Trump

Does anyone remember this headline from the Republican primaries?

Donald Trump: 'I could shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.' He was right. His supporters believe in their anointed billionaire god.

He told us he was going to do all of these things: take away DACA and threaten the lives of many wonderful people, the "dreamers" who are now working hard in college and in jobs. He told us he was going to create a registry for Muslims. He told us that we were going to have "law and order," which is code for I pick the laws that get enforced and I pick the order. 

His picks of Steve Bannon, Gen. Flynn, Sen. Sessions, and Rep. Pompeo, confirm that he plans to do what he has promised. These are all white men whose views on race issues, immigration, and the Muslim religion make them way outside of the American mainstream, even outside of the Republican party, on these issues.

The problem is: he can do any of this and his supporters will still support him. They will cheer him. He just might whip out some heat and shoot someone. He might grab a reporter "by the pussy." Everything else he has done and said has been so ridiculous, and the outrage has not happened. If he now murders or molests someone, will anyone care?

When he has conflicts of interest with his businesses in foreign countries, will anyone care? When he encourages Putin to continue cyber-attacks in our country, will anyone care? When he designates himself the supreme ruler will anyone care?

Awesome Summer Soup: Tomato Basil

This morning I was thinking about tomatoes and lunch. We have a huge Roma tomato plant that has given us more fruit than we can eat in salads and sandwiches. We have tomatoes on the vine, on the kitchen counter, and ripening on the deck.

I opened Bernard Clayton Jr.'s The Complete Book of Soups and Stews (a present from my sister Sara) and turned to "tomato" in the index. When I saw Iced Tomato and Basil soup I knew I had a starting point. Of course my current diet eschews the oil and mozzarella crostinos recommended in the recipes, but I adapted quite nicely. The result was delicious. When Andy came home for lunch and we ladled up the soup, we felt like we were dining in a multi-starred NY restaurant.

Ingredients: 5 pounds of tomatoes, which equals about 20 Roma tomatoes
5 garlic cloves
1 cup shredded fresh basil (or one Tbs dried)
One box vegetable broth (or chicken if you are so inclined).
Salt, pepper, to taste; dash of sugar
Optional toppings: 1/2 cup soy milk; cream; pesto 


Clayton's recipe called for 5 pounds of fresh garden tomatoes. I rounded up about 20 small Romas.

He suggested dipping them in boiling water and, after a minute and a half, dunking them in cold water. This allows the skins to slip off easily. He also advised slicing them down the middle and removing the seed cores, which I did. I also trimmed off any tough stem ends.

I then followed his directions to dice the tomatoes into small pieces and cook them in a pan for 5 minutes. He uses oil; I used a nonstick pan with a little water.

Meanwhile, I sauteed his suggested 5 cloves of minced fresh garlic in a non-stick skillet. Since I didn't add oil, I deglazed with a few tablespoons of vegetable broth.

After the tomatoes had cooked down for 5 minutes, I added the garlic and 1 cup of shredded basil and simmered for 5 more minutes.

Then I added a box of vegetable low-sodium vegetable broth (Clayton uses chicken) and let these all meld together for several more minutes.

I sprinkled in salt, black pepper, and a dash of sugar.

I departed from Clayton's recipe by dumping this all in my food processor and churning it to remove any tomato pulp and chunks of garlic and basil.

When I returned it to the pan, I added about 1/2 cup of soy milk. If you are into cream, that would do nicely too.

I had plucked extra basil from the garden and, before churning the soup, had made a pesto using fresh basil, one garlic clove, nutritional yeast, and about one cup of walnuts.

A spoonful of this pesto added to the soup was just … hmm … je ne sais quoi

Oh, yes, Clayton recommends eating this chilled ("iced") but admits it is delicious hot also. That's how we enjoyed it, due to timing issues. By the end of lunch hour the pan was empty so we'll have to try the chilled version another time.

My friend asked for my ratatouille recipe. Here goes

On Jul 23, 2014, at 5:03 PM, Cheryl Richards wrote:

I got a couple of eggplants from my Amish connection today. You and your Mom had a good recipe for them, ratatouille? can you email this to me?

