Paul Bryant-Smith

Restaurant Review: El Tapatio Mexican Cuisine

2012-01-20T00:10:00.000-05:00

On our way back from Ithaca on Saturday, my family was getting hungry. We stopped in Middletown, NY, for gas and I whipped out my iPhone and checked Yelp! to see what was nearby. Less than a mile away, we found El Tapatio Mexican Cuisine, so I turned the car around and drove to 252 Rt. 211 East, where we parked beside the micro-strip-mall that houses El Tapatio, along with a Chinese

Restaurant Review: Moosewood

2012-01-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, Kimberly and I, after our lunch at Tim's Philly Steaks, picked Ian up after school and drove up to Ithaca, NY. After five hours on the road, we arrived, just a tad late, for dinner with a large group of friends at the intergalactically famous Moosewood Restaurant. One of several Moosewood cookbooks at Chez Brysmi. While I've got absolutely nothing against vegetarian

Restaurant Review: Tim's Philly Steaks

2012-01-18T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tim's Philly Steaks at 336 Westport Ave. in Norwalk I'm a cheesesteak junkie. I've blogged about it before, writing about my quest for the holy grail of cheesesteaks and how hope springs eternal, despite the number of times I've suffered through substandard fare. 12" Philly Steak with grilled onions and cheese whiz. Note the free pickled peppers in the background. A week ago, my local

Thinking about Working for God Retreat

2012-01-11T20:07:00.000-05:00

TAWFG Retreat Participants Preparing for Candlelight Prayer Walk I spent this past weekend at the Silver Lake Conference Center with eleven young people who are part of the Connecticut Conference's "Thinking About Working For God" program. Some time ago, Rev. Da Vita "Day" McCallister, the Associate Conference Minister for Youth and Young Adult Ministries, had asked me to be one of the

Chantey Singing at the Rowayton Arts Center

2011-12-21T21:29:00.002-05:00

For the last two months, I've been taking part in a chantey sing held at the Rowayton Arts Center from 4:00-6:00pm on the third Sunday of the month, and have been enjoying it immensely. The program is hosted by Deirdre Murtha, of The Johnson Girls, and her husband Sean, who also sings and plays banjo, fiddle and bones. Each afternoon, different people take turns leading chanteys and other

Ship Sighting: Hudson River Sloop CLEARWATER

2011-11-19T23:26:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week, the Norwalk Hour ran a brief piece letting the world know that the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater would be at the Norwalk Cove Marina for a few days for maintenance. Having crewed on Clearwater for part of a single day, back in the fall of 2006 when Amistad and Clearwater were tied up at the same dock on the Hudson, I was interested in seeing what Clearwater looked like out of

Bless!: A Retrospective

2011-11-12T18:51:00.001-05:00

Rev. Quinn Caldwell speaksabout blessings. Note thespiffy tweed vest, similar tothe one I was wearing. Wewere extremely stylish together. The last couple days in Boston have been fantastic, with several great worship experiences, informative workshops, and shop-talk with fellow pastors and worship leaders, including several that I had gotten to know well in my days back in the Central

"Bless!" Conference in Boston

2011-11-10T11:09:00.000-05:00

I haven't taken a train trip in a while, not since the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race back in 2008. Today, I'm riding Amtrak on my way to Boston for "bless!", a national conference for worship leaders, sponsored by the UCC's Local Church Ministries and hosted at the historic Old South Church. Tomorrow afternoon, the bless! conference will include a blessing for all of the food and

Fall Hiking and Paddling at Huntington State Park

2011-10-10T21:02:00.000-04:00

It may seem that four months without a blog post is a bit excessive. Of course, on the other hand, I'm not really sure how many folks were sitting at home and checking my blog every couple of hours in the hopes that I'd written something. For those of you who have been doing so, please accept my apologies. The rest of you can just read this and murmur something about how time flies. Since Ian

Tampa: Days 3-5

2011-07-04T14:53:00.001-04:00

In a perfect world, there's time to blog. In mine, there isn't. Since General Synod 28 started on Friday, I've been getting up early, working hard, staying up late (either with old friends or debriefing with the Youth and Young Adult Delegates from the Connecticut Conference, for whom I'm a "shepherd"), and collapsing into bed. That isn't to say that I haven't been blasting out lots of

Tampa: Days 1 & 2

2011-06-30T23:07:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Ian and I flew to Tampa for the UCC's General Synod XXVIII. We settled into a motel just outside of the city and took a short drive to Ybor City, a section of Tampa started by a Cuban cigar manufacturer by the name of Ybor a little over a century ago. Over time, Ybor City became the center of cigar manufacturing in the US, though that industry has all but died out, with only small

Church Newsletter Column: Heading off to Synod in Tampa

2011-06-28T23:08:00.000-04:00

By the time you read this, my son and I will be in Tampa, Florida, where we will be attending the United Church of Christ’s General Synod XXIII as delegates from the Fairfield West Association of the UCC. I attended GS XVI in Hartford back in 2007, as a visitor, when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our United Church of Christ, but this will be the first Synod that I have attended as a

