I was driving by Hastings this afternoon and I caught a glimpse of its always informative reader board.

I use the reader board at the corner of Chelan and Ninth as a way to stay current on what has been released in the world of books, movies, CDs and video games. This week’s new releases weren’t memorable at all, except for one local release that caught my eye.

East Wenatchee metal band Wide Eyed Coma, the band for which the annual ComaFEST was named, had its name along the bottom of the new release list. If you’ll recall, Applesauce blogged about Wide Eyed Coma around Apple Blossom time, so it was pretty cool to see a local band getting some massive distribution by a major retailer like Hastings.

I haven’t heard the new record so I will reserve critical comment on the band’s music (in fact, I’ll leave that type of writing up to our resident music blogger), but I’m guessing the band is thrilled to have its albums sold at Hastings.

According to the group’s MySpace page, along with records being available at Hastings there are also T-shirts for sale at the retailer. Also the group has two songs that are getting heavy radio play in Spokane on that city’s 94.5 FM. So congrats Wide Eyed Coma.

If you want to see what Wide Eyed Coma is all about you can catch the band performing at Hastings July 4 at 1:30 p.m. and then again at Walla Walla Point Park that same day at 4:30. The group will also be at The Raven July 5 at 9 p.m. All shows are free.

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I spent a lot of my childhood at the old Rock Island Golf Course, the nine hole course that was used before the water level was raised behind Rock Island Dam. I remember each hole vividly as my brother and I would head there for a round and then follow my dad’s group as he played in the men’s league. The second hole was a great par 3, your tee shot going over a creek in front of the green (most of the time). And the fifth hole, a par four with a hidden bowl shaped green where I got my first eagle, a shot from the fairway that landed well right of the hole but I was told by people on the sixth tee box, rolled right down the hillside and into the hole. The sixth hole was a par 5 that ran along a road. I remember a story about someone who hit his tee shot down the road over 400 yards and it bounced back in bounds by the green.

So it is with great interest that I heard that the course would definitely be expanding to 18 holes, the extension to be in the flat area in the background, across the same road the sixth hole used to run beside.

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I was at Crystals restaurant in Leavenworth working on a story about amputees when the huge storm passed through last Monday night. I excused myself and made my way outside to capture this photo of hail coming down.

Then I headed up Eagle Creek but didn’t find anything too special there so headed to Wenatchee where I got this overall photo.

Still looking for someone in the photograph, I noticed from this viewpoint the lights on at Walla Walla Point Park and headed there to see what was up. Finally came out with a people photo, something more interesting and involving than the other two shots.

This is the one we used on A1, the others on the jump page.

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During my lunch break yesterday, I went to the farmers market. There wasn’t much left by the time I arrived, but I did find some pretty unshelled peas. When I got back to the office, I was greeted by peppery fresh basil thanks to the garden of my coworker, Dee Riggs.

Inspiration hit: peas with pesto. Add a poached egg and you’ve got a meal. Warm peas with pesto is good stuff. A poached egg is also good stuff. Together, they make great stuff. When it’s hot outside a simple veggie-heavy meal is nice and refreshing. All of this was done on the stovetop and for not very long, no oven needed.

Shelling the peas was actually quite fun, and my two-year old niece, Mimi, was having a good time sitting on the kitchen counter “helping” me. By the time we were done, she didn’t want to get down, she wanted more peas to transfer from her little mitts to her little mouth.
I almost liked the peas better when fresh and raw than I did after they had been blanched. No matter, they sure do look pretty after a short time in boiling water, and they still taste quite fine.

Poaching eggs is really easy. In the past, I’ve used a tablespoon of vinegar in the simmering water as a method of making sure the egg doesn’t dissolve into the water, but last night I didn’t. Now I don’t think the vinegar is necessary. All you need to do is break the egg into a ramekin, small bowl or soup ladle and slowly dip and pour the egg into very lightly simmering water. Let the simmering water poach the egg, keeping an eye on the egg until the whites have solidified and the yolk is cooked to your liking. I like to cook eggs just until the white is cooked. If you wait too long, the yolk won’t be runny. In my mind, there’s little else better than a good, runny, warm yolk.

If you’re serving it over peas, break the yolk and let its contents leak onto the peas. It’s nice.

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Anthony of Anthony’s Cheap Tow has always been one of those characters I thought I’d like to meet. I’ve seen the silhouette of his hat bent slightly forward as he reads a book in his tow truck parked along Wenatchee Ave. around dusk once or twice, but I have never taken the time to stop. Tuesday afternoon however, Anthony was seated, head slightly bent, reading a book at Dusty’s where I was eating lunch. I noticed his full outfit this time-a bolero or bolo tie, long-sleeved Wrangler jean shirt, Wrangler jeans and Wrangler hat with cowboy boots. I asked him about his outfit and he says he’s “bringing class back to the industry,” to which I say, “Bravo!”.

During his impromptu photo shoot Carla Carani, 20, of Bellingham (left) and Karen Potts, 19, of Leavenworth were very taken with Anthony’s look and commented that they wanted to pose with him, so I asked Anthony if that was alright to which he replied, “Go ahead, make my day”. (Okay, he didn’t say that exactly, but he was happy to oblige.)

I see the resemblance, don’t you?

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In the summertime, a cool lemony drink makes so much sense. On Monday, as the thermometer passed 100 degrees and I slogged my way through wire services stories after returning from vacation, I ran into limoncello … twice.

The first time I encountered the sweet lemon liqueur was in Italy. I think it was the same trip in 2003 as the one with the divine mozzarella. We were in the Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre — yes, I know it’s trendy, but it’s also really cool — and after tasting it, I brought a little bottle home with me.

I returned to the cute ceramic bottle a couple of months after I got home and tried it again. It wasn’t as good as when I was in Italy, I probably should have refrigerated the stuff. I think the bottle is still in the cupboard; I haven’t had it since.

Now, thanks to Kristin Tillotson at The Minneapolis Star Tribune, I’m making my own.

The two recipes that I found on the wire called for different methods. I have a feeling that either method would work fine. One uses the entire lemon rind, the other uses lemon zest. I chose to go with the lemon zest recipe since I recently bought a new Microplane grater and want to make good use of it. I am also a bit leery of using the entire lemon rind as citrus rinds can make foods taste bitter. So far, it’s been a very quick process. I probably spent more active time trying to decide which vodka to use than actually preparing the stuff. Now it’s just watch, shake and wait.

I’ll keep you posted with updates.

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The annoying little cactus is popping up on the weather widget on my iGoogle again. That means, in case you didn’t already know, it’s friggin hot outside.

But you don’t need me, or some cutesy drawing of a sharp, green plant, to tell you that it is hot outside. I’ll let my squiggles display how hot it’s been outside recently.

Last weekend my wife and I went to a matinée showing of the film “Wanted” (it’s pretty decent for a mindless summer action flick, btw) in an attempt to escape the heat inside of a cool, air-conditioned theater. After the movie we made a short, 10-minute trip to Costco.

While inside Costco I left a pack of squiggles, which are knockoff gummy worms, on the center console of my car. I was planning on eating them inside the theater but I forgot they were in my wife’s purse. When we returned from our brief Costco stop, my squiggles were no longer squiggly. They had melted into one massive glob of gooey, gummy goodness.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying “it’s so hot outside you can fry an egg on the sidewalk.” Well, Sunday afternoon it was so hot outside you could cook a packet of squiggles inside a car in 10 minutes (see the picture above for proof).

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Yesterday one of my coworkers asked me where to find the best tortillas in town. As I was about to say “make them” he stopped me and said, “And don’t tell me to make them myself.” So, I suggested heading to either one of the Food Pavilion stores in town for their fresh tortillas made in-house. The trick at the store is to go when the tortillas are coming off of the presses. Even though you are surrounded by hundreds of very fresh packaged tortillas, it’s best to wait in line for the ones made seconds before. You can also request specific amounts, as opposed to buying a big stack.

To be honest, though, I still prefer homemade tortillas. They taste fantastic and are well worth the effort. They’re thicker and, of course, fresher than any tortillas you’ll find in a store. However, making them does require some practice.

Last year, I was lucky enough to run into one of my elementary school friends at Starbucks, Veronica Hernandez. I had been hoping to find someone to give tips on tortilla making for a story. We hadn’t seen each other for a few years and as we were catching up she mentioned that she had just taught her preschool students how to make tortillas.

I came away from the ensuing interview very excited to make my own tortillas. Following her tips, the tortillas turned out to be very good. Now, I often make a half dozen tortillas just for fun. It’s quicker than you might think.

Last night I made some tortillas to go with baked cod. Topped with salsa and a bit of sour cream, it made a nice, fresh meal.

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That week-long vacation I took to the East Coast was full of food and excitement. My fiance (yes, you read that right, woohoo!) and his family made sure I ate well while in New Jersey and New York City.

One of the highlights of the trip was our Tuesday lunch stop at the Carnegie Deli on Seventh Ave. in Manhattan. On the suggestion of Brian’s cousin, Sy, we split The Woody Allen sandwich. It’s a corned beef and pastrami sandwich on rye bread. It would be more accurate to say that the sandwich consists of three pieces of rye bread dwarfed by a six-inch stack of pastrami and corned beef slices.

Being in New York, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to order a slice of cheesecake. It was huge and delicious. Needless to say, we didn’t leave the place with empty stomachs.

As we sat, surrounded by photos of famous people, we chatted, and when the University of Washington came up in conversation, the couple next to us chimed in to let us know they were from West Seattle. It’s a small world, especially when the Mariners and Pearl Jam are in NYC. Anyway, the nice couple suggested eating the corned beef from Roxy’s Diner in Fremont. I’ll have to go there next time I’m in Seattle.

Later on that day, we saw Wicked and afterward we went backstage and got to meet the actress who plays Glinda, Kendra Kassebaum. I even got to hold the wand! It was quite fun.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip. I’ll share more later.

By the way, the Carnegie Deli shares its cheesecake recipe online. I’ll let you know how it goes when I decide to make one.

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We covered the rehearsal of the Upper Valley Connection Icicle Players Theater Camp’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” Tuesday.

A few things made this a difficult assignment. First, the rehearsal was in the cafeteria which is dark, dim and dull. Second, there were many, many distracting elements like chairs, tables, etc… and third, the organizers thought it would be better to have everyone in funny hats for the pictures.

As for the third problem, at the Wenatchee World, we shoot photographs documentary style - no set up pictures please, try to act and do things just as we aren’t there. When people (I know they are trying to help) change things around just for the photograph, we have to do our best to avoid. So I had some nice, but unusable images of hats.

Eventually the hats came off and I could get down to working around the other two problems.

To shoot in the dark, I had to bump up the ISO to 1600 (using a computer program later to diminish the grain problem). And to avoid the distractions in the background, I shot from a chair, the high angle taking out the distractions.

And I shot with a telephoto, the distractions going blurry in the background.

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