April 27, 2007
Whew
Boy, will it be nice to get out of town-- these last-minute preparations for departure are a stressbomb! Since we won't have much computer access on the trip, a couple of auctions at you-know-where will be running for the duration, and those two officially for-sale instruments appear in the last seven photos on this Gallery page-- the B- minor alto and the E bass.
A few more pre-trip observations may appear later today if time allows. Off for more frenetic preparations now... --r.
Posted by Romy
11:37 AM PST
April 26, 2007
Good News, and Bad News
Well, we have some of each: the bad news is that this site may see little activity over the next eight or nine days, since we'll be on the road. I'm still debating whether to bring the laptop along, but since we'll be hiking and camping quite a bit during the Southwestern journey and perhaps even backpacking once or twice, that might not be convenient or prudent.
However, the good news is that I won't have any chances to post a new 2,000-word blog entry about asparagus or whatnot! And maybe once we've returned from this trip, those veggie-blogging compulsions will have worked out of my system.
Final pre-trip update tomorrow, and even if the laptop doesn't come on the journey I'll try to check in at least a time or two on public computers. Anyway, see y'all tomorrow...
--r.
Posted by Romy
08:48 PM PST
April 25, 2007
Mood Indigo
Heh heh-- just scheduled another e-flippin'-bay listing for that bass flute, for which I took this picture late last night. The title in that photo is a reference to a certain very, very famous jazz album, you know... and it would be interesting to poll several thousand Americans at random to see how many grasp the reference.
Most likely, a shockingly small percentage would get it these days-- if that's the sort of thing you'd consider shocking. I certainly think that the level of public ignorance about one of America's truly great cultural contributions to the world -- as opposed to the now-ubiquitous Junk Culture -- is shocking and appalling! American Idol Idle, anyone?
For that matter, this listing's title is a reference to a well-known jazz tune. I was going to offer a prize to the first reader who identifies the composer of that tune, plus the real title of the "Blue" album referenced in the picture and its creator's name. However, that sort of thing really isn't much fun anymore, since the 'net makes it too darned easy to look that kind of stuff up.
So, if anyone out there knew the answer to those two questions without having to look them up, congratulations are in order! You're probably in the 99th+ percentile... step right up to claim your virtual prize! Remember, we're on the honor system, so NO PEEKING here or here. --r.
Posted by Romy
12:35 PM PST
April 24, 2007
Bamboo flute for sale!
OK, I've decided to officially put a bass flute up for sale. It's a four-hole E, with an overall length of 40 inches-- about 102 cm. This flute has a narrow, stylish rosewood lip plate with a slightly concave lower-lip cradle; it's finished a deep red and is bound with monofilament. Plays great, too! We also have audio, and will put it up soon.
E has historically been my most popular key for bass flutes, since this size can be handled by most people, even short people with small hands. (Big flute = good overcompensation, short people!) This flute's been around for a while, but until now I haven't really been inclined to sell it. I've been hoarding too many lately and need to break that habit! Also, an E-Z Payment Plan is available for this instrument: pay a dollar a day for the next year and it's all yours! See how painless that is?
There are three pictures at the bottom of this Gallery page... inquiries are welcome, but if nobody speaks up rather quickly this one will probably end up on e-flippin'-bay. What a tacky fate for such a nice flute...
Posted by Romy
04:19 PM PST
My agglomeration roolz, your agglomeration suxx!
"Agglomeration." Care to take a stab at exactly what that word means? Must admit that when it popped into my head today, I had only a vague notion of the meaning. It had something to do with clustering or coagulation, didn't it...?
That was the right general track, but it turns out that the word's specific meaning pertains to urban areas and their associated suburbs-- pretty much the same thing as "Greater Boston," as opposed to "Boston proper." In that case, Boston and its immediate suburban environs constitutes the Boston Agglomeration.
I've never visited Boston, but must visit someday soon. Although they talk funny, Bostonians do appear to hold legumes in high regard. We're by no means finished with legumes around here; legumes are a very challenging topic, and accordingly I've been conducting intensive field research over the past 24 hours. Gotta do justice to the subject, since halfway measures don't cut it around here-- not even 90% or 99% measures live up to our exacting standards! But we're supposed to be examining agglomerations-- those baked beans are hard on the digression *hic*
One primary manifestation of the tribal bonding instinct in humans is a reflexive defense and glorification of one's home agglomeration. To a large extent, sports teams serve as a powerful symbol of agglomerative pride, and fanatical devotion to a tribal team is a well-known and widespread phenomenon. (By the way, LA still sucks, and Kobe Bryant is an arrogant jerk. Shaq I didn't mind so much, but he's not even there anymore.)
In Chicago, where the obnoxiously overrated Michael Jordan held sway for so many years... Say, did you know that the Portland Trail Blazers had a chance to select Jordan with the #2 pick in the 1985 draft-- but instead drafted Sam Bowie? Sportingnews.com rates that as possibly "The most regrettable selection in NBA history! Furthermore, after the Chicago Bulls defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 NBA finals, that jerk Jordan had the nerve to say -- this is an approximate quote -- "Thank god I was drafted by Chicago and not by Portland!"
