Bolognese Sauce or Get a Grip!

Tags

Bolognese sauce, Bristol Palin, DWTS, economy, exit polls, Hawaii 5-0, Italian, meat, Recipes, unemployment benefits, voting

I love to cook, well most of the time I do. I like to slice and dice. I like working with garlic and onions and tomatoes. So I guess it’s obvious I like EYE-Talian stuff.

So, I figured I’d make a Bolognese sauce, instead of the standard spittingetti sauce I usually make. I figured the main difference would be meat. I decided to use venison since we gotz a lot of it, and it is great in dishes like this.

So, I looked up a recipe in the bible, AKA Joy of Cooking. I had all the ingredients, celery, onion, carrot, white wine, beef stock, milk, tomato paste. Good to go. Didn’t have pancetta, which is just fancy bacon, but I had bacon.

Well, it’s simmering on the stove as we speak. It’s a thing you simmer a looooong time, because it tastes better when you do. And I just couldn’t get over the fact that there was no garlic in it, nor any tomatoes. And I dragged out two Italian cookbooks, one of which is the one from the famous Rao’s in NYCity. No Bolognese sauce in either. None in Martha Stewart’s either. Hmmmm.

So I jumped on the old intertubes and ran it. And landed on a message board where there was a contentious debate about when to add the wine, and when to add the milk. Some added garlic, some abhorred such a sacrilegious addition. Some added tomatoes, of every type, pureed, diced, crushed, and whole. Some added fresh herbs, Batali uses cream. An authentic La Scala recipe was a fraud, and more a plea for “what was in it that made it pink and was the carrot grated or minced?”

“Authentic” recipes abounded and they were all different. I began to wonder if this was like pesto. I had a friend who is very very Italian. Her mother raised paste tomatoes and put up sauce every year. She had never heard  of pesto. Go figure. Was this Bolognese sauce somehow a family recipe? I mean, I figured it originated in and around Bologna, Italy. I figured it was more peasanty food.

I had learned from a Latino restaurateur, that there is a local drink in Mexico that is essentially a home-brew and every family pretty much makes it a bit different. Was Bolognese sauce like this?

Anyway, it all got too much for me.  I can’t get that intense about cooking! I just want something to taste good and be a standard recipe I can “go to” knowing it will turn out without a lot of trouble. If you have an authentic Bolognese sauce, by all means let me hear it.

***

Speaking of the latest election, exit polling tells you why people voted the way they did. This is much more reliable than listening to politicos, most of whom say that people voted the way they did in support of whatever they want to pursue legislatively speaking. Here’s some results I uncovered about the crazy election of 2010:

• Democrats by a healthy majority don’t like the Afghan war but Republicans do. No surprise.
• Most people voted their party affiliation, and both sides dislike their own party more than they like it. No surprise there either.
• Everybody agreed that “it’s the economy stupid,” but there is no clear consensus on how to fix it. That seems true of the so-called experts as well. That leaves us in a pickle I think.
• Gays voted Republican in higher numbers than in 2006 or 2008. Go figure that one out. The war is now out in the open between social and fiscal conservative GOPers. This is likely to get ugly.
• Latinos voted strongly Democratic except in Florida where Cuban Latinos are a whole different animal.
• People who got money (over 100 thou) vote Republican. No surprise.
• Democrats pick up most of the post-graduate educated and the less-than-a-high-school diploma group.
• Catholics swung back to the GOP but narrowly so.
• Working class stiffs went GOP, making it clear they don’t read much of anything.

***

I just about lost my cookies on this one. I mean, I started to laugh, and then I started to chortle, (which is different but hard to describe) and the Contrarian is asking, “What? What?”

It seems that a Wisconsin man (OKJimm was it you?) shot his TV to death after watching Bristol Pistol Palin dance on DWTS. I kid you not. A SWAT standoff followed for hours. I also discovered that indeed the voting is fixed. It seems that DWTS can’t control e-mail votes and some Palin-idolators are bragging that they voted for three straight hours building up lilBris’s vote tally. Goodbye DWTS.

***

It’s worth your time to stop by Lisa Golden’s blog That’s Why to get information about lobbying your Senators on the issue of extending the unemployment benefits bill. People are in need through no fault of their own. The usual GOP excuses will be coming forth, so do your bit, please.

***

We watch Hawaii 5-0. I didn’t expect to like it, but I kinda do. I love the scenery, because I would love to live there. The Contrarian likes it because it’s “episodal.” He thinks most of the world’s problems stem from shows becoming serial. He’s nuts, but you know that. Best line from the “Danno” character ( do not know his name) on David Letterman:

In response to the question “how you do you like living in Hawaii?”

“I loved it the first three weeks, but then I started to miss angry people.”

Yep, I can feel the love. *whimper*

***

Well, enough of all this. I’ll let ya know about the Bolognese Sauce. Let me know if you have ideas about the recipe ingredients. I love ya.

Related Articles

• Bittman’s Bolognese (tbeidler.wordpress.com)
• In Italy, It’s True What They Say…. (napaman.com)

The World Went On Without ME?

Tags

Catholicism, corn, energy, environment, fundamentalism, Internet, Muslims, Newt Gingrich, pasta, racism, Recipes, right wing, Zoology

It always comes as a bit of shock to me when the world doesn’t grind to a halt when I am somehow incommunicado. Yet, it seems that everyone went blithely on, mostly unaware that I was not producing fine literature for you to consume every day.

I shall remember this! Vengeance is sweet. When you least expect it, I shall get my revenge on everyone who actually lived life just fine thank you, with nary a thought about poor little old me. So, harrumph!

Not sure how things are around your neighborhood, but it’s intolerably hot and humid here. Everyone is grouchy.

Did I mention that it was hot? Dinner is a nice big romaine salad with feta and a ranch steak sliced on top. Some bread sticks. It’s all I can manage. It’s hot. It’s muggy. It’s miserable. Fans going everywhere. It’s hot.

Epicurious has a really nice recipe that seems perfect for the day. Pasta with corn pesto. Not too much effort, I’d make it except for the pasta in the morning and just reheat for a nice light meal with a salad and roll. Did I mention that about the only crop we got from the garden this soggy year was corn? Well, we put up 39 servings, which should take us through pretty near to next season.

