Chicken Dijon with Roasted Vegetables

This may turn out to be a disaster, so I'd better be careful what I say before I taste. But tonight, it was cold outside and I'm leaving town tomorrow for a few days so I didn't want to go out and visit the supermarket. On these occasions it comes down to making the best of what you have available. I have potatoes, broccoli, carrots, onion and garlic in the fridge and a breast of chicken I defrosted yesterday but didn't eat last night, since the urge to cook left me after running around town in the traffic for a couple of hours.

As I'm trying to eat a little healthier, the vegetables have to be roasted. That preserves all the good stuff that boiling or steaming leaches out, yet cooks them so they are interesting to eat. I cut the potato into 3/4 inch cubes, cut the onion and carrot into pieces, toss them all together with salt and olive oil in a Ziploc bag then lay them in a 12 inch square pan. Turned the oven on 400 degrees then cooked them for 50 minutes turning every 15 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking I'll simmer the garlic head for 15 minutes or so to soften it and make it easy to separate and peel the garlic cloves.

Now to prepare the chicken. It's a skinless, boneless chicken breast so that makes life easy. First I'll sprinkle garlic salt, black pepper, and cumin over the chicken then coat the top surface with a layer of Dijon mustard and put the chicken breast in the oven alongside the vegetables. Then I'll pour a glass of wine and sit back and relax for a few minutes (or type in the blog!)

The vegetables should be turned every 15 minutes, so I've set the timer for 15 minutes and when it goes off I'll take the veggies out of the oven and turn them over with a spatula. At the second 15 minute interval I take the chicken out and turn it over and spread Dijon mustard over the exposed side and put it back in the oven.

The third time the time goes off, I turn the veggies, then take the chicken out of the oven, turn it over and add a dozen or so olive halves on top of the chicken breast. Put the chicken back in the oven for 3 or 4 minutes, then take it out and cut through the thickest part of the breast to make sure it is cooked all the way through.

Arrange the chicken on a plate, then when the timer goes off take out the vegetables and arrange them around the chicken. Refilled my glass of Chardonnay and sat down to eat. Fortunately it turned out OK, though the chicken might have been better with a sauce.

Tomorrow night will be a review of a restaurant in Venice, California providing Continental deliver us on time. TTFN.

Hidden Houston - Capitol at Bagby

Shuttle Memorial Park

There is a little park in the north west corner of downtown bounded by Capitol Street, Bagby Street, Rusk Street and Brazos Street and attached to Tranquility Park by a tunnel under Rusk. It is a quiet, secluded park, shielded from passers by on Capitol and Bagby by trees and a perfect place for two simple memorials to astronauts who died in the two shuttle accidents.



A stone plinth almost in the center of the park contains a plate dedicated to the astronauts on the last Challenger mission. The engraving on the plate is quite weathered. It reads:

Francis R Scobee.......Michael J. Smith
Judith A Resnik........Ronald E McNair
Elison S Onizuka.......Gregory B Jarvis
.......................Christa McAuliffe

To the seven men and women who made the supreme sacrifice to advance humankind to the heavens on January 28, 1986 The Space shuttle Challenger Mission 51-L exploded approximately ten miles above Cape Canaveral Florida at 10:38 AM CST. They wished to serve and they did. Therefore on behalf of the citizens of Houston, the engineers council of Houston honors these national heroes. January 28, 1987.



A second plinth on the west side of the park contains a plate that is much easier to read honoring the astronauts of the shuttle Columbia who were killed on February 1, 2003 on reentry to the Earth's atmosphere.



The Sweeney Clock

Across Bagby Strret from the park and bounded by Capitol, Rusk and Bagby is a small triangle of land containing the The Sweeney Clock. A plaque in front of the clock reads. "Once gracing the sidewalk at the northeast corner of Main Street and Prairie, the Sweeney clock was for decades the authoritative timekeeper for downtown Houstonians. Purchased from the Boston maker E. Howard & Co, the clock stood in front of the J.J. Sweeney & Co jewelry store from 1908-1928, where it was also used as a hitching post for horse drawn carriages.
Donated by the store to the City of Houston in 1929, the clock was moved to the downtown Farmer's Market and later to the courtyard of a municipal building near the Jefferson Davis Hospital.
By 1968 the clock had deteriorated badly. It was restored and moved to it's present location, the Sweeney triangle in 1971 with funds provided by the Colonial Dames of America. A base for the 15-foot timepiece was made using paving bricks from historic Navigation Street."



