Fulfilling My Promise, ¡Olé!

When I started this effort to chronicle whatssup, I promised that, on occasion, I would include some Wilson family recipes. Today, this has been fulfilled in your sight. Preparing these things are pretty much by memory for me, but every now and then I'll get the instructions out and see where I'm at as far as doing it correctly. Sometimes I change the recipe. Today is

¡SALSA!

The funny thing about this method is that many people think they can't find the tomatoes it takes to make it look and taste so fresh. Secret Numero Uno, "BUY CANNED DICED TOMATOES"

So here's the recipe. Good luck.

Dave’s Salsa fresca...

Salsas are personal sauces used for everything from a dip for chips to seasoning guacamole, to spicing up grilled shrimp. My salsa recipe seems to have evolved from a simple tomatoes and jalapeño mix to what was (at least when I made it last time) a more complicated sauce.

I like to use tomatillos as well as red tomatoes as a base. This is a personal preference. The tomatillos bring a certain “zing” which takes away from the sweetness of the tomatoes. Well here’s how I did it last time. I’ll mention certain techniques which seem to help speed the process up and keep the number of dishes to a minimum. Now that I’m writing this down, I may have to do it the same way twice, just to see if this is truly a recipe, or not. Enjoy.

Equipment I use...

A large (12” diameter, 5” deep) bowl

A medium colander which will fit down inside the bowl

I say medium because it’s not a coarse colander like you’d use for draining pasta, and it’s not a fine one like you’d use for sifting flour or other dry ingredients. It all depends on how “chunky” you want the finished product to be. The colander is used for draining the juices that come out of the tomatoes. If you want a really liquid salsa, skip the colander, it’s just something I like to use. The large bowl allows the salsa to spread out and drain efficiently.

A “cuisinart” food processor fitted with a metal blade.

I suppose you could use a blender, but it might be more difficult, since you’d have to scrape it down much more often during the process.

Ingredients...

Four or five medium sized ripe red tomatoes, whatever looks best in the market. Actually, I have been using canned “diced” tomatoes lately and they seem to work just fine when there are few “real” tomatoes available.

About six or seven small (about the size of a lime) tomatillos.

Look for very firm, almost hard tomatillos. Make sure the “parchment like” outer covering has not deteriorated too much. The covering should be split in several places, allowing you to see the fruit inside. Watch out for soft spots on larger fruits. Check for undocumented residents. I have found that roasting these at 400 'til some color appears and then "deglazing with a little water to get the burt sugar, makes for an interesting addition.

You want about one-third tomatillos, two-thirds red tomatoes by volume.

One medium onion

Four cloves of garlic

One jalapeño pepper (seeds and pith removed for medium heat)

One-half of a bunch of cilantro leaves, not too many stems - not italian parsley!

Freshly ground black pepper (about a half teaspoon, or to taste)

Salt to taste (about a quarter teaspoon, probably more)

Dried Mexican oregano (about a quarter teaspoon, rubbed between hands), or some cumin - this according to taste, one or the other.

Lime juice

Method...

Quarter onions, tomatoes and tomatillos and process separately in cuisinart ‘til desired “chunkiness”. This will probably take several batches in the machine. Don’t crowd the ingredients. Process until the mixture looks like a really watery green/red oatmeal. As the ingredients are processed, put them in the colander to drain, if desired. In the last batch of the tomatoes to be processed, include the pepper, garlic and cilantro and process a little finer. Don’t put these into the colander. Pour the finished salsa into a bowl and add salt, pepper, lime juice, stir and let sit for a while, adjust salt.

As we approach California's most important , biggest money-making, most accepted nuevo holiday (if you read the newspaper advertisements), I'll post some more recipes. By next Tuesday, the cinco, you should have enough info for a complete California meal!

I hope you took the time to look at the YouTube video I posted yesterday. It is important. Please look at it and send it around to your friends.

Panting, and I Don't Mean Dockers…

I'm still here. A word to the wise, be sure you have the correct MEDICAL term for what you're purchasing at the clinic before you look it up on the internet.

That said, I'm still here.

So, the procedure they told me I was to experience was the EKG where they "chemically" induce stress and your heart thinks you're running, but you're laying on a table. Bad news.

The EKG I got this afternoon was the old fashioned kind where you walk, then run until your heart gets to about 140 beats per minute or so (sort of like the way Jack Bauer's is all of the time). Once you reach that rate and sustain it or more for a minute, the tech comes in and shoots some radioactive stuff in an already placed IV. Apparently this stuff radioactively "stains" your heart in a way that can be photographed (actually you radiate the "film" somehow) and viola! they can see your arteries, etc. on your heart without the invasive angiogram methodology. Good for them. I'm glad that someone invented this thing.

It was an interesting way to spend an afternoon.

