Churchill on King Arthur

Modern research has not accepted the annihilation of Arthur. Timidly but resolutely the latest and best-informed writers unite to proclaim his reality. They cannot tell when in this dark period he lived, or where he held sway and fought his battles. They are ready to believe however that there was a great British warrior, who kept the light of civilisation burning against all the storms that beat, and that behind his sword there sheltered a faithful following of which the memory did not fail ... Nonetheless, to have established a basis in fact for the story of Arthur is a service which should be respected. In this account we prefer to believe that the story with which Geoffrey of Monmouth delighted the fiction-loving Europe of the twelfth century is not all fancy. It is all true or it ought to be; and more and better besides. And wherever men are fighting against barbarism, tyranny, and massacre, for freedom, law, and honour, let them remember that the fame of their deeds, even though they themselves be exterminated, may perhaps be celebrated as long as the world rolls round. Let us then declare that King Arthur and his noble knights, guarding the Sacred Flame of Christianity and the theme of a world order, sustained by valour, physical strength, and good horses and armour, slaughtered innumerable hosts of foul barbarians and set decent folk an example for all time.

Sir Winston Churchill. A History of the English Speaking Peoples: The Birth of Britain. (1956)

Timothy Snyder on Tyranny

Timothy Snyder's advice in On Tyranny:

Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.

Smoking Bishop

Smoking Bishop
I discovered Smoking Bishop via Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. At the very end, a reformed Scrooge tells Bob Cratchit:

“A merry Christmas, Bob!” said Scrooge, with an earnestness that could not be mistaken, as he clapped him on the back. “A merrier Christmas, Bob, my good fellow, than I have given you, for many a year! I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob! Make up the fires, and buy another coal-scuttle before you dot another i, Bob Cratchit!”

Ingredients

• Six Seville oranges (a bitter-sweet orange available in Europe, often used for orange liqueurs like Cointreau) or four or five oranges (navel oranges work well) and one large grapefruit
• Whole cloves
• 1/4 pound of sugar
• One bottle of robust red wine
• One bottle of port
• Friends to share the Smoking Bishop with you.

Procedure

1. Bake the oranges in a moderate oven (350 F / 176 C or so) until much of the orange skin turns pale brown.
2. You don’t want the fruit to be cooked; you merely want to encourage the oil to emerge since it will add flavor and aroma to the Smoking Bishop. 
3. Turn the fruit at least once.When you can smell the oranges, or see or feel the orange oil on the rind of the fruit, they're probably browned enough. You don't want to smell something vaguely like burned toast.
4. Remove the oranges from the oven, and let them cool for a few minutes. Insert five or six whole cloves in the peel of each orange. 
5. Place the oranges in a warmed glass or porcelain baking dish, with a quarter pound of sugar, and a 750 ml. bottle of a robust red wine. (We are using a Spanish La Granja 360 Tempranillo Garnacha Cariñena blend from Trader Joe’s, but Gallo Hearty Burgundy or a similar basic hearty red would work quite well.)
6. Cover the dish, and leave it in a warm place for 24 hours. 
7. You might check it every few hours and stir the sugar gently to encourage it to dissolve.
8. Remove the fruit from the mixture, cut the citrus in half or quarters and squeeze them to remove the juice, adding it to the sugar and wine.
9. Pour the mixture into a saucepan (or crock pot) using a sieve and add a 750 ml bottle of port.
10. Heat the mixture gently, without allowing it to boil, and serve in warmed glasses or mugs.

Chicken Salad

This recipe by Elise Bauer for chicken salad came from Simply Recipes. I’ve made some minor changes. I’ve modified the recipe to suit my mom’s dietary requirements and preferences.

The aspect of this recipe that makes a huge difference is poaching the chicken. I used to roast my chicken for chicken salad, or pick the meat off a roasted chicken. Poaching makes the chicken really tender and moist.

And save the poaching liquid; it makes a great base for broth/stock, or it’s lovely for cooking rice.

