Up in the Be A Man area - Famous Smoke cigars. I'd purchased from them previously, and a gent from their site asked if I could put up a link. So I did. They've got everything from the big-brand cigars to clearance cigars, to machine rolled smokes like Djarum and Backwoods.
One of the things that I like like about this site is not only do they have the names of the cigars listed, but they also have pictures of the cigar band. So if you're not quite sure about what the name was, you can still identify it by sight. When I ordered from them, the cigars came in good time and were in great shape. Prices were right on line with the norm, or a bit better depending on what you were buying.
Give 'em a look!
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. - Robert A. Heinlein -
Showing posts with label Be A Man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Be A Man. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Found a new pipe blend
So first of all, if you happen to be a pipe smoker in or around the Pasadena area, you have to stop in to a place called the Briar Hound. This is a pipe only smoke shop. It's open on the weekends, from 1-8 PM. He's got all kinds of different tobaccos at the shop, but what sets this guy apart is that he'll sell tobacco by the ounce. He's got a menu of all kinds of different tobaccos, and you can select one you want to try and just buy a bowl of it instead of buying an entire tin.
Which is how I found this new pipe tobacco. It's called "Cigar Leaf" by Cornell & Diehl.
It's like having a good cigar and a pipe all in one.
Now if I can just find a place to buy the stuff where I live....
Which is how I found this new pipe tobacco. It's called "Cigar Leaf" by Cornell & Diehl.
It's like having a good cigar and a pipe all in one.
Now if I can just find a place to buy the stuff where I live....
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Getting what I asked for
So last week I ordered my monthly supply of cigars, and included it that was a bundle of A.J. Fernandez "over-runs". They're seconds, or perhaps they are over-runs, but they're unlabeled and you don't know which particular line of cigars they're from.
However, they're from A.J. Fernandez. So, they're ManOWar, or Diesel, or La Herencia Cubana or any other number of cigars. All of them good, and most of them powerful. If you don't like a strong cigar, these things will blow your head off. I happen to like strong cigars from time to time, so I ordered a bundle of toros.
So they came in the mail on Friday. Into the humidor to get happy. Lit one up just a minute or two ago, and this thing has to be from one of his stronger lines. This is what I imagine a pre-Castro Cuban cigar to be; not just a palate pleaser, but you can feel it in your belly.
Damn good cigars.
However, they're from A.J. Fernandez. So, they're ManOWar, or Diesel, or La Herencia Cubana or any other number of cigars. All of them good, and most of them powerful. If you don't like a strong cigar, these things will blow your head off. I happen to like strong cigars from time to time, so I ordered a bundle of toros.
So they came in the mail on Friday. Into the humidor to get happy. Lit one up just a minute or two ago, and this thing has to be from one of his stronger lines. This is what I imagine a pre-Castro Cuban cigar to be; not just a palate pleaser, but you can feel it in your belly.
Damn good cigars.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Be a Man, make Sausage
So I cased and packaged almost twenty pounds of sausage last night. Six pounds of bratwurst, six pounds of a new sausage we're making called "Chipotle and Cheese" with massive amounts of onion and garlic, three + pounds of our Cranberry Brats (we're in Wisconsin, after all!) and three + pounds of a bratwurst with Granny Smith apples, which didn't come out nearly as good as I had hoped.
Ah well, that's why we experiment. It still tasted good with a little mustard.
In any case, making your own sausage is relatively easy, and for those who actually care about what goes into their food, should be a priority on learning how to do it. We first started making our own sausage when the Ragin' Mrs. allergies started cropping up. We couldn't find a single sausage that didn't have some form of soy in it. Soy flour, soybean oil, soy protein, blah blah blah CRAP and MORE CRAP. In sausage. We started out making our own Italian sausage and breakfast sausage, and when we couldn't find a single bratwurst IN FRIGGIN' WISCONSIN that didn't have soy in it, we hunted until we found an original recipe and then fiddled and tested and experimented with it until we perfected it. And I mean, guys who spent decades in Germany taking a bite and almost weeping PERFECT. One gent uttered the phrase "Oh my God, that's my lunch in Munich!"
No, you're not getting that recipe. We may end up selling it before too long, and we're keeping it proprietary.
If you want more encouragement to make your own sausage, go to the supermarket, pick up a package of sausage and read the ingredients. Get towards the end, and see how many you can pronounce. If you're sensitive to things like Nitrates, Nitrites, Sulfates and Sulfites, watch out. If you don't like having high-protein soy flour, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oils and other various ingredients with multi-syllabic chemical ingredients in your food, then most likely you'll have to make your own.
In any case, the first thing you'll need to make sauage is good meat. We found a grocery store that sells the ends to their "boneless country ribs", which aren't ribs by the way. They're pork roasts cut into strips so that you can grill them and call them ribs. ANYWAYS - we take the ends which they sell relatively cheap, and cut it into small chunks that we can toss into the grinder. Some recipes call for beef, some for lamb, most for pork. I add my seasonings before I grind the meat, as I find it gives the sausage a better, more complete flavor. But you can add it after, and it shouldn't hurt a thing.
Don't be afraid of fatty scraps here, either. Sausage needs to have about 20% fat in it, otherwise it dries up when it cooks. A lot of that fat cooks out, so don't think you're eating a fat pill with these.
Take your cut up meat, and run it through your grinder. You can buy manual meat grinders/sausage stuffers just about anywhere. We have an electric grinder/stuffer, and if you have a high-end stand mixer, most of those (such as KitchenAide) have grinder/stuffer attachments that you can use. We used our KitchenAide to make sausage for years before we finally got our grinder. Pay attention to the plate size - the smaller the holes in the plate, the smoother the end product will be. If you want a real coarse sausage, like breakfast sausages, use the larger sized plate. For our brats I use the smallest sized plate. I use a medium size plate on my Italian sausage.
My meat grinder doubles as a sausage stuffer, I just swap out the plates for a stuffing tube. Other machines are uni-taskers. The only requirement is that it takes the ground meat and stuffs it into a casing, so there's really no "wrong" answer on what machine to use. Here is where a big textural factor comes into play; you can get collagen casings, which are dry, and can keep for months until you use them. Or you can get natural casings which have to be used a bit sooner. Natural casings also need to be handled differently. Once the moisture from the sausage works it's way into the collagen casing, there's only a slight difference in how the sausage feels, but you can still feel the difference. The Ragin' Mrs. and I prefer real, natural casings. Hog casing is the standard sausage size. Lamb casings are for breakfast sausage and other smaller diameter sausages like hot dogs. Beef casing, if you can get it, is for the large, summer-sausage type creations. When we were in Puerto Rico, the only casings we could get were the collagen, so that's what we used. We're able to get the hog and lamb casings here in Wisconsin.
As you're filling the casing, pause to twist individual links. Or, if you're going for a smoked sausage like Andouille or Keilbasa make long whole loops that can be hung over a smoking rack. We make our own andouille here at the Ragin' Manor. Goes great in soups, casseroles, and the Ragin' Mrs.' Red Beans and Rice.
Package up the sausage how ever you feel, and enjoy. Once you try real, home-made sausage that doesn't have a bunch of crap fillers in it, you'll never go back. There's loads of websites about sausage making with recipes, techniques and hints. Use 'em.
Maybe next time we'll talk about making beer. Or mead.
Ah well, that's why we experiment. It still tasted good with a little mustard.
In any case, making your own sausage is relatively easy, and for those who actually care about what goes into their food, should be a priority on learning how to do it. We first started making our own sausage when the Ragin' Mrs. allergies started cropping up. We couldn't find a single sausage that didn't have some form of soy in it. Soy flour, soybean oil, soy protein, blah blah blah CRAP and MORE CRAP. In sausage. We started out making our own Italian sausage and breakfast sausage, and when we couldn't find a single bratwurst IN FRIGGIN' WISCONSIN that didn't have soy in it, we hunted until we found an original recipe and then fiddled and tested and experimented with it until we perfected it. And I mean, guys who spent decades in Germany taking a bite and almost weeping PERFECT. One gent uttered the phrase "Oh my God, that's my lunch in Munich!"
No, you're not getting that recipe. We may end up selling it before too long, and we're keeping it proprietary.
If you want more encouragement to make your own sausage, go to the supermarket, pick up a package of sausage and read the ingredients. Get towards the end, and see how many you can pronounce. If you're sensitive to things like Nitrates, Nitrites, Sulfates and Sulfites, watch out. If you don't like having high-protein soy flour, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oils and other various ingredients with multi-syllabic chemical ingredients in your food, then most likely you'll have to make your own.
