The howling fantods, or, a parent's life

Orin's special conscious horror, besides heights and the early morning, is roaches. There'd been parts of metro Boston near the Bay he'd refused to go to, as a child. Roaches give him the howling fantods.

                    --From Infinite Jest (1996) by David Foster Wallace

At the beginning of 2017, I vowed that this would be the year I checked off two items that have been on my bucket list for about 20 years: (1) running the whole Rivanna Trail around Charlottesville, and (2) reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. In the words of George W. Bush (or "the Shrub," as DFW called him), "Mission Accomplished." I tackled the Rivanna Trail in February, then took up Infinite Jest in June and finally finished it today.

The final kick in the pants to get on Infinite Jest was when Dylan started reading it after Andi's wedding, which is sort of funny. While he was in C'ville that week, I tried to get him to take an extra copy I have of Consider the Lobster, which is a great collection of DFW's "creative nonfiction" essays, including the one about the Shrub's run against John McCain in the Republican presidential primaries in 2000, but Dylan was having none of it (so many books stacked up already, so little time). Except Joan then told him what a great book Infinite Jest is, and Dylan was 300 pages in before you know it. Yeah, that's how it is when you're a parent. But as long as you get there in the end, that's what matters.

Anyway, Infinite Jest was well worth the time and effort, a real tour de force as they say. It was really interesting reading it 20 years on, finding bits of things that showed up later in his work. The "howling fantods," which became something of a Wallace catchphrase, appears a few more times in addition to the quote from page 45 above. The parable at the center of his famous 2005 Kenyon College commencement address (later reprinted as the book This Is Water) is right there on page 445 in nearly identical terms. And the Zen-like message underlying the address is also encapsulated later in the novel, in the thoughts of Don Gately lying in his hospital bed:

He wonders, sometimes, if that’s what Ferocious Francis and the rest want him to walk toward: Abiding again between heartbeats; tries to imagine what kind of impossible leap it would take to live that way all the time, by choice, straight: in the second, the Now, walled and contained between slow heartbeats.

Other bits struck me for different reasons: the reference to "fake news" on page 385, 20 years before Donald J. Trump (on his way to shoving the Shrub off the bottom rung of the bad presidents' ladder) came to prominence for something other than being The Donald; Lenz saying he had to "piss like a racehorse," just like De taught me to say in law school; and, best of all, the description of the A.F.R.s (and later John Wayne—the tennis prodigy, not the actor) as "com[ing] always in the twilight, implacably squeaking, and cannot be reasoned with or bargained with, feel no pity or remorse, or fear," which is almost exactly how Reese describes the Terminator to Sarah Connor in T1, which DFW was a big fan of.

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An epic read deserves a really good recipe (or three), and Mom and I have been loving these salmon tacos. With three separate recipes, this may look like a lot of work, but you can actually have the salmon tacos ready in just 15 to 20 minutes, especially if you make the pickled onions the day before.

Dylan's salmon taco spread

Minimalist Salmon Tacos

Adapted from Amanda Hesser via Food52

Time from start to finish: 32 minutes

12 corn tortillas, ~6 inches in diameter (Ula Tortillas are the best)
Blackened Salmon (recipe below)
Pickled Onions (recipe below)
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 small bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
a lime or two, cut into wedges
Spicy Cashew Sauce (made with chipotle powder) or hot sauce, such as Sriracha or Cholula, optional

    1. While the salmon cooks, place a small, heavy stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Toast each of the tortillas just enough to warm them through and leave a light toasting mark, about a minute on each side once the skillet is hot. Don't let them dry out. Pile the toasted tortillas inside a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm.
    2. When the salmon is ready, remove the skin and flake the flesh into smallish chunks. Serve inside the warm tortillas with the avocado, cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and some Spicy Cashew Sauce or hot sauce, if desired. Serves 3 or 4.

Blackened Salmon

Adapted from Restaurant Favorites at Home (2003) by the Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine

Time: 18 minutes

Mom and I like to eat salmon this way even if we're not making salmon tacos, as a change from the Salmon with Asian Barbecue Glaze.

2 6- to 8-ounce salmon fillets, preferably center-cut
1½ teaspoons ancho chile powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoons sunflower or vegetable oil

    1. Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Pat the salmon fillets dry with paper towels. In a ramekin or small bowl, mix together the ancho chile powder, pepper, cumin, and salt. Rub the spice mixture into the flesh side of the fillets.
    2.  Heat the oil in a 10-inch oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the fillets in the skillet flesh-side down and cook, without moving, until a well-browned crust forms, about 2 minutes. Flip the fillets and cook until the skin is crisp, about 2 minutes. Place the skillet in the oven, and roast until the salmon is done, about 6 to 9 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. The center of the fish should register 125 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and still be translucent when cut into with a paring knife. Serves 2 as a main course, or 4 as part of salmon tacos.

Quick Pickled Onions

Adapted from A New Way to Dinner (2016) by Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs 

Time: 12 minutes

This makes more pickled onions than you need for one recipe of the tacos, but you can use them for other things, like sprucing up sandwiches, salads, etc. The crunch they give to the salmon tacos is essential.

1 large (~8 ounces/225 grams) red onion, thinly sliced from pole to pole
1 tablespoon (12 grams) sugar
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ cup (177 grams) cider, red wine, or distilled white vinegar
⅜ cup (88 grams) water

    1. Toss the onion, sugar, and salt together in a microwave-safe container. Pour the vinegar and water over the onion. Stir, then make sure the onion slices are submerged as much as possible.
    2. Microwave, uncovered, on full power for 1 minute. Stir and zap for another minute. Repeat until the liquid is hot and the onion begins to soften, probably just 1 more minute, but it will depend on the strength of your microwave. Let cool, transfer to a glass jar, then store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Makes ~3 cups.