Author: bill

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Provencal New Potatoes Recipe | Simply Recipes

One of our favorite dishes is flank steak which I marinate in teriyaki sauce for several hours and then broil. I typically serve it with a green vegetable and potatoes. Provencal potatoes adds an abundance of complex flavors to a meat with a lot of flavor, too. It may be too much with this meat but we liked it.

Provencal New Potatoes Recipe

 

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes

The garlic cloves are cooked with their peels still on (but crushed) to help keep the garlic from burning or drying out. The peels also help keep the mushy roasted garlic distinct, so that if an individual doesn’t want to eat garlic, it can be avoided. You can either remove the skins before serving, or let the individual remove them once served.

Ingredients
  • 2 lb small new potatoes (look for the smallest you can find, the potatoes should be no bigger than 1 1/2 inches, if they are bigger, cut them into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces)
  • 1 medium onion, sliced in the direction of root to top
  • 6 cloves of garlic, crushed with peel on (do not remove peel)
  • 2-3 small to medium vine-ripened tomatoes, or plum tomatoes, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
  • 10 pitted olives, green and black (Kalamata and Nicoise)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp herbes de Provence
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives for garnish
Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F

2 Put all ingredients (except chives) into a bowl, toss with your (clean) hands to coat completely with oil and seasonings.

3 Spread out in an even layer in a roasting pan.

4 Put the potatoes in the oven, cook for fifteen minutes at 400°F. Then reduce the heat to 375° and cook for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the onions and tomatoes are somewhat caramelized and the potatoes are cooked through. Halfway through cooking, stir the potatoes so that they remain well coated with oil and do not get dried out, and the bottom of the pan stays coated with oil.

5 Remove from oven and let sit until cooled to room temperature.

Sprinkle with freshly chopped chives to serve. Excellent served with steak and a side of greens. (You can toss fresh spinach or chard with the oil remaining in the potato roasting pan and put back into the oven for just a few minutes until just wilted.)

Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

Provencal New Potatoes Recipe | Simply Recipes

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Taco Seasoning I Recipe – Allrecipes.com

I made the Best Ever Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe and the Taco Seasoning I Recipe several times over the last couple of months to season ground beef for taco salad. The only difference between the recipes is the amount of cumin and black pepper. The Best Ever Taco Seasoning has 1/2 teaspoon more cumin and no black pepper. I think I liked it better than the Taco Seasoning I  I was using so I compared the ingredients. I guess I will have to do more testing.

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Taco Seasoning I Recipe – Allrecipes.com

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Ken Blackwell: EPA’s Train Wreck Could Leave Ohio in the Dark

 

According to analysts, this assault on Ohio’s coal-burning power plants transfers directly into at least 10 plant shutdowns — from North Bend to Beverly — and over 1,000 job losses. According to a report from the United Mine Workers of America, national job losses associated with the closure of EPA-targeted coal units could be significant, amounting to more than 50,000 jobs in the coal, utility and rail industries. With Ohio’s unemployment rate still above 9 percent, the EPA "Train Wreck" would clearly be a major blow to our state.

Ken Blackwell: EPA’s Train Wreck Could Leave Ohio in the Dark

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Cable Guy + drill + electrical panel = Trouble

After church my mother-in-law asked me to come over to her house and look at the electrical panel. Yesterday she had some people working around the panel and they nearly got killed. They said the electrical panel was a safety hazard and that she should get some lawyers to sue the electrical company that put in it.

Although I am not an electrician I am an electrical engineer with some practical experience around electrical panels. When I got there the cover was off the panel. That is always a bad sign. So I asked my mother-in-law to tell me the story. Yesterday the cable guy installed new cable and telephone service. First he ran the cable came into the garage next to the electrical panel. Next he installed a device similar to the cable modem on the wall for the telephone service. When he plugged the device into the outlet next to the panel, he caused a breaker to trip. This is where the story gets real funky. The cable guy removes the electrical panel cover. I have no idea why he removed the panel cover but he does something in the panel and then has problems putting the cover back on. I am guessing he was having problems with one of the screws used to attach the cover to the panel not lining up with hole. So he pulls out his drill and sets about enlarging the hole on a live electrical panel. By definition anyone pointing a drill at a live electrical panel is an idiot looking for trouble and that is what he found. The drill went through the hole in the panel and into the 200 amp main feed to the house. A small explosion occurred, part of the drill bit is vaporized, and he is blown backwards. He is lucky. If the panel was not grounded, he would be dead now. Hopefully he knows the difference between electricians and cable guys. Cable guys do not work on electrical panels.

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EPA Set to Implement Economically Ruinous Regulations on Power Plants

Here is the comment I made on The Foundry blog to this post, EPA Set to Implement Economically Ruinous Regulations on Power Plants.

I love breathing clean air and seeing clean water, too. One of the best ways is to drive right through the heart of coal country, West Virginia. My son goes to school at Virginia Tech and our route to Blacksburg goes through numerous national parks in east Ohio, West Virginia, and Southwest Virginia. I read that there are many coal mines and electrical generating plants nearby but they are not seen from the road and they definitely do not spoil the air. The one place I get to see a plant is along of my favorite stretches on the route. Nestled next to the New river is an electrical generating power plant quietly doing its job.  Awhile back I stopped at the convenience store next to the plant. Considering the merchandise on display and the people in the store, I think it is fair to say that workers at the plant are passionate about their hunting and fishing. I suspect that both plant management and workers have a vested interest in protecting their local fishing hole. In all of my trips through West Virginia I have yet to see or smell pollution.