In any case, the first thing you'll need to make sauage is good meat. We found a grocery store that sells the ends to their "boneless country ribs", which aren't ribs by the way. They're pork roasts cut into strips so that you can grill them and call them ribs. ANYWAYS - we take the ends which they sell relatively cheap, and cut it into small chunks that we can toss into the grinder. Some recipes call for beef, some for lamb, most for pork. I add my seasonings before I grind the meat, as I find it gives the sausage a better, more complete flavor. But you can add it after, and it shouldn't hurt a thing.
Don't be afraid of fatty scraps here, either. Sausage needs to have about 20% fat in it, otherwise it dries up when it cooks. A lot of that fat cooks out, so don't think you're eating a fat pill with these.
Take your cut up meat, and run it through your grinder. You can buy manual meat grinders/sausage stuffers just about anywhere. We have an electric grinder/stuffer, and if you have a high-end stand mixer, most of those (such as KitchenAide) have grinder/stuffer attachments that you can use. We used our KitchenAide to make sausage for years before we finally got our grinder. Pay attention to the plate size - the smaller the holes in the plate, the smoother the end product will be. If you want a real coarse sausage, like breakfast sausages, use the larger sized plate. For our brats I use the smallest sized plate. I use a medium size plate on my Italian sausage.
My meat grinder doubles as a sausage stuffer, I just swap out the plates for a stuffing tube. Other machines are uni-taskers. The only requirement is that it takes the ground meat and stuffs it into a casing, so there's really no "wrong" answer on what machine to use. Here is where a big textural factor comes into play; you can get collagen casings, which are dry, and can keep for months until you use them. Or you can get natural casings which have to be used a bit sooner. Natural casings also need to be handled differently. Once the moisture from the sausage works it's way into the collagen casing, there's only a slight difference in how the sausage feels, but you can still feel the difference. The Ragin' Mrs. and I prefer real, natural casings. Hog casing is the standard sausage size. Lamb casings are for breakfast sausage and other smaller diameter sausages like hot dogs. Beef casing, if you can get it, is for the large, summer-sausage type creations. When we were in Puerto Rico, the only casings we could get were the collagen, so that's what we used. We're able to get the hog and lamb casings here in Wisconsin.
As you're filling the casing, pause to twist individual links. Or, if you're going for a smoked sausage like Andouille or Keilbasa make long whole loops that can be hung over a smoking rack. We make our own andouille here at the Ragin' Manor. Goes great in soups, casseroles, and the Ragin' Mrs.' Red Beans and Rice.
Package up the sausage how ever you feel, and enjoy. Once you try real, home-made sausage that doesn't have a bunch of crap fillers in it, you'll never go back. There's loads of websites about sausage making with recipes, techniques and hints. Use 'em.
Maybe next time we'll talk about making beer. Or mead.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Be a Man, Make a Ham
So the Ragin' Mrs. put forth one of the best spreads EVAR!!!!!!!!11!!1! for Thanksgiving, and it included our home-made ham.
Yep. Home made. We make it and cure it. And I'm about to tell you how.
Go ye forth and procure a picnic ham. We pick them up at the Commissary, but any meat shop should be able to get one for you. Your local grocery store can order them in if they don't already have them.
Take the ham home, rinse it off, and then prepare your salt cure; equal parts salt and sugar. The Ragin' Mrs. and I use our almost world famous Spice Rub, but I'm not giving THAT recipe away. For the right price, I can send you a pound of it. But take your equal parts salt and sugar, and add whatever spices you want to it. Garlic, pepper, ginger, anything that happens to float your boat.
Now that your fresh picnic ham is coated in your salt cure, seal it in a big ziplock bag, put it in the coldest part of your fridge, and let it sit for two weeks. Yes, two weeks. That's what the salt is for.
Once it's sat for two weeks, it's time to cold-smoke it. You need to get the smoke into the meat, but NOT COOK IT. We actually have a hot-plate that we place a thin metal pan full of wood-chips on, and that gets the smoke we want without the heat that traditional smoking would bring. Smoke it for about five to eight hours, depending on how heavy your smoke is.
Once the ham is smoked BUT NOT COOKED, take it out of the smoke, put it back into the bag, and pour a bottle of good red wine into the bag. Merlot, Cabernet, even Lambrusco if you like a little sweetness. Seal it up, and put it back into the coldest part of your fridge for another week. Turn it once a day to make sure the wine gets everywhere.
