What is "The News" and what do you need to know.

Last week I wrote about the world wide conspiracy involving big pharma, and the media. (Conspiracy).  I had some friends tell me (AGAIN) that I'm nuts.  There is no conspiracy within the national media to keep any specific information from the masses.  Hmmm, I'm not sure how to respond to people that say things like that.  Are they just clueless, or do they really believe that all the bad things happening in the world that they don't know about don't really happen.  And that those things aren't real, because their favorite smiling maiden on the news didn't tell them, so in their mind, it didn't happen. 

Let's look at some stuff.

Slave labor, specifically child labor.  In 2012 Nestle corporation announced that they were going to end the practice of child slave labor in the production of cocoa in the African country of Cote de Ivorie.  The Ivory Coast for those with older globes.  Their plan, "The Nestle Cocoa Plan" entailed building schools for communities, requiring those processors to certify that no slaves did the labor and the big one, providing over a million new cocoa trees for the communities there.  And of course Nestle wanted to capitalize on their great spirit and make their "Crunch" bar into the dream product with labeling that defined their acheivements in their humanitarian endeavors.  Nice stuff.  Except it is all a bunch of hooeey.  The Ivory Coast provides about 15% of the cocoa for Nestle, and their plan does little, well, it does nothing to stop slave labor in other regions.  What does the worldwide media say about all of this.

• ABC News - a search for Nestle child labor or slave labor brings up nothing.  A search for Nestle itself brings up all the gross stuff about horsemeat in their canned crap, but nothing about child labor, nor anything about the company destroying indigenous populations by destroying water supplies.
• CBS News - same searches, nothing regarding child labor.  There is a very nice CBS report about how Nestle announced they would not use cloned meat in any of their products.  At this time.  But nothing about child labor.  
• NBC News - same searches, nothing.  Well, nothing bad other than the usual recalls for glass in stuff and horsemeat.
• Fox News - are you surprised to hear, same thing?  

I don't understand, this was big news back in 2012.  It was written up on Forbes, CNN and, well, that's about it.  I think that maybe since Nestle made a big deal about spending a few bucks to stop child slave labor in the production of their cocoa that they the masses might get the mistaken idea that they actually encouraged it in the past.  And the thought might get into the masses that they were only spending a few bucks to stop the practice in an area that the predominate method of production involved slave labor and that the United Nations as well as the World Health Organization brought the practice to the media attention in 2011.  That might be part of the reason Nestle decided to spend a few bucks to try to halt the practice.  Well, that and they could get a more consistent cocoa product by providing the cocoa cultivars that they wanted to the growers there.  Nestle certainly wouldn't want any of those concepts to interfere with the thinking of the masses watching news stories about their actions.  Nestle is one of the largest food manufacturers in the world, and they advertise their products via news media, that don't report anything bad they do.  Or maybe that is just my opinion.

What about Giles-Eric Seralini?  Seralini is a molecular biologist teaching at the University of Caen since 1991.  This is the guy that has been on the forefront of effects of the endocrine system and related  research for a couple decades.  He is, or was, respected in his field, and his research up until he dared to go up against the all powerful Monsanto corporation, has been unquestionable.  Now however, not so much.  He is a contributor to numerous scientific rags and has been published extensively in the science community for years.  No one has ever heard about him until 2012 when he discovered that feeding GM corn laced with residual Roundup as is normally available in the marketplace, causes cancerous tumors in rats.  If you go to the major news sites and search for Seralini, you find....

• ABC News - absolutely nothing
• CBS News - the most information available.  A two paragraph blurb about the report and of course how Monsanto says it was poorly done, and a second article about how the research story was retracted by the publisher.  
• NBC News. - the story about the retraction only, and that was slanted.  It was almost horizontal.
• Fox News - reported the story about the report after it was published, but nothing else.  Nothing.

So is that a conspiracy?  Whether or not you personally don't think GM foods are harmful, the fact that a researcher performing a long term feeding study of GM foods on rats causing cancer should have been on every single news report on every TV station in America.  GM crops are in nearly every processed food in America, anything that questions the safety of those crops is NEWSWORTHY.   Anything that affects your health is newsworthy.  You can make the decision to buy GM foods only if you have information that allows you to make an informed decision.  Yes, the Seralini report was retracted by the rag that published it, but it wasn't retracted because it was inaccurate, it was retracted because the sample was determined to have been to small to definitively state that GM crops cause tumors.  That is news as well.  But you have to report it first. 

I guess the big deal here is that we just don't know what else is going on the world, because we aren't told about it.  We are the mushroom sheeple.  Fed shit, kept in the dark and led down the path that our masters want us to go. 

But it isn't a conspiracy in anyway. 

Some crap about your food. Literally.

Food is sort of a magical thing that varies all over the world with different cultures prizing things that some people would consider pretty gross and disgusting.  It is all about culture, and how your specific culture and the concepts and cuisine with which you were raised give credence to the foods of other cultures.  Some people eat head cheese, other people won't even touch pork.  I like snails, stinky cheese and the end result of grated vegetables fermenting for several weeks while other people think those things are the most disgusting things ever.  Spoiled, and rotten.  Well, to each his own I suppose, I draw the line at eating fish eyes and processed food.  And anything from most any fast food purveyor of their own specific poison.  Our government on the other hand has a problem with determining what is good for its citizens and what is bad for them.  Raw milk cheeses are illegal here in the US, but high capacity magazines for semi and auto weapons as well as a huge variety of weapons that are easily converted to full automatic, are available everywhere.  Something wrong there.  I mean really, the best cheese in the world, and it must be smuggled in.

But our government is trying, they do have people in positions to make policy that must in fact have some sort of ethics and so we have rules for manufacturers to adhere to in attempts to keep diseases and deaths to minimums.  And some of those rules are scary.  Take for instance the rules about some spices on the market.  For a container that holds about 10 grams of a spice, the jar can contain up to 30 parts of insects, a couple of rodent hairs and a part of a turd.  Peanut butter is even cleaner, the same stuff is allowed, but only in 100 grams, so it's one tenth as filthy.  But this one will scare you, for the same 100 grams of chocolate, twice as much stuff is allowed.

That's dead shit in all our food, and believe me, the FDA has standards of crap allowed in everything in the supermarket.  But what about live stuff.  One of the weirdest things that the FDA has ever done is to approve the use of bacteriophages.  Live viruses, bacteriophages are sprayed on processed meat in the concept that they will attempt to kill the listeriosis bacteria that are pretty deadly to humans.  Of course the all powerful and all knowing FDA and USDA would never think to clean up the cows raised in CAFO situations where the animals living in their own shit have listeriosis bacteria living all over their bodies and in their intestines.  And since modern slaughter methods are geared toward making money instead of keeping the meat clean, the spread of the bacteria all over the meat is a daily routine that constitutes the weird spraying of live viruses on the meat to keep us healthy.  Seems like a long convoluted path to follow where a simple solution, like cleaning up the method or raising the animals, is more costly than the bizarre.  The real weird part about it is that the FDA says meat processors don't have to put the fact they spray live viruses on their products on the label anywhere.  And in case you think this is fantasy, here is a great article on the practice (VIRUSES on our FOOD)

For me one of the weird things that the FDA allows into our food supply is silicon dioxide.  They say it's non-toxic, and it won't hurt you.  But why is it there?  Really, silica is about as close to ground glass as you can get and it is put in processed meat, spice mixes, anything dry, breakfast cereals and many pharmaceuticals.  It's a filler, and yeah you probably would have to eat a lot of it to die, we just don't know if the reason intestinal problems are so rampant in modern society is because of the large amounts of silica we ingest every day.

