I don’t know, but the way things are going we might as well get creative in the kitchen. I was reading a piece at RBO2 the other day and it smacked me hard in the head. What would a union shutdown of this country do to us? Perhaps we should look at useful tips to keep that kitchen creative with whatever we are left with.
At Your Disposal
Before you throw away your vegetable trimmings, consider some alternative uses:
CARROT, CELERY AND FENNEL LEAVES Mix small amounts, finely chopped, with parsley as a garnish or in salsa verde: all are in the Umbelliferae family of plants. Taste for bitterness when deciding how much to use.
CHARD OR COLLARD RIBS Simmer the thick stalks in white wine and water with a scrap of lemon peel until tender, then drain and dress with olive oil and coarse salt. Or bake them with cream, stock or both, under a blanket of cheese and buttery crumbs, for a gratin.
CITRUS PEEL Organic thin-skinned peels of tangerines or satsumas can be oven-dried at 200 degrees, then stored to season stews or tomato sauces.
CORN COBS Once the kernels are cut off, simmer the stripped cobs with onions and carrots for a simple stock. Or add them to the broth for corn or clam chowder.
MELON RINDS Cut off the hard outer peels and use crunchy rinds in place of cucumber in salads and cold soups.
PEACH LEAVES Steep in red wine, sugar and Cognac to make a summery peach-bomb aperitif. (According to David Lebovitz’s recipe, the French serve it on ice.)
POTATO PEELS Deep-fry large pieces of peel in 350-degree oil and sprinkle with salt and paprika. This works best with starchy potatoes like russets.
YOUNG ONION TOPS Wash well, coarsely chop and cook briefly in creamy soups or stews, or mix into hot mashed potatoes.
TOMATO LEAVES AND STEMS Steep for 10 minutes in hot soup or tomato sauces to add a pungent garden-scented depth of tomato flavor. Discard leaves after steeping.
TOMATO SCRAPS Place in a sieve set over a bowl, salt well and collect the pale red juices for use in gazpacho, Bloody Marys or risotto.
TURNIP, CAULIFLOWER OR RADISH LEAVES Braise in the same way as (or along with) collards, chards, mustard greens or kale.
WATERMELON SEEDS Roast and salt like pumpkinseeds.
The far western Arizona town of Quartzsite was in disarray Monday after the town council ousted the mayor from power and declared a state of emergency, all over an online video that shows a woman being arrested.
Mayor Ed Foster told The Associated Press on Monday that the town council held a last-minute meeting that was closed to the public Sunday night, declaring a state of emergency in the 3,600-person town just east of the California city of Blythe.
The council’s declaration put police Chief Jeff Gilbert in charge, making Foster the “deputy chief executive of nothing right now,” he said. It also allows the five-member council to meet without public notice and suspend all public comment at the meetings until they declare the state of emergency over.
“I’m going to tell you frankly, this council is out of control,” Foster said. “The chief has been out of control for some time and I’ve asked the state government to help a number of times,” to no avail.
Links to the WaPo article have disappeared. At stake? Lots of money. The town is the snowbird haven for many during the winter and they leave a lot of money behind. Martial law?
Brenda said it was the best Barack summation evah. I concur. Best reality teevee episode since JR got shot on Dallas.
…the White House says it doesn’t want to release a plan because it will be held accountable for having a plan, but no one should criticize the White House for not having a plan because they actually offered one verbally that was full of “specifics” nobody will specify and the Republicans are in the dark about.
The best summation ever.
Imagine you’re in a burning office building. Obama’s plan for getting out alive: “Okay, you guys break up into different groups and come up with a series of proposals about how we get out of the building. I will then negotiate with each of you separately and then together, and then separately. Then I’ll get on Skype and tell the world what I think of your respective plans and criticize you for their lack of seriousness. I will insist that we have balanced approach of applying both water to the fire and opening the windows, which some say will only provide more oxygen for the flames. But my base says window-opening is essential. Oh and I will blame all of the gasoline I threw around on the lower floors of this building on the guy who moved out two years ago. And I will veto any plan that requires we have a new plan should we get stuck on another floor. And, did I mention this mess was created by the former tenant and….ahhh what’s that smell?
via Obama’s Towering Inferno. Kidding aside, we’re riding teh “experienced” won’s trainwreck cliffhanger and the country is mortified. Will there be a call to 911?
We aren’t alone in our thinking about these assclowns. From Anthony, left at Uppity.
Mexico’s Defense Department says a group of Mexican soldiers involuntarily crossed into the U.S. after being unable to turn around on an international bridge.
The department says that the soldiers were on patrol along the border Monday when they crossed the new Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge over the Rio Grande. It says the only return along the bridge is on U.S. soil.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the department said the situation was clarified with U.S. immigration authorities and the troops returned to Mexico.
District Court Judge Albert Murdoch using the bench to screw constituents.
Judge Albert Murdoch was also allegedly caught on the hidden tape boasting that he was above the law and would use his police contacts to make any charges go away.
His arrest has led to authorities in New Mexico to look into many of the cases he presided over during a 25-year career.
Unbelievable.
Murdoch, a 59-year-old criminal judge for the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County in Albuquerque, was arrested on rape charges based on the hidden tape.
snip
Murdoch is the chief criminal judge for Albuquerque and has a reputation for handing out tough sentences.
Following through on a campaign promise, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law Monday easing access to privately funded financial aid for undocumented college students. He also signaled that he was likely to back a more controversial measure allowing those students to seek state-funded tuition aid in the future.
snip
For Brown, signing Cedillo’s bill was a gesture of goodwill toward Latino voters, who helped elect him in large numbers last fall.