I kept ready more hate stuff about Muslims and felt compelled to write our local Mosque here in Cedar Rapids (which has a really historic role in America by the way) and to the Imam who is in charge of the  proposed Islamic Center in NYC. I received lovely replies from both. Please consider just offering a word of support to your local Islamic community. And you can write to the Cordoba Initiative (for the NYC Islamic Center) at the following places:

FACEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cordoba-Initiative/134998249864725?ref=ts
BLOG http://cordobainitiative.wordpress.com/
TWITTER http://twitter.com/cordobainit
WEBSITE www.cordobainitiative.org

It is essential that we combat this war of hatred being waged by a very few fundamentalist Christians and their instigators, the far right politicos, who are willing to risk violence in pursuit of votes.

Apparently there is quite a juicy article in Esquire this month by one of Newt (slippery) Gingrich ex-wives. It’s pretty much what you would expect of a right wing spouter of “family values” who tells his wife he need not live by what he preaches. He’s indispensable you see, and can be forgiven his many peccadillo’s. Of course he’s a fine Roman Catholic now, having annulled all the trouble away. (H/T) to Right Wing Watch)

There’s a weird little article at the NYTimes Science section on ugly animals. We are predisposed to like furry binocular visioned animals and dislike others. Some pics and some talk about how we just don’t like the creepy among us.

Did I mention it’s hot? I thought I forgot. Mauigirl recognized just how hot it was and escaped to the cabin in the woods. I live in the woods, and did I neglect to say it’s hot? She has some venting to do. It’s worth reading. So go there, and read about how the US is falling to wrack and ruin while European countries PLAN FOR A FUTURE–we’re too busy playing gotcha politics. Nero fiddled? The grasshopper played? Remember any of this folks?

I seem to have become generic again. My feather is missing on comments I leave. What gives WordPress?

Jan at Yearning for God fell and has some minor damage. Stop by and give her a hello. I’m sure it will help her feel better!

NCR‘s Melissa Musick Nussbaum has an older but still important post on sticking with your church even when the fit has become uncomfortable. Food for thought.

See the right wing is evil. More so than you think. Given their rich only, racist rhetoric, that seems most apparent. And as much as the scrabble about our “freedoms being trampled” it seems they are the ones always doing the trampling. Witness how they are trying to manipulate DIGG to reflect greater traffic on right wing sites and burying liberal voices. I guess their freedom is my stifled voice.

Well, since I have just noticed that it’s HOT, I’m going off to shower, and get under a fan for a while. Keep cool.

Lil Bits of Rancor or Not 10/03/08

Tags

bailout, Barack Obama, bible, dinosaurs, economy, Election 2008, evolution, foreign policy, fundamentalism, GOP, Iowa, Italian, Kissinger, McCain, pasta, religion, soup

Well, a bit of an abbreviated post today. It has been a hellish day, one that has you cursing. Since the Contrarian is still taking meds for strep throat and is going to an farm auction tomorrow, I talked him into staying home while I trucked off to Independence for shopping. This in the end turned out to be a good thing, though at one point, it seemed to be a very bad thing.

Anyhow, I got my groceries and was putting them in the back of the Bronco when a man walked up and announced, “Ma’am, do you know you have a flat tire?” Well, no, and of course I scurried around to look, like perhaps he was playing some cosmic joke on yours truly. No such luck of course, the dang thing was flatter than the proverbial pancake.

Said manworthless person, asked if I had a phone. “No,” I said. No phone was offered. “Well do you have someone to call?” “No,” I lied still holding out the hope that said person would do the chivalrous thing and offer to change the tire. No such luck. “Well, just wanted you to know so you wouldn’t drive off with it flat.” Gee that was helpful I wanted to yell, I’d surely have driven 25 miles on the flat without that alert.

I rummaged through my purse and found four quarters the outrageous price of a lousy phone call, and prayed the Contrarian was not on the internet. He was not, but then, the phone barely worked. I could not hear him, all I could do was yell out my predicament. I faintly heard, “I’ll be right there,” and a click.

About 35 minutes later, with my ice cream no doubt in a bad state, said husband arrived. Half way there, he pondered whether I had gone to Independence or had gone to Cedar Rapids, but luckily, picked the right direction.  After about ten minutes of cursing, jumping on the tire iron trying to release a lug nut, he announced, “Start moving the groceries into the truck.” Hmmmmm, this looked far worse now than anticipated.

“I’m sorry, I truly am.” “Not your fault babe,” he replied. “Just life.” A plan was hatched on the way home. We got the groceries inside, he called his closest friend and working buddy, and now both are on the way back up with more manly tools. Steve had four nearly new tires that we were thinking of buying, and so that deal was now struck. So I guess I’ll have brand new ones for Sunday and church.

Anyway, disruptions such as this always put me into a foul mood. I don’t like changes in my routine a lot, and we have had two major ones in a week. But, all in all, things could definitely be worse. The Contrarian dreams of the day when he has a flat and can call someone and dump the whole issue on them. I recall years of being single and facing this nasty problem more than once alone and at the mercy of some mechanic type who charged me a full months wages no doubt for the simple task. (NO I DON’T INTEND TO LEARN TO CHANGE MY OWN TIRES, SO DON’T ASK.)

As to the debate, I was hoping for a Palin melt down and a pretty much end of the election. Of course, I knew that would not happen, somehow that woman feels comfortable before millions and freezes up with a single human being interviewing her.  She is still dumber than the dirt I shake off my shoes, and it appears she changed no minds for the positive. Those that liked her, still do, those that don’t still don’t. Biden was fine, and substantively beat the pants off her. If you like giggles and winks, and inane grins and slopping pronunciation, she’s your girl.

So on with the news I picked up during the week.

Let’s start off with something good. Baking Delights  often gives us the best recipes, and today is a copycat one. Bennigan’s Baked Potato Soup. As the days and the nights continue that downward trend, this is just the thing to come in for after time outside cleaning up the yard. If you do that sort of thing, which I don’t, but hey, soup is still the best!