When I was younger I was a strict vegetarian.  For about eleven years I was very strict about it and one of the things that I wouldn't eat was any gelatin product.  After I began to eat some poultry again, and pork, I still wouldn't eat gelatin.  How they made the stuff just kind of grossed me out.  And today, it isn't any different, the method of making gelatin is still gross.  They take beef bones and hides, (see above stuff about how bad meat is) boil them down and retrieve the gelatin.  The really gross part about this is that the USDA emphatically states that brains and spines of steers that are over 30 months old can't be used for human consumption.  The reason is that they probably contain prions that cause Bovine Spongeform Encephalitis.  Mad Cow Disease.  The feds say they might be there, probably are, and that cooking them doesn't destroy them.  But it's okay to make gelatin out of them.  I can't figure that part out.  

A long time ago I decided that I would draw the line at cannibalism.  The Jeffrey Dahmer thing and the soccer team in the mountains, well, kind of gross.  Americans as a whole I think, probably think the same way.  But most people eat products every single day made from, well, humans.  I'm not making this up.  One of the ingredients that is very popular with the baking industry in America is L-Cysteine.  It is a dough conditioner and works amazingly when paired with some other nasty chemicals to make softer lighter fluffier bread. The problem is that L-Cysteine is made by taking human hair and dissolving it in solvents and from that they remove the stuff.  Most of the commercially available stuff comes from China, where a cottage industry exists that buys hair from anyone that will sell it to them.  Not exactly cannibalism, but it's mighty close, and just plain gross.

One last thing to gross you out about your food, is something called Castoreum.  This one is classified by the FDA as a natural flavoring and therefore doesn't have to specifically be listed by its actual name on the label as an ingredient.  Manufacturers can just put "Natural Flavor" on the ingredients.  Castoreum, in reality is harvested from beavers and a few other mammals in the same family.  It is a secretion harvested from the animal's anal glands.  It is very odoriferous, and when blended in foods it resembles vanilla and raspberry.  Not really crap, but right next to it.

So the thing I'm trying to point out to you the reader is that there is a lot of stuff in our food and it is up to you to decide what you are comfortable with eating.  Be aware, there's a lot of crap out there.

This is what we are told, this is the reality. And it's kind of gross, and scary.

Back in the 70's, Monsanto was advertising their premier product Roundup as being "As safe as putting water on your plants".  The company made billions from selling this herbicide all over the world.  Billions.  They invented it, they did all the requited EPA testing for toxicity and environmental impact studies.  They themselves declared it harmless and they sold it to everyone from giant agribusiness farm corporations to the guy with grass growing in the cracks in his driveway.  The stuff was harmless, Monsanto itself said it was.  The company making the stuff.  The company that refused to admit that dumping a million pounds of PCB wastes into the streams near their plant in Arkansas had anything to do with 90% of the townspeople contracting horrific cancers.  They've never lied to anyone.  And all of their testing is rigorously done and totally unbiased.  That's why they advertised that Roundup was safe, environmentally friendly and harmless.  The first year that Monsanto held the patent on glyphosate, they sold a million pounds of the stuff.  Last year, they and now other manufacturers sold a hundred million pounds of it world wide.

Lately though, researchers around the world are looking at those safety results. And it don't look good.

That might be the reason that in 2007 the French government took Monsanto to court and won a judgement against the agrigiant for deceptive advertising practices and declared that Roundup, is not safe as advertised.

Yikes.

But it is after all, the French.  It isn't like they can be believed about anything.  They sort of fudge the truth a bit.  If you listen to them talk, they were all part of the Resistance in the War, they all did their part to end the oppression of the fascists by surrendering enmasse and forcing the Germans to feed them.  Every French whore that gave a German an STD was a hero of the republic.  You know, they just have exceptional views of themselves.  Not unlike a certain ex-wife of the author here.  So in reality, does that judgement seven years ago mean anything?

Well sort of.  Of the nearly three hundred reports I found showing the toxicity of Roundup, this one stands out probably because of where it was printed.  Scientific American.  A lot of people tell me I get my info from unreliable sources, but here we have a well known publication ( S A article )  telling us how the problem with toxicity is a real threat to humans and the environment.  To sum it up, the herbicide glyphosate really is not all that toxic, if used properly and according to directions, it won't kill you.  The problem is that Monsanto mixes the weedkiller portion of Roundup with "inert ingredients" and the EPA doesn't give a crap about them.  They are looking at the actual "active ingredient" or the glyphosate portion of the total package, and the stuff that does all the harm, although it doesn't kill the weeds, is the stuff that is not so great for humans and the environment.  It isn't important, according to the EPA, because it is not the "ACTIVE" ingredient.

Yikes!

Reread that paragraph, in it is a big portion of the problem, "if used properly and according to directions"  We have this mentality not just here, but all over the world; if a little bit is good, then a whole lot is going to be better.  From wine, women and good old rock and roll, (and of course chocolate) we as humans want to garner the most benefits from that which we can.  The reality is that last year one hundred million pounds of the stuff was sprayed on farms, fields, golf courses and driveways all over the world. And the adjuvant "inert" portion of the herbicide is in lakes, streams, rivers and in the groundwater of most of the world.  So far one researcher has taken the step of testing blood of a significant number of urban German citizens.  Measurable amounts of Roundup were in their blood.  All of them.  

In the March 2014 issue of the industry magazine "Toxicology" is an article written by some researchers that tested the effect of glyphosate on brains of fetal rats.  They tested both acute and chronic exposure.  The results were startling.  Roundup in even minute concentrations of as little as .00005 ppb affected the brain development of fetal rats.

Last year the EPA raised the allowable limits of glyphosate residue on farm crops to 200 ppb at the request of farmers, ranchers and Monsanto. 

Bon appetit!

It's a conspiracy. And it affects YOU!!!!!

So how do conspiracies work anyway?  I mean if you look at Webster, a conspiracy is : an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons; plot. That's a bit scary, evil plans and all.  There is also this definition as well:  any concurrence in action; combination in bringing about a given result.  And I think that this is where I want to focus my attention.  Any concurrence in actions, with a given result.  With that as a defining concept then we can see that conspiracies happen daily, and we are all duped.

