No one wants their last words to be "Oh my God! The old gypsy woman was right..."
Via Tomgram
It’s strange that the business and geopolitics of energy takes up so little space on American front pages — or that we could conduct an oil war in Iraq with hardly a mention of the words “oil” and “war” in the same paragraph in those same papers over the years. Strange indeed. And yet, oil rules our world and energy lies behind so many of the headlines that might seem to be about other matters entirely.
Take the food riots now spreading across the planet because the prices of staples are soaring, while stocks of basics are falling. In the last year, wheat (think flour) has risen by 130%, rice by 74%, soya by 87%, and corn by 31%, while there are now only eight to 12 weeks of cereal stocks left globally. Governments across the planetary map are shuddering. This is a fast growing horror story and, though the cry in the streets of Cairo and Port au Prince might be for bread, this, too, turns out to be a tale largely ruled by energy: Too many acres turned over to corn (and sugar cane) for the creation of biofuels; a historic drought in Australia and other climate-change-induced extremes of weather — a result of the burning of fossil fuels — that have affected crop yields; and many new middle-class consumers, in China and elsewhere, coming on line, with a growing desire for meat, the production of which is heavily petroleum based.
It continues with a great chapter from Michael Klare’s new book Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy
The End of the World as You Know It
…and the Rise of the New Energy World Order
By Michael T. KlareOil at $110 a barrel. Gasoline at $3.35 (or more) per gallon. Diesel fuel at $4 per gallon. Independent truckers forced off the road. Home heating oil rising to unconscionable price levels. Jet fuel so expensive that three low-cost airlines stopped flying in the past few weeks. This is just a taste of the latest energy news, signaling a profound change in how all of us, in this country and around the world, are going to live — trends that, so far as anyone can predict, will only become more pronounced as energy supplies dwindle and the global struggle over their allocation intensifies.
do read the whole article then let me know what you think.
Technorati Tags: Tomgram, geopolitics, energy, oil, food riots, Geopolitics of Energy, $110 a barrel, unconscionable price levels, energy supplies
Jeez you move to the coast to get a little peace and quiet. Hear the sound of the surf, the wind in the trees that sort of thing. Oh sure you expect to hear the occasional foghorn, after all that’s part of the mystique, but to be awakened by the sound of fish fucking now that’s just going too far 
Coastal-dwellers accused of insanity when they claimed they could “hear the fish” have been vindicated by research showing that fish indeed make sounds audible to humans, reports the New York Times. An investigation into the “eerie thumps” spooking residents of Cape Coral, Florida found that the sound was coming from schools of black drum that had made a spawning ground out of area canals. At 100-500 hertz, the sound was low enough to travel through sea walls and into the ground. Residents of Sausalito, California and Block Island, Rhode Island had similar problems with loudly amorous toadfish and jackhammer-like striped cusk eels, respectively.(more…)
Where’s their decorum, their sense of decency 
Technorati Tags: a little peace and quiet, surf, wind in the trees, foghorn, fish fucking
Hop on over to Diane’s and check out the incredible Jasmine Frappé non-alcoholic drink she devised for us the other day. I swear it is one of the tastiest quaffs I’ve ever had and that’s saying a lot. We’ll be drinking a LOT of this when the weather gets hotter, and she tells me she has ideas for a few more up her sleeve as well.
From the CBC
Soaring wheat prices have Canadian bakeries struggling, farmers rejoicing and customers digging deeper at the till to pay for their bread and pasta purchases.
There are a lot of reasons for the shortage; an extended drought in Australia compounded by poor regulation of wheat growers in North America are major causes of the shortage. You can expect the price of bread and anything else containing wheat to rise considerably over the next year. To help out your budget here is a great recipe I worked up for a very healthy whole wheat bread that toasts really well. If you have a KitchenAid (or equivalent) countertop mixer with a dough hook it will make your life a lot easier.
Doug’s Whole Wheat Flax Bread
Makes Two 1lb Loaves
3 cups water - body temperature
2 Tbsp sugar (honey or molasses are great substitutes)
3 Tsp dry active yeast
2 Tablespoons Flax oil (or soft butter, shortening, lard)
Combine above let stand 10 minutes
7 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
1 C Ground Flax Meal
2 Tablespoons Dry Skim Milk Powder
3 Tsp Sea Salt
3/4 to 1 Cup raw sunflower seeds
Mix above well
Once the yeast mixture has a good head on it start adding the dry ingredients thoroughly mixing each addition before adding more (part of the whole exercise in making bread is building gluten strands - the more you mix the better you get). If you are using a mixer you can go the whole way if you are doing it by hand then at some point you will have to dump the dough out onto a floured surface and start kneading it adding the remaining flour mixture as you go.
Once all the flour mix is included in the dough (or until it no longer sticks to the side of your bowl - the moisture content of the flour you started with will determine how much you actually have to use) knead for 5 to 10 minutes with the machine or a minimum 100 times by hand you should end up with a ball of dough that does not stick to your table/counter top and has a smooth but not dry surface (if you can’t squish two pieces together so they completely merge it is too dry).