The Old Hanging Oak

Across Capitol from the Sweeney Clock abutting the Verizon Wireless Theater is The Old Hanging Oak. A plaque next to the tree reads:
"Many stories attach to the history of this 400-year old live oak. Some say that during the days of the Republic of Texas (1836-1845) at least 11 criminals were hanged from its graceful boughs. Although others dispute the tales, the legend survives.
In 1896 a courthouse with jail was built nearby. Inside criminals were hanged from scaffolds. Outside, beneath this tree, relatives, mourners and onlookers gathered and waited.
A second courthouse building later occupied the site. When it was demolished in the 1960's to make room for the Albert Thomas Convention Center, a basement wall was left intact to protect the trees root system.
The Old Hanging Oak is thought by some to be the oldest tree in Harris County."

The Journey Home

And so the journey home begins. It is 2:45 am in Brisbane and the alarm on my cell phone has just gone off. 0245 in Brisbane on Thursday, 1045 in Houston on Wednesday.

We leave the house at 0315 with Jacquelynn driving. The roads are eerily quiet, the only sign of life as we drive through Ashgrove is a lone street sweeper slowly brushing the curbs. As we top Ashgrove hill I get a view of the lights in the Central Business District for one last time. We skirt the city, cross the river and run down the M1 to reach the airport in record time, just less than 30 minutes from door to door.

It's time to say goodbye. A long hug. "Thanks for having me". "Safe journey. Let me know when you get home". "I will. Drive safely. Hug Chloe for me". I grab my bags and hat and walk quickly into the terminal, eyes misty with tears. It has been an incredible visit. Chloe is a joy to be around and Jacquelynn and Colin have gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable.

But now it is 0345 and I'm standing in the first of many lines that will be encountered in the next 30 or so hours. There are two flights leaving Brisbane around five am. The first is to Sydney and the second is my flight to Melbourne. All passengers making international connections in Sydney or Melbourne go through the same line to check passports and baggage. I have to check my baggage so the six bottles of Australian beer I carefully wrapped will make it through security. Unfortunately there are 30 or so people in front of me and only one clerk. For the first 15 minutes the line moves very slowly and more people join the line then leave it after checking baggage. But at 0405 six additional clerks appear - the shift obviously starts at 0400 - and by 0410 the line was moving rapidly and I was able to check in and obtain my boarding passes for the flights to Los Angeles.

Traversing security was only moderately time consuming. The lines weren't long but an elderly couple didn't understand the restrictions on the size of bottles for liquids and gels and their bags were returned to them and hand searched and a younger gentleman who seemed to speak little English didn't understand his computer had to go through the x-ray machine separately. There was no requirement to remove shoes, belt or watch and I passed through the personal scanner without incident.

Unfortunately by this time there was no opportunity to explore the Brisbane domestic terminal, it was time to board the Qantas flight to Melbourne. A nice touch was the free newspaper available at the gate for passengers to pick up as they board the plane and free headphones are available in bins at the entrance to the gangway leading to the plane.

The flight departed Brisbane on time at 5:05 am (1.05 pm Wednesday in Houston) and we were served breakfast of Special K, yogurt, fruit juice and a warm roll together with coffee or hot tea.

I ate, reclined the seat slightly, adjusted the flaps on the headrest and dozed for a while, waking up as we approached Melbourne, where we landed on time at 7:20 Brisbane time, 8:20 am Melbourne time.

Walked from the domestic terminal to the International terminal but had to go out of security and walk through the concourse to terminal 2 - the International terminal. At least it was inside, the concourse was light, airy and air conditioned with the occasional store or restaurant along the way. It took less than 10 minutes, then at the International terminal I filled out a departure card, went through passport control and back through security. Still didn't have to take off my shoes, belt or watch to pass through the personal scanner.

Immediately on exiting the security area all passengers are funnelled into the duty free shop. I picked up a bottle of Bundaberg and a bottle of Baileys. When I went to pay and presented my boarding card, the lady at the cash register asked me if Los Angeles was my final destination, then reminded me that I would have to put the bottles of booze in my checked luggage to get them from Los Angeles to Houston. There is absolutely no room in my checked luggage so I didn't buy the booze. Oh well.

After the duty free there are several other stores selling books, Australia wool garments, coffee (Starbucks), candy and an Australian outfitter selling clothes for outdoors on the way to the departure hall where there is another newsagent / bookstore and a snack bar as well as clean, well appointed toilets and places to take a private shower.

The Qantas 747 me and 300 plus other people were to fly on was parked at gate 9. The external paint work on the plane appeared to depict Aboriginal paintings, it was very colorful.



We started boarding at 11:50 am (6:50 pm Wednesday, Houston time) It looks like every seat is full. Fortunately I have an aisle seat. We left the gate at 12:30 pm. 8 3/4 hours gone on this long day.

