TASTY LINKS

Here are some tasty links:

Carnival of the Recipes: Tricks, Treats & Eats by Shawn Lea.

McDonald’s: Local Footprint, Global Reach by Laurel Delaney.

OPEN FORUM BY AMERICAN EXPRESS

You could read a piece by yours truly over at Open Forum blog. You will find "a wealth of resources for savvy business owners" at the site powered by American Express Company. The title of my article is Time To Bring Back The Smiley Face To America. Please feel free to comment on my post and you are more than welcome to spread the good word!

FOLLOW EGO

You could now show the blogosphere that you are an avid follower of EGO blog. Click on the widget on the top of the left side bar. Right now, I have one follower called Manje.

PAUL KRUGMAN AND THE NOBEL PRICE

I will ask my guest on my next podcasting show to give his opinion on Paul Krugman and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. In one comment on The Big Picture, I saw a link to a piece by Paul Krugman there he is trashing the Austrian theory of the boom and bust business cycle.

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE COLUMBUS DAY?

How do you celebrate Columbus Day? Here is an excerpt from the article, Columbus was a hero by Dimitri Vassilaros. [Via Randex.]

Columbus essentially was an explorer and discoverer bringing Western civilization's cures, science and technology, he says. The philosophical legal process was another gift the Europeans gave to the Indians, he says. "Indians got all that for free."

Columbus' critics should fall down on their knees and thank the Founding Fathers for creating a nation based on the moral principle of the individual's right to life, liberty and, Bowden stresses, the selfish pursuit of happiness. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, October 10, 2008)

Related: My post, COLUMBUS AND LEIF ERIKSON DAY.

YUJA WANG

Have you heard about classical pianist Yuja Wang? Here is an excerpt from Lawrence A. Johnson's article, The restless, intellectual life of 21-year-old Wang. [Via Randex.]

In addition to a voracious appetite for music, the depth of Wang's taste in reading is impressive in an age when The Da Vinci Code is considered classic literature. ''Right now I'm reading The Idiot by Dostoyevsky,'' she says. ''And I read Nietzsche's Thus Sprach Zarathustra and Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. And I love Victor Hugo. I read no trash,'' she laughs. (The Miami Herald, October 10, 2008.)

BLACKOUT SHOT

I am feeling a bit under the weather at the moment. [Editor's note: In Swedish you call it "under the ice."] Here is a drink recipe that could be a good remedy:

Blackout shot

• Sambuca.
• Unicum.

First pour Sambuca and then Unicum. Use a spoon then you add Unicum into the shot glass.

Egészségedre!

CARNIVAL OF THE RECIPES

Welcome to my edition of the Carnival of the Recipes! I had similar difficulties in grouping the different recipes as NerdMom, but I tried to compile it in different food groups and type of meals. You could say that a common thread is that you get a warm and fuzzy feeling when you serve these dishes. You will find several examples of soups and stuff with a hot & spicy touch to it. Don't you think this is the perfect theme during the fall season? And now, without further ado, here is the list of recipes!

Liquid form of recipes, e.g. stew and soup. Perfect as a starter.

Shaun presents Ajiaco Emerilized posted at Onelite Foods. [Editor's comment: Is this the similar dish that is popular in Columbia?]

Bill presents soup recipe - vegetable soup recipe vegetable soup recipes - Quick Hearty Minestrone | World Famous Recipes posted at World Famous Recipes. [Editor's comment: Have you had this soup in Italy?]

Slow Cooker Recipes presents Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup posted at Slow Cooker Recipes. [Editor's comment: Does this recipe belong to the Slow Food movement?]

Pasta

After a great start with stuff that is warming up your body, it is time for a meaty pasta dish from Italy.

World Famous Recipes presents Italian Recipes - Italian Pasta Bolognese posted at Recipes. [Editor's comment: Have you compared the different taste between the original source of Bologna and the American style? The Swedish Chef declares that "spaghetti med köttfärssås" is popular in Scandinavia.]

And now over to the sea food category...

