The guys are here this morning pumping another 6-8 inches of fiberglass into the attic. It is the next to the last bit in my effort to cut my energy bills in half. The only thing left is the bay window in the living room. It's only single pane so it needs to go. After this install I will be at r-59, or better, and should never have to use any energy at all in heating the house just body heat...well maybe just a little bit.
Update: Actually it turned out to be 12 inches plus and they put in a big styrofoam box over the attic stairs for no additional charge. Looks like a big snowfall in the attic now. Seriously, this should save me some significant dollars on my heating and cooling bills. Here in Atlanta I would imagine savings on air conditioning will be the biggest savings as electricity to run the A/C is a bigger expense here in the South than the gas bills for winter heat.
It was a really good experience with this company. In and out in a couple of hours. No mess and what little insulation got loose they cleaned up. If you are in the Atlanta area and need some insulation I would recommend WilServ in Buford. Not often you get a good experience with a contractor nowadays.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tell Me it Isn't So
According to Josh Marshall, 23% of Texans believe Barack Obama is a Muslim. Now I am married to a Texan and I know they are not stupid. Is this just a fluke of information gathering or are the Texans polled just lying because they think that is what the pollsters want to hear? Will we ever know and what are they going to do if a "Muslim" is their President? This is why I worry.
Update: I just don't judge Texans by Madam and I do know quite a few of them so my sample size is greater than one.
Update: I just don't judge Texans by Madam and I do know quite a few of them so my sample size is greater than one.
Two Disappointments
Life bites some days. I was all excited about making pumpkin soup over the weekend so at Whole Foods today I picked up a small sugar pumpkin. The price wasn't marked but I figured it couldn't be much since they are selling three pumpkins, any size, for 13 bucks out in front. When I got to the checkout and the lady rank it up at $8.43 I called a halt and had them take it off. I will have to use canned pumpkin if I want pumpkin soup. Rats, a fresh pumpkin is just a bit better than canned but that is just too much for a small pumpkin that might barely make a full batch of soup. I guess I know one thing that will have a spot in the garden in the spring.
I got home and the yard guys were just finishing. (Yes, I have a guy mow for me. Since I travel so much and Madam is not up to mowing a half acre yard it is a requirement. They mow, blow and trim and can get it done in a half hour while it takes me half a day to get it all done.) Anyway, one of my coddled rabbit-eye blueberry bushes was chopped off at the root. He promised to replace it but they are hard to come by so we'll see. My bushes have only been in a year or so and we just got a handful of berries last year. This was the year we were going to get some serious blueberries and so now it is up to the remaining 3 bushes to carry the load.
Today is at least the day we get the CSA box and we will get to be surprised by what shows up. I still have the Austrian Kale from last week's box that I haven't done anything with so maybe a good minestrone is in order instead of pumpkin soup. Deal with it.
I got home and the yard guys were just finishing. (Yes, I have a guy mow for me. Since I travel so much and Madam is not up to mowing a half acre yard it is a requirement. They mow, blow and trim and can get it done in a half hour while it takes me half a day to get it all done.) Anyway, one of my coddled rabbit-eye blueberry bushes was chopped off at the root. He promised to replace it but they are hard to come by so we'll see. My bushes have only been in a year or so and we just got a handful of berries last year. This was the year we were going to get some serious blueberries and so now it is up to the remaining 3 bushes to carry the load.
Today is at least the day we get the CSA box and we will get to be surprised by what shows up. I still have the Austrian Kale from last week's box that I haven't done anything with so maybe a good minestrone is in order instead of pumpkin soup. Deal with it.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Left or Right, Authoritarian or Libertararian
Thanks to Tata at Poor Impulse Control and the link to the Political Compass test we can have some fun looking at how our political beliefs sit with others. You'll notice the test doesn't simply divide opinions into Left and Right. It also tests for libertarian or authoritarian tendencies. If you don't know by now I am pretty anti-authoritarian about people but on the other hand I feel pretty strongly about rigorous corporate regulation. I like it that I sit in the same quadrant with Ghandi and the Dalai Lama.
The bottom chart is my plot from the test.
You too can find out where your beliefs sit on the Political Compass Test. So where do you sit?
From the Political Compass website.. the top chart shows the positions of some international world leaders. As you can see I'm in pretty good company.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup
It's almost Halloween and it is also pumpkin time. If your area is anything like mine then many
churches have big piles of pumpkins for sale. Whole Foods even has them for 3 for 12 bucks.