Restaurant Review: Pho Vietnam

2011-06-18T01:55:00.000-04:00

I love pho, the wonderful Vietnamese beef soup that, in recent years, has become one of my food cravings. There are several pho-only restaurants in Beltsville, MD, where my family likes to stop when we drive home to Virginia. When we lived in New Jersey, we'd often go to a Vietnamese restaurant in Tenafly. For a while, there was a pho restarurant in Westport that served "adequate" pho ,

Ship Sighting: STV UNICORN

2011-06-08T23:00:00.000-04:00

STV UNICORN anchored in front of the Sheffield Island Light, Norwalk, CT Tonight, as the Scotch Flyer crew was motoring out to the Norwalk Yacht Club race, we noticed a tall ship anchored out near the Sheffield Island light. As the angle opened, we could make out the rig: a topsail schooner. We were still too far aft of the schooner to make out the rake of the masts, but I knew that this

Restaurant Review: Layla's Falafel

2011-05-31T22:09:00.000-04:00

A few months back, Kimberly and I were devastated to find out that our local falafelry had closed. Since then, Kimberly has been pining for deep-fried chickpea goo and I've been longing for lamb shewarma. There just wasn't anywhere to go that replaced our beloved Falafel Inn, at least not in Norwalk. We had heard rumors of a Middle Eastern place in Stamford, so we decided to check it on

Bye bye, Boojum.

2011-04-27T19:24:00.007-04:00

It is said that the two happiest days in a boat owner's life are when he buys his boat and when he sells it. Or "she," of course, if the boat owner happens to be female.Several years ago, when I was living in New Jersey, I bought a used sailboat off of my fencing buddy, Ryan Alfonso. The boat was a Lockley Sea Witch 12, a small 1970s vintage, ABS plastic over foam construction sailboat that was

Barbecued Lamb Shanks

2011-04-07T12:29:00.006-04:00

Passover is coming. So is Holy Week, for that matter, so I'm working on plans for a Maundy Thursday Passover Seder and Last Supper Service at church. Over the years, I've been to seders hosted by a variety of organizations: Hillel societies, synagogues, interfaith associations, and churches and I've seen what can go right when people come together to celebrate the ancient story of the journey

Playing Catch-up

2011-04-05T19:44:00.012-04:00

It may look like I haven't blogged for three months, but that isn't really true. The simple reality is that I've got a couple half-written blog posts about things that have happened since the first of the year, they just haven't managed to progress beyond the half-written stage. "So, then," you may ask, "what's been going on that has kept you from writing?" The answer: "Nothing but the ironic

Restaurant Review: Eating at Edo

2011-01-03T17:47:00.010-05:00

Today was the first day in a long time that things have been quiet in the Bryant-Smith household. Since Thanksgiving, really, things have been running flat out, with additional programs at church for Advent, then having house guests for the entire week between Christmas and New Year's. Yesterday, when I was making the announcements at church, I realized that the office was going to be closed

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T17:25:00.005-04:00

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. From the liturgical angle, there's All Saints Day, which is always very meaningful to people as we remember those saints who have departed in the last year. My real love, though, is the creative craft of Halloween. From the time Ian was little, I loved making him costumes. One

Church Newsletter Column: November 2010

2010-10-30T00:48:00.002-04:00

Every so often, the Christian church is faced with uncomfortable realities when we realize that we’ve been on the wrong side of an issue. In 1632, Galileo was placed under permanent house arrest for his “heretical” view that the earth revolved around the sun and not vice verse. At the same time, our Congregationalist ancestors were busy burning “witches” in Salem. As Charles Darwin proposed the

Pig Redux: Pozole Rojo

2010-10-29T12:24:00.003-04:00

Back in August, when I celebrated my 40th birthday, My church's Fellowship Commission and I hosted a "pig pickin'" at church. I enlisted the help of Bill Solder from the Norwalk Exchange Club (who had been a Barbecue Pit competitor at last year's Oyster Festival) and he provided a 100lb hog (which he stuffed with hot sausages!!!) for the occasion, which attracted visitors from as far away as five

Restaurant Review: Mexican Road Food in New Haven

2010-10-06T19:21:00.009-04:00

This past Friday, I picked Ian up at the bus stop after school and we hit the road for North Stonington, CT, where my friend Eric and I were playing a gig at the North Stonington Congregational Church as a benefit for the United Church of Christ's Neighbors in Need offering. As luck (and a little bit of planning) would have it, we reached New Haven at 4:00 with enough time to get off at Long

Brien McMahon Marching Senators: First Field Show of the Season

2010-09-25T00:39:00.003-04:00

For reasons of not giving away competitive advantage, this post has had the video removed at the request of the band director at Brien McMahon High School. The video is of the band's first field show at the 9/24/2010 football game. If you'd like to see the video, email me and, if you aren't too much of a security risk, I will give you the code so you can see it at YouTube.I'm such a proud dad!