My friend, Cheri, doesn't love fresh garlic, but I assure her and any others with the same feelings that sauteed garlic adds depth. Once it is cooked it loses its intensity. 

1 large onion
3 cloves fresh garlic (when it's cooked you won't really taste it so much), but use powder if you prefer.
1 eggplant (or 2 if small) sliced thin
several zucchini and yellow squash - sliced thin - and cut in half if they are larger
Optional: thinly sliced or shredded carrots
Depending on the quantity of vegetables, 1-2 cans diced tomatoes with juice
Lotsa Italian seasoning - fresh basil if you have it
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese (if you dare) for serving - sprinkle on top. I use nutritional yeast.

Use a large pot.

Saute onion and garlic in a little oil -- or not if the pot is nonstick. Let it brown a little.
Add sliced veggies. Let them brown a little also.
Add diced tomatoes -- if it doesn't seem moist enough add some tomato sauce or veggie broth - as the veggies simmer they will release more water so keep that in mind
Let the tomatoes and veggies simmer for at least 45 minutes til everything is tender
Add seasoning - let simmer a few more minutes.

Serve over couscous (preferred) or rice or pasta.

Just made some the other day (sans eggplant) and this is basically what I did.

ratatouille is one of those dishes that is better the next day

Good luck.

Tips for Preparing Eggplant

When cutting an eggplant, use a stainless steel knife as carbon steel will react with its phytonutrients and cause it to turn black. Wash the eggplant first and then cut off the ends.

Most eggplants can be eaten either with or without their skin. However, the larger ones and those that are white in color generally have tough skins that may not be palatable. To remove skin, you can peel it before cutting or if you are baking it, you can scoop out the flesh once it is cooked.

To tenderize the flesh's texture and reduce some of its naturally occurring bitter taste, you can sweat the eggplant by salting it. After cutting the eggplant into the desired size and shape, sprinkle it with salt and allow it to rest for about 30 minutes. This process will pull out some of its water content and make it less permeable to absorbing any oil used in cooking.

Rinsing the eggplant after "sweating" will remove most of the salt.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=22&tname=foodspice

Small milestones

My dad was a good carpenter, extraordinary Mr. Fixit, roofer, mechanic etc.

I am now wondering how I grew up with him and never insisted that he teach me these skills. Maybe some of them can't be taught. He could figure out how to fix Mrs. Smith's sewing machine and how to get Mr. Jones's lawnmower started. He had the touch.

We did wallpaper our living room together when I was in high school and I remember that time very fondly. Since then I have done papering with some success (and some failure!). But I have always been passionate about color so painting has been important to me. (Dad was, of course, also a good painter.)

In my last house I practiced painting with a good brush that allows you to move along edges without the annoyance of blue or green tape. You just need to get a good stubby beveled brush, such as ones made by Wooster or Purdy. These brushes fit nicely into your hand and you can then feather the paint, in a floating motion, up against the ceiling, trim, and door edges.

I have worked on this skill. In our new house in Topeka, I have just completed painting the walls of Bedroom # 1. I can't believe I was able to finish all of the wall surface with no tape and successfully cover all of the old paint. Next, I need to tackle the trim. By the way, I am using Valspar's historical house colors, Lyndhurst beige for the walls and Lyndhurst mahogany for the windows and trim.

Kudos to Lowes for marketing historical colors in their wonderful Valspar paint, which combines paint and primer.

Still need to work on spackling techniques and how to cover previous bad repairs.

Researching… skim coating. Dad would have had a good solution, I am sure. I will figure it out, somehow.

Letter to Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R) Kansas

October 3, 2013

 
Representative Lynn Jenkins
1027 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

 

Dear Representative Jenkins:

We moved to Kansas late last year. Apparently you “represent” us. So far, we don’t believe you have done one thing that has represented what we believe is in the best interest of Kansas or of the United States.
 