Ingredients:

For the salad:
1 pound boneless, skinless (raw) chicken breasts or chicken tenders, cut into chunks
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 medium red onion or “sweet onion” chopped red onion
1 whole apple, cored and chopped (Think Granny Smith or Pippin)
Chopped walnuts (1/3 to 1/2 cup, depending on your preferences)

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for 4 to 6 green olives, pitted and minced; I leave the olives out because my mom is not a fan. She is a fan of nuts, so I added walnuts. 
• The original recipe calls for adding shredded lettuce to the salad; lettuce is not something mom can have much of, so I leave it out.

For the dressing:

5 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Lemon curd
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for plum preserves, or any sweet berry preserve or a lesser amount of honey. I don't have any; I do have some intensely lemony lemon curd, that was not as sweet as most. 

Process:

1. Poach the chicken: Put 2 quarts of salted water in a pot, and bring it to a boil. 
2. Add the cut chicken breast to the water, and return the water to a simmer. 
3. Cover the pot and turn off the heat
4. Let the chicken sit for 15 minutes at least while you prepare everything else. This is important. Salmonella is a bad thing.
5. While you wait for the chicken to finish cooking, mix the mayonnaise, lemon curd, and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Check the flavor; add salt and pepper, and additional lemon curd and/or lemon juice to taste. 
6. In a large bowl, mix the chopped celery, bell pepper, olives, red onion, and apple.
7. Add the dressing to the chopped vegetables. 
8. After at least 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the poaching water and dice it into smaller pieces as needed. 
9. Add the chicken to the dressing and vegetables, and mix, coating everything evenly. 
10. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

A. H. Bullen on Thomas Middleton

One of Middleton's early editors, A. H. Bullen, wrote:

I have read at various times much indifferent verse and much execrable verse, but I can conscientiously say that The Wisdom of Solomon Paraphrased is the most damnable piece of flatness that has ever fallen in my way.

Cited in: Wells, Stanley. Shakespeare and Co.: Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekker, Ben Jonson, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher and the Other Players in His Story.

David Bowie on art

All art is unstable. There is no authoritative voice. There are only multiple readings.

— David Bowie via The Guardian.

Easy Peach Cobbler

Southern Living

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

2 cups sugar, divided into 1 cup portions

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon baking powder 

Pinch of salt 

4 cups fresh peach slices 

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional) 

Preparation

1. Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish or casserole.
2. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
3. Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
4. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

Notes

• You can use frozen peaches, or canned, or cherries or blueberries or blackberries or raspberries, or a mixture. Consider draining some of the syrup off and adjusting the sugar for canned fruit. 
• You absolutely do not need 1 cup of sugar in the fruit mixture. Adjust the sugar after tasting the fruit, especially if you're using canned or sugar-packed frozen fruit. You want to taste the fruit, but you also want to have a fruit juice and sugar syrup that thickens (and you can cheat by adding a little flour or corn starch and using less sugar). 
• With some judicious pouring and butter distribution, you can use smaller individual cobbler dishes. 
• Serve with ice cream on warm cobbler, or even heavy cream. 

Two Questions to Ask When Decluttering

From Joshua Becker’s Becoming Minimalist To Declutter Any Room, Ask These Two Questions

Those two questions: “Do I need it?” and “Why do I have it?” form the basis for your best decluttering efforts going forward. They will prove to be enlightening and will open up new ideas about what items to keep and what items to remove.

Rachel Maddow on Coming Out

The single best thing about coming out of the closet is that nobody can insult you by telling you what you've just told them. —Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow on Feminism

Feminism is itself a challenge. Feminism is a challenge to the way things are in the world. It is by definition an oppositional movement, because it’s trying to accomplish something. I’ve never felt like feminism was a consciousness raising effort in isolation. Everything about feminism is about getting something in the world to get better for women, and to get the world to be less stupid on gender bifurcation terms. I think that feminism over time gets better, or it gets better and worse and better and worse at achieving the goals that it’s trying to achieve, but the overall mission stays the same. I guess I don’t think of it as feminism versus anti-feminism; I sort of think of it as feminism versus the world. I don’t think of it as a competition; there’s no winning. In feminism, you’re always trying to make stuff better. It’s opposition to which you cannot attribute a tally. —Rachel Maddow

Let's face it, writing is hell.

I get a fine, warm feeling when I’m doing well, but that pleasure is pretty much negated by the pain of getting started each day. Let’s face it, writing is hell.

William Styron (June 11, 1925–November 1, 2006). Interviewed in The Paris Review. (Spring 1954,
No. 5).

Styron wrote The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967) and Sophie's Choice (1979, among other things.

Zach Zamboni On Food, Cultures, and Travel

In years of travel, I’ve realized you can judge a culture by how much they want to feed you. Some people couldn’t care less if you eat, other people literally refuse to continue a scene unless everyone stops and eats something. A chef’s ego wants things to taste good, their heart wants to feed you. A cinematographer’s ego wants to make things beautiful, their heart just wants to tell the truth. Zach Zamboni,  cinematographer and Mainer. 

"You're an Idiot and Shouldn't Be Allowed Near a Keyboard"

This is a cartoon from 1996.

It used to be next to my desk:

I don't think I'd ever say this to a user, but there are users who suck up more time, money and resources in tech support than they will ever contribute to a community or a company or a university.

Chaucer on Sleep

“Rather then that I shulde deye
Through defaute of sleping thus,
I wolde yive thilke Morpheus,
Or his goddesse, dame Juno,
Or som wight elles, I ne roghte who—
To make me slepe and have som rest—
I wil yive him the alderbest
Yift that ever he abood his lyve,
And here on warde, right now, as blyve;
If he wol make me slepe a lyte,
Of downe of pure dowves whyte
I wil yive him a fether-bed,
Rayed with golde, and right wel cled
In fyn blak satin doutremere,
And many a pilow, and every bere
Of clothe of Reynes, to slepe softe;
Him thar not nede to turnen ofte.
And I wol yive him al that falles
To a chambre; and al his halles
I wol do peynte with pure golde,
And tapite hem ful many folde
Of oo sute; this shal he have,
Yf I wiste wher were his cave,
If he can make me slepe sone,
As did the goddesse Alcione (Chaucer The Boke of the Duchess. ll. 240–256)."

On Book Reviewing

[I now] suggest some hard-won guidelines for responsible reviewing. For instance: First, as in Hippocrates, do no harm. Second, never stoop to score a point or bite an ankle. Third, always understand that in this symbiosis, you are the parasite. Fourth, look with an open heart and mind at every different kind of book with every change of emotional weather because we are reading for our lives and that could be love gone out the window or a horseman on the roof. Fifth, use theory only as a periscope or a trampoline, never a panopticon, a crib sheet, or a license to kill. Sixth, let a hundred Harolds Bloom.

The New York Review of Science Fiction. "Editorial 192." David Hartwell. January, 2008.

On The Reviewing Of Books

[I now] suggest some hard-won guidelines for responsible reviewing. For instance: First, as in Hippocrates, do no harm. Second, never stoop to score a point or bite an ankle. Third, always understand that in this symbiosis, you are the parasite. Fourth, look with an open heart and mind at every different kind of book with every change of emotional weather because we are reading for our lives and that could be love gone out the window or a horseman on the roof. Fifth, use theory only as a periscope or a trampoline, never a panopticon, a crib sheet, or a license to kill. Sixth, let a hundred Harolds Bloom.

John Leonard in The New York Times, quoted in The New York Review of Science Fiction. “Editorial 192.” David Hartwell. January, 2008.

Octavia Butler on Writing

You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.

—Octavia E. Butler

Coleslaw

My father cooked. Not a lot, but he cooked. There were three things that he specialized in; amazing French toast, oatmeal cookies (using the original Quaker Oats recipe), and coleslaw.

I loved his coleslaw. There were two things that made his coleslaw different; one, he didn't overuse mayonnaise, and two, he added nuts. At first, it was slivered almonds, or pecans, but later, after he retired, he started using macadamia nuts. I can remember him standing over the cutting board with half a head of green cabbage, and shredding it with a knife. He didn't like to use the food processor. He'd add grated carrots, a little high quality mayo, salt and pepper to taste, and last of all, the nuts.