Gawd, what an insufferably arrogant jerk. What's the deal, Jordan-- did you calculate that you might have made a few hundred million less in endorsement cash if you'd come to a smaller agglomeration like Portland? Your smug, nakedly avaricious and insulting remarks are less than charming, jerkface. And Chicago sucks, by the way-- and deep-dish pizza is for clueless Midwestern hayseeds.
--Where were we? Oh yes, legumes-- er, I mean bamboo flutes! More on that topic perhaps tomorrow; I have much important Stuff to do and not nearly enough free time. With that, we bid you adieu for now... although your agglomeration may suck overall, at least compared to ours, we bear you no personal ill will. So drive carefully, play music, and eat your vegetables. --r.
Posted by Romy
01:25 PM PST
April 23, 2007
Correction
While initially composing today's main entry (below) at warp speed -- which is stuck at about 50 wpm in our case -- I accidently typed "subside" where "subsist" was the intent. Although it's now been corrected, that kind of stuff is truly humiliating-- especially when such an awful blunder blares its sour note over the Internet for a full day! Gawd, blogging is dangerous... at times, having no editor suckes.
Posted by Romy
06:40 PM PST
Musical Notation as it Relates to Bamboo Flutes, but...
It’s certainly time that we got back to a serious discussion of musical matters; that last week of relentless vegetable writings was a colossal waste of effort for all concerned. It was all merely a frivolous, labored "inside joke" launched by a single comment on this entry: a comment to the effect that my vegetable entries were less interesting than those of a musical nature. Of course, my reflexively contrarian attitude saw this as a humorous excuse to run completely amok with the veggies! Unfortunately, anyone who'd missed that earlier comment thread must have been mightily confused by last week's insane onslaught of veggie-blogging.
So, let’s return to the true purpose of this site by addressing a matter of great concern for all who make and/or play transverse flutes, especially those of an unconventional nature: the issue of transposition.
Transposition can be a very confusing topic, which is one of the main reasons I’ve never compiled traditional fingering charts or offered music written out in standard notation. The large number of different keys in which my flutes are made presents many problems in terms of their adaptability to various genres of music and the notational conventions associated with those genres.
Despite these difficulties, I’ve resolved to develop a system this year which includes the presentation of bamboo flute music in standard notation on a musical staff. It’s rather like re-inventing the wheel in many ways, and… --hey, wait a minute! We’ve forgotten to discuss the legumes!
After all, legumes are among the most important crops on this planet in terms of basic sustenance, providing vital proteins to the great majority of the world’s inhabitants who subsist largely on a plant-based diet-- in fact, they're second only to the cereal grains in overall importance. Legumes also provide vital agricultural benefits in their peculiar ability to “fix” nitrogen in the soil, which is crucial in crop-rotation planning, greatly decreasing the need for artificial fertilizers. --What an oversight!
Grains aren’t regarded as vegetables in the vernacular sense, so you needn't fear a future entry on cereal grains. However, such leguminous crops as peas and beans are routinely referred to as "vegetables." Legumes are indeed a vast and vital group in the vegetable kingdom, and so our next entry will go into much more depth on these important crops.
After all, that boring musical stuff can wait another week or two, can’t it? More soon... --r.
Posted by Romy
12:04 AM PST
April 20, 2007
Yambrosia™
[April 22: Yambrosia™ recipe below revised; metric version coming eventually.]
Yams at last! Did you know that the "yams" commonly seen in American markets aren't true yams at all? They're actually varieties of sweet potato-- Ipomoea batatas -- and a member of the morning glory family. True yams are seldom seen in North America; they're completely unrelated tropical plants (genus Dioscorea) whose tubers can be as long as seven feet and weigh well over a hundred pounds!
However, in the USA many sweet potatoes, especially the deep-orange varieties, are routinely called "yams," and for the purposes of this entry we'll follow that colloquial custom.
Yams are another notorious vegetable from in my Alaskan youth, since the only ones we ever saw came from cans-- and those can-entombed tubers were invariably ruined still further by immersing them in a sickly sweet bath of melted brown sugar and marshmallows. There seemed to be a law that canned yams must be covered with this massively cloying mess, since I don't recall ever seeing them prepared in any other way. Although I had quite the sweet tooth as a kid and many of my classmates seemed to love those "candied" yams, this was too much; I couldn't stand to touch them. Naturally, my assumption was that I simply "didn't like yams."
Not until age 20 or 21 did I finally try a fresh yam, oven-baked to perfection, and accompanied simply by real butter, salt and pepper. As with the beets we discussed earlier this simple, honest preparation of the fresh vegetable came as a major revelation, converting me instantly to yams.
Yams are another extraordinarily nutritious vegetable; they contain huge amounts of vitamin A along with many other Good Things-- and are even highly suitable for diabetics despite their naturally sweet taste. (Just lay off the sugar and marshmallows, diabetics.)
It's not that I abhor all sweetened yams: sweet potato pie can actually be wonderful. (Oddly, it's seldom called "yam pie" even where the vegetable itself is referred to as a yam.) Again, most traditional sweet-potato pie recipes call for far too much sugar; my own favorite version employs a relatively light touch of maple syrup as the sweetener.
