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General

Bombay Bicycle Club at Wonder Ballroom

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Tulips

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General

Full lunar eclipse

Full lunar eclipse now. Sadly I have no better photo than what my iphone can capture

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Beer Science

Summer BBQ Tip: add beer to your marinades

Today I learned that not only does grilling meat create harmful molecules that are bad for you (and can increase the risk of developing colon cancer), but that adding beer (dark beers in particular) to meat marinades can reduce the presence of these molecules.

“The PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) created by grilling form from molecules called free radicals which, in turn, form from fat and protein in the intense heat of this type of cooking. One way of stopping PAH-formation, then, might be to apply chemicals called antioxidants that mop up free radicals. And beer is rich in these, in the shape of melanoidins, which form when barley is roasted.”

And sure enough, marinading a steak with a dark beer cut the PAHs in half.

“When cooked, unmarinated steaks had an average of 21 nanograms (billionths of a gram) of PAHs per gram of grilled meat. Those marinated in Pilsner averaged 18 nanograms. Those marinated in black beer averaged only 10 nanograms.”

So this summer, be sure to add beer to your marinades and have a “beer-becue” (har-dee-har-harr).

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The Belmont Goats

Belmont GoatsA weird Portland thing I just learned of

The Belmont Goats

“Our Story – Originally residing at what’s colloquially known as Goat Field, what’s come to be called The Belmont Goats were preceded by three summers of different (and rented) herds, an urban experiment pitched to developer Killian Pacific by landscape architect Brett Milligan. After those first three years, Creative Woodworking NW — whose shop stands directly across the street from the property, and who’d helped take care of the rented herds — arranged to have their own goats beginning in October 2012. That’s the herd which the Buckman neighborhood and the greater Portland community have come to know and love.”

Found out about them originally via this blog post: Walking Around Portland – With Goats