Once you have mixed the dough thoroughly place in an oiled bowl, turn over so both sides are oiled and then cover with a damp cloth and leave in a warm place to rise. When dough has doubled in volume punch down then let rise again. After the second rise dump dough onto a lightly floured counter top and cut into two equal pieces.
At this point you need to decide on the shape of your final loaf. If you want a standard bread loaf then knead each piece 6 times - this is building some spring into the loaf - and after the sixth knead turn it over and pinch the seams together and put in a loaf pan and set aside to rise again - repeat with other half. If you want to make dinner rolls - see here and if you want to make large round loaves use the same technique.
When your dough has rested place in a 350F oven and bake until done. If doing it as loaves this will be approximately 45 minutes. Bread is done when bottom is browned and when tapped on producers a hollow sound.
Enjoy - this bread is very tasty. The Flax gives it a bit of nutty taste and lots of goodies for your heart.
Technorati Tags: Whole Wheat, Flax, Bread, price of wheat, cost of living, baking bread, recipes, baking
Technorati Tags: shit we eat, what we don’t know will kill us, food additives
Coffee shops have come a long way from the roadside diner slinging cups of overly acidic joe. What with Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Second Cup, Coffee Time and others we are spending a small fortune each year on coffee, fancy or otherwise, along with pastries, soups and other foodstuffs they sell. It turns out that you could be taking your health in hand by patronizing some of these shops. See this CBC production on the failed health inspections at many coffee chains, particularly Coffee Time.
Technorati Tags: Coffee shops, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Second Cup, Coffee Time, CBC, Coffee Time
Now then how much do you really think you know about chocolate. Take the CBC’s quiz and find out. I got 9 out of 10 and I think their answer to one is wrong.
Now the only question is how much of that pound of Callebaut Dark Chocolate I bought on Saturday will be left by the time I get back to Diane’s next weekend
An addict after my own heart
I was particularly impressed with one commentator’s homemade roaster.
Well New Years Eve is almost upon us and many of you will be doing the traditional champagne toasts. Please learn the correct way to open a bottle of bubbly. Yes there is a correct way! As 20 year veteran of bar tending and a former wine salesman I have opened thousands of bottles of bubbly and it annoys me to no end to see people do it wrong. Basic points if you’re too lazy to follow the link
First dessert this year from the garden.
8 ounces fresh picked Raspberries
1/3 Cup Splenda or superfine sugar
1 1/4 Cups whole Goat’s milk or milk of your choice
1/4 Cup 1/2 and 1/2 or whipping cream (for a lighter dish skip this and increase the regular milk)
1 Tsp real Vanilla Extract.
Puree the raspberries in a blender and pass through a strainer if you want to remove the seeds. If using Splenda it’s best to add it to the raspberries if using sugar add to the milk and whip to dissolve. Add Vanilla Extract. Refridgerate all until cold then combine and add to your favourite ice cream maker and process. Makes about 1/2 pint really delicious raspberry ice cream
My girlfriend Diane, whois is jewish and loves jewish jokes, sent me the following:
First, buy a housecoat (shmata) and wear it all day, every day. Then go out and buy a live chicken, carry it wrapped in a newspaper to the shoichet (slaughterer) who will ritually slaughter it before your very eyes. When you get it home, flick (pluck) your chicken and make sure you don’t leave in any pinchus (feather ends).
In the meantime, cover your couch in clear plastic, or floral slip covers, and don’t let anyone into your living room again …unless they are “company.” Now you’re a real balabusta and the essence of your universe is in the kitchen. So get out your wooden matches, light the pilot light, get out the volgar holtz (large dowel like piece of wood used as a rolling pin) and get ready to hock the tzibbeles (chop the onions) and knubble (garlic).
Before we start, however, there are some variations in ingredients because of the various types of Jewish taste (Litvack and Gallicianer).
Just as we Jews have six seasons of the year (winter, spring, summer, fall, slack, and busy), we all focus on a main ingredient which, unfortunately and undeservedly, has disappeared from our diet. I’m talking, of course, about SCHMALTZ (chicken fat)! Schmaltz has for centuries been the prime ingredient in almost every Jewish dish, and I feel it’s time to revive it to its rightful place in our homes. I have plans to distribute it in a green glass Gucci bottle with a label clearly stating: LOW FAT, NO CHOLESTEROL, NEWMAN’S CHOICE, EXTRA VIRGIN SCHMALTZ (it can’t miss!)
Let’s start, of course, with the forshpeiz (appetizer). Gehockteh layber (chopped liver) with schmaltz and tzibbeles (onion) is always good, but how about something more exotic for your dear ones–boiled whitefish in yoyech (gel). It’s fried in–you guessed it–schmaltz, bread crumbs, eggs, onions, salt and pepper. Love it! Then there are gribenes, which are pieces of chicken skin, deep-fried in schmaltz, onions and salt until crispy brown–often referred to as Jewish bacon (this makes a great appetizer for the next cardiology convention).