Another recipe that looked mighty good to me was this one from Coconut & Lime,  Baked Ziti with Rapini and Chicken Meatballs. I think you can substitute out the Rapini if you can’t find it, with spinach say, and the meatballs can definitely be other meat as you desire. I love to make casseroles that just have to be popped in the over an hour or so before dinner. I’m definitely a morning chef!

At the debates, at one point, Obama claimed that Kissinger agreed with some level of negotiations without pre-conditions. McCain said he was wrong, and later, Kissinger backed him up. Both were wrong and Obama was right, as Factcheck.org suggests in the actual transcript of Kissinger’s remarks. Read it at Democrat Dave’s Weblog.

Episcopal Cafe  reports that 33 pastors from the expected wingnuttery right have decided to actively urge their congregations to vote for McCain. In this, they are forcing a show down with the IRS which disallows political preaching in Church, especially endorsing candidates. It seems they think it a good idea given the current SCOTUS. Another reason Obama’s election is necessary, to stave off the reactionary appointment that a McCain win would almost necessarily bring.

Boy Garrison Keillor  is always good, but sometimes he is down right preacher, bible thumping good. Don’t miss his take this week at the Salon on the Wall Street mess and how McCain deserves so much blame. It’s a cutting and rip-roaring good read.

It is pretty much a political axiom that VP candidates in the end don’t matter. History News Network has a very detailed and interesting post on VP picks of times past and how those tickets did, and more importantly the impact of the second choice. It’s fascinating to see that, well maybe Sarah does matter. If she does, it assuredly won’t be good for McCain.

One thing is evident in the mess of the bailout. The Republican leadership leads nobody.That means Boehner has no authority, certainly Bush doesn’t and alas, poor John McCain has none either. But what is worse, behind the scenes Newt Gingrich was apparently playing both sides, publicly saying he was for the bailout, and behind the scenes working furiously to scuttle it. One can only surmise his purpose, but the Republicans are a mess as is their candidate.

There is evidence that some dinosaurs breathed like birds. This of course increases the likelihood that dinosaurs are related to birds, something that dinosaur investigators have been saying for some time. Turns out, much to my surprise, that birds don’t breath like mammals. Although they have lungs, they have these things called air sacs that somehow transfer air into the lungs without the usual in-out method that we use. This explains why birds can fly faster and higher than bats, I am told. Live Science  has all the particulars to read further.

Fareed Zakaria  is one of the smarter people on the block in Washington. His opinion is worth taking a look at. He has finally weighed in on the Palin effect.No doubt most people are sick of Palin and so I am tending to not put up that much new stuff, but Zakaria is a true journalist, one that is reasoned in the way of William F. Buckley and George Will. You won’t find better analysis than this.

If you haven’t had a chance to get to Out of Nowhere, you really should. Some very excellent writing. You may find this one particularly good. It’s on money and how we relate to it. How did Jesus? And if that one isn’t enough, another exceptional post is about the Gospel from last Sunday, the parable about the Kingdom, in Matthew 21:23-32. This one will be posted at Hear I Am Lord later this week.

McCain, meanwhile has been in Iowa. I don’t know why, since he has been far behind in the state for months now, and there is little if any possibility that he can win it. Nevertheless, he was here, and granted an interview with the Des Moines Register. By all accounts, it went badly with McCain getting pretty angry whenever his motives are questioned. Did ya know all his ads are 100% true? And don’t even suggest he’s wrong. He doesn’t like being told he’s wrong. There are some excerpts over at Political Animal,  and linkage to a full video of the interview.

Meanwhile, again, Glenn Greenwald takes on the neo-cons and their penchance for well, rewriting history. Everything that has gone wrong is somehow the fault of liberals again. This given their near stranglehold control of the presidency and for six years Congress. Oh, yeah, right. It’s quite a nice little piece and I urge you to take a look and laugh.

In general, if you don’t already, skip over to the NRO. Even Kathryn Parker is backstepping a bit from her “resign Sarah” stance. Seems she got so much hate mail from the belligerent and vicious right wing rednecks that she’s at least willing to hope that Sarah does well. The thing about NRO is that their pundits change their mind about Palin like every other week. As soon as they criticize her, then within days they are back to trying to blame it on the “liberal” media. These folks are wingnuts of the first order.

Breathing Life Deeply

Tags

Archaeology, Breads, cake, coffeecake, corn, Crafts, dessert, dieting, evolution, fruit, geology, Italian, Literature, pasta, Pizza, potatoes, psychology, quilting, recycling, salad, science, volcanoes, world history

These haunting eyes are of  a Nova-Walpi, North American Indian. I sadly don’t know if Nova-Walpi is a tribe or Nova is his name. Such things didn’t seem important enough to record I guess. The picture was taken by Edward Sheriff Curtis in 1904.

One  can but guess at his thoughts, a whole different life and wayy of seeing the world are hidden from us, but we are called  inward and can somehow feel him through his penetrating eyes.

Oh a busy day, in fact, they are all busy at this point, trying to catch up for long days spent inactive while the rains continued. Now we are a buzz with busyness. The garden seems okay, but as i said, much may be so stressed that it will simply put on a quick flourish to set some seeds and then die. Nothing to do but wait and hope for the best.

I did my cleaning today and then went for my walk, something I started yesterday. Trudging up the hill is hard, so I don’t go far yet. It’s a half mile to the road, and i went at best 2/5 of a mile. Not far. At one time I walked sometimes six miles, though four was more normal. I’ll extend the distance next week. Bear went along with me, going into the corn fields to take a pee. Not very nice of him. I am as always enchanted by what I see, the lovely green fields, the sounds of so many birds, the tracks of so many animals.

A buck must have walked down the lane, since I saw a very large track today. No doubt following what was obviously a doe and her fawn. The cute little tracks of the baby, no doubt fascinated by all he or she saw. A coon also passed by, and a pheasant for sure. The coyotes have stayed away of late. We also think that a big cat is about though we only saw him once. He was running across the field to the north, and had that tale so like a cat, long and kind of swaying. It was definitely not a coyote. Such tales are always around, but nobody has every killed or found one dead, so it always remains mystery.