Fish

Diabetic Recipes presents Scallop Fish Tacos posted at Diabetic Recipes - Diabetic Meals. [Editor's comment: Mmm... it's getting spicy with Tabasco.]

As you may know, I like to eat meat, so it is time to get out the carving knife!

Meat

Editor presents Barbecued Pork Chops posted at Phoenix Arizona East Valley Living Blog. [EGO Editor's note: I am thinking of getting Eat The Meat by Jonas Borssén. Talking about books, check out the next recipe for tips on cooking books for children.]

Anne-Marie presents Warming up with some pumpkin chili | My Readable Feast - children's book activities, kidlit reviews, and children's cooking activities posted at My Readable Feast - children's book activities, kidlit reviews, and children's cooking activities.

Gus Van Horn sent me the following recipe by email. [Editor's comment to Gus: Please pick a matching beer to your recipe...]

And now for a recipe with a "warning label"... Master artist, Robert Tracy, sent me the following email with a moving story about a recipe called "Sh*t On a Shingle":

I tell you the best meal I've ever had, and I had it for breakfast every morning I was in a Marine Corps mess hall, was SOS. We Marines called is "shit on a shingle". I've cooked it myself once in a while and my wife (and daughters, when they were girls) loved it. We always have it for supper, not breakfast. It's a complete meal in itself. This is as far from a PC meal as you can get, what with the beef, fat, butter and salt. But I'm still alive.

Here it is:

Recipe for “Marine Breakfast” (SOS)

(Serves eight, or two hungry Marines)
½ pound ground beef (ground chuck for flavor)
1-tablespoon bacon fat (lard/Crisco or butter) -Bacon fat is best.
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk (add more milk if you want it thinner)
1/8-teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
8 slices of dry toast -It was white toast in those days.

Using a large skillet (12-14 inches), crumble and brown the ground beef with fat and salt. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly. Mix in the flour until all of the meat is covered, using all of the flour. Replace the skillet on the heat and stir in the milk. Keep stirring until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens (boil a minimum of one minute).

Serve over the toast (the "shingle"). Salt and pepper to taste.

Also, I recommend saturating your toast with plenty of butter.

I would add (reading that you like spicy food) that I omit the onions that are in the original recipe for Marine Corps SOS. I do so because I do not like spicy food--it gives me heart-burn, although my wife can take the a half-oz. sip of Tabasco Sauce (by the way, Tabasco Sauce was invented by a Marine) with no ill side effects. Also, I make SOS a little thicker than the recipe I sent by reducing the amount of milk.

Also, I don't think you'll want to use the kinda cute term we Marines called SOS with the first word being "shit". Might want to fix that. But when the meal is made, it looks crappy. But just try it and see. It's delicious. Moreover, you can add and/or subtract some of the ingredients to suit your taste--perhaps come up with a brand new recipe of your own.

Source: Image provided by Robert Tracy.

As a "commander in chef," I order you to prepare the above mentioned recipe and then read the following letter by Robert Tracy to his congressman:

Martin,

Let me try to re-write what I wrote my congressman, in part.

I wanted him to vote against the "bailout".

I told him a story, a true story, about how I was motivated by experience for Linda and I to deal with the situation facing us. That we can fend for ourselves and don't want any government "bailout".

It went something like this:

On a five-day Recon patrol in 1968 in the jungles of Vietnam we got socked in and couldn't get extracted. With five-day's of rations we ran out of chow. What did we do? Well, we rigged up a hook, line and sinker. While at the edge of a wide river one man would stand guard while the other would try to catch a fish to no avail. A Marine from Georgia, an out-doorsman, found a large lizard on a tree, cut the head off with his fighting knife, and cooked it. That's wall we had to share for five days. We got a call from the Commanding general of the 1st Marine Div. in Vietnam with an offer of moral support and to just "hang in there". We were miles inland and what had happened was there was a typhoon that had hit near Da Nang. All we got was so far inland was stronger than usual winds and a lot of rain and a heavy cloud cover. I think the enemy was hunkered down too. Looking back on it I figure we weren't in much danger from the VietCong. Finally the weather broke at twilight and the extraction was successful. Extracted back to the rear we were met with a big meal of steak, potatoes, vegetables, fruit and juice--and a big hearty welcome back. Funny, starved as we were we couldn't eat much. Our stomachs had shrunk. But next morning, after a night's sleep we had the usual SOS for breakfast in the chow hall, and just feasted on that breakfast.

