ricketyclick

Mom (”Hi Mom!”) is growing tomatoes in her backyard garden, right next to the patio. Apparently she’s got a few little green fruit beginning to bud out. We are all awaiting BLT day.

She’s not the only one, although these folks are probably not going to contaminate theirs with bacon:

Three months after US forces dropped tonnes of bombs on Arab Jubur and put Al-Qaeda to flight, farmers are everywhere out in their fields tending their tomatoes.

Homes in the Sunni Arab rural patch about 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Baghdad, meanwhile, are being rebuilt, schools reopened, roads repaired and irrigation pumps renewed, even as shopkeepers happily dust off their shelves.

“It’s the first time in three years I am able to work in my lands,” said Ammar Wadi, a 30-year-old vegetable farmer who also runs a small dairy herd.

His lands, on the banks of the Tigris, are thriving. Besides tomatoes, he also grows ochre and wheat, while some of his 30 acres is devoted to pastures.

“When Al-Qaeda was here it was impossible to farm,” said the jolly-faced farmer from under an orange cap while taking time out from his labours to visit his cousin’s newly-reopened grocery store on a dusty rural road.

“They cut the power so we couldn’t pump water,” said Wadi. “We couldn’t buy fuel. They would shoot at anyone they saw in the fields. They kidnapped and murdered many people. They destroyed life here.”

If you want some lovely, juicy hope, actually ripening on the vine, read the whole thing.

Via Insty.

By the way, I have to point out that AFP, Agence France-Presse, has been consistently anti-American, and anti-War up till now. If they’re reporting good news like this, it means two things:

First, that the news from Iraq is so very good, and so bountiful, that not even they can ignore it anymore.

Second, that the streets of Iraq are safe enough for AFP reporters to come out of the their hotels and do some actual reporting, rather than depending on stringers of very questionable allegiance.

Finally, is anybody at all surprised that the French identify good news in Iraq as being about…food?

Mom’s a Hillary supporter, by the way.

(Me, I voted for Fred Thompson in the Texas primary, because he was the only candidate I cared about, and I was able to do so without a write-in because he left the race after the ballots were set.

(In the real election, I’ll probably vote for McCain, because I love America more than I hate him.)

However, I am always happy to help Mom out, so let me provide this link which expands a bit on her thesis:

Many of us familiar with Chicago politics have been wondering for months at the apparent disconnect of the media regarding Obama’s relationship to the Chicago political machine. Where did they think this guy came from?

The lack of curiosity by the press about Obama’s connections to one of the most corrupt city governments in the United States should be one of the big media stories of this campaign. While it is true that Obama’s connections to the Machine are not as extensive as many other politicians, I’ve got news for you Obama apologists; try running for any office in Chicago – local, state, or federal – and see how far you get without support from the regular Democrats.

I must point out that Mom’s a down-state Illinois native.

Oh, and I can’t resist Rick Moran’s opening quote from The Untouchables:

Malone: You said you wanted to get Capone. Do you really wanna get him? You see what I’m saying is, what are you prepared to do?
Ness: Anything and everything in my power.
Malone: And then what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way because they’re not gonna give up the fight until one of you is dead.
Ness: How do you do it then?
Malone: You wanna know how you do it? Here’s how, they pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way…

Over to you, Mom.

Could they be from plush lobbyists’ offices in D.C. to political machine offices in Chicago; and from Karl Rove to Obama’s political handler, Tony Rezko, who is already being investigated ?

–Mom

My Mom says she’d like to make the occasional post here, so I’ve created an author’s account for her, so she can use my own blog to scold me for my ridiculous politics.

So: next post is from Mom.

I recently posted a recipe for a bell pepper soup.

The soup is very robust–savory and tangy, but not spicy. The relatively short cooking time allows the flavors to mingle some, but the individual pepper pieces retain their character and firm texture.

I’ve since made a larger batch under my mother’s tutelage; here’s the result:

Makes 5 to 6 servings
4 red bell peppers OR 2 red and 2 yellow
1-1/2 small onions
5 to 6 garlic cloves
3 strips bacon
1-1/2 tblsp beef base paste (Better Than Bouillon ™)
5 cups water
1 tblsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 parsley frond (optional)
1 tsp basil (optional)
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

Chop the peppers and onion into 1″ squares (spoon-size).
Mince garlic.

I expect some people will want to include green peppers as well, but I prefer the less bitter red and yellow varieties. I like the reds the best, and might use them exclusively for myself but the yellow or orange adds visual appeal.

Use a purple onion for even more color.

Chop the bacon into 1/2″ chunks. Fry until just barely crisp, then strain out the bits; retain for later.

Mom suggested the trick of using the kitchen shears to chop the bacon.

Saute the onion in the bacon grease until almost transparent, then add the peppers and garlic and saute until the peppers begin to soften.

Mom and I considered adding celery, even carrots. In the end, we decided that anything like that started down the path to ordinary vegetable soup.

Thin the beef paste with a little bit of water in the measuring cup so it will mix well, then top off the cup and add it and the rest of the water to the vegetables. (Frankly, I’d've used only 4 cups of water; I like a strong stock. But that’s why I had Mom, to provide a reality check: she thought that made it too salty.)

The Better Than Bouillon beef base lives up to its name; it’s very good. Reading the labels, regular dried bouillon (cubes or powder) is essentially fillers with beef flavoring, while the BtB is beef stock with seasoning reduced to a paste. In my first attempt, I used chicken stock, but the beef stands up better against the peppers.

Add Wustershustershire and other seasoning, as desired.

Thyme is the most important seasoning; I might use as much two teaspoons.

A bay leaf wouldn’t hurt, particularly if you made this in a slow cooker over 4-6 hours. Half an hour isn’t really long enough to leach all the goodness out. Hm, I guess you could start the stock early, and let the bay simmer for a while longer….

Mom grows her own parsley; she snipped it up, so I have no real idea how much went in, or how that would translate to parsley powder. So, about a frond.

I’m very fond of basil, but Mom and Dad–not so much. I think I’m going to try to grow some basil this year, so I’ll report on that another time.

Bring to a boil, then let simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes until the peppers are al dente–firm but not crunchy.

Just before the finish, add the bacon bits and balsamic vinegar

I like this with pumpernickel toast instead of crackers.

Adding the bacon near the end keeps it from going limp. The vinegar will boil off if added at the start.

Half a cup of balsamic vineger makes a pretty tangy soup. Mom and I, both pickle people, liked it that way; I could have gone for as much 3/4 cup. Dad would have preferred no more than a 1/4 cup–but Dad has a rather bland tongue.

Wine might be an interesting alternative to the vinegar.

I originally speculated about using the slow cooker, but I’ve decided it’s not necessary, and might make the peppers and onions lose their identities.