Armagnac is a most flavorful brandy!

Armagnac is the gift of the gods

Recently, I fell in love again with Armagnac! There is much written about its ‘virtues’ , one particularly amusing from the 14th century:

1313 Prior Vital Dufor, a Cardinal, claimed it had 40 virtues. A translation stated: “It makes disappear redness and burning of the eyes, and stops them from tearing; it cures hepatitis, sober consumption adhering. It cures gout, cankers and fistula by ingestion, restores the paralysed member by massage and heals wounds of the skin by application. It enlivens the spirit, partaken in moderation, recalls the past to memory, renders men joyous, preserves youth and retards senility. And when retained in the mouth, it loosens the tongue and emboldens the wit, if someone timid from time to time himself permits.”

Well… maybe this is a good example of hyperbola… however, I think Armagnac goes well with everything and adds a particularly nice wine flavor to foods in cooking! I loved what it did to my  Beef Stroganoff!

Roger Freberg

Armagnac’s official website

 

 

Beef Stroganoff or Rogerov?

what is the true history of the wonderful recipe for Beef Stroganoff?Nearly everyone in America loves “Beef Stroganoff” and it has been my experience that opinions on how it is best prepared and presented are subject to debate.

Do you pour it over rice, potato strings or noodles? (Karen likes the potato variation she noticed while living in South Africa) Even those who use noodles do not agree on what kind is best.

What spices should it contain beyond simple salt and pepper? Do you add brandy or wine or both? Do you feel the sauce needs a dab of tomato paste or ketchup?

Fortunately, we found an expert whose authority is beyond question… Grand Duke Marcos Rogerov who writes that his recipe is the most tasty because he has stolen his ideas from everyone! He assures us that only the best ideas are included.  Here is his recipe!

aaaah... the kitchen is here!
So, raise your glass of Valpolicella or South Africa red and enjoy!

Roger Freberg

Congratulations on being a Weblog finalist!

Congratulations sweetheart
Laura was nominated, then was selected as a finalist in an international Blog Contest! Well, we’d all like to win… but some of these folks in the high frequency political sites kinda swept the field …  but it was fun knowing someone who was in the mix!

Congratulations, Laura, it is wonderful to know that  your beautiful site  was a part of it! We are all proud of you!  Maybe more Cal Poly sites will be there next time?

For those of you who haven’t seen the contest… here’s a link!

Roger Freberg

Temple Grandin, the Farm, Autism and Perseverance

Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Laura Freberg
The other night Laura and I went to hear Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University lecture about how to ‘calm animals’ and it seemed like I was once again in a Psychology Class listening to Laura discuss ‘habituation’.

Autographed for LauraDr. Grandin — for those of you who don’t know — is also an authority on autism. She — herself — is autistic. While we were there we bought three of her books. We knew Karla would love the books referencing animals… but her book on Social Relationships seems to have been derived from her own study. Just as many of us try to understand the mind with autism… they are working just as hard to understand us.

Dr. Grandin was the personification of what Laura had always speculated about the ‘engineering-type, highly focused and fiercely logical’ mind of a person with autism. Dr. Grandin was brilliant.

Laura has blogged on the event as well…. a very nice discussion.

It was a very enjoyable evening.

Roger Freberg

Dr. Grandin was kind enough to autograph her books…. as shown above.