After the week is up, you can freeze it or cook it right then. The flavor is friggin' AWESOME, the meat is cut-with-a-fork tender, and you've done it yourself. The biggest part is patience as you wait for the salt, sugar, and wine to do it's job. We've made several hams this way, and people darn near rip the ham right off the plate when we set it down. You won't be disappointed.
Yep. Home made. We make it and cure it. And I'm about to tell you how.
Go ye forth and procure a picnic ham. We pick them up at the Commissary, but any meat shop should be able to get one for you. Your local grocery store can order them in if they don't already have them.
Take the ham home, rinse it off, and then prepare your salt cure; equal parts salt and sugar. The Ragin' Mrs. and I use our almost world famous Spice Rub, but I'm not giving THAT recipe away. For the right price, I can send you a pound of it. But take your equal parts salt and sugar, and add whatever spices you want to it. Garlic, pepper, ginger, anything that happens to float your boat.
Now that your fresh picnic ham is coated in your salt cure, seal it in a big ziplock bag, put it in the coldest part of your fridge, and let it sit for two weeks. Yes, two weeks. That's what the salt is for.
Once it's sat for two weeks, it's time to cold-smoke it. You need to get the smoke into the meat, but NOT COOK IT. We actually have a hot-plate that we place a thin metal pan full of wood-chips on, and that gets the smoke we want without the heat that traditional smoking would bring. Smoke it for about five to eight hours, depending on how heavy your smoke is.
Once the ham is smoked BUT NOT COOKED, take it out of the smoke, put it back into the bag, and pour a bottle of good red wine into the bag. Merlot, Cabernet, even Lambrusco if you like a little sweetness. Seal it up, and put it back into the coldest part of your fridge for another week. Turn it once a day to make sure the wine gets everywhere.
After the week is up, you can freeze it or cook it right then. The flavor is friggin' AWESOME, the meat is cut-with-a-fork tender, and you've done it yourself. The biggest part is patience as you wait for the salt, sugar, and wine to do it's job. We've made several hams this way, and people darn near rip the ham right off the plate when we set it down. You won't be disappointed.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Be a Man, make some bread
Ok folks, here is my simple, easy bread recipe. This is one of those things that you can futz with all you want, as it's just a basic loaf of bread. Actually, this recipe will give you two to four loaves, depending on how big you make them.
You're going to need:
6 cups of white flour. I use the "Better for Bread" high-gluten flour.
2 cups water
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt.
Let me start by saying that I use a stand mixer to mix my dough. You can do it by hand, it just takes a lot more effort.
Warm up your water. You want it no more than 100 degrees. If you can pour it over your wrist without discomfort, you should be good. Dissolve your sugar in the water, and then add your yeast. Let the yeast get happy.
While the yeast is getting happy, put TWO cups of your flour in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes, and toss it in. Add the salt. Once the yeast is happy, and you can tell by having a layer of froth on top of the water, pour the water/yeast mixture into the flour. Mix well.
Once you have your water/yeast/flour mixed, change to a dough hook. Start mixing again, adding your flour in ONE HALF CUP AT A TIME. This is important. Due to the fact that we're measuring out our flour by VOLUME and not by WEIGHT, the actual amount of flour you're going to use may vary by as much as a cup. By adding your flour one half cup at a time, you're giving the flour a chance to mix in the dough, and not adding too much flour.
You can tell you've added enough flour when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and it doesn't stick to your finger when you poke it.
Now that your dough ball is mixed, you have to knead it. Spread some flour on a flat, clean surface and turn your dough out of the bowl. Knead it until it's smooth. If the dough begins to "break", or you see it tearing as you fold and knead it, stop. It's been kneaded enough.
Put the dough into a bowl that's been oiled. Cover it with a damp towel or some plastic wrap. Let it rise. The dough is going to double in size, so make sure you have it in a large enough bowl.
Here is where you can play around. After the dough is risen, you can punch it down and let it rise again. The more you punch it down, the smaller and more evenly dispersed the air bubbles in the dough will be. If you only let it rise once, you're going to get larger, uneven air pockets in your bread, which gives it a rather rustic feel. If you really want a rustic bread, don't bother with the bowl. Shape it into loaves, let it rise, and then pop them in the oven when they're risen. I normally punch the dough down one or two times.
