Review: Johnny Cash remixed

I recently discovered Johnny Cash Remixed, an album that was released back in January 2009. The album is produced by John Carter Cash (Johnny Cash's son) and Snoop Dogg -- which ought to give you some idea where the album is going.

I have an eccentric taste in music, and this album sounded like exactly my cup of tea -- combining both my love of Johnny Cash with a fondness for rhythm. The tracks are a mixed bag, but a few of them really deliver.

This is the track list:

1. Big River [Count de Money Remix]
2. Country Boy [Sonny J Remix]
3. I Walk the Line [QDT Muzic Remix]
4. Doin' My Time [The Heavy Remix]
5. Leave That Junk Alone [Alabama 3 Remix]
6. Port of Lonely Hearts [Midnight Juggernauts Remix]
7. Folsom Prison Blues [Pete Rock Remix]
8. Straigh A's in Love [Troublemaker Remix]
9. Sugartime [Kennedy Remix]
10. Rock Island Line [Wolf Remix]
11. Belshazzar [MacHine Drum Remix]
12. I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow [Apparat Remix]
13. Wide Open Road [Count de Money Remix]
14. Trail to Mexico [Mexican Institute of Sound Remix]
15. Hey Porter [Mocean Worker Remix]
16. Katy Too [DJ Enjay Remix] - Johnny Cash, Snoop Dogg
17. My Treasure [J. Scott G Remix]

I'm particularly fond of:

• Sugartime

  This is a fun, pop-y remix of the song. It's catchy -- some folks might say it was pandering to the mass market, but I'm bopping away while writing this and enjoying it immensely.

• Country Boy

  Cash's own delivery on this song is particularly suited to the rap-influenced style of this remix. There's a banjo/mouth harp sample that underlies much of the song, and it's an interesting counterpoint to the driving, synth-heavy baseline.

• Get Rhythm

  This is another high-energy dance-hall-ish remix. It reminds me a lot of the remix version of Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation" from ELV1S 30 #1 Hits.

• Hey Porter

  Takes the original version and adds a great drum line and a few other enhancements making it hard to stop moving while listening to this one.

What's not to like? Ironically, Snoop Dogg's own version of "Walk the Line" really isn't that interesting.

I don't know if this album will appeal to traditional Cash fans, but I think Cash would approve, given his covers and collaborations over the years. Some of the tracks are hit-or-miss, but on the whole I think it's a fun listen.

My kitchen helper

Max help me make muffins this afternoon, and it was fun for both us. In addition to helping measure out ingredients and whisk the dry goods together, Max helped me operate the Kitchenaid mixer for the first time. Watching Max work in the kitchen is interesting...he pays very close attention to instructions, and tries very hard to do the right thing. He's gotten old enough that I can say, "fill this up with raisins twice and dump them in the mixer", and then go do something else while he takes care of the raisins.

Chocolate coconut raisin muffins

From astray recipes. I made these this afternoon with Max's help. They were very tasty.

YIELD:	12 muffins
PREPARATION:	30 minutes plus baking and cooling times.

2 C All-purpose flour; sifted

2 tsp Double acting baking powder

1 tsp Baking soda

1/8 tsp Salt

2 tsp Ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg

8 Tbsp Unsalted butter (1 stick) softened

1/4 C Granulated sugar

1/2 C Packed light brown sugar

2 large Eggs (at room temperature)

1 C Sour cream

1 tsp Vanilla extract

3/4 C Sweetened shredded coconut

6 oz. Semisweet chocolate; finely chopped

2/3 C Raisins

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line a muffin tin with muffin cups. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a medium bowl. Stir together with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended. In a 4 1/2-quart bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is light in texture. One at a time, beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla. On low speed, one-third at a time, beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the coconut, chocolate and raisins. Using two spoons, fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake the muffins for 16 to 18 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Cool the muffins in the pan, set on a rack. When cool, store the muffins immediately in a plastic bag or airtight container.

We went to a pot-luck at Max's co-op this evening. We brought this casserole with us. The recipe is from my mom's cookbook. It's very tasty, definitely kid-friendly, and you can prepare it the night before and then toss it in the oven for 45 minutes the next day.

Egg and sausage brunch casserole

Ingredients

• 6 eggs, beaten
• 6 slices bread, cubed
• 1 1/2 C shredded sharp cheese
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 C half-and-half
• 1 lb bulk sausage, browned and drained

To prepare

Butter a 9in. by 13in. baking dish. Scatter the bread cubes and browned sausage evenly in the dish. Scatter shredded sharp cheese on top. In blender container, blend beaten eggs, mustard, salt, and half-and-half. Pour mixture over contents in dish. Bake 45 min. at 350F. May need to bake longer if refrigerated ahead of time.

A hawk visits our house

Alix and Max were playing out in the drive this afternoon when a hawk swooped in over Alix's shoulder and landed on the fence between our house and the house next door. A nearby squirrel yelled at it for a while. The hawk hopped over to our neighbor's play structure, then flew up into a nearby tree.

I'm sleeping!

When I took Max to bed this evening, Kira was obviously still a work -- she had been singing and otherwise chattering away while I was reading to Max. As soon as I walked into the room, Kira started doing her best sleep impression: she lay down with her blankets on top of her, closed her eyes, and started "snoring".

"Snrrrrrrr...ssssssssss"

"Snrrrrrrr...ssssssssss"

etc...