Band Geek Dad

2010-09-23T22:20:00.004-04:00

I am the father of a member of the Brien McMahon High School Marching Senators. Sure, Ian's attending the Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School, where he's learning to speak Mandarin, but it is the marching band that is filling up every waking hour these days.Band camp started two weeks before school did, with daily rehearsals that went from 9:00am to 8:00pm, with break for the

9/11, Eid-al-Fitr and Truth

2010-08-26T15:43:00.001-04:00

Like many people of faith, I celebrated the news a couple weeks ago when the New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee unanimously voted to allow the Cordoba Initiative to build a community center at 47 Park Place, a former Burlington Coat Factory location. I was pleased for several reasons, chief of which is that the LPC made its decision on the basis of facts and not on prejudice.

A Day's Worth of Urban Adventure

2010-07-17T23:29:00.008-04:00

On Friday, Kimberly, Ian and I took Metro North into Manhattan for the day. We started the day off at the American Museum of Natural History's exhibit on the Silk Road, which connected Xi'an, China and Baghdad and served as the major east-west route for trade in religion, technology, and philosophy as well as for trade goods.By mid afternoon, we had seen everything we wanted to see at AMNH and

Silver Lake Report

2010-07-17T23:10:00.003-04:00

For many children, this is the season for summer camp. Here in Connecticut, we have a long tradition of reaching the lives of young people through outdoor ministry. In 1957, the same year that our United Church of Christ was formed as a denomination, the Connecticut Conference began using the property now known as “Silver Lake” as a summer camp and conference center. Since then, thanks to the

Round Hill Highland Games

2010-07-03T21:54:00.006-04:00

Today, Kimberly and I went to the 87th Annual Round Hill Highland Games at Cranbury Park in Norwalk. Last year, the games took place on the Saturday after July 4, so we were away in the Adirondacks. This year, we weren't about to miss it, especially since my mother-in-law recently put in so much hard work altering a kilt that I had somehow mis-ordered. (Thanks, Chris!!!)So, this morning, after a

Restaurant Review: Al's Hot Dogs in Naugatuck, CT

2010-06-29T12:28:00.004-04:00

This past Saturday, Boys In Hats had a 1:00pm gig at a block party at the Mill Plain Union Church in Waterbury, CT. That morning, Ian and I loaded up the car with the BIH sound system and instruments and headed off up Route 8. As we rolled up the Naugatuck Valley, making better than expected time, Ian and I made a quick decision to stop for a slightly early lunch.When I worked in Naugatuck back

Conservative Conservationists??

2010-06-28T10:53:00.003-04:00

I am not a Southern Baptist. Even when I was one, I wasn't a very good one. I tended to think for myself a bit too much and usually came to the "wrong" conclusion, at least in the opinion of those who held the strings of power in the Southern Baptist Convention. I tended to side with women, minorities, gays, and the poor, while my old denomination tended to side with straight white men who owned

Steel, Leather, Ropework, Pine Tar and Marlin Spikes

2010-06-27T19:54:00.008-04:00

Since coming back from Cuba, I've had the opportunity to work with Amistad on two occasions. First, I met the ship in New London, CT, for the formal homecoming celebration, which involved a lot of events in conjunction with the Customs House Museum. This past Friday, I was back with the crew for the Wooden Boat Show at Mystic Seaport, where we had more than 700 people visit the schooner over the

Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black

2010-04-24T11:05:00.005-04:00

My good friend and colleague David Bocock at Cresskill Congregational United Church of Christ in NJ, posted an interesting link on his Facebook feed this morning. It was a blog post by Tim Wise entitled "Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black." I heartily recommend it to you. In fact, go ahead and read it now, then come back. I'll wait for you.Have you read it, yet? Good. Now, let's go on.Wise makes

The Language of God

2010-04-16T10:41:00.005-04:00

Six years ago, the United Church of Christ unveiled the "God is Still Speaking" ad campaign, which has featured the "Bouncer," "Steeples," and "Ejector Pew" ads. This morning, the United Church of Christ rolled out a new advertising/identity video, "The Language of God" as the next piece in this series.Unlike the previous ads which were designed as 30-second television commercials, "The Language

A little more CNN coverage from Cuba

2010-04-09T16:09:00.003-04:00

Here's a bit more of CNN's coverage of Amistad's arrival in Havana, along with some video about the "Ladies in White," who were protesting their husbands' incarceration as political prisoners. We passed this protest in our bus as we were arriving in Havana and making our way to our hotels, prior to Amistad's arrival in the harbor, though we didn't see the pro-government counterprotestors who

Remembering the Maine

2010-04-03T13:48:00.017-04:00

While I was in Havana, I went searching for the memorial to the sailors aboard the USS Maine, the battleship that blew up in Havana Harbor in 1898, prompting the US to declare war with Spain. Nobody seemed to know much about where the memorial was located, but I finally found it at the extreme western end of the Malecón, near the iconic Hotel Nacionál, in the left of the photo.It is interesting

CNN Coverage of Amistad in Havana

2010-04-02T22:00:00.003-04:00

Here's some good coverage of Amistad's visit to Havana, provided by CNN. Of course, they call Amistad a "slave ship" and refer to the Africans as "slaves," but the media almost always uses these shorthands instead of bothering to explain that the Africans aboard Amistad in 1839 were NEVER slaves -- they were illegal captives, kidnap victims -- and the schooner was not a slave ship, she was a

BBC Covers Amistad's visit to Havana

2010-03-28T01:59:00.001-04:00

Of course we all know that Amistad was NOT a slave ship, but a coastal cargo schooner. Other than that, this BBC coverage of Amistad's arrival in Cuba is quite good.

Day 5: Los Calles de Havana

2010-03-26T21:56:00.004-04:00

Some days are just better than others. Very few are better than today.After all of the busyness of the last few days, it was good to sleep in until 8:00am, when the phone in the hotel room rang. After the morning ritual, Bill and I had one of the nicest breakfasts I've ever had in a hotel, as the Hotel Habana Libre puts on quite a spread, including just about everything from fruit to

Day 4: De Matanzas a Havana

2010-03-26T00:52:00.005-04:00

It’s the bus. Amistad sailed from Matanzas very early this morning. Those of us who were left behind were scheduled to leave the hotel in Matanzas at 9:00, but that was delayed due to our bus needing oil and having to wait until it could be delivered from somewhere else. We were on the road by about 10:30 and retraced much of our drive along Cuba’s northern coast between Matanzas and Havana. The

Day 3: Shipboard in Matanzas

2010-03-24T00:42:00.001-04:00

Breakfast this morning was accompanied by the disappointing news that the Cuban government seems to have changed plans on us rather precipitously so that, now, it seems that only the crew that sailed Amistad to Matanzas will be allowed to sail from Matanzas to Havana. I’m hoping that there might be another change in that decision and am lobbying as hard as I can for permission to sail instead of

Day 2: Morning in Nassau, Evening in Matanzas

2010-03-23T13:38:00.004-04:00

After yesterday's stormy weather, today dawned bright and clear. Sunlight streamed in through the window of our two-star hotel, but Bill and I managed to sleep late, anyway. After showering, dressing and packing, I went out and took a walk to the beach I had visited, yesterday, stopping and taking pictures with my good camera instead of my cell phone.Bill and I made it to the airport with time to

Day 1: Not Cuba

2010-03-22T21:18:00.005-04:00

The Freedom Schooner Amistad was supposed to arrive in Matanzas, Cuba, today, where she was to dock right in front of the UNESCO Slave Route Museum. For all I know, she did just that, but I don’t really know, as my travel plans have managed to unravel themselves rather thoroughly.My traveling companion, Bill Kraus, who is a board member of Amistad America and also a fellow UCC person, overnighted

Going to Cuba!!!

2010-03-18T15:58:00.005-04:00

It's official.After months of hush-hush planning, Amistad is going to Cuba. She'll arrive in Matanzas, Cuba on March 22 and will then sail on to Havana on March 25, celebrating both the 10th anniversary of her launch in Mystic Seaport and the 202nd anniversary of the British Parliament's abolition of the international slave trade.As wonderful as it is that the schooner is going, my personal good

Boys In Hats Stuff

2010-02-07T01:13:00.002-05:00

It has been a busy month for Boys In Hats. Eric and I have played five gigs in the last four weeks. Middlebury, Niantic, Naugatuck, Norwalk and Plainville. I think we've got a couple weeks off until our next round of performances, at least I kind of hope we do, since I'd love to have a quiet evening at home, sometime.Tonight, at the Congregational Church of Plainville, we shared the program with

Martin Luther King Services in Norwalk

2010-01-20T15:25:00.004-05:00

From the time I arrived in Norwalk, people have been telling me about the fantastic programs that the Interdenominational Ministers' Fellowship hosts in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This past weekend, I got to experience them firsthand.Church service kicks off holiday celebration

Pissed at Pat

2010-01-14T21:08:00.007-05:00

I can't believe it!! Pat is at it again. On second thought, of course I can believe it. We're talking about Pat Robertson, so this is just the latest in a long string of... of... well, I can't come up with a suitably strong PG word to use here and I'm going to refrain from using the R and X rated words that I REALLY want to use.What has Pat done this time? He's calling the earthquake in Haiti a "

Prayers for Peace

2009-12-26T22:49:00.004-05:00

As we celebrate the season of Christmas, and the birth of the Prince of Peace, I am reminded of humanity's warlike tendencies. While serving at my last church, I buried a soldier killed in our nation's current war in Iraq as well as a 100 year old German veteran of the First World War. At the WWI veteran's funeral, I reflected on how much the world had changed since the dark days of The Great War

Visiting Sen. Lieberman (or at least trying to)

2009-11-24T17:38:00.006-05:00

Last Sunday, I went to see Senator Joseph Lieberman to discuss healthcare. Of course, I wasn't alone. Five Hundred or so other people of faith, representing an unbelievably broad range of religious traditions, gathered at the high school across the street from Sen. Lieberman's condo and then marched over for a prayer vigil on the sidewalk. The event managed to grab a good bit of press and I