Another favorite, and I’m sure your children will love it, is pe’tcha (jellied calves feet). Simply chop up some cows’ feet with your hockmesser (chopper), add some meat, onions, lots of garlic, schmaltz (yes, again), salt and pepper, cook for five hours, and let it sit overnight.
There’s also a nice chicken fricassee (stew) using the heart, gorgl (neck), pipick (the navel–chickens have navels???) a great! delicacy, given to the favorite child, a fleegl (wing) or two, in a broth of schmaltz, water, paprika, etc.
We also have knishes (filled dough) and the eternal question: “Will that be liver, beef, potatoes, or all three?” Other time-tested favorites are kishke, and its poor cousin, helzel (chicken or goose neck). Kishke is the gut of the cow, bought by the foot at the kosher butcher. It’s turned inside out, scalded and scraped. One end is sewn up and a mixture of flour, schmaltz (you didn’t think we’d leave that out), onions, eggs, salt, pepper, etc., is spooned into the open end and squished down until it is full. Then that end is sewn, and the whole thing is boiled. Yummy!
Well, we’ve finally finished the forshpeiz. Don’t tell me you’re full because there’s plenty to come. For our next course, we always had chicken soup in a sea of lokshen (noodles), farfel (broken bits of matzah), arbiss (chickpeas), lima beans, pietrishkeh (parsnip), onions, mondlech (soup nuts), knaydlach (dumplings), kasha, (groats), kliskelech and marech (marrow bones).
The main course, as I recall, was either boiled chicken, flanken, kakletten (hockfleish–chopped meat), and sometimes rib steaks which were served either well done, burned, or cremated. Occasionally, we had barbecued liver done to a burned and hardened perfection in our own coal furnace.
Since we couldn’t have milk or any dairy products (milchiks) with our meat meals (flayshiks), beverages consisted of cheap pop (seltzer in the spritz bottles), or a glezel tay (glass of hot tea) served in a yahrtzeit (memorial) glass, and sucked through a sugar cube held between the incisors.
Desserts were probably the only things not made with schmaltz, so we never had any…..unless it was flummen (cooked prunes). Mama never learned how to make schmaltz Jell-O. Oh yes, don’t forget the loud greps (belch)–the louder the better–at the end of the meal as you unbutton or unzip your pants. It’s often the best part of the repast.
Zei mir gezunt (be well)……and savor all the wonderful memories with family during the holidays and always.
It’s strange how a memory from childhood can take hold of you and not let go. One that has “plagued” me for quite a few years is the taste and smell of fresh hot oatmeal with a very dark, almost black, molasses sugar on it. That sugar more or less disappeared from store shelves in BC here somewhere in the late fifties or early sixties as the big supermarkets took over and homogenized the selection. About 20 years ago I found some in a natural foods store but then it disappeared as well, I guess not enough demand or it didn’t meet Health Canada’s food guides.
By sheer happenstance I found a satisfactory substitute two weeks ago when I was out a Diane’s for the weekend. Now Salmo is a small town, and I do mean small. The main drag is allof two short blocks long and that’s it, two hotels with bars, hardware store, two grocery stores, a restaurant, second hand store, cold beer and wine store, and liquor store pretty much sums up the town (and two of those are on another street a block up). We were in the funky grocery store in town, lots of odd stuff there and the place in town for organics and as I walked by one of the end-of-aisle displays I noticed this sugar and immediately snapped it up. It’s marvelous and best of all it’s completely natural - that is no GMO and it is not simply refined white sugar with molasses added - this is the real thing and is pure heaven.
I’ve never been an eggplant fan, something about the texture that just bugs me. However the other weekend Diane made a really tasty antipasto, Eggplant Caponata, and is converting me, albeit slowly, to the joys of eggplants.
I created a new dessert this weekend that turned out really good
Ingredients
Method
Combine the first six ingredients and bring to a boil (you are making a sugar syrup). Once boiling and the foam has receded (the wine will cause it to foam) add the figs. Cook until the figs turn yellow. Remove the figs and keep boiling the syrup. Reduce by half to make a thick syrup. Remove the spices.
Serve
Place about 2 tablespoons of Chevre cheese on a plate and add 3 of the figs. Drizzle a little of the syrup over both the figs and the cheese. Serves 4.
Dave Pollard writes today on rooftop gardening as away of bringing the produce closer to the consumer and making cities self-sufficient (a friend was telling me awhile back that the amount of produce you could grow hydroponically in a couple of dozen 60 story “office” towers is staggering). Now Dave is fast on his way to becoming a full fledged vegetarian and then on to a vegan lifestyle. His objections to meat are on both ethical terms, cruel treatment of animals, and on practical terms , wasted use of land and pollution of the environment.
Well Dave , I agree with you though I’m far too weak to give up meat. However science once again comes to the rescue of the ethically weak, such as myself. Unless you are going to bear right of the fundamentalist Christians and state that a muscle cell is precious life then these guys may be on to something here. Assuming, and yes that is a big assumption, that this can be made economically feasible (and I suspect it can - though fleeting thoughts of Soylent Green keep harrassing me) then this provides an ethical out for those who want to eat meat. What’s more the meat will be better for them.
Great idea. What do you think?