Loft Show!

There was finally a show at The Loft in Skowhegan that was not on a weekday.  Sadly, there was not a great turnout regardless and 2 of the bands were even late to arrive missing much of the show.  The good news was that not only did Kaleigh and I go (as always) but Ashley was able to come as well!

The show opened with the regular crew of Tyler Voter and Michael Spaulding.  Tyler has a few songs with a full band but largely plays solo and Michael plays all of his songs solo.  Michael even had a fun song to as an ode to Uncle Spudd.  Both were good and played their sets well.

Next up was a band I had been looking forward to seeing for some time.  QQQQQ are some really young dudes that play a style somewhere between early 80 peace punk and the Dead Kennedys.  I really enjoyed their set.  They had a new drummer that picked up the song fast but with some more practice, they should get much tighter.  The put on a great show to watch as well, lots of energy which is really missing for a lot of Maine punk bands right now.  It was refreshing.

Since the other bands were not there yet, Uncle Spudd played next.  There set seemed extra silly this time around as altered some of their songs and played some of their more melodic stuff.  All in all it was a good set though and Kaleigh always enjoys it!

Jim Dandy arrived from Belfast and played next.  This was only the 2nd time I had seen them play.  They play more on the garage side of punk, good stuff and seems to encompass a lot of genres in one set.  Like Uncle Spudd, they have a few good fast punk songs that perk it up for me.  Ashley was really looking forward to seeing them play again.

Street Sity Surf was last.  They were quite good.  It was nice to see a band that doesn't shy away from the politics of punk rock.  They played with good energy as well and were fun to watch.  Ashley also really enjoyed their set too.

On the way home I was contemplating the state of Maine punk.  I really think that Maine needs a band or two that just plays straight forward, angry, energetic, punk rock, song after song after song.  I feel like so many of the punk bands have non-punk song littered through their set that it leaves me wanting to start something myself.  Something brutal.  We will see what comes of this...

They thought he was a man...but her really was a baker!

When I first went vegan in 1998, I tried my hand at bread baking.  Over the first vegan year, I baked several breads and all came out with a mild degree of success.  Nothing special but edible.  I chalked it up to the fact that I was not a good baker and moved on.

After about 17 years, as my baking has improved (enough to start a business of vegan baking), I began thinking again about bread.  I wanted to try my hand again and see if I could apply my new affinity for baking to some bread.

Yesterday, I threw down in the kitchen.  I kneaded, let rise, beat down, let rise, and baked.  It was a new and exciting process for me, much closer to seitan than cupcakes though.  Half a day later, it worked!  I had baked a couple (mis-shaped) loaves of bread!

It was quite tasty.  The flavor was great but it might have been a touch more dense.  I really had a lot of fun and will continue to move forward in the bread world.

Back to scratch

It has been awhile since I made black beans from scratch.  I am not sure why really, when we lived in Georgia I made them often.  Last night was one of those nights, I made them from scratch.  Maybe I just needed some perspective because these might have been the best beans I have made.

The beans were soft, savory, and topped with guacamole and freshly sliced mango.  They really hit the spot: creamy and delicious.  The leftovers might even make some great burritos! 

May is punk

May was a month of punk show in Maine.  There were a lot of good ones, I got out to about 5 but I know some folks put me to shame.  I got to see a lot of new bands, some bands I see often and a few bands that I had been looking forward to seeing as well.

The last band of the month I got to see was The Downtown Boys.  They are from Rhode Island and play really amazing political punk. with some saxophone mixed in for good measure!

They were a great live band, lots of energy.  I have missed bands like this as mostly the political bands do not speak much about their songs but The Downtown Boys were relentless.  It was refreshing a thought provoking.  I was glad I got to take and meet up with some friends at the show as well.

Leftovers!

After leaving PunkFest, we had some leftovers.  Ashley, Kaleigh and I have been trying to get creative with them over the week.  So far we have been eating hummus wraps for lunches but also using the last of the chick-un in our dinners.

We fried up some of the breaded chick-un and tossed it in a BBQ sauce and served it with salad and fries on one night.  The chick-un was so good.

Last night we used some of the pieces we never bothered to bread and made a sesame chick-un dish with rice and steamed broccoli.

This week Kaleigh also had her schools Fun Run.  This was a small relay race that was to raise money for a bench at her school.  We both participated, I thought I was going to pass out after rolling down a huge hill!  Kaleigh had a great time though!

Wordless Wednesday! the cupcakes

Cookies N' Cream

Neopolitan 

Soy-free Gluten-free

PunkFest 7!

All the years I spent in Atlanta always caused me to miss the big summer event in Maine, PunkFest.  My good friend JoAnne throws a massive all day punk/hardcore/metal fest in northern Maine on Memorial Day weekend.  This past weekend was PunkFest 7, my first PunkFest!

Not only was the event amazing but she also allowed Squashed to serve food at the event!  The day prior I spend all day in the kitchen with Ashley.  We made over 100 cupcakes, chopped veggies and made enough sandwiches for 80 wrap servings (hummus, falafel, chick-un), made several dressings, made salads, and roasted cauliflower for sides.