Unfortunately, the great majority of these pumpkins and their nutrition will be wasted. They'll
be carved into a jack 'o lantern and the seeds will be thrown in the trash. What a waste!
Pumpkins make a wonderful soup that is just the ticket on these cool fall days and even if you
don't want soup you can roast the flesh and save it for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. The seeds
too make a nice treat and they are actually good for you. Be penurious this year with your
pumpkin and don't waste all the goodness it has spent all year storing up for you. After it has
done its job scaring the trick or treaters it can meet a higher purpose and go to its reward
truly fulfilled.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (You need to adjust for your desired level of hotness. A
full 1/4 tsp makes a pretty spicy soup)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional but this will add another dimension of hot)
6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin (see below on how to roast fresh pumpkin) or if you don't
happen to want to go the trouble of roasting a real pumpkin use 3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent
pumpkin (don't use pumpkin pie mix!)
5 cups of chicken broth (I really like the Swanson Organic Chicken Broth or use vegetable broth
but most commercial vegetable broths are pretty bad.)
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup brown sugar(optional but use it in combination with the heavy cream if you like a sweeter richer soup plus it will tone down the heat some but it does add calories and fat)
1/2 cup heavy cream(optional with brown sugar)
Making it.
Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook,
stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more to release
their fragrance. Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil then reduce
heat and simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Using a hand blender blend until smooth or transfer soup,
in batches, into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar(if using) and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to
incorporate. Add cream(if using). If it's a too spicy you can add more cream to cool it down.
Depending on the broth you use you might want to add a teaspoon of salt.
Serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle the top of each with toasted pumpkin seeds(recipe below).
This recipe makes enough soup for 8.
How to make pumpkin puréé: cut a sugar pumpkin(the best for this but regular jack'o lantern
pumpkin will do) in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff and set aside, lie face down on a
aluminum foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop
out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use(maybe pumpkin ravioli?)
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
You'll need the seeds from a medium sized pumpkin, hopefully the one you made the soup from.
Frugal, frugal!
Salt and Olive oil
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy stuff. Rinse the seeds.(The stringy stuff goes to the compost pile)
In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds.
Add a tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and drain.
Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the drained
seeds in the roasting pan in one layer. Depending on your 'salt tolerance' you might want to
sprinkle them lightly with a little more salt. Bake on the top rack for 20 minutes or until the
seeds begin to brown. When they are brown enough for you, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool before eating or using to garnish the soup. Either crack to
remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.
Just one warning. Eating a lot of pumpkin seeds in one sitting can have an effect on ones
digestion. You've been warned.
churches have big piles of pumpkins for sale. Whole Foods even has them for 3 for 12 bucks.
Unfortunately, the great majority of these pumpkins and their nutrition will be wasted. They'll
be carved into a jack 'o lantern and the seeds will be thrown in the trash. What a waste!
Pumpkins make a wonderful soup that is just the ticket on these cool fall days and even if you
don't want soup you can roast the flesh and save it for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. The seeds
too make a nice treat and they are actually good for you. Be penurious this year with your
pumpkin and don't waste all the goodness it has spent all year storing up for you. After it has
done its job scaring the trick or treaters it can meet a higher purpose and go to its reward
truly fulfilled.
Spicy Pumpkin Soup
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (You need to adjust for your desired level of hotness. A
full 1/4 tsp makes a pretty spicy soup)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional but this will add another dimension of hot)
6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin (see below on how to roast fresh pumpkin) or if you don't
happen to want to go the trouble of roasting a real pumpkin use 3 (15 oz) cans 100 percent
pumpkin (don't use pumpkin pie mix!)
5 cups of chicken broth (I really like the Swanson Organic Chicken Broth or use vegetable broth
but most commercial vegetable broths are pretty bad.)
2 cups of milk
1/2 cup brown sugar(optional but use it in combination with the heavy cream if you like a sweeter richer soup plus it will tone down the heat some but it does add calories and fat)
1/2 cup heavy cream(optional with brown sugar)
Making it.
Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook,
stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more to release
their fragrance. Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil then reduce
heat and simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Using a hand blender blend until smooth or transfer soup,
in batches, into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar(if using) and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to
incorporate. Add cream(if using). If it's a too spicy you can add more cream to cool it down.
Depending on the broth you use you might want to add a teaspoon of salt.
Serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle the top of each with toasted pumpkin seeds(recipe below).
This recipe makes enough soup for 8.
How to make pumpkin puréé: cut a sugar pumpkin(the best for this but regular jack'o lantern
pumpkin will do) in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff and set aside, lie face down on a
aluminum foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop
out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use(maybe pumpkin ravioli?)
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
You'll need the seeds from a medium sized pumpkin, hopefully the one you made the soup from.
Frugal, frugal!
Salt and Olive oil
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy stuff. Rinse the seeds.(The stringy stuff goes to the compost pile)
In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds.
Add a tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and drain.
Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the drained
seeds in the roasting pan in one layer. Depending on your 'salt tolerance' you might want to
sprinkle them lightly with a little more salt. Bake on the top rack for 20 minutes or until the
seeds begin to brown. When they are brown enough for you, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool before eating or using to garnish the soup. Either crack to
remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.
Just one warning. Eating a lot of pumpkin seeds in one sitting can have an effect on ones
digestion. You've been warned.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Junior Johnson is Behind Obama
You can read the whole thing here, but in a nutshell, one of the Gods of NASCAR Junior Johnson has announced his support for Barack Obama. If you are not a NASCAR person or from the South then you probably don't even know who Junior Johnson is. Well, Junior Johnson is one of the founding fathers of NASCAR. Tom Wolfe's story, Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamlined Baby was about Junior Johnson. He discovered 'drafting' and he was one of the most agressive drivers in all of NASCAR history. When he later became an owner some of his drivers were guys like Bill Elliot and Darrel Waltrip. He has some serious NASCAR creds.
Anyhow, as weird as it may seem this endorsement by Junior could be a game changer in North Carolina and to some extent across the South. Nothing leans Republican like NASCAR and NASCAR fans respect Junior Johnson.
Thanks to the Sailor for pointing me to this diary.
Anyhow, as weird as it may seem this endorsement by Junior could be a game changer in North Carolina and to some extent across the South. Nothing leans Republican like NASCAR and NASCAR fans respect Junior Johnson.
Thanks to the Sailor for pointing me to this diary.
Let America Be America Again
I posted the poem by Langston Hughes "Let American Be America Again" back in June and was ready to post it again next Wednesday but MandT at Adgitadiaries have done the deed already.
As we prepare for what may be the most important election of our lives it is worth reading once or even twice more. This election represents, most probably, the last chance we have as a country to return to the progressive and positive course that represents the true intent of our founding fathers. The Republicans can rant all they want about socialism and 'spreading the wealth' and all the other phrases they hope will rekindle the fear that re-elected George Bush in 2004 but the real America is that represented in the poem...
As we prepare for what may be the most important election of our lives it is worth reading once or even twice more. This election represents, most probably, the last chance we have as a country to return to the progressive and positive course that represents the true intent of our founding fathers. The Republicans can rant all they want about socialism and 'spreading the wealth' and all the other phrases they hope will rekindle the fear that re-elected George Bush in 2004 but the real America is that represented in the poem...
O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!
O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again!
All Georgians Get to Vote
Great news in Georgia:
In spite of the law which says that you cannot purge votes within 90 days of an electionour Republican SecSta felt in necessary to do so anyway. A lawsuit was filed and the courts decided on the Constitution instead of the Republican effort to steal the vote in Georgia.
(CNN) -- Georgia must allow thousands of people whose citizenship was questioned by the state's new voter verification system to vote in the upcoming election, a panel of federal judges ruled Monday.
The court ruling means 4,500 people in Georgia will be able to vote November 4 despite being flagged.
The court ruling will affect about 4,500 people in Georgia who had been "flagged" by the new voter verification system and faced being denied a chance to vote November 4.
It could also affect more than 50,000 other registered Georgia voters also flagged by the new system because of mismatches in their personal identification information, such as discrepancies in addresses.
The three-judge panel also ordered Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel to inform all the flagged voters that they can vote.
In spite of the law which says that you cannot purge votes within 90 days of an electionour Republican SecSta felt in necessary to do so anyway. A lawsuit was filed and the courts decided on the Constitution instead of the Republican effort to steal the vote in Georgia.
Virginia Vote Warning
The GOP nasties are screwing around with the vote in parts of Virginia. There is a phony flier going around the Hampton Roads area telling Democrats that to relieve congestion at the polls Dems are supposed to vote on November 5th.