I don't mean the whacko conspiracy about how the twin towers were brought down by planted explosives and no planes actually ever flew into them, but more realistic, believable conspiracies.  Like the big pharma drug company Merck actually put specific antigens that cause cancer into DPT and MMR vaccines in the 80's and 90's.  And how monkeys were used to grow specific virus antibodies for human usage and it was the introduction of simian antibodies that were in fact the precursors of the HIV epidemic.  Yeah, it was caused by Merck and company, and thousands of cancer patients have contracted their cancers, because they received vaccines.  

The truly sad thing here is that it is in reality, a fact. Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of the leading researchers for Merck is the man behind the development of nearly three dozen individual and specific vaccines.  He has been honored with lifetime achievement award from the World Health Organization, National Science Award and the list goes on and on.  Yet before the man died he admitted to doing the unthinkable.  Having SV40 viruses that cause cancers in vaccines for humans.  Using simian subjects for growth of virus bodies and probably inadvertently putting HIV into the human population.  And worst of all, in his own words he called vaccine technology the "...bargain basement technology of the twentieth century."  So why is all this a conspiracy?  Well because basically it is a concurrence of actions, with a given result.  The result was that the company made money.  Lots of money.  

 

Well, I suppose that in reality, they did these things, and found out about them afterwards.  A cover-up, not a conspiracy.

 

In May of 2013 the drug manufacturer Ranbaxy, a company in India that makes a large percentage of the drugs used here in America, was fined 500 million dollars for selling drugs that were found to be ineffective, not what they were labeled, containing foreign substances and manufactured in filthy conditions.  I'm pretty sure that the company knew what they were doing, so that was a conspiracy.

 

Gardisil is a new vaccine that was developed to prevent transmission of the human papilloma virus and is touted as a means to stop cervical cancer.  After the vaccine was approved the manufacturer Merck was found to have fabricated a large part of the research and that the truth was that the vaccine in reality actually had a greater probability of causing cervical cancer than preventing it and that not in one single instance had the vaccine prevented HPV.  The vaccine has been on the market for 4 years and is responsible for over two hundred deaths, and over twenty thousand serious adverse reactions.  I think that is a conspiracy

Last year GlaxoSmithKline paid the largest fine ever, 3 billion dollars.  The fine was for price fixing, fraud and collusion to defraud Medicare and Medicaid, fabricated safety data on its products and deceiving the FDA about the effectiveness of many of its products.  GSK didn't even fight the FDA, they admitted their guilt, paid the fines and it was back to business.  I think that was a conspiracy.  They knew what they were doing, they kept doing it, and they made money.  Lots of money.

In 2009 Pfizer, the largest drug company in the world, was ordered to pay the families of Nigerian children for experiments on those children that left them dead or severely damaged.  The thing is, Pfizer didn't tell the parents, or the children they were going to be part of a human experiment and that they might be killed as a result of the process.  In reality, that was a violation of the Nuremberg Code signed into international law back in 1947 to stop such atrocities from ever happening again.  They were trying to keep anyone from doing the kinds of things the Nazis did to humans during the war.  Pfizer is above the law however, and was ordered to pay five hundred US dollars for each child killed or maimed.  I think that was also a conspiracy.

I mentioned the GSK fine above, the largest ever.  Here are the top twenty fines ( FDA Fines )  All against drug companies for doing business using practices that are illegal.  They know they are doing things that are illegal, and yet they continue to do them, even after their competitors are fined for doing exactly what they themselves do and all with the corporate hope that they won't get caught and can continue to make tons of money.  I think that is a conspiracy as well. 

 

"Society can no longer afford to leave the balancing of individual rights against scientific progress to the scientific community"

I think that most everyone that reads this bit of fluff here today will read it and say to themselves that it is all a bunch of hooeey and that none of this stuff actually happened.  Most everyone will say that none of these stories made it to the major media news, and so most everyone never heard about it.  That doesn't mean it all isn't true, it just means that the biggest conspiracy that affects the lives of most everyone in this country is the one that happens every single day; the sanitizing of the news for your viewing pleasure.  Major news stories about major corporations will never be seen or read quite simply because if the populace knew about the atrocities perpetrated by those major corporation then they might not remain complacent consumers, buying all the crap shoveled into their minds via the news and entertainment media.  The conspiracy exists, it's just that I don't always think that it is a collusion between heads of corporations along with government leaders all in secret meetings plotting to destroy Americans.  No, it's just a simple conspiracy, people doing things that make them money, and hiding the truth about the actions of companies that advertise in the media, so they will keep on advertising.  

Is that really a conspiracy, or is it just plain greed?

My beliefs. You asked for it, here it is. In all its, well, for lack of a better term, glory.

I have alluded to my system of beliefs on several occasions here in the past, and for those that follow the blogs of my brother, ( Crazy and Crazier ) know that we spar frequently about religion.  And although I am a bit wordy at times, his blogs are over the top and he would never use five words to explain something when two thousand dis separate concepts and quotes will confuse you better.  Anyway, I have gotten a few comments via emails from three people that read my blog.  They asked me to explain my beliefs that I mention here.  My brother on the other hand, doesn't think too highly of any concept that isn't, biblical.  And has expressed his belief to me that because I am an atheist, I therefore do not have any underlying moral principles.  That one was a bit hard to accept since my beliefs are based on the ultimate morality.  And because after you read this in its entirety you will see that I am in fact, god.  And as such, I believe in myself.  I believe in god.  But, I suppose that ignorance can in fact lead to speculation.  And thus, here are some concepts that I believe in.

In the beginning, there was existence.  Universal thought, universal goodness, the light of life, individual, yet a conglomerate of the one, in total being the existence of the universe.  Once, part of the whole wanted to be one within itself.  Part of the whole broke away from the universe and became one with itself, and became the first sin, vanity.  And it was wrong, vanity is not a universal goodness, and so came back to the universe to become once again, whole.  The path to oneness was set, and 7 trials were to be undertaken by those of the vain in order to once again know the joy of universal existence and oneness.  That's the genesis of Edgar Cayce in his readings of the universe.  It doesn't necessarily mean much, it is pretty simplistic, but then think about it, isn't the biblical version basically kind of, well, simplistic as well.

Anyway, this existence is the 3rd step that all of us need to go through to understand the significance of the ultimate morality, and once we have seen the path and we achieve oneness, we can pass to the next step.  This is the really simple part, the ultimate morality is, do good.  Those that lie, cheat, steal, murder, and anything else that does not ultimately lead to good, are doomed to repeat their existence here in the reality of the 3rd step until those lessons are learned.  Now it gets fun.  We, all of us, all life, is made up of the force of the universe, light.  This kind of goes a little toward Carlos Castaneda back in the seventies.  He taught that each of us has an internal dialogue going on that tells us, this conglomeration of living light that what we think we see is a construct developed for us and we see that reality only because our internal dialogue constantly tells us that it is what we have been directed to see.  Whew, and if you stop the internal dialogue, then you see the world for what it is, a world populated with light, living beings made up of light.  We all play roles here on this earth, roles that we ourselves chose before our birth.  We chose the circumstances of our lives in order to acquire new opportunities to grow based on our circumstances.  Sounds pretty unscientific, but in reality all of that stuff about astrology really does have a basis in truth and is dependent on our selection of circumstances and all of that is determined for us as we are shot out from the universal existence back toward our trials here on this earth.  And we pass through specific points of the sky, specific points in the zodiac.  I'm not explaining it very well, Cayce in fact explains it quite well and makes it a lot more believable. 