Some of my earliest memories are of my father chopping the cabbage for the coleslaw; I can remember him doing it when we lived in Indiana, where we lived until I was five, and I can remember him doing it some forty years or so later, when my parents were retired and living in coastal Maine. I always had a hard time waiting until dinner time to try the slaw, and Dad would often let me have a sample before (though it was always better after being chilled for a few hours). And it was something he'd make when we were camping, when I was small.

Dad's Coleslaw

Ingredients

• Cabbage
• Carrot
• Mayonnaise
• About 1/2 cup of chopped Nuts (slivered almonds, pecans, or crushed macadamia nuts, or a mixture of any 2)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Thinly slice the cabbage, horizontally, and then vertially, until you have approximately 4 cups (not packed) of sliced cabbage. (Using a mandoline helps in this case.)
2. Grate a carrot.
3. Add about 3 Tablespoons of Mayonaise for about 4 cups of cabbage; adjust to taste.
4. Add chopped nuts to about 4 cups of cabbage
5. Add pepper to taste.

The last time I had my Dad's coleslaw, he made the coleslaw in the morning, then we drove to the Keag Store (referred to as "the Gig") on Route 73 in South Thomaston, Maine, to pick up lobster rolls, (with the buns toasted in butter, first) to go with the the coleslaw.

My Dad died in 2005. They said I'd stop missing him. They were wrong.

Image Credit: Michael E. Cohen

G. K. Chesteron on Writing

Most of the machinery of modern language is labour-saving machinery; and it saves mental labour very much more than it ought. Scientific phrases are used like scientific wheels and piston-rods to make swifter and smoother yet the path of the comfortable. Long words go rattling by us like long railway trains. We know they are carrying thousands who are too tired or too indolent to walk and think for themselves. It is a good exercise to try for once in a way to express any opinion one holds in words of one syllable. If you say "The social utility of the indeterminate sentence is recognised by all criminologists as a part of our sociological evolution towards a more humane and scientific view of punishment," you can go on talking like that for hours with hardly a movement of the grey matter inside your skull. But if you begin "I wish Jones to go to gaol and Brown to say when Jones shall come out," you will discover, with a thrill of horror, that you are obliged to think. The long words are not the hard words, it is the short words that are hard. There is much more metaphysical subtlety in the word "damn" than in the word "degeneration."

Orthodoxy. (1908) by G. K. Chesterton

Stuffing

Prepare one box of StoveTop Pepperidge Farm or Mrs. Cubisons or other stuffing mixture, according to the package instructions, using broth instead of water, or use about four cups of bread crumbs, corn bread crumbs, mazo meal . . . whatever you've got.

Add to the stuffing mixture:

Ingredients

• 1 Cup onion sauteed in olive oil
• 1 Cup Celery
• 1/4 teaspoon Garlic
• 3 teaspoons Sage
• 2 Teaspoons Fines Herbs
• 1 can sliced water chestnuts or 1/2 Cup chopped Chestnuts (boiled, peeled, chopped)
• Pepper to taste
• Cooked giblets, and neck meat, if desired.

Procedure

1. Fry a small patty of the stuffing to check for taste, and adjust accordingly.
2. Mix thoroughly, and stuff a clean, rinses, salted and seasoned (garlic, salt, pepper, etc.) bird, without packing too firmly.
3. The ingredients should be adjusted to taste; you might use other herbs (Thyme, Tarragon, Parsely, Rosemary).

Stuffing is something that you mess with, adjusting to individual taste, and the available ingredients. Other possible ingredients: dried soaked (to soften them) cranberries, apricots, raisins, apples. Green onions, parsley, more garlic, thyme, herbs de provence. More sage. If you use bread, let it dry a day or three (unless it's homemade corn bread or biscuits; one day only then) and make crumbs. Some people like to use milk instead of broth. Butter is really unhealthy, and makes the stuffing really good. Choose your poisons.

From LRS AKA "mom"