I made meatballs and sauce for spaghetti today. I had made foccacia a couple of weeks ago, and I got the leftovers into the freezer for just such a meal as this. I don’t think I’ll bother with a salad. Plenty to eat without it, and we had one a couple of days ago. I did the Cilantro Chicken from last weeks blog recipes. It really was good. Plenty of leftover chicken breast and that will make a nice chicken salad for Saturday. Tomorrow is hamburgers with some of that chipotle-cheese sauce that I also featured last week or the week before.

We watched something on the news that caught us up. Dogs and cats who have been given up due to floods or losing homes in the mortgage foreclosure disaster. We’ve decided to take in a new dog, and later I’m going to try to locate where to go here in Iowa. It just broke my heart, so many of the little guys in shelters not understanding what has happened to their world. Our two dogs are 9 and 11 respectively, so it’s a good time to transition we thought. We love them so much, and nothing can replace them, but we have room for more, and can’t stand to see so many lost when we can offer them a good home and safety.

Boy, I’m yacky. Better get on to see if anything new is out there in internet land.

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101 Cookbooks has some tips on making pizza on the grill. Although her ingredients are a bit foofoo for my more pedestrian tastes as far as pizza goes, the tips are still valid of course. If you are thinking of trying this, and it does sound fun, then give it a look.

If scones are something you would like to try, then skip over to A Mingling of Tastes and find her recipe for Oat Scones with Dried Cherries and Walnuts. They are easy to make and serve as a nice alternative to the usual muffins or toast. A bonus, there are two other muffin recipes that lead into the scone one, so you get three great recipes! 

Since the 4th is on the way, I thought I might give you my potato salad recipe. I have only found one other that matched it. But I realize that potato salad  is one of those things that people tend to like the way mom made it. Here goes, and these are estimates on ingredients, I don’t measure a thing.

Sherry’s Awesome Potato Salad

Potatoes, 5-6 medium large or equivalent of waxy potatoes like Yukon
An equal number of eggs hard boiled. 6 if using Idaho potatoes
scallions, about 6, tops and green parts sliced thin
radishes, about 8, chunked so they will hold up for a few days
sour dill pickles, about 2 medium finely diced
about 1/3 cup of green olives, diced
dressing:
mayo, a good cup
dijohn mustard, and yellow mustard, about 3 TBSP's in all
salt, pepper,
celery seeds
a bit of juice from the dill pickles or olives 1/4 c. or so
mix it all together, decorate if you desire with fresh chives,
parsley, and some like sweet pepper slices. That's it.
Adjust anything to the tanginess you like. It's the dill pickles
that make the difference here.

ALemon Glazed Bundt Cake might be just the thing for that 4th of July celebration. If so, Chocolate and has a nice recipe for you. I think I’m going for gooey Molten Lava cakes myself, but I love lemon desserts a lot and this will be on my radar for later this summer.

Garrison Keillor graces us again with his wit. Today he counsels that Barack Obama could learn a thing or two from Jesse Ventura. Do say? Always fun and a nice change of pace from our favorite pundit on life!

One of the things that keeps history interesting, is that there are so many different ways to approach it. It is surely true that history is written by and large by the victors, but today, with so many more tools of examination, historians can look at it from a number of different ways and pull out the threads of unknown facts drawing a clearer and very different interpretation. One way is to examine history from the point of view of colonialism. Read more at History News Network.

Another of those great science things. Archaeologists who look for bones, have uncovered the earliest known 4 legged animal scull. They expect that this will help them understand that important transition between fish and those creatures that first walked on the earth. I don’t know about you, but this stuff always fascinates me. I feel like I’m taking a walk along my family tree. It lived 365 million years ago, and lived in water. They think it looked a bit like an alligator but with fins. Cool eh? Thanks to Live Science for the story.

If you are a baby boomer as I am, this next one also from Live Science may be of interest. Are you blue, and prone to being in the dumps a lot? Seems there is a good reason for that. Boomers, says the Pew Report, are just not very enthusiastic about the future. Looking around the economy, and the world, I can see why. Sigh, boy this bums me out!

On Faith has a compelling question: What book has made a difference in your life? I mean, where do I start? It seems every ten years or so, I would revise the list. Most everyone would agree that the bible or your choice of religious book qualifies. But oh the other possibilities are endless. Mailer’s the Naked and the Dead made an impact on me on the subject of war that I have never forgotten. I think I see a separate post for this. How bout we look at the subject Sunday?

The Scythians were horsemen in Central Asia. A very well preserved body of a Cavalier was found in 2006. Much has been learned about the gentleman since then. He died some 2,300 years ago. An amazing amount is known about him and his life through the use of modern forensic tools. Read this interesting account at Rogueclassicism.

Scientists did not believe it possible. They were wrong. It seems volcanoes are busily blowing their cool, errr, hot in very deep waters in the Arctic Ocean. The great pressures and weight of the water were thought to prevent this occurrence. Not so, not so. Read more at Science Daily.

New news for dieters! If you want to lose weight, stop thinking about dying for crying out loud. And the thoughts don’t have to be directly about yourself. Watching death related material such as crime shows, and the awful news, also contribute. We get the munchies it seems. Wow, somebody will be writing a book about this. “Diet with Laurel and Hardy,” coming to a bookstore near you!

Truly, nothing says summer better than corn salad. You can make this in any number of ways, as long as you start with grilled or seared corn kernels. Then add whatever fresh veggies, (also grilled) and do the dressing and boy you have got a great accompaniment to just about any summer dinner. I’m adding it to my July 4th day menu I do believe. So far that makes the  Texas Brisket barbecue, potato salad, pea salad, and corn salad, and the molten chocolate lava cakes. Simply Recipes has the wonderful recipe.

I just love these copycat recipes. The Secret Recipe Blog today gives us the wonderful  Macaroni Grill’s “Penne Rustica.” This recipe should probably be cut in half for the normal family. I can’t even begin to think about a sauce that requires 8 cups of cream!