The alternative had been of course, equally nuclear. Seed implant - don't ask where. But now I am waiting for the doctor to call or the website to be updated. I guess if they don't call me ASAP, I don't need a triple bypass on Friday. That's good news because I was going to make carnitas and have a marguerita or two over the weekend because of the upcoming national holiday here in Norte California.

More on this part of my saga vitae later. Let's all be sure to watch this UTube video. Promise?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU&feature=email

Thanks for your prayers and concern.

Somehow, I Knew This Was Going To Happen…

A few minutes ago, they called and cancelled everything. EVERYTHING! It wasn't because I've suddenly been found to be healthy, no, it's because I've suddenly been found to be less healthy - all over again. It seems that there wasn't a time for me to have the stress EKG I told you about last week. So, without that test, and its attendant review, there is no surgery. When I calm down, I'll let you know what's happening. Right now I'm trying to understand why there are so few people in Santa Cruz who can run one of those stress EKG machines.

I am a real fan of the scenario which keeps me safe and healthy. Safe, in this case. Obviously, I'm not very healthy.

Well, the good news is that I don't really need the surgery (seed implant) right away. We found the anomaly very early.

The bad news is that it has been rescheduled for late June. JUNE! Holy Cow, another six or more weeks of restlessness and then all of those Doctor appointments all over again. How's that for taking a bite out of summer? Don't even mention my budget. Maybe I can get a discounted re-visit rate when it comes time to have some more of those fifty dollar a minute visits.

TGIF

Fridays are always weird. Everyone who works on a more or less "normal" schedule looks forward to Fridays because it means that Saturday is next (DV). When I was working, both as a heavy equipment operator for Delta Airlines and as a pastor, the week-ends were not necessarily a time of rest or "honey do" lists. In the airline business most days are like any other days. In the preaching business, Saturday means that Sunday's coming! Has the Lord spoken to you yet? I'm happy to report that I got the preparation for Sunday's services done early - most of the time.

Why am I writing thus, asks one or another of my loyal readers? Well, the week started out slow as I related yesterday, but Friday's pace picked up considerably. I took the EKG. Turns out there's stuff there you don't want to hear about. So I have to go to another Doctor (a favorite pastime) to get some more checks (and write some more checks, no doubt). I need another stress EKG to clear me for surgery. This was determined Friday afternoon. There are no techs available to give me the test on Monday. Wednesday is the procedure at El Camino Hospital, and Tuesday is the day for "colon cleansing" with the magnesium citrate oral solution. So picture this, dear readers, a stress EKG whilst clensing one's colon - what fun in store!

Will I be cleared (in more ways than one)? Keep tuned in.

Slow Week at the Office

This week seems to be dragging by. Maybe it's because of the bad start (losing at Bocce, again), or the schedule of doctor appointments. How many times can one be briefed on what's going to happen and how many forms can one sign that lets everybody out of any responsibility for most anything? The only one who seems to be left with any accountability is me. That accountability, of course, is to pay. And pay. And pay. Does anyone ever pay the first bill that comes in for a medical procedure? I hope not. I'm still getting bills for the things that were done to me last October. Double entered, computer glitch, wrong account numbers, it never seems to come to an end. I can see now why a friend quit his medical practice when the paperwork became more important than the patients.

Now here's an interesting thing to make the week more complex. They (the schedulers of all things medical) just called (between the words "important than" and "the patients") to cancel everything. All the surgery. All the post-ops. All the colon cleansing (yes!!!). All the sleepless nights (well, probably not). It seems that during my slow week participation in an EKG yesterday, I have heart stuff going on. Too bad for me. Good for the doctors, the sailboat store and the local Porsche mechanic.

I'm writing this "tongue in cheek" of course. I have every confidence in my Doctor's expertise. My urologist is a very nice guy, and his staff is most hospitable (is that a play on words?).

Whoops! They called again and everything is back on. Especially the sleepless nights.

Amnesty For Illegal Aliens - a good idea? !

Obama Seeks Amnesty For Illegal Aliens
By Chuck Baldwin
April 21, 2009


This column is archived at
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090421.html


One of the greatest disappointments expressed by former President George W.
Bush was his inability to provide amnesty for tens of millions of illegal
aliens. But as is so often the case, the departure of one Presidential
administration and the advent of another Presidential administration seldom
means great change, loquacious rhetoric by the current President
notwithstanding. The plan to provide amnesty for illegal aliens is a classic
case in point.

President Barack Obama is determined to succeed where G.W. Bush failed.
According to many published reports, he fully intends to grant amnesty to
tens of millions of illegal aliens. In fact, granting amnesty to illegal
aliens is on Obama's short list of priorities. That short list includes the
nationalization of America's financial systems, the nationalization of
America's healthcare and energy systems, expanding the wars in the Middle
East, strengthening and increasing global agreements and associations, gun
control (perhaps using international treaties where congressional
legislation has failed), and amnesty to illegal aliens.

