With summer waning, we're catching up on our reading in the editorial office. We recommend a couple books this week, including a nice take on Harley-Davidson's history, along with some delicious homemade barbecue sauce, mellow music and a tip for Downtown living.
"At the Creation: Myth, Reality, and the Origin of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, 1901-1909"-- Herbert Wagner's compelling -- and illustrated -- history of the early days of Harley makes the perfect read as the rolling iron roars into town this week. After you visit the museum, if you're thirsting for more about the men who created the company and how they got started and kept the fledgling business humming, Wagner tells it all here in this 2003 paperback from WHS Press. While there's nothing on Hogs and "Easy Rider," there's plenty on the two-speed "The Minneapolis" motorcycle and "The Mystery of the First Harley-Davidson Motorcycle," the so-called "Negative 599." --Bobby Tanzilo
Grilled cheese sandwiches at Kopp's -- Although Kopp's is most famous for custard and burgers, I like the grilled cheese sandwich best. It is always perfectly toasted, resulting in crispy but never burnt bread and ooey, gooey Velveeta-like cheese. I don't eat these very often, but when I do, it's always a food orgasm served in a white paper bag. Order up! -- Molly Snyder Edler
Factcheck.org -- It's always a good idea to stay informed, but it's especially important during an election cycle, when you are inundated with campaign commercials from candidates who like to over-promise and under-deliver. Unlike most media outlets, the folks at factcheck.org -- funded by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania -- don't accept superficial statements as fact and obsess about the "score" of the political game. They scour commercials, speeches, debates, interviews and news releases for blatant inaccuracies and slight distortions of the truth. Let's just say that business has been brisk for a while and won't slow down any time soon. --Drew Olson
Homemade pomegranate BBQ sauce -- Labor Day might be on its way, but there are still plenty of prime grilling opportunities left this season. (Did you hear? September is the new June.) I found an amazingly rich BBQ sauce recipe in "Vegan with a Vengeance" that translates well to the outdoor grill. It involves some rather obscure ingredients, such as pomegranate molasses, but if you can't make it to Whole Foods (the only place I could find it, though the book suggests Middle Eastern grocers), plain molasses works just fine, in my opinion. I suppose it's no longer "pomegranate BBQ" sauce if you leave it out, but it still tastes divine.
Ingredients:
1 cup shallots, minced
1 tbsp. peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch fresh black pepper
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder
2 cups veggie broth
6 oz. can of tomato paste
2 tbsp. creamy natural peanut butter
2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp. tamari
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. hot sauce (or more to taste)
1 tsp. liquid smoke
Preparation: In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté the shallots in 1 tablespoon peanut oil for about 5 minutes, add garlic and five spice powder, sauté 1 minute more. Add veggie broth and bring to a simmer. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the pomegranate seeds) and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. --Julie Lawrence
Telling people that they don't have to plug parking meters during weekends Downtown --
I've blogged this, but now I recommend it -- telling people that they don't have to plug the meters on the weekends.
This is fun and makes you feel good as most people are thrilled at their sudden savings. Read the signs. For example a two-hour sign in the Third Ward says, "2 HOUR PARKING 8:00 AM TO 6:00 PM SATURDAY." The top of this same sign reads, "2 HOUR METER PARKING 8:00 AM TO 6:00 PM MONDAY THRU FRIDAY." This means that you don't have to plug the meters on Saturdays. Yet, if you park at a single street spot for more than two hours you might get a ticket. So, still watch it. But, if you see someone plugging the meters - save them some money and tell them to stop spending their hard earned cash. And, if you didn't know, Sundays are always free at all metered spots in the city. --Jeff Sherman
"Adelaide" by Tim Miller -- A strong collection of songs delivered in a seemingly effortless but still winsome manner. Think of Michael Penn singing the songs that Jakob Dylan and others write on their best days. --D.O.
Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story (Lee & Low Books) -- Last year, we interviewed Milwaukee area children's book author Janet Halfmann and here's her latest book, illustrated by Duane Smith. It is the story a South Carolina slave Robert Smalls, who follows his dream of freedom to make a daring escape to the north where the former slave steamboat wheelman became a hero of the Civil War. Compellingly told and distinctively illustrated, this hardcover volume will bring history alive for young readers. Halfmann just won the coveted Teacher's Choice Award for her previous book, "Little Skink's Tail." --B.T.
The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity -- Last year I recommended "The Invisible Heart" by Russell Roberts. It's a fine read. Roberts, a professor of economics at George Mason University and a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, is back this year with another great book called "The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity" (Princeton University Press, 2008). Told in the form of a novel, it's the story of Cuban American tennis star Ramon Fernandez, his economics professor Ruth Lieber and economic growth in America. Or, as Roberts says, "It's about how prosperity is created and sustained, and the unseen order and harmony that shape our daily lives." You don't have to be an econ goony to enjoy this read, but trust me you'll enjoy it and learn something. --J.S.