 So, pretty kooky so far huh?  But then again we must begin to look at some of the stuff that scientifically shows us how feasible all of these ideas actually are.  Let's look at the basic proof, the Kirilian Effect.  It is possible to photograph people in their more basic state, their aura.  Yeah, hippy talk, but the aura exists, we see it as a reality, we know it changes based on health and attitude.  It's a real thing.  As is the Synesthesia effect, wherein certain people are able to perceive the senses as they overlap and their cognizance allows them to have a closer view of reality with the added bonus of increased creativity.  Probably from a closeness to the ultimate goodness of the universe.  Here is where some of the concepts overlap with teachings from our past.  Some of the finest minds of our existence have been close to our basic goodness of the universe and through their synesthesia they have been capable of achieving a oneness that has given them insights into our universe that sets them apart and has given them a place in our history.  The Budha, Confucius, Muhammad, the Bab, and the Christ.  All, synesthetic.  All, prophetic.  So, get ready for the big one, do I think that one or more of them actually spoke to god, or is god?  Well yeah.  In as much as each of us is a part of the ultimate good in the universe, which could possibly be considered, god, then sure, they in fact conversed synestheticly with, themselves, the universe, and ultimately for each of them, god. 

This is a quick overview of my view of the universe.  It might seem a little third grade-ish in the way I presented it, and I agree.  There are better renditions.  The readings from Cayce are a lot to take in, and of course for me they make a spectacular broad basis for a unique view of the universe.  There is a lot more in there for me, but one must realize that it all comes down to the basic concept in this universe.  No matter what you believe in, we all at the basic tenets of all beliefs throughout this earth, believe in the same thing.  The basic morality is to do and be good.  Don't ever tell me that isn't at the heart of all religions, because it is, I know it, I've believed in it most of my life.  And I live it.

Trust. When corporations knowingly KILL people........

I have lost trust in a number of people.  And for good reason.  My ex, lied to me, cheated on me, stole from me, tried to screw me out of the business we built together, and to this day tells strangers and anyone that will listen just how worse than the devil himself that I am.  Strangers. To her.  Hey, I'm all for a bit of fun, but when customers I worked with back when I was working to build up my business in Austin email me with horror stories about the ex tearing them a new asshole after they made the mistake of mentioning me; well, my normal persona of reasonableness is taxed dramatically.  The world is a strange and mysterious place and my beliefs tell me that those with whom I have had interactions in this life, and previous ones, will be with me.  That is a scary thought, but should circumstances be that in the future, our paths once again cross and such that we communicate, I am not certain that I could ever trust someone like that ever again.  I will be courteous, I can not ever be anything but that.  However, trust, may be given easily, but once lost, it cannot be regained.  

At least that's the way it is with people.  For large multinational corporations, it seems that trust, is given, always.  Sort of a permanent thing.  No matter what corporations do in the pursuit of money.  It is a rather unusual phenomena, a big company does things that cost people their lives or their livelihood, and it's business as usual, no one says anything, does anything, or stops buying their products.  It is possible that the herd mentality just has blinders, and with the major media afraid to release any negative comments about big business, the herd goes blindly forth and practices consumerism.  Let's look at Bayer.  This multinational business took the initiative and when it was discovered that most, if not all, of their blood products were contaminated with live HIV and Hepatitis C viruses (from poor collection and testing procedures) and as many as 10,000 patients became infected with HIV; the company recalled all of the products.  And then sent them to India and Asia to infect people there.  The story came to light in 2003, along with the surprising story and admission by Bayer that in preparation for a petition to the EPA to loosen environmental restrictions and increase the allowable residue levels of pesticides on plants; that they had for several years been doing pesticide studies on humans.  All in violation of the Nuremberg Code of Ethics that was adopted worldwide to protect humans from potentially lethal non-medical experimentation. Bayer makes pesticides, along with a whole bunch of pharmaceutical products.  And the herd, us, the sheeple, buy their crap.  What else do they sell that might be a bit, well, sketchy?

My favorite company in the world is Monsanto.  For years they made millions and millions of dollars in the manufacture of PCB's.  One of the most toxic substances around.  And the company, in a mandate that they deny to this day, declared that in order to maximize profits, the industrial waste from manufacturing as well as used PCB's themselves, should be dumped into landfills, sedimentation ponds at their facilites, alongside roads, into streams, rivers and lakes anywhere.  It cost money to properly dispose of the wastes, dumping was very inexpensive.  Maximize profits.  Of the top 100 EPA SuperFund sites, 48 are from contamination by the company Monsanto.  Estimated cleanup costs back in the early Eighties when the EPA began cleanup was around ten trillion dollars.  It is ongoing to this day, and is expected to be completed by the year 2095.  One of the worst environmentally contaminated sites in the world is at Brofiscin Quarry in Groes Faen Wales.  The pollution, again, PCB's and other industrial wastes from the Monsanto plant there.  In 2011 Monsanto agreed to "help" with the cost of remediation, however they refuse to accept any responsibility for the pollution itself.  In 2005 the US Department of Justice went after Monsanto for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for bribing high level government officials in Indonesia.  The company admitted to the bribes, numerous bribes from 1997 to 2003.  In Indonesia, however the huge sums of money going to Senator Roy Blunt and others here, have never been formally recognized to exist.

Trust.  How can we as consumers trust a company that does things like this.  How can we as consumers, break out of the sheeple herd that is being led along the blind path of sanitized news reporting and find out what is really going on in our country.  Well, I mean other than listening to Rush Limbaugh.  It's easy.  Read my blog for one.  For another, look toward any number of alternative news websites that give a more rounded picture of the news and without the fear of loss of revenue from advertisers for saying negative things about them.  

Or read my blog, and tell your friends to read it too.  I have recipes on occasion. 

Breakfast should never be dull and boring. It should be healthy and delicious. Try these out....

