Administrativia

This Week: Pork Chops in Dijon Mustard Sauce 4 boneless pork chops, 3/4" thick 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (98% Fat Free) 1/4 cup milk 2 tbsp. Chablis or other dry white wine 1 tbsp. Dijon-style mustard Season chops with lemon pepper. Heat oil in skillet. Add chops and cook until browned. Remove chops. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add soup, milk, wine and mustard. Heat to a boil. Add chops. Cover and cook over low heat 10 min. or until done. Calories Per Serving (Total): 320 Per pork chop: 280 Sauce: 40

Obama was correct to reject McSame's calls to take a trip with him to Iraq... after all, when you claim you can "walk freely" but need to be accompanied by 100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead, I wouldn't take the bait either. What Obama should do is make a 4th of July trip to Kuwait, Baghdad and Qatar -- visit with all the soldiers on the ground (with Senator Webb in tow) and secure the active miltary (rank & file) vote. (Oh, and yes I'm now in the Obama camp -- Hillary is through and needs to gracefully bow out.)

Statue honoring the nurses who served in Viet Nam. Viet Nam War Memorial Washington, DC October 2007

And the blogger for NASA is cute .

I drive a hybrid -- a made-in-the-USA, Ford Escape Hybrid. I get 32-35 MPG in normal mixed driving. My former car only got 15 MPG (on a good day), so my fuel usage has been cut in half. The economic impact? Here's a breakdown of how that impacts my bottom line: Basically, gas has to get to over $5.75/gallon for me to get back to where my annual fuel bill was 2 years ago. The savings on gas have already paid for the so-called "premium" of buying a hybrid (vs. a standard gas-powered vehicle)... and by the end of this year, will have paid for the extended service package I also bought -- which takes care of all the maintenance costs. (Well, actually, the tax credit I got for buying the car paid for that... but assuming I hadn't gotten any tax incentive, which you don't on any model that has had sales over 50K in a year.) All this means is that I'm better able to absorb the higher costs for food and other items -- to a point, of course. Price (gallon) Old Car Hyb...

This week: Tri-Color Risotto 3 tbsp. olive oil 2 cups mushrooms (crimini or portobello) chopped 6 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips 1 small yellow pepper, cut into strips 2 cups firmly packed chopped fresh spinach 1 1/3 cups uncooked regular long-grain white rice 3 1/2 cups low fat / low sodium chicken broth 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese 1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil leaves Heat 2 tbsp. oil in skillet. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add tomatoes and spinach and cook until spinach wilts. Heat remaining oil in saucepan. Add rice. Cook and stir for 2 min. Add 1/2 cup broth and cook until broth is absorbed. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until all broth is absorbed before adding more. Add mushroom mixture, cheese and basil. Heat through. Calories per serving: 190

This week: Stir Fry Wild Rice with Apples & Sun-Dried Cherries 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons finely minced onions 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 1/2 tablespoon paprika 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano 1 apple, peeled, cored, and cut into small cubes (granny smith or other tart apple) 1 cup chopped mushrooms 1/4 cup sun dried cherries 1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Heat saute pan. Add olive oil and saute minced onions and spices until translucent. Add chopped apple, mushrooms and sun-dried cherries and cook until mushrooms are cooked through. Add cooked wild rice and stir-fry until rice is hot and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Calories per serving: 250

From CNN iReports Nothing I could write can match the stories told here.

This Week: Herbed Pork Chops over Rice 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. paprika 1/4 tsp. dried basil leaves OR tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed 4 boneless pork chops, 3/4" thick 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 medium onion, sliced 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (98% Fat Free) 1/4 cup milk 3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain wild or white rice Prepare rice according to directions. Mix garlic powder, paprika and basil. Coat chops with garlic powder mixture. Heat oil in skillet. Cook chops 10 min. or until browned. Add onion and cook until tender. Add soup and milk. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 min. or until chops are done. Serve with rice. Total Calories Per Serving:~ 490 280 calories per chop 40 calories for sauce 170 for rice Suggested additional side(s): Fresh spinach salad with low-fat rasberry vinagrette (80 calories); apple chutney

McCain can't be trusted. Psst... do something.

Last week's ruling by the California Supreme Court was notable for several reasons: The scope of the ruling -- affirming full equality for gays and lesbians The size of the state -- the most populous in the country The reasoning -- affirming that civic marriage is a basic right for everyone; that the arguments against same-sex marriages cannot stand strict scrutiny The effects beyond California -- unlike MA, there is no residency requirement Of course, the GOP and the right-wingers are now somewhat buzzing -- but their most potent arguments have been blunted to near nothingness: with civil unions in place in Connecticut and Vermont, full marriage in Massachusetts, and several years of registered domestic partnerships in California, the "any recognition of gay relationships will destroy civilization" just won't fly. So, they're trotting out the "judicial activistism" canard is being tossed around indiscriminately: "activist judges" "overtur...

Interesting research in "viewing" essentially the unviewable -- the virtual connections of the blogosphere... and of course, I'll be adding a couple of lines simply by linking to the image and their Web sites. Data Mining: Mapping the Blogosphere Discovery Magazine, May 2007: Welcome To The Blogosphere Chronicle of Higher Education: Human Trails in Cyberspace The larger the white dot, the larger the community -- typepad, blogspot, DailyKos, etc.