After the last rise, however many you do, turn the dough out of the bowl onto your floured surface again. Punch it down, and cut it into about four pieces. You can ball these pieces up and put them into bread loaf pans, or you can roll them out into long loaves and put them on a sheet pan. For a little different flavor, roll the dough out flat, sprinkle a light coat of rosemary into the dough, and then roll the dough into a long loaf. Let the dough rise one more time. This is a good time to pre-heat your oven to 410 degrees.
Once your loaves have risen that last time, place them into the oven at 410. Bake for fifteen minutes. Rotate shelves, and cook for ten more minutes. Pull them out and let them cool just enough to handle, then cut a piece off, put some butter on it and eat it.
That's it. Easy, simple, NO PRESERVATIVES, no crap, no junk, and it tastes great. You can add just about anything you want to this bread to change it up - spices, different herbs, an egg, you name it. Or you can just make it plain, and turn it into french toast, or sandwiches.
Don't let it sit out too long. Remember, there's no preservatives, so it won't stay "fresh" for more than a couple of days. Goober recommends freezing it outside of any wrapper for a day, and then pulling it out and sealing it in a vacuum bag to avoid getting freezer burn.
There you have it. Bread, made by you. Go for it.
You're going to need:
6 cups of white flour. I use the "Better for Bread" high-gluten flour.
2 cups water
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt.
Let me start by saying that I use a stand mixer to mix my dough. You can do it by hand, it just takes a lot more effort.
Warm up your water. You want it no more than 100 degrees. If you can pour it over your wrist without discomfort, you should be good. Dissolve your sugar in the water, and then add your yeast. Let the yeast get happy.
While the yeast is getting happy, put TWO cups of your flour in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes, and toss it in. Add the salt. Once the yeast is happy, and you can tell by having a layer of froth on top of the water, pour the water/yeast mixture into the flour. Mix well.
Once you have your water/yeast/flour mixed, change to a dough hook. Start mixing again, adding your flour in ONE HALF CUP AT A TIME. This is important. Due to the fact that we're measuring out our flour by VOLUME and not by WEIGHT, the actual amount of flour you're going to use may vary by as much as a cup. By adding your flour one half cup at a time, you're giving the flour a chance to mix in the dough, and not adding too much flour.
You can tell you've added enough flour when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and it doesn't stick to your finger when you poke it.
Now that your dough ball is mixed, you have to knead it. Spread some flour on a flat, clean surface and turn your dough out of the bowl. Knead it until it's smooth. If the dough begins to "break", or you see it tearing as you fold and knead it, stop. It's been kneaded enough.
Put the dough into a bowl that's been oiled. Cover it with a damp towel or some plastic wrap. Let it rise. The dough is going to double in size, so make sure you have it in a large enough bowl.
Here is where you can play around. After the dough is risen, you can punch it down and let it rise again. The more you punch it down, the smaller and more evenly dispersed the air bubbles in the dough will be. If you only let it rise once, you're going to get larger, uneven air pockets in your bread, which gives it a rather rustic feel. If you really want a rustic bread, don't bother with the bowl. Shape it into loaves, let it rise, and then pop them in the oven when they're risen. I normally punch the dough down one or two times.
After the last rise, however many you do, turn the dough out of the bowl onto your floured surface again. Punch it down, and cut it into about four pieces. You can ball these pieces up and put them into bread loaf pans, or you can roll them out into long loaves and put them on a sheet pan. For a little different flavor, roll the dough out flat, sprinkle a light coat of rosemary into the dough, and then roll the dough into a long loaf. Let the dough rise one more time. This is a good time to pre-heat your oven to 410 degrees.
Once your loaves have risen that last time, place them into the oven at 410. Bake for fifteen minutes. Rotate shelves, and cook for ten more minutes. Pull them out and let them cool just enough to handle, then cut a piece off, put some butter on it and eat it.
That's it. Easy, simple, NO PRESERVATIVES, no crap, no junk, and it tastes great. You can add just about anything you want to this bread to change it up - spices, different herbs, an egg, you name it. Or you can just make it plain, and turn it into french toast, or sandwiches.
Don't let it sit out too long. Remember, there's no preservatives, so it won't stay "fresh" for more than a couple of days. Goober recommends freezing it outside of any wrapper for a day, and then pulling it out and sealing it in a vacuum bag to avoid getting freezer burn.
There you have it. Bread, made by you. Go for it.
