A wet month in part of a state or territory is just weather but when
you look at the big picture over the longer term there is no doubt
we going through major rapid climate change. Since 1970, the number
of weather related major disasters worldwide has more than
quadrupled to around 400 a year. The insurance industry is very
aware of this. And the number of all weather records broken
globally (hot, cold, drought, flood) is also itself at a record
high.
I can give two examples from personal experience in support of what you
say.
I'd venture that most of us have had experiences
along these lines. The best and least cassailable
evidence is the worldwide surface temperature
numbers. These have by all accounts increased
monotonically over our lifetimes, with some
fearing exponential change in our successors'.
In any case, it seems to me that conservative
use of our resources is the way to go for any
number of reasons.
The flood in Ellicott City recently was stated to be the second
100 year event in two years. The businesses there cannot get any
reasonable priced flood insurance. Both times, the flood made national
news.
Skeptics will point out that weather records are
incomplete or date back at most about a century
and half.
The second example involves the wood burning stove I have in our
basement. I used to use it often during the winter, normally when
outside temperatures remained below freezing all day long. I have not
used it in about two decades, nor have I felt the need to. We just do
not have as much freezing weather as we used to have, nor do we have as
much snow as before.
This popped up with a search for frozen. I presume you know what we Americans call Canadian bacon -- but what do you call it?
Back bacon or loin bacon or just plain bacon. I've seen it
attributed as Irish or Scottish as well as Canadian.
Back bacon comes in several varieties, dry vs. brine
cure or no cure, salt or sugar/salt cure, pellicle
or no pellicle, and if pellicle, made by smoking or
by painting with some foreign substance (gelatin?
modified food starch?).
Most importantly, the degree of trim - I of course
prefer some amount of exterior fat.
The general US preference seems to be close
trimmed, shaped (ugh, I say) into a cylinder,
dry salt cured and then smoked. Some of what has
been served to me as "Canadian bacon" is really
smoked rolled shoulder, which is a considerably
cheaper cut but tastes almost as good.
I would use margarine and either regular milk or even half&half.
Title: CANADIAN CORN CHOWDER
I'd be with you on the whole milk but would use butter!
--mm
Warm Zucchini Soup With Caponata, Sauteed Speack, and Crispy Fried Leeks
cat: soup, pork, celebrity
Makes: 2 servings
h- For the soup
1 cl garlic, peeled
1 1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
1 md onion, thinly sliced
2 oz (about 2) thinly sliced leeks (white part only)
1 sm fresh bay leaf
10 oz zucchini (2 medium), quartered lengthwise,
- seeds discarded and flesh cut into chunks
1 c chicken broth or water
Salt to taste
h- For the garnish
1 leek (white part only), julienne
3/4 c olive oil
1/4 c potato starch or cornstarch
2 oz speack (smoked shoulder prosciutto), julienned (or
- substitute prosciutto)
1/2 c caponata
For the soup. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the
garlic in 3 T oil until browned. Remove and discard the garlic.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion, leeks, and bay leaf.
Cover and cook until the vegetables soften, 5 to 6 min. Add the
zucchini; cover and cook 2 min. Add enough chicken broth or
water to cover the vegetable mixture; season. Cover and simmer
25 min. Remove the soup from the heat; discard the bay leaf.
For the garnish. Place the leek in a bowl of ice water; set
aside for 20 min.
In a deep pan, heat about 1" of oil on medium-high. Have ready
a plate lined with paper towels.
Drain the leek and pat dry with paper towels. Coat the leek with
potato starch or corn starch. Transfer the leek to a wire
strainer and shake to remove any excess starch.
Add the leek to the oil and fry until lightly browned, 3 to 5 min.
With a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the leek to paper
towels to drain.
In a nonstick pan, saute the speack until lightly browned around
the edges, 4 to 5 min. Carefully transfer the speack to the paper
towels to drain.
To assemble, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor
and puree. Return the soup to the pan and bring to a boil. Whisk
in enough oil to make the mixture creamy. Remove from the heat
and cool slightly.
Meanwhile, with an egg cup, metal ring or measuring cup, shape
1/4 c of the caponata into a small mound in the center of a soup
bowl. Repeat with the remaining caponata. Pour or ladle the warm
soup (not hot, not cold) around (not over) the caponata. Garnish
with the leeks and speack. Serve immediately.
Roberto Donna, Washington Post 9/22/99
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* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.DOCSPLACE.ORG (1:123/140)