~~~

Reading a decent freebie Kindle murder mystery, I’m annoyed at the carelessness of the author. One night it’s moonless after a storm clears intimating a certain time of the month. The next night it’s a 3/4 moon. I feel mislead by the first description of the weather and lack of clarification of whether it was cloudy.

This one is better than some of the other free novels. At least the author manages to keep his characters’ names straight. I would have been happier with some waxing accuracy instead of waning. I would have been impressed had the author described it as a gibbous moon.

~~~

Via DrX, Buying the Body of Christ. In that excellent essay about how the communion wafer entered the capitalist marketplace, there’s a mention of a “Chasid Cup” which I didn’t find a link to but I did find the “Celecup” which also packages the grape juice and wafer together in easy single servings:

• No Special Preparation Required
• No Refrigeration Necessary
• Three – Six Month extended shelf life
• Time Saved During Church Services
• Strict Hygienic Packaging Standards
• Allows For Communion In a Variety of Settings
• Can Be Transported Without Spillage
• Sized For Standard Communion Trays

I think it’s “Time Saved During Church Services” that is really strange. “Andale, andale… we haven’t got all morning ya know!” Followed by an admonishment not to litter and maybe a reminder to help the arthritics who may not get theirs opened quickly enough.

Nothing above is meant to disparage Christianity, but I cannot imagine ever being comfortable or feeling worshipful in a church that used this product on a regular basis, especially one that used it to save time.

~~~

I’m not sure why my husband decided to buy a bottle of Glenfiddich 15 year old Scotch for me, but I’m grateful. It is very nice. And it follows the Christmas gift of Samalens XO Armagnac from my sister. Y’all keep this up and I’m not going to be satisfied with box wines.

~~~

“So we let him sleep it off…”

Goodnight!

Well, not exactly.

Though surely we will see “jello pop science” as a Wheel of Fortune  Before and After puzzle.

Developments like this are going to bump up against some of our deeply ingrained “Ewwww, ICK” reactions now that they are not just in the realm of science fiction. 

One of the problems the story notes with current gelatin manufacturing methods is that it is not vegetarian since it is derived from animals. Like this commenter, I’m having trouble seeing where this technique will solve that problem for the more picky vegetarians out there.

Photo found here, but upon further browsing, I’m sure this is the original.

Today’s chili was never going to be the Midnight chili of 2009. First of all, I didn’t have any ground bison on hand, nor did I have fresh peppers or tomatoes.

I think I’ll name tonight’s chili Quick and Dirty Accidentally Edible chili. I planned to use 5-6 tablespoons chili powder, ground beef, and canned tomatoes. What I didn’t plan was accidentally picking up the jar of cayenne pepper instead of chili powder.

Have I mentioned that I just eyeball what 5 to 6 tablespoons looks like instead of actually measuring?

Yeah, I dumped that much cayenne pepper into the pot thinking it was chili powder. Fortunately, the ground beef I was using had been browned then frozen, so scraping off most of the cayenne pepper wasn’t too difficult.

Still, this pot of chili is going to be a bit hotter than I normally make. Perhaps “normally” is the wrong word to use when describing how I make chili. It’s different every time.

Tonight’s chili is quite good. In an effort to tone down the hotness, I crunched the last quarter bag of tortilla chips and added them as a thickening agent instead of flour, corn meal, or masa  harina. I have been known to put a can of corn in the blender and add it to chili.

Probably the only thing I’m consistent with in making chili is that it DOES NOT include beans. I have nothing against beans, but I do not like them in chili or cooked with chili seasonings.

I also have nothing against following a recipe. It’s just not something I do when making chili. Chili is an adventure, not a routine!

The Beauty and the Bartender - a dating service tale with a heart-warming twist.

How to make cheap wine taste better  – knowledge is free.

A lost girl remembered - an excerpt and follow-up from The Poisoner’s Handbook.

The Costs of Not Vaccinating - the story of a 2008 measles outbreak in Tucson.  

Parasites, boogers, and garlic - oh, and don’t scratch.

Are Talking Heads Blowing Hot Air - Yes, mostly. The literature review beginning on p. 5 of the pdf names a book I now want to read – Expert Political Judgment. The best part of the study begins on page 17 with descriptions of the 26 columnists and types of predictions they made. While the numbers make some of them look good, the descriptions lead me right back to the hot air conclusion.

Ten Peeves About Greenies

“Tempting kids with toys is unfair and deceptive, both to kids who don’t understand the concept of advertising, and to their parents, who have to put up with their nagging children,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

An even more disturbingly paranoid view of McDonald’s as a corporation (and ultimately demeaning to parents) is this from the Center’s website:

“McDonald’s is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children,” said CSPI litigation director Stephen Gardner. “McDonald’s use of toys undercuts parental authority and exploits young children’s developmental immaturity—all this to induce children to prefer foods that may harm their health. It’s a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction.”

Such a view of corporations requires one to think that all corporations are run by Lex Luthor clones. To what nefarious end do corporations do this? According to these types, it’s the evil bottom line.