Monday, November 07, 2011
Be a Man, Food Production
I'm sure that as I write this a whole lot of people are going to be nodding their heads. But for those who don't, I'll break it down for you - a real man knows how to take raw ingredients and make a full meal. And I do mean "raw". I'm not talking about grabbing a pre-packaged steak at the supermarket, I'm talking about grabbing the entire beef tenderloin, cutting the sliverskin off, and cutting nine steaks off it. Not cutting up bread and rubbing garlic on it, but taking flour, salt, sugar, water, butter and yeast and turning out a loaf or two. Making your own sausage. Jams, jellies, preserves.
Making your own FOOD.
Why do it? Because it's something that everyone needs to know how to do, as you cannot always be guaranteed a supermarket will be nearby. And because if you ever pick up a package of food and read the ingredients, you will invariably find something that you cannot pronounce unless you're a chemistry major, and a whole host more that you just don't want to put into your body.
Look folks, corn syrup is not natural. Your body cannot break it down. High Fructose Corn Syrup is in damn near everything, and it's nasty. You don't need it, I can guarantee that it's not doing you any good, and I can also guarantee that if you're a normal person you're eating absolute SHITLOADS of it without even knowing it.
There's also the fact that making your own food is cheaper. I can make my bratwurst for about $2.00 a pound. Try to buy a pound of brats for two bucks at the store. And my bratwurst tastes better, is healthier for me, and causes my friends to commit homicide for a chance to get some.
Now, what does it take? Time, and a few kitchen implements that you might not already have. If you have a Kitchenaide type stand mixer, you can make sausage, bread, just about anything. We found a meat grinder/sausage stuffer combo on sale, so we picked that up. Any hunting or outdoors supply store will have meat grinders, sausage stuffers, all kinds of utensils you might need. The local Gander Mountain has collagen casing and natural hog casing for sausage as well. Most department stores will have some sort of bread machine if you don't want to actually turn out a loaf by hand. Bread can be frozen if you make a bunch of loaves at once, so I normally do three batches and the Mrs. tosses most of it in the freezer until we need it.
So the next round of Be a Man will focus on food production. I figure it'll be nice to talk about something other than how Obama and his cronies are ruining this country.
Making your own FOOD.
Why do it? Because it's something that everyone needs to know how to do, as you cannot always be guaranteed a supermarket will be nearby. And because if you ever pick up a package of food and read the ingredients, you will invariably find something that you cannot pronounce unless you're a chemistry major, and a whole host more that you just don't want to put into your body.
Look folks, corn syrup is not natural. Your body cannot break it down. High Fructose Corn Syrup is in damn near everything, and it's nasty. You don't need it, I can guarantee that it's not doing you any good, and I can also guarantee that if you're a normal person you're eating absolute SHITLOADS of it without even knowing it.
There's also the fact that making your own food is cheaper. I can make my bratwurst for about $2.00 a pound. Try to buy a pound of brats for two bucks at the store. And my bratwurst tastes better, is healthier for me, and causes my friends to commit homicide for a chance to get some.
Now, what does it take? Time, and a few kitchen implements that you might not already have. If you have a Kitchenaide type stand mixer, you can make sausage, bread, just about anything. We found a meat grinder/sausage stuffer combo on sale, so we picked that up. Any hunting or outdoors supply store will have meat grinders, sausage stuffers, all kinds of utensils you might need. The local Gander Mountain has collagen casing and natural hog casing for sausage as well. Most department stores will have some sort of bread machine if you don't want to actually turn out a loaf by hand. Bread can be frozen if you make a bunch of loaves at once, so I normally do three batches and the Mrs. tosses most of it in the freezer until we need it.
So the next round of Be a Man will focus on food production. I figure it'll be nice to talk about something other than how Obama and his cronies are ruining this country.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Be a Man, shaving update
So I've been using this razor for about three weeks now. I use the "unscented" pre-shave oil from The Art of Shaving. I put the "unscented" in quotation marks because it's made from botanical oils that have their own aroma - sandalwood, pepper, lavender, and a few others. It doesn't have a strong odor, and the Ragin' Mrs. sniffed it and said "It just smells... well... masculine." In any case, the aroma doesn't last after you lather up and shave. I haven't used an aftershave or balm yet.
