The Squid Knits Guide to the Homemade Egg Cream

The following guide is not to be taken as gospel. Everyone swears by their method of making the humble egg cream. This is how we do it.

You start with chocolate syrup. U-Bets is traditional but anything will do in a pinch.


Take a large glass, about 14 ounces and this is the shape that really works best.Squirt in about 1/4 inch (a little less then a centimeter) of chocolate syrup.
Add an inch or two (this looks like 2) of milk. Skim is fine but purists will probably insist on whole milk.


Now we come to the controversial part. May say to not stir until later -- we squid, however, like to mix our milk and chocolate together before adding the final ingredient.Add seltzer while stirring. My seltzer was a little flat -- the head should be much bigger and overflow the glass for the perfect egg cream.
Drink quickly. Egg Creams do not hold well and are to be drunk up, not sipped.

***

About a week ago I accidentally invented the Ginger Egg Cream when I mistook weak homemade ginger ale for seltzer. It was surprisingly good and the kids now occassionally add a squirt of ginger syrup along with the chocolate.

Little Squid also tried it with lingonberry syrup (thank you Ikea) and it was a likable addition. Not quite as refreshing as ginger, but still nice.

Enjoy!

Finishing on the Fourth

I thought about making the day all about finishing but decided against it. Instead, I finished one knitting project and one spinning project and made progress on one of each.

Finished, one pair of gift socks. Recipient yet unknown.Finished, twisting up washed skeins of what was supposed to be Mike's next sweater. Since I do not think I have enough, I bought a whole lot of shetland roving to start over. No idea what this stuff will become but there is about 1500 yards of it. (Not all pictured here.)
Made progress on a project involving a whole lot of these and then went and bought more. I hope to mostly finish this project today.Did a lot of spinning and finished listening to the latest Janet Evanovich novel, Fearless Fourteen. It was the first time I listened to one of her books instead of reading it and I have to say, the characters are even clearer in my mind now. I really have a good feel for what Ranger is supposed to look like. Whew! Hot!!!

Basically, it was a stay at home day, except for Squidette who went and had waterballon fights with her friends. When she returned, we all went to services and then to see the fireworks.It was the first time seeing them fairly up close for the kids. Our view was somewhat obstructed but it beat the occasional burst that we usually see from our windows. Yes, it was raining.

Now I am the only human awake in this apartment (Mike is out running). The kids are getting some well earned sleep after which we will go order new glasses frames for them. Another quiet day planned here at Chez Squid.

Second Day of Vacation

Today was a little different then yesterday, mainly because we wanted to get out of the apartment while Maria cleaned.

So, after taking the kids to camp (via automobile, not bicycle) we came home and, after dropping the car off for service, took to the streets on foot. Walking toward the Bowery, in search of soda syrup, we passed many historical places -- but I only took this photo.The Amato Opera Company on the left and the former CBGBs on the right.

We did not find soda syrup but did stop at the greenmarket on our way home and got lots of yummy vegetables for dinner. Lunch at the diner and some quiet time at home brought us to the end of our afternoon. Mike went to get the kids and I went to get the car.

As I walked uptown, I noticed this view. On the left, the New York Times building with it's ladder like facade and on the right, the Empire State Building. I'm sure that the Empire State Building is taller but at this angle, it actually looks puny.

KnittyOtter asked what my knitting plans were for the summer. To answer simply, finishing.

I have several projects that just need binding off or end hiding or assembly. So, I am going to attempt to finish a project a day for a few days. Today's project: Girly Girl Cycling Socks (not their real name, I can't find the pattern right now).
I also intend to knit these socks as my Tour de France Knit-along project. I figure that since the Tour is all about finishing then these combined with my "finishing" projects should suffice for a Green Jersey. Also in the planning stage, but slated to be finished before the end of the summer, a shrug for Squidette to wear over her too revealing dress on her special day in September.

Yes, Squidette's blanket is in the finishing queue, but only when the weather cools off or I get too cold from the air conditioning.

More Waterfalls and Riding Around Brooklyn

This morning we went on a breakfast ride to the Brooklyn Fairway. To get there, we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and got another 4-Waterfall view.

Number 1: The Manhattan FallNumber 2: The Brooklyn Fall
Number 3: The Governor's Island Fall
Number 4: The Brooklyn Bridge Fall ... as seen from the walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge
While Little Squid rated them one "awesome" yesterday, today they were old hat.

Replacing them on the awesome scale were all the cool things along the waterfront behind New York City's first Ikea.
In order to ingratiate themselves into the neighborhood, Ikea fixed up the waterfront and preserved some cool details left over from it's heyday as a working waterfront.






Oh, and this? What NYC does to protect it's plants on the day of a big parade.

Of Waterfalls and Weaving

So the buzz about town is the Waterfalls. Having heard so much about them we set out, as Squid will do, on our wheels.

Riding over to the Hudson River Park, the Now-Teen-Speed-Demon took the lead and I took off after her. Following were Little Squid and Papa Squid. For a while the NTSD was riding at a nice clip, 15 - 16 mph or so. After the first mile and a half she slowed a bit to let her mother catch up (I was actually right on her wheel) when suddenly I hear "pass mommy." Two seconds later, Little Squid sprints past me, followed by his grinning father. Then he slows down and I'm stuck in the rear with NTSD two blocks ahead of us. The path is too crowded for me to pass them easily and anyway, they'd just speed up on me if I did.

So on we pedaled, down the Hudson River path, detouring past the lines for the Statue of Liberty ferries and back uptown on the East River path. And then, a block past the Governor's Island Ferry slip we saw the first Waterfall.

Oh wait, not that!

This! Click to enlarge and look way in the background. Above is the Governer's Island Waterfall. Below, the Brooklyn Waterfall.

