writing. In the few minutes I have right now to get a post out, I'll summarize a little about this summer.

To start, this was probably one of the best summers so far. It was extremely productive and rewarding. I learned a lot about discipline and willpower. My goal-setting allowed me to focus my time and energy into work that achieved things not for the present, but for the future. There's a value in hard work that is hard to see for the less mature. I think that I'm coming out of that "less mature" stage, albeit slowly at times.

If I were to name two important things that I learned from this summer, I might list them below. And in fact, I did:

1. If you can cultivate a motivation, a focus, and a plan, you really can accomplish things you used to just sit around and wish for. In just a few short months, you can take a few classes, complete a few massive research projects, go to Chile, build a piano studio, and maybe read a few books on the side.

Consequently...

2. Time is valuable. Once it is gone, it is gone. You'll never get it back. And any benefit you might have reaped from focus and hard work during that time is lost, as well.

-Taylor

The Iceberg Theory

A poem by Gerald Locklin.

all the food critics hate iceberg lettuce.
you'd think romaine was descended from
orpheus's laurel wreath,
you'd think raw spinach had all the nutritional
benefits attributed to it by popeye,
not to mention aesthetic subtleties worthy of
verlaine and debussy.
they'll even salivate over chopped red cabbage
just to disparage poor old mr. iceberg lettuce.

I guess the problem is
it's just too common for them.
it doesn't matter that it tastes good,
has a satisfying crunchy texture,
holds its freshness,
and has crevices for the dressing,
whereas the darker, leafier varieties
are often bitter, gritty, and flat.
it just isn't different enough, and
it's too goddamn american.

of course a critic has to criticize:
a critic has to have something to say.
perhaps that's why literary critics
purport to find interesting
so much contemporary poetry
that just bores the shit out of me.

at any rate, I really enjoy a salad
with plenty of chunky iceberg lettuce,
the more the merrier,
drenched in an italian or roquefort dressing.
and the poems I enjoy are those I don't have
to pretend that I'm enjoying.

I Lied...

This video was too hilarious to pass up.

-Taylor Baldwin

Olympic Montage

This might normally be the type of thing that I post on my Tumblog, as it lends itself more to scrapbooking content, but I when I saw this short Olympic montage broadcast on NBC several days ago, I knew this was something I needed to find online and share. Now, some crappy computer speakers coupled with the terrible image quality leave this video with much to be desired, but I think you can get the point. And I promise, more substantive posts from now on.

-Taylor Baldwin

Business on the Deck

This morning, I sat on my deck, feet propped up against the railing, the low rumble of the highway wafting over the pool-goers as they crossed the hot black asphalt, and I conducted business. No longer am I consigned to that dark corner of Hell every Friday and Saturday night that is restaurant work. Instead, I'm organizing my teaching schedules. Yes, I'm on my way to becoming a self-employed man.

Almost two months ago, I awoke from some eerie dream where I had lost my job as a server and on the cusp of an expense hike in the rent area of my budget. It was a sober reminder of the thin ice on which I was already treading. The restaurant wasn't doing well, and all of us servers were allaying the uneasy notion that we might have to find other jobs. As I sat down to think about this problem, I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to work for other people anymore. If I worked for myself, I could set my own prices, work fewer hours, and make more money. So I started planning my piano studio.

Well, this past weekend I reached my goal of 9 students. This surpasses any money I would have made at the restaurant. It seemed like such a daunting task at first, but I made some great contacts and continually reminded people that I was teaching. This brought in enough referrals, and now I'm set on a more financially, if not emotionally (restaurant business is tough), secure path. Now my entire week's obligations (teaching lessons, teaching classes, taking classes, homework, and about 18 hours of practice) amounts to about 35 hours per week. All the while I'm making much more than I use to make in a 40-hour, full-time job.

Well, it's warming up, and that pool looks tempting from here. I think I might run down there for a bit.

-Taylor

Oh, and that restaurant? It closed.

One More Poem

Summer Storm
Dana Gioia

We stood on the rented patio
While the party went on inside.
You knew the groom from college.
I was a friend of the bride.

We hugged the brownstone wall behind us
To keep our dress clothes dry
And watched the sudden summer storm
Floodlit against the sky.

The rain was like a waterfall
Of brilliant beaded light,
Cool and silent as the stars
The storm hid from the night.

To my surprise, you took my arm-
A gesture you didn't explain-
And we spoke in whispers, as if we two
Might imitate the rain.

Then suddenly the storm receded
As swiftly as it came.
The doors behind us opened up.
The hostess called your name.

