Sweet muffins

Summer is coming, these are the last muffins coming out of my oven ;-:) This just happen to have my grandma 1945 edition of the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook here at work with me today :-) and on page 62 is the key recipe for muffins. This brings back some good memories . . . it was the very first recipe I made by myself (age 6).


Muffins (Two key recipe versions)

Popular muffins:

1. 2 cups sifted flour
2. 1/4 cup sugar
3. 3 tsp. baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp. salt
5. 1/4 cup soft shortening
6. 1 egg, 1 cup milk

Sweet muffins:

1. 1 1/2 cups sifted flour
2. 1/2 cup sugar
3. 2 tsp. baking powder
4. 1/2 tsp. salt
5. 1/4 cup soft shortening
6. 1 egg, 1/2 cup milk

Sift all dry ingredients into mixing bowl. Add shortening, egg, and milk. Mix together with blending fork or pastry blender. Then stir *just until* ingredients are blended. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake until golden brown. Serve hot with butter and with jam, marmalade, honey, or any desired spread.

• Temperature: 400 (moderate hot oven)
  
• Time: Bake 20-25 minutes
  
• Amount: 12 medium-sized muffins

Variations on this recipe are:

Whole wheat muffins: Follow Popular muffin recipe above, exept use only 1 cup flour and 2 tsp. baking powder. Add 1 cup whole wheat (graham) flour to the sifted dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Sour milk muffins: Follow popular muffin recipe, except use only 2 tsp. baking powder and add 1/2 tsp. soda; substitute sour milk for sweet milk.

Blueberry muffins (my daughter's favorite): Follow recipe for sweeter muffins and at the last, blend in carefully 1 cup well drained fresh blueberries. If canned berries are used, 3/4 cup.

Apple muffins: Follow recipe for sweeter muffins except sift 1/2 tsp. cinnamon with dry ingredients. Add 1 cup grated raw tart apple (unpared) with shortening. Bake 25-30 minutes. If desired, sprinkle top with:

Nut-Crunch Topping: Mix together 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup broken nuts, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Variations for wheaties, prune, surprise, orange honey, maple syrup, and date/fig/raisin muffins are given as well.

If you want these, let me know.

recipe

Gas Price on the rise

It's becoming increasingly impossible for some of us to drive a car, and at one point most of us won't be able to afford it. You know there are some people talking about earth running out oil. I don't know about that, but we the consumer are running out of money. There are many ways corporation, and the government can us.

How about the Fixing the price for a year? Bad drivers should be prohibited to drive, or even owning a car. This would keep the demand in checked, and reduce traffic accident. Outlaw rusty old cars. Vehicles from 80s, or even early 90s consuming so much gas. I have seen cars from 60s on high blowing black cloud, that's just stupid!

Why not lower the price of insurance? One of the reason car insurance are going up is due to car theft. There are no strict laws prohibiting car theft. Yes, criminals go jail, where they sit and watch TV, eat pizza, and get some "counseling". Their victims are paying for all this though tax. Guess what? In six months Cosa Nostras are out of jail. It is ironic to note that whether they are in prison, or free, criminals are always thriving on their victims expensive. There was a time when horse thieves were executed for stealing horses. That did put a stop of crimes, and public didn't have feed undesirable member of their society.

There are countries where car owners only pay $10 insurance, I'll let you guess how their government handle car thieves.

Gas Price Spike Slows Slightly

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.Com

March 23, 2007

Gasoline prices are up just 3 cents for the week but the cost of a gallon of regular has settled in above $3 in California and San Francisco reports the highest average gasoline price in country at $3.54.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in California is now $3.16.

Regular gasoline is selling for an average of $2.58 across the country. Mid-grade gasoline is at $2.74 a gallon and premium gasoline sells for $2.83 a gallon.

The average price of diesel fuel is down a penny for the week a $2.74 a gallon.

Drivers in Needles, California are paying the most for at $3.59 a gallon for regular unleaded. In Casper, Wyoming drivers can buy a gallon of regular for $2.

Here is a look at some prices from around the country in the weekly ConsumerAffairs.Com Gas Price Round Up.

Arizona: AAA is warning of the possibility of more $3 a gallon gasoline this summer.

AAA Arizona spokeswoman Linda Gorman said the benchmark is looking more likely for a second straight year in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.

Gas prices topped $3.10 a gallon in Los Angeles last week.

Gas prices in Arizona continue to rise because of strong demand for fuel by consumers and seasonal refinery conversions to summer gasoline blends.

Arizona drivers are paying $2.71 a gallon for regular unleaded, an increase of almost 8 cents over last week and a 42 cent jump in the last month.

Scottsdale drivers continue to bear the brunt of the states high prices with the highest prices in the state at $2.78 a gallon.

In Tucson, drivers are getting the best deal at $2.62 for regular self-serve.

Oregon: Average gasoline prices on the West Coast remain the highest in the nation, but AAA said Oregon could avoid the peak of prices seen last spring.

The current statewide average price is almost 37 cents higher than a year ago. The national average is only a nickel higher than last year.

West Coast prices, according to AAA could peak at or above the $3 threshold as a result of demand outpacing supply capabilities.