Which brings us to the titular Yambrosia.™ This is an original recipe which is essentially a yam smoothie, and Yambrosia™ is so delicious, so practical, easy to prepare, and healthful that it's almost frightening. We almost always have some in the refrigerator, and it's especially nice as a quick, yummy and nutritious breakfast drink.
I've actually been reluctant to spread the word too far and wide, being still half-convinced that there's a potential franchise here! At the very least this idea should be pitched to an existing company that make the sort of fruit smoothies and healthful meal-drinks which are typically seen refrigerated in natural-food stores. So keep this on the down-low, OK? Go ahead and try it yourself if you wish, but don't blab about it on the Internet, for crying out loud! (This version's a slight revision of the original posting, with an increased soymilk quantity being the main difference.)
Yambrosia is at its very best made with baked and cooled yams, but it's fine with steamed ones as well, and since steaming is more convenient and energy-efficient it's my usual routine. Especially when the yams are organically grown and cooked by steaming, the skins are soft enough to blend right in to the recipe, so I seldom peel them; this strategy also preserves all of the yams' vitamins and fiber.
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Scrub a medium yam -- I use the Jewell variety most often -- and trim any rough or spoiled spots. Chop into large chunks and place in a smallish pot with tight-fitting lid; add a half-cup of water, more or less. Bring to a boil, then turn down and steam the yams until tender, which should take between about ten and fifteen minutes, depending on the size of your chunks. Watch that they don't boil dry, speaking from bitter experience! I add just enough water for steaming, so that only a few tablespoons of liquid remain after cooking; this is then added to the final smoothie, thus preserving water-soluble vitamins. When tender, remove from heat and cool. For the purposes of this rough draft let's use one cup of cooked and cooled yams as our starting point. Here's the list of ingredients:
--1 generous cup of cooked yams, plus a tbsp. or two of cooking liquid if steamed
--1 to 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
--Dash of salt
-- 1 to 2 tsp. "Pumpkin Pie Spice." (see below)
--Nutmeg to taste (freshly grated is best by far)
--Maple syrup to taste (or other sweetener; see below)
--2 to 3 cups of (preferably) vanilla-flavored soymilk. (Or regular milk.)
--1 to 2 tablespoons of dark molasses (optional)
Procedure: throw the yams in a blender, add two cups of the milk, plus the vanilla, salt, and spices. Blend at high speed for a few seconds; add maple syrup and molasses to taste, plus additional seasoning if you like it spicy. Resume blending until smooth and creamy, adding more milk to your desired consistency; chill and serve, topped with freshly grated nutmeg if possible.
*Blended and preground "pumpkin pie spice" is widely available, but I prefer to use a homemade, freshly-ground mixture of allspice, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, plus a bit of finely chopped or grated fresh ginger-- but go ahead and use dry powdered ginger in the spice blend if that's more convenient.
*Although maple syrup is the most sublime sweetener, you can use whatever's available; honey works fine, as does brown or even white sugar in a pinch. This recipe actually requires surprisingly little sweetening, since the yams and soymilk contribute much. Adding a bit of dark molasses gives additional depth to the flavor, but that's entirely optional.
*As for the soymilk, Westbrae and Silk brands are fine, but "Pacific Ultra" is my absolute favorite in this recipe for its creamy richness, although it may not be as widely distributed as the first two. You could also use regular moo-milk if you prefer... Come to think of it, this might be pretty good with goat's milk! Must try that sometime.
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With that, our Vegetable Series comes to a close-- for now. I do apologize for the brevity of these entries, having intended to extend them to a much greater length; somewhat disappointingly we've only managed about 4,500 words over the past week. However, time presses and there's much to be done around the Complex before our Vegas/Arizona trip... Vegetable Blogging should resume in May when more time is at hand.
Please do try your hand at Yambrosia™ and report back... but remember, keep it under your hat!
--r.
Posted by Romy
03:43 PM PST
April 19, 2007
The Indispensable Alliums, Heart and Soul of Cookery
Where would we be without the indispensable Alliums? Onions, garlic, chives, leeks, shallots-- these are but a few members of this enormous genus, comprising around 1,250 species! Despite such vast diversity, it's interesting to note that almost all alliums are native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with only a few scattered species found south of the Equator.
In cookery, nothing can replace these essential vegetables, on whose sturdy foundation everything from the humblest peasant fare to the most regal haute cuisine finds its moorings. Alliums can be subtle or insistent, and their effect in many dishes is taken for granted, especially when long cooking has merged their essence into the harmonious whole of a dish. However, remove the allium essence from that same dish and it suffers: that subtle, anchoring allium foundation is gone-- and something unmistakably goes missing from the recipe.
In other settings the alliums may take center stage, especially when raw-- when their assertive pungency can shock the palate with aggressive allium character. Naturally, the full-bore blast of raw alliums is not to everyone's taste-- nonethless, fanatical allium fans will avidly devour such dishes!
For me, the first step in preparing almost any savory recipe is reaching for the onions, garlic, or whichever representative of the genus has been selected that day. Naturally, in many dishes two or more varieties may be used at once, and these can be added at different stages of the preparation in order to emphasize either their subtle foundational effects, their brash, pungent character, or something in between.