Stuffed French Toast

1. one loaf of good home made whole wheat bread, if you're not sure where to get one, make your own, you can learn how to make it from me.  I teach healthy cooking all the time to people!
2. part of a jar of Nutella
3. 3 bananas sliced on bias
4. 3 eggs
5. 3/4 cup half and half
6. 1/4 cup Frangelico
7. 1/4 cup evaporated cane juice
8. natural maple syrup, fruit and toasted crushed hazelnuts for garnish

Take the bread and slice it into relatively thin slices, about half an inch thick or so.  Lay the slices out to dry a bit, or even stack irregularly on sheet pan and put in warm oven for 30 minutes.  Take one piece bread and liberally spread with Nutella.  Arrange single layer of banana slices on top and spread thin layer Nutella on matching bread slice and press down on bananas.  Repeat for all the bread slices.  Beat together items 4 through 7.  In large skillet over medium high heat, melt a teaspoon butter for each piece.  Dip the bread sandwich in the egg mix and place in the melting butter.  Brown well on one side, about 3 to 4 minutes, then turn over and brown other side.  Remove from pan, slice on bias and plate with fruit, nuts and serve with real maple syrup.  For a delightful treat, add some Frangelico to the syrup as well. 

Potatoes and Eggs Poached in Salsa

1. About 6 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, washed, dried and cut in half longitudinally
2. 1 twelve ounce jar salsa, I make 6 varieties, or use a favorite
3. 4 organic free range eggs
4. 6 jalapenos, or more as you desire

Take each potato and on the cut side make score cuts in criss cross pattern going halfway up potato.  Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in bottom of wide body pressure cooker and throw the potatoes into it.  Stir around a bit, brown the rounded tops some, not a lot though.  After about 6 to 8 minutes, turn onto flat cut side and allow to brown well to develop that nice flavor, about another 8 to 10 minutes.  Don't be afraid to let them get dark brown, the darker, the better the flavor.  Pour in the salsa, stick the jalapenos on top of the potatoes, bring to a boil and place the pressure lid on, bring to second ring of pressure.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and cool edge under running water to release pressure.  Remove lid, if needed, move potatoes around to make room for adding eggs.  Crack each egg into area clear of potato, top with some cheese, add the pressure lid back on and return to heat.  Pressure for about 3 minutes and turn off heat.  Allow to release pressure slowly.  Open cooker, serve the potatoes, eggs, and a few of the tender jalapenos with whole wheat tortillas.   You can do this in a regular skillet with a tight lid.   

Blueberry and Ricotta Pancakes

1. 1 3/4 cup fresh ground whole wheat flour
2. 1/4 cup evaporated cane juice
3. 1 tablespoon baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 1/4 teaspoon each ground allspice and cinnamon
6. 2 eggs separated
7. 1 cup milk
8. 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
9. 1 cup fresh blueberries
10. Butter for cooking pancakes

Mix together the first 5 dry ingredients.  Beat egg whites until light and fluffy.  Mix together the yolks, milk and Ricotta, mix together relatively well, leave small lumps of cheese.  Fold into the dry ingredients.  Fold in the egg whites.  Fold in the blueberries.  In large skillet over medium high heat in a bit of butter, cook each pancake until well browned, flip and brown the remaining side.  Serve with real maple syrup. 

Chef BUBBARoy's Great Granola

1. 2 cups rolled oats
2. 1 cup freshly ground whole wheat
3. 1 cup rough chopped pecans
4. 1 cup banana chips, broken up a bit
5. 1/2 cup dried cranberries
6. some ground spices like cloves, cinammon, nutmeg.
7. 1/2 cup honey
8. 1/4 cup good oil, like sunflower, safflower or peanut

Mix all dry stuff together and then mix in the oil and honey, maybe add a bit of water to make mixing easier.  Place it all in large roasting pan and place in 300 degree oven.  Stir every 5 minutes and bake for about 20 minutes or so, remove immediately if it begins to brown.  It should just lightly toast, just a light brown only.  Remove from oven, and stir a bit while it cools.  When cool, break it up and place in airtight container.  To serve, pour in a bowl and top with organic yogurt, fresh fruit, Kir, Kefir, or use your imagination. 

Crazy Breakfast Stuffed Peppers

1. One bell pepper per person.  Try for flat bottomed four lobed ones that stand easily
2. 2 eggs per person beaten with a tablespoon water and teaspoon hot sauce
3. 1 chorizo sausage link per person.  Get the GOOD kind, like Johnsonville.  Very little fat
4. Some diced onions and jalapenos
5. 1/2 cup grated cheese per person
6. Some leftover home fries, or make them fresh.

Cut the top off each pepper and remove cores and seeds, set aside.  Brown the sausages with the onions and jalapenos.  Cut up into bite sized pieces.  Beat the eggs well with about 1 tablespoon water per person.  Fill each pepper with some of the sausage, onions, jalapenos, potatoes and cheese.  Fill with the egg mixture.  Place the peppers into a steamer basket and put into bottom of pressure cooker with a half cup water on bottom.  Put a bowl over the peppers to keep condensation off, bring to a boil and place lid on cooker and bring to pressure.  Cook at pressure for 10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to reduce pressure on its own.  Remove lid and serve peppers with hot sauce, or whatever toots your horn.  And this stuff will help, yeeeooow but they are good!!!!!

Back from the Dead. My interaction with the representatives of the AMA

Hey I'm fat, and I'm lazy.  Although I don't have tattoos, smoke cigarettes and use less than legal substances, I felt that I should get to use the wondrous government to care for my health problems the same as all those that fit into those profiles.  After all, the government is the cause of so many of my long term problems, that they should help pay for the long term care.  Yeah, it's true, it all happened in Texas and not Arizona, but governments are governments, people elected or not, spending money they did not earn, and are not really responsible for.

So anyway, as of this year, I have been admitted to the pride of America, the State of Arizona's answer to the Medicaid problems, AHCCCS.  It's insurance for indigent people, drug addicts, crack whores, homeless people, illegal aliens, and people like me, no money.  Unlike when I applied for and was granted an insurance program through the county in which I was responsible for large co-pays and large amounts of the costs of the drugs.  It was sort of anti health care since it cost so damn much money I didn't get the care I needed.  But AHCCCS is different, they contract with various health providers to care for the likes of me.  At no co-pay, and with no costs to me.  I figured that before they wised up and eliminated the program that I should get everything cared for.  So I got assigned a PCP, and went to see him.  I got a physical and referrals to a bunch of specialists.  So far, I have seen the pulmonologist.  This is my reactions to what happened with this AMA drone.

