August 3, 2012

CALL TO ACTION

All who have Chic-Fil-Hates in their cities/towns (I just found out we have one), put your outrage to use and support the "Same-Sex-Kiss-In" TODAY.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/us/us-chick-fil-a-debate/index.html

Gay or straight if you're as sickened as I am about Wednesday's Bigotry-on-display find out where and when your local action is and join in. I plan on finding any same-sex person willing to kiss a middle-aged broad and plant some big ones.

Fuck the bigots!

LTH

August 2, 2012

What to do with Butternut Squash

So I had this idea about periodically posting a "What to do with ________" and I pitched it to Lucinda who thought it was a good idea. The foodstuffs can be anything from the ordinary to the exotic and, of course, anyone can start a thread. From there our DU cooks can chime in and add their favorite recipes.

I'm lucky enough to live in a farming area and we have a lot of Southeast Asian farmers who have lots of strange and intriguing fruits and veggies of which I don't have the first idea what to do with so this might just be the perfect opportunity.

So . . . to start it off, I wanted to post one on Butternut Squash since I, up until now, had very limited experience cooking with it. Here are two recipes that I tried and absolutely LOVE.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
1 (2 to 3 pounds) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock*
Nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. (*I didn't thaw out enough chicken stock so I substituted 2 cups of veggie stock and it worked fine.) Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in blender and puree (you may have to had some liquid from the stock to get the blender blades moving). Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg and cook on a simmer for about 30 minutes.


Butternut Squash Pie

Ingredients:
1 9-inch pie shell
2 cups cooked butternut squash
2 eggs, separated
3/4 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat egg yolks with sugar until light in color. Add squash, milk and seasonings. Beat egg white until stiff and fold into squash mixture. Pour into pie shell and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes. Let cool at least 2 hours to ensure contents solidify.


Anyone have any butternut squash recipes they'd like to contribute?

LTH

July 30, 2012

BBC Link to the Olympics

This has been posted a few times but I've only seen it within other threads, so in case you missed it:

http://tvpc.com/Channel.php?ChannelID=3

Olympic coverage with almost no commercials and intelligent commentary. Btw, you'll first get a message that you have to d/l something to be able to see it. That's an ad and ignore it (it only lasts for 30 seconds) or, if you can find the "x" close it.

Others have posted other links but this one has worked best for me.

July 28, 2012

Video of Olympic Ceremony Tribute to Terrorist Victims NBC didn't want you to see:

http://deadspin.com/5929778/heres-the-opening-ceremony-tribute-to-terrorism-victims-nbc-doesnt-want-you-to-see

July 25, 2012

Anyone have a link to live stream the Olympic Games?

nbcolymplics.com requires a TV service which we don't have. I was hoping to watch it online for free. Anyone have a link to free live coverage?

Thanks,

LTH

July 19, 2012

Critics Won't Release Returns

Source: The Fresno Bee

Critics of Mitt Romney won't release own tax returns

By Kevin G. Hall and David Lightman - Bee Washington Bureau

Wednesday, Jul. 18, 2012 | 11:02 PM

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Nancy Pelosi was emphatic. Mitt Romney's refusal to release more than two years of his personal tax returns, she said, makes him unfit to win confirmation as a member of the president's Cabinet, let alone to hold the high office himself.

Sen. Harry Reid went farther: Romney's refusal to make public more of his tax records makes him unfit to be a dogcatcher.

They do not, however, think that standard of transparency should apply to them. The two Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives are among hundreds of senators and representatives from both parties who refused to release their tax records. Just 17 out of the 535 members of Congress released their most recent tax forms or provided some similar documentation of their tax liabilities in response to requests from McClatchy over the last three months. Another 19 replied that they wouldn't release the information, and the remainder never responded to the query.



Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/07/18/2914418/critics-wont-release-returns.html

---

Sorry, boys and girls but if we are going to call for financial transparency those rules should apply to everyone holding elected office. JMHO.

LTH

July 19, 2012

Anyone have a good cooked salsa recipe?

I want to can salsa this year (trying to use all fresh ingredients in the process) and need a recipe that has been tried.

Any help would be appreciated.

LTH

July 19, 2012

What Are Your Favorite "Made in the U.S.A." Products?

I'm graphically-challenged so I can't post pictures but here are two of my favorites:

Lodge Cast Iron Cookware
My husband just bought me my first cast iron Dutch Oven for my birthday and with my other birthday money I went out and bought two of their skillets. This place is in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, is still family owned and has been in business for over 100 years. Here's their website:

http://www.lodgemfg.com/


KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixers
Most KitchenAid products are made in the U.S.A. (a few things are made in Canada). I've had this mixer for several years now plus several attachments and there isn't a week that goes by that I don't use it several times. Here's the website:

http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/?WT.tsrc=brandsite?siteReferrer=kitchenaid


Anyone care to add to the list?

July 13, 2012

Kitchen Products Made in the U.S.A.

I subscribe to "A Taste of Home" magazine and this month they're featuring a page on kitchen products made in the U.S.A.

I'm graphically-challenged but here are some of the products they're featuring and a link to their respective websites:

Vermont Bowl Company's Layered American Bowl. Made in Wilmington, Vt.
vermontbowl.com

Regal Ware's American Kitchen 12-inch stainless steel saute pan. Made in West Bend, Wisconsin.
regalware.com

Fiesta Bakeware and Mini Disc pitcher. Made in Newell, West Virginia.
fiestafactorydirect.com

KitchenAid's 5-qt. Artisan Stand Mixer. Made in Greenville, Ohio. (I have one of these. When I die I plan on being buried with it.)
shopkitchenaid.com

Lodge Cast Iron's Lodge Logic 5-qt. Dutch Oven. Made in South Pittsburg, TN (I JUST got this for my birthday!)
lodgemfg.com

Anyway, maybe some will find this of interest the next time you're in the market.

LTH

July 9, 2012

#&%@$&% Bottom Rot!

DAMN IT!. Tomatoes were looking SO good then one day, about half of them developed bottom rot. Time and again I've looked up the solution to this and no one seems to have definitive answer. Some of the suggestions: Water less, water more, stress the plant, don't stress the plant too much, don't grow in containers, add more calcium, add more niacin. Tried most of these and I'm getting the same results.

The tomatoes are in 2-1/2 gallon to 5 gallon pots and are sitting on paving stones. It's been in the 90's but this week will start our triple-digit temps. My Sweet 100's and Better Boys seem to be unaffected but the Celebrities and Roma's? I'll be lucky if I get 10 completely whole tomatoes out of the bunch.

Anyone else have a suggestion for solving this mystery?

Thanks,

lth