Good morning, Christy — ROOTZ ‘n’ YUMS!

I am tired and waiting on my coffee. I love to cook, I teach rhetoric, and study medical discourse on abortion.

Fitz!

Good morning Christy!

Community building is like tending a garden. Very important to maximize yield. I so love FDL, thanks fo rdoing this, Christy…. On to th eimportant stuff:

I love pecans – As trees, they are a big pain – they get leaves last and drop them first and in between they drop beards and other crap. But the nut? Love it. Mrs. Imm. Is from out side Houston and he grandparents all lived in a town in-between Houston and Austin. Both sets of grandparents had huge, wonderful pecan trees. In fact, he mother’s father was such a fastidious German sort, that he grafted a good producing soft shell onto the trunk of a native, drought resistant small fruit hard shell. Hmmmm, free pecans all year round. So, I have sought out great pecan recipes. One of my favorites is pecan pesto, which I always have in my freezer if you want to come over.

But, the one recipe that was a great surprise is this one for Custard Apple Pecan Pie:

Ingredients
2 Cups pecan, roughly chopped (the size is up to you – I like dime sized pieces)
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, (melt one stick and let cool to room temp).
4 large apples (try the more tart, like Spy or Granny Smith)
¼ cup sugar
2 T Apple Schnapps or Brandy OR Cointeau or Triple Sec
1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
1 ½ cups light corn syrup
6 large eggs
1 T vanilla
2 T flour
2 Pie shells (this one is your call)

Preheat oven to 325. Toast the pecan pieces on a cookie tray for about 8-10 minutes (until they smell good) and set them aside to cool.
Peel, core and dice the apples. In a big heavy skillet, melt the ½ stick of butter with the sugar on high heat. Add the apples and cook for about 12 – 15 minutes stirring, until apples are browned then add the schnapps and cook for another minute or so and then let the mixture cool.
In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, the corn syrup the melted butter and the flour. Beat until smooth then add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until smooth.
Put the apple mix into the pie shells. Pour the custard on top. Put the pecans on top of that, pushing them into the mix a bit – gently. Bake for about an hour in the lower part of the oven until crusts are golden and the custard is set (toothpick test). If you need to – at about 40 minutes check to see if pies need to be covered with tin foil to keep the top and edges from getting too brown. Cool – and eat and eat and eat.

As said last night by Ct Bob: Voila!

Christy,
I agree completely. I would have loved to be there and I fit the description to a T (well, except that I post). I’m just an ordinary, middle class, middle aged, citizen mommy. I always vote, I pay my mortgage etc… but through political blogs I’ve been drawn much closer to political activism than in all my previous years. The relationship of blogs to political activism is really something new. Previously you had to actively join a group and read their mailings and since each group was balkinized (”save the whales!” “Free East Timor” ) your energy and your attention was equally compartementalized. Thanks to informative blogs like yours, communities like Kos, and the hundreds of other writers and commentators from around the country people like me are able to
keep an eye on a variety of topics on a daily basis
keep an eye on the strategic issues in local races from afar
keep an eye and lend a hand both locally and nationally
donate locally and nationally
keep in touch with local and national political reps about our feelings
and get mobilized on an emergency basis to go picket, leaflet, register, etc….

all this is new. But most new of all is the connection between writer and reader, a connection that main stream journalists have outright rejected. There is no mainstream journalist (and I”m the grand daughter of an old school serious journalist) who takes seriously their responsibility to progressive causes or even, frankly, to civil and constitutional discourse. They absolutely reject what they call partisanship and what I would call respect for readers and their legitimate interests.

well, this is all too long, but I wanted to say thank you for all you do here on this blog, and on other blogs. I think it is an important new organizing force, it certainly has been in my life. Consider me introduced!

aimai

GAWWWWWWD, that sounds gooood, imm! Oh man.

Roots, Grooves and Love to All

Divide and Conquer

….will be applied to firedoglake.

…..so I encourage everyone to keep fighting.

Morning Redd and All. I have been lurking and commenting a little,Sometimes I have so much I want to say, but all the spelling bee champs jump you,so by the time I correct all the errors I see I usually just quit.FDL is my sanity,my hope,and a place to know people like myself.OT.( I wonder why the story of the two missing soldiers has not hit the blogs).In closing,I have found that Christy is right the only way to survive till November is to get involved in you town and Continue to BLOG and BLOG. God Bless You All. NaNaPam

“Andy of the hot kilt”

are photos available anywhere?

Welcome, NaNaPam and all, and nemmind the spelling police (we talked about them last night and decided they’re NOT THE POINT here).

Okay, Immanentize — ante up. Here’s the Chess Pie recipe that I was talking about — got it from Southern Living, and it’s a true Southern fave.

BUTTERMILK CHESS PIE
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
5 lg. eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp. pure vanilla
2 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
3 Tbsp. orange juice
Pastry for 9-inch pie (I use the Pillsbury ones in a box, because frankly I just don’t have the time to make my own at the moment.)

Combine sugar and cornmeal in a large bowl; add eggs and buttermilk, stirring until blended. Stir in butter and next four ingredients, pour into pastry shell. (HINT: Make sure the citrus zests are finely minced — large pieces of peel in this pie are not so appealing.) Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes, or until set. Cool on wire rack; cover and chill. Yield: 8 servings.

For chocolate chess pie: Add 1/4 c. good quality cocoa to the filling (I use Ghirardelli.), substitute evaporated milk for the buttermilk (NOT sweetened, condensed milk, but plain old evaporated milk), and omit citrus rind and juice. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until set. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate shavings before serving.