"Mr. Marshall, I see that you forgot to put coumadin on your list of medications.  What dose are you taking?"
"Sorry doc, I no longer take coumadin and haven't for over two years."
"You say you have been hospitalized four times with pulmonary embolisms, you need to take coumadin for the rest of your life.  You are at risk."
"Actually that's not true, coumadin is only partially effective and the long term side effects are devastating.  That's why I stopped taking the stuff.  I take a number of natural anti-coagulants and they are just as effective."
"There is nothing that you can buy without a prescription that will prevent more PE's, you must take coumadin.  We can start you on a new regimen."
"I'm sorry, I will not take the stuff.  I take a baby aspirin daily, natokinase, 2 grams each of garlic, ginger and turmeric.  And I drink plenty of water daily.  If you test my INR you will see that it is within therapeutic boundaries."
"I can't test your blood INR if you do not take coumadin, there is no point in it."
"I don't understand, you want me to take coumadin as a blood thinner and I'm telling you I don't need to since my blood is already within the prescribed therapeutic regimen for prevention of PE's.  Test my blood and you will see that it isn't needed to prescribe a drug to me that will destroy my lifestyle and cause irreparable damage to my body.  Just test it."
"Mr. Marshall, you are not understanding me, if you are not taking the coumadin, I cannot test your blood for what would be the effects of the drug.  We must start you on the drug, then we will see how you react, and what dosages you will need to be therapeutic."
"Doctor, you don't seem to understand, from my point of view, you want to prescribe a very toxic drug to me that has extremely destructive side effects, and you want to prescribe it to me without first determining whether or not I need to have it."
"Did you have four PE's?"
"Yes"
"Then what is the problem?  You need the coumadin."
"Without testing my blood to see if it is probable that I might have a clot?  And as I know why I got the clots to begin with, I don't need coumadin and will not take it.  EVER."
"What, you know why you got PE's, why?"
We had talked previously about the black mold incident, and so I told him about the doctor in Austin that prescribed a 4.0% Testosterone cream that was made specifically by a local pharmacy there.  4%, way higher than the stuff advertised on TV that is killing people all over the country.
"Mr. Marshall, there is no way for you to know for certain that was the cause of the PE's.  That is just a guess on your part and very irresponsible to not continue with your treatment."
"Doc, in the course of your practice, you take educated guesses all the time.  Will this drug work for this patient, will it interact with anything else in his lifestyle that I might not know about, what will work best, and the big one doc, do you really really know the actual physical processes that take place within the human body for each of the drugs that you prescribe?  Or do you in reality only know what the drug companies tell you happens when you take a drug, and never why it happens?"
"So, no coumadin.  But if you were taking a testosterone cream, then you might have severe bone loss from osteoporosis.  We can set up a bone density scan to see where we are there."

Hey, I am 60 years old.  and it's free to me.  Why not?

Meat, what happens when humans eat excessive amounts of meat protein.

Yes, I am vegetarian.  Most of the time.  I do conform to societal conventions and eat a bit of meat at times, holidays, events that I attend, and dinner at a restaurant with family.  But for the most part, I don't consume meat.  I have this thing about modern meat (see the multitude of articles I have written on the subject by searching for "Modern Meat" in the search box on my site)  But for me, meat is not a necessity, nor is it for any human actually.  If you look at the statistics and nutritional requirements for human health, the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for protein for an adult human is .36 grams per pound of body weight.  That means that an adult human that weighs 200 pounds needs just 72 grams of protein.  That's about 2.5 ounces of meat daily.  That's a burger, a small one.  Or a chicken sandwich, or a third of a chicken breast.  Or a fraction of the "Big Burrito".  Anything more than that, is considered a high protein intake.  If you eat like that all the time, then it will cause problems.  It ain't just me saying these things, it's real scientists.  (High Meat Diet) is the link to the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine article on what a high protein diet does to the human body.  Here are some of the highlights

1. Osteoporosis - Large quantities of high protein foods, meat, encourages urinary calcium loss
2. Cancer - Most meat proteins when cooked at high temperatures produce compounds called heterocyclic amines.  These have been linked to most cancers, including breast and colon.  Long term high meat intake is associated with significantly increased risk of colorectal cancer.  
3. Impaired kidney function - High animal protein diets places strain on the kidneys and are associated with reduced kidney function.  Studies now show that as much as one fourth of the adult population in America has reduced kidney function.  And most don't even know it.  This loss of function is a direct result of a high meat based diet and that plant protein had no harmful effects.
4. Heart Disease - Even though the prevalent theory is that saturated fat causes heart disease, new research is happening that shows this is not the case; however, there is evidence that a high saturated fat diet adversely affects the compliance of arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks.  Especially when the diet is a low fiber low plant material diet.  As is the case with most Americans.There is a positive and specific correlation between eating a diet high in meat protein and having high blood pressure.  Another significant cause of heart disease.

 And yet I still have people tell me that a vegetable based diet does not contain enough protein for health.  That is still the number one reason I'm told that humans need to eat meat.  Number two reason comes from people that remember a little bit of their high school nutrition or science classes.  Plant based proteins are not complete proteins.  There are eight basic essential amino acids that are required to make complete proteins.  All of the plant material we have available has some, but not all of the eight.  If you eat a mixture of plants, you are able to complement what's missing from one source with what's available from another.  There are two books that I highly recommend, "Diet for a Small Planet" and "Recipes for a Small Planet"  Both do an excellent job of explaining protein complementarity and also give some exciting recipes to make that allows you to eat great food, without meat. Then lastly I get told that a meat free diet does not give me any vitamin B12 and I will die without it.  That's what supplements are for, and of course, I eat eggs, yogurt and wild caught fish.  All excellent sources of B12. Never farmed fish, see Modern Meat articles, it's just about the same, nasty nasty stuff.

Then there is, the Thermogenesis Effect.  This is what all the Paleo Diet proponents talk about.  How it takes more internal body energy to digest meat than it does to digest fat or plant proteins.  What this is about is that researchers have found that the human body uses about 25% to 30% of the calories ingested to actually digest meat protein but only uses 5% to 15% of available calories to digest plant proteins.  And similarly it uses about the same to digest fats.  The difference in the thermic effect of meat, carbohydrates and fats is that the human body has no way to store excess protein.  So to deal with it, it means higher urea production and excesses go into gluconeogenisis.  And of course, the bad one is it can also lead to ketoacidosis, which is where the body burns ketones instead of glucose and there is a high risk of brain impairment and in severe cases, permanent brain damage.  Not just me making this up, here is an exceptional study on high meat diets done by some cool researchers.  ( Meat and How You Get Rid of IT )  One of the coolest aspects of this report though is the information about how researchers found that eating a high protein, from meat, diet led to individuals having LESS perceived physical energy than when eating a low protein, high carbohydrate diet.  That's sort of the opposite of what those Paleo diet people tell me. 

Then there is the body odor thing.  Yes, it's true, high protein diets cause body odor.  Most people don't realize it.  Many wonder why dogs and cats just love me.  Weird, because I don't like most dogs and cats, but they don't have a problem with me, especially the ones that their owners say to be careful with.  Most of them just sidle up to me and wag their tails at me.  I don't smell like a competitor, I don't smell like a carnivore.  I'm not a threat to them, because I don't smell like I want to eat them, or their food.  Ever watch animal shows on TV, the hunters attack the herd from downwind because the hunters smell like carnivores.  If they were upwind, or the wind direction changes, their presence is revealed and hunting becomes more difficult. And of course for us humans, all that rotting meat in your gut makes your skin smell and attracts flies.  People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them flies don't land on me when they are flying around everyone else. 

