Because

Salvatore Minella is at his favorite restaurant, dining on salmon. But he doesn't know that this particular salmon was a magic fish; she could talk. Her name was Ella.

Ella did not ask the fisherman who caught her to let her go because she couldn't speak English. She could only speak Fish. In any case, she wasn't feeling well that day. She was badly infected with Anisakis nematodes.

Because

Salvatore Minella is at his favorite restaurant, dining on salmon. But he doesn't know that this particular salmon was a magic fish; she could talk. Her name was Ella.

Ella did not ask the fisherman who caught her to let her go because she couldn't speak English. She could only speak Fish. In any case, she wasn't feeling well that day. She was badly infected with Anisakis nematodes.

Chocolate chip cookies

The New York Times had an article about chocolate chip cookies today (Perfection? Hint: It’s Warm and Has a Secret), and I couldn't resist commenting.

Then I realized I'd left a few points out, so I edited it a little before posting it here.

---

I use the traditional Toll House recipe with a few modifications:

1) double the amount of vanilla extract from one to two teaspoons (you can't ever go wrong with vanilla)

2) halve the amount of chips, or even reduce it to 1/3 of a bag; using a whole bag produces a cookie with an overpowering taste of chocolate. The real delight of a chocolate chip cookie is in the *balance* of flavors; if you just want chocolate, bake a chocolate cookie instead!

I believe that Nestle recommended using a full 12-oz bag of chips for the obvious reason, i.e. to sell more chips.

3) Instead of using 3/4 cup granulated white sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar, I use 1 & 1/4 cups dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar.

I've seen a variation in which a package of instant vanilla pudding is added to the dry ingredients (flour, etc.) - oddly enough, in cookies I bought from a Mennonite store (for some reason I thought they'd avoid artificial ingredients). The result was a chewier and somewhat moister cookie. I tried baking them that way myself, but the difference didn't seem to be enough to make the extra cost and effort worthwhile. So I no longer use pudding mix in the recipe.

Once, though, I couldn't find vanilla pudding mix and substituted chocolate devil's food pudding mix. To my amazement, that little package turned the entire batch of cookies a rich, deep chocolate. They were quite good, although not as good as a well-made traditional cookie.

Since my baking time is limited these days, I often make the cookies into chocolate chip cookie bars instead. I use the standard recipe (with the vanilla and chip modifications above) and spread it into a buttered double-hulled 13x9 baking pan (it has two layers of metal separated by air, which greatly reduces the chances of burning). Minutes after I take it out of the oven I seal the pan with a layer of aluminum foil; this traps moisture in the bars.

The result is a very moist bar. So far everyone I know who has tried one has found them irresistible; they're positively addictive (I call them the crack of the baking world). I'm looking forward to trying the refrigeration trick, to see if that makes them even better!

Chocolate chip cookies

The New York Times had an article about chocolate chip cookies today (Perfection? Hint: It’s Warm and Has a Secret), and I couldn't resist commenting.

Then I realized I'd left a few points out, so I edited it a little before posting it here.

---

I use the traditional Toll House recipe with a few modifications:

1) double the amount of vanilla extract from one to two teaspoons (you can't ever go wrong with vanilla)

2) halve the amount of chips, or even reduce it to 1/3 of a bag; using a whole bag produces a cookie with an overpowering taste of chocolate. The real delight of a chocolate chip cookie is in the *balance* of flavors; if you just want chocolate, bake a chocolate cookie instead!

I believe that Nestle recommended using a full 12-oz bag of chips for the obvious reason, i.e. to sell more chips.

3) Instead of using 3/4 cup granulated white sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar, I use 1 & 1/4 cups dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar.

I've seen a variation in which a package of instant vanilla pudding is added to the dry ingredients (flour, etc.) - oddly enough, in cookies I bought from a Mennonite store (for some reason I thought they'd avoid artificial ingredients). The result was a chewier and somewhat moister cookie. I tried baking them that way myself, but the difference didn't seem to be enough to make the extra cost and effort worthwhile. So I no longer use pudding mix in the recipe.

Once, though, I couldn't find vanilla pudding mix and substituted chocolate devil's food pudding mix. To my amazement, that little package turned the entire batch of cookies a rich, deep chocolate. They were quite good, although not as good as a well-made traditional cookie.

Since my baking time is limited these days, I often make the cookies into chocolate chip cookie bars instead. I use the standard recipe (with the vanilla and chip modifications above) and spread it into a buttered double-hulled 13x9 baking pan (it has two layers of metal separated by air, which greatly reduces the chances of burning). Minutes after I take it out of the oven I seal the pan with a layer of aluminum foil; this traps moisture in the bars.

The result is a very moist bar. So far everyone I know who has tried one has found them irresistible; they're positively addictive (I call them the crack of the baking world). I'm looking forward to trying the refrigeration trick, to see if that makes them even better!

John McCain: Love

My comment on a piece in the Washington Post about John McCain's new ad (The Trail: McCain Campaigns Against '60s in New Spot), contrasting those dirty hippies with his noble service in Vietnam:

...and when he got home from Vietnam and found that his loving wife had been in a car accident and had lost her looks, he DIVORCED her and married a hot and wealthy beer-fortune heiress.

John McCain. Because he knows how to make the tough decisions.

John McCain: Love

My comment on a piece in the Washington Post about John McCain's new ad (The Trail: McCain Campaigns Against '60s in New Spot), contrasting those dirty hippies with his noble service in Vietnam:

...and when he got home from Vietnam and found that his loving wife had been in a car accident and had lost her looks, he DIVORCED her and married a hot and wealthy beer-fortune heiress.

John McCain. Because he knows how to make the tough decisions.

Sheetless roleplaying article in progress - v1.0

I'm working on the sheetless roleplaying article as a Google doc. It's nowhere near finished, but I thought you might find the work in progress interesting. I'm open to feedback, of course.

I haven't been using boldfacing or italics because I'm going to add those later on, when I convert it to a webpage.

( Read more... )

Sheetless roleplaying article in progress - v1.0

I'm working on the sheetless roleplaying article as a Google doc. It's nowhere near finished, but I thought you might find the work in progress interesting. I'm open to feedback, of course.

I haven't been using boldfacing or italics because I'm going to add those later on, when I convert it to a webpage.

( Read more... )

FISA bill passed

The FISA bill passed. Obama voted for cloture, along with all the Republicans, thereby completely breaking his pledge to support a filibuster. Welcome to 1984.

FISA bill passed

The FISA bill passed. Obama voted for cloture, along with all the Republicans, thereby completely breaking his pledge to support a filibuster. Welcome to 1984.