November 2023

Show Your Colors

Food and Drink / By

It’s nice to have food and drink to compliment your favorite sports teams.  To celebrate the Pac-12 Championship game and the University of Washington Huskies, whose colors are purple and gold, here’s a Purple and Gold cocktail from Seattle’s Heritage Distillery.  

(That said, we sometimes keep things simple come game time by serving Empress Gin martinis.  The gin is purple so it’s really easy to chill and pour.  Touchdown!)

Here’s the Purple and Gold from Heritage:

Cheer on the UW Huskies with this powerfully purple cocktail! The Purple & Gold 2 oz HDC Lavender Vodka 1/2 oz Raft Vanilla Simple Syrup 3 Lemon Wedges In a shaker, muddle 3 lemon wedges and Raft vanilla syrup. Add HDC Lavender Vodka and ice and shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy!

Meanwhile, Oregon Duck fans will enjoy the Duck Daiquiri.  Simply roast the duck, blend, and combine with…..

– Jet Cannon

We Will Never Make This

Food and Drink / By

It’s probably the butterscotch schnapps.  Fresh out.  But it sure looks mighty tasty!!  Read all about it here in Eclectic Recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

4 oz strong coffee
1 1/2 oz amaretto liqueur
1 1/2 oz coffee liqueur
1 oz butterscotch schnapps
1 oz creme de cocoa
fresh whipped cream
grated chocolate, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Combine strong coffee and liqueurs in a glass. Stir to combine and top with fresh whipped cream. Garnish with grated chocolate.

Serve warm or over ice.

– Jet Coffee Cannon

Damn The Torpedoes!

Food and Drink / By

Vine Pair reports that, “during the first half of World War II, the U.S. utilized steam-powered torpedo engines on its Pacific theater-based submarines, each of which was fueled by 180-proof grain alcohol. Without other alcohol aboard the subs to indulge in, the sailors quickly turned to the high-proof torpedo fuel, combining it with pineapple juice to smooth its burn. And thus, Torpedo Juice was born.”

That’s not the end of the story by any means.  Read it here.  Meanwhile, to honor Torpedo Juice, how about a simple rum and pineapple?!

– Jet Torpedo Cannon

 

Photo: National Maritime Museum

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Tip Fatigue

Food and Drink / By

Seems every business asks for a tip these days or their card reader does.  We’ve seen a 30% option!  To Insure Promptness?  At a fast-food restaurant??  Vine Pair notes that “there’s an increasing belief that social approval is a bigger driver for tipping than gauging the level of service.”

Most of Europe just builds a 15 percent tip into the price.  So, here, someday, maybe.

– Jet Cannon

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Scientists Say Extending Healthy Life Is Good

Fitness / By

Scientific American recently reported on an aging re-focus.  Here’s a link and below is an excerpt.

 

“We’re now saying our focus should be on extending healthy life rather than just length of life, and slowing aging is the tool to do it,” says Jay Olshansky, a longevity expert at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

For now, one way to extend healthspan is through unsurprising preventive maintenance. Experts recommend checkups, staying on top of cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and following guidelines such as those from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition for body fat percentage, lean body mass and bone density. “Know where you are so if something needs to be tweaked you can take steps to do that,” says Matt Kaeberlein, founding director of the University of Washington Healthy Aging and Longevity Research Institute and now chief executive officer of Optispan, a health tech company.

Those steps are also familiar: common-sense nutrition, sleep, exercise and social connection are the four main factors. “The reason those things work is because they modulate the biology of aging,” Kaeberlein says. For example, regular low- or moderate-intensity exercise helps to prevent cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. How much extra health can these steps get us? “Ten years is probably pretty realistic,” Kaeberlein says.

There’s some tips, kids.  Write ‘em down.

– Jet Cannon

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If The Shoe Fits

Fitness / By

Are we getting in our steps? Hope so. Therefore, it may be time to replace the shoes. It’s always good to have plenty of tread and that new-shoe cushiness wears down after awhile. Watch for nice price reductions as we approach and hit Black Friday. Happy shopping!

  • Jet Cannon

Banging Our Head Against The Wall

Recipes / By

Today, November 8th, is…wait for it…. National Harvey Wallbanger Day!  There’s a fun story behind it including Laguna Beach, surfers, and bartenders all according to National Day Calendar.  Our favorite tidbit:

Q. Harvey Wallbanger sounds like a good name for a band. Is the name taken?
A. It was. Kind of…musicians Jeremy Taylor, Christopher Prurves, Johnny Griffiths, Neil “Reg” McArthur, Richard Allen and Harvey Brough founded Harvey and The Wallbangers in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, the cocktail is easy to make.

3 parts vodka, 1 part Galliano and 6 parts orange juice. Pour it into a highball glass and garnish it with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry

– Jet Cannon

Photo:  A Couple Cooks

Aging More Better

Fitness / By

AARP just wrote about “Super Agers” and their secrets to a healthier, longer life. Though not well-kept “secrets” their tips are a good reminder of what we should be doing.

 

  • Control blood sugar and blood pressure
  • Talk to friends. A lot.
  • Avoid stress
  • Prioritize sleep
  • Protect vision and hearing
  • Choose more demanding exercise e.g. walk fast versus just walking
  • Feed the brain with puzzles, music, books, games, travel, lectures

 

AARP membership includes all kinds of good information and benefits for seniors. It’s also inexpensive to become a member.

  • Jet Cannon

 

  • Photo: Freepik
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Seeing The Lighter

Cannabis / By

Ohio became the 24th state to legalize marijuana.  Finally seeing reason?  More like they were tired of next door Michigan collecting all the tax revenue as Ohioans trekked across the border (no wall) to buy their weed.  The answer is money.  What was the question?

– Jet Cannon

Live Classical Rock

Food and Drink, Music / By

We’ve written about vinyl parties where you invite friends over, select a classic album to play beginning-to-end, and serve a cocktail that fits the mood.  There’s even a book called Booze and Vinyl which makes suggestions for the album, accompanying beverage for both sides A and B, plus appetizer ideas to go with.  For example, the Eagles Hotel California calls for a Beachcomber Cocktail for side A and a Mojito for side B.  Now take that concept to a live show.  The Black Jacket Symphony has spent the last 15 years performing 40-some classic albums, note-for-note.  We just saw them perform Hotel California before adding Eagles hits following intermission.  The cast included four excellent guitarists nailing guitar harmonies while the vocal harmonies were spot-on.  Several songs included a violinist and a viola. They take their covers seriously. The venue was a perfect 700-seat acoustically-excellent setting complete with cocktail bars in the lobby.  Next year Black Jacket will take on Dark Side of the Moon and we would expect it will be note-for-note stunning.  Here’s their website.  If you have the opportunity and enjoy live classic album rock as we used to consume it, check out their tour schedule. 

– Jet Cannon