Watch for Obama to make a full-court press for an amnesty proposal next
month. He has already appointed working groups to study strategies.
Administration sources have said Obama wants amnesty legislation on his desk
by this fall at the latest.

One way Obama is preparing the path for amnesty is contained in the massive
stimulus bill already passed by Congress and signed into law. According to
USA Today, "Tens of thousands of jobs created by the economic stimulus law
could end up filled by illegal immigrants, particularly in big states such
as California where undocumented workers are heavily represented in
construction, experts on both sides of the issue say.

"Studies by two conservative think tanks estimate immigrants in the United
States illegally could take 300,000 construction jobs, or 15% of the 2
million jobs that new taxpayer-financed projects are predicted to create."

What both Presidents Bush and Obama (and John McCain, too) refuse to
acknowledge is the devastating effects that illegal immigration inflicts
upon the overall health and safety of the people of United States. In strict
financial terms, the numbers are staggering.

According to research by Frosty Wooldridge, over $2 billion is spent on food
assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for
illegal aliens every year; $2.5 billion is spent on Medicaid for illegal
aliens every year; $12 billion is spent on primary and secondary school
education every year for children here illegally (and most cannot speak a
word of English); $17 billion a year is spent on education for so-called
"anchor babies"; and $90 billion a year is spent on illegal aliens for
welfare and social services. Add all of the various costs to U.S. taxpayers
for illegal aliens and the total is a whopping $338 billion each year.

See Wooldridge's research at

http://www.newswithviews.com:80/Wooldridge/frosty225.htm

In addition, according to Robert Rector, a scholar at the Heritage
Foundation, each illegal alien household will cost the American taxpayers
over $1 million dollars over a lifetime. This figure is derived from a
meticulous calculation of immediate services received versus any and all
taxes paid.

See Rector's report at

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/10/opinion/main2667167.shtml

Add to the financial costs of illegal immigration the cost of criminal
activity perpetrated by illegals, and an even grislier picture appears.

Over $4 million a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens; 29% of all
prison inmates are illegal aliens; 13 Americans are killed EVERY DAY by
drunk-driving illegal aliens; Latino gangs, such as MS-13 and the 18th
Street Gang, are now found in at least 37 states; and in New Mexico, nearly
half of jail and prison inmates are illegal aliens.

Additionally, FreeRepublic.com recently released FBI statistics showing that
95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles during the First Quarter of 2006
were for illegal aliens. 83% of warrants for murder in Phoenix were for
illegal aliens. In Albuquerque the percentage was 86%. The Most Wanted lists
in those three cities found that 75% were illegal aliens. In the southern
Border States, illegal aliens perpetrated 53% of all investigated
burglaries. Plus, 71% of all apprehended stolen cars in Border States were
stolen by illegal aliens.

Furthermore, according to Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), illegal aliens
murder 12 American citizens EVERY DAY. Put that murder statistic in
perspective: illegal aliens murder more Americans EVERY YEAR than the total
number of U.S. soldiers that have been killed in Iraq in over 5 years of
fighting.

See Congressman Steve King's report at

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/ia05_king/sp_20060503_stats.html

In addition, according to Dr. Deborah Schurman-Kauflin of the Violent Crimes
Institute (VCI), "there are approximately 240,000 illegal immigrant sex
offenders in the United States. This translates to 93 sex offenders and 12
serial sexual offenders coming across U.S. borders illegally per day."
According to Dr. Schurman-Kauflin, illegals "averaged 4 victims per
offender. Nearly 63% had been deported on another offense prior to the sex
crime."

Dr. Schurman-Kauflin concludes her report saying, "Illegal immigrants who
commit sex crimes first cross the U.S. border illegally. Then they gradually
commit worse crimes and are continually released back into society or
deported. Those who were deported simply returned illegally again. Only 2%
of the offenders in this study has no history of criminal behavior, beyond
crossing the border illegally. There is a clear pattern of criminal
escalation. From misdemeanors such as assault or DUI, to drug offenses,
illegal immigrants who commit sex crimes break U.S. laws repeatedly. They
are highly mobile, work in low skilled jobs with their hands, use drugs and
alcohol, are generally promiscuous, have little family stability, and choose
victims who are easy to attack. Their attacks are particularly brutal, and
they use a hands-on method of controlling and/or killing their victims."

