Notes to Readers | D. Brent Miller

January 25, 2023

Appetizer Failure. Or, was it?

I frequently post pictures and descriptions of the food I cook. Pizzas, Fish. Steaks. Casseroles. Turkey on the grill. Looks good and I get compliments, especially on Facebook. So, it is only fair that I post a food failure.

This is the cheesy bread that I attempted to make, looking into the trash can. It is a recipe that I learned and often purchased when I was a professor at Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, (1989-1993). I would go over to the student center cafeteria for lunch and order a salad and some cheesy bread. It was so delicious. Makes a great appetizer too.

This attempt was a failure because I accidently removed the cap of the seasoning instead of popping the lid to shake some on the cheese-onion-mayo mixture.

I screwed that cap off without thinking and poured a whole bunch of salt and pepper blend onto my cheese mixture. Damn.

Well, thinking I at least need to finish the appetizer and give my effort a taste test. Maybe it was not too much. I soon learned that was not the case. I took one bite. The whole batch of cheese mix and the three appetizers immediately went into the trash where it belonged. Now, off to the grocery store to replenish supplies.

If properly done, it is grated cheese, finely chopped onion, mayo, with a little salt and pepper, spread on French or Italian bread, and a quick broil in the oven to melt the cheese. It’s delicious. Not willing to admit defeat, and to learn from this experience, I tried it again the next day to accompany a bowl of chili. The cheesy bread was outstanding. Chili too.

The appetizer is best if the bread is slightly toasted before topping it with the cheesy mix. You get a better crunch when taking a bite.

Pop it into the oven under the broiler. Keep an eye on it. It does not take long for the cheesy mix to start bubbling. Wait for just that right amount of browning.

Take it out of the oven. It should look like this.

Transfer to your plate and enjoy.

Yum. That was oh-so good.

Failure is only a failure if one stops at that point. One failure can be a learning experience resulting in success. In other words, try, try again until you succeed.

See you on the highway … or maybe at the grocery store.

Brent

November 13, 2022

First Snow

It was bound to come sooner or later. First snow.

See you on the highway.

Brent

October 25, 2022

Reaching a goal for 2022

“Hey, Google. How many miles does the average motorcyclist ride per year?”

Around 3,000 miles

While the average annual mileage of a car ranges between 10,000 to 15,000 miles, motorcycles spend much less time on the Conyers roads. In fact, the average annual mileage for a motorcycle is around 3,000 miles.

That does not surprise me. Of course, that is an average. I have a riding buddy, who reports that he has only put about 600 miles on his Harley this year. We have not been doing a lot of rides together.

I have a few friends like Bob Stransky and Kith Birkenstock who put about 3,000 miles or more on their bikes per month. We tease Kith, who lives in the Atlanta area that he frequently rides to Colorado for lunch. Bob is either riding his BMW GS or his Honda ADV 150 scooter to grab National Park stamps.

As for me, my riding in the past few years has been dismal. The most miles I ever put on a motorcycle in one year was 13,367 in 2010. That was a year that I was riding my 2008 V-Strom 650 on several trips in the East and West. I have several years with five-digit mileage.

And that brings us to today, and the achievement of a goal. I planned to ride at least 6,000 miles this year. That’s a lot more than the past few with Covid and all. A measly 6,000 miles—not even half of my record 2010 year.

But I did it.

Today, I only needed 30.5 miles to reach 6,000 miles for the year, and about 1.5 miles north of Blanchester, Ohio, on SR 123, I pulled over to document the moment.

At 2:40 p.m. EDT, with 4,093 miles on my Moto Guzzi V85tt, and 30.5 miles on the trip meter, I reached the 6,000-mile mark. Everything from here to Dec. 31 is just bonus miles.

Three motorcycles were used to reach this moment. My 2017 Suzuki V-Strom, which I traded on the Moto Guzzi V85tt in March, and my Moto Guzzi V7iii Rough. Love those Guzzis.

See you on the highway.

Brent

July 3, 2022July 3, 2022

Sunrise in SW Ohio

Rising early to nature’s call,
the pulling back of the patio-door curtains
revealed some of nature’s finest.

That moment before sunrise,
when the sun’s light shines on the bottom of clouds
and turns the scene beautiful hues of pink and orange.

All is silent except for
the occasional visit by the hummingbirds
and the beating of their wings hovering at the feeders.

See you on the highway.

Brent

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021

The forecasters underestimated this

Meteorology is a science, but also a guessing game. Put together all the forecasting models to get a picture of what is to come, and you prepare for that. But, every now and then, Mother Nature has a different plan as she did last night. Accumulated snow was two to three times more than predicted. We were expecting one to three inches. We got six+.