Random Thoughts From a Confused Mind

Random Thoughts From a Confused Mind

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( 11:02 AM ) MB
The countdown contiues...Potato Icebox Rolls:
This recipe is from Southern Living. (Many of my favorite recipes have come from this magazine.)

1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1 cup milk
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 tps. salt
2 large eggs
1 medium baking potato, cooked and mashed (about 1 cup)
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter or stick margarine, melted

Stir together yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/3 cup warm water in a 1-cup glass measuring cup; let mixture stand 5 minutes.

Heat milk, shortening, remaining sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. (Do not boil.)

Place mashed potato in a large mixing bowl. Pour hot milk mixture over potato, and let cool. Beat in eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer. Add yeast mixture. Gradually add flour, stirring until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface, and cut with a floured 1 1/2-inch round cutter, adding flour as needed.

Brush rolls with melted butter; make a crease across each roll with a knife, and fold in half. Place in lightly greased cakepan. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

Bake at 375° for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned.

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( 10:51 AM ) MB
A thread with comments about the upcoming Leonid meteor storm on Slashdot. Among my favorites were (with my comments):

4AM?? What's with these bozos. How do they ever expect astronomy to become popular if they schedule these sort of events at such ridiculous hours?
Listen up, NASA; next year, schedule the Leonids for a more reasonable time. Say, 10PM.
(This is why it's a geek event, only coders are up that late.)
Hey, they left off the most important step for me! Get out of the Pacific Northwest, go somewhere you can see the sky.
Oh well, I can always pretend the raindrops are comets.
(I'm far from the Pacific Northwest, but I can relate...we have rain, rain, rain in our forecast too.)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the same image as this [nasa.gov] (click image for full-res) which doesn't purport to show the 'wasted' light but is being used to study urbanisation [nasa.gov]?
(Yep, looks the same to me.)
I thought the title said "Leonard Nimoy Shower Observation Tips" I could feel my eyes trying to rip themselves from my sockets. Whew, thank god for second glances.
(I could have done without that mental picture.)

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( 11:01 PM ) MB
Waldorf Salad:

2 cups apples, unpeeled-diced
1 cup celery, sliced
1/3 cup nuts, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Stir all ingredients together.

Serves 6.

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( 12:56 PM ) MB

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( 8:37 AM ) MB
Recipe countdown to Thanksgiving - Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes

(Well, not this far ahead, but a day before Thanksgiving.)
Serves 10.

8 cups peeled potatoes, cut into 1" pieces
2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 (3 oz. package) cream cheese
paprika, if desired

Cut butter and cream cheese into cubes, leave out to soften.

Place potato pieces in a large saucepan, covering with water. Add salt and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes (until potatoes are fork tender.) Drain.

Place potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Mash on low speed, increasing speed to medium. Add 1/4 cup milk, butter, and cream cheese. Beat until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Place in 3-qt. casserole dish and cover. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour remaining milk (1/2 cup) over potatoes. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Stir and continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with paprika and serve.
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      ( 10:59 PM ) MB
Recipe countdown to Thanksgiving - Peach and Raspberry Cobbler
3 large cans sliced peaches
1/2 cup sugar (divided into 1/4 cups)
1 package (10 oz.) frozen raspberries
2 Tbl. cornstarch
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
5 Tbl. butter
2/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together peaches, raspberries, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a 2-qt. baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir milk into the flour mixture just until the dough holds together.

Drop eight heaping spoonfuls onto the top of the hot fruit. Sprinkle the dough lightly with more sugar if desired. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until the crust has browned.
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      ( 9:14 PM ) MB
I started telling people about Zipzaps in early October...hope they all listened. Our local Radio Shack has a waiting list that probably has more names than the number of cars it will get. I hope that's not the case, but I know there won't be enough for everyone who wants one before Christmas. Right now I would guess that every 2 out of 3 calls the store gets is to ask about the Zipzaps...and it will only get worse as the holidays approach. On the plus side, they aren't just a holiday item and Radio Shack will continue to carry them.
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      ( 8:36 PM ) MB
I imaging that most people with a Web site do a bit of vanity surfing to see who links to them...looking through logs and Google backlinks. Not much of interest in my logs lately other than I am seeing more hits from JoeAnt, which is a good thing. In checking baclinks I found one that I hadn't seen before:
Hughson - a city in California, population 3,980...it's a nice site with lots of area information and links.

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( 5:25 PM ) MB
When I have listened to Dr. Laura (Schlessinger) sometimes I laughed, sometimes I couldn't believe what either she or the caller was saying, sometimes I even had to admit she had a point...usually when she was telling someone to take responsibility for their actions and that you need to do what is right even if it isn't what is easiest...although sometimes what she considers the right thing is a little, um, rigid (narrow?) Anyway, I found tongue in cheek letter to her amusing:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that you have pointed out that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with this?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations that are around us. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not Canadians. Can you clarify?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

Even worse, my son has cursed me. Leviticus 20:9 says that a child who curses his parents shall be put to death. Do you think you might testify on my behalf if I am tried for following God's law by putting my neighbor and my son to death?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 10:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 20:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear prescription glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev.24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev.20:14).

As you regularly judge callers to your radio show with references to your understanding of God's law, I know you have studied these things extensively. I am therefore confident that you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging

Sincerely,

Very confused

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      ( 1:04 PM ) MB
I finally fixed the problem I was having with my archive section. It had gotten annoying that none of the older posts could be reached through the archive...and I posted less often because of it. Now maybe I'll remember to post more regularly.

I also changed the font in my Mom's Kitchen site. I switched every page to Arial. I think it makes it easier to read. I added a few more recipes too. I haven't added any in a while because I've been so busy with the directory. I'm going to try to get more up in time for the holidays...maybe a section just for Christmas cookies. I love to bake cookies (which is good since my family loves to eat them), it's just that I find it harder and harder to make time to do it. I've baked large quantities of cookies for Christmas ever since I was in high school and I try to keep up the tradition although in the last few years I've cut back on the number of batches I make. I really need a large freezer so that I could make the doughs ahead of time and then spend a few days just baking.
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      ( 1:10 AM ) MB
Usually when I get a 404, I quickly move on. This site's 404 message lets you play Pong.
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      ( 12:48 AM ) MB
I was looking at my logs for my cooking site. I've been visited by a few bots already this month, googlebot and scooter being the most familiar ones. I also was crawled by TurnitinBot....this is a bot for Turnitin.com, a site which collects content on the Web so that educators can compare work turned in by students and check for plagerism. It's an interesting project, but I can't see much use in crawling my site.
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