See Dr. Schurman-Kauflin's report at

http://www.drdsk.com/articles.html#Illegals

Mind you, this is only a small sampling of the carnage, both fiscally and
criminally, that illegal aliens inflict upon America. And yet, G.W. Bush,
John McCain, and Barack Obama still desire to provide amnesty and permanent
U.S. citizenship to illegal aliens. And unless the American people again
rise up to defeat these forthcoming amnesty proposals, that is exactly what
will happen.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these
editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by
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http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

(c) Chuck Baldwin

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The Heat Is On

This morning it was eighty some-odd before nine AM. It's 97 on the deck right now. I'm not too sure that's accurate, but one thing is sure. It is warmish here on the Central California Coast! When the weather gets this way (and it often does) all you can do is wait for the sun to decline a bit and that heat goes right away and the cool sets in. Meanwhile watering and sweating are the things to do. I guess they are related somehow. We played Bocce again this morning and lost, again. Stupid game. I think my winter "beach bocce" really screwed up my "official court bocce". Is that believable? I'm sticking to it.

The "Santa Cruz Sentinel" published a listing of the County Employees' salary structures. It was the most downloaded data on their website. Ooops! It's gone. They took it off. That website is no longer available. It is not in our vast archives (all the way back to 4 April 2009?) Food for conspiratorial nuts such as my self.

But my efforts are not going unnoticed. I made another listing or watch notice. This time from the DHS. You can read it here…

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/14/federal-agency-warns-of-radicals-on-right/

You can read it here also…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/14/homeland-security-report_n_186834.html

What a great day!

What Makes Life Fun…

On tax payment day, the hooplah in my house wasn't about that $$$$$ going North to the Department of the Treasury in San Francisco (I assume that somehow it will go east for further distribution), but the lying persona of those who will take their cut, and pass it on to others who will do the same until $$ gets to veterans and others for whom it was meant.

Lying? Harsh, Dave, sez you. An observation of the truth, sez me. Take for example the funnest thing around right now…

The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.

“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah,” said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"The White House is denying", did you read that part? People can't make this stuff up folks. Truth is truly stranger than fiction. To deny that this is a picture of someone bowing is just silly. The fact that he bowed is not the important part. The fact that the government has to prepare a statement saying that your eyesight is failing is what's so sad.

Check out this URL:

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/04/obama_bows_down_to_saudi_king.html

Tell me what you see in the video.

How Did It Get To Be Tuesday?

Well, I was going to try to include something here that might interest my extended family and all those who might stumble across this blog. I didn't do all that well. The first thing was that I got so excited over it being Easter, that I was stunned to realize that it was also my mom's one hundred, first, birthday! Yea! Cake and Champagne all around. Of course, Mom has been with the Lord since the early eighties, but there's a strange sense of peace to think of all that she (and my Dad) continue to mean to me. Weird, huh? Hey, I'm seventy something, looking at various operations this month on assorted protuberances (prognosis good, BTW) and yet I think of my folks almost everyday. What a blast. Will my kids think of me? I hope so. I know so.
It's funny how Easter meant something more to me this year than it has in years past. It could be that I'm still reading the Bible, cover to cover, and have slogged my way though the Pentateuch. Another funny thing happened when I read…

4 Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
5 ¶ So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.
7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.
8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

From Deuteronomy 33

I cried, yeah, actually cried. You figure it out for yourself. It's important. It was life changing for me.
So any way, that said (one of my new favorite things to write), how 'bout that Obama man? I never though I'd be singing his praise, but I'm very glad for any part he may had had in authorizing the neutralization of the pirates in the waters off Somalia. Now if only he'd continue showing some grit towards all of the rest of the world. Oh sure, there'll be collateral damage, but if you believe that our cause is just it has to be done. Collateral damage is more important to those of us who have tasted combat than it is to those of you who might write about it, condemn us for it, or advocate dialogue with the PTBs. A great fear, but it cannot dissuade the warrior from his task. More tomorrow. Perhaps a reflection on my sending the government a check for my net worth, including a self addressed, stamped envelope for any change to be sent back.

I Can't Sleep Anymore…

I promised myself that I'd wait the full one hundred days before I commented on the state of the union. It is going to be hard.
Things worth noting are piling up so fast that I probably will miss something and thence be evermore thought of as inept. Maybe I'm held in that esteem already.
When folks spend more time worrying about the new format of the "facebook" social networking site than they do about whether we bow low to a Christian/Jew hating king, there is something wrong. Maybe they have lost all hope and are resigned to having as many "friends" as they can get while the gettin' is good. The facebook site certainly promotes the superficial. I have to admit that I have an account. Won't you be my friend?
That said, won't you also consider a serious hour or two a week wherein you faithfully pursue some knowledge that will assure your eternal destiny? Less than two percent of your week's time, twenty minutes a day, will yield benefits that far outweigh a "drink" invitation or being "superpoked". If you're spending more time with facebook than you are in the Word of God, you need to re-evaluate your priorities. God is real. He will not be mocked. He loves you, but He's astounded that you don't know why.