Yes, I'm still here...Let's go!

Okay, so I have been slacking as of late with the ol' postings. Could be laziness, could be lack'o insight, could be too much goin' on in the ol' brainpan to sort through and make sense of...Who the hell knows?

First off, I had the distinct pleasure of sharing a wonderful Thanksgiving groaning board of a meal with some great friends up in the big city (that's Portland, OR - for those of you who are unfamiliar with my whereabouts yet. From now on said city will be known as PDX in these here rants...kayo?). We (that is the family and I ) had a lot of fun cooking, conversing, playing with the new pooch, drinking wine (and later hot buttered rum!) and of course stuffing ourselves to an almost comatose state. What a blast.

The Hosts - Ms. E and Mr. S - provided the big bird (nicely brined, and incredibly flavorful), a cornbread stuffing, Mashed potatoes (mmm, garlicky!) and various snackies. The other honored guests - Ms. L, Mr. D and the other Miss H - brought the perennial favorite Green Bean Casserole (but notably better for the use of fresh beans and a truly homemade creamy sauce!) and Ms. L made her first ever pie!!! (a very respectable, delicious traditional pumpkin one at that. In fact, it was so good that at first I thought Ms. E -a professional pastry chef - had concocted it! Good show!) My offerings this year were some homemade southern style cheese crackers (a new recipe I tried for the first time...Very good, though I think I may have over done it with the cayenne pepper a bit - suprisingly, OUR Miss H. Loved them, and she usually turns her nose up at anything spicy!) I guess with enough butter and cheese, even spicy is good to a five year old. My other dish was one I had been perfecting at work for the past month or so...Roasted Butternut Squash with Caramelized Onions, Candied Pecans and Bleu Cheese...all baked together into a delicious sweet, salty, richly decadent casserole of autumn flavors. Yum! (if I do say so myself) Ms. K, as is to be expected, provided some equally delectable wines to augment the selection offered by our gracious hosts. All in all a very satisfying and quite memorable meal.

Due to our having to work the next day at the famous traditional Oregon Thanksgiving Winery Open House Tasting Event, (way too early in the morning, if you ask me!) we had to depart before the big Boys Vs. Girls Cranium contest. (Bummer, I have been waiting a long time for my chance to have a go at that wacky game...Alas there is always next time.) Well, I'd best be going...Ciao for Now.

Okay, tryin' to get over it...

Hey yo! So I am still sitting here licking my many wounds...what else is there to do? I came up with a few things that seem to help. First off this video is pretty good, and helps ease the pain a bit through its truthful humor. http://filmstripinternational.com/

Them there is http://www.moveon.org/investigatethevote/ where you can go if you would like to tell congress that you would like more answers about what really went on in the election voting process. Who knows, this may help us get some real information, and bring some closure.

Then, of course there is always cooking. I myself (along with my lovely wife and daughter and a couple of friends) recently had the good fortune to stumble upon a huge stash of natures most wonderful abundance whilst walking in the woods just outside Mollala OR this past week. Yes, we found so many Chanterelle mushrooms, that we couldn't carry them all! I love it! There is nothing more satisfying to me than a nice quiet walk in the misty cool forest at this time of year (my favorite season by far). The bonus of finding all those delicious fungi is just fantastic. I can't get enough of that woodsy, faintly apricot smell fresh chanterelles have. And then there is that fresh peppery taste which adds so much to any dish they are added to.

My favorite combination has got to be fresh pan seared King Salmon, Chanterelles sautee'd with onions, garlic and the last of this seasons sweet corn, (maybe some nice vine ripened sweet 100 tomatoes tossed in at the last minute) over a bed of tiny french green lentils cooked down with some smoked bacon (or pancetta) and a touch of sherry vinegar. Yum.

This time however, I made a large pot of Cream of Chanterelle soup (just substituted for the standard crimini mushrooms I usually use) and cooked the rest down with some garlic for freezing, so we can add them at will to our cooking throughout the long wet winter to come. Very satisfying.

I will try and post the recipe and some others when I next get the chance. Until then, Peace.

Still worth a read, tho' it is too late now...

This is a nice ranting ramble from one of my all time favorite writers...Dr. Gonzo himself...it is still worth reading, even tho' it is seemingly too late to make any difference in the election'n outcome... http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/6562575?pageid=rs.Politics&pageregion=single6

And what is up with all the voting discrepensies anyway? Why did John Kerry conceed so quickly when - to my understanding - there are still many more votes to be counted in Ohio, and many other states? What is going on around here? http://gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=389&row=0

I found at least one reason to be glad for four more years...

Okay, this is a positive to add to the pile of negative I seem to be attracting around me these days. It in no way balances out the whole Bush being re-elected thing, (or should that be "re-appointed"), but at least we can look forward to four more years of hilarious new episodes of my favorite flash animation show... http://www.ebolaworld.com They are all fairly good, esp. the weekly updates, but my personal fave is, of course, "The George Bush Show"...scary funny social satire...so good it could almost be true. (sadly, it probably is.)

On a more serious note, here is a reminder of all those brave American souls who have lost their lives for the boondogle known as the Iraq war, and of the man who is largely (though not solely) to blame for the whole mess... http://www.michaelmoore.com

Strap yourself in for another wild ride...(four more years of ChimpCo...)

Hey! Welcome to Land of Soup...There is no rhyme nor any reason to this thing as of yet, but I felt like starting something of my own to let anyone know what is up in my secret little world.

Right now I am wallowing in the mire that is the result of our recent (unbelievable) national election. As you may have guessed, I am not behind the man (or is it a monkey) who won. In fact, I am getting more and more depressed by the second as I think about how these people have hijacked our country right before our eyes and with the rabid approval of just over half of our voting citezens. Geez...those of you who didn't vote are just as bad if not worse than those who voted for him...eqally complicit in my book through your appathy. Shame on you for helping these lying evil bastards walk all over the rest of us like they have been and will be doing for four more freaking years. Ugh. I feel so dirty. I need to take another shower to try and wash off the stink of it all, tho' I know it won't help one bit.