Assholes! If you have friends or family in Virginia please let them know that Election Day is the 4th regardless of your party affiliation.A phony State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5 is being circulated in several Hampton Roads localities, according to state elections officials.
In fact, Election Day, for voters of all political stripes, remains Nov. 4.
The somewhat official-looking flier - it features the state board logo and the state seal - is dated Oct. 24 and indicates that "an emergency session of the General Assembly has adopted the follwing (sic) emergency regulations to ease the load on local electorial (sic) precincts and ensure a fair electorial process."
The four-paragraph flier concludes with: "We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but felt this was the only way to ensure fairness to the complete electorial process."
No emergency action has been taken by the General Assembly. It is not in session and lacks the authority to change the date of a federal election.
Needless Tragedy
This piece on CNN just astounded me. Since when does it make sense to give an 8 year old a damn loaded Uzi to shoot? Everybody involved, the 'certified' instructor, parent(s), gun club owner, whoever, needs some serious punishment. The heights to which human stupidity rise is just amazing. Anyone with any experience with automatic weapons should be aware of the tendency for the weapon to run up and even a big guy like me, knowing what to expect, was surprised at the force the weapons exerts when I qualified with one in the Navy. Stupid, stupid.
WESTFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) — An 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while firing an Uzi submachine gun under adult supervision at a gun fair.
An 8-year-old shot and killed himself with an Uzi submachine gun like the weapon shown here.The boy lost control of the weapon while firing it Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo at the Westfield Sportsman’s Club, Police Lt. Lawrence Valliere said.
The boy was with a certified instructor and “was shooting the weapon down range when the force of the weapon made it travel up and back toward his head, where he suffered the injury,” a police statement said. Police called it a “self-inflicted accidental shooting.”
The victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he died. His name was not released.
Although the death appears to be an accident, police and the Hampden district attorney’s office were investigating, officials said.
The club said on its Web site that the event, run in conjunction with C.O.P. Firearms and Training, is “all legal and fun.” People will be allowed to fire weapons at vehicles, pumpkins and other targets, it said.
Naked and Barefoot
We just received the new L.L.Bean Christmas catalog and as I was thumbing through it I noticed that almost everything in it said it was imported. Piqued, I ran through the entire catalog and found only 4 or 5 items out of the hundreds there that were not imported. LL Bean wool socks, dog bed, 1 pair of hiking boots, and some jams, and maple syrup were not imported. That's really sad. If the other nations ever cut us off we are going to be running around 'nekkid' and barefoot.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Eight Days a Week
8 Days
just
8 days.
This is going to be a crazy week. It will be crazy at the Presidential level we know, but there is also lots going on up and down the ballot. At the top of the ballot we know this will be the week where we find out just how low McCain and the GOP will sink. How much nastier and uglier can the attacks get from the Republicans? The other big question is just how 'rogue' Caribou Barbie will get? It's sure looking like she's dumped McCain and has started her 2012 campaign for president to me. Finally, this week we should see the in-fighting and back-stabbing reach a frenzy within the ranks of the GOP. It should be a lot of fun to watch.
There are just 8 days until the game changes and we have and opportunity to begin to change the world. This will probably be the most important election of my lifetime with respect to its impact on life in the U.S. and around the world. Seriously, this election has the capacity to change the world if we all unite behind out leader and make some of the hard choices that are going to be required if we are to steer this country in a new direction. It's been eight hard and brutal long years and this is the tipping point. We need a new direction on the economy, healthcare, foreign relations, Iraq, Afghanistan, energy and so much more. It is still not too late to screw it up so we all need to do everything we can do between now and November 4th to make sure it happens. If you haven't voted yet then please get out and do so. Ignore the polls and believe that your vote is the one that will make the difference because it is. Every vote is going to be important. Barack Obama doesn't need 'just' a win but a landslide that will show the country and the world that we are going to shed the misdirected and incompetent leadership of the Republican party in this country and return America to its rightful place as a leader in how an effective democracy can be.
8 days.
just
8 days.
This is going to be a crazy week. It will be crazy at the Presidential level we know, but there is also lots going on up and down the ballot. At the top of the ballot we know this will be the week where we find out just how low McCain and the GOP will sink. How much nastier and uglier can the attacks get from the Republicans? The other big question is just how 'rogue' Caribou Barbie will get? It's sure looking like she's dumped McCain and has started her 2012 campaign for president to me. Finally, this week we should see the in-fighting and back-stabbing reach a frenzy within the ranks of the GOP. It should be a lot of fun to watch.