When Fall Comes to New England

2009-10-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

Last week, as I drove through the northwest corner of Connecticut, I noticed that the foliage up there was just beginning to turn colors. Yesterday, I looked out of my office window and saw a tree next door, covered with golden leaves. Walking out to my car after work, I noticed that the church's lawn was speckled with orange and brown leaves.In the spring of 2000, my family left Connecticut

Summer's Conclusion

2009-09-29T18:07:00.007-04:00

Lately, I've been busy trying to make the most of the waning days of summer. I spent September 11-13 as part of the "Saints and Sinners Barbecue Team" competing in the Bar-B-Q Pit Competition at the Norwalk Oyster Festival (an event that had remarkably few oysters in evidence). This was the first time out for the team, which consisted of several members of the First Congregational Church of

Fun With Salmon, Part II

2009-09-06T18:14:00.006-04:00

In these waning days of summer, I've been grilling a lot. Part of it is because I'm going to be competing next weekend in the Norwalk Oyster Festival's Bar-B-Q Pit competition and partially because, well, it is pushing the end of summer and I figure that there's a lot of food out there that deserves to get grilled before the snow starts to fly.In peparation for the the Barbecue competition, I've

Jack Benny Ain't Got Nuthin' on Me

2009-08-24T18:38:00.002-04:00

Perhaps you remember Jack Benny's classic schtick, here in a sketch with Grouch Marx... which reminds me of my son's first aquarium, where we named the fish after the Marx Brothers: Grouch, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Karl, but that's really not what I want to write about today...When I was growing up, Jack Benny (1894-1974) was already a thing of the past or, more accurately, he was a thing of the

Back from Vacation in Maine

2009-08-20T22:54:00.004-04:00

Last week, the family piled into the station wagon and made a pilgrimage to America's second-most-visited national park: Acadia on Mount Desert Island. Over the years, we've been several times, camping in various campgrounds and coming to the conclusion that our absolute favorite one is Mount Desert Campground because it is right at the head of Somes Sound (said by some to be the only fjord on

Restaurant Review: Star Diner, An Unexpected Gem

2009-08-01T16:13:00.006-04:00

Today, Kimberly and I traveled up to Sharon, CT, in the northwest corner of the state, to pick Ian up from summer camp. I've been driving to Sharon for years, first from the New Haven area when I was volunteering as a dean at Silver Lake, leading a conference on clowning, and then just as a camper's dad, driving from New Jersey, but this is the first year that I've made the trip up Rt. 22 from

Scotch Flyer

2009-07-28T22:06:00.007-04:00

For the last couple weeks, I've been spending my Wednesday evenings doing what I love: sailing.One of my parishioners, Bob McGregor (pictured at the helm), knew of my addiction to boats and invited me to join his racing crew, so I've been going out with him and a collection of his friends each week and we've been racing his 34-foot C&C yacht, Scotch Flyer, out of Norwalk's Shore and Country Club.

2009-07-18T18:36:00.010-04:00

"Time flies like the wind.Fruit flies like a banana." At least, that's what they say.Looking back, it is hard to believe that I've actually slacked off on writing a blog post for two entire months. In my defense, though, it has been an incredibly busy two months, especially the part where my laptop computer was stolen and I had to replace itWe've been settling into our new home, getting things

Cooking with Tripp

2009-05-15T23:09:00.003-04:00

My high-school classmate, Tripp Hudgins, and I were chatting back and forth on Facebook some time ago, discussing the possibility of him providing a posting on my (now defunct) cooking blog "Food in the Balance."In the run-up to Easter, life got very busy for Tripp (as a working pastor) and for me (as a temporarily "unencumbered" pastor who was working hard to get ready to pull up stakes and move

Two Weeks In

2009-05-15T17:04:00.004-04:00

This Saturday marks the second week since my family moved to Norwalk, CT (and, yes, I'm only just now getting around to posting about it...).After picking up our U-Haul truck in Paterson, we brought it home and started the process of loading it with our worldly goods, a process which was greatly eased by the advance-work of our friends Evelyn and John, who had brought a truck and trailer down

Connected: Carrying Amistad's Legacy

2009-05-15T16:48:00.002-04:00

I just came across this video produced by Amistad America about the Atlantic Freedom Tour. It opens with footage of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race and has some great shots of the schooner's construction and launch, as well as the footage of Amistad's time in Sierra Leone that is the focus of the video.

Hitting the Ground Running

2009-04-17T16:08:00.003-04:00

I began my new pastorate at the First Congregational Church, UCC, in Norwalk, CT on Palm Sunday, timing which is sort of the liturgical equivalent of taking a sip from a firehose. At the time, my big concern was that the excitement of my arrival would end up eclipsing the message of Palm Sunday, and I joked with several of the congregation's leaders that we needed to make sure that the church

New Cookbook, New Recipes

2009-03-23T20:33:00.003-04:00

My in-laws gave me a new cookbook for Christmas, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. This cookbook, a revision of one that was first released in 2005, is produced by the same folks who publish Cooks Illustrated magazine. This loose-leaf (some assembly required) book offers recipes, product reviews, explanations and photos of techniques and, most interesting, results of tests that the

Way too busy!!

