Lighten up... with Blueberry Cashew Biscotti · Tuesday January 30, 2007 by colin newell
In all fairness, this is an adaptation from the Cranberry-Candied Ginger biscotti from the Christmas issue of EAT Magazine. I like coffee, as you all know, and there is nothing better than a rock-hard biscotti with a cup of rich, hot and freshly brewed joe. They go hand in hand.
For some, baking biscotti is a bit of a hassle. I mean, you have to kind of 1/2 bake it and bake it again. No problem for me. I live for hassles so I have made this a fun one. Read on and enjoy.
I did not have any cranberries. Nor did I have candied ginger.
So here we go.
2.5 cups of all purpose flour | 1 cup sugar
1 tsp ground ginger | 2 large eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon | 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder | 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp baking soda | 3/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 tsp salt | 1/2 cup unsalted ground cashews
1/2 cup softened butter |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F)
In a medium sized bowl, blend or sift flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl toss in the softened butter. Add sugar and blend til creamy. You will need a fairly robust blender for this from here on in.
Beat in eggs, vanilla and almond extract.
Gradually add in the dry to the egg/sugar/butter mixture.
Blend until a dough starts to form.
Toss in your blueberries and ground nuts.
Knead into a ball with your hands.
Remove from bowl to floured surface. Divide ball of dough into 2 equal sized pieces and roll them into 2 12” long loaves.
Flatten loaves slightly and square off the ends, placing them on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light brown.
Remove from oven and cool for 5-7 minutes.
With a serrrated knife, cut the loaves (along the bias) into biscotti sized (1” thick) slices.
Return each biscotti (standing on edge) to the parchment paper covered cookie sheet and return to the oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are dried out. Do not over brown.
Remove from oven, cool and place in air-tight container.
Makes about 2 dozen biscotti. Cheers!
Comments? [1]
Morons on wheels - Darwin's natural selection · Sunday January 28, 2007 by colin newell
We had a wonderful weekend at Point No Point
Beautiful weather. Brilliant Sunshine. Rest and relaxation.
Oh yea. And a…
High-speed motorcycle crashing head-on into a BMW.
West coast road between Sooke and Jordan River and Port Renfrew, however scenic, is an environment of vehicular lawlessness that the R.C.M.P cannot get a handle on.
Every weekend the Sun comes out, zippy hives of crotch rocket driving morons (guys in almost 100% of cases) zip down this winding ocean-side road at speeds over 100 miles per hour.
They endanger their lives.
And the lives of other motorists.
And they do this every time the sun comes out.
They are male. And they are ignorant and inconsiderate of others.
Anyhow. This weekend, one of these morons on wheels met head on with a brand new BMW. Judging by what was left of the bike, there was little left of the driver. The Beemer faired much better; some crumples on the hood. That was pretty much it.
Yep. This is Darwin at work. Natural selection.
And it works.
On a more personal note, I have had these 2-wheeled morons come screaming up behind my wife and I on the West Coast road… endangering us. I treat this kind of behavior as if it was agressive assault (like there is any other kind…)
And I tend to hit back.
So watch for me.
Thank you to the word-Nazi who corrected my terrible punctuation.
Slow down! [7]
U.S. develops yet another tool for abusing civilians... · Friday January 26, 2007 by colin newell
The US military has given the first public display of what it says is a revolutionary heat-ray weapon to repel enemies or disperse hostile crowds.
Called the Active Denial System, it projects an invisible high energy beam that produces a sudden burning feeling.
Military officials, who say the gun is harmless, believe it could be used as a non-lethal way of making enemies surrender their weapons.
Officials said there was wide-ranging military interest in the technology.
Heat energy up to 54C (130F) penetrates less than 0.5mm of skin
Manufacturers say this avoids injury, although long-term effects are not known… link
Ok. Here is the deal. I worked with a variety of microwave transmitting systems* (for the Canadian Federal Government) for about 4 years. The hazards of heating from microwave radiation are well known and published widely.
This kind of radiation damages your eyes and it can damage your D.N.A.
Anything AND I MEAN ANYTHING that the U.S. military says about this system is utter bull$hit.
For the record, I am a federally and provincially certified journeyman electronics and telecommunications technician fully qualified to operate, design and rebuild all manner of high power transmitting and receiving equipment.
Deal or no Deal? [4]
Oh Damn, not another hobby... · Wednesday January 24, 2007 by colin newell
There aren’t too many Christmas gifts that make me light up like a…
well, you know.
My sister-in-law and brother-in-law bought me one of these for the holidays.
And I curse their names every hour of every day…
that I am playing with it.
I mean, if you know me, you know that I have one too many hobbies.
One too many.
This one actually takes the cake though. It looks simple enough but it demands 100% of your attention to keep it in the air and out of your hair.
The Micro-Mosquito coaxial helicopter is a lot of fun. There are online forums dedicated to the discussion and dissection of this toy.
Alas, I have almost moved on to this website
located in Canada no less.
I have my eye on a tricked out Nitro Raptor with a Futaba radio, tight damping and all metal swash-plate…
whatever the heck that is…
Gift givers – I curse your name!