Texas: Gas prices were mixed this week at Texas pumps. AAA reports regular-grade prices were up an average of 2 cents to $2.43 a gallon.

Prices actually fell a penny in Beaumont to $2.37. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline dropped 3 cents in Dallas to $2.43.

Auto club spokeswoman Rose Rougeau said that future price trends will depend on how easily refiners make their switch to summer blends and how strong consumer demand continues.

The costliest gas in the Texas survey was in Amarillo, where regular grade rose 5 cents to$2.56. The cheapest is found in Corpus Christi at $2.36.

Maryland: Gas prices in Maryland have hit their highest levels in six months and AAA Mid-Atlantic suggest the surge could alter the driving habits in the state.

Marylanders are paying an average price of $2.54 for a gallon of regular gasoline. That price is 32 cents more than last month and 18 cents more than prices on March 1.

The average price in Maryland last reached $2.54 on September 18, 2006.

car

Tindora Fry

I bought them from a Thai store, they look cute, and taste very good too.

This small greenish vegetable with white lines is so pretty, when freshly picked, you just want to bite it. But don’t do that, raw food item it isn’t. It has a very thick skin and insides are white flesh filled with small seeds. Red flesh means it is overripe and not fit for consumption. I heard hearsay of people going brain-dead who ate over-ripe tindoras Well I never tried the over-ripe ones, so I am not sure of its veracity When comes to cooking, some people cook it to the death, but I prefer little bit of crunch, so most often I make a shallow fry of the vegetable.

Recipe:

If you have regular Indian cooking stuff in your pantry, then making the curry is as easy as saying 1, 2 and 3.

1. Cut each tindora into half lengthwise, then make another lengthwise cut in each half - you will end up with 4 long thin pieces. To make curry for two, for one decent serving, you have to cut at least 15 to 20 tindoras.
   
   
2. In a pan, heat one teaspoon of peanut oil, do the popu or tadka (toasting mustard seeds, cumin, minced garlic and curry leaves).
   
   
3. Add the cut tindoras, sprinkle turmeric, salt and red pepper flakes to your taste. (Sometimes I also add dry coconut powder.) Mix them once, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove the lid, then saute openly for another 5 minutes or until the veggie reaches the crunchy consistency you desire.
   

Serve hot with rice.

I found another recipe called Tandora Fry

recipes

Black Hole or Donation?

Last month I reported that Hal Turner was going off-line. Well, he decided to change his mind, and he will be staying on-line. In case you didn't know, Hal Turner is a host of a controversial show – some of you may consider it racist.

Judge yourself:
The Hal Turner Show
The Hal Blog



I am not interested as to why he has decided to stay on-line, whether or not he is a racist. My problem started on March 2007, He told everyone on air that the show is being run on a Microsoft Windows 2000. Now, one of the reason why Hal briefly quited was due DOS attack on his web site & computers – most of them are running six or seven years old Operating Systems.

At the moment he is asking for donation, and I am not sure how I feel about this. What I do know that old Microsoft's obsolete OSes have more bugs than Mississippi river. It would be like throwing hard earn money into a black hole.

racism

Studends pay interests, and corporations get welfare

Why do we students have to pay so much compound interest for our education. Yet, Government is giving away so much welfare to corporation? Government seems to have money for everyone, expect for us student – the pillar of future civilization.

College students like myself attending full time have part-time job in evening. When we come home from work we study for tests and quizzes at night. How do they rewarded for our hard work? By increasing college fees!

In case some you didn't read Time article. For the first time since the early eighties, corporate tax loopholes will actually cost more than companies pay in income taxes in fiscal 2005, and 2007.

What does it mean?

It means corporations never pay "taxes", what is regularly handed over to the Fed ultimately comes from the consumer. If the XYZ Company pays $1 Billion in "corporate taxes", it means, they had to overcharge their customers $3 billion. Also part of the billion is also passed on to employees, stock holders, capital improvements or even never collected in the first place resulting in a more competitively priced "read:less expensive" products.

So, when you read that companies pay billions in "corporate taxes" that means that the consumers (read:you) have paid billions more for products and services than what we would normally have to pay, or the stockholders received less return on their investment, or employees received less pay than they could have gotten.

Stock Market

Many people were shocked when stock market went down.

Some people are blaming China's while other are blaming Computers.

It should be clear to anyone that stock market is rigged, and only fool waste their money on it. The real people who know what going on are the the millionaire.

So the next time if you buy any stock, don't blame anyone but yourself.

They follow only one rule: Dishonest is the best policy!

PS3 and Blu-ray

PS3 sales are down. This means blu-ray itself is going down. We the consumer were told that PS3 will help blu-ray sales. Well, this didn't happen. In fact, more and more people are staying away from it because of its high price. Sony is has "halted" the cell development, along with some of the state-of-the-art technology. It's obvious to me that public is not willing to buy this expensive.


Once again Sony didn't learn anything from the past.

Hal Turner offline

Hal Turner is going off-line. It's kinda sad

Recent attacks against Hal Turner:

• Callers disrupt a show.

• Pranksters publish the unlisted phone numbers of Turner and his mother, prompting harassing calls.