So I am confused. How is this supposed to work? We let the EPA create a back door national energy policy that picks winners and losers in the energy market, will likely raise electrical prices, shut down plants, and put people out of work. The EPA was created to be an antagonist to business for some real environmental concerns. Now it appears their mission is to antagonize the American people over environmental issues we cannot detect without sophisticated instruments. How is this good for America? Does this mean we should shut down the Energy department since EPA is in charge of the national energy policy. Is the final solution for the EPA and the crowning glory of our environmental effort to turn Washington, DC, back into a swamp? I suspect that the folks in West Virginia will never see or smell any of the benefits of the new EPA regulations but they will notice the people out of work.  This sure looks like a policy created by folks who never have been to West Virginia. I love breathing clean air and seeing clean water but on this issue I think our priorities are screwed up.

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Solar & Wind Energy Calculations: The (very) Basics

My boss and I are engineers and share a passion for the technical side of green technology. This is a good resource page for basic solar and wind calculations.

This is a simplified, "lay persons’" overview of how solar energy systems calculations are made. The solar estimates provided via our solar estimators are much more complex and complete. This simplified overview is meant only to provide the reader with a very basic understanding of some solar energy system calculation methods.

http://www.solar-estimate.org/?page=solar-calculations

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Learning from Rafiki

My son is a rising junior at Virginia Tech and pulled a real bone-head trick last spring. Last week we found out that his scholarship was suspended again. His scholarship was suspended last spring when the Army pulled his scholarship because he failed a physical test. He says he was sick that day and missed the qualifying run time by few seconds. He did not know the impact of the failed test until the spring. When he showed up for classes in the spring, he found out that his scholarship was yanked. He got a loan to cover his tuition but it is obvious that this mini-crisis left him severely depressed. Eventually he stopped going to class and skipped most of his exams. You can guess what his spring semester grade point average was. Last week the Army told him his scholarship was suspended for the fall. He did not tell his mom or me until he had to. Naturally we reacted to the news differently. She can barely talk to him without making some kind of threat. He lied to her and her vision of his future is shattered. She is hurt and she wants her pound of flesh. I am disappointed but I know we have a short window in which we can partially fix the problem and develop a new career plan. The first part of the plan is to change majors. The job opportunities with this new plan are less but my son thinks he will be happier. Fixing his attitude is a bigger challenge. Maybe in a few years he can laugh at his actions. Here is what that wise old sage, Rafiki, said about living with the pain of bad decisions.

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I’ve been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past.
[laughs]
Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or… learn from it.
[swings his stick at Simba again who ducks out of the way]
Rafiki: Ha. You See? So what are you going to do?
Adult Simba: First, I’m gonna take your stick.
[Simba snatches Rafiki’s stick and throws it and Rafiki runs to grab it]
Rafiki: No, not the stick! Hey, where you going?
Adult Simba: I’m going back!
Rafiki: Good! Go on! Get out of here!
[Rafiki begins laughing and screeching loudly]

Rafiki (Character) – Quotes

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A Nice Steak at Parkers Blue Ash Grill

IMG_20110611_192316

This is a really nice steak from grass fed cattle I ate at Parker’s Blue Ash Grill in Cincinnati. Organically grown, grass fed cattle is a popular trend in dining. The steak was served on a medley of vegetables and topped with a small dab of herbed butter. The meal was a bit expensive but I told my wife she was worth it. My wife and I were celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary.

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My New Car, 2009 Subaru Forester

Subaru 2009 Forester

Here is my newest toy, a 2009 Subaru Forester. The car in the background is my 2000 Subaru Forester. It has 195,000 miles on it but still runs nice. My wife has been bugging me to give my old Forester to my son. I had been saving up for a new car but I only had enough money for a used vehicle or an inexpensive new car. Since I live on a farm I consider All Wheel Drive or four wheel drive to be a necessary requirement. Driving down our driveway after a snowstorm can get a little dicey. This Subaru was the best AWD/4WD value I could find in my price range.

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California’s Secret Government by Steven Greenhut, City Journal Spring 2011

This is interesting. By law the California state government must use its general fund to compensate the schools for the money that the redevelopment agencies(RDA) have diverted. Although Ohio has redevelopment agencies it appears that tax increment financing districts are the preferred method of financing these “redevelopment” projects. I looked at Ohio’s Tax Increment Financing page and could not find any mention of Ohio school districts being compensated by the state for the diverted property tax revenues.

In Sacramento, Governor Jerry Brown is planning to close California’s $26.6 billion structural deficit through spending cuts and tax extensions. Opposition has been spirited but less contentious than expected, probably because of the size of the budget hole. But one item of Brown’s plan””something that would save about $1.7 billion annually””has generated heated debates between local officials and the new administration. The governor has proposed eliminating California’s approximately 400 redevelopment agencies (RDAs).

In theory, RDAs spearhead blight removal. In fact, they divert billions of dollars from traditional services, such as schools, parks, and firefighting; use eminent domain to seize property for favored developers; and run up California’s debt to pay those developers to construct projects of dubious public value, such as stadiums and big-box stores.

California’s Secret Government by Steven Greenhut, City Journal Spring 2011