She keps this up as long as I was in the room. As soon as I closed the door I heard a squeal of glee (and we ultimately had to move Kira to the guest room [again] because the kids were having so much fun).

Hey, Kira -- Leave those shoes alone!

We were visiting some friends this afternoon, and it was time to head back to our house. I got Kira in her coat and boots and turned my attention to Max. I turned around and Kira was out of her boots and in the sneakers of our five year old neighbor.

Off with the sneakers, on with the boots.

I gather up my hat and gloves, turn around...and find her once again in the sneakers.

Off with the sneakers, on with the boots.

I finally have everything together and we're ready to head out the door and KIRA WOULD YOU STOP PUTTING ON THOSE SNEAKERS! Seriously, you're like some sort of pseudo-Houdini whose only trick is escaping from boots in the blink of an eye. No, look, stop that; please stop trying to take off one boot while I'm putting the other one on.

We did finally make it home.

Dinner at Kitchen on Common

The plan

With Valentine's Day almost upon us, and at the urging of our au pair, we decided it was time for us to have a dinner together sans kids. We spent some time earlier today looking up restaurants in Belmont, since we've only been here a few months and haven't really had the chance to explore the local restaurant scene. We ended up with two top contenders:

• Il Casale in Belmont Center, and
• Kitchen on Common in Cushing Square.

Il Casale was having a special fixed-price dinner ($59 for four courses), and everything on the menu looked tasty. Unfortunately, Il Casale is apparently a very popular dining destination because they were all booked up.

Our final plan was to walk over to Kitchen on Common and either eat there or, if they were too crowded or something, walk on up Common St. to Belmont Center where there are a number of other restaurants.

Leaving the house

Leaving the house was surprisingly easy. In the past, every time we've gone out in the evening Max has had a complete meltdown ("Nooooooo, dont' go, I don't want you to go!" etc.), so we were bracing for the worst. For whatever reason (possibly the excitement of having our au pair's friend in the house) Max and Kira were both in incredibly good moods. Max even opened the door for us when we left! As we wandered down the sidewalk we looked at eachother in amazement. I hope this is the beginning of a new trend!

At the restaurant

Kitchen on Common is a small place, but we were able to walk in and get tables immediately. They focus on preparing meals using local foods, and they have a small menu that changes frequently.

The food was delicious. For an appetizer, I had a potato, leak, and sausage soup; the sausage was made at the restaurant. The soup was a welcome beginning to the meal; it had a light broth and a peppery kick that left the back of my throat tingling. Alix had a polenta with mushrooms and herbs, accompanied by a small salad with arugula and other greens.

For our main course, I had a grilled pork chop with fingerling potatoes and a side of maple roasted carrots. The pork chop was juicy and tasty, the fingerling tomatoes were yummy, and the maple roasted carrots were wonderful. I think the carrots, or some semblance thereof, may be making an appearance at our dinner table one of these days.

We finished up with two Chocolate Pots de Creme. That's French for "tasty chocolate pudding".

Altogether a yummy evening.

A good morning

Alix is travelling (to exotic Tulsa, OK), so it's just the kids and I in the morning. While sometimes this can be complicated and stress-inducing, today was super easy.

Max woke up around 7am, and Max and I managed to have breakfast while Kira was still sleeping. When Kira woke up, Max and I went upstairs and I was able to get both kids dressed and changed. Back downstairs, Max quietly read books to himself while Kira had breakfast (and I kept her company at the table).

After breakfast, Kira came upstairs with me and read books on our bed while I took a shower and got dressed, and Max came upstairs when I called for him and happily brushed his teeth while I brushed Kira's.

Max and I got out the door a little later than I had hoped, but he did some excellent walking and we got to the bus stop just in time to catch the [very crowded] bus.

Thanks, Max and Kira!

Kira Sings

Kira attends Music Together classes on Wednesday mornings, and she obviously enjoys them tremendously. It's been fun watching her slowly develop her version of the hello song they sing at the beginning of every class.

The first version (often while playing guitar with a book):

Hello...

Hello...

Hello...

The second version:

Hello...body.

Hello...body.

But tonight, it was obvious that not only is she learning the song but she actually understands it:

Hello...body.

Hello...papa.

Hello...Max.

She entertained Max and I on our way back from our visit to Belmont Kidspace (which was also quite fun).

Max the music critic

It's sometimes a challenge to figure out exactly what Max has done during the day. We often have conversations like this:

Me: Max, what did you do at preschool today?

Max: I don't know.

Occasionnaly, little snippets of information slip out. This evening after dinner, in between sips of his blueberry shake, Max looked up and said, "Ella Fitzgerald was a great singer!"

(Well, sure, she was, but how do you know that?)

It sounds as if they learned about Ella in preschool today, and maybe did some singing ("we had a microphone!", says Max, "and tomorrow Christopher says he will bring two!").

Max Knows Buses

One of Max's favorite games is being a bus driver -- he'll drive one of the scooters (a "low bus", e.g., handicap accessible) around the house or around the driveway, or his bicycle (a "high bus"), all the while performing a litany of bus related sounds. First, there's the sound that the knealing buses make as they lower and raise:

• Pssssssssh.
• Beep beep beep beep!

When you get on the bus, the announcement tells you where the bus is going:

• NUMBER 74/75 TO BELMONT CENTER! (In his best attempt to imitate the announcement voice).

Then, someone pushes a call button:

• STOP REQUESTED

And the bus announces the stop:

• BRIGHT ROAD AT WASHINGTON STREET

We're obviously raising our kids on public transportation :).