what about the plastic animals?

Fergie's Lunch

Fergie's was closed in Portsmouth.  A guy whose name I've forgotten (sorry!) saw me taking this photo and said that Fergie's was quite a busy place back in the day.  He, the guy, not Fergie, was pleased to see a tourist taking an interest in Portsmouth.

I learned of a couple of good places to eat.  One was the brewpub that I've got my back against while taking this picture.  He also suggested I check out the murals as well as the old hardware store on Market St.  That's where I had parked and the hardware store did look intriguing. 

In fact, I had a hunch when I first saw the hardware store, which, being on Market Street, was non-confusingly named Market Street Hardware.  "That place" I said to myself, "has inventory from the 1970s still on sale."  The civic booster guy said they had an impressive model train collection.  I didn't see the model trains but on the second floor there were toys and games for sale that were at least thirty years old.

Freezer Door

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the door to my freezer.

Birth of the Cold

Ha!  Now I remember what I was going to write tonight.  Over the weekend I made a batch of ice cream.  Guinness ice cream.  It was the custard type, where you make a custard of milk, cream, eggs, and sugar and later add flavoring. 

If you want your kitchen to smell wonderful cook down a couple of cups of Guinness.  The yeasty, malty smell is most excellent.

Anyway, being prudent, I tasted the cooked down Guinness before adding it to the custard.  It wasn't really to my liking so I only made half a batch.  The finished ice cream had a bite to it.  It wasn't great to eat by itself but it did make for an excellent milkshake.  Next time I'll use less beer.

Last night I made the other half of the custard, unflavored except for vanilla.  It is really fabulous.

The birth scene above is from the front of St. John the Divine.

Two from Elbowtoe

Something to think about.

Portsmouth Murals

Branch Rickey
Portsmouth Motorcycle Club

Flying Shoelaces

An enormous flood wall protects Portsmouth from the Ohio River.  A few years ago someone had the wonderful idea that the floodwall should be decorated with murals.  There are at least 66 murals, all painted by Robert Dafford.  The murals cover at least 2000 feet and show scenes from Portsmouth's history.

On the outside of the flood wall, the side that faces the river, is a giant welcome sign and stars for each person in the Portsmouth Wall of Fame.  In addition to an inordinate number of good baseball players from such a small city the Wall of Fame inexplicably includes former Vice President Dan Quayle, who may or may not have a connection to Portsmouth.

Bad Photography

This is what happens when your light meter is focused on the sun glint.

Portsmouth Creme

Portsmouth had at least two businesses with the word "creme" in their name so you know it's a good town.  Although this location, which is strategically located across the street from the high school, apparently opened in 1992, Crispie Creme is older than the homonymic donut chain.  Here's someone's video of a visit to Crispie Creme.  I had an original recipe glazed donut.

The Dari-Creme is open year 'round.  A long line formed a few minutes after I took this picture.  The above average small vanilla cone cost me ninety cents.  Thus fortified, I was off to see the famous Portsmouth murals!

Original Hamburger Inn No. 1

Portsmouth is a funky Rust Belt town hard on the Ohio River.  A century ago the city had 50,000 residents, now it is down to about 20,000.  The world's largest manufacturer of shoelaces is in Portsmouth but I didn't find it.  Portsmouth is currently in dispute with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Commonwealth of Kentucky regarding Indian Head Rock.  For the moment the rock is being stored in a city garage.  I didn't find the rock either.

What I did find was the Original Hamburger Inn No. 1 on the industrial east end of town.  There I was taking this picture when a couple of kids out of a Norman Rockwell illustration come walking home from school.  It was a girl about ten years old and her younger brother. 

The girl asks me "Hey, mister, why are you taking a picture of that building?  Are you a reporter?"

I told her, no, I just liked the sign, building and bright colors.  She sounded disappointed when she said "Oh, a tourisist."

That was the second-best moment on the whole trip.

Having had a healthy soup and salad at the Market Cafe in the historic Boneyfiddle District across town I did not try a burger.  Maybe next time.  I did, however, visit a couple of other dining establishments in town.

Treat Yourself to the Best

Mail Pouch barn, along Ohio Rt. 73 not too far from GE's "top secret" Peebles Jet Engine Proving Grounds.

Mary Todd Lincoln Cake

One last presidential-themed missive before returning to the Ohio River.

Last week my officemate and I were simultaneously struck by the need for cake.  There was no cake to be had.  We decided something should be done for Lincoln's birthday.  I googled something like "Abe Lincoln's favorite dessert" and eventually found several recipes for Mary Todd Lincoln's White Almond Cake.

The Lincoln Home National Historic Site has the recipe, which I assumed was authentic.  It turned out well.  The recipe called for six whipped egg whites to be folded into the batter.  That made the cake fairly light, but still denser than an angel food cake.  It looks better upside down here in the pan than when I flipped it over and dusted the top with confectioner's sugar.

Another recipe still has me scratching my head.  And I quote (emphasis added):

Because I love a challenge, I took this recipe home and made Mary Todd Lincoln's cake.  Even with today's modern technology, the process was slow going. In all, it took about four hours to cream the butter, whip the egg whites, chop the almonds and get it all mixed and baked. I used a mixer and a mini chopper...

Four hours?  Discount the baking time and there's still three hours left.  What task could have possibly taken three hours?  I don't mean to brag but it took me all of 15-20 minutes using an electric hand mixer, a mini food processor, and a large wooden spoon.  Did she shell, peel and blanch the almonds?  Were the almonds chopped one at a time?  Did she forget to mention that she has no arms?  I am baffled.