So far, it's the best shave I've had in my life. Seriously. I use a generic glycerine shaving soap that I bought from a soap shop in Seattle, that I've been using for the last six months or so. I've been using a mug and brush for years, because I can't stand the chemical glop that comes out of a can. I change the razor out once a week, and a ten pack of razors cost me about $6.00, if I remember correctly. Once I got the technique down, I was clean as a whistle. The only place my wife can feel any stubble is right under my chin, and I had stubble there with a cartridge razor as well. It's just a spot that's hard to shave no matter what razor I use. I just shave after I shower, and it takes a few extra minutes. I have less ingrown hairs too. I used to get them on my cheeks and my chin. I haven't had a one since I started using the safety razor.
All in all, I wish I had done this sooner.
So far, it's the best shave I've had in my life. Seriously. I use a generic glycerine shaving soap that I bought from a soap shop in Seattle, that I've been using for the last six months or so. I've been using a mug and brush for years, because I can't stand the chemical glop that comes out of a can. I change the razor out once a week, and a ten pack of razors cost me about $6.00, if I remember correctly. Once I got the technique down, I was clean as a whistle. The only place my wife can feel any stubble is right under my chin, and I had stubble there with a cartridge razor as well. It's just a spot that's hard to shave no matter what razor I use. I just shave after I shower, and it takes a few extra minutes. I have less ingrown hairs too. I used to get them on my cheeks and my chin. I haven't had a one since I started using the safety razor.
All in all, I wish I had done this sooner.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Be a Man!
I've added a section over on the blogroll titled "Be a Man". There will be more links added to it in due time. It'll be links that I think men might be interested in, or that they SHOULD be interested in.
I've recently picked up a safety razor, and set the modern cartridge razor aside. The last time the Ragin' Mrs. and I went to the store to pick up refills for the modern razor we damn near shit kittens at how expensive they are. My old Gillette Sensor that I got when I was 18 shaved better than all of these modern plastic pieces of junk, but for years I couldn't find the refills for it. After looking at the prices of every razor refill, and looking at the very inexpensive cost of the razors for a safety razor, I figured I would at least give it a try. Up front cost for a good safety razor - $40. Replacement blades? About 25-50 cents each. I'll make my money back in a couple of months.
First things first - a safety razor requires that you actually learn how to shave. Some folks might already know how to actually shave, but I'm willing to bet that most people only know how to slap some chemical glop on their face and scrape it with a cartridge razor. I already had good shaving soap and a brush, because the chemical glop irritated my skin. If you don't have a shaving mug, you can get one cheap. Good soap can be bought without breaking the bank. I've been shaving with the safety razor for about a week now, and once I got the technique down I get a better shave than I did with the cartridge razors. It takes a bit more time, so I have to adjust my schedule in the morning. The real expense is the initial purchase - razor, mug, and brush can cost you anywhere from $60 in total, to upwards of $1,000 if you're buying the primo stuff. After that, it's just buying soap and razors, which should run you about $10 a month or less.
So anyways - post one on how to be a man: Learning how to shave again. There will be more later.
I've recently picked up a safety razor, and set the modern cartridge razor aside. The last time the Ragin' Mrs. and I went to the store to pick up refills for the modern razor we damn near shit kittens at how expensive they are. My old Gillette Sensor that I got when I was 18 shaved better than all of these modern plastic pieces of junk, but for years I couldn't find the refills for it. After looking at the prices of every razor refill, and looking at the very inexpensive cost of the razors for a safety razor, I figured I would at least give it a try. Up front cost for a good safety razor - $40. Replacement blades? About 25-50 cents each. I'll make my money back in a couple of months.
First things first - a safety razor requires that you actually learn how to shave. Some folks might already know how to actually shave, but I'm willing to bet that most people only know how to slap some chemical glop on their face and scrape it with a cartridge razor. I already had good shaving soap and a brush, because the chemical glop irritated my skin. If you don't have a shaving mug, you can get one cheap. Good soap can be bought without breaking the bank. I've been shaving with the safety razor for about a week now, and once I got the technique down I get a better shave than I did with the cartridge razors. It takes a bit more time, so I have to adjust my schedule in the morning. The real expense is the initial purchase - razor, mug, and brush can cost you anywhere from $60 in total, to upwards of $1,000 if you're buying the primo stuff. After that, it's just buying soap and razors, which should run you about $10 a month or less.
So anyways - post one on how to be a man: Learning how to shave again. There will be more later.
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