I watched you merge into the group,
Aloof and yet polite.
We didn't speak another word
Except to say goodnight.

Why does that evening's memory
Return with this night's storm-
A party twenty years ago,
Its disappointments warm?

There are so many might have beens,
What ifs that won't stay buried,
Other cities, other jobs,
Strangers we might have married.

And memory insists on pining
For places it never went,
As if life would be happier
Just by being different.

What Saturdays Are For

A poem that reminds me.

Leisure
W.H. Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

When Scheduling Is Counterproductive

As most of you probably know, I'm a pretty big fan of schedules and really just organization in general. Many of my posts have raved on the benefits of the power of a focus and some clearly defined goals. But scheduling has a dark side, too. Scheduling itself can become a distraction from actually completing your goals. This might not be a problem for most people, but for me, the mathematical process of breaking down a goal into workable and easily executed sections is quite enjoyable - indeed, it is generally the most enjoyable part of my day.

The problem with reaching our goals, however, has far more to do than mathematical processes. If simply coming up with a good plan were all that was required to reach our goals, I think we'd all have reached our goals (which quite honestly, sounds like a boring life). The truth is that there is a human component to it all. And I've found that scheduling and planning can easily become the excuse to not executing our goals. Now, I'm not a proponent of just jumping into things without planning or thinking them through, but sometimes, you just have to take advantage of that motivation when it hits you, lest you be consigned to some cold corner of a coffee shop endlessly mapping out your unreachable destinies.

-Taylor

Social Norms vs. Market Norms

I was reading Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational the other day and found his discussion of social and market norms to be very interesting. He introduces the topic in a short video on his blog. I'll just be making a few comments on the topic.

Social norms are those norms which govern our social relationships. They operate in our social exchanges that take place all the time. A friend has invited you over for dinner as a favor. You ask for help in moving a couch into your new apartment. These things are simple favors, and most people have no problem doing them for others. These favors establish a respect in other people, good feelings in the volunteer, and the simple give and take of social relationships that generally show the mutual kinship we have with friends and family.

There also exist market norms. These are the norms upon which work relationships are established - generally with monetary trade. You go to work and exchange your effort for money every hour. You go to the grocery store and agree to trade your money for a certain product.

The two norms don't operate at the same time, however. Here's an example. There was a certain Israeli daycare center that decided to test the effects of these social and market norms. They used the problem of tardy parents as the center of their experiment. Occasionally parents would arrive a few minutes late to pick up their children, and to offset this, they daycare instituted a fee for those who were late to pick up their children. The fee had the opposite effect, however, and the rate of parental tardiness rose dramatically. Suddenly, parents were thinking, "I only have to pay a little bit extra so I can finish this tennis game or some of these errands before picking up my kid." Parents didn't need to feel badly for showing up late because their payment of the fee alleviated that guilt. The social norm that previously told parents that they ought to arrive on time was replaced with a market norm, allowing a monetary value to be placed on their tardiness. Even when the daycare removed the fee, the rate of tardiness remained at the elevated level, the social norms having already been replaced by market norms.

Ariely gives another good example: If I asked for your help in changing a tire, you would probably agree to help. But if I offered you a dollar in exchange for changing the tire, you'd probably refuse, thinking that one buck is hardly worth the work of changing a tire. If there is anything that we can learn from this, it's that in social situations, it's best to not introduce market norms. You probably shouldn't mention the price of gifts given to friends and family, nor should you insist on paying for gifts or favors given to you. And we'd probably be best advised to avoid the temptation of laziness in opting for monetary presents, when we really ought to put some thought into it and just purchase an actual gift.

-Taylor

50th Blog Post

Well, today's post marks an important one for me (not that it's necessarily exciting for anyone else reading this). Today is my 50th blog post on this site, and for me it represents a milestone. I decided almost four months ago to start blogging again, this time with a little more serious intent and at regular intervals.

The discipline of writing three times a week, even when I didn't feel like it, really pushed me into a creativity that, many times, just didn't come unless I just started writing. Most of history's greatest composers were not necessarily prodigies. In fact, being a prodigy of a composer is something that could be attributed to perhaps less than only half a dozen. The overarching truth to the careers of all great composers, however, is that every composer improved from their early years. And this was only because they approached their craft with a daily and continuous production. They made a discipline of composing music even when they felt no particular inspiration. It is my belief (which is certainly not unfounded) that inborn talent plays only a small role in success. It is discipline and hard work that really makes the difference.

