That which is lawful, often means nothing.

As many of you know, I like to discuss topics and questions which really have no end and answer, respectively. Today, I would like to raise some questions about the law, or lawful living in general. These questions are simple and take little time to read. I will not bring the full force of this train of thought to bear.

My first question is this: what is lawful? Simply, it is that which follows a law. This can be simple when speaking of physical laws, such as Newtonian physics. I have yet to see anything disprove the simplicity of force equals mass times acceleration. No. What I mean to raise here are simple points about the laws imposed by men. What is lawful when it comes to the laws of men? Simply "obeying" the law? Obeying the law unquestionably, even if it hurts one's own family or something personally doted on? You get the picture.

Second question: when is unlawful behavior acceptable? Is unlawful behavior acceptable when taken against unjust rule? Is it acceptable when taken simply on a whim, with no harm in my mind for any recipient? Is it ever acceptable? I find unlawful behavior to often be a heinous and disgusting term - murder, rape. However, I also can find it to be the best term in the world, especially when countering violent unlawful individuals or major injustice.

Third question: when and how does one fight to change laws, especially if unjust and/or worthless? There are many arguments that could be made here. One of the easiest is for the legalization of some, soft, recreational drugs. (NOTE: I could not care less here). For sake of argument, let's make a historical reference. Prohibition. Alcohol is banned. This leads to the creation of some of the most famous, criminal minds of the 20th century. For sake of argument, what does banning marijuana do? It leads to some of the most famous, criminal minds of the 20th and, sadly, 21st century. Anyway, some could make good arguments that some U.S. laws are unjust and worthless.

Another comment that adds to the thought process, if you care about classical philosophers. Aristotle states, from Nicomachean Ethics, that "it is possible that to be a good man is not the same as to be a good citizen of any state whatever." What? Virtue in an unlawful person?

Thinking is always better than being a dumbass.

Winter Beer Sampler

It's cold. It's snowy outside. I'm in the beer mood...wait, I'm always in the beer mood. Regardless, it's Winter Beer Sampler, Part Too Many To Count, at the abode. Thanks to Norm's Beer and Wine, there is decent selection of US microbrews chilling in the snow outside.

First up, Brooklyn Local 2. This ale is wonderful. In fact, I really, really like this beer. I like it so much, I may not even write about the others - though, in a shout-out to my brother, I do have a Left Hand Milk Stout out in the snow.

As I write, the old lady is coming in with Arcadia Ales Double IPA from Battle Creek, MI. Let's see what we think....wait for it...it's a good IPA. The requisite hops are there for an IPA, the aroma seems a bit off, but it's good.

Back to the beers and re-runs of No Reservations on Travel Channel.

Snow Day

So, we have a nice blanket of fluffy snow on the ground - about 8" or so. It's great. Our neighborhood is off from the main roads but our roads still get plowed. Fortunately though, we do not have to go anywhere today. It's nice and cold, windy, and downright stay-at-home weather.

That said, I'll probably go somewhere. I don't have any good chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, chicken, spinach, etc. Like I really need it today, but why not? I need the stock for lots of dishes, so, we'll push on through the frozen tundra of Virginia.

Only kidding. As if it is really that cold, but it's still pretty sweet for lots of people to have the day off. I think working full-time is overrated. So sayeth the guy who stays home all day, everyday!

Comfort food on a cold night

The beef bourguignon was a great success. A simple dish to make, all I really had to do was prep and simmer. I added some buttered egg noodles with parsley and some French bread from the store. I loved this dish. Simmering the beef with red wine and homemade beef stock for about 2 hours melded the flavors together very well and softened all the meat. My daughter liked it too! She has a few small pieces of beef and some gravy. She loved it.

I highly recommend this dish to anyone with a little time. It's great, especially on a night when it was cold and snowed quite a bit.

Breakfast Success and...Meat Jello?

I have never made hollandaise sauce, much less eggs Benedict. Fortunately, both came out pretty well this morning. My hollandaise was not perfect, but that is not what I was looking for. I think the temperature needed to be a little higher while I was whisking the egg whites. Now that I know that, I am going to experiment with my hollandaise a bit, and see what other sauces I can make with it.

As for the glace de viande from yesterday, I'm not so sure what to think about the result. I had about 3 quarts of liquid from cooking the beef bones yesterday and it reduced all the way down to about 1 cup. However, it never reached the carmelized consistency that is noted in Pepin's technique. After cooling in the fridge, it is more like meat jello than anything. That said, this was not the stock from the actual roasting and simmering of the bones, so that may be part of it. Still, Bill Cosby probably never envisioned this type of jello in the fridge!

So, one positive and one neutral on the two items from the past 24. I'm looking forward, very much, to beef bourguignon tonight, especially since it is supposed to snow up to 8" tonight.