Oh I found a recipe that is well, time consuming and a tad expensive to make, but I think it worthy of your attention. Tuscan CoffeeCake Bread. I mean is this made for Sunday on a lazy hot day or what? The wonders of dried fruits and warm fresh bread, with butter melting. Oh, I may get the vapors just thinking of it. I have to get some of the dried fruit, but I am definitely making this recipe. The Sour Dough is to be thanked for this gem of a bread.

The Village Shop Blog shows off some of her work that is going in a new shop as “samples” of what a person can do. I’ve never been asked to do this, and with good reason! I think they are simply lovely and so very encouraging to me as a sometime quilter.

Tip Junkie has a host of tips. They go from fun and funky craft ideas to recycling ideas. The recycling craze is really catching on as more folks realize that with prices increasing everywhere on everything, a premium is now placed on getting the full usage possible out of everything. You can find some good stuff here.

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How about some Murphy’s Laws:

Success always occurs in private, and failure in full view.

Two wrongs are only the beginning.

If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then..

If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.

Trust everybody … then cut the cards.

All the good ones are taken.
If the person isn’t taken, there’s a reason

Money can’t buy love, but it sure gets you a great bargaining position.

Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.

Friendly fire ain’t.

Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence.

Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch to be sure.

Questioning Inevitability

Tags

American History, biology, Crafts, crochet, economy, energy, Flowers, Gardening, muffins, Native Americans, Oil, pasta, Raisin Bread, Sauces, vegetables, Women's history

The artist is Sebastiao Salgado. The print was done in 2004, and is called “Agashya, Mt. Sabyinyo, Rwanda.”  I thank Senor Salgado for taking this nice photo of the Contrarian and me. Just a nice stroll in the Meadow!

Another week has slid by so fast that I realize that June is quickly going by. I hardly feel that I have had a chance to enjoy it at all. It seems we are still trying to get organized. The Contrarian has done a lot of weeding in the garden, both by hand and by the little weed tiller. My lettuce is going great guns and we will probably be able to harvest some soon for salads. I’ve got the house all spiffy clean and feel rather satisfied with myself. I’ve ordered a beef brisket from the meat locker in Walker to pick up next week. I think it will be a fun 4th of July meal to make. I’m tired of the usual fare of ribs or steaks.

We are getting some sun, but it’s sporadic, and we may get some rain this afternoon. I surely hope not, we are down to mostly mud now in a few places. We can move the vehicles around with ease now. The Contrarian has weed eaten around the house pretty good and it’s at least looking a bit more lived in.

 I have to seriously think about painting the office now. I think perhaps I’ll do some tomorrow. The Contrariansincerely wants little to do with the process, and that’s fine. If he takes over, he will do it all, since he can’t stand painting, so he wants to do it all at one time. I am happy to do a bit a day until it’s done. We often find that some chores are not things we can do together, since we work quite differently. If we try to do it together, we end up snapping at each other, which is senseless to me.

Doing this craft, recipe, history etc blog post is ever so much more stressful for some reason. The feeds seem so reluctant to come up and it seems forever before I’m done. I don’t know the reason, I can only surmise that the blogging platforms that I and so many use are just not as receptive as dot com sites for whatever reason. Perhaps it’s just the pictures that are so much more prevalent on crafty blogs. I dunno, but I just go nuts sometimes wasting time, waiting!!!!

Anyway, let’s see what is what today:

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We open with A Mingling of Tastes which has an interesting side dish or main vegetarian dish, Smoky Lentils with Roasted Sweet Potatoes. I like lentils, and like lentil soup. I love Egyptian food which features lentils in many varieties with lots of different spices. This is not the type of summer dish I would make, but it would be fine in the fall or winter.

Martin’s American History Blog focuses on the industrial revolution of the 19th Century. I guess we are in some kind of new one now, though I’m not sure I can yet define what it is. A technological revolution? A world market revolution? Perhaps we should spend some time looking backward to discover how to better handle what we are going through now.

We have a cute new pattern for crochet from Sandi’s Crochet Blog. I think her patterns are so nice, and they are so easy to follow as well. She suggests that this pattern works well for a washcloth. I like making these simple and quick items for home use. They can be used, and do up in a one or two sessions quite easily.

Well this is a surprise. It seems that a major Revolutionary War relic has been located. An entire ship found in Lake Ontario! It was a British ship, called the HMS Ontario and was a 22-gun warship sunk by American forces. Read all about the find and the excitement is has engendered at American Revolution Blog.

From As the Garden Grows, we get a wonderful list of annuals and perennials that attract butterflies. We love all the hummingbirds and butterflies that come around to feed on nectar from our flowers. This is a rather extensive list, and one that is worth copying for a hard copy file for later use this fall and next spring when planting is more appropriate. Some are herbs, so you get a bonus!

Boy this recipe sure brought back some memories. Raisin Bread! Doesn’t that sound wonderful? I remember it so well from my childhood. I can’t eat a lot, because of the concentrated sugar in the dried fruit, but a slice or two, once in a while can’t hurt, and I adore her idea of using it for chicken salad sandwiches. Take a peek, it’s not hard to make. We got this recipe from Baking Delights. Remember if you have a heavy duty mixer, you can use the dough hook to do the kneeding for you! The entire process takes less than 30 minutes to get to the oven.

Oh the minute I saw this, I said, whoohoo, I’m making this! It’s a great little condiment spread for hamburgers. Hamburgers are one of my favorite meals, and truth be told, we have them usually twice a month on Friday or Saturday. I know this will be a hit with the Contrarian as well. I will of course half this recipe for the two of us. I’m thinking what other things would this be good on? Maybe some of that brisket with lots of barbecue sauce as well? Oh I think I may be on to something here. Coconut & Lime, a huge kiss from me for Chipotle Cheese Sauce. I guess it would go okay with the traditional celery sticks too.

It won’t be long before summer squash comes into it’s own. Not here of course, we have to replant, our first planting rotted out and never came up. So, under the theory that there are never too many recipes for zucchini, I found this nice one from Epicurious which makes a lovely side dish. HerbedSummer Squash and Potato Torte with Parmesan sounds like a winner to me.