There are just 8 days until the game changes and we have and opportunity to begin to change the world. This will probably be the most important election of my lifetime with respect to its impact on life in the U.S. and around the world. Seriously, this election has the capacity to change the world if we all unite behind out leader and make some of the hard choices that are going to be required if we are to steer this country in a new direction. It's been eight hard and brutal long years and this is the tipping point. We need a new direction on the economy, healthcare, foreign relations, Iraq, Afghanistan, energy and so much more. It is still not too late to screw it up so we all need to do everything we can do between now and November 4th to make sure it happens. If you haven't voted yet then please get out and do so. Ignore the polls and believe that your vote is the one that will make the difference because it is. Every vote is going to be important. Barack Obama doesn't need 'just' a win but a landslide that will show the country and the world that we are going to shed the misdirected and incompetent leadership of the Republican party in this country and return America to its rightful place as a leader in how an effective democracy can be.
8 days.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Stand By Me
MandT have a YouTube up from the Playing for Change project organization also known as Peace Through Music. From what I have been able to gather it was a multi year project to document music around the world as a vehicle for peace and harmony. One of the results of the effort is the song "Stand By Me" performed simultaneously by musicians from around the world and captured in the video. It is tremendous and I must admit it choked me up a little. If you aren't familiar with it go over and have a listen.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Brits Join the Recession Club
We aren't the only ones having a go at a recession. Europe has always seen the UK economy as something to envy but appears that may not be the case too much longer. You need to remember that about 30-35% of the British economy is directly related to banking/finance so all the problems in that sector are telling their tale. On top of that and as unbelievable as it sounds the Brits have racked up even more personal debt than we Yanks have. (I was shocked when I read that.) The combination of the two spells serious trouble down the road. This news is part of the reason the European markets are tanking today in the early trading.
h/t Americablog
The British economy shrank more than expected and for the first time in 16 years in the third quarter of 2008, as fears grow the country could be in for a painful and prolonged recession.
The Office for National Statistics said on Friday gross domestic product fell 0.5 percent in the three months to September, the biggest drop since Q4 1990 and the first contraction since Q2 1992.
Analysts had forecast a fall of 0.2 percent.
On the year, GDP was 0.3 percent higher, the weakest rate of growth since Q2 1992.
h/t Americablog
Bad Friday
Cold and rainy here in Atlanta and the early warnings from the international markets are indicating that it will be a baaaad day on Wall Street as well. The economic crisis is not going to go away and we still haven't seen the bottom of the markets.
Stock index futures tumbled so sharply on Friday they had to be frozen at several points as global markets tumbled on signs the global economy is in the throes of recession.With all the futures contracts up against a hard stop it doesn't bode well for investors. You want fries with that?
Stock markets were in freefall around the world as panicked investors moved to liquidate risky positions. Japan's Nikkei index ended down 9.6 percent and European shares lost 8 percent.
By 7:00 a.m. in New York December Dow Jones futures were down 6.3 percent, Standard & Poor's 500 futures were off 6.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 6.8 percent.
All three contracts lost the maximum amount permissible before the start of futures trading in the United States.
Both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said trading would open as normal at 9:30 a.m EDT.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Scrapple is Good Eats
In the comments to my post about the food industry below MandT mentioned that their Grandma made scrapple. Well so did mine. Considering that we are most likely going to be in for some tough times and we all need to know how to do some 'cheap eats', I thought I would give you folks the recipe for a West Virginia style scrapple. This is 'stick to your ribs' food and it makes a great breakfast with eggs. It sounds kind of funny but it really is good. Really!
Scrapple
1 cup white or yellow cornmeal
1 cup milk (if you are really being cheap you can replace the milk with an equal amount of water)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-3/4 cups boiling water
8 ounces bulk pork sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 tablespoons butter
In a saucepan, combine the cornmeal, milk, sugar and salt and gradually stir in the boiling water. Cook over low medium heat, stirring frequently until thickened and bubbly. Turn the heat to low and cook, covered, about 10 minutes longer or until it is very thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in sausage. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap to facilitate removal and pour in the mixture. A 7-1/2-in. x 3-1/2-in. x 2-in. loaf pan will be completely filled but if you have a larger loaf(bread) pan that's fine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Grandma and Mom used to make it the night before for the next morning's breakfast.
