Ready for the oven. The little piece of ham is an experiment.
By William Lawrence Sr.
An extremely skilled worker named Daedalus many years ago, lived on the island of Crete. King Minos, who placed Daedalus in charge of building the island’s famed labyrinth, recognized his talents.
Soon after the labyrinth was completed, however, King Minos became very angry with Daedalus and ordered him sent to prison. Daedalus escaped from the prison, found his young son, Icarus, and took him to hide out in a cave. They could not leave the island because Minos put a watch on every ship.
One day, while lying on the beach, Daedalus became interested in the flight of a bird. He decided to build wings for Icarus and himself and fly from the island.
He carefully inspected the feathers of many birds and fowl, including those of the chickens he used to prepare a delicious meal.
He tied the larger feathers with thread onto a wooden frame. He used wax to bind the smaller feathers. Finally he finished. He fastened the wings to his arms, and copied the movements of the birds. Soon, he was soaring above the earth.
He then gave Icarus flying lessons. The boy was a fast, but impatient, learner. His father warned him not fly too low for the damp air would cause the feathers to stick together. And to be especially careful of flying too high. If he got near the sun, the heat would melt the wax.
The sight of Daedalus and Icarus flying over them boggled the shepherds and farmers. They winged over Samos and Delos. Icarus, in a burst of enthusiasm, forgot his father’s warning.
He soared higher and higher until the sun caused the wax to melt. Like a crippled bird, he fell and crashed into the Aegean Sea, near an island that today is called Icaria.
Daedalus mourned the loss of his son. He remembered the good days when Icarus reaped the wild oregano to be used in the wonderful chicken recipe which is below and obviously moderinzed.
Daedalus’ Crete Chicken
3 Lbs. chicken pieces
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1/4 Cup lemon juice
2-1/2 Tsp. dried oregano
3/4 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. pepper
1/2 Tsp. garlic powder
Place chicken in baking dish. Pour mixed ingredients over chicken. Bake uncovered in 375° F oven for an hour, occasionally spooning sauce over chicken and turning once. Garnish with citrus fruit slices — lime or orange — are nice and serve.
Okay, granted Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian writer, deserves all the credit he has received over the years. But let’s be fair to Mrs. Tolstoy. She spent a lot of time taking care of their nine kids, and she copied the manuscript of her husband’s epic novel, “War and Peace” seven times by hand. How many times have you or any of your friends read it all the way through.
Val Cole Performs BillLawrenceOnline Story — Wonderful actress Val Cole was tasked with performing our Halloween storyFlatulent Fred one of this month’s winners in the Wildsound writing festival.
Cyronics, the practice of freezing a body and bringing it back to life, does work for ants. Ants can be frozen for long periods without harm. Many spend the winter inside logs coated with ice crystals.
Tom Cotton Backs Paul Mango For Pa. Gov. — Noted truth-teller Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) will be appearing with Paul Mango at a July 28 light-lunch fundraiser at AmVets Post 19 in Lancaster. Mango is among the Republicans seeking to replace Gov. “Big Bad” Wolf in 2018.
Tickets are $50. For information call Savannah at 717-779-3197.
Tom Cotton is the real deal and gives Mango a lot of credibility. Others seeking the nomination might want to reconsider pushing legislation giving strange men the right to share private spaces with little girls.
Q– What does the Rx on your doctor’s prescription stand for?
A– The “R” stands for recipe. The bar crossing the “R” creating the “x” is the symbol of the god Jupiter. The sign means take the medicine in proportions set down under the auspices of Jove, the patron of medicine.
Low Ranked Pennsylvania Won’t Be Helped With More Taxes
By Leo Knepper
Pennsylvania has a lot of problems. In many rankings of the states, Pennsylvania is in the bottom ten. 24/7 Wall St, a business focused website, ranked Pennsylvania 42nd on its list of Best and Worst Run States. Being that close to the bottom places the Commonwealth squarely among the worst run states in the country. As if to prove that point, the General Assembly and Governor allowed a spending plan to become law without any clear way to make up $1.5 billion in revenue.
It is starting to become clear that the Governor, Senate Republican and Democratic leadership, and House Democratic leadership want to close the gap with higher taxes. The latest plan would have instituted a gross receipts tax on natural gas. House Republicans rightly walked away from this as a solution because it would have resulted in higher heating bills for Pennsylvanians next winter, and every winter going forward. House Republican leadership is not completely on the right track in closing the budget gap. Leadership in that chamber is content to engage in borrowing against future revenues to meet the shortfall.
As we noted in our blog last week, cutting spending has received far less attention than it should have for the sake of taxpayers. One of the more ambitious exceptions to that general rule is HB 1354, which would add work requirements to the welfare code as it relates to receiving medical assistance. It would also require medical assistance recipients who make over $250,000 to make copayments and engage in other cost sharing measures. (If you’re wondering why someone who is making over $250,000 is getting medical assistance, it has to do with automatic qualification for certain medical conditions.)