In many Eastern states the ramp, or wild leek, is now making its short seasonal appearance. Devotees of the wild ramp trek through the woods seeking this rare vernal treasure, and indeed many Eastern towns have springtime ramp festivals to celebrate the annual rebirth of Nature's vegetable bounty.
Unfortunately, in Oregon we have no ramps, and I've never tasted them. The rapturous accounts of avid rampophiles spark curiousity and envy in this Oregonian, and at some point in this life perhaps I'll have an opportunity to run rampant in the Eastern woods, and finally experience this feral delicacy in its full vernal splendor.
OK, only about 1,264 more allium species to go... back soon with much more. ---r.
Posted by Romy
01:27 PM PST
April 18, 2007
The Brassicas: Monarchs of the Vegetable Realm
The vast Brassica genus encompasses an amazing array of highly nutritious vegetables, some familiar and some obscure. Let's see: there's arugula, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, collards, cress, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, mizuna and many other mustard greens, rapini, radishes, rutabagas, turnips-- plus numerous "oriental" vegetables unfamiliar to most Americans. This is only a partial list off the top of my head, and there are many others.
The brassicas are true nutritional powerhouses: pound for pound, the deep-green leafy forms such as kale, collards and mustards are probably the most health-giving vegetables on the planet. I regularly consume at least one or two hearty servings of deep-green leafy brassicas every day, but even such pallid varieties as cauliflower and turnips possess admirable dietary benefits. All brassicas are Good For You, and we should all consciously strive to include plenty of these benevolent brassicas on our daily menus.
Short entry for now, to be hugely expanded soon; this is just the opening section of the introduction.
[Confidential to H. Gordon on the East Coast: HG, do you read this stuff? I've been trying to email you about a flute, but the messages keep bouncing. Get in touch, OK?]
--r.
Posted by Romy
06:58 PM PST
April 17, 2007
Beta Vulgaris
The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.
--Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume
The beet -- Beta vulgaris -- occupies an interesting and unique niche in agricultural and culinary history. Note that the species name vulgaris literally means "common," and although contemporary usage attaches a strong negative connotation to the word "vulgar," there's nothing common about beets! Quick: when was the last time you had a dish of freshly prepared beets?
I grew to appreciate beets only in adulthood (yes, despite the puerile nature of this site I do qualify as an adult, chronologically speaking.) As a child, my only exposure to Beta vulgaris came in the form of horribly lurid scarlet cubes or slices, disgorged from a can and dumped unceremoniously onto the school-lunch tray. Those cans might well have been opened decades after they were packed-- in fact, my childhood impression was that they had been hermetically sealed and shipped to Alaska in order to rid the "lower 48" of some dreaded and dangerous vegetable menace.
Yes, that was what we said: the "lower 48." It was also common Alaskan parlance to refer to everything non-Alaskan as the "outside." For unfathomable reasons, those Outsiders seemed to have a passion for sealing sodden, overcooked vegetables into metallic cylinders, and then shipping those cylinders northward by the case, by the bargeload-- presumably in order to get rid of them. Apparently, the Outsiders also expected us to actually eat their vile, toxic stews!
In fact, I distinctly remember our family hauling case upon case of especially noxious canned "goods" from village to village for years on end. That case of beets which we had unwittingly received in our government-issued "standard grocery order" might well have followed us from Gambell to Kotzebue, thence to Noatak, Chefornak, Kwethluk and Bethel-- and it's probably still moldering on a storage-room shelf somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness!
Not to dwell on the negative; we're here to praise beets, not to bury them. Years after escaping the gravitational pull of that insidious case of Alaskan beets, it came as a revelation to taste a fresh, tender beet, sauteed simply with a pat of butter, a dash of salt and a grind of pepper. This is what they actually tasted like? --How could those Outsiders have subjected this sublime vegetable to the indignity of entombment in tin sarcophogi, followed by an eternal banishment spent roaming the Alaskan tundra? ...
Many people are unaware that beets and Swiss chard are conspecific. Both are subspecies of B. vulgaris, and chard has merely been selectively bred for leaf production. Indeed, many people enjoy the greens of beets as well as the plump roots of that subspecies.
The origin of the term "Swiss" chard is lost in the mists of time, and nobody seems to be able to pinpoint exactly why the Swiss should be credited with this vegetable's virtues. (Interestingly, our recent discussion of rutabagas noted that the Swedes take credit for that plant, despite much ambiguity surrounding the rutabaga's true origin.)
What is known for certain is that both Switzerland and Sweden are northern European countries whose names start with the letter "S," and that both are populated largely by blonde individuals who speak non-English languages and claim undue credit for vegetables. Conspiracy, or coincidence? Draw your own conclusions...