When you are ready to serve, unmold and cut into 1/3-in. slices just like you were slicing bread. Dredge both sides in flour. In a big frying pan, melt butter over medium heat and brown the scrapple on both sides.
In the South we serve it with sorghum or molasses but up North they like maple syrup. I also like to reserve the drippings from cooking the sausage and make a milk gravy with lots of black pepper instead of the sweet syrup.
This will make enough for 6 hungry people.
For you culinary 'buffs' here is a little more on scrapple. It is also called "head cheese" in some parts of the country and in Pennsylvania Dutch country it is known as ponhaws or pawnhaus. This comes from fact that in older times it was made from hog scraps and especially the bits of meat from the jowls and head that were left from slaughtering. It often also included offal such as the heart, liver and other bits.
Scrapple
1 cup white or yellow cornmeal
1 cup milk (if you are really being cheap you can replace the milk with an equal amount of water)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-3/4 cups boiling water
8 ounces bulk pork sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled
2 tablespoons butter
In a saucepan, combine the cornmeal, milk, sugar and salt and gradually stir in the boiling water. Cook over low medium heat, stirring frequently until thickened and bubbly. Turn the heat to low and cook, covered, about 10 minutes longer or until it is very thick, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in sausage. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap to facilitate removal and pour in the mixture. A 7-1/2-in. x 3-1/2-in. x 2-in. loaf pan will be completely filled but if you have a larger loaf(bread) pan that's fine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Grandma and Mom used to make it the night before for the next morning's breakfast.
When you are ready to serve, unmold and cut into 1/3-in. slices just like you were slicing bread. Dredge both sides in flour. In a big frying pan, melt butter over medium heat and brown the scrapple on both sides.
In the South we serve it with sorghum or molasses but up North they like maple syrup. I also like to reserve the drippings from cooking the sausage and make a milk gravy with lots of black pepper instead of the sweet syrup.
This will make enough for 6 hungry people.
For you culinary 'buffs' here is a little more on scrapple. It is also called "head cheese" in some parts of the country and in Pennsylvania Dutch country it is known as ponhaws or pawnhaus. This comes from fact that in older times it was made from hog scraps and especially the bits of meat from the jowls and head that were left from slaughtering. It often also included offal such as the heart, liver and other bits.
10 Things About Food
Those of you interested in the food industry should take a look at the expose in U.S. News and World Report taking on the industry. The article, 10 Things the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know does a pretty good job of hitting the main points.
Then again if you have been reading here for any time you know the rules I have adopted for my food. They are, of course, from Michael Pollan.
Don't buy anything with a health claim.
If it has a health claim, it has a label.
If it has a label, it's in a package.
If it's in a package, it's probably not good for you.
and
If your great grand mother wouldn't recognize it as food then it probably isn't.
finally
If it is in a package and the label has more than a few ingredients and there are any you can't pronounce then it isn't food.
Then again if you have been reading here for any time you know the rules I have adopted for my food. They are, of course, from Michael Pollan.
Don't buy anything with a health claim.
If it has a health claim, it has a label.
If it has a label, it's in a package.
If it's in a package, it's probably not good for you.
and
If your great grand mother wouldn't recognize it as food then it probably isn't.
finally
If it is in a package and the label has more than a few ingredients and there are any you can't pronounce then it isn't food.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
With Love from Osama
While the McSame campaign needed to counter the rather damaging endorsement of Colin Powell of Barack Obama maybe the endorsement of this group might not be the way to go. The way I see it is has two major problems. First, very few of their members are eligible to vote unless ACORN has been busier than has been reported and second, they really don't have much credibility with the wingnut base. Then again, I could be wrong because since at least they are not socialists and only a few of them are gay.
I couldn't pass this up.
I couldn't pass this up.
Food Equals Predators
As evidenced by the previous chipmunk picture there is plenty of food for such as the young Cooper's Hawk I snapped early this morning at the bird bath. It was pretty early and it wasn't very bright out yet and therefore the picture is not as sharp as it should be. It is also quite obvious that I need to clean and fill the bird bath this morning.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sitting on Buddha
This little guy uses the Buddha in my garden to announce his presence in the world on a regular basis. He sits and barks at the world for long stretches. Today I was ready with the camera and he stayed there long enough for me to get him from both sides. Thanks little buddy.
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