I thought I'd supplement the Recipe Fridays with Side Dish Sundays... First up: Savory Apple Chutney 2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil 1 small red onion, finely chopped 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger 2 cloves garlic, chopped (or one tablespoon minced garlic) 1/2 jalapeno chile, finely diced 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced 1/2 cup apple juice 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves Salt and freshly ground pepper Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, and jalapeno, and cook until soft. Add half of the apples, the apple juice and vinegar, and cook until the apples are soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining apples and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving so that flavors meld.

This Week: Mike's "Cordon Blue" Chicken & Rice Casserole 1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (98% Fat Free) 1 1/3 cups water 3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice 1/2 tsp. onion powder 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper Dash salt 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables 1/2 cup bread crumbs (unseasoned) 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves 4 slices ham (thick slice or Canadian Bacon-style) 4 slices provolone cheese Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper, mushrooms and vegetables in an 11 x 8-inch (2-quart) shallow baking dish. Take chicken breasts and slice centers to create a pocket. Put the ham slices in the pocket. Place the chicken in the baking dish and dash with salt (optional). Sprinkle tops of chicken with breadcrumbs. Cover. Bake at 375°F. for 50 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with cheese. Let casserole stand for 10 minutes. Stir rice before ser...

Been rather hectic for me this week, but even so, yesterday's ruling by the California Supreme Court was a big net positive. From the majority opinion, written by Chief Justice George (pp. 120-121) "Accordingly, in light of the conclusions we reach concerning the constitutional questions brought to us for resolution, we determine that the language of section 300 limiting the designation of marriage to a union ³between a man and a woman² is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute, and that the remaining statutory language must be understood as making the designation of marriage available both to opposite-sex and same-sex couples. In addition, because the limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples imposed by section 308.5 can have no constitutionally permissible effect in light of the constitutional conclusions set forth in this opinion, that provision cannot stand. Plaintiffs are entitled to the issuance of a writ of mandate directing the appropriate state of...

Kim Son restaurant, downtown... It's iconic and has the best hot & sour soup I've ever had.

This week: Spicy Chicken Tenders 1 1/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken tender strips 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk 2 cups crushed white corn tortilla chips 2 cups crushed kettle-cooked jalepeno potato chips 1/2 tbs Ground pepper 1/2 tbs paprika 1/2 tbs garlic powder Cooking spray Take pepper, paprika, garlic powder and chips and pulse in a food processor until finely ground and well mixed. Transfer to a large (1 gallon) ziplock bag. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. In a shallow bowl or dish, combine buttermilk & chicken. Cover and chill for 15 minutes. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. One by one, take the chicken strips out of buttermilk, shaking off excess liquids, and shake in the ziplock bag until coated. (Discard crumbs after prepping the chicken). Arrange on the baking sheet. Bake until chicken is cooked through -- about 8 minutes. Remove from oven, but allow chicken to cool slightly on the sheet (keeps it crispier). Serve with picante sauce and/or low-fat ranch for dipping.

Tucked behind and below the Wortham Theater Center, you can descend either ramps or stairs down towards Buffalo Bayou and Alans ' Landing. This is where the Alan brothers landed - and eventually sold the swampland that is Houston. Part of the walkway takes you below the Prairie Street bridge and then under the Preston Street bridge to a large sloping green circle. The walkway is flanked by the "Seven Wonders" which are 70 foot tall laser-cut stainless steel columns designed by artist Mel Chin. The only part about the park I don't particularly like is that statue of GHWB ... bad enough you have to see it at the airport.

This is one of the smaller parks in Downtown, located next to City Hall. It was dedicated to the 1969 moon landing at Tranquility Bay. Ringed with shade trees, it has several walkways that take you to the central water feature -- large cylindrical water columns and overlapping reflecting pools. At the center and near the Smith street entry-ways are stairwells that take you into the Theatre District underground as this park (like Discovery Green on the other end of Downtown) sits on top of a one of the district's parking garages.

Last week I concentrated on lowering my total caloric intake by about 1000 calories per day from the 3400 calories projected by Nutrition Data's calculator. Weight as of this morning = 266 lbs. (-2 from 4/28). This week, I will continue to shed the calories and up the amount of walking I do -- taking the long-way around the floor when I need to get a print-out, etc., as well as Sunday outings to keep from being so sedentary. I also realized that I was being a bit too chatty on my calorie counting efforts -- nothing could be more boring than recounting how well you did by only eating so much... I guess it may have been the hunger adjustment talking, but even so... it's tedious. So other than blogging occasionally about the subject (Monday's mostly), I'll just stick to topics like the weather or politics.

This week: Chicken Pita Pizzas 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup fresh arugula 1 cup fresh baby spinach 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, very thinly sliced crosswise 4 6-1/2-inch whole-wheat pitas or eight 4-inch whole-wheat pitas 1 cup shredded provolone cheese Freshly ground pepper to taste Preheat oven to 500°F. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until the peppers begin to soften. Add chicken and cook another 5 minutes, stirring often, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and add arugula and spinach. Stir mixture to lightly braise the leaves. Place pitas on a baking sheet and top each with an equal portion of the chicken and vegetable mixture; sprinkle with cheese and pepper. Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Slice and serve warm. Each pita pizza runs a...

4,064 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003. 3925 U.S. service members have died since Bush declared "major combat" over and "mission accomplished. 29, 395 U.S. service members have been wounded in battle since the start of this. 1/2 of a trillion dollars have been spent so far... and the Bush administration is asking for another 250 billion for operations this year and into 1Q 2009. Some estimate that the total cost of Bush's folly will top $3 trillion. We don't know how many more will die.