UPDATE: Forgot to add, for a real Appalachian version of this, you do stacked pies. Make two chocolate chess pies and one orange chess — but you make them in a tart pan that has a removable bottom. Once the pies are cooled, you ease them out of the tart pans, and stack them up like a layer cake. When you slice through, you get a three-layer pie. Seriously decadent (it’s actually too much for me, so we do one pie at a time, but it’s a cultural thing, so I thought I would share it with everyone else).

Here’s a column about the conference written by yours truly. I think I “get it”. Maybe someone can enlighten me further, just in case I don’t…

Do You, Mr. Jones?
Crashing the gate one link at a time

by Alan Bisbort - June 15, 2006

The World This Week
¨Because something is happening here but you don´t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?¨
– Bob Dylan, ¨Ballad of a Thin Man¨

As they used to say in the 1960s, the revolution will not be televised. This still holds true. A revolution is taking place in this country and you wouldn´t know it if you watched TV. Indeed, the moment the first blogger set up shop on the Internet, TV news was rendered as obsolete as the manual typewriter. It´s going through the death throes now — shuffling anchors around, adding more info-tainment and angry white shouters — but why on earth would anyone with a shred of self-respect watch the idiot box when they can turn to the Internet and exchange ideas and weigh the thoughts of the best minds of their generation?

Jerome Armstrong and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, creators of the two most popular political blogs on the Internet — MyDD and Daily Kos, respectively — have written the first travel guide to this brave new world, called Crashing The Gate . In the process, they´ve demonstrated that anyone who cares enough about the future of this nation and world can ¨crash the gate¨ by creating a ¨community¨ on the net. Their book will one day be looked at in the same light as Rachel Carson´s Silent Spring or Bill McKibben´s The End of Nature . It´s a call to arms, the subtitle of which gives the perspective: ¨Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics.¨ And they walk the walk, too. I bought my copy off them personally at a packed bar in New Haven a few weeks ago and they spoke at length to all comers. All I could think to say was, ¨Thanks for keeping us sane the past five years.¨

At the same event — sponsored by the My Left Nutmeg blog — I also met Ned Lamont, the Senate candidate whose campaign was jumpstarted by the likes of Kos and MyDD. Jerome and Markos each gave short but impassioned speeches about the ¨people power¨ that will end the culture of Republican corruption and Democrat enabling (and losing) that has defined the past five years. The bar was packed but the crowd was united by one common trait: complete disgust with the direction the country is going. The mainstream media is, of course, missing this, the era´s most important political story. Instead, they´re sitting around going, ¨Hey, you´re not supposed to do that. That´s democracy, or something. You´re supposed to sit on your sofa and listen to O´Reilley lie about Malmedy, Matthews suck up to DeLay, Russert play patty cake with Cheney, and Coulter attack the widows of those killed at the World Trade Center!¨

This week, Markos reprised his act at the YearlyKos Convention in Las Vegas. For four days, he hosted panels and workshops, and attracted the likes of Gen. Wesley Clark, ambassador Joseph Wilson, as well as top bloggers like Jane Hamsher (firedoglake), Duncan Black (aka Atrios), retired CIA analyst Larry Johnson, Peter Daou at the Daou Report — in short, names that will be familiar to the vast majority after the GOP majority is eliminated this November and full regime change takes place in 2008. The convention also got under-the-mainstream-radar coverage from Air America radio and C-SPAN´s website. Even Maureen Dowd was sniffing around for an angle (expect a snarky putdown of the convention in her Times column within the week, likely focused on participants´ wardrobes).

Meanwhile, in Congress, the fix is in for the telecommunications industry. The House did the bidding of its corporate masters this week by shooting down the Net Neutrality bill — intended to keep the telecommunications companies from hijacking and privatizing the Internet — which now goes to the U.S. Senate. It may fail this go-round but its day is coming, as more empowered people ¨crash the gate.¨

As they also used to say in the 1960s, you´re either part of the solution or part of the problem. Likewise, while we´re crashing the gate, you can either join in or get out of the way.

Send comments to
Email editor@hartfordadvocate.com

‘When people think, America wins.’ ~ Bill Clinton

~~~

Also, tried, tested and truly delicious;

http://www.foodnetwork.com/foo.....53,00.html

~~~

For me the pie is sweet enough to not add sugar to the whipped cream. A chocolate crust is bonus.

Ok - so I don’t really do desserts. But I do a fine lasagna, which I’d be happy to share:

1. Remove tray from box.
2. Cut film cover to vent.
3. Cook on High for 4 minutes.
4. Remove cover from tray (important, or your cheese product will stick to your plastic stuff)
5. Continue cooking on 50% for 4-7 minutes (ooh the tricky microwave manipulation part - just stick with it - after a few times, it’ll become second nature) (and as for the 4-7 minute part, I recommend 6:30).
6. After cooking, let stand for 5 minutes. (fwiw, I consider this part to be entirely optional.)

Enjoy!!

P.S. I would have also put my Chicken Alfredo recipe here too, but - it’s pretty much the same.

NaNaPam
Welcome and don’t worry about spelling — I certainly never do. The etiquette here at FDL is people help correct the front page post, but no one has EVER corrected my horrible spelling/typos in the comments. I occassionally self-correct when it looks horrible or the meaning is lost, but I believe it is rude to correct other’s spelling in comments (self serving attitude, I know). :~)

the Ladies here got smart: they simply deputized some of the spelling police — now posts get quickly corrected and quietly !

