food

A charcuterie plate lunch

Genoa salami, pickled asparagus, Beecher’s Flagship cheese, and a mandarin orange – 15 March 2020
food

Tasty picks

My household’s embrace of physical distancing during the COVID-19 epidemic is in full operation. I hope you and others are taking this epidemic seriously and are taking appropriate precautions.

To kickoff the physical distancing I decided to do some pickling. I’ve been pickling onions and peppers for many years. They are wonderful on sandwiches, salads, cheese boards, and for topping off pastas, to name a few. For me the key is cutting them really thin, making them easy to pile on whatever it is you are eating. I feel the thinness brings along a better onion/pepper-to-vinegar ratio.

Pickled asparagus and cauliflower

In addition to onions and peppers, I started pickling asparagus recently as well. I wish I would have started long ago. For me there isn’t a better pickled anything than asparagus. They are delicious. They are also convenient (grab a few spears out of the jar). They work as a snack or as a part of a meal. The key is using a hot brine for the asparagus (this also works great for Brussels sprouts), thanks to Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden for this advice. Just pour in the boiling brine into the jar of asparagus.

As for the cauliflower, this is my first time pickling them. I’m looking forward to giving them a go in a few days.

Note: these are all refrigerator pickles. They are usually ready to eat in 2-3 days.

Brining

I have settled on using the same brine for all of my pickling, hot or cold.

Brine ratio:

2 cups - water
1 cup - white vinegar
1/4 cup - rice vinegar
3 tbsp - salt
2 tbsp - sugar

When making the hot brine for the asparagus and Brussels sprouts combine all the brine ingredients and bring to a boil. When making the cold brine bring everything except for the water to a boil. Then add the hot liquid to the cold water.

Additional ingredients

The asparagus and Brussels sprouts use raw garlic, black peppercorns, dried chilies, and thinly sliced onion. These spears have a nice subtle bite.

The peppers and onions use raw garlic, black peppercorns, and mustard seeds. The mustard seeds provide a little tang.

And finally, the cauliflower has raw garlic, fresh rosemary, and one thinly sliced carrot.

Stay safe. Take care.

general

Blue butterfly

Zoe Jakes with butterfly wings on stage.
Beats Antique concert at the The Showbox in Seattle – 29 February 2020
general

Klay day

WSU retires Klay Thompson’s jersey.
general

MLB and the Astros billionaire

Yesterday Major League baseball handed out their punishment to the Houston Astros for stealing signs during their 2017 Word Series winning season. In addition to the punishment handed out by the MLB, the owner of the Astros, Jim Crane, fired his manager, A. J. Hinch, and his general manager, Jeff Luhnow. Both becoming the fall guys (along with Joey Cora, manager of the Red Sox, and Carlos Beltran, manager of the New York Mets) for the cheating that took place. The Astros also lost four draft picks and were fined $5 million. A small price to pay for a World Series title.

Inherent to baseball

After chatting with someone about the Astros punishment yesterday I was asked if I thought baseball players and executives were more likely to cheat than those in other sports. It was an interesting question. My first inclination was definitely not. There are cheaters in all sports. However, after reflecting a bit more, I couldn’t be sure. Baseball has always had ways to cheat that were considered a part of the game. Just don’t get caught. Corked bats and spit balls (and other substances) come to mind. Sign stealing has also always been a part of baseball. It is legal as long as you don’t use video equipment during the game to figure it out (this is also the case in college and professional football). And then there is performance enhancing drugs.

Cheating feels like a systemic issue from the top when considering how slow MLB was in figuring out how to handle performance enhancing drugs. It was slow because the money and attention were too good. The ratings and media attention around Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds were too much to pass up. While a black eye remains, the value of MLB teams increased significantly.

According to Forbes in 2003, the top valued MLB team was worth $849 million. The bottom valued team in 2003 was worth $113 million. In 2019, again according to Forbes, the top valued team is worth $4.3 billion. The bottom valued team is worth $1 billion. In 16 seasons that is an increase of 542% for the top valued team and a 885% increase for the bottom valued slot.

It appears no financial investments were harmed during MLB’s slowroll in dealing with performance enhancing drugs. *Only players were damaged during this time.

*Not to say that players don’t deserve some of to blame, but they were part of system that was allowing it for its own benefit. Then they were thrown under the bus.

Billionaire wins, again

The owner of the Astros, billionaire Jim Crane, gets no real punishment. He keeps his 2017 Word Series ring. He keeps his franchise. And he gets to look like the good guy because he fired his manager and general manager. I’m relieved that there are respected industry journalists that are calling out the MLB and Jim Crane for what this is. Billionaire protection. Utilizing fake punishment and public relations to shift blame from those that are in charge.

The Astros, predictably, are also the franchise that had the “I’m so fucking glad we got Osuna!” issue.

These aren’t issues that only happen with employees of an organization. These are issues that are carried out by employees within a culture of an organization. The culture is created from the top by the people they hire and the values they set. Jim Crane shouldn’t be let off the hook. Jeff Passan, in his article (also referenced earlier), states “Either Crane did not know that the business he owns and operates was cheating or he did know and did nothing about it. Neither is good.”

Agreed. Either he’s complicit or he’s lost organizational control.

How about a post season ban

The NCAA, which isn’t immune from cheating by any means, has a punishment that professional organizations should consider: post season bans. No playoffs. No World Series. Imagine handing the Houston Astros a five year post season ban where they lose all of their first and second round draft picks through the duration of the ban, so they can’t tank during this time to get better. I can. This would inflict some pain.

While we’re at it, we might as well institute another NCAA tool that forces institutions to vacate wins and titles for seasons where severe cheating was uncovered. This would be an additional sting to accompany the post season ban. The Astros wouldn’t be able to display their 2017 Word Series flag in their stadium, reference it in any of their materials, or sell merchandise referencing it.

Major League Baseball needs to find the gumption to actually punish its owners. If not, then the MLB is complicit in the cheating that occurs.

This post also applies to the NFL regarding the New England Patriots.

Updates

Joey Cora was fired by the Boston Red Sox for his role in sign stealing while a bench coach for the Astros.

Carlos Beltran has been fired by the New York Mets for his role in sign stealing as a member of the Astros.

Additional reading: