Author: Eliot Lear

Another Recipe By Request: Presidential Pasta

This is a very simple pasta that is so named because we ate it while watching Barack Obama take the oath of office (the first time) from Chief Justice John Roberts.  For the record, my daughter preferred the pasta to the inauguration.  By the way, all of these dishes are meant to be relatively quick to make, tasty for adults and children alike.

Ingredients:

  • 250 grams cubed and floured chicken breasts
  • 1 clove chopped garlic
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh grated parmesan cheese
  • 250 grams baby spinach (washed – by you)
  • 1 large onion, cut into lengthwise slices.
  • 12 pieces (about one bottle) of sun dried tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp olive oil (if possible use oil the sun dried tomatoes were packed in)
  • 1 tsp chopped oregano (dried is fine)
  • 250 grams of your favorite pasta – linguini works well, but so do shells

Directions

Boil a large pot of water.  The remainder of the directions below take 15 minutes after prep time.  Cook your pasta to be finished by then, but you want your pasta pot kept hot.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan to medium high.  Stir fry chicken for five minutes or until done.  Set aside.  Re-oil pan and cook onions until they begin to clear or carmelize, about five minutes.  Turn flame down to medium-low.  Add garlic and stir for 20 seconds.  Add spinach and sundried tomatoes, and cook for about 1 minute.  Add chicken back into the pan, for about one minute.  Turn off burner.

After cooking and emptying pasta into a collandar, replace it in the pasta pot on onto the other pan’s burner, and mix in the contents of the other pan.  Add cheese and remaining olive oil and mix.  Serve immediately.

Serves four to five.

SCHIPP: More dumb Republican politics

Over the last year, healthcare for poor people took a beating as State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIPP) lapsed, and Congress was unable to override a Bush Administration veto – twice.  A smaller version of the bill was signed, but now President Obama has promised to sign the original bill, expanding coverage for poor children from 7 million to 11 million people.  Here is a lesson in politics: recognize the reality of a situation.  Had Republicans understood the implications of the oncoming beating that Senator McCain was about to receive, perhaps they would have comrpomised with Democrats.

Now Republicans are attempting to stand in the way on new ground: they want children of illegal immigrants not to be covered, even if they are American citizens.  Putting aside the constitutionality of it, the point of SCHIPP and programs like it is to provide for preventative care so that those children can do what they’re supposed to do – learn and grow – instead of becoming a burden on society by ending up in an emergency rooom, where astronomically higher expenses must be absorbed by society.  At the same time those children end up out of school, and their parents (illegal or legal) either become a burden, or at the very least, can contribute less to our economy.

More dumb opposition.  I say, mow ’em over, President Obama.

By Request, a recipe: Tragedy Chicken

This is a tasty chicken meal that takes about an hour to cook, but almost no prep time.  It’s a bit sweet, and slightly spicy, but you can adjust to taste.

Ingredients

  • As many chicken thighs as you and your table will eat
  • 1 Tsp / thigh medium or mild mango chutney
  • (about 1/2 tsp per 4 tsp chutney) ground chipotle pepper
  • (about 1 tsp per 4 tsp chutney) sweet paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 220°C (broil / grill setting).  Place chicken in a baking dish, and broil chicken for five minutes to seer skin.  Remove chicken and reduce oven temp to 180°C (bake setting with fan or about 190° without fan).  Cover dish and replace chicken in oven.  Cook for 25 minutes with fan or 35 without.  While chicken is cooking, mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Remove chicken from oven, and increase temperature to 195 with fan, or 210 without.  Spread mixture evenly over all pieces, and replace chicken in oven uncovered for ten minutes.  Remove and serve with potatos and a vegetable.

Guess Who Thinks He’s Running for President

Bureau of EconomicsIt’s January 25th, and President Obama has been in office for only a few days, and it seems as though there is jockeying for the Republican nomination for 2012.  Here is how it works: take one of President Obama’s or Congress’ new and somewhat popular initiatives, and bet against it – heavily – by criticizing it in every which way you can and being an obstacle.  You know you’ll eventually lose the battle that the initiative will go through, but then if it doesn’t work, you can claim “I told you so.”  Doubly down if the initiative the economic stimulous package, because even if it does work, you can claim that the economy would have recovered in spite of it, and now the deficit is larger.

This is precisely the tact currently being taken by Senator John Cornyn of Texas.  And he’s gone further by challenging the appointments of Hillary Clinton to Secretary of State, and Eric Holder to Attorney General.

There are risks with this strategy.  First of all, if they are simply mowed over, and the policies are effective, the Democrats will enjoy popularity for a recovering economy.  if the obstruction works, and the economy doesn’t improve, then the Democrats can weild that failure against the Republicans – again – in 2010.

But I have a simple suggestion for the Democrats regarding the economy: allow those congressmen and senators to who oppose the stimulous to refuse it on behalf of their states and their districts, and let the voters judge them.