We brought the cauliflower in the slow cooker but brought the table top deep fryer and made sandwiches to order all day and night.  It was quite an experience.  We sold out of falafel by about 6pm which was a little sad because folks kept asking for it.  Apparently, word had spread all the way to Lowell Mass that we were serving amazing falafel!  We sold out of the cauliflower around 8pm and the cupcakes were going like crazy!

We can home with about 2 dozen cupcakes, lots of chopped veggies (we went over board with those it seems) some hummus and only a few sandwiches worth of chick-un remaining.  We did quite  decent job and were invited back next year.  We are super excited and learned a lot from this event.  We will be even more prepared next year (and won't run out of falafel!).

I was so focused on the service and setting up that I forgot to take any pictures of the food or station until late into the evening.  It was quite an little operation we were running, both Ashley and Kaleigh did an amazing job too.  I could not have done it without them.


As for the Fest, it was a lot of fun.  Fortunately, there were very few orders while bands were playing so I was able to see most of the bands.

Pink Sock was a band I had heard about since moving back to Maine.  They played early and were pretty fun.  Silly dudes that played some catchy punchy SoCal punk rock.

Pink Sock

Pink Sock

Another band that caught my eye was War Cross.  They were billed as a hardcore band which I generally avoid.  However, these dudes were much more aggressive and late 80's style then most.  While they had some monster hardcore breakdowns that had the kids doing gymnastics, most of their songs sounded much more like Agnostic Front or even Coke Bust.  I was glad I got to see them!

War Cross

Uncle Spudd and the Skowhegan crew played as well.  I did not bother to photograph any of their set because I see them often and have plenty of pictures to go around of these dudes.  They were really good and I was happy they played their most aggressive stuff instead of the more melodic songs you occasionally hear with these boys.

More Beer Please came from Boston to play, they are somewhere between street punk and the mind 90's British drunk punk stuff.  They were a lot of fun to watch and put on a great set.

More Beer Please

USA Waste & Tuesday Morning Wrestling also played but I was serving food and missed most of their sets.  USA Waste is always a lot of fun as one of the longest running punk bands in Maine.

Hashgrinder was a brutal three piece from PA.  I think most of the crowd was sleeping on them to be honest.  I think they may have been overlooked as they were not quite hardcore enough for the hardcore kids and not quite punky enough for the punk kids.  I really enjoyed them though.  They were really harsh and relentless, simply sick grindcore.

Hashgrinder

I got to see most of the 88 Rangers set.  It was the 2nd time I have seen them.  I really enjoy the punk-abilly sound but for whatever reason it seems like they play for a long time.  They are realy good and hit their style perfectly.  PunkFest was no exception.

88 Rangers

Compassion Fatigue was a band I was really looking forward to seeing. They are also from Boston but play more so a crustier thrashy sound.  They played a very short set and I would have loved to see a few more songs.  They were good though, and I enjoyed what I saw.  Raw, fueled, angry, and full of energy.

Compassion Fatigue

Jim Dandy is a Maine favorite.  These Belfast Mane punks have been making noise for awhile but I had missed all of their shows until PunkFest.  It was great to finally see them.  They were super nice folks and play some really fun music.  Punk rock that defines most traditional genres as some tunes are fast while others mix more melody and some are just for funnzies.

Jim Dandy

The Asian influence

We have been trying to cut back on breads in the house.  We have been somewhat successful and honestly, I am really enjoying the foods we are eating right now.  It has been mostly Asian inspired foods over the past couple weeks.

I have made masala, tofu stir-fry, coconut lime tempeh, and Pho.  I really enjoy Asian flavors and all the veggies you get.  It makes me feel much better then some of the American spin-off veganized dishes that we eat.

I am thrilled that Kaleigh and Ashley have been on board with the Asian cuisine.  Kaleigh has gotten really excited when we she Pho in the pot.  Ashley has that same enthusiasm when I make one of her favorite, coconut lime tempeh.

With all the physical work we have been doing around the house (gardening, tree planting, flower planting, bush planting, general home repairs) it is great to eat something packed with veggies and flavor!

Wordless Wednesday; the bands

Uncle Spudd

Michael Spualding of Wessley

The Howl

In Exile

Karate in Gardiner!

Kaleigh had another Karate tournament this past weekend.  It was her fourth overall.  Fortunately, it was about as local as they can get, right in Gardiner, Maine!  It was a pretty good turn out from her academy and my dad and Sue even went!

Kaleigh's group was filled with some tough competition this time.  All the girls were tournament regulars but it did not scare her off.  In her forms, she gave the best preformance she has given at a tournament.  She took her time and was making great moves.  Her sensei was there and spoke with her just before it was her turn.

Having him there really seemed to ground her and giver her confidence.  She did an outstanding job, placed fourth and got her first trophy!  She was so excited and proud of herself.  The look on her face was priceless.

In the sparring she did an excellent job staying aggressive but the girl she was fighting was quite a bit taller then her and beat Kaleigh.  She did not seem phased by it after her outstanding forms performance.

We had to leave right after she was done to get to a birthday party but we did get to see a few more of her team compete.  It was a great time and we were all thrilled that my family was there as well!  Karate has really done some amazing things for Kaleigh in a very short period of time.  She is sleeping better, seems to have less anxiety, has been able to appreciate short term goals, etc.  We are extremely happy with her dojo, her senseis and Kaleigh for all the hard work!