2 C. sifted unbleached flour
1 C. confectioner’s sugar
8 oz. unsalted butter
½ C. strained unsweetened cocoa powder
Fresh ground Espresso beans, medium not course or fine ground
1. Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat oven to 300˚. Line cookie sheets with baking parchment or aluminum foil. , shiny side up.
2. Place the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft. Add the sugar and beat to mix. Then add the flour and cocoa and beat until the dough holds together and is smooth.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl, form it into a ball, and flatten it slightly. Place the dough on a floured surface and turn over to flour both sides. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it is ½” thick.
4. Use a plain round cookie cutter preferably 1 ½” in diameter. Place the cookies 1” apart on a cookie sheet.
5. Place a small cup of water next to you. Dip your fingertip in the water, and with your fingertip wet the tops of a few cookies.
6. Carefully sprinkle some of the ground espresso on the wet cookies (about ¼ tsp. per cookie), covering only about half of the top of each cookie. Then with a dry fingertip, press gently on the espresso to press it into the dough a bit.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Watch carefully. They burn and become bitter before you know it.
Yield: About 40 cookies
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Which Apples Make the Perfect Pie?
Q. What kind of apples are best for pies?
A. Well, where are you and what time of year is it? The qualities you are looking for in apples for a pie are taste and texture. You want apples that have great flavor and don't turn to mush when you cook them. You don't necessarily just want sweet apples, though. Many people like a mix of sweet and tart apples in their pies.
Ideally, what you want are fresh, locally grown apples (or at least the right kind of apples grown in the right area) that hold their shape when cooked. Golden Delicious apples, which are native to the eastern half of the United States, are indeed delicious if they come from that part of the country. But those grown in the West or in Europe "have all the lure of a Styrofoam Christmas ornament," according to Frank Browning, author of An Apple Harvest (Canada, UK). Indeed, (eastern) Golden Delicious apples are the mainstream apples of choice for apple pies. When mixed with the tart Granny Smith apples, they make an excellent pie.
But if you have access to more than just the four or five varieties of apples found in most supermarkets year-round, you can raise your pie to new heights. You may have to be daring and seek out a farmers' market, but if you do, you'll be rewarded with apples that were picked when ripe and have not traveled from the far ends of the Earth.
Among the really good pie apples are Jonathan, Stayman-Winesap, Cox's Orange Pippin, and Jonagold, all of which provide a good mix of sweetness and tartness. Other sweet choices are Braeburn, Fuji, Mutsu, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, Rome Beauty, and Empire. Good tart baking apples include Idared, Macoun, Newton Pippin, and Northern Spy.
What you want to stay away from are the apples that become mushy when cooked. McIntosh and Cortland are the mainstream apples that lead that list.
A. Well, where are you and what time of year is it? The qualities you are looking for in apples for a pie are taste and texture. You want apples that have great flavor and don't turn to mush when you cook them. You don't necessarily just want sweet apples, though. Many people like a mix of sweet and tart apples in their pies.
Ideally, what you want are fresh, locally grown apples (or at least the right kind of apples grown in the right area) that hold their shape when cooked. Golden Delicious apples, which are native to the eastern half of the United States, are indeed delicious if they come from that part of the country. But those grown in the West or in Europe "have all the lure of a Styrofoam Christmas ornament," according to Frank Browning, author of An Apple Harvest (Canada, UK). Indeed, (eastern) Golden Delicious apples are the mainstream apples of choice for apple pies. When mixed with the tart Granny Smith apples, they make an excellent pie.
But if you have access to more than just the four or five varieties of apples found in most supermarkets year-round, you can raise your pie to new heights. You may have to be daring and seek out a farmers' market, but if you do, you'll be rewarded with apples that were picked when ripe and have not traveled from the far ends of the Earth.
Among the really good pie apples are Jonathan, Stayman-Winesap, Cox's Orange Pippin, and Jonagold, all of which provide a good mix of sweetness and tartness. Other sweet choices are Braeburn, Fuji, Mutsu, Pink Lady, Suncrisp, Rome Beauty, and Empire. Good tart baking apples include Idared, Macoun, Newton Pippin, and Northern Spy.
