A depressing list

All of the miserable ass things I’ve read today related to education:

1. Teachers hit kids in D.C. Public Schools. (Really? I’ve seen it happen.)

2. Mississippi’s legislature is considering allowing school districts to sell advertisements on school buses, inside and out. (JESUS. It’s public school. The drink machine and snack machine deals are bad enough.)

Have I told you about veggie bean n’ wean? It’s simple: a can of vegetarian baked beans and two veggie franks cut up into little bits and mixed in. Obviously, you can doctor it up. The rest of this post will probably sound like something that’s best kept close, but I can’t resist sharing. Never lived alone as an adult, but I’ve had many lunches at home by myself as a graduate student and teacher on summer vacation, and I’ve spent some time perfecting this. So, I’ve always enjoyed adding a little soy sauce and worcestershire sauce to the veggie bean n’ wean. Those are de rigeur for fans of baked beans everywhere, I think. They’re the sign that you take your canned baked beans more seriously than your average bear. If you’re feeling a little bit more daring, mixing in some K.C. Masterpiece Hickory Smoked Flavored Barbecue Sauce adds some additional sweetness and a little kick. When I lived at home we’d put Country Bob’s sauce in them. My father and I discovered Country Bob’s at the Sizzler in Centralia, IL, which we visited on a summer sojourn to Chicago. Upon our return he ordered a case and went to work on the Kroger manager in Brandon to start stocking it. Now, Country Bob is nationally know. I digress. From time to time, I’ll also cut up half an onion and toss it in. What really takes the veggie bean n’wean over the top is a handful of Bacos bacon flavored bits or pieces. Or you can straight up take them all the way by putting all of these things in the saucepan with the beans and simmering it, though I favor adding the Bacos at the end so that they retain their crunch for as long as possible.

I tried to make my own baked beans back in the day, and all I can say is the stuff that comes in a can is way better than what I made.

Just finished a lunch of grilled cheese and veggie bean n’wean, which finished up last week’s allotment of veggie franks—they had originally been a part of the H friendliest meal of the week, which was veggie hot dogs and sweet potato fries. He also really enjoys veggie pigs in a blanket—which is simply veggie dogs beneath a layer of homemade mashed potatoes covered with some grated cheese and broiled for a few minutes to melt and brown the cheese. The key is the homemade mashed potatoes…the snowflake/powdered kind just don’t get the job done as far as I’m concerned. They used to. When I was a child, powdered mashed potatoes mixed well with English peas and went nicely with fish sticks and ketchup.

For some reason, I feel like baked beans get a bad rap. They’re the mayonnaise of the canned food world. Everybody avoids them because of the gas issue. I say screw it. The fiber is good for you and they offer so many rich possibilities for clever variations.

Have to go to Jackson for a job interview Wednesday. It’s contract work for an educational evaluation company that’s looking for someone to do qualitative work with science teachers who have been through a particular professional development program. That puts me in Jackson Wednesday night for the game. That means I have to tamp down my hatred of all things Dook, as I will be staying with my in-laws. I had to do it when I took H to senior day last year. It’s easier this year without Gerald Henderson, but I think can muster something for Kyle Singler, and I always have a dark place in my heart for The Rat.

If we get relegated to the NIT but beat Dook twice, the sting is a little less sharp.

FYI: currently watching Daytona qualifying. It looks so warm in Florida. Great week in sports this week—super bowl, UNC-Dook and Daytona.

Question/possible Super Bowl drinking game: Drink at all mentions of Katrina, all shots of Archie/Olivia/Cooper/Eli wherever they are (Benson’s box?) and for the duration of all Masters commercials. How many Masters commercials will they show? Normally they’re a staple of the NCAA tournament. I think they’re coming this weekend, though.

EPIC

I watched every minute of the series chronicled in this documentary. The opening sequence streams online. I can’t wait to watch it. I hated (and to this day continue to feel contempt for) Reggie, Rik Smits, the Davis Boys, Haywoode Workman, Byron Scott, Derek McKee and that damn Larry Brown.