Speaking of conclusions, this installment of our furiously interesting Vegetable Series must draw to a close-- for now. Much more remains to be told of the beet, and although the demands of vulgar economics dictate a need for some flute-work today, we'll return as soon as possible for further discourse on the mighty beet. "Vulgaris," indeed.... the nerve of those Swiss. --rb
Posted by Romy
11:19 AM PST
April 16, 2007
Flute Voicing Considerations The Wonderful World of Squashes
I'd originally intended to address the issue of tuning as it relates to flute hole sizes and positions, but the vast world of vegetables beckons once again. There's so much to write about, from amaranth to zucchini, and life is short. After all, there's already plenty of material on this site about flutes and such, much of it buried deep in the Archives. Why, even I don't remember half of what's there! So, until we finally get around to excavating and organizing the archives in order to make that flute material more readily accessible, let's avoid the risk of redundancy by addressing something else.
Some may be disappointed that Yams aren't our subject for today, as was promised in the preceding entry. For that I apologize, but Squash (Curcubita species) irresistably suggested itself this morning as I sat and supped tea while gazing fondly at our last remaining butternut from the garden. It's always best to run with inspiration when it strikes, and so yams must await another day.
Anyway, butternuts are among that group of squashes known as "winter squash" for their remarkable storage qualities. Why, this last butternut of ours still looks just as fresh as it did when plucked from the garden on a crisp October day, six months ago!
Squashes are native to the Americas, being one of the famed "three sisters" of Native American agriculture along with corn and beans. The winter squashes mentioned above are joined by the other principal group known as "summer squashes," which are picked when young and immature, generally for immediate consumption. In fact, gardeners in many North American locales can enjoy squashes from their own plots on every day of the year: under ideal storage conditions, winter squashes can be held until the time when the earliest summer varieties begin to produce. What a fascinating, delicious and versatile vegetable! And, for those who claim to dislike squash: where would we be without PUMPKIN PIE? --Zing!
A thought: in the preceding Journal entry I promised to fashion an ocarina, or "globular flute," from a rutabaga, since the more-or-less spherical form of rutabagas naturally suggests such an instrument. Therefore, since we're discussing Curcubita species today let's resolve to create a flute from one of these, too! Even better, the elongated shape of numerous squash varieties would enable the construction of a tubular transverse flute! (Boy, is my work cut out for me; there's just so much to do in this life.)
Any mention of elongated squashes immediately evokes the zucchini-- probably the most well-known and widely consumed of summer squashes, if not all squashes. Although their familiar, green oblong forms (there are yellow varieties as well) grace North American markets the year around, zucchinis are best consumed at their midsummer peak, when growth surges forth from the squash patch at a dizzying rate. Seemingly overnight, new zucchinis fairly leap from the vine into the gardener's loving embrace, much to the avid cook's delight.
With that in mind I almost never purchase zucchini in the offseason, preferring to savor them at the true apex of their succulence, whether from my own garden or the local farmer's markets. We in Portland are blessed with an abundance of such markets, which burst with a seasonal bounty of vegetables that are the envy of many visiting gourmands. In fact I shall be visiting one of these local farmer's markets this coming weekend in order to interview several growers for upcoming Journal material.
But I digress slightly: the subject of zucchini's seasonal peak arose when I realized that in order to make a zucchini-flute, I'd have to purchase one at a less-than-optimal time of year-- that, or wait until June or July for a more perfect specimen. Oh, well-- I can suppress my embarrassment at buying an inferior offseason zucchini just this once, since it will hardly matter for the purposes of this squash-flute project! Accordingly, we expect to have our zucchini flute ready for demonstration within a week or so.
My, my: look at the time! What with their vast diversity and many culinary usages, squashes present an even more fertile field for discussion than do rutabagas. Although I must leave this subject for the nonce, expect several thousand more words on the Wonderful World of Squashes soon!
For now, it's back to the bamboo for the rest of today. (Unless anyone out there would like to order and pay for a zucchini flute! I may not be capitalistically oriented, but my landlord sure as heck is...) --r.
Posted by Romy
12:58 PM PST
April 14, 2007
A Few Thousand Words About the Noble Yet Humble Rutabaga
Despite the protestations of a few naysayers, we've had a surprising number of requests for less boring flute-babble and more vegetable information-- so here's today's entry, veggie fans!
Had a rutabaga (Brassica napas napobrassica) lately? They're really quite wonderful, and lately we've been preparing them oven-roasted in large bite-sized chunks. After peeling -- which isn't always necessary, since young, tender specimens may only need a bit of trimming at the rough patches -- the 'bagas are tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper, then placed on a broiling pan or cookie sheet and carefully roasted in a fairly hot oven, stirring a time or two, so as to brown and slightly caramelize. It can be helpful to cover the chunks with foil for the first fifteen minutes or so, uncovering for the final browning phase; this helps to ensure that the pieces are well-cooked throughout. Mind you, keep a close watch on them after the first 20 or 25 minutes, lest they be burnt!
These are actually unbelievably good; the caramelization imparts a sweet, concentrated flavor with a crisp exterior and rich, creamy interior. Of course, there are many other exciting ways to prepare rutabagas; one classic recipe calls for substituting about 50% rutabagas for potatoes in a mashed preparation, and of course rutabagas are ideally suited for hearty soups and stews. Why, we're barely scratching the surface here!