We watched the Robin Williams movie “RV” the other night, and I thought it was hilarious, if quite predictable. You might enjoy Garrison Keillor‘s take on the wonderful (for some) adventure of traveling with a home behind you. Things are changing what with gas prices. This may be a relic of the past soon.

Today’s edition of History of American Women focuses on the Indian tribes of South Carolina.I am really enjoying her series here of the various tribes that were prevalent during the colonial period. and beyond. It is without question, an area of our history that most of us have not had the benefit of very much information about. I’m sure it’s better today than it was in my time in high school, but I’m sure it still neglects a lot as well. A great chance to improve our understanding of those who greeted us when we first arrived on the shores of “America.”

Oil and it’s price has become a hot button issue. It’s hard to know whom to believe, since it seems everyone has a reason to fashion an answer to support a previous opinion. Live Science has an article which may come from a more scientific point of view, and thus may actually shed some light on the true causes of the prices were are swearing at these days.

I am growing to just love these pasta roundupseach week. What interesting and tantalizing recipes I continue to find. I made the Pastitsio one earlier in the week. After a questionable start, the Contrarian gave it a thumbs up. He was utterly taken aback by cinnamon in a meat dish at first. After he got over the shock, he actually liked it. I personally didn’t think it tasted much of cinnamon so much as had the aroma. So, make sure you peruse through the offerings and find something truly delectable for dinner tonight. Once Upon a Feast is our supplier of these weekly gems.

There are many who think that a lot of science is just a waste of money. There have even been a Congress person or two and a network or two that have made it their business to inform you of scientific studies they found ludicrous and wasteful. And some may in fact be. But here’s food for thought. Scientists have long pondered exactly how pattern emerges in nature. The stripes on a zebra for instance, or the intricate pattern of a butterfly. They may be closer to an answer of figuring out how cells move around and differentiate in such a way as to form the patterns of say a spiral sea shell. And guess what? The answers may help scientists in understanding how cancer cells metastasize. So, before you decry the expenditure of funds on silly science, think again: It may some day save your life.

We are truly blessed this week. Scandalous Women has another entry for us! This one is about Elizabeth Chudleigh. Never heard of her? Neither had I frankly. But I know who she is now. And mercy me, she was scandalous, and that’s enough to peak your interest no doubt. Here’s a hint: She was the Duchess of Kingston and she was tried for bigamy in the 18th century. My oh my, that’s a new one on me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a woman being charged with that crime before.

For reasons unknown to me, there often seems a serendipitous thing going on around here. Today it seems to be Zucchini. Another recipe, this time from Simply Recipes. I think this is another definite keeper. Zucchini Muffins is both easy, tasty sounding, and something that will freeze well for use during the interminable winters of Iowa.

Tip Junkie is featuring a whole slew of crafters of varied types this week. I’ve given you the main site so you can scroll down and see if anything interests you. Most  of the items are for sale, with links to the site of the seller and probably her Etsy shop as well. Of course, just looking is fine too, and you might get inspired to think of something you would like to make yourself. I find these sites enticing to say the least. I’m trying to figure out how to carve a bit more time for crafts out of my schedule. Top priority right now is to start getting my recipe’s in order in my big 3-ring binder. Then again, I may have to add more binders! LOL.

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Famous, or not so famous last words:

I think it’s trying to communicate…

“Na, I don’t think we need to go to the hospital.”

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” — Western Union internal memo, 1876.

“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” — Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

“Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You’re crazy.” — Drillers whom Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist in his project to drill for oil in 1859.

“No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris.” — Orville Wright.

I wonder where the mother bear is.

“I eat guys like you for breakfast!” — Jeffrey Dahmer

I’m sure this isn’t the poisonous kind.

Weep for Iowa

Tags

American History, astronomy, Civil War, crochet, cross stitch, fabric decoupage, founding fathers, ice cream, Italian, pasta, Presidents, quilting, religion, science, Unitarianism, Women's history

Another entry into the Spider Black-White Photography competition. This one is from an amateur Jason Robinette USA. It is such an anomaly in contrasts, the expected tilted back head so common to one who is arising from beneath the water of a pool, the hand placements so very odd. It other worldly in some sense, alien. I wonder if it was spontaneous or staged?

Horrors continue in Iowa. We learn that a boy scout camp was hit by a tornado last night with a loss of life of 4 and upwards of near 50 injured. It is almost beyond comprehension that so much misery is visiting our state. Cedar Rapids has no power, and the 500 year flood plain has been evacuated while the downtown begins to flood. Cresting has not yet even occurred. One can only wait in dejection as things just get worse and worse.

Our friend has has plenty of time to remove all his valuables and appliances from his home. At last check yesterday the waters from the Wapsi were about 40 feet from the house. The Wapsi has I believe crested in Independence which is the last stop before it hits us. Things look bleak. Well water must be boiled in our county if you live on a flood plain. We do not.

Our major concern now is power. It flicked off once yesterday and then went off for about 10 minutes. No sump is worth a dime if the power goes out. At this point, our basement would begin flooding I believe within a hour. That is simply nothing we can do anything about. As power fails on other parts of the grid, more stress is placed upon those still operating.  It has rained fairly steadily since about 6 am. We are now in a lull, and hope that perhaps we have now had the worst of it. Time will tell, but we are told that after today, things will be quite a bit better except for Sunday where rain is still highly likely.

Oh, the Chipotle Chocolate Flourless  Cake is well, HOT. If you make it, I would definitely not add the dash of cayenne suggested. I added a couple of scoops of ice cream and that tempered the heat enough that I could enjoy it, but I’m doubtful I’ll try this little number again. It would be okay I guess for something rather fancy, small pieces with ice cream or whipped with maybe some fresh raspberries for garnish. It definitely is a dish that would cause a good amount of chatter when served.

Let’s see what we can find that takes our minds off the sad state of affairs in my state.

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A lovely owl filet crochet  is offered by Sandi’s Crochet Blog. As always it comes with complete instructions and variations so that you can even cross-stitch it if you wish.