Well, that's enough stuff about the science, and the whimsy of eating meat.  Let's just say that given all of this stuff, and the fact that Modern Meat is just unbelievably BAD for modern humans, that we should all, each and every one of us, just try to limit our meat intake.  We will feel better, and live longer, have less chance of contracting the serious problems that the medical profession just loves to see people get, and save a few bucks too.  Plants cost less than meat.  Not just at the market, but in the long run.  Health wise.

Does Exceptional Food Choices Help in the Romance Opportunities?

Man, but that is something that I think everyone knows is true.  Unless you look like George Clooney, taking a young maiden to McDonald's won't get a guy in the sack with her the way taking her to a sumptuous feast with a bit higher quality comestibles.  Of course the old adage for the ladies, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." may not be exactly true anymore since the popularity of fast food is at such an all time high and leads me to believe that men, and for that matter most Americans, are well adapted to that cuisine and anything but food from the gilded breasts may not give one any sort of an edge on the romance front.  Sad but true.  Well, that is forgetting the application of alcohol.  Never underestimate the bottle of Jack to pour into her cola to get the inhibitions lowered and the amorous activities beginning.  But most of my initial dalliances with the fairer sex have been possible only because of my abilities in the kitchen.  And of course just like the nerd in the movie of their namesake, once there, keeping them around is dependent on your ability to remember the stuff learned in sex ed.  Contrary to popular mythology, watching porn doesn't really give a man any greater prowess and only exacerbates unbelievably high expectations.

There does seem to be quite the conundrum then.  Certainly when in my youth, at the height of the sexual revolution and those summers of love; I failed miserably.  Once I learned how to cook, then the tides turned and my amorous encounters increased.  Well, of course I also attribute much of that to just hormonal attraction.  But as I got older, and divested myself of the constraints of one wonderful marriage and one suffocating and miserable one; things got better for me.  Even considering an overall weight gain of a hundred pounds, loss of a lot of hair, and just general increase in age, my overall ability to please gained respectable numbers.  And to that, I attribute cuisine.

So discounting the activities of very youthful endeavors, my first real relationship with the fairer sex began with me providing proper foods for her.  She was interested to begin with, but feeding her wild rice and mushroom stuffed Cornish game hens with asparagus and chocolate lava cake only afforded me the opportunity to move in with her. Sadly, I was a drunk at the time and the roommate situation lasted a total of 2 days.  But on the bright side, I did not take a sip of alcohol for nearly twenty years after that day.  She must have had a profound effect on me.  However my enjoyment of food, and of the fairer sex only became greater as time moved forward.  My first wife helped by eating most everything I attempted to cook.  And of course, down the road she agreed I should go to culinary school to improve those abilities.  Whether is was for self preservation or genuine desire for my improvement I will never know.  But I went, I cooked, I got better, and I enjoyed it immensely.  After 7 years with my second wife, who dutifully informed me that the only things she would consume were to be pork carnitas, beans and tortillas and boxed rice; I once again was free to enjoy the favors of fair maidens, and to pursue my culinary dreams.

Being a vegetarian sort of limits what I can eat, however it never seemed to matter to any of the young maidens that came into my lair to enjoy the fine sustenance I provided.  Whether it was something like the above Mahi Mahi that was blackened with Southwestern spices and served with a fresh made pineapple and mango salsa and a citrus jalapeno sour cream garnish; or the remarkably simple pizzas of which I have in my lifetime made literally hundreds of thousands.  ( I managed a pizza parlor in the late seventies )  Those two examples sitting in front of my dear friend Key are whole wheat crusted (of course) with sherried mushrooms and onions with sun dried tomatoes, and the other is a simple one with goat cheese and Kalamata olives.  A little fine wine, some excellent and attentive conversation, and the desired results can be achieved.

One should never be afraid to experiment with combining differing cuisines.  It can be fun, and gives your intended partner the idea that you can be inventive, open to trying new things.  These were part of my occasional dalliance into the world of meat after a St. Patricks day feast of corned beef and cabbage.  The leftovers went into fire roasted Pablano chilies with whole grain beer mustard and horseradish cream on them.  One of the strangest things I did was at a class at my store in Austin.  Even I think it was strange, however it was delightfully delicious and in fact got me into a rather amorous encounter with one of the attendees of the class that eve.  Actually the first time I had sex in my store.  It was the most unique fusion of differing worlds ever, and to this day, I believe it should be a hit anywhere and with anyone trying it.  I cooked some short grain brown rice (of course brown) with red chili and garlic and then cooled it down and mixed in some rice vinegar.  I cooked a pork roast in the pressure cooker with coffee, cumin and red chili powder and beer.  Then shredded it when cool.  I took some nori and toasted them a bit and rolled Mexican sushi using the nori, Spanish rice, pork, avocado slices and goat cheese.  I then put out some small dishes with chipotle puree and some green taco sauce to dip the sushi into.  Wow, it was mighty tasty, and the end result was unexpected.

This somewhat blurry picture is of a large scallop shell filled with bay scallops seared and then tossed with a chipotle and ponzu sauce with sliced scallions and a couple dry cured olives.  Sounds weird, but mighty tasty and, well, you know.  This young maiden actually moved in with me for a while.  Unfortunately I was not in the best of health and our dalliance was short lived, as was my desire to continue to impress her with a unique and varied cuisine.  (She was needy needy needy needy)  And at that time, so was I.  ER visits, hospital stays, and crap sort of kept me from catering (literally) to her every need.  Plus, the old adage about how sometimes and with some women (and or things) having is not nearly as pleasurable as wanting.  So true in this case.  Hmmm, I think that Spock said that about his intended bride to the man she chose as a mate instead of Spock.  Strange, that makes two, no, actually three women of which I could say that. 

Anyway, back to the premise of this entirely selfishly written piece of fluff that I began writing in the middle of the night because I'm sick, coughing and can't sleep; does great food help entice women into the bedroom.  Or onto a desk in the backroom of your store.  I personally will testify that yes it will.  However, and this is a big one, you have to have some cooth and a bit of class along with a little conversational ability to get that person to the point where you can impress them with your abilities.  You do have to get them there first.  Well, unless you're rich.  Or George Clooney. 

Tapas Time

Tapas Recipes

 

Cumin and Lemon Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates in Puff Pastry

Take an 8 oz container of cream cheese at room temperature, add the zest of a lemon and the juice from the same lemon.  Add a half tablespoon cumin and mix well.  Take 24 dates and remove the pit.  Stuff with about a tablespoon of the cheese mixture.  Thaw your puff pastry and then cut each sheet into twelve pieces.  Take each piece and wrap around a stuffed date.  Place on baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.  Bake in hot, (450) oven until well browned, about 15 minutes.

Chorizo Stuffed Rolls

Brown a pound or so of good chorizo in a large skillet in a tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  When it changes color and loses the redness, add a cup diced onion and pepper.  Cook another 4 to 5 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly.  Take some regular whole wheat bread dough and pinch off a golf ball sized piece.  Flatten into about a 3 inch circle, place in the palm of your hand.  Add a heaping spoonful of the chorizo mix into the middle, then fold the edges up and around the filling, seal by pinching the edges together.  Place on a baking sheet and cover, allow to double in size.  Brush with beaten egg and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes.