• Hackers sabotage the computer server hosting his Web sites.

• Pizzas are delivered to his house.

• Truckloads of shipping materials are ordered in his name from eBay and the Postal Service.

From New Jersey Media Group

Cyber foes shut mouth of hate-talk radio host

Thursday, February 1, 2007

By PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER


CHRIS PEDOTA / THE RECORD
arrowRadio show host Hal Turner of North Bergen wants an injunction against Web sites he says are making possible the attacks against him.

An outlaw band of cyber warriors has managed to do what Hal Turner's most ardent opponents haven't – silence the hate-talk radio host from North Bergen, at least for a while.

An anonymous cadre of pranksters has targeted Turner's weekly Internet radio program and Web sites, in escalating attacks over the past two months that have all but put him out of business.

Turner, a white supremacist who has advocated violence against minorities and government officials, is trying to fight back, with a federal lawsuit that accuses five Web sites and "John Does 1-1,000" of engaging in fraud, extortion and racketeering.

Acting as his own attorney, Turner recently asked a judge in Newark to grant an injunction against the Web sites, which he says make the attacks possible. But the judge said he first needs to hear from the defendants -- whoever they may be.

Turner describes his show as a "national treasure" that is "the literal embodiment of the First Amendment to the Constitution." His lawsuit says "people can call in and use any language or terminology they choose to express their thoughts or feelings about social, political, cultural, racial or religious issues, without fear of being censored or cut off."
Under attack

Critics say Turner uses his show and Web sites to promote hatred and violence, calling for the murder of federal judges, illegal aliens, Jews and blacks, among others.

"He is a racist. He is viciously anti-immigrant. He's an anti-Semite and he openly urges violence of the worst sort," said Etzion Neuer, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League's New Jersey office.

Although the ADL "cannot condone any of the actions against him," Neuer said, "there's a certain irony that Turner is appealing to the courts when he has previously called for the death of judges ... I don't think any right-thinking person sheds a tear when Turner ceases broadcasting, but we would hope this would happen by legal means."

Mark Potok, who monitors hate groups for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama, finds it amusing that Turner is turning to the legal system for help.

"He has gone from advertising 'portable [expletive] lynching machines' to actually calling for the assassination of half of Congress and any number of other people," said Potok.

"If you watch what he says, he's very aware of exactly what the limits of constitutionally protected speech are," Potok said. "[He] is walking that line about as close as humanly possible."

Turner dismissed the criticism.

"I say publicly what very many people in this country are starting to think privately," he said Wednesday. "Strange how much critics can take such issue with my words then sit back and gloat at the destructive actions of others."

Turner's suit blames "self-anointed arbiters of political correctness" for waging a continuing effort to shut him down since his first broadcast six years ago.

The latest assault began Dec. 20, when crank callers disrupted the show for three hours, the suit says. Turner responded by posting telephone numbers gleaned from the show's caller ID on his Web page with a warning to stop. Soon after, Turner says, he and his 62-year-old mother began receiving dozens of harassing, abusive and threatening phone calls when their unlisted home numbers were posted online. Eventually, they changed their numbers.

Turner also saw his computer server suddenly flooded with Internet data traffic at about 100 times the normal rate -- a major concern, because he is billed for all data that flows into and out of the server.

In what's known as "bandwidth rape," tens of thousands of copies of his Web site and files were being downloaded to the same computers in an apparent bid to saddle him with overwhelming bandwidth fees and force him to shut down, Turner claims.

Turner says he managed to blunt the attacks and return to normal -- until the e-posse put out a call for accomplices, along with how-to instructions. Data flow again spiked, forcing Turner to shut down his site on Christmas Eve.

Once he got back online, a more destructive maneuver followed. The so-called SYN-ACK attack -- which involves transmitting a volume of connections that cannot be completed -- tied up resources and denied service to legitimate users, Turner claims.

A message on his site threatened to continue until he shut down the Web site and radio show, he says.

The attacks, which Turner considers extortion, continued during his live show on Jan. 3. This time, not only were his Web sites knocked off line, but the normal data flow for hundreds of others customers of the host's server in Parsippany was halted.

One of the defendant Web sites posted an "apology" on Jan. 5, showing an altered $5 bill with Turner's picture in the middle and a caption saying, "We're sorry we took all ur monies, here."

Continued "denial of service" attacks prompted the data center to cancel Turner's service two weeks ago. He found another, but it quickly backed out of a contract, calling him far too controversial, Turner says.

"I am being severely harmed by these attacks and I am in great danger of being permanently harmed," says Turner, who has temporarily leased a streaming audio facility.

Named in the suit are: 4chan.org, 7chan.org, eBaumsWorld.com, NexisOnline.net and Abjects.com.

An administrator at Abjects.com said his site provides real-time chat channels. Accusing it of facilitating criminal acts is akin to charging the phone company with aiding and abetting drug trafficking, he claimed. Turner made death threats against the crank callers during the first attack and incited his radio audience to attack the defendant Web sites by any means possible, the administrator added.

E-mail: sampson@northjersey.com

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My First Post

It's nice to have a place where you can open up yourself.