Iowa Public TV has been running a series on the American Presidents. We just finished watching the one on Harry Truman. I didn’t think much of the man after watching it frankly, and even less of his self-centered wife Bess. His adoration for her was slightly disgusting, given that she treated him rather badly in my opinion. American President’s blog  has a nice piece on his courtship of the woman. He was strange and they were a strange couple.

American Revolution Blog  looks again at religion, especially that of Unitarianism in our early colonial period. I believe that John Adams changed from his Puritan roots to the Unitarian church. It’s an excellent read and you shouldn’t miss it.

Okay, so we have been flirting with some recipes that are a bit out there. This one features that chipotle again, this time with blackberries. I thought it made an interesting possibility for summer barbecue. It’s called Chipotle-Blackberry Pulled Pork, and comes to us from Coconut & Lime. It’s a slow cooker recipe, with a long list of ingredients but oh it could be a huge winner!

Free Sample Forager  has Pantene hair product samples available. Vaseline samples as well.

Garrison Keillor  has a piece over at the Salon. This week he weighs in on Barack Obama and the challenges faced by a black man running for the country’s highest office.

Family Style Food  offers a recipe that is anything but Family Style. This is a lovely update of an old favorite. I can assure you that at the moment we actually have a wonderful beautiful ripe tomato of sufficient size, BLT’s are thfirst thing we consider. We gorge on them for a month, at least once a week, until the time has past. Take a look at BLT’s with aoili sauce and on Flatbread.Recipes for all including the flatbread. Oh I am definitely trying this one.

Maggie brings us another of her marvelous bio’s. This time the featured woman is Rebecca Towne Nurse. She arrived with her family in Salem, MA in 1640 and later married a man named Nurse. She was arrested as an elderly woman of 71 as a witch, and even though she had an impeccable history in the town, accusers (who may have had other personal reasons to get her out of the way) prevailed. Although the initial verdict was Not Guilty, the jurors were urged to return and rethink things which they did, and finally provided the Guilty verdict that was desired by some. Read about this sad story at History of American Women.

Niki’s Ventures  has a link to a big bunch of new quilting patterns. This is worth bookmarking if you are a quilter. She lists a very long list of sites which offer free patterns and then gives you a separate list for specific quilt types. An excellent resource. In fact there are several lists, and in total more than 2500 patterns. So this is the best of the best. I’ll add this site to my blogroll for crafts for sure.

The Hubble space telescope continues to show us new parts of our universe in all its splendor. The Coma Cluster contains thousands of Galaxies. Can you imagine what you are viewing here? Millions upon millions of stars and planets. I believe most  are older galaxies, no longer producing much in the way of new stars. It is an impressive wonder.

Did I tell you that I adore ice cream? And I adore cherries especially. They are so expensive here in Iowa. I remember as a kid stopping at a roadside stand on the way up to the lake and buying a quart for 50cents. Now it’s like $3 bucks for a quart. But oh so good to combine the two as Simply Recipes has done for Cherry Ice Cream. Oh did I say it also has chocolate chips? BONUS! And I bet that changes your mind!

Secret Recipe Blog  has a wonderful Olive Garden  entry today. Tortelloni Bologneseis available for the copying. Italian dishes are my super favorite ethnic food with Tex-Mex a close second. Try your hand at this crowd and family pleaser.

A wonderful fabric decoupage nightstands  for you from J Caroline Creative. I picked this up through Tip Junkie  and thank her alot. I can’t vouch for the colors chosen here, which are a little glaring to me, but I this tutorial is worth that and more. If you have a cheap piece of furniture that you would like to redo, this is great! Take a look and save this tutorial as the process can be used on anything I think. I’m now thinking of buying a really cheap chest of drawers just to try this.

If anyone is a Civil War buff or a military history buff, I found a nice site courtesy of World History Blog entitled Wig-Wags. It’s run by a graduate student in the subject so you will get some great information and as I perused it, some really good reviews of books on the subject. Stop by if so inclined.

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 HA!

 

 

 

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“I’m not against half-naked girls – not as often as I’d like to be…” Benny Hill

“TV has brought murder back into the home where it belongs.” – Alfred Hitchcock

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” –Mark Twain

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. –Gandhi

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. – Wayne Gretzky

“Happiness isn’t getting what you want, it’s wanting what you got”. – Garth Brooks

“I’m an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house”. – Zsa Zsa Gabor

“Charlie Brown is the one person I identify with. C.B. is such a loser. He wasn’t even the star of his own Halloween special.” — Chris Rock

Finding the Spiritual in H2O

Tags

American History, chicken, Christianity, crochet, cross stitch, Gardening, health, humming bird food, knitting, Native Americans, pasta, Presidents, quilting, religion, salad, science, sewing, Women's issues, Zoology

This was an entry in the 2007 Spider Awards for black and white photography. It is by Matthew Septimus and is entitled “Ganges Bathing.”

It struck me that we are not making anything spiritual of this experience with water. Perhaps that is our failing. Another night of rain, punctuated by sump duty, laying in bed listening to it stop and then just when you felt relief that the storm had passed, the splats upon the skylights began again. This must have happened six or more times, as my grief grew deeper with each teasing interlude interrupted but again with the awful sound. The Contrarian is distressed, and he is the one who usually maintains an optimism that I cannot hold on to. I on the other hand, have made my peace in some respects, surrendering to that which I cannot change.

I think that I composed a very long essay on this experience in my head last night, but truth be told, I have no desire to set it to type today. The effort seems too much, and what hasn’t already been said after all? I remind myself that we are in our home, we have lost little but perhaps the garden, and there is no clear assurance of that. We endure because that is our humanity. Looking back, we will undoubtedly wonder how we did, but during the doing, one simply puts one foot before the other, does the next task at hand, and hopes. Hope is our eternal protection.

I made a pretty little holder for my knitting needles the other day. I guess I should try to figure out how to download and upload pictures and show you. LOL. It’s too insignificant for all that trouble. I made some chicken enchiladas for dinner. I kind of redid a recipe I found, eliminating the canned soup and replacing it with a thickened chicken broth, that I made after poaching the chicken in it. I’ll let you know how it turned out. Alas my cilantro had turned to yuck, so I saw no point in making any fresh salsa. Cilantro is the key I believe. So bottled will do.