The flight was long, but uneventful, except the video on demand was not working correctly and the light switch on the control box did not work. The food was OK for airline food, but at least the beer and the wine were free, though it was difficult to attract attention to get a second beer (which I didn't get) or a second glass of wine (which I eventually got by going to the galley). We arrived pretty much on time in Los Angeles at 7:30 am after 14 hours in the air. My body was sore even though I'd dozed two or three times and got up and walked around five or six times.

Passport control and customs were relatively painless. A short line for US passport holders, then a long wait to collect my bag, buy a short line to hand in my customs form and exit the International terminal. Once again I had to walk to the next terminal, but this time the walk was outside along a sidewalk where passengers were getting out of the cars and going into the terminal. Fortunately the Continental terminal, terminal 6, is only a ten minute walk from the International terminal and the weather was pleasant for walking. The lines were mercifully short to check in and then pass through security, though this time I did have to take off my shoes, and remove my belt and watch before getting into the Continental terminal for CO395 flight to Houston with scheduled departure of 11:35 am, 3 1/2 hours from now. But at least i got an upgrade to first class.

The flight to Houston was uneventful, the dinner was OK and the two glasses of wine enough to put me to sleep for an hour. We landed at 4:45 pm and I gathered my bags, found a taxi and headed home where I arrived at 6:30 pm on Thursday evening, 31 1/4 hours after leaving Jacquelynn's house on the other side of the world.

I was past tired, my internal clock said it was 10:30 in the morning, so I drove to the liquor store and bought a box of Black Box Cabernet, then stopped at Kroger and bought sausage and beans for dinner.

Australian Beer

There are two enormous breweries in or close to Brisbane. The XXXX brewery (pronounced four-X) is the Castlemaine Perkins Milton Brewery within walking distance of the center of Brisbane (it took me about 20 minutes from Roma park) XXXX is the most widely available beer in Queensland.

The Fosters Brewery is in Yatala, less than an hours drive south of Brisbane, close to the Gold Coast.

The XXXX brewery and the XXXX brand are owned by Lion Nathan a company that is responsible for many iconic Australian beers such as Fourex, Toohey’s New, Toohey’s Old, Emu Bitter and Southwark. Lion Nathan is an Australasian company quoted on both the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges. Lion Nathan is 46% owned by the Japanese brewer Kirin. Lion Nathan say that one in every three beers drunk in Queensland is XXXX Gold and two out of every three beers drunk in Queensland is a Castlemain Perkins brand.

The XXXX brewery tour is excellent, cost is AUD20.00 for non-drinkers and AUD26.00 if you want to taste four different beers after the tour. It starts in the visitors center. Tourists are then ushered into a an exhibits area where they sit on a rotating center stage and are treated to the sights and sounds of the brewery history, the tour continues through the brewing process with a display that takes us through the mixing of barley mash and water, the addition of hops and yeast and the fermentation in the tanks, then through the keg filling line and the bottling line, a look at the packaged goods museum then finishing in the Ale House bar and restaurant (the multi media center is undergoing an over-haul)

There are four XXXX beers. XXXX Gold is mid strength lager (3.5% ABV); XXXX Bitter is a full strength lager (4.8% ABV) that doesn't taste anything like a an English bitter; XXXX draught is a lager (4.5% ABV) and XXXX Light (2.2% ABV), the tasting rooms also has other Lion Nathan beers available for tasting including Toohey's and Hahn's.

XXXX Gold is highly carbonated with moderate body and a subtle sweet flavour. Its mild aroma and robust texture are maintained through the drink. The mid-strength alcohol also allows for that extra one before you head back to work.

Hahn Premium is a crisp premium lager with a bitter hoppy taste and a clean bitter finish. This European style full strength lager has been compared to a northern German Pilsener by its brewers. The Premium Lager does not have the strong hoppy aroma of a full Pilsener but don’t let this stir you from enjoying this crisp premium beer. Best served fairly cold (but not freezing!), Hahn Premium soothes the palate with a smooth body and finishes in a clean bitter bite.

XXXX Bitter is a traditional Australian lager with a clean, crisp taste and a slight after-bitterness, but nothing like the taste of a real bitter. XXXX Bitter's delicate aroma comes from the blending of two hop varieties and a sweeter, fruity tang from the yeast. Easy to drink in the hot Brisbane summer, but likely to give you a hangover if you drink to many.

Toohey's Old (4.4% ABV) is probably the best beer I drank in Australia. It has a distinctive ale fruitiness, you can taste the hops and there is a hint of chocolate. Tooheys gives it this description " Tooheys Old is a robustly flavoured ale made with top fermentation ale yeast. The beer is lightly hopped and black malt gives it darker colour. The fruity ale-like esters blend well with the subtle hoppiness and hints of coffee/chocolate to deliver a unique beer." This is an accurate description of a great beer.