Chorizo and Dates

This fabulous dish is unbelievable tasty.  And simple.  Make some small patties about 2 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.  Fry in olive oil until browned, set on paper towel to drain.  In a clean skillet, heat a tablespoon butter and throw in as many date halves as you have chorizo patties.  Cook for a minute or so, then toss in 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne.  Toss together well and allow to cook until starting to brown.  Drizzle with just a touch of honey and stir again.  Place one date atop each chorizo piece and garnish with sliced chives.

Mushrooms and Bread 

Take a half pound of mushrooms and slice relatively thinly.  Cook in about 3 tablespoons olive oil with a half teaspoon good sea salt until they lose their moisture and begin to brown.  Add a little red wine, or sherry is better, and cook until the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat.  Take some good french or italian bread and slice into 1/2 inch slices.  Spread with garlic aioli and then top with mushrooms.  Place under broiler and broil until the aioli is bubbling, remove and serve hot.

Aioli

In a blender, blend 4 roasted garlic cloves, a pinch sea salt, a big pinch cayenne, a tablespoon good wine vinegar, a teaspoon lemon juice and 2 egg yolks until well blended.  Drizzle in slowly 1 cup olive oil.  When emulsified and all the oil is incorporated, turn off blender and scrape the stuff out into a jar. 

Ravioli recipes, great to make with a bit of wine to lubricate it all.

  Who doesn't like ravioli?  Well, the Chef in a can stuff is pretty disgusting, but real freshly made ravs cooked lightly and is heavenly sauces, wow, life doesn't get any better than that.  Making your own is not a day long experience, I used to do these three ravioli in a three hour class with up to 12 people at a time helping out and only using three ravioli presses.  And we cooked them all up and ate them as well.  It was fun, and we ate some hearty wonderful stuff as well.  Oh yeah, and there was wine. 

Lobster Ravioli

 

This one is fun only if you don’t mind the work involved getting the lobster prepared.  Other than that, it is unbelievably decadent.  Try my lobster ravioli in garlic cream sauce as one possible way to enjoy your efforts.   For the ravioli dough, take 4 cups durum wheat flour and put it into a food processor.  Take the zest from 3 lemons and then the juice from those same three lemons and put into the processor.  Add a teaspoon or so of fresh ground black pepper and 2 eggs (or omit as you wish, the egg just makes the dough more pliable) and process until you have a smooth ball; adding just enough water to accomplish this.   Let the dough rest about twenty minutes while you prepare the lobster.  Bring about 4 or 5 quarts water to a boil in a large stock pot.  Add a half a cup cider vinegar.  Add the lobsters and turn the heat off.  Let sit for about 5 to 6 minutes for 1 to 1 ½ pound lobsters.  Remove and set in colander to drain.  Let cool and remove the meat.  Place all the shells in a stock pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil then simmer for at least a half hour.  Strain and pour the stock back into the pot and bring to a boil and reduce by half.  Use this flavor component for your sauce.  Roll the dough out into long sheets, dusting with flour between the sheets to prevent sticking.  Finely mince 3 or 4 big shallots and saute in a half stick of butter.  Add a half cup capers that you rinsed well.  Add a cup of good white wine and reduce to a thick liquid.  Chop the lobster meat to a medium chop and add to the pan.  Remove from the pan and add some chopped parsley.  Fill the ravioli with this mixture and seal. 

 

Lobster Ravioli in Garlic Cream

 

To make two servings, try very hard to not think about the calorie count.  Prep all the stuff first.  Cut some baby carrots into matchsticks.  Boil some cipollini onions for a minute, remove and allow to cool.  Peel off the skins and cut the root off.  Finely dice a shallot.  Roast about 6 cloves garlic in a tablespoon olive oil.  Take about a half pound of cremini mushrooms and slice into thirds then half them.  Take two cups of the lobster stock and place in sauce pan and bring to a boil and reduce to one half cup.  In large skillet, melt a half stick of butter and cook the mushrooms until well browned.  Add the carrots, onions, shallots and garlic.  Add another tablespoon of butter if needed.  Add a generous helping of black pepper and fresh grated nutmeg.  Take two of the onions out and set aside.  Add a cup of white wine and reduce just until syrupy.  Add the reduced stock and a cup of half and half.  Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 2 or 3 minutes.  Cook the ravioli in the other stock just until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes.  Scoop out and place in the sauce, stirring gently to coat.  Add a 1/4 cup or so of chopped basil leaves.  Place the ravioli on plates and take the reserved claw meat and surround the reserved onion that you have set on some whole basil leaves.    

Chocolate Ravioli

 

Dough, to 4 cups durum wheat flour placed in a food processor, add a quarter cup cocoa powder, a half cup organic evaporated cane juice.  Whizz in processor and add just enough water to make soft dough.  Let rest for about 20 minutes and roll out into long sheets with more flour dusted between sheets.  Take a package of mini chocolate chips and place in bowl.  Add a half cup diced pecans and one half cup cream.  Stir well and use this to fill ravioli.   

Chocolate Ravioli in Raspberry Sauce

 

Cook the ravioli in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile heat a small skillet over medium heat and add a half cup of raspberry jelly.  Melt it with a tablespoon butter and a half cup good red wine.  Drain the ravioli and toss with the sauce.  Place on plates and top with whipped cream. 

 

Scallops in Red Pepper Ravioli

 

Place 4 cups durum wheat into food processor and add one 10 oz jar red pepper.  Process until smooth, adding more flour if needed.  Let rest for about 20 minutes and roll out into long sheets with more flour dusted between sheets.  Take 8 strips of bacon and cook until crisp.  Remove from pan and remove all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.  Season a pound of scallops well with fresh ground pepper.  Sear the scallops in the bacon fat and remove from pan.  Take a half cup sweet onion and very finely dice it and saute in the same pan until translucent.  Add a cup of white wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan.  Reduce the wine to a syrup and pour over the scallops in a clean bowl of a food processor.  Rough chop the scallops and bacon.  Add some minced chives and set aside to cool.  Use this mixture to fill the ravioli. 

 

Scallop Ravioli in Spicy Sauce

 

Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes.  Meanwhile take about 6 ripe red jalapenos and cut the sides off, then cut into long strips.  Cut the strips in half.  Take a sweet onion and cut in half, peel it and slice it into thin strips.  In a large skillet, cook 2 strips of thick sliced bacon until crisp.  Remove and chop.  In the same pan cook the onion until well browned, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Add a half teaspoon crushed red pepper and the jalapeno peppers and cook another 3 minutes.  Add a half cup of red wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce by half.  Add a cup of half and half and bring to a simmer.  Reduce a bit and add the bacon back to the pan and drain the ravioli and toss into the sauce as well.  Add some fresh ground black pepper and a bit of nutmeg and not much else is needed with this one