Easter Dinner

This was a completely atypical Easter for my wife and I. She had surgery last Wednesday and we informed the family that we wouldn't be attending the Easter gathering.  I had to work for an hour or so this morning at 9am and that was a good thing, because it turned out that was my only reason to shave and get dressed.

I had decided to go non-traditional for dinner this year.  I had a corned beef brisket in the freezer (I bought a couple on sale around St. Patrick's Day) and I defrosted it yesterday, then brined it overnight.  If you haven't discovered brining, get to it.  The meat comes out so juicy and tender that it's totally insane. I discovered brining last Thanksgiving and I use that technique every chance I get now. It produced the very best turkey I've ever cooked, and I have a special talent for poultry dishes. A simple concoction is 1.5-2 gals water, 1/2 cup salt and 1 cup sugar. Add bay leaves,other fresh spices or just cracked pepper if you like. Scale down for the size of meat and amount of water that you use. 

This morning, early, I set it up in the crock pot with about 12 ounces of orange juice, sprinkled the brisket with peppercorns and let it go for about 5.5 hours on high. I was going to chop some fresh rosemary and sprinkle that in it too, but I hadn't used the orange juice marinade before so I decided to eliminate an additional variable.   If anything, I am a systematic cook.  Definitely not fine dining, but usually very tasty and reasonable healthy.  Sides included broiled asparagus sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil, cracked pepper and salt, mashed potatoes, followed by dutch apple pie and french vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Still way too much food for two, but we'll have great leftovers for a couple of days. We actually delayed dessert for about two hours.

It's kind of strange not feeling rushed to get someplace, then forcing yourself to try to stay awake in a crowd after a big meal. We couldn't really go out for a post-prandial walk because of my wife's surgery but it was nice to have a no pressure holiday for a change. She did dress for dinner, but promptly regressed into those comfy pajamas. I was never much of a PJ man until about 5 years ago, but if nature and man didn't intervene on certain days, I think could pretty much live in them when inside my home and be a happy camper.

While I certainly did miss seeing 'the fam' today, it was great to be alone with my wife. All of the kids are growing and going in their own directions, we're getting older and some are thinking about ditching Michigan to move to warmer climes.  I do wonder how long the usual holiday routine will last. No matter where you're at in life, I think you can potentially be at the best point in your life.  I'm wondering more often if this is the best part of my life.  I sincerely hope not and I'll try to make every year, month, week, and day better than the previous. I hope you do, too.  Happy Easter, and to my Jewish friends, Happy Passover.

Is The World Getting Crazier?

I don't think so. I think we're just too connected. Every little thing is instantly spread by 24 hrs news outlets, twitterbugs, and bloggers. (Hey, I'm one of them! Bloggers, I mean.)

So onto my craziness target.  We have a real, live celebrity (er, wannabee) about 45 minutes away.  Pastor Terry Jones is in a Dearborn (MI) courtroom waiting to find out if he will be allowed to hold a protest that includes buring a Quran outside a Deaborn mosque.

You know, I don't care if you're the president of the virginity league and you want to burn a racy novel.  Book burners don't sit well with me. For that matter, neither do book banners, but that's for another day.  In this country you are able to burn an American flag if you wish, under the premise of free speech.  I guess that means that books are not off limits either, even if they are considered books of faith.  And if we let a whacko lead us down the path of abridging our First Amendment right to free speech, well, then shame on us.

As distasteful as this man is, I think he has the right to assemble and protest, and yes - even burn a holy text.  But that's as far as I will go.

I think he makes a mockery of religious leadership.  How can a 'Christian' espouse such hatred? Oh, I know, it's the 15 minutes thing.  He's had a couple of 15 minutes ventures into the limelight, decided that he liked it, and is back for more - and more, and more and more.  I further believe that he is a very small human being and he is disguising his hatred for the Moslem world under the cover of 'free speech'. Hey, whatever it takes to get in the media.

I did a little background on 'Pastor' Terry Jones and discovered that he is not really a graduate of any divinity school.  He is an 'appointed' Pastor and was released from a church position in Germany in 2008 "due to his indefensible theological statements and his craving for attention." (See Wikipedia reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dove_World_Outreach_Center)

Apparently, his church does well enough to get him and some of his followers to places around the country for well publicized and emotional protests. His congregation (The Dove World Outreach Center) is reported to be around 50 strong, with 30 or so at weekly services. I guess we should be happy that it's not double, triple, or more than that. It has been classified as a hate group by the Southern poverty Law Center for its anti-gay activities. 

In Metro Detroit, a coalition of religious leaders representing many different faiths have rallied together to denounce this 'protest'.  Hopefully, this group will hold its little protest, pack up into their cars or bus and head back to Gainesville, Florida, where their Mayor has termed them an "embarassment to the community.

Will Donald Trump Run?

Does anybody really care?  While he's busy trying to prove that President Obama isn't really an American that's not all he's doing.  He recently (this week) bought a Virginia vineyard at foreclosure. Perhaps that will give him something constructive to do rather than muddy up an already cloudy political lagoon.

He would be the most inept President ever. Even worst than Warren G. Harding, who reportedly played poker while allowing his friends to plunder the US Treasury. In fact, a famous quote attributed to him was, "I am not fit for this office and should never have been here." Wow. That's a mouthful.

Perhaps Mr. Trump could keep to his apprenticing and wine making and prevent us from seeing the first President that says to himself, "you're fired".  With conviction, of course. My estimation of politicans in general is at an all-time low, but if we're looking for a non-politican 'savior', it most surely won't be Donald Trump.

I have nothing against the man personally, but he's is probably the definition of what we don't need as our commander in chief. Stick to the mindless medium of television - please.