The Foster's brewery is more than twice as large as the Four-X brewery

St Helena Island

Today we drove across the city to the resort suburb of Manly to catch a ferry to St Helena Island. We headed across town to the coast, with me reading the map and trying to direct Colin to the boat docks in Manly. There was plenty of time to go when we arrived at the harbor, so we parked the car and ate breakfast at The Fish Cafe before walking to the pier and boarding the catamaran "Cat-O'Nine-Tails" for the 30 minute journey to St Helena Island. The boat and island tours are organized and managed by A B Sea Cruises, who also arrange trips down the Brisbane River and Ghost Tours of St Helena.

No sooner had we left the docks and exited the channel out of the harbor on the way to the island, than it started to rain on the mainland. A big black cloud hovered over the city and poured rain on the center of Brisbane and then moved north up the coast.



The island is now a national park, but from 1867 to 1933 was a prison island, the guide referred to it as Australia's Alcatraz, though the island, at 166 hectares (410 acres)is much larger than Alcatraz (and has much better weather). The tour was excellent, conducted by a person masquerading as a convict. (that's the guy dressed in white in this photo)



We walked for some way across the island and around the ruins of the prison listening to a commentary on the buildings, the people in the prison, the warders, the food and the prisoner activities and escape attempts. fascinating stuff. A picnic lunch was served during the tour.

Only about 7% of the building structures are left. When the island was closed as a prison, anything movable (tin roofs, wooden supports or beams etc) were moved to the mainland for use in constructing government buildings in and around Brisbane. This picture shows the remains of a cell block in which 56 prisoners were held in four tiny cells. The walls of the block are constructed entirely of stone so the block could be used to house any prisoner who might be able to start a fire in a cell with wood in it. The warders were particularly scared of Aborigine prisoners who were thought able to light a fire by rubbing two sticks together.



This picture shows a mural etched onto the wall by a prisoner who was required - as a punishment - to guard the bags of lime quarried and fired by the prisoners.



The prisoners grew all their own food and kept sheep and cows to provide meat and milk. This is what is left of the prison kitchen and bakery.



After the tour we again rested in Manly before driving home. Stopped for coffee and a scone at the Cafe da Vinci, walked around The Manly Gallery and looked at paintings of Queensland and Brisbane by local artists

The Brewhouse, Brisbane

The Brewhouse is home to the city's only microbrewery. They brew a range of beers on the premises that contain Australian malt (barley or wheat), Tasmanian hops, water and, when required, Bundaberg sugar or local honey. The Brewhouse suggest the freshness of it's beer and the the lack of preservatives means "no nasty hangovers in the morning."

This is a link to The Brewhouse Brisbane web site

The building itself is interesting. It was originally built in 1907 as a factory for the Queensland Machinery Company. The interior is large and open plan, with loosely defined areas for playing pool, watching one of the two big screen or seven wide screen TVs broadcasting sports, eating in the grill or standing at the bar. Strangely (for an American) there is no waitress service anywhere in the pub or restaurant. All meals and drinks are ordered at the bar, then the food is delivered to your table after it is prepared.



We ate a snack platter and loaded potatoes. The snack platter contained a large bowl of thick potato wedges seasoned and deep fried, four tiny vegetarian spring rolls, a slice of garlic bread, several prawn crackers and three crispy lemon pepper chicken strips. The potato wedges were very good, but the spring rolls and the chicken strips were cold. Chloe liked the prawn crackers. The loaded potatoes plate contained a pile of potatoes roasted in their skins then loosely cut into quarters and covered with melted cheese, sour cream and tiny pieces of ham. The potatoes were nicely cooked, quite delicious and very fattening.

We (I) had to check out the beers and the Brewhouse obliged by selling a sample platter containing six of the beers the brew.

Schwarzbier - The 4th Reich. 5% ABV A German black lager that had a slight taste of dark chocolate, but was not as crisp and clean as a lager should be. Poor.

Sunshine Honey Wheat. 4.5% ABV The honey (from local bee hives) added a slight sweet after taste to this delicate wheat beer. Reasonable.


Up Yer Kilt - Scottish Ale. 5.3% ABV A traditional Scottish ale with little hop flavor and a slightly bitter aftertaste. Very good.

The Dog's Bollocks - English Mid strength Bitter. 3% ABV A perfect example to show that beer does not necessarily have to be strong to be tasty, (but then I am biased towards good English bitter.) Excellent.

Taffy's Bock. 6.2% ABV A strong lager that originated in Einbeck in Germany. Compares well o Shiner Bock, but not to the original German Bocks. Reasonable.

Midnight Extra Stout, 6.3% ABV Rich, robust and bitter. Tastes good with a pleasant aftertaste, but not different enough to inspire a switch from Guinness draft. Reasonable.