Oooooog, Christy — Chess Pie Nirvana! Wowf!

Awright, here’s my entry:

KIWI - STRAWBERRY TART

An easy-to-make, refreshing dessert for all seasons (in December here in lotusland, it goes by “Christmas Lights Tart”).

Pastry for one 9-inch pie
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla or [better yet] 2 tablespoons Cointreau
1 1/2 to 2 cups whole fresh strawberries, stemmed
1 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced into thin discs
1/4 cup apricot jam

Pre-heat oven to 425. Roll out pastry to 1/8-inch thickness; fit into a 9-inch false-bottomed tart pan. Cover bottom pastry with foil [c’mon, NOT the tinfoil from your hat — use fresh]; cover foil with dried beans, rice or pie weights. Bake pastry shell at 425 until sides brown and puff away from pan (about 12 minutes). Remove weights and foil; cool pastry completely. Reduce oven heat to 325.

In a bowl beat egg yolks; add cream, sugar and vanilla or Cointreau; stir to combine. Pour mixture into cool pastry shell and bake at 325 until firm (about 35 minutes). Cool completely. Arrange strawberries, stem end down, around rim of tart; cover middle of tart with single layer of kiwi slices. Heat jam just until melted and brush over fruit with pastry brush.

To serve, lift tart from rim of pan and place on cake plate or pie stand; convey to table; graciously receive acclaim.

10-12 servings.

Good morning. I have been out here peering in and applauding for about six or eight months. My son even helped me create my own blog, but I don’t post nearly as often as any of you.

I watched what I could on C-Span of the Yearly Kos and want to thank all of you for your efforts and direction in a time when the voices of our culture are so demeaning, critical, and outrageously cruel.

There is hope and we are it. Off to play golf. With much gratitude,
Teresa Ann

jayt #14 Thanks, I have been waiting for a lasagna recipe now I have to clean my coffee off my screen, heh heh

That summer standard: potato salad. This recipe will serve six, maybe.

RICH POTATO SALAD
1/4 cup salad oil
2 tbsp vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 cups siced hot cooked potatoes
1 cup ripe olives, pitted and cut in slices
2 eggs, hard-cooked, shelled and diced
1 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped dill pickle
1/4 cup chopped pimento
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Blend the first four ingredients together; pour over the potatoes. Toss and set aside to cool.
Add the rest of the ingredients; toss and chill.

I just want to echo Christy. One of the real benefits to me of the coference was not being invited to some things becasue people don’t know who I am outside of FDL that much, and no one can pronounce my screen name. That left me space to meet readers, introduce Matt O. to Joe Wilson, etc. But rather than ramble on, I already see some newish screen names, and I want to give you a big shout out! More, please. . . pretty please?

If we get a good showing of lurkers surfacing, I’ll post my grandmother’s arroz con pollo recipe later. It will take a little time to write up.

Morning littermates! Hae a cookie recipe for you from my grandmother, it’s well-known in our hometown. But first some coffee please.

Guy in the kilt, think I saw your photo. Mmmm.
My husband won’t wear a kilt, he’s not Scottish but for some reason I married him anyway.

Imm, you are SO not off the hook ’til you fork over :) the recipe for your pecan pesto.

Lurkers–welcome! Trust me you couldn’t make any more mistakes here than I have! Maybe I’ll try to make a list after the break. Coffee break that is.

Man, Christy — I am so making that Chess Pie this weekend! Lotus, yum yum!

Tomato Pie!
The perfect summertime dish.

OK, pretend you have a thick southern accent (if you don’t) %u2013 here is my favorite very very bad joke which is sound based: How is a pie like my finger? My ring is on it. Ha ha ha ha!

At least 3 Large Tomatoes (red or green, your choice) thick sliced
Fresh Basil (10 leaves or more)
2 T fresh chives, chopped
2 cloves garlic (pressed or minced)
Salt
Pepper
2/3 Cup Mayonnaise (maybe a bit more)
1/2 Cup grated xtra sharp cheddar
1/2 Cup fresh grated Parmesan
1 Pie crust — pre baked and cooled.

Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and let them stand for 20 minutes or so. Mix up the mayo, parmesan, cheddar, basil and chives. Place the tomatoes in the crust, cover with the mixture and bake for about 30 minutes. SOME extravagant folks put crisp bacon into the mix and sprinkle it over the top before they bake the pie!

Well, Potch-a-koo-TEC, please get to work on that recipe while we welcome the de-lurkers.

“…and no one can pronounce my screen name.”

Spanish is such a rigorously phonetic language in spelling so that with a few simple rules, Pachacutec is easily pronounced. Quechua (the most widely used indigenous language of the Americas) is usually written with Spanish spelling so that too shouldn’t be insurmountable …

I am a kindergarten teacher and have been teaching in a public school for 31 years. I am happily married, love my job and have two grown children. In order to stave off feelings of hopelessness when I realize how seriously our American experiment is being challenged I come home from school, sit at my computer and listen to AirAmerica. Then I spend hours reading my blogs. Why? This is OUR country and it has been wholly taken over by corporations whose interests are entirely inconsistent with the needs of our citizens. My blogs suggest ways to engage in the process of taking back what we have lost under Bush and support my desire to be part of the solution. I thank FDL for your efforts on behalf of those at most risk during these perilous times.