-Taylor

Chilled Berry Soup With Honey & Basil

I picked up some soup ideas from an NPR article on cold summer soups the other day and decided to go ahead and try out the berry soup. As the article points out, this soup is a light and refreshing addition to a warm summer evening. Sipping this soup on the deck the other night might be one of the highlights of the season so far. I made a few alterations to the recipe. The addition of basil actually works well with the honey and vanilla. It actually gives the soup a sort of flowery flavor, which I really enjoy. The soup is extremely easy to make, as well, taking all of 5 minutes. It's also affordable and healthy, coming in at around a buck and less than 200 calories per serving.

Makes 4 servings.

3 cups fresh or frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries)
1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
1 cup yogurt (I prefer whole milk)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. honey (or to taste)
juice from 1/2 lemon
basil (for garnish)

Blend the berries and cranberry juice in a blender. You might need to add a little bit of warm water to get it thin enough to strain. Strain this mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. Pour the strained liquid back into the blender with the rest of the ingredients: yogurt, vanilla, honey, and lemon. You can add the honey slowly until you achieve the sweetness you want. Just chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, or if you used frozen berries, the soup is generally cold enough to go ahead and eat. I like garnishing with basil, yogurt, and blueberries with a drizzle of honey on top.

-Taylor

The Importance of Focus

I was thinking today, and somewhat ironically as you'll see, about the importance of focus. I was at Starbucks this morning working on some scheduling before I went to practice piano, and random to-do items kept popping into my head. "Don't forget to pick up shifts at work; don't forget to go grocery shopping; you need to start working on your Beethoven piano sonata project." All the while, I was trying to complete my scheduling for the day, but all I could think about were all the things I needed to do, and the stress continued to mount.

Until, I realized that I have time set aside to think about these things later. I'll remember to pick up shifts at work. I go through my finances every few days and am reminded about it. I'll remember to go grocery shopping, and I have scheduled times already to work on my Beethoven project. There's no need to let these thoughts consume me now when I have already consigned them to other times in my schedule. Now the irony in all of this is, of course, that thoughts of focus kept distracting me from completing my scheduling. But I was thankful for the intrusion, however. For it was by this one thought that all the others went away.

-Taylor

Fiction

I bought a book today. It's not that this is, in and of itself, some sort of novelty; I read books quite a bit nowadays. It is that I bought The Tempest by William Shakespeare which is sort of surprising. I am more of a nonfiction person myself, rarely venturing from the cold grasp of lifeless facts. (Quite candidly, nonfiction is anything but cold and lifeless and whose author possesses almost a greater task to creatively order and explain those things which have already happened.) I don't really know anything about The Tempest. I know there is a Beethoven piano sonata which bears the title as its nickname.

It was yesterday, while at lunch with my mom that she reminded me of the other type of book. Having just finished Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera, she encouraged me to take it for a read. I flipped through a few pages of it and opted instead for the Elizabethan play, but it was her suggestion that reminded me of those other worlds - stories which encapsulate the reader in alternate times and places, and which oftentimes poetically illustrate those concepts laid out in nonfiction.

I think fiction can teach you just as much as nonfiction. Characters and stories share with you experiences that you don't typically get from nonfiction writing. So tonight, I'm excited to lay down before bed and start working on this book. I'm thinking it'll take some time to digest and understand. And like most foods, I think that's a sign of good nutritive value.

-Taylor

Goals, Schedules, and the Like

Now that I'm done with summer classes, I can finally start to relax a bit. The welcomed break is really less a break and more a chance to refocus. As I review my ever-expanding list of goals, I find that it takes a good amount of time to even go through them, thinking on each one. As I go through and evaluate my progress, I keep coming to the conclusion that I need to find a good way to think about these goals and how I can accomplish them.

One of the ways I've been forming these lists into more concise and digestible nuggets, is by organizing them by categories. I've been finding that many of these categories overlap with each other. So far these are the groups I have come up with: Exercise, Nutrition, Financial, Career, Piano, Education, Reading/Writing. It's easy to see how many of these overlap. Exercise and Nutrition obviously overlap; Nutrition and Financial goals overlap when you start planning around food costs; Financial and Career overlap; Career and Piano overlap for me; Piano and Education overlap in that applied piano lessons are a large part of my degree; and Education and Reading/Writing obviously overlap.

The other way in which I have been able to change my thinking concerning these goals in order to make sure I accomplish them is by scheduling. This kind of goes along with the post I wrote about thinking ahead. By scheduling, I can think ahead through my day, through my week, planning ahead to make sure things happen. To make sure I'm taking the small steps everyday in order to complete the larger journey that are most of these goals. This surprisingly takes many, many hours to complete - about 45 minutes per category.