--And here's some REALLY exciting news: April 2007 is National Rutabaga Month! (I do apologize for the delay in alerting those of you who didn't already know, but several people have been persistently whining about their overdue flutes, and that trivial detail temporarily distracted me from more interesting matters.) Most earthshaking of all, we've just discovered that the Advanced Rutabaga Studies Institute is in Forest Grove, Oregon, a mere twenty miles from our door! Must inquire about a possible Research Fellowship over there soon; life is too short to miss out on such wonderful opportunities.
Well, I've been working in the garden all day and need to get cleaned up a bit. Will return after washing and relaxing for a while... more exciting facts coming very soon! For now, here's our Interesting Rutabaga Fact of the Day: "Rutabaga" also refers to a specific mutation type in fruit flies, resulting in impaired mental capacity.
Can you imagine a fruit fly with an "impaired mental capacity?" The mind reels... wonder if flute flies are affected as well? If we were less scrupulous about avoiding politicization of this site, we might observe that those rutabaga-afflicted fruit flies are probably Republica... oh, never mind.
Here we are again... the following several paragraphs were paraphrased from Wikipedia:
Rutabagas are known as "swedes" in many parts of the world, and indeed some claim that this vegetable is native to Sweden. However, others think it was introduced to that country, possibly from Siberia, in the early 17th century. After Sweden, it next enriched Scotland, spreading eventually to the rest of Britain and to North America. In continental Europe, rutabagas acquired a bad reputation during World War I, since they were often a food of last resort. In the German Steckrübenwinter (swede/rutabaga winter) of 1916–17, large parts of the population were kept alive on a diet consisting of rutabagas and little else. After the war, most people were so tired of rutabagas that they were regarded as a "famine food," which reputation they have retained to the present day. As a consequence, they are rarely planted in Germany.
The Swedes cook rutabagas with potatoes and mash them with butter and milk to create a puree called "rotmos" (root mash). In Scotland, the same vegetables are boiled and mashed separately to produce "tatties and neeps" ("tatties" being the Scots word for potatoes), traditionally served with the Scottish national dish of haggis as the main course of the Burns supper. In Norway, swedes/rutabagas are mixed with potatoes, carrots, onion and cream to make a similar mash called "kålrabistappe". In Canada rutabagas are used as filler in foods such as mincemeat and Christmas cake, or as a side dish with Sunday dinner in Atlantic Canada. In the US, rutabagas are mostly eaten as part of stews or casseroles, are served mashed with carrots, or baked in a pastry.
The town of Cumberland, Wisconsin celebrates a "Rutabaga Festival" each year, always the weekend preceding Labor Day Weekend. The International Rutabaga Curling Championship annually takes place at the Ithaca, NY farmer's market.
Excessive consumption of rutabaga (as well as cassava, maize, bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes, and lima beans) can be associated with hypothyroidism. These cyanoglucoside-containing foods release cyanide, which is subsequently detoxified into thiocyanate. Thiocyanate inhibits thyroid iodide transport and, at high doses, competes with iodide in the organification process within thyroid tissue. Goiters may develop when there is a dietary imbalance of thiocyanate-containing food in excess of iodine consumption.
But don't let the above scare you-- rutabagas in moderation are very, very good for you! And, note that rutabagas share a metabolically quirky and mildly scary property with... bamboo shoots. Well, well, well-- serendipity strikes yet again! In order to carry this rutabaga/bamboo association still further, I'm going to attempt to fashion an ocarina ("globular flute") from a rutabaga over the next week or so. We'll keep you posted on that.
Also, I apologize for the fact that this entry doesn't quite live up to its title, since it contains only about ONE thousand words so far. If time permits, we'll add a couple thousand more over the next few days. Since there's certainly no shortage of interesting things to say about rutabagas, the root of the problem (har) is merely a shortage of time.
Next up: Yams. (I actually have a top-secret yam recipe which is so good, so franchise-worthy, that it would make a millionaire of a more practically purposeful and enterprising individual than yours truly. We may even share that recipe, although I'm still debating whether to go that far.)
--r.
Posted by Romy
08:31 PM PST
April 10, 2007
Oh, man: just happened to stumble onto this image, and I could hardly believe it! There's someone else out there whose Photoshop inclinations run in a similar vein.
Dude's name is David C. Fletcher, and he seems to do a brisk business on eBay selling prints of musical-spoof photos to wonky musicians. He's dubbed that Dali takeoff "The Persistence of Trombones," but I prefer my "Persistence of Melody" as a title. I'm about to send Mr. Fletcher an appreciative note along with an attached photo of my bamboo-flute Dali shot, just for fun. Hmm.... selling prints.... what a concept. * * *
(Later) OK, I heard back from him; he's a music teacher and says that "The silly photos are just for fun." Also uses Corel Photo Paint instead of Photoshop... I'm not familiar with that but might check it out. Good work!
Posted by Romy
03:31 PM PST
All in the Family
OK, more about keys. The word "key" can mean many different things, which is typical of musical terms. An important key to understanding keys is that one must distinguish between the keys on a flute and the key of a flute. (And I'm not referring to the mechanical keys of a modern Boehm flute, either-- that's another story.)
On second thought, let's just forget it for now; I'm a bit keyed up and got off to a bad start there. Back in a bit...
(five minutes later) Ahhh, deep breathing does wonders! Anyway, most wind instruments are grouped into "families" with the various family members spaced apart in fourths and fifths. For example, saxophones run in an Eb-Bb-Eb cycle, double-reed instruments such as the bassoon, English horn and oboe go C-F-C, and standard metal flutes are in C-G-C. There are certainly exceptions to this fourth/fifth cycle, such as the oboe d'amour and the Eb flute -- in fact, I own a modern metal Eb flute which I bought years ago as a novelty. However, the fourth/fifth arrangement applies to the majority of contemporary wind instruments.
At a flute convention some years ago, I play-tested a Bb Boehm flute; I think a few of these are still being made. Despite the fact that this flute was a mere step lower than the standard C flute, the difference in tone and "feel" was striking and amazing! Just one step can make a huge difference in that regard, but that difference probably is much more noticeable to the player than to a casual listener.
So, the fact that I now make flutes in every key under the sun has fundamentally altered my perception of flute tone, and I subconsciously take for granted that every flute will have a radically different sound and player feedback. This is a very different mindset from that of someone who plays the same instrument every day, and it's important to me; wouldn't have it any other way.
More soon... and if you haven't had enough punishment yet, go and read this.
--r.
Posted by Romy
02:45 PM PST
April 9, 2007
Keys in Instrument Families
A couple of entries down we touched on the odd ideas people harbor about musical instrument keys. Particularly in the old craft-show days, I'd frequently be asked for a "C flute" by persons who didn't actually know why they were asking for a C flute; they'd just heard the term associated with the modern orchestral flute and assumed that it was somehow relevant to bamboo as well.
When asked "Why a C flute?" they'd typically reply with something like, "Well, my daughter/niece/cousin/aunt already plays a C flute, so that would probably be best, wouldn't it?" (Yes, the intended gift recipients were usually female, but that's another topic.)
Occasionally people would ask for a Bb flute, because they were buying it for someone who played clarinet, trumpet or tenor saxophone. I even got a few requests for Eb flutes, usually intended for alto saxophonists! These individuals assumed that the mere association of the instruments' designated keys would somehow magically make them suitable and easily accessible for players of those standard band and orchestra instruments. But of course that's not how it works at all, folks.
The easiest thing to do would be to play along, and simply sell a C, Bb or Eb flute to those confused customers. But do you think we really do business that way around here, taking cynical advantage of the public's ignorance about musical terminology?
--No, I'm not that good a businessman. Instead, I'd launch into a complicated explanation of their misconceptions, which would usually just confuse them more, except that it would be the bad kind of confusion from my standpoint: that is, the kind resulting in their deciding that this was just too complex and risky, and that they weren't going to purchase a gift flute after all.
That about sums up why I still have to scramble to pay the rent every month! I actually specialize in alienating potential customers, and am constantly shooting myself in the flute.
Anyway, more observations on instrument keys coming in the next entry or two... and by the way, would anyone out there like to buy a Gb flute? Any Gb Seussophone players out there?
--r.
Posted by Romy
06:29 PM PST
April 8, 2007
Las Vegas and beyond
Time for an exciting announcement: this blog will be visiting Las Vegas in about three weeks! I've never been there and figured that it's worth a look, just to experience the vulgar American weirdness rife in that utterly unsustainable "city." We're currently laying in supplies to enhance the decadently bizarre aspects of our visit, if you know what I mean-- so look out, Savage Henry! I've briefed my attorney on our plans, and he's poised to bail us out of any compromising legal situations we may encounter on the journey.
Actually, Vegas is a mere jumping-off point on a tour which will find us in Arizona for the most part. We're spending only a couple of nights in V-town before motoring off to visit the Grand Canyon, then continuing southward to the Tucson area in southern AZ at the northern edge of the Sonoran Desert. A nice change in scenery from the still-dripping greenery of the Pacific Northwest, no doubt.
In the meantime I have much work to do-- gotta figure out how to pay the rent for May before departing, for one thing. (Nivek, you're at the top of the list and your instruments should be ready to ship within a few days.)
This blog may see only light posting for a few weeks while that's all sorted out. Although I've already failed to remove the Britney Spears reference from the site's opening page within a week as originally promised, we'll absolutely, positively get that done before embarking on the Vegas-Arizona trip. Never lose sight of the primary objective... --r.
Posted by Romy
08:26 PM PST
April 5, 2007
Ducking in quickly
It seems that some parts of the USA are still enduring snow dumps. Hate to tell you this, but we have insanely gorgeous weather in Portland today-- it's sunny and in the 70-degree range (21+ C.) Gotta get out of the studio and into the garden today for sure... after all it may be beautiful springtime weather now, but the PNW still has plenty more weeks of dank, gray, drizzly days in store before our sunny season starts in earnest. Carpe Diem!
Just for fun, here's a composite photo of the latest flute to roll off our assembly line. It's a B alto with a cocobolo lip plate; this shot was thrown together pretty quickly and I like the idea of showing several points of view in one picture; we'll be developing this idea further in the near future:
B_Flute_3
--r.