2009-03-21T10:06:00.007-04:00

Last weekend was very busy. On Friday evening, friends from the River Edge church came over for dinner and were joined by my musical partner in crime, Eric Anderson. Eric stayed the night and, on Saturday, we performed at the Cresskill United Church of Christ, in a benefit concert for the church. Boys in Hats had been repeatedly advertised as a "country music duo," so, while we never perform

Beginning Transitions

2009-03-08T21:48:00.002-04:00

I spent this past weekend in Catonsville, Maryland, at my final meeting of the Board of Directors for the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, a group with a name that you shouldn't try to say five times really fast. I've been a member of the CAC's board for the last four years and have chaired the Mission, Vision & Communication working group of the board for the last two

Busy, yet not very...

2009-03-02T13:28:00.002-05:00

It has been a quiet week here in River Edge, New Jersey.The dartboard that Ian had bought a few weeks ago began having serious scoring problems within only a day or two of our hanging it up in the basement, so he and I went back to Sears to return it this week. While wandering around the store, we noticed a bunch of dart boards up high on a shelf, away from the sporting goods section. Unlike the

First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Norwalk, CT

2009-02-22T15:50:00.003-05:00

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, with two Boys in Hats concerts, an ongoing adult education program at Trinity United Church in Warren, NJ, and a ski trip. The big news, however, is that yesterday and today were my candidating weekend at the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, of Norwalk, CT, and that, after worship this morning, the church called me to be

More Darwin News!

2009-02-13T10:18:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I wrote about Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, discussing the celebration in terms of the ongoing American kerfuffle about evolution v. creationism/intelligent design.Today, my high school classmate Tripp Hudgins, who is now a Baptist pastor, posted a fantastic article to his Facebook page that he gleaned from the New Scientist magazine website. It is about the Roman Catholic Church's

It Isn't Every Day that a Man Turns 200 Years Old

2009-02-12T17:39:00.005-05:00

Today is the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. I recently finished reading his travelogue, The Voyage of the Beagle, which I enjoyed immensely. As a consequence of having the book listed in my "What I'm Reading Now" section on this blog, I received an email from Peter McGrath, the director of the HMS Beagle Project. McGrath is working to build a replica of the HMS Beagle, which will "sail the

13 Years Later

2009-02-09T15:22:00.002-05:00

It’s official. I'm old.I say this not because of my own advancing years, but because I have reached a secondary milestone in my life. As of today, I am the parent of a (gasp!!) teenager.It was 13 years ago today that my very roly-poly wife turned to me as I was getting ready to head off to work and told me, "The contractions have started." As we got ready to leave the house, Kimberly informed me

Bullseye!

2009-02-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

Back when I worked at the Congregational Church of Naugatuck, CT, in the 1990s, the music director, several members of the choir and I would regularly make a post-rehearsal pilgrimage to a corner bar in Union City. It was one of those dives with lots of character, a turn-of-the-century building, old and battered, with pressed-tin walls and ceilings and ornate plumbing in the restrooms. There were

Maximizing your Prophets in These Difficult Economic Times

2009-02-02T19:24:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday, I was back at Trinity United Church in Warren, NJ, the church where I led an adult education program back in the early fall, From Amistad to Guantanamo: Justice Ministries in the United Church of Christ. This time, I was teaching the first installment of a three-part series about prophets.On Sunday, we went over what Biblical prophets were and what they weren't. (They were

The Omnivore's Hundred

2009-01-27T23:16:00.001-05:00

While I was playing Scrabble on Facebook tonight, I was chatting with my friend, Ina. A native of Hawaii, Ina was lamenting her inability to find decent poi in New Jersey. Our conversation ran through some of the various cusine that we had sampled in our various travels and Ina asked me if I had heard of "The Omnivore's Hundred." I hadn't.At it turns out, "the Omnivore's Hundred" is a list of

Culinary Success, Literary Failure

2009-01-24T20:15:00.000-05:00

I hate admitting defeat, but I'm going to do it.Back in August, shortly after I set up this blog, I created a companion blog, Food in the Balance, that was going to document my culinary adventures. One of my personal reasons for wanting to blog about food was so that I could keep a record of my cooking successes and failures. The reality turned out differently.Despite my best intentions to be a

Martin Luther King, Barack Obama and a White Southern Boy's Journey through Race

2009-01-19T13:49:00.000-05:00

I grew up in rural Virginia in the days after Jim Crow was officially dead. Little did I know that the body was still warm.Back then, the Monday following January 15 was celebrated as "Lee-Jackson Day" in honor of the Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson. In 1983, that was expanded to become "Lee-Jackson-King Day," an ironic combination that pleased neither the progressives

Theology in the NY Times!