And even if Reggie’s performances were for the ages, all I gotta say is scoreboard.

Way Back Friday…

YES!

Thinking about running this race, which looks fun.

Also giving thought to teaching in Memphis. Better fiscal situation than MS, definite need for math/science teachers, salary comparable to what I would make as Assistant Professor at the university where I currently work. That’s not bad, and while I would love to teach Science Methods, I’m finding this other planning course that I’m teaching pretty damn boring.

Along with that comes all the benefits and liabilities of living in a larger city. They have a Whole Foods. They have an NBA team. Easy airport to fly into from around the country, possible increased incentives for friends to visit as a result. Barbecue. I’ve made it pretty clear on this blog that I can live just about anywhere. Memphis works for me.

Other option for the squeamish is living in DeSoto County. Meh. I don’t know.

Just added to Ipod though I’ve been about it for a week or two

LUPE! Hopefully back from the disappointment that was The Cool, returning to Food and Liquor form.

Also…this is hot too.

Weekend Meal Summary

Friday: Drinks at The Loews on Poydras, which has a bar called The Swizzle Stick. The bartender was a dick, but the Old Fashioned(s) were delicious. Met up with friends and went to Restaurant August for supper. There we shared Oysters 3 ways (fried, baked with a parmesan and breadcrumb covering and something to do with truffle), and sweetbreads (! offal, oh love of my life !) slow cooked venison with spaetzle and a fig filled quince. A couple of glasses of pinot noir and coffee. Went out to W.I.N.O. (The Wine Institute of New Orleans), Bar Tonique and Snake n’ Jake’s after that.

Saturday: Breakfast at Stanley! which was delicious. Had the Eggs Breaux Bridge which were Eggs Benedict on french bread and with boudin and ham instead of canadian bacon. Lunch at Popeye’s on Claiborne Ave. No red drink. Dinner in the tent near the den where our krewe lined up. The parade itself is another post in the works. It was fantastic, and something that I know a lot of folks don’t get the chance to do, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to have done it.

Sunday: Brunch at Elizabeth’s…Praline bacon, duck waffle and grits. The Duck waffle was enormous. There was no way I was going to finish it, so I didn’t. It’s topped with a spicy duck and sweet potato hash which is straight up amazing.

This is the hard thing about going to New Orleans. Nearly every place that I eat, I want to re-visit on another trip. However, I also need to expand my culinary knowledge of the city. There are several places that are on the list to re-visit: Casamento’s, Franky and Johnny’s, Parasol’s, Galatoire’s…and I still need to try Domilise.

Unrelatedly, I can put our son to sleep in 15 minutes after lights out. He lets me leave the room while he’s still awake. He does not do this for certain other people in the house.

KdV 2010

I’m in the Krewe du Vieux parade tonight. Very exciting stuff. Wanted to share the costume. E’s brother will laugh because of the vintage Lions jersey. I didn’t order it. I asked for Sean Taylor (we’re all dressing up as teams the Saints beat this season—our float is themed “Voo Dat!” Anyway, it’s all very exciting stuff. We bought throws this morning, then got to go to an event at the Rex den, where we got to see the floats and where the captains, and Rex dress. The floats are beautiful. Unfortunately, I can’t post those pictures. Anyway, here’s the costume

The moral of this story is…

…Mississippi needs to get better at putting public records on the internet so that there’s no need for photocopying and hunting stuff down. But then, that’d be transparent.

Two things I want done this legislative session and I’ll be writing my state Senator to ask for them:

1. All attendance boundary maps for public schools should be available online. In order to find out what school district a house is located in I called the central office for the local school district, was told to call the transportation office and was then told by transportation to call the court house. It shouldn’t take that.

2. The state should adopt one application for certified teachers. As it is there are 150 school districts in the state and that means there are 150 different permutations on the same basic application. Some require 3 references, some 5. All require transcripts. If it were possible to submit one application to a central (and electronic) repository, then district HR people would have less to worry with, and applicants could ask references to complete ONE form, not as many as the number of jobs they are applying for.

(h/t NEMS Daily Journal)