Your support of the government shutdown is the latest insult. We implore you to urge Speaker Boehner to bring a clean funding bill to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. This will immediately end the shutdown, which is harming the livelihoods of almost two million federal workers, leaving preschool children at home rather than in vital Head Start programs, and, most importantly, jeopardizing the security of our nation and its citizens. Many other programs have been shut down, and we know you are well aware of the harm this is doing to your constituents.
 
Seventy-two percent of Americans and 49 percent of Republicans believe the shutdown is wrong for this country, according to a new CBS News poll. Clearly, reasonable Americans want Republicans to end the shutdown now.

We support the Affordable Care Act. Understanding that you have always opposed Obamacare, we ask you to please accept the fact that Republicans have lost on this issue. The ACA was voted into law through regular order, signed by the president, deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court, and affirmed by the American citizens, who overwhelmingly reelected President Obama. Enthusiasm for Obamacare, since people have been able to sign up for it, has been very high. We are thrilled at its successes.
 
Rather than believing that Obamacare is a government takeover of healthcare and puts big government between doctors and patients, a large number of citizens, including us, believe that Obamacare will give wider access to healthcare and ultimately lower medical costs by bringing young, healthy people into the system.
 
The ACA is the law of the land. You and conservative Republicans cannot alter that fact. You cannot will it to be defunded. You need the votes to do that and you do not have them.
 
We have heard you claim to be a “No-Labels Problem Solver.” However, all we have seen is that you have been front and center among representatives who cause problems, rather than solve them. The problems include the sequester and the government shutdown. You also appear to be among those who believe that the United States doesn’t have to pay its bills, at least if a minority of representatives’ demands are not met. All of this amounts to more than just a problem; it amounts to anarchy. If you are a problem solver, you have the responsibility to fund the government and pay the debts of the United States. To further at least one of these goals, we encourage you to help convince Speaker Boehner to bring a clean funding bill to a vote.
 
Thank you for your time,

Laura and Andrew McGowan

October 3, 2013

Representative Lynn Jenkins
1027 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

 

Dear Representative Jenkins:
 
We moved to Kansas late last year. Apparently you “represent” us. So far, we don’t believe you have done one thing that has represented what we believe is in the best interest of Kansas or of the United States.

Your support of the government shutdown is the latest insult. We implore you to urge Speaker Boehner to bring a clean funding bill to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. This will immediately end the shutdown, which is harming the livelihoods of almost two million federal workers, leaving preschool children at home rather than in vital Head Start programs, and, most importantly, jeopardizing the security of our nation and its citizens. Many other programs have been shut down, and we know you are well aware of the harm this is doing to your constituents.

 

Seventy-two percent of Americans and 49 percent of Republicans believe the shutdown is wrong for this country, according to a new CBS News poll. Clearly, reasonable Americans want Republicans to end the shutdown now.
 
We support the Affordable Care Act. Understanding that you have always opposed Obamacare, we ask you to please accept the fact that Republicans have lost on this issue. The ACA was voted into law through regular order, signed by the President, deemed constitutional by the Supreme Court, and affirmed by the American citizens, who overwhelmingly reelected President Obama. Enthusiasm for Obamacare, since people have been able to sign up for it, has been very high. We are thrilled at its successes.

 

Rather than believing that Obamacare is a government takeover of healthcare and puts big government between doctors and patients, a large number of citizens, including us, believe that Obamacare will give wider access to healthcare and ultimately lower medical costs by bringing young, healthy people into the system.

 

The ACA is the law of the land. You and conservative Republicans cannot alter that fact. You cannot will it to be defunded. You need the votes to do that and you do not have them.

 

We have heard you claim to be a “No-Labels Problem Solver.” However, all we have seen is that you have been front and center among representatives who are causing problems, not solving them. The problems include the sequester and the government shutdown. You also appear to be among those who believe that the United States doesn’t have to pay its bills, at least if a minority of representatives’ demands are not met. All of this amounts to more than just a problem; it amounts to anarchy. If you are a problem solver, you have the responsibility to fund the government and pay the debts of the United States. To further at least one of these goals, we encourage you to help convince Speaker Boehner to bring a clean funding bill to a vote.

Thank you for your time,

 Laura and Andrew McGowan