catch the slip around 1:07... he still doesn't realize he's already won!
And now Mirriam-Webster is an enemy of the President? 5:23 "My critics say everything is a tax increase" (? how now brown cow ?) 5:26 "My critics say I'm taking over every sector of the economy" (? not yet, but you seem to be trying pretty hard from the get go - auto, banks, healthcare, publishing - what's next ?) And finally, it seems that if what the Government decides for you is to your benefit, in their opinion, then it cannot be considered a tax that they take your money and use it for something that you will benefit from. And I wonder, if taxes are then, by comparison, the payments going to things that aren't to the benefit of the taxpayer, why does anyone put up with the Government? Isn't that what the colonists protested so strongly against the King? I guess it is just a non-tax levy - medicine for what's aching you...
The saddest thing about all this is that this makes news, and that the reporters have to point out what a positive family role model these folks are...
Here goes a second try as blogdrive ate my first draft (which was turning out Soooo much better than this attempt, of course) and made me so angry I had to put it off a bit before retrying...
Every once in a while the whole family gangs up on me (well, except the MiL, she catagorically refuses to taste almost anything I prepare in the kitchen, except for an occasional sweet, claiming irreconcilable culinary cultural differences) and has me make dinner, which almost always means they want "verdure saltate", a variation on home-fried potatoes that is perhaps (ever so very slightly) healthier. It started out with only potatoes, but over the years came small experimental steps, until I discovered it could be about anything, and still turn out okay... We usually accompany it with meat, or sausage, or eggs, but there are many possible combinations.
After mentioning this dish on one of those twenty-question quizzy thingies recently, I was requested to share the recipe, but, unfortunately, there is nothing really to share, as it is more a process than a set of rules... look to see if you have vegetables (fresh): NO?: go buy some at the fruit and vegetable stand, proceed to YES at this point -> YES?: chop them up all up. COOK: until ready, depending on the mixture used... that's about it...
in a little more detail, here are some suggestions to get the thing off on the right foot: start with some soffritto: finely chopped onions, celery, carrots, and garlic if you want. cut up the vegetables in cubes or slices, depending on their general cooking time and toss them in - vegetables that take longer (es. potatoes) get cut up smaller while others (es. eggplant) get cut bigger and added first, while others (es. zucchini) get added a little later.
I usa a big, heavy bottomed pan. The home fries started out in a cast-iron skillet, which I don't have now. Cast iron requires a little more attention and constant scraping and turning, while most modern non stick ones seem to work well.
The oil can probably be anything, but I use peanut oil sparingly to begin with, and then alternate adding from time to time, just as necessary, a little bit of butter (for flavor) and olive oil (idem) as well as a little water and white wine.
Possible ingredients: potatoes; zucchini; cauliflower; sweet (bell) peppers; artichokes (small fully edible ones, or artichoke hearts, can even be oil preserved/canned/bottled); tomatoes (less oil); broccoli; eggplant (aubergine); shrooms; garlic; onion; leek; brussel sprouts (be very careful to not overcook these); fennel;
other possible additions (cut into small, usually cubed pieces): pancetta; bacon; mortadella (thick slice cut into cubes, also known as bologna); ham; cheese (at the end); pine nuts; walnuts or almonds or pistachios, finely chopped; sun dried tomatoes; raisins;
a couple of cautionary points:
don't use too much oil or butter. Add it as little at a time as you need to keep things from sticking or dry scorching. Sprinkle a little liquid (water or dry white wine) from time to time in place of adding oil. Use a light oil for the most part, and only a bit of butter and a bit of olive oil to add the taste factor and balance you like. Using only olive oil, especially "the good stuff", tends to make it too heavy, believe it or not...
don't overcook the vegetables, burnt spots tend to make most of the vegetables too bitter;
don't undercook the vegetables in this recipe. It is not a stir fry or steamed medley where the broccoli or cauliflower taste good "al dente";
salt gradually (if at all, I suggest at least a little bit), and use less salt if you add any already salted ingredients like bacon or pancetta;
make more than you think. The recipe really cooks down, and can sometimes be started in two large pans to cook down to one, combining them near the end, and still be barely enough for the family (depending on the rest of the meal). The leftover vegetables are great reheated the next day too;
use a cover if they seem to be staying hard, but don't cook them too long covered or they get soggy, almost steamed, and tend to turn out a mess;
enjoy!
p.s. pictures to follow, one of the next times i make something similar...
Of course, the only living person in the world who claims to have been present for Obama's birth is his paternal grandmother, Sarah Obama, who says it took place in Mombasa, Kenya.
...
What is Barack Obama hiding?
All he has to do is call the hospital and authorize it to confirm his birth. Period. End of story. Controversy over.
What's the downside of doing that? Can someone tell me?
That doesn't seem so much for one who campaigned on change and transparency, now does it? Unless maybe you're a Chicago Machine political puppet with deep dark secrets in the closet that you don't want opened up less one or another escapes...
Just ran across this on a desktop background wallpaper site, and couldn't resist it. Amongst all the scantily clothed wet t-shirt almost topless barely dressed women, this was the sexiest of them all.
Who knows why, but I published this earlier today with a slightly more NSFW title ("TSA - Travel Sadists Anonymous") and now it doesn't appear anymore. Did I offend someone? Automatic Blogdrive sensors? Please let me know, so next time that I want to I can do it on purpose if I need to...
So I just got done with six flights (2 int'l + 4 domestic in USA), including into and out of Chicago's O'Hare. Mostly pleasant experiences, except for that sharing of densely populated barefoot floor space near the security check with other thousands of people that passed their in the last couple o'hours. My mother commented before leaving her in Chicago "most people wear socks" (as though that would render it more hygienic with sweaty stinky socks breeding who knows what inside closed smelly tennis shoes?). Doesn't seem very hygienic to me, but hey, what the heck, it's only HNV1NH or whatever that they're worried about, not really security, since after I got out of the last airport, and was searching for my transit pass, and digging through my marsupial found BOTH nail clippers and a pocket knife I had forgotten about buried below kleenex in the bottom of a little side pocket? Through 3 different security checks, and they worried about a jar of peanut butter and excessively numerous batteries (because I had too many - a dozen - doesn't anyone in the TSA have a digital camera to know how fast they suck the juice out of batteries)?
And to be truthful, on the TSA site they do actually say you can't bring peanut butter in your carryon in more than 3.4 oz. size, as it is considered a creamy spread, even if the one I wanted to bring is Skippy Super Chunk (so how does that make it Gel, Liquid or Aerosol? At least call it a restriction on Gel, Cream, Liquid and Aerosol).
And that baggage charge even for your first bag, and more for a second, and now a beer on a domestic flight that costs $7 (SEVEN DOLLARS) as though you were at a some fancy jazz concert instead of drinking an 85¢ brewski from a can while stuffed into cattle steerage. And the fact that they use a "Commuter Jet" for the Chicago-Atlanta flight so half of the people on a quarter empty plane needed to gate-check their standard sized carry-on since "there won't be enough room for all of them onboard". Since when do people "commute" from Chicago to Atlanta?
It would seem that the airlines are actively trying to drive away travelers and convince them to use other means of transportation, or not travel at all...
