Lemon chicken with olives and potatoes

Martha Stewart's September 2011 issue of Living surprised me with this recipe from the feature Easy One-Pan Dinners.

A couple of adjustments to the magazine's recipe results in a much better fusion of flavors, but keeps the process easy enough for a weeknight dinner.

• Use water instead of chicken stock
• Either pierce or slice the potatoes
• Baste the chicken while it bakes.
• Don't overcrowd the pan

This dish is new to me because I hadn't cooked with whole lemons before. Leftover pan gravy over rice or a baked potato makes a quick and satisfying lunch.

Scrapbooked Recipe (PDF)

Vietnamese Hot Pot Dinner

I found this in the Happy Dragon's free magazine bin. The recipes were torn out, but can still be found at the Vegetarian Times' website.

The January 2010 edition of Vegetarian Times featured a Vietnamese Hot Pot Dinner.

Spicy Tofu Lettuce Wraps
Vietnamese Hot Pot (pictured, with dippers and garnishes)
Coconut-Mango Sundaes
Three Delicious Dips:

• Sweet Chile Mayonnaise
• Pineapple Miso Sambal
• Lime and Peanut Sauce

Happy JuneTeenth

Slavery was enforced for two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on Jan 1, 1863, until Union Major-General Granger assumed the office of Governor of Texas.

The Union Army, rode into Galveston, Texas on June 18, 1865. On his first day in office, June 19, General Granger issued five General Orders. General Orders, No. 3 is what finally freed Texas Slaves.

Galveston's early Juneteenth celebrations emphasized stylish dress. From Emerge Preoria:

Dress was also an important element in early Juneteenth customs and is often still taken seriously, particularly by the direct descendants who can make the connection to this tradition's roots. During slavery there were laws on the books in many areas that prohibited or limited the dressing of the enslaved. During the initial days of the emancipation celebrations, there are accounts of former slaves tossing their ragged garments into the creeks and rivers to adorn clothing taken from the plantations belonging to their former 'masters'.

This is the text of General Orders, No. 3.

Headquarters, District of Texas
Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865

General Orders, No. 3

The people are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them, becomes that between employer and hired labor. The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and that they will not be supported in idleness either there ro elsewhere.

By order of
Major-General Granger
F. W. Emery, Maj. & A. . G.

Treadmill

A note from a telephone conversation.

My mom wore out her treadmill. True story. How many people can say that?

Occam's Razor as engraving tool

Bon Appetit November 2000

I appreciate Bon Appetit's food photography.
Here are a few pages scrapbooked from the November 2000 issue.

Download a 300dpi PDF of this or get individual pages at lower-resolution

Bon Appetit
November 2000

Thanksgiving Across America

Caramelized vegetable and meatball soup
Down-East Succotash
Apple-Pear Cobbler with Cheddar Crust
Anadama Rolls (Cornmeal Rolls)
Barbara Haber's Top Ten Books for Cooks http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles/
Quick Turkey Curry
Warm Lemon Tartlets
Mushroom-Leek Soup with Brie Croutons
Steamer Clams with Spicy Sausage and Tomatoes
Crackling Corn Bread Dressing
Crackling Corn Bread
Blackberry Jam Cake with Walnuts and Caramel Icing
Smoky Shrimp, Hominy and Tortilla Soup
Butternut Squash Gratin with Rosemary Breadcrumbs
Cornbread, Apricot and Toasted Pumpkin-Seed Dressing
Green Onion Corn Bread


The Happy Dragon Thrift Shop, where I volunteer, offers a constant supply of interesting magazines, right by the front door. They're free!

Hang in there, Japan.

@flicktalker A panda in a japanese zoo, post-earthquake, wont let go of a policemans leg. Heartbreaking stuff: http://tinyurl.com/6c4xq4o

"I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're fallin' through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go..."

Poster by Deviant Art's Lumosbaby. The Ninth Doctor's Quote is from the Doctor Who pilot episode, "Rose", 2005.

The USPS needs to change their printer ribbons or something

Most of the mail I've gotten from the East Coast lately has borne illegible or near-illegible postmarks. How is this useful to anyone?

How to open a wine bottle without a bottle opener

Method Verified by Pats Papers

مسيرة الوفاء للشهداء 22-2-2011

Protestors march against their government in Bahrain, segregated by gender but still marching side by side.

Holiday Greetings!

Just in time for Valentine's Day,

I've managed to upload the archive of my New Year's Eve radio show that kicked off Flashback Alternatives' 2011 NYE Dance Party.

Lynnertic New Year's Eve 2011 Dance Party Kickoff by Lynnertic on Mixcloud

Tracklist

Mouth Merril Bainbridge

Everything (Freakniks Remix) A Forest Mighty Black

UptownPleasure

KissPrince And The Revolution

Song For Carly (Rave Dance Club Mix)Enigma

Light My Fire Moebius

Need You Tonight (12in)INXS

Hella Good No Doubt

Dona Gigi Os Caçadores

Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication Parliament

Hey Sexy Lady (Skrillex Remix) Isquare

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) Eurythmics

The Disappearing Hills of Los Gatos

 "I cannot imagine justifying a 2,100-square-foot house on a 2,300-square-foot lot," commissioner Marcia Jensen said.

The Sand Hill Property Company wants to build 29 incredibly tiny single-family homes and two storefronts with six apartments built above them on a 4.4 acre lot at the corner of Blossom Hill Rd & Los Gatos Blvd.

Should the Swanson Property redevelopment proceed, pedestrians and cyclists would lose views of the hillsides for two blocks along Blossom Hill Road and one block along Los Gatos Blvd.

12 Colour Views of the Blue Mosque

I found this at the Happy Dragon: 8 of a 12-postcard book featuring the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.