Below, again, the Brooklyn Waterfall

The Manhattan Waterfall up close.

The Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall from three perspectives.

And, an empty loom.

Yes, that means that it was only two weeks from warp on to warp off. Warp speed?

King of the Hill

This morning we set off to ride the 15 miles to our friends in Yonkers. As the quote goes "a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step," (or something like that) well, a bike trip from Manhattan to Yonkers starts (kind of) with a single hill -- and keeps climbing,

Today it was Little Squid's turn to conquer the hill leading from the base of the George Washington Bridge to street level. Notice the bike. It is his "new" Specialized Dolce Allez. Kind of, sort of. And with it, he conquered the hill. Go Squid! That said, Squidette and I wound up walking part of it. Oops!

We all, then, managed the rest of the hills, including the nasty Riverdale Avenue, and had a lovely afternoon hanging out with our friends in Yonkers.

Coming home saw a series of small mishaps including a flat on Little Squid's bike, due to glass, just after descending the G.W. Bridge hill. While Mike changed the tube the kids and I noticed these swimmers. Going nowhere. Yup. We watched for a few minutes and realized that a few of them were caught in the current and were swimming in place. Eventually they got the clue and swam sideways to the bank and climbed out a bit before the end point, a nice cove a few meters "down" stream. The Hudson River is a tidal estuary down by NYC and the tide must have been going upstream.
There were at least a hundred swimmers emerging from the river and no, we have no idea what the swim was all about. It might have been the annual swim around Manhattan. We used to see it every year when we lived on the East River.

A Taste of East Harlem

After working in East Harlem for the last 16 years I can honestly say that I am still fascinated by this neighborhood. From the remnants of the old Italians to the current influx of Dominicans and Mexicans, it is a place that really illustrates the "melting pot" metaphor so often used in New York City.

Most of these photos were taken as I rode west on 115th Street, starting at my school on Pleasant Avenue.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine. Long a bastion of East Harlem, this institution hosts an annual feast that lasts for 10 days in July and occupies all of the two block stretch in front of my school. Started by Italian immigrants it now serves a mainly spanish speaking population.
Next door to the church is the National Museum of Catholic Art. One of the advantages of being the closest school to the museum is that you get invited over to see new exhibits. I had the pleasure of a tour before it was officially open to the public and was even shown the secret passage from the museum (formerly a catholic school) to the church next door.Row houses on 115th Street.

On the Upper East small markets are called "delis," not to confuse them with say the Second Avenue or Carnegie Deli, places which serve cured meat sandwiches and such. In East Harlem these markets are called bodegas. After all of these years I tend to call all "delis" bodegas, even if they are Korean grocers.A "Project," aka housing project. No, I'm not sure which one. There are lots of them in East Harlem and I didn't stop to read the name.
This is actually on a corner of 112th street. I noticed it as I was riding to work and had to take a shot of it. Look at the contrast on what, on closer examination, are two halves of the same building.

I've started putting my camera on my bike every time I take it out now so, since my car is out of commission* for another two weeks or so, look for more of East Harlem in the weeks to come.

*The insurance adjuster called the damage "extensive," a term which refreaked me for a bit. He also stated that there was glass damage to one of the windows near the back. I missed that one. My folks offered me a car but we keep turning it down. If we don't get the car back by the end of the month then we may borrow one just to do a serious grocery shopping but in the mean time we will patronize the local stores a bit more then usual.

Never Never Land

Carl Shurz Park is one of Manhattan's larger parks and has many vastly different areas. There is the huge children's playground, a dog run, the walk along the river (Finley Walk), Gracie Mansion and, the Peter Pan alcove.

Yesterday Little Squid attended a birthday party in the alcove and I was his adult companion. Since the weather was iffy, I stayed at the party and knit while he ran around with the boys.

Below are some shots of this lovely, lovely area. I can just see people coming here for quiet contemplation and couples sitting and making out with the scent of rose blossoms surrounding them. (Personally, Mike and I used to make out on the benches on Finley walk, facing the river.)

Peter Pan

Squid of Wheels -- Tour de Brooklyn 2008

Let me start by saying -- a ride can't be all that bad when it starts here.

Today was the 4th Annual Tour de Brooklyn. Moderately obsessed squid that we are, we had to ride in it.

The ride took us in and out of various Brooklyn neighborhoods including Williamsburg, Crown Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Heights.

We passed cultural institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art (below).


Paused occasionally to let the rest of the group (over 3000) to consolidate.


And ventured into places that do not usually seem like biking destinations.

Evergreen Cemetary

We even got to ride inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Unfortunately, shortly after the picture above was taken, another rider collided with Little Squid, causing a four-bike pile up. Little Squid was uninjured but his back brakes locked into place. Two marshalls assisted us and finally we were able to totally release them, this however, required Little Squid to finish the day with only his front brakes. Not to worry. Turns out that he tends to mostly use the front ones anyway. Needless to say, I stopped taking pictures for a while.

We finally rejoined Papa Squid and Squidette at Cadman Plaza and the official end of the ride. Little Squid took a few minutes to melt down and then, composed again, insisted that we go find the telectroscope.
Not the Telectroscope, just a cool sculpture seen as we headed to the telectroscope.
The Telectroscope, parabolic mirrors set up in a long forgotten tunnel that links Brooklyn and London. We were able to people in London. Cool! I'd love to ride through the tunnel some day ...

Tomorrow we might head back and flash the url of this blog to the Londoners.

Having satisfied our curiosity, and stocked up on chocolate, we headed home by way of Sid's.
Brakes repaired, we are already for tomorrow's adventure.

Actual mileage including the ride to and from the Tour: 29.5 -- recorded mileage, 30 miles. We figure the trauma of a bike crash qualifies for another half a mile.