Immm at 4 — OMG — that pie recipe is a keeper. I’m going out to buy ingredients for that one today. Thanks so much for sharing it. :)

Whoops, imm — what do those question-marks equal?

(Side note: *ilson: I actually did a panel at the very close of the conference, and the panelists, other than the guys from MyDD were like, “Who? Whuh?” Funny stuff.)

I began lurking around DailyKos in 2003, I started commenting in 2004 sporadically and put up a couple of diaries. I used the blogroll to find other interesting blogs (like this one).

On a parallel path, I changed my party affiliation from Independent to Democrat in 2003. I joined the ACLU in 2003. I voted for Dean in the primary. I gave money to Kerry in 2004 and walked CD-4 for Stan Matsunaka. I have given literally thousands to various causes, candidates, and the ACLU since 2004. I will continue to give.

Meanwhile, I cancelled my subscription to the NY Times in 2004. I cut back the subscription on my local paper to Sundays only. I stopped watching TV news. I began to consume my news via links. DailyKos links to Firedoglake to the Washington Post to Glen Greewald to whereever. The best news is the news you find. I started watching the Daily Show.

Yea, things have changed. BushCO motivated the change and blogs have provided the means to communicate and protect the United States. If you can get me this involved in politics, things have changed. I’m not quitting until BushCO and his ilk are out of power.

aimai at 5 — great intro — so glad you pulled up a chair. :)

“wants change”
Me Too!!

great handle! Simple, yet direct.

Hi Teresa Ann at 18 - your linky no worky.

NaNaPam at 8 — don’t let the spelling police get you down — I don’t, and look how much I post. LOL Seriously, though, welcome and post whenever you like. Heaven knows I make enough spelling errors for everyone combined. *g*

Lotus — OOOPS cut and paste from Word which converted the fractions….

2/3 cup Mayonaise
1/2 cup grated xtra sharp cheddar
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan

Pach,

I have a really great tortilla soup, Sopa Azteca, recipe…. Trade?

Reddhedd: While reading the internets the last couple of days, I was very surprised at how there are many out there who have been laughing about the YearlyKos convention. They remark about how there was also another convention in Vegas the same weekend that had 16,000 attend. Others say that more people go to a movie on a Tuesday night.

I think the thing they are missing is that each attendee is multiplied by the people who are contacted oce they get home. Take firedoglake, for instance. How many readers are there who actually attended the conference on line. And DailyKos, how many read there on an average day. And Marcy, and Matt O…..

If someone has a little time on their hands, it would be very interesting to create a spreadsheet on blogmeisters who attended the Vegas event and the number of readers they attract on a daily basis. I think the total on the bottom of this spreadsheet will give us all a better number to work with on the actual number who attended, versus the actual number who physically attended the affair.

After all, isn’t this how the MSM operates? They base their hourly “news sessions” on the number of viewers tuning in. Please, someone, let’s figure out how many people tuned in to the YearlyKos event? Count me in virtually please.

Got it, imm. Lawksamussy, I don’t know which one of your pies to OD on first, but I’ll soon find out!

OK, egregious? Meta? Others lurking?

After election 2004, I was so despondent the only thing I could do was watch the Food Network. The following recipe is from Paula Deen. Because it’s pumpkin, it’s better for Fall/Winter. It’s a great substitute for the tradional pumpkin pie. My favorite pumpkin pie is made with fresh pumpkin instead of canned, but this recipe works best with canned. And it’s quite pretty in a glass trifle bowl.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix
1 (5.1-ounce) package cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional

Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

# # #

I have a recipe for a frozen strawberry yogurt pie somewhere. That’s more a summer treat. Will look for it and report back later.

The mainstream media, including NPR, mostly dealt with the conference by derision. NPR compared it to a conference of Trekkies.

Live long and prosper, Beel!

Alan at 12 — great way to start the conversation. Speaking just for me, though, I have no desire to replace the corporate media. What I want is for them to concentrate more on truth and less on teh faux “balance” meme that seems to have sprung up everywhere. (Talked about this on the media panel, so I won’t repeat it ad naseum here for everyone.) For me, the single most important thing about this medium is that it reminds people that THEY have the power to change the status quo — and it reminds the politicians and the media that the rest of us have our own minds that we will make up, and that they can respect that or move over for someone who will.

Very important stuff. Thanks so much for sharing your article!

I’m a daily lurker here. Love the site.

How about some tasty rib eye steaks?

Makes 4 servings

Customers tell us this is the best rib eye they have ever had. It starts with a great cut of meat and a hot grill: proof that good food doesn’t have to be difficult to make.

* 4 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 (10-ounce) rib-eye steaks
* 2 tablespoons minced garlic
* 6 tablespoons Essence (recipe follows)

Preheat the grill to high. Brush the olive oil over both sides of the steaks. Rub in the garlic and liberally season both sides of the steak with the Essence. Place the steaks on the hottest part of the grill and sear both sides to seal in the juices. Transfer the steaks to a cooler part of the grill and continue cooking until the desired degree of doneness, turning once. We like serving this with caramelized onions and mashed potatoes.

ESSENCE

Makes 2/3 cup

The Essence seasoning is one that we make from scratch to get the perfect combination of flavor and spice. We use it in a variety of recipes.

* 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
* 2 tablespoons salt
* 2 tablespoons garlic powder
* 1 tablespoon black pepper
* 1 tablespoon onion powder
* 1 tablespoon cayenne
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

Mix the paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, oregano, and thyme together in bowl. Store in an airtight container.

Note: This rub is delicious on beef.

Source: http://www.brothersjudd.com/bl.....t_217.html

jayt at 14 — LOL, we make that same lasagna here as well on occasion. :)

lotus at 17 — wow, that sounds yummy. And lovely to look at as well — who could ask for more in a food? *g* Thanks so much for sharing that.

Teresa Ann — welcome! So happy you dropped by, and hope you’ll keep doing so. May you avoid shanks and sink all your putts today. (Unlike me every time I hit the links…)

I am sitting here, more coffee, cutting and pasting all the recipes and sadly waiting for the Comcast guy to fix my modem or figure out what is wrong with our cable. I may have to take a break to get this dang pipeline fixed. If I go, know that I will be back.

I am so hungry right now!

ilson at 9 - guy in kilt photos on streetprophets.com - you might have to search a bit for photos of the interfaith service at yk.

I am a lurker here but found YK to be a transformational experience for me(a geezer mom, over 50 with an adopted son, now age 7). I was at the FDL breakfast, the panel, but often around the streetprophets quilt table (I am one of the lucky people who made the first quilt.)

And yeah, I feel like I should have a degree in Plameology by now, for all the time I spend on line reading! It was great to see you and our heroes Joe and Larry(I think I yelled at them in the hotel hallway, “Yeah, two heroes!”).

PJ at 20 — well, that’s gonna come in handy the next time we BBQ. Yummy! Thanks for sharing that one.

Here are my cousin Faer’s Pakistani Meatballs:

Meatballs:
1 lb Hamburger
8 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon ginger
1.5 teaspoon red pepper
3 tablespoons chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon yogurt
1 teaspoon garamasala
1 egg
Several hard boiled eggs cut to meatball size preference.

Mix egg, onion, spices, yogurt, and let it sit for a few hours before you mix it with the meat. After the meatball mix is finished, form the meatballs around the egg pieces. I like to quarter large eggs.

Meatball Sauce:
3 T. melted butter or ghee
2 T. ginger
1.5 t. garamasala
.5 t. coriander
8 cloves minced garlic
.25 cup grated onion
.5 cup yogurt
3 chopped squished tomatoes
chopped green onion stalks

Put onions and gralic in butter unitl soft and then add spices, stirring and theadd yogurt and little wateer to make a nice sauce. Add the tomoatoes and make sure to smash them. Add green onions and then seperately brown meatballs and add them to the sauce. Let simmer for one hour. Add water as needed.

Raita- cooling sauce to help with the burn
1 cup or more yogurt
smattering of fresh ginger and fresh cilantro
cumin to taste

Serve with rice and nan.

I’m a college administrator who saw Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth last night. It was an AMAZING documentary, so well done. I started reading Kos, Body and Soul, and Billmon back in the fall of 2003 with my now ex. I read FDL, Hullabaloo, Informed Comment, and TPM pretty much every day.

Christy,

Thanks for the invitation! I’ve been a lurker here for about a year, and FDL has been part of my daily routine since then. Classic FDL: I’ve been gearing up to dive right in, introduce myself, make a few comments, and voila! This morning’s post.

Thanks to you and Jane and Pach and everyone for your incredible effort and passion and style. After working the election in Ohio in November 2004, my cynicism and bitterness basically resulted in inertia. You guys, and Digby, Kos, and Atrios, reminded me we can do this and rejuvenated me. And thanks for that.

Like others, I arrived here because of Plame, and I was hugely impressed with the analysis and information that I wasn’t getting anywhere else. I stayed because of the community, the brilliant comments, and your thorough debunking of all things wingnut.

Looking forward to working with you all en route to November 2006!

So, hi! FDLers, rock on.

Fido

Just this AM my husband got peeved at me for talking back to CNN, re;Bushs bounce in polls @CNN he has a 5% jump,but I can come here and see (we are not alone we have blogs) like so many of you I am tired of all the hate that comes from the repugs,THEY made this mess that has become OUR Country. Then the news??? reports are HOW THE DEMOCRATS ARE DIVIDED,to them I say ” Keep on thinking that” ,They will Never under stand how WE can have an indepentent mind, and sill be function as TRUE BLUEBLOODED AMERICANS.

imm at 23 — oh lordy, that tomato pie sounds amazing. With a fresh green salad and some lemonade, I’d be in heaven. Thanks so much for sharing it. (Is anyone else getting really hungry this morning?)

years ago, I had fun baking “gingerbread boys” — classical, simple and tasty. Then my sense of political correctness got to me so I had to make equally “gingerbread girls”. At first it was just two chocolate chips on the chest. Then it got elaborate and ended up pornographic. I scandalized a Halloween Party one year with my anatomically-correct gingerbread folk …

wants change at 26 — well said, and fantastic screen name. Welcome to the lake. :) And thanks so much for teaching — my mom was a teacher for more than 30 years and, as a group, I think teachers are the single most valuable and yet undervalued professionals in our society. So thank you, on behalf of every single child whose life has been touched by yours — thank you for everything you do.

Fun fact: Didja know that “pie” (meat, fruit, vegetable, cheese) was the primary food item enjoyed by pioneers and farmers throughout the 19th century in this country? Simple to make, kept for a while, and was easy to eat in the fields.

*ilson at 55: I used to know someone who did that. You didn’t by chance live in the DC area in the 70s, did you?

Well, when the MSM is making fun of trekkies, they completely miss that (a) they nearly all are adults; (b) paid their own way; and (c) aren’t in costume. (I do recommend the museum part of the Trek thing: for one thing, they have a real moonrock. The ride could use some updating, but it’s not bad.)

Another receipt:

LEMON CAKE PIE

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter
2 lemons, rind and juice
2 eggs, separated
1 cup milk

Sift together sugar, flour, and salt. Add melted butter, juice and grated lemon rind, beaten egg yolks, milk, and eggwhites beaten stiff.
Pour into a pastry-lined plate and bake in a slow oven.

Notes: Use small to medium lemons, or you’ll have too much lemon.
Slow oven means about 275F.
You can bake this in a dish without the crust.

Kenevan at 30 — well said, and welcome. Thanks so much for all your hard work on the campaign scene — very much appreciated!

The American people are not disengaged, Christy. It’s the “Mainstream” that seeks to disengage us and put the likes of Joe Klein in our place.

Oooo, lina, MORE delight. I may lose my mind on here this morning!

Christy: WE MUST USE THIS AS THE START OF THE FDL COOKBOOK: FOOD FOR THE REVOLUTION!

Imm, didn’t meta say she had to work this morning but would look in on us later? Can’t wait for her pastry-chef expertise.

And wasn’t she the one who brought up onion pie? Then I mentioned Eudora Welty/Katherine Anne Porter’s recipe for same. Here that is, as it appears on page 272 of the 2001 (17th) printing of Southern Sideboards, by the Jackson, Mississippi, Junior League (I hope — can’t get Preview to work this morning):

Onion Pie

CRUST:
Lump of butter size of an egg
Rounded teaspoon lard
Heaping teaspoon baking powder
Salt
Fairly heaping cup of flour (sift before measuring)
Cold sweet milk [Southern for “not buttermilk”]
1 egg yolk (optional)
FILLING:
3 large sweet Spanish onions
1 large Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon flour
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 cup whipping cream

CRUST: Work together the softened butter, lard, baking powder, salt and flour. Add enough cold sweet milk to make a good firm dough. Well-beaten yolk of an egg may be added if desired. Line an 8-inch pie plate with rolled pastry. FILLING: Shave onions fine; fry in butter to a nice brown, really brown and much reduced. Add flour. Stir well; salt and pepper to taste. Beat the eggs till pretty light; mix with cupful cream; fold them into the fried onions gently till perfectly mixed. Pour into the crust and bake about 30 minutes or till brown and puffy at about 400F. Serve at once. Serves 4.
Miss Eudora Welty

This is from a recipe Katherine Anne Porter gave me, which she got in France; these
little pies are served hot at the wine festivals along with the bottle of wine.

Eudora Welty, America’s first lady of letters, is a native of Jackson and a sustaining
member of the Jackson Junior League. A noted short story writer and photographer,
Miss Welty won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for her novel THE OPTIMIST’S DAUGHTER.

ccmask at 37 — exactly so. And once you start contemplating how much larger that could be, you begin to see the value in all of this. And it’s potential for change. An educated, motivated group of citizens is a very, very powerful force for change. And I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be a part of this particular group. :)

This recipe is great, especially since strawberry season is imminent. Believe me, you will like it.

Tuna Burritos

Ingredients (makes 5-6, doubles easily):

your favorite tortillas
1 good-sized tuna steak
fresh strawberries, sliced not chopped
several garlic cloves (3 is fine), minced
crunchy fresh greens, torn (Romaine is preferred)
sweet bell peppers, sliced
goat or jack cheese, shredded (or the one you like)
black beans (canned can work)
fruit salsa (I prefer Mrs. Renfros Raspberry Chipotle for this, really perfect)
chipotle powder
cinnamon
cumin
lime juice to taste
sour cream
guacamole (optional, make it your way)
Spice rub (I use Emeril’s Essence, homemade only)
1 1/2 cup tomato juice (optional)
1 1/2 cup orange juice (optional)
1/2 bunch fresh thyme (optional)
balsamic vinegar (optional)
honey (optional)
spciy brown mustard or dijon (optional)

1. Prepare the grill and the steak. Rub the tuna generously with the spice rub. I actually have found Emeril’s essence is quite good but don’t buy it, it ain’t the same creature. The recipe is:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Just mix well. If you add a 1 tablespoon of Chipotle, it is perfect, although its not really Creole anymore.

When the grill is good and hot, grill the steak for 1 minute on a side per inch of the steak’s thickness. This give’s you a nice grilled exterior and a ruby, raw inside. Double the time if you want it drier (although please don’t, what did that tuna ever do to you?)

Let tuna stand a couple minutes when done, then cut it into 1/8-1/4 inch strips.

2. Make the beans. Some people treat black beans from a can like a disease but I find when in a hurry I can doctor some up that are really tasty. So two ways:

Dried Beans:
Boil the tomato and orange juices together. At the boil, add 1 cup dried black beans, the garlic, and the thyme (you will remove later so tie them). Reduce to simmer and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until the texture suits you. Stir occasionally and start tasting for texture early. After about a half hour (let the beans get started), add 1 tablespoon of cumin (more or less to taste) and 1-2 teaspoons of chipotle powder (more or less to taste) and cinnamon to taste. Add the cinnamon one teaspoon at a time until you have a nice hint of cinnamon but nothing overpowering. It will add a mole-like taste to the beans.

Canned Beans:
1 can of mostly drained black beans (I like Goya for this). In a skillet on medium-high, with a little oil of your preference, start the galic (put in the cold pan and heat with the oil). As the garlic just starts to pop in the oil, add 1 tablespoon of cumin (more or less to taste) and 1-2 teapsoons of chipotle powder (more or less to taste). Once spices have cooked in the oil and garlic for a bit and as the garlic is fragrant and just starting to brown, add the beans. Fry the beans for a minute or two to start getting the oil flavors into the beans. Then add a little bit at a time until taste, a little balsamic vinegar, lime juice, honey, and mustard. You want to create a tart, mildly sweet taste but only as strong as you like it. I use about a tablespoon of vinegar, a couple teaspoons of honey, and maybe a tablespoon of mustard but I don’t measure, I do things in steps till is tastes good.

In both cases, you want beans that are sticky, not watery, but not dry. You can add a little more juice if you need to to get the texture right. Feel free to doctor the beans further as your wont, they just need to be flavorful with a tart, sweet, mild cinammon flavor to them. I often toss in my favorite hot sauces or cayenne or sliced jalepenos to perk them up. Have at it, just do things gradually.

3. Fixins: have the bell pepper (prefer red), greens, salsa, strawberries, cheese, and sour cream (and/or guacamole) ready to serve. Have people make their own burritos - beans first, cheese, the tuna stips, then slices of strawberry, salsa, then crunchy stuff.

I have found eliminating the cheese and sour cream altogether is fine if folks want to cut the dairy out.

A very flexible burrito design, the combo of strawberries, the black beans the the spicy grilled tuna is really dynamite. I have seldom had people go so nuts for a dish as this, and I have made some pretty tasty meals in my life.

lina: since the age of 14, I have lived in Indiana all my life (except for a couple of summers in Greenwich Village: 1959 & ‘60)

Lina at 40 — whoa, that sounds amazing! Thanks so much — definitely a keeper!

I love to cook.

One of the delightful and bewildering things about moving from the midwest to the SF Bay area, though, was the fish counter at the supermarket. In November and December, when the Dungeones (sp?) crab season begins, crab is cheaper than catfish.

No, that was not a typo.

My midwestern brain just could not process that one. First, who BUYS catfish? You go out and catch them back behind your house or at your neighbor’s farm pond. (I’m sure midwestern grocers carried catfish, but I don’t ever remember seeing anyone actually buy it.) Second, crab is cheaper? Wow - culture shock.

But I got over it. Damn, that crab is good. Still, when you’ve got a jonesin’ for some catfish, you gotta do what you’ve gotta do . . .

Prepare the catfish: Get out a deep dish pie plate and two fairly large mixing bowls. In the pie plate, put a couple cups of flour. In the second, put three eggs and a cup or two of milk, mixing them together. (Don’t sweat the measurements, folks; it’s catfish, not rocket science.) In the third, mix equal parts flour and cornmeal, then add pepper to taste. Take the catfish and dredge (not Drudge!) it in the flour, then dip it in the milk and eggs, and finally into the cormeal mix. Set it aside on a plate, until you’ve got enough fish to fill your fryer basket (or skillet). If it’s humid, and the fish are sticky in the breading, put them back in the cornmeal mix for a second dusting.

Fry the fish as you’d ordinarily fry fish.

Along with the fish, the best sauce is a mix of ketchup, horseradish, and a touch of worcheshire. Mix according to your own taste, and then serve alongside.

The whole three bowl prep process can be done alone, but is much more productive and fun if there are at least two of you. Three is better, and if you’ve got four, then they can do the frying and serve the others drinks.

My four year old (an Iron Chef in training) loves to do this. One of us keeps our hands dry, while the other does the wet. If your wet hand gets too messy, step aside, wash your hands in the sink, then get back to work - but you can do this and keep your hands relatively clean if you religiously keep one hand reserved for pulling the fish out of the milk and eggs (the wet hand) and the other hand dry for everything else.

Serve with a nice non-oaky Chardonnay (avoid Napa and Sonoma for this - try Monterrey County wines) or a cool/cold beer. My longago HS classmates swore by PBR, but I just swear at PBR. Try a good ale instead.

Enjoy!

I grew up in the deep south, and the first few years after I left home, got married and had children, I thought I had to do everything the hard way, including the cooking. My sister took me aside on the phone one day and told me about a simple peach cobbler recipe that works for peaches, blueberries, blackberries (although I prefer deep-dish with dumplings for blackberries):

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Ingredients:
1 c self-rising flour
1 c milk
1 c sugar (variable..and now I’m experimenting with other sweeteners)
1 stick butter
1 large can of peaches (and some of the syrup) if you don’t have fresh or fresh-frozen peaches

Use butter to lightly coat the dish.
Flour and sugar first, add milk and stir a bit to get out the worst of the lumps. Add peaches and a bit of the juice. Slice butter over the mixture. Bake until brown on the top. Serve hot (my family loves the stuff with a scoop of vanilla ice cream).

Christy, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you do here. I’m not an articulate person. This makes me good support staff. I admire those of you who can jump right in so articulately. Regardless, we’re on the same page. I want my country back and I’m willing to do what I can and what must be done to get it back.

lotus, Wow!

Put that on the table next to the Tomato Pie!

years ago on NPR, I heard a great essay by Verta Mae Grodner about the joys of reading cookbooks — I have been reading with gusto your recipes today and analyzing what makes them work …

Beel at 41 — well, having been to many a science fiction writer’s convention in my time, it was somewhat like that (well, without the costuming from some of the fans, anyway). But dismissing the folks involved derisively is rude and arrogant, especially given their commitment to political action. “Those people” are the same folks who go to PTA meetings and company picnics and whatever else goes on in communities all over the place — they are America. And the folks who reported on the conference would have done well to remember that — because they are also people that I like to call “potential former subscribers” to the publications for which these folks write. ;-)

Hi everyone!

FDL is a great community that I’m compelled to touch everyday. Although I have many activist friends in real life I feel I’m getting to know many more across the country I might never know because of FDL. I would have loved to be at YK in person but it was second best to watch some of it on C-Span and read the comments and feel like I was experiencing the connections.

All together we are the people who will turn things around and get our country back. It doesn’t hurt that many of us are “older” and know what this country can be. Now that we all know there is this wider comunity, it will contiue to grow and it will not be stopped by anything they throw in our path.

We will also spin out other non-politicians like Tester and Lamont to bring back a government for and by the people. And, we will work like maniacs to get them elected.

I have to go to work now but here’s the recipe for the best Pumpkin Pie…

9″ pie pan lined with pie pastry/crust
2 eggs beaten to a froth
1 1/2 cups fresh pureed pumpkin
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup apricot jam
Graham Cracker Topping (recipe below…
prepare while the pie is baking for the first 20 minutes)

Graham Cracker Topping:
1/2 cup fine graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup very finely chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsps melted butter

Combine crumbs, sugar, nuts, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and mix until crumbly.
——————————————————–
Directions…Preheat oven to 350 degrees (pie will be baked for 20 minutes and then for another 30 minutes). Combine beaten eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and stir with a wire whisk until blended. Blend in evaporated milk, water, and apricot jam. Pour into prepared pastry shell. Bake until custard is partially cooked, about 20 minutes. Carefully remove the partially cooked pie from the oven and sprinkle the Graham Cracker Topping crumbs evenly over the entire top. Return the pie to the oven and bake about 30 minutes longer, until the Topping is browned and the filling jiggles when the pan is gently shaken. Remove the pie from the oven and set aside to cool (the custard will continue to cook to firm it up). Serve warm or cold.

CowPunk at 44 — oooh, that dry rub with fresh garlic sounds awesome. Thanks so much for sharing it. And welcome to the land of the delurked. (Great name, btw…)

CowPunk at 44:

Essence? You wouldn’t happen to have a Food Network TV show or four, would you? . . .

Welcome, and don’t be a stranger. Well, don’t be any stranger than the rest of us, anyway.

Kenevan at 50 — oh, man, I am so craving so naan right now. Thanks so much for sharing that one! :)

You bet, imm 69 — rat next to Kenevan’s cousin’s meatballs!

(Delirium sets in . . .)

I blogged about this locally, as a way of sharing the wealth with which I felt I had been blessed at YK, saying in part:

Even the lurkers had plenty to contribute: I heard enough insight and sharp analysis from fellow blog nobodies to have gotten new hope about the state of our nation. The best part is that these were regular people, with jobs and families and different points of view, but united in a common desire to take their country back from the bastards who stole it.

mommybrain…

If you happen to see this re: previous thread “Beggars and Thieves” #278. I know what you mean about the nuances between Van Nuys-Sepulveda and Colo. Blvd. We guys did it all. Through the LA corridor from Newport thru Huntington, Costa Mesa, Redondo and Long Beach, all the way to San Fernando and north to Ventura. Do you recall frats, surfers, hard boys and hodaddies and tar-balls? I can even remember when S. Fer. had orange groves. I just luv it when I run across someone who knows the old LA area! Back then So. Cal. was a wonderful fantasy land. Tailor-made and custom cut for the young. Full of dreams, the beach, parties and summers which seemed endless.

oltex @77: well said.

Christy Hardin Smith said: This is absolutely right. One of the things that I found most fascinating — and fun — about the YearlyKos convention, and about my short time at the Take Back America Conference earlier this week as well — was the large number of folks who introduced themselves to me, but who had never posted a comment here at FDL. (emphasis mine).

I looked for you during the long time I was at the Take Back America Conference, but alas, I missed you, and missed all the other bloggers who decided that YearlyKos was a more important use of their time. Perhaps it was, I can’t say. I do know that there were twice as many in attendance at Take Back America as at Yearly Kos, many of whom are avid blog readers (my “read daily” list has expanded to the point that there is now a sub-section entitled really read daily) and who, like myself, kept wandering over two the two rows of tables reserved for bloggers empty or nearly so for long periods of time. Perhaps many were at sessions recording reactions on the hoof for publication later, I don’t know. I suspect, however, that given the paucity of comments about Take Back America and the oceans of speculation about what, if anything, YearlyKos meant, most of the biggies in left-leaning blogdom were conspicuous by their absence.

Forgive me for harping on this point…I’ve made it on other boards which review Yearly Kos. Yearly Kos was badly timed and badly placed. It forced persons with good reason to attend both to choose between them, for both financial and time reasons. What a shame. If the left cannot coordinate it’s expanding core of experimental new media and its hard core, on the ground, nuts and bolts, cause oriented, election oriented workers, it creates the opposite of synergy. Washington DC could certainly have hosted YKos and TBA simultaneously. The Hilton probably could have accommodated both. If not a mini-hike would have been all that would have been necessary to get from one perfectly good conference hotel to another. If not simultaneous conference, why not segued conferences? Overlap a day or a few hours. Offer two-fer rates, bright people should be able to figure this out. We’re the bright people, remember? And we’ve got an election to win and ideas to promote and people to convince.

Sorry I haven’t contributed a recipe.