In our research, we found that nearly 60 percent of Pennsylvania families who were required to engage in job search activities or training for the federal “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families”(TANF) program participated in ZERO hours of qualified activities (see page 17). Although the qualifications for TANF are different than for medical assistance, the similarities of the populations made it a reasonable comparison. If a greater percentage of medical assistance recipients specifically, and welfare recipients in general, were required to engage in work search activities it could have a remarkable effect reducing the number of families needing assistance and a positive impact on Pennsylvania’s finances in the medium to long term.
In 2014, Maine required “able-bodied childless adults” (ABCAs) to work, train, or volunteer on a part-time basis to continue to qualify for food stamps. In two years the number of ABCAs receiving food stamps dropped by 90 percent. First, imagine the saving that taxpayers in Pennsylvania would reap if we instituted the same requirements. Second, imagine how that would benefit the states revenue collection. If all of those people who were currently receiving assistance that could work but weren’t, returned to the workforce it would be a long-term boon for Pennsylvania.
Senator Jake Corman (R-Centre) and other members of Senate Republican leadership have so far not publicly expressed any interest in enacting work requirements for medical assistance. If their position changes, we will let you know.
Louis Bleriot’s Fish And Chips frying on the grill. The fish part anyway.
Louis Bleriot’s Fish And Chips
The July sun warmed the cockpit of the little monoplane as Louis Bleriot banked for a landing in a pasture outside Orleans.
The pilot was ecstatic. It had taken him just 45 minutes to fly the 33 miles from Etampes. The 25 horsepower engine purred all the way.
Bleriot’s mechanic, Marcel Donnet, was waiting in the pasture as the plane came in for a perfect landing. Donnet grasped the pilot and kissed him on the cheeks.
Squirming away, Bleriot announced that he had made a decision.
The London Daily Mail had upped its offer from 500 to 1,000 British pounds to the first pilot to fly across the English Channel.
“I am going to do it,” said Bleriot.
“No, my friend,” gasped Donnet, “it’s too dangerous.”
“Eh,” said Bleriot, “I have just flown 33 miles without mishap. It is only 20 miles from Calais to Dover.”
“But,” argued the mechanic, “the currents and water are treacherous. If you should crash, you will die.”
“I will not crash,” said Bleriot.
“You are sick in the head,” said Donnet.
On July 25, 1909, a Sunday that the weatherman promised would be completely clear, Bleriot took off from Baraques and headed for England.
As he climbed into the air, his mouth fell open and butterflies filled his stomach. There ahead were thick, black clouds.
“Mon dieu,” he whispered. But he never thought of turning back. His only navigational aid was a compass similar to that carried by the Boy Scouts.
He plunged into the clouds, and after what seemed to be much longer than the actual few minutes, broke into the clear. Then he spotted more thick clouds ahead. But they were clustered above the altitude at which he was flying. He continued to fly west. He had been flying for about 20 minutes. Another 15 minutes and he would be able to see England.
Suddenly there was another black cloud ahead. The choppy waters below were frightening. Bleriot flew into the black cloud. When he made it through, he checked his compass. He was heading due south. He turned west again, but now he was off course. He could not make a correction to take him to Dover where friends were waiting. It did not matter. All he had to do to win the 1,000 pounds was land in England.
Then he saw the coastline. He did not see Dover, but he saw a nice field on which to land. He set down exactly 40 minutes after leaving France.
An English policeman came running across the field as Bleriot climbed out.
Bleriot smiled at the constable and said, “Allo, I am Louis Bleriot. I am French.”
The constable introduced himself as George Sanford and offered to guard the plane while Bleriot sent telegrams to his friends in Dover.
He was picked up shortly thereafter and taken to an English pub, where Chip Parker, the cook, fed him a meal of fish and chips.
Bleriot, enthusiastically praised the seafood treat and returned the favor by giving Parker the recipe for his mother’s onion soup. The grateful cook responded by giving Louis Bleriot the fish and chips recipe.
Parker’s Fish and Chips
1 1/2 Lbs. fresh thick cod fillets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbs. baking powder
1/8 Tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 Cup water
1 large egg
Vegetable oil, for frying
Lay the cod fillets on a cutting board. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Cut the fillets in 1 1/2 by 3-inch pieces.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, cayenne pepper, 1 Tsp. salt, and 1/2 Tsp. pepper. Whisk in 1/2 Cup of water and then the egg.
Pour 1/2-inch of oil into a large (12-inch) frying pan and heat it to about 360 degrees F.
Dip each fillet into the batter, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Place it very carefully into the hot oil. Don’t crowd the pieces. Adjust the heat as needed to keep the oil between 360 and 400 degrees F. Cook the fish on each side for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the “chips.”
Recipe for Baked “Chips”
2 large baking potatoes, unpeeled
2 Tbs. good olive oil
3/4 Tsp. kosher salt
1/3 Tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Tsp. minced fresh garlic (or 1 Tb garlic powder if you ar lazy and like garlic)
1/2 Tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Scrub the potatoes and cut them in coins. Place the potatoes on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together, making sure the potatoes are covered with oil. Spread the potatoes in a single layer with 1 cut side down.
Bake the potatoes for 30 to 35 minutes, turning to the other cut side after 20 minutes. Bake until they are lightly browned, crisp outside, and tender inside. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately.
Louis Bleriot’s Fish And Chips — A Legendary Recipe