2009-01-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

It has been quite a while since I posted anything here on my blog, but I trust that you'll forgive me. After all, you've all been enjoying your various and sundry holiday celebrations. Perhaps, you've even taken some time off to go cross-country skiing in the Berkshires like my family did last week. At any rate, I'm certain that you haven't been slowing down to read blogs. You haven't, right?Well

The Perfect Car

2008-12-19T10:43:00.000-05:00

For a good many years (since 2000, to be precise) I've been driving the green, Subaru Legacy Outback wagon pictured below. The Outback is, so far as I can tell, nature's most perfect vehicle. It is big enough to haul instruments and the sound system for Boys in Hats concerts or all the gear my family takes camping. It is strong enough to pull my little sailboat. It has a roof-rack that can carry

A Quiet Week in Lake Wobegone

2008-12-11T14:41:00.001-05:00

After all the running around of recent weeks, this past week has been blessedly quiet. The big adventure was Saturday's trip into Manhattan to attend a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion at the Town Hall Theater on West 43rd Street. Wherever we've lived, my family has been listening to the Public Radio International program on our National Public Radio affiliate (currently WNYC) and we've

Restaurant review: Guadalupe la Poblanita

2008-12-03T20:06:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip through Connecticut, I specially timed my journey so I could stop for lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant: Guadalupe la Poblanita, 136 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06513. My family started eating at Guadalupe la Poblanita a dozen years ago, when we moved to Hamden, CT. At that time, the restaurant was located in a cramped little building with only about a half-dozen

On the Road Again... or should that be "still?"

2008-12-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

I've been traveling a lot, lately. Actually, that's my reason for not having written anything here for the last couple weeks. It all started with a trip to Catonsville, MD, for a Central Atlantic Conference Board of Directors meeting. Almost immediately upon my return, I was off to Boston, where I visited my friend Eliza Garfield, and celebrated her birthday with her. As a dedicated boat-geek, I

Cajun Catfish Sashimi

2008-11-19T14:15:00.000-05:00

I love Japanese food. I grew up with teriyaki steak being one of my favorite treats. Later, I became a huge fan of sushi and sashimi. Of course, there are some kinds of fish that I like better than others. I love tekka (tuna) raw, but I prefer my salmon well-done. This past week, I prepared catfish sashimi for my family, except that it wasn't supposed to be catfish sashimi. It was really just an

A proud fencing dad

2008-11-19T13:22:00.000-05:00

My son, Ian, has been fencing since he was five years old, when he begged me to start a class for him at the Pocono Family YMCA in Stroudsburg, PA. I had only been fencing for a year or so and my instructor, Bernd Weishaupt, helped me start a kinderfencing program where Ian would be able to learn the fine art of swashbuckling.When we moved to New Jersey, Ian and I started fencing with the

Proposition 8 and Rainbow Flags

2008-11-10T23:00:00.000-05:00

This monring, I received an email from a reporter from The Town News, asking about my take on the recent anti-gay state constitutional amendments passed last Tuesday and about churches flying the rainbow flag at half-mast in response.Here is my response to her question:While churches, as 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, are not allowed to endorse political candidates, it has long been

Risen from the ashes

2008-11-10T19:47:00.000-05:00

This past week, Kimberly, Ian and I had the opportunity to eat at one of my favorite breakfast places: O'Rourke's Diner at 728 Main Street in Middletown, CT. For many years, O'Rourke's was THE place to go for breakfast in central Connecticut, that is until the tragic fire on August 31, 2006 destroyed the landmark building. With no fire insurance, it looked like O'Rourke's was down for the count,

Whizzing through Connecticut

2008-11-10T16:56:00.000-05:00

Sigh!After a whirlwind four-day trip to Connecticut, my family and I are home and (sort of) recovered. We went up on Thursday morning, stopping in New Haven for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Guadalupe La Poblanita (Yum!!!). After eating ourselves silly, we went to the Atticus Bookstore Cafe, where we did some shopping and got some coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up. Then it was on to

The best kind of pirates!

2008-11-03T10:27:00.001-05:00

I am a fortunate man in many ways. Being married to a morning person who is also a reader who out-voraciouses (if you'll let me coin the phrase) me means that I often wake to find interesting tidbits in my email's inbox.Kimberly has been sending me articles about pirates lately. She's sent me articles about real-life Somali pirates who have been raiding shipping in the Gulf of Aden. She has sent

Donkeys, Elephants and Pandas. Oh my!

2008-11-02T17:56:00.001-05:00

Election day is almost here and I'm definitely going to the polls to vote for my favorite candidates. I hope they win, but I'm also genuinely looking forward to having the whole thing over and done with. As a former Political Science major, though, I've got to admit that I'm always interested in the political process and the ways that candidates represent themselves to the public.This morning, as

Autumn means apples

2008-11-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

With Autumn upon us, my thoughts have turned to the ingredients of the season. I've been cooking pork roasts, making beef stew, chili, and other heartier fare. With the days getting shorter, I've also been getting a bit nostalgic, remembering the change of seasons when Kimberly and I lived in Connecticut.When the first autumn of our married life rolled around, Kimberly and I went apple picking

