Golfism -life is a metaphor for golf » golf photography

Mujigae Ddeok -Korean Rice Cake Pastry

docpark — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:01:14 +0000

My food obsessions have fixated on making ddeok, or rice cake. It was one of the few items that my mother did not make at home and thus very mysterious as to it’s manufacture. Below is the link to Maangchi’s recipe for one of my favorites, but the final step eludes me. Pictured is my latest attempt but the problem is getting a good flow of steam without overwhelming the ddeok and basically creating sticky mochi. This batch was almost there but not quite and I had to throw it out.

The seal around the steamer has to be tight to direct all the steam into the cooking chamber. Oh well. Will have to try again.

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/mujigae-ddeok

Sunrise Golf

docpark — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:55:40 +0000

For several years now I have been asking the club to allow me to play golf at daybreak. It would allow me to get in 9 holes from a cart in way under an hour, 35 minutes was a recent time. This year, sunrise golf has been instituted and it is a roaring success.

Speed golf off a cart is like speed chess, it seems like the same game but different factors come to the fore. first there is the lack of warmup – you knock it down the fairway and play it as it lies. The other is that it simplifies your mental prep – playing alone and fast means I have to find the ball so I become very good at tracking and finding balls but foremost, I try to keep it in the fairway. I count every stroke but will allow a free drop if I never saw the ball in flight -I figure a playing partner if one had been present would have tracked it. The course is mine and that is the most important thing. It’s meditative and calming to be alone in all that splendor.

Images of Spring

docpark — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:17:01 +0000

Only a month ago, we had 5 foot tall snow drifts. This greenery reminds me to be grateful to have another spring on this earth.

iPadurday

docpark — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:53:52 +0000

The iPad is here! The line at the

Apple Store was impressive, and the Apple Store clerks handed out Smart water, coffee, and muffins. The line moved briskly and there was a festive atmosphere and a fellowship of similarly minded futurists. And I believe that this device is a portal to the future of mobile computing. It untethers you from the desk in a way that laptops never could because laptops were still all about creating a desk.

It is an enabling technology much

in the way that literacy and human language enabled humans to be unfettered by genes and instinct. You may hate Apple and all that it makes, but you will be turning away from the next big thing, if that is important to you.

On opening, the device, like the iPod, wants to be connected to iTunes to be activated. Once set up, the device is beyond words in terms of fit, finish, and smooooothness.

iPadurday Eve Diorama

docpark — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:13:44 +0000

The day is nearly nigh! In celebration of iPadurday Eve, I constructed this diorama of Steven Jobs bestowing upon humanity the iPad (as modeled by the iPhone which is now technically the iPad Mini) all underneath an actual Apple Tree.

The Man in Brown will drive by and deliver our iPad tomorrow. If by some twist of evil fate he is held up, I will drop by the Apple Store (of earthly delights) to pick up my reserved iPad (to sell on eBay?).

So happy iPadurday to All!

This Week’s Daily Bread

docpark — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:23:23 +0000

I am beginning to get the idea behind bread. It gets its flavor from fermentation and a touch of salt. It converts a bland wheat flour into something palatable and portable. I can see why the first bread makers would have been excited.

The no knead recipe from the NYT (link) has some intimations about how much water to flour you need, but I am learning from experience. The dough, if you can pour it, results in a kind of a hard crust foccacia. Actually, its somewhere between that and a Levantine flat bread. To get a boule, the dough needs to have a touch of backbone. The no knead technique then really is about creating a steam oven for the non-professional bread baker.

The problem with making a stiffer dough is that it can result in a denser bread -I think then I will have to let it rise longer.

I advocate this for everyone -make a loaf of bread on the weekend -it is relaxing and invigorating at the same time. It is a game of balance and timing. It takes patience. It is the culinary equivalent of golf.

It Begins

docpark — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:58:51 +0000

Of the public courses around Des Moines, I like the Legacy the best for tuning up my game. The private clubs are waiting for the course to drain of residual snow, but the Legacy will let you play about two to three weeks earlier. Bless them!

There were 15mph winds gusting to 25, and it was drizzling. Temperatures were a Scottish 40 degrees. Nae wind, nae rain, nae golf. The ground was sodden and this took twenty yards off every club. The greens were like the fake grass welcome mats. There was snow in the bunkers. Still I loved every minute of my nine holes.

I shot 48 with a 1.9 putting average, 5 of 8 fairways from the tips. My circle of certitude was the green. The approaches were all muddled -my most effective shot with this wind usually into the face was a punch-draw with my 7 iron -I did get pin high on 3 holes, but was in a bunker or off the green at pitch length. I’ll have to work on my irons, but I also credit the soggy fairways. I also counted two penalty strokes for ball in water (meltwater -would this be casual water and not subject to penalty -will have to review).

To Ottumwa

docpark — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:29:27 +0000

Am on the road to Ottumwa Iowa for my first away clinic there. there was a whiteout ice storm the past two days and the roads were iffy, but too many people are waiting. Many cars in the ditch.Ottumwa is the home of the fictional Iowan, Radar O’Reilly.

Park Icosahedron!

docpark — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:50:48 +0000

Amaze your friends by downloading and printing out the Park Icosahedron. Fold along lines and glue the tabs down to form the 20 sided shape of mystery.

You can make two, attach to string and hang if from your rear view mirror! My gift to you. A great way to spend time with your kids…and ME!

docpark’s Nice Tea! and my picks

docpark — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:33:23 +0000

Football playoffs and lazy Sundays mix wonderfully in this iced tea creation. I make a typical Southern sweet tea using double density of P&G Tips tea bags, steeped extra long for that extra bite of tannins. I add a tablespoon of sugar for every two cups (may add more for more traditionally sweet tea) and if I have them, I crush and muddle in spearmint leaves. At this point, this drink is fine for drinking after mowing lawns, but if you want a super smooth Nice Tea -you add a shot of Amaretto and a half shot of Grand Marnier along with a dash of Angostura Bitters. The result is a very smooth concoction that makes you think about spring -sunny, cool, and stirring to the spirit.

I won’t talk about the Vikings because it may curse them. I will root for the Jets in the same way I would root for the drunk Irish guy on St. Patrick’s Day who picks a fight with a bunch of yobby out of town college kids from an SEC school. He may go down, but he’ll be defending the honor of New York in his own special way.