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According to Fortune, this is how to store coffee:

If possible, buy beans within two to three days of roasting, and purchase no more than you can drink within a week. Roasted whole beans remain fresh for up to two weeks, but if exposed to light, heat or humidity, they’ll make a less than stellar brew.

To store, tightly reseal open bags of beans with a clip or rubber band and tuck them into an airtight opaque container. Store beans in a cool spot away from the stove, but not in the refrigerator or the freezer. [Food Network Kitchens]

There is more detail at Food Networks.

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Food Network Kitchens. “How to buy and store beans for fresher coffee.” Alameda Times-Star. 28 April 2004. <www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~1549~2113210,00.html> (29 April 2004).

Breakfast was two cups of coffee, a glass of orange juice, a bowl of cereal with sliced banana, and a butterscotch square. I weighed 156 pounds.

Lunch was a ham and cheese sandwich, a butterscotch square, and a Saranac Pale Ale.

Dinner was a Smoked Turkey Baked Chimichanga (can you tell we love these things?), two Saranac Pale Ales and the last butterscotch square.

Gretchen went for a walk in the woods this morning. Mending fences.

We came across this garter snake. I figured he would be cold and moving very slowly, but he quickly slithered away once he realized we saw him.

We also noticed that the woods were full of new fiddle head fern shoots.

Gretchen pointed out these anemones to me.

On the way back to the house, we noticed that the storm last night must have knocked this robin’s nest off of its perch. It’s early… They’ll make another.

Back at the house, oscar was sleeping in the sun coming in through the door.

Breakfast was three cups of coffee and a butterscotch square. I weighed 156 pounds. That’s more like it.

Lunch was one and a half quesadillas, a Saranac Pale Ale, and a butterscotch square.

Dinner was grilled swordfish, Indian Harvest sunset blend rice, two glasses of Redwood Creek Merlot, a small salad, and a butterscotch square.

We used the first produce from our 2004 garden — chives. We cut a little up and used it as a garnish.

Breakfast was a sautéed onion omelette, three cups of coffee, and a glass of orange juice. I weighed 158 pounds and I am not to thrilled about the trend here.

Lunch was a quesadilla and a Saranac Pale Ale.

Dinner was two of those small ham sandwiches and another Saranac Pale Ale.

Mr. Mesnier’s immediate post-White House career will be the promotion of his first cookbook, “Dessert University,” based on his White House confections. So far, he has been invited to Bermuda, Alaska and the Dominican Republic to discuss the book, to be published by Simon & Schuster in September. [Burros]

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Burros, Marian. “25 Years of White House Spin, All in Sugar.” The New York Times. 28 April 2004. <www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/dining/28WHIT.html> (27 April 2004).

I took this week off to get into the garden and get some early planting done. Unfortunately, the weather has not been cooperating. Here you can see yet another thunderstorm rolling down the valley. Tonight it is supposed to go down to freezing, so perhaps it is best that we have not been able to get in to plant.

In other signs of spring, we have new growth on our evergreens.

Last night, Gretchen and I felt the need for a sweet after our meat. For the last IMBB, I said that in this circumstance, we will sometimes make a pineapple upside-down cake, since it is quick and easy and made with pantry staples. Well, these butterscotch squares fall into that category and are what we had last night.

Butterscotch Squares

• ½ cup Unsalted Butter
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 cup Dry Shredded Coconut
• 1 cup Chopped Walnuts (optional)

1. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a 2-quart sauce pan and cook over a low heat until it just starts to bubble around the edges.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool enough so that the eggs will not scrambled when you add them.
3. Add the eggs and beat well.
4. Mix in the vanilla, salt, baking powder, and the flour — adding the flour a little at a time.
5. Fold in the coconut and chopped walnuts (if you are using them).
6. Spread the mixture in a greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Alternatively, use a parchment lined dish.
7. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Breakfast was two scrambled eggs and some ham with two cups of coffee. I weighed 157 pounds.

I am on vacation this week.

I had a banana and a glass of orange juice as a mid-morning snack.

Lunch was two more of those little ham sandwiches and a Saranac Pale Ale.

Gretchen and I had another Saranac Pale Ale late this afternoon.

Dinner was a marinated grilled Delmonico steak with sautéed onions and Indian Harvest Aztec blend rice, accompanied by to glasses of Redwood Creek Merlot, with three butterscotch squares for dessert. The steak was from a steer raised by the dairy farmer down the road… and very tasty and tender. They raise all of their own feed.

I have to say that these two bottles from Redwood Creek — both the Merlot and the Pinot Grigio — were much dryer than comparable wines from other vineyards. Not that that is a bad thing. They were still quite drinkable, but it is something to keep in mind. Also, the corks in both bottles were quite loose (some wineries prefer loose corks). I would recommend a cork screw to extract the cork. I personally prefer a cork pull. I feel that I am much more likely to get out the cork undamaged. However, it requires an initial downward force on the cork. If the cork is loose, this can drive the cork down into the bottle. Again… just something to keep in mind.

This comes to us via The Amateur Gourmet:

Not one in 10,000 knows who General Tso (most commonly pronounced “sow”) was, nor what terrible times he lived through, nor the dark massacres that distinguished his baleful, belligerent career. Setting their chopsticks aside, patting their stomachs, the satisfied diners spare scarcely a thought for General Tso, except to imagine that he must have been a great connoisseur of hot stir-fried chicken. [Browning]

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the General, The Definitive General Tso’s Chicken Page defines General Tso’s Chicken this way: “fried boneless dark-meat chicken, served with vegetables and whole dried red peppers in a sweet-spicy sauce.” Though, many variations exist.

Martine Gingras presents her own personal variation, in the “General Tao” style, over at Suburblicious.

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Browning, Michael. “Who Was General Tso And Why Are We Eating His Chicken?” The Washington Post. 17 April 2004. <www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59302-2002Apr16> (26 April 2004).