For the Exercise category, I schedule my workouts for the week - not only when they will take place, but what I will be doing in each workout to accomplish my overall set of goals. For Nutrition, I research food options that are healthy and affordable that I can prepare fairly easily, or in advance, for the week. This typically includes thinking ahead and setting a mindset in certain situations. For example, when I get to my serving job, it's hard for me not to grab a bit of the loaf of bread that somehow always mysteriously appears in the server station. So I have to think ahead and make my decision now to not graze on bread for the whole shift, instead of waiting until I'm hungry to make that decision.

I'll cover the other categories in my next post. But in case you haven't discovered the power of scheduling your goals, try it. Setting goals and achieving them is great for your overall well-being.

-Taylor

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Blog Post...

I know I said that today would come a goal review, but in the midst of finishing papers and moving to a new apartment, I honestly did not have time for such a task - perhaps an indication that a review is in good order. Nevertheless, as I was cleaning my last apartment and getting ready for the final walk through, I had a few thoughts about my former home.

There was some kind of emotional attachment to that old, rickety building. It's not that I didn't mind the scent of marijuana pervading the air, or the toilet so bashful to flush it would never relinquish any of its crap to the septic tank without a "gentle" coaxing from our plunger twice a day. We got over the fact that the plastic wall of our shower was installed upside down, leaving the shelves with a nice, downward-sloping 45-degree angle. Nevermind that our heating had two settings, Seventh-Circle-of-Hell and Off, and our localized A/C was rarely able to cool anything beyond a small 5-foot perimeter in the corner of our kitchen. And we got used to the fact that the people below us were chronic chain smokers who must have enjoyed making us feel like we were living in Joan Rivers' left lung. Occasionally even a bit of poop water would splash on our clothing for the second or third time in a week, and we'd naturally grow weary of living there.

But there were still memories from our 7-month stay. Good ones, actually. The place had character, windows in every room, the feel of downtown. Not just the "there's-another-drunken-fight-in-the-parking-lot-at-3-am-because-some-guy's-baby-momma-won't-let-him-stay-out-with-his-friends-to-get-trashed" feel. There honestly, is a sort of sense of community there. When you pass the barista you know from the local coffee shop or that guy who just bought a mo-ped because gas is so expensive or that server who always brings you your drinks at the local lounge, you feel like you belong to something bigger. You are a part of thriving culture that relies on its relational connections to survive, not on the main-stream media that are hit radio stations and MTV. It's a culture that values the artistic expression of ideas.

I will miss that character, and I hope to stay connected to that downtown culture. Maybe someday I will move back there to reconnect with character. Even if it's at the expense of convenience.

-Taylor

Back in the Swing

There's always some sort of period of readjustment that takes place when you come back from a vacation. In one sense, you've lost momentum that you have to make up for. In another sense though, you could have used the time to revitalize somewhat. I hope this week I can get back on track with some momentum.

As far as blogging, I think I'll do a few "update" things this week. I'm definitely in need of a goal review, which will come out on Wednesday. And I think Friday, I might present some of my findings from a big research project I've been working on the past few months.

Besides blogging, however, this week is a little scattered. I don't have classes that are meeting, so there is little in my schedule that is fixed around which I usually structure my day. That's not to say there isn't plenty to do. I have to finish my research project, which really just entails editing and forming a presentation from the paper. And I have to move into a new apartment today and tomorrow.

Anyone wanting to view some photos from my trip to Chile can look at my two Facebook albums. They should be configured so that anyone (with or without a Facebook account) can view the albums. The first album covers my visits to Santiago, Valparaiso, and Viña del Mar. The second album finishes up Viña and continues on through Puerto Varas and finally to Chiloe.

-Taylor Baldwin

Home Again...

Well, I'm back from Chile today. The whole experience was absolutely amazing. Nature is somehow much more untouched and pristine there. Life teems everywhere. Plants grow out of plants which grow out of the bark of trees. Everyday evidence of what makes its home in the ocean comes in on the small fishing ships. And nothing is wasted. The heads and feet of pigs are readied and sold in the display cases at the local super grocery conglomerates. They are used to make soups. The intestines are typically dried and sold by street vendors. The huge sea plants that wash ashore are similarly dried and eaten as snacks, their saltiness coming directly from the sea water they grow in.

The people and their way of life is also quite remarkable. Rising every few hours to put more wood in the stove that heats the house. Gathering in large groups at dinner tables with all kinds of food and fellowship. The people are extremely generous and kind. No one pours their own wine without first refilling everyone else's at the table. All these things really made me love the place. Still, for all that love, I really did miss home. Now let me rest a bit, and I will post more soon.

-Taylor