I told my congressman this story to show that Linda and I are hurting just as bad as most are. What we're doing is buying cheap brands of everything and eating less as we see this through.

All the best,

Robert

And now over to a more healthier line of dish (Citrus-Stuffed Herbed Turkey) for the forthcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Here is a quote from Anne-Marie's (This Mama Cooks) post.

Why not create a healthy polymeal feast this Thanksgiving? Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S, is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health. His new book Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why shows how to combine ingredients – what he refers to as “polymeals” – that promote long-term health to create meals that will literally save your life. (ThisMamaCooks.com)

Anne-Marie presents Healthy holiday polymeal cooking with the Healthiest Meals on Earth posted at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet. [Editor's note: Read about the true background of Thanksgiving.]

I want to make a tie in to the health issue by providing you with a a fresh and healthy smoothie based on the superberry called Acai. Dr. Perricone has ranked Acai as number 1 of today's known superfoods. He has called it nature's energy fruit. [Editor's note: Full disclosure: I am a distribute trader / reseller of Acai Planet's juice product.

Martin Lindeskog's Superberry Smoothie

• 1 deciliter of pure Acai juice.
• 200 gram of blueberries.
• 1 piece of preserved ginger.
• 1 banana.
• 2 deciliter of mild light yogurt with vanilla flavor.
• (Ice cubes, optional if you want it very cold.)

Mix everything in juice mixer. Serve cold together with a hot dish!

After dinner time

I think that the recipe called Cheesy Goblin Head by Shawn Lea of Everything and Nothing will be a perfect after dinner combo together with some crackers and a glass of wine. [Editor's note: I want to thank Shawn Lea for giving me the opportunity to host this edition of the Carnival of the Recipes!]

As a special treat, I want to inform you that the Cinnamon Roll Day was celebrated on October 4 in Sweden. Perhaps your prefer a Danish, a.k.a "Rose of the Prophet Muhammad" instead?

If you want to participate with a recipe for the next edition of the Carnival of the Recipes, go to Blog Carnival and submit your recipe.

MARTIN TYTELL

Read the fascinating story about "a man who loved typewriters." This is a perfect example on how to write a good article. Here is an excerpt:

His love affair had begun as a schoolboy, with an Underwood Five. It lay uncovered on a teacher’s desk, curved and sleek, the typebars modestly contained but the chrome lever gleaming. He took it gently apart, as far as he could fillet 3,200 pieces with his pocket tool, and each time attempted to get further. A repair man gave him lessons, until he was in demand all across New York. When he met his wife Pearl later, it was over typewriters. She wanted a Royal for her office; he persuaded her into a Remington, and then marriage. Pearl made another doctorly and expert presence in the shop, hovering behind the overflowing shelves where the convalescents slept in plastic shrouds. (The Economist, September 18, 2008.)

Talking about typewriters, here are the facts regarding the origin of Ayn Rand's professional name. She didn't take her last name after the Remington Rand typewriter.

PLEASE SEND ME YOUR RECIPES

I will host next edition of the Carnival of the Recipes. You could find this week's edition at Nerd Family Food. Please go to the Blog Carnival page and submit your recipes by 12 P.M. CST Saturday, September 27. Anything goes, but I must admit that I enjoy hot & spicy dishes. [Editor's note: It is "World Tourism Day" on September 27. Maybe you have a food memory from a trip abroad or a recipe from a foreigner or tourist that you want to share.] I hosted the Carnival of Recipes on March 5, 2006. It had a Danish theme.