by Frank Paynter on August 23, 2007
“On August 30, 2007, Texas, the state that executes more people than any in the country, plans to deliver a lethal injection to Kenneth Foster, Jr. While this may seem like nothing out of the ordinary for a state that will perform its 400th execution this summer, Kenneth’s case is unique. He killed no one. The state of Texas will be the first to admit this. It seems unthinkable that a man who did not even touch the gun that ended the life of Michael LaHood, Jr. on August 14, 1996 in San Antonio, Texas would be sent to his death for such a crime. What makes this possible is the Law of Parties. A number of states have laws that enable prosecutors to hold those merely present at the scene of a crime legally responsible. Texas is the only state that applies this statute in capital cases, making it the only place in the United States where a person can be factually innocent of murder and still face the death penalty.”
…from the Save Kenneth Foster blog.
by Frank Paynter on August 23, 2007
By the soup chef
(There’s a little food blogger in everyone just trying to get out.)
For dinner tonight I made a delicious soup. It was amazingly simple. Most of the ingredients came straight out of our CSA share, and the recipe came from the Blue Moon weekly newsletter. Thanks Kristen!
The recipe…
Ingredients:
- 1 large celeriac, peeled, cut into quarters and sliced thin. (Ever wonder what to do with that celeriac? This is it!)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup carrot coins
- 1 leek, sliced into thin rounds. (Okay, I had small leeks so I used two, but I had huge garlic cloves so I only used one. I finally learned the thing about cooking is that it’s not organic chemistry… doesn’t require an analytical balance to get the measurements right.)
- 2 eggs
- A couple of cups of chicken broth. Mine came from a can.
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a pot. Add the sliced and minced and diced and rinsed veggies and saute for a few minutes. Add chicken broth to cover and simmer for ten minutes or so, until the celeriac is tender. How tender? About as tender as the carrots. You want it all mushy? Simmer longer.
Break the eggs into a bowl and beat together with the lemon juice. Add a cup of the hot broth to the eggs. I added mine slowly and carefully while stirring because I didn’t know what might happen to the eggs and I wasn’t making an omelette here.
Return the blended mixture of eggs, lemons and hot broth to the soup pot. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
About half-way through this quick and simple prep, I stuck a loaf of crusty white bread into the oven to warm up. When I put the butter on the table the cat let me know I hadn’t fed her yet by making a run at the butter. Much yelling ensued. But eventually it all came together and we had a soup I was proud of.
In 415BCE, the Athenians invaded Sicily in an act of stupid aggression that wasn’t matched until Bush and the US neocon cabal decided it would be a good idea to project American power into Southwest Asia and nail down control of the Iraq oil supplies. I’ve read Thucydides on the Athenian incursion and he doesn’t mention Celeriac Avgolemono, but he should. This wholesome and healthy dish was the only good that the Athenians realized from their imperialist aggression. Some aver that the Hellenistic settlement of Naxos by the Chalcidians gave the western world that eponymous gastronomic delight, nachos. Thucydides again is woefully short of information on the matter, as is Wikipedia.
Regardless, Avgolemono is as good as chicken soup in the battle against summer colds and the creeping crud that dogs the heels of the techno road warriors of today. If you’re feeling a little under the weather, nothing will perk you up like a nice bowl of Celeriac Avgolemono.
