Blog Archives

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4/30/2015

This Saturday, the best chili cooks from across the region will be presenting their best secret recipes at the 30th annual N.E. Chili Cook-off Championship in Somers Ct.

This is without a doubt the largest Chili cook-off in the Northeast and one of the top five in the country. As one of the most popular foods on the planet, chili comes in many forms, but which one is the best? Is it the Traditional Red? Or a ‘Freestyle’ blend of whatever pleases your mouth? The winners of the NE regional will head off to world-level competition sanctioned by the International Chili Society.

Local amateur cooks can also submit their best chili recipes for a shot at the People's Choice Award. In addition to the chili contest, the event will feature fire eaters, clowns, magicians, Defcon Hot Wing eating contest and many other venders as well as. BT’s Smokehouse of Sturbridge Ma will also have their BBQ mobile operation set up

The tasting event will cost $7 and the donation of two canned goods or $ 8 dollars with no canned goods. Your entrance fee will get you a sample of every chili being offered by the competitors for the people’s choice category. The cook-off will benefit two nonprofit organizations – The Somers Fire department and the Patriot Riders of Ct.

The glimmers of change in US higher education are starting to pile up. This could — should — be the start of a tidal wave of reform so that colleges and universities finally start delivering reliable value at a reasonable price. More

Students shred Social Security cards to receive in-state tuition offered to illegal immigrants More

Student Sues College After Campus Cops Demand He Get A Free Speech ‘Permit’ Before Handing Out Fliers

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4/29/2015

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4/28/2015

Last week Regulators approved an emergency closure of commercial sardine fishing off the, Oregon, Washington and California. The council shut down the sardine season… Revised estimates of sardine populations… found the fish were declining in numbers faster than earlier believed. Stocks are much lower than previous estimates from last year… The reasons are not well understood. More

It’s just keeps getting “ worse” Experts say Millions of animals have died recently along West Coast — Worst mortality event ever known — “Wiped out at least 20 different species” — Marine life also disappearing from the coast “Definitely indicates the ocean is not normal”… Should we be worried? More

Speaking of not normal, I wont be back to Charm City
Roaming gangs clashed with police in the streets, seriously injuring officers, tearing open businesses and looting their stocks. Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and called up the National Guard, and state police requested as many as 5,000 reinforcements from neighboring states. More

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4/27/2015

Fighting to keep their syrup out of the hands of the powerful Quebec maple syrup monopoly, producers sneak out barrels by night as they deal in the black market. