Larry’s birthday is coming up and luckily he has bought himself a present, a new Miken Ultra II bat, made of the same composite as the stealth bomber. He doesn’t usually bat left-handed but needed to here, because of the light.
This bat is so powerful that it comes with a warning label that says it is “capable of producing batted ball speeds that present a risk of serious injury or death to players, coaches and spectators.” Not to mention nagging wives.
In any case, he’s breaking it in for the spring season. Apparently composite bats start out stiff and need to be broken in for resilience and flexibility. Watch out Creakers!!
Also, I’ve been meaning for some time to present a little gallery of kitchen gadgets–I have two drawers full of wonderful tools that make cooking more fun. Here are just a few:
The rolling garlic chopper–put in peeled cloves, close the flap, roll it along a hard surface, and voila: minced garlic. It comes apart for easy cleaning, too. You just have to be careful to save the little gear with the blades inside the plastic shell and not lose it! I mince a lot of garlic.
We eat a lot of grapefruit, too, and I love my grapefruit knife. The grapefruit knife has one curved and one double-bladed knife. The double blades separate the sides of each segment from the integument between them; the curved blade scoops them out from the edge of the peel. I really want to use that word, integument, in a poem some time. This knife was my mother’s, so is a special pleasure to use:
And my newest tool, sent to me in a large box with many layers of wrapping by my friend from Fort Bragg, the pomegranate deseeder. The sequence of pictures shows it all. I expect to be eating a lot more pomegranates (and showing you more gadgets, too):
Another approach–sent by a reader, and perhaps more sensual?
How to Eat a Pomegranate (even on horseback)
Choose a deep red fruit with no skin damage.
Using your thumb or thumbs, press into the fruit, breaking down the flesh.
Keep pummeling, massaging, and softening the fruit, being careful not to split the skin. (Major juice eruption, stains, mess, if you do.)
Once the fruit is soft and squishy, carefully make a tiny hole in the skin.
Suck on this hole while squeezing the fruit. You will be rewarded with mouthfuls of delicious, tart nectar. Just when you think you’ve exhausted the well, another squeeze will open another pocket of juice and you’ll be gulping more mouthfuls.
When you’ve really sucked the pomegranate dry, expand the rent in the skin to split the fruit in half. All the pesky connective tissue will be gone, pummeled away by your thumb action. You will be left with two “baskets” of jewel-like pomegranate seeds.
A portable drink and snack, all in one package, to be enjoyed astride your steed or your chaise.
Try it.
Great Post, looking forward to seeing what other kitchen gadgets you have
I have quite a supply, and you will see more!