2008-10-26T23:11:00.000-04:00

I've written two articles in the current issue of The Living Pulpit magazine. The first one, "Misery for Sale: Human Trafficking Then and Now," reflects on the legacy of the international slave trade and its parallels to the modern-day human trafficking, with reference to my experiences while on my sabbatical with the Freedom Schooner Amistad in Sierra Leone. The second, "Looking at Leadership

Gearing up for a Boys in Hats concert

2008-10-26T22:15:00.000-04:00

Boys in Hats, the folk duo of which I am half, is gearing up for a performance at the Oxford United Church of Christ (Congregational) in Oxford, CT on Saturday, November 8. This is something of a reunion tour for us, as we played at Oxford back in the mid 1990s, back when Eric Anderson, my musical partner in crime, was interim pastor of that church. Of course, we'll be playing lots of the "

Sailing with Amistad in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race

2008-10-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

On Monday, October 13, I rejoined the crew of the Freedom Schooner Amistad in Baltimore, Maryland, for the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. On my first night aboard, several schooner crews were invited to a party aboard Mystic Whaler, with Capt. John Eginton serving up an unending supply of oysters, both raw and grilled.The days leading up to the race were largely spent in preparation, with

Connecticut decides for equality!

2008-10-10T16:51:00.000-04:00

"Let justice roll down like waters,and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."Amos 5:24 This morning, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in favor of recognizing equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian people. The article in the New York Times gives details about the 4-3 decision of the justices and the history of how Connecticut was the first state to grant civil union status to same-sex

Barbecue!!! (!!!!!!!!)

2008-10-01T21:26:00.000-04:00

This summer, my family made several trips to Virginia. Usually, while we're there, we'll manage to get at least one meal of barbecue, often at The Smokey Pig in Ashland. For some reason, this year's travels managed to be barbecue free.A week or so ago, my son mentioned that he would really like some barbecue, so I've had the thought banging around in my brain ever since. Yesterday was the day to

The dinners this week

2008-09-30T15:10:00.000-04:00

After being away for much of the last two weeks, I'm back in the saddle, culinarily speaking.Last night, I made herb crusted salmon, with brown rice and peas for dinner. The salmon recipe came from Bittman's "The Minimalist Cooks at Home" and proved to be quite good. I try to fix fish on a reguar basis and my son loves the "Emma's favorite salmon and potatoes" from the same cookbook, but I find

UCC runs "Steeples" ad

2008-09-29T14:39:00.000-04:00

Today marks the beginning of a two-week ad campaign by the United Church of Christ, showing the "Steeples" ad (above) on BET, Bravo, CNN and TV One. I think that this is a good thing, basically. Really, though, I don't much care for the "Steeples" ad. The message is great, but the content is just a bit too saccharine for my taste, sort of like the ads the the Mormons used to run back when I was a

"From Amistad to Guantanamo" at Trinity United Church

2008-09-29T13:24:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the final installment of an adult education program that I have been teaching at Trinity United Church in Warren, NJ. The series, "From Amistad to Guantanamo: Justice Ministries in the United Church of Christ" detailed the development of justice work in the UCC, moving from the grassroots organization of the Amistad Committee, through the efforts for equal rights for women, people

In Washington D.C. with Amistad

2008-09-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

I spent much of this past week in Washington, D.C. with the Freedom Schooner Amistad. This is the second occasion since my return from my sabbatical that I have been able to spend time aboard.I arrived in D.C. on Monday night, arriving at just the right time to get caught in the traffic jam on I-95 that resulted from the opening of the new Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge to let Amistad through.

Dinnertime in the City of Brotherly Cheesesteaks

2008-09-21T17:48:00.000-04:00

While driving home last night from a meeting in the Baltimore area, I was talking on my cell phone. I was being safe and using the headset, but I guess I was distracted enough to miss the split where I-95 goes up to Philadelphia and the I-295 heads up to the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Jersey Turnpike. Rather than turn around and go back the way I came, I decided that it made just about as

Kimberly in the Kitchen

2008-09-20T20:41:00.000-04:00

I'll be away for much of this coming week, eating shipboard chow while the Freedom Schooner Amistad visits Washington DC for the Congressional Black Caucus, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the US Congress' Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves so my wife has returned to the kitchen, with the following plan. Thanks, Kimberly!Wednesday, September 17: Roast chicken (How to Cook Everything

What to get the man who has everything?

2008-09-19T18:15:00.000-04:00

I recently celebrated a birthday. Fortunately, or unfortunately if you happen to be a gift-giver, I've reached the stage in life where there are few things that I really need. I've also reached the point where I'm picky about what I want, which makes me really difficult to buy for.So, as my birthday was approaching, my wife asked me what I wanted. I had a couple thoughts spring to mind. First, I

Last week's eats

2008-09-18T20:41:00.000-04:00

This past week's cooking was fairly sporadic, with my wife being away in Virginia, transplanting daylilies to her parents' property. Somehow, cooking for my son and me is never quite as much fun as cooking for the whole family. The menu for us guys was, therefore, fairly simple: Wednesday, September 10: Roast chicken (How to Cook Everything, p. XXX), steamed green beans, baked sweet potatoes (