Posted by Romy
11:33 AM PST
April 3, 2007
Riff at A440
As you may know, A440 is the dominant contemporary standard for musical pitch. That is, modern musical instruments are generally calibrated so that the note A above middle C vibrates at a frequency of 440 cycles per second.
This A440 consensus is fairly recent, having become the general norm only in the mid-20th century; other widely varying benchmarks have existed in the past. In fact, many otherwise functional woodwind instruments from earlier eras were designed for the particular pitch standards of their time, rendering them largely useless in contemporary ensembles.
This pitch-standardization factor is less important to fretless stringed instruments such as the violin family members, since these can readily be tuned to modern pitch. (Note that although the most sought-after violins and cellos on Earth were made hundreds of years ago, no wind instruments of such antiquity are in current use except in specialized early-music ensembles.)
Of course, the main reason for this is wind instruments' much later arc of evolutionary development: none of our modern winds reached anything much like their current form, either mechanically or acoustically, before the mid-1800s -- and considerably more refinement has taken place even since then, extending well into the 20th Century. Compare that to the still-treasured and widely played violins of Antonio Stradivari, who began making instruments in 1680 and reached his artistic peak between 1698 and 1720!
Thus, although the "primitive" overall design of early wind instruments is the main element limiting their current utility, today's universally standardized pitch is certainly another important factor.
Often I'll write to a prospective customer that a finished flute is available in, for instance, C minor -- and their response will be to write back asking, "Is that C minor flute in A440?" Another variant of that query is to ask whether an instrument is in "concert pitch," which means essentially the same thing.
Sheesh, what other standard do you suppose I'm using? If I say a flute is in C minor, it's in C minor-- and of course that means A440! What year is this, 1763?
--Which is not to say that ALL of my flutes are perfectly tuned to concert pitch. In fact, I consider it vastly preferable to make a really great-playing flute that's not quite in standard tuning than to struggle to bring a recalcitrant instrument into perfect A440 compliance. For pure playing pleasure, it's much more important that a flute play easily in tune with itself throughout its full range than it is to force it into accordance with current concert pitch-- which after all is only important when one plays regularly with standard instruments of fixed tuning. For instance, guitarists can quicky retune in order to accomodate a flute of nonstandard pitch.
However, if a customer wants a flute in a specific key, this is taken for granted: any prospective instrument that I *pitch* to that customer as being in the desired key will OF COURSE be playable at A440!
I'll save the "almost C" flutes for special purposes, or for customers who don't really care about standard tuning -- and don't even mention them to the customer who specifically wants a C flute.
(Added later that day: Oops, we've unwittingly opened a whole 'nother confusing can of worms by using C as an example-- but that's another story. Suffice it to say that the key of C itself is irrelevant to our discussion here, and any other key would have served as well: we could readily have used A, B, D, E, F or G as an example instead. For that matter, it could just as easily have been C#/Db, D#/Eb, F#/Gb, G#/Ab, or A#/Bb.
It's about time for another entire journal entry about the strange notions people harbor about the term "C flute," since that's the designated key of the modern orchestral flute -- but that "C" designation is only relevant in the sense that the standard modern flute is a non-transposing instrument. Got all that? *** -- Oh, OK, OK: I'll get to work on that separate entry soon.)
Moving right along: In fact, since most bamboo flutes aren't slide-tunable it can be advantageous to have a few in slightly offbeat tunings. For instance, I have an almost C-minor flute right now which plays wonderfully at about a quarter-tone sharp -- that is, halfway between C and C#. This flute is actually very useful at low temperatures, since it plays perfectly in C when the air is chilly!
We've gone over the subject of temperature and pitch before... everything about tuning is complexly interrelated and potentially perplexing, and we'll pick up on this subject and carry it a bit further over the next few days.
Off now to make flutes, since those college girls have been playing hard-to-get and I'm only willing to make a fool of myself up to a point. (Silly context in yesterday's entry.) --r.
Posted by Romy
01:14 PM PST
April 1, 2007
Spam blocking, etc.
Spam got so bad over the past week that I was checking the comments three or four times a day, yet new garbage flooded in almost as fast as I could delete it. We've finally put up a substantial e-levee, and so far so good... The potential downside is that some legitimate visitors might have problems with the comments or other site functions if our dyke dike isn't as finely tuned as it might be.
So, if any of y'all have problems commenting, just leave a note in the comments and we'll... oops.
--On second thought, just send a letter via snail mail; my address is in the "Contact" department above. I promise to promptly transcribe and post any snail-mailed comments here in the blog within 24 hours... wow, is this site cutting-edge or what?
More on Monday afternoon.
(Later) Agghhh-- I just deleted five lengthy spam "comments" in the preceding entry (April is nigh...) and the really scary thing is that my usual notification of newly posted comments didn't show up where it should. Oh well, at least I learned some new facts about "drunken college girls." It's been a few years since my last academic bacchanalia, and the scene has apparently changed quite a bit.
At least it was a NEW spammer, not a return of those blasted Italians who drove me nuts over the past couple of weeks.
Off now to buy a bottle of tequila and a case of beer and then find some college girls.... (21 and over, please. We don't need serious legal problems at this point in our dotage.)
--r.
Posted by Romy
08:46 PM PST
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