And they are using evil mind rays to control all of us and what they really want is for all of us to live unhealthy short lives. Because in magical thinking land that improves the bottom line. Somehow.

Ever since religion was invented, someone has been telling humans what not to eat and how it should be prepared. And that there are times when no food should be consumed. Why is it spiritual to not eat? That could only happen when food and other consumer items became sufficiently available to give them up.

And then there is the idea of feasts to celebrate whatever we can come up with… often the same things we fast in order to contemplate.

Food can just get too complex if you think about it too much. So, I’m offering here two recipes you don’t have to think about to enjoy.

First up is Simple Potato Soup. I could probably get real philosophical about why I chose to make that on Christmas Eve. But, I’ll spare you.

Simple Potato Soup

3 slices thick-sliced bacon, chopped into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
4 – 6 medium russet potatos, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
6 -8 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the bacon, pour off 1/2 the grease. Saute the onion in the remaining grease. Place the potatos, onions, and bacon pieces in a saucepan and cover with water 2 – 3 inches above the ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook until potatos are tender. Stir occasionally to break off bits of the potatos to thicken the juice. Check seasoning, serve with cornbread.

Of course you can expand this recipe. Make it decadent by adding a bit of cream, or make it healthier by reducing the amount of bacon. What I think should not be attempted is to dress it up by adding additional seasonings. If you want a different flavor, use a different meat, something like Polish or Italian sausage. The meat in this dish is meant to be seasoning, not a primary ingredient.

For our New Year’s Eve meal, dear hubby wanted chicken and rice soup. While the preparation isn’t as simple as that for potato soup, the ingredients are.

Simple Chicken and Rice Soup

1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
2 cups uncooked rice
1 chicken, stewed, skinned, and deboned
Broth from the chicken, with water added to make 8 cups

Cook the chicken until the meat is falling off the bones and then a bit. Remove the chicken and strain the broth. We used a pressure cooker, an ancient electric one that I fear may stop working some day. A large pot is fine, but takes much longer.

Chill the broth so that the fat can be skimmed off. Leave a little bit… don’t be paranoid about a little bit of chicken fat.

Separate the chicken meat from the bones and skin. Again, leave a few bits of skin, but not large chunks. Refrigerate until the broth has chilled enough to remove the fat.

Boil the onions and celery in the chicken broth. When they are almost done, add enough water to make at least 8 cups of broth. Add the rice and chicken, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. The rice should be done in approximately 20 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, adding water if the soup is too thick. Some types of rice absorb more water than others.

Salt and pepper only, please. Keep the seasonings simple too.

*I hate the scrolling twitter widget. I hate anything on a website that moves unless I tell it to.

*History’s First Redneck Mummy (lower left panel)

*I love my battery backup, because I hate power outages.

*Am I the only person who cannot manage to order a Pizza Hut pizza online? I’m beginning to think they want to be able to say they offer online ordering, but are actively discouraging anyone from ever using it.

* New study reveals most children are unrepentant sociopaths (via Retriever). And then they grow up and design scrolling, flashing widgets for websites or tests for “security” that can’t be passed. For a more scientific view, see The Science of Success.

*Speaking of pizza — a quick perusal of our buying habits over the past year says that this family orders pizza on average of once a month, and that approximately 25% of these orders coincide with having company. Yeah, I am just that lazy.

*Is it the least we can do? Buy Local, Act Evil. Just a thought here… but, if I buy the best that I can for the least amount of money, is that not also ecologically sound? (Note: I’m not saying I do this — see cheap cheese.)

*Tundra. Just go, click, and scroll. That’s what I plan on doing for the next hour or so.

Why do beans seem to taste better when cooked one day and reheated the next? Because the essence of the bean and the essence of the juice and seasoning it is cooked in have then melded into a whole which is better than either was the day before.

The essence of time may not have a flavor of its own, but it is required to allow other flavors to grow and mature.

1 lb of ground bison
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped

Brown the above in a tablespoon of butter. Bison is very low fat.

Add…

2 serrano peppers, de-seeded and chopped
1 mexican bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped (while this pepper is supposed to be a bit hotter than a regular bell pepper, it’s quite mild.
3 small tomatoes, peeled and chopped.
2 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in 2 cups water.
1 tablespoon cumin
2-3 tablespoons chili powder

Bring to boil and let simmer until the liquid has reduced by half. At this point, add garlic and onion powder to taste, if you want to add any at all.

Bring to a boil, then cool and refrigerate overnight. This is not a necessary step, it’s just that I didn’t start making this until about 9pm tonight. But, it does give all these flavors a chance to meld and make friends with each other.

Tomorrow… completion.

COMPLETION UPDATE: This was smelling so good, my husband went to WalMart to get a can of tomato paste and a small can of stewed tomatoes. Oh, and a bag of tortilla chips. We ate last night and it was really good. I’ll name this one Midnight Chili

I need a color job and some 1950s undergarments to make this real… but here I am: