What's new on your Holiday Menu this year?

We are normally very traditional (aka--a little boring) with our Thanksgiving menu. Everyone expects the Turkey, the mashed potatoes and gravy, the Sausage Dressing..... But every year I try to shake it up a bit with adding a new twist. I usually serve the cranberry/orange sauce from Trader Joes and of course the Canned sauce for the diehards. This year I'm doing the cranberry three ways and made a raw cranberry relish that may not make it till Thursday...It's that good. I chopped the bag of fresh cranberries with a whole navel orange in the food processor. Added a few good squeezes of honey and a diced apple. It's sweet tart and very fresh tasting. I may add some chopped pecans to it tomorrow.

What are you doing different this year?

What Isis Really Wants

What is the Islamic State?

"Where did it come from, and what are its intentions? The simplicity of these questions can be deceiving, and few Western leaders seem to know the answers. In December, The New York Times published confidential comments by Major General Michael K. Nagata, the Special Operations commander for the United States in the Middle East, admitting that he had hardly begun figuring out the Islamic State’s appeal. “We have not defeated the idea,” he said. “We do not even understand the idea.” In the past year, President Obama has referred to the Islamic State, variously, as “not Islamic” and as al-Qaeda’s “jayvee team,” statements that reflected confusion about the group, and may have contributed to significant strategic errors."...

"...Given everything we know about the Islamic State, continuing to slowly bleed it, through air strikes and proxy warfare, appears the best of bad military options. Neither the Kurds nor the Shia will ever subdue and control the whole Sunni heartland of Syria and Iraq—they are hated there, and have no appetite for such an adventure anyway. But they can keep the Islamic State from fulfilling its duty to expand. And with every month that it fails to expand, it resembles less the conquering state of the Prophet Muhammad than yet another Middle Eastern government failing to bring prosperity to its people."

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/


Interesting Article which basically endorses Isis as a Death Cult. Interestingly enough much of what is described here reminds me of what I learned back in the 70's in a Secular Religion class I took about Islam back in college. It boils down to religious fundamentalism and tribalism. So what do you do with a large swath of people who hate modernity yet use it's tools against it? How do you combat the irrational?

So about Howdy Gowdy!

Will he get kicked up the leadership rung after this performance? And how soon do we start hearing about his strong leadership skills?

Jjajangmyeon.....So easy....So Good!

If you are lucky enough to have an Asian Grocer around-- the black bean paste is easy to find. I haven't looked, but I bet you may even be able to get it on Amazon. I am loving this dish right now....but the SO is starting to wonder what's up with the black noodles all the time. You can sub the Korean noodles with a thick pasta like Percatelli or Buccatini but the korean noodles will just make it even better!

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/jjajangmyun

Here's the link to Bernies rally tonite in Seattle

Here's a link to the Live Feed of Bernie speaking in Seattle now!

Raging Grannies on now...Looks like a great crowd on a gorgeous day!

http://www.kirotv.com/s/news/live/

Harvard is offering a free on-line Science and Cooking course!

"During each week of this course, chefs reveal the secrets behind some of their most famous culinary creations — often right in their own restaurants. Inspired by such cooking mastery, the Harvard team will then explain the science behind the recipe.

Topics will include:

Soft matter materials, such as emulsions, illustrated by aioli
Elasticity, exemplified by the done-ness of a steak
Diffusion, revealed by the phenomenon of spherification, the culinary technique pioneered by Ferran Adrià.

You will also have the opportunity to become an experimental scientist in your very own laboratory — your kitchen. By following along with the engaging recipe of the week, taking precise measurements, and making skillful observations, you will learn to think like both a cook and a scientist. The lab is certainly one of the most unique components of this course — After all, in what other science course can you eat your experiments?"


I think I will start it today could be fun!

https://www.edx.org/course/science-cooking-haute-cuisine-soft-harvardx-spu27x-0#!