Let’s see what crafts and recipes we can find today to brighten up the world.

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Martin’s American History Blog  gives us a nice piece on the Mayflower Compact which influenced to some degree our efforts in constructing our Constitution. Follow the link off his main page and read a most interesting story on the this most important document.

Sandi’s Crochet Blog  has a lot of new entries, so I’m sending you to the from page and you can scroll down. She offers some new patterns, a father’s day tote, a lacy edging, and directions on how to weave in the ends from all those granny squares  when you assemble the pieces. There are only 2 blog entries allowed apparently on these “about” blog platforms so go to the bottom and click on more blogs entries and I think the rest will pop up.

We all know that Thomas Jefferson  was talented as a writer and thinker. He was also an accomplished architect and designed Monticello and the University of Virginia. Read about his contribution to our architectural heritage at American Presidents Blog.

More American history and this focus is on Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Islandas a tolerant haven from the religious intolerance of Plymouth Settlement. That is the common story about Mr. Williams. American Revolution Blog has the story you might not have heard about.

Baking Delights  has her loving Saturday surfing so you can scoot over there and find lots of recipes. I saw  cupcakes, and Asparagus and Cashew Chicken, curries and Thai food, and more. I am definitely returning to check out a couple of these.

Gardening Tips ‘n Ideas  has a cute little post about what kind of gardener you are. A starter, maintainer, or finisher? I’m definitely a starter. I love to plant the darn thing, hate to weed and find it so hot when harvest time comes around because that means lots of work in a hot kitchen. Slip over and read this fun post.

History of American Women  takes a look at the Native Peoples who inhabited the area now known as New Hampshire. It was a surprise to me when I moved to Connecticut several years ago to discover such strange names for the Native American tribes. So much different to me than those I was familiar with from Michigan. And of course their dress and livelihood and housing was also different. We tend I think to think all Native people are the same, the ones we see in our old cowboy and Indian movies. Enjoy her fine post. These are simply wonderful posts and so informative.

I mean, if you want to see what a serious quilter’s stash looks like, go over to  Inspired by Antique Quilts  and be shocked! I mean wow, I have like one small shelf of hers and that’s my entire stash. I don’t know whether to feel economical or sadly behind! It’s an impressive array. One of these days, I’m gonna start a new one, I just can’t decide what! I want to do an applique, a friendship quilt, and a old fashioned nine patch. I can’t do all three at once!

First we got to figure out what kind of gardener we are, now its what kind of crafter we are. Yarn Harlot has a new book out, and Knitting dragonflies got a copy and concluded from reading that there are basically two types of crafters. Depending on which kind you are, will determine what you do I think. I’m not sure which one I am, but I think product. I think the more I think about it, it might explain a lot about me as a crafter.

Okay, quiz onwoolly mamoths! No not really, but I sure didn’t know that there were two distinct groups of them. I thought they were all the same. Live Science  has the story for you.  DNA research has uncovered a lot of new information about these cute creatures. It was long thought that humans were the cause of their demise, but it now seems that one group died out well before humans came on the scene.

I just got interrupted by the Contrarian. He’s feeling a bit more up since the garden, miraculously seems to be doing okay for the most part. He’s putting up the humming bird feeder and I of course forgot the recipe for the sugar water. So, I’m doing a google for the answer. For your information its: a 4:1 ratio 1/4 cup sugar for every cup of water. Boil the water first, and don’t add coloring.

Niki’s Ventures has a baby bib  for you to make and a link to the free pattern. Or try a bird mobile  for a crib or frankly a lot of little nooks. It’s quite inventive I thought.

On Faith has a most interesting topic this week. What does health have to do with faith? Do religions which have an integral health element in their tradition have real benefits to their followers? Mental health results? A provocative idea, with lots of panelist essays and tons of comments. I’ve joined in these discussions a couple of times, and they really are fun.

Another Pasta roundup  at Once upon a Feast. If pasta is your thing, and it sure is mine, there are quite a few entries this week. Salmon, pestos, and one I am going back for, a new Pastitsio. Having eaten in a Greek town setting for years in Detroit, I know my Greek food. The pictures are luscious too, which really is a great incentive to try some of these. There are much more than a dozen here, and they range into all the great cuisines, Asian, Italian, Greek, you name it.

I was utterly taken aback by this next post. It seems a Church has been found in modern day Jordan which may be the earliest Christian church yet found.It dates, unbelievably to the time of between 33CE and 70CE. It is said that 70 followers of Jesus took refuge there from the persecutions in Jerusalem. It sits below the Church of St. Georgeous, reputed until then to be the oldest, at the age of around 230 CE. What is not clear is whether this was a unique occurrence, or a general rule around the various preaching geography. I suspect it is the former. Rogueclassicism brings the story to you.

Well folks, I don’t exactly know what to make of this one. And before you ask, it’s not from The Onion. It’s a legitimate report from Science Daily. It simply reports that golf cart accidents are on the rise. I guess a number of comics could have a lot of fun with this. I’m not one of them alas. Okay, there are some reasonable explanations, but I’m not sharing. Read for yourself! LOL.

The Contrarian does not like curry, and frankly I adore it. My favorite is chicken salad with crunchy veggies, sunflower seeds, grapes and yes curry. Simply Recipes  has another recipe, and it is definitely going on my to-try list. Take a look at Chicken Curry Salad and see what you think.

Threads of Desire  catches us up on her latest work in cross stitch. She just inspires the heck out of me with her beautiful work. Just looking at what she’s working on gives me a lift.

Women of History  posts a look at women and rights. Focusing on Saudi Arabia in 2003 and comparing it to what is happening in Australia is most interesting. Comparing them both the American women and their rights is even more so. I doubt seriously that any gains have occurred in Saudi Arabia in the past five years. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if things have regressed.

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Some silly quotes for you:

Crazy is a relative term in my family!

Procrastinate now, don’t put it off.

“No BLOOD no foul.”

I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Borrow money from pessimists – they don’t expect it back.

The sooner you fall behind the more time you’ll have to catch up.

OK, so what’s the speed of dark?

Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

I intend to live forever — so far, so good.

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?