What you want to stay away from are the apples that become mushy when cooked. McIntosh and Cortland are the mainstream apples that lead that list.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
My Apple Pie Recipe
Pie Crust:
1 C. flour
½ t. salt
1/3 C. butter,lard, or shortening
2 T. water
• Put flour, salt, and butter in a tupperware container.
• Put lid on tightly and shake until crumbly.
• Add water and shake again until lump is formed.
• Roll out. Fold into quarters and transfer to the pie pan.
Filling:
5 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced(I use Granny Smith apples and I slice them thin)
¾ C. sugar
2 Tbls. flour
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
• Mix flour, sugar, and spices together.
Crumb Topping:
1 ½ C. flour
1 C. brown sugar
½ C. butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
• Mix together with pastry cutter until crumbly.
• Layer apples in prepared piecrust(if you do it right you can get more apples in the pie than if you just dump them in), sprinkling with sugar mixture as you go.
• Top with the crump topping(crumb topping is a lot easier to do than a regular topping. Yummier, too.)
• Bake at 425 F for 50 minutes.
• Cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
Monday, June 29, 2009
FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE
1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. Colt: The original point and click interface.
4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved.
11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace, know safety.No guns, no peace, no safety.
16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don't make more.
24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.
1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. Colt: The original point and click interface.
4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved.
11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns only have two enemies; rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace, know safety.No guns, no peace, no safety.
16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911: Government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control; it makes their jobs safer.
21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
22. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the gun control laws we ALREADY have; don't make more.
24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Longing within
All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.
And yet, after such a great number of years, no one without faith has reached the point to which all continually look. All complain, princes and subjects, noblemen and commoners, old and young, strong and weak, learned and ignorant, healthy and sick, of all countries, all times, all ages, and all conditions.
A trial so long, so continuous, and so uniform, should certainly convince us of our inability to reach the good by our own efforts. But example teaches us little. No resemblance is ever so perfect that there is not some slight difference; and hence we expect that our hope will not be deceived on this occasion as before. And thus, while the present never satisfies us, experience dupes us and, from misfortune to misfortune, leads us to death, their eternal crown.
What is it, then, that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself. He only is our true good, and since we have forsaken him, it is a strange thing that there is nothing in nature which has not been serviceable in taking His place; the stars, the heavens, earth, the elements, plants, cabbages, leeks, animals, insects, calves, serpents, fever, pestilence, war, famine, vices, adultery, incest. And since man has lost the true good, everything can appear equally good to him, even his own destruction, though so opposed to God, to reason, and to the whole course of nature.
-Blaise Pascal
And yet, after such a great number of years, no one without faith has reached the point to which all continually look. All complain, princes and subjects, noblemen and commoners, old and young, strong and weak, learned and ignorant, healthy and sick, of all countries, all times, all ages, and all conditions.
A trial so long, so continuous, and so uniform, should certainly convince us of our inability to reach the good by our own efforts. But example teaches us little. No resemblance is ever so perfect that there is not some slight difference; and hence we expect that our hope will not be deceived on this occasion as before. And thus, while the present never satisfies us, experience dupes us and, from misfortune to misfortune, leads us to death, their eternal crown.
What is it, then, that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself. He only is our true good, and since we have forsaken him, it is a strange thing that there is nothing in nature which has not been serviceable in taking His place; the stars, the heavens, earth, the elements, plants, cabbages, leeks, animals, insects, calves, serpents, fever, pestilence, war, famine, vices, adultery, incest. And since man has lost the true good, everything can appear equally good to him, even his own destruction, though so opposed to God, to reason, and to the whole course of nature.
-Blaise Pascal
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Contest to Win A Rosetta Stone Latin Program
Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.
This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)
This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.
To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://jeneralities.com/ and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!
This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)
This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.
To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://jeneralities.com/ and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!
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