Spent Words, Spent Grain

Boyfriend has this hobby I know nothing about; he homebrews. I should mention I've been very wary of his hobby prior to his actually deciding to start making beer in our home. When Boyfriend confirmed this was happening, I hoped upon hope it would occur at a friend's house. I would be wrong. It was within seconds of starting this project that "my" kitchen was a disaster. I hear the kitchen will "never be cleaner" than after my brewmaster finishes this session. And I'm forced to believe him.

I have too much pride with you to give you the full kitchen view. 

Because--for months--he has been telling me that I'll be able to make breads and cookies and dog biscuits with his leftover grains. I didn't realize just how many leftover grains he was referring to. I would have prepped myself with the most highly rated recipes on the World Wide Web. This is where Pinterest is good in a pinch; images sell. I pinned a couple enticing recipes and got to work. I've used four cups (on a decent batch of spent grain chocolate chip cookies and dog biscuits for my favorite basset hounds--Louis and Toby) and would estimate I have at least that much left to experiment with. Note: He is in the process of making one gallon of beer. As he reestablishes himself in this world, I'm going to be feeding all of Washington, D.C. with spent grain goodies. 

(He didn't lie about the grains. He's smarter than to joke around about kitchen cleanliness, I pray.) 

Let me backtrack: I should have been more suspicious of the decadent breakfast waiting for me when I rolled out of bed this morning. Had I known I wouldn't be allowed back in the kitchen today, I would have had two servings. My lunch consisted of snacks--dark chocolate covered espresso beans, crackers, leftover roasted vegetables, Sour Patch Kids, and I'll admit cookie or two--I could reach without distributing the crafter.

Is he a homebrewer, a brewmaster, or a crafter? I've yet to decide. 

Today being the day he decided to reinstate himself in this world (i.e., the day of his dreams), I'm slightly envious of the patience and skill and experience he has devoted to his trade. I'm inspired even. I had one goal for this weekend--finish The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith. Not all of us can be so ambitious. I'm still in my pajamas at 4:35 pm on this Saturday; he's been in the kitchen since 10:00 am. Oh and the beer he has spent over seven hours preparing will not be tasted for more than six weeks. 

This blog--my hobby?--is sorely lacking direction lately. It's sad, honestly. As a result, I'm fear my writing has gone downhill and have on more than one occasion considered wrapping up with the "final" chapter on Lesotho and shutting down Explore. Dream. Discover. forever. I think I would miss writing as I've enjoyed the journey. But these days capturing time feels more like a chore and I never want to get to a point with my writing where the words are forced. And I certainly don't want to bore my audience. Those are directions I'm headed. 

But again, it's with piqued interest and desire, I present my spent grain chocolate chip cookies. 

The photos my dog biscuits will come with the next batch of beer; I need to steal cookie cutters from my mom in the interim. The ones from this batch of spent grain are boring blobs of what I hope is puppy dog goodness. Here is to waiting forever to see if these cookies or an upcoming batch of pretzels pair well with the beer I will not taste. 

PS: For a fleeting moment, I thought about "challenging" myself to document about my kitchen escapades as I continue to be more adventurous. But hello every other blog on the internet. Even in my quick search this afternoon, I discovered blogs dedicated to cooking with spent grain--homebrew remnants--already exist. In my attempt to share my ventures with spent grain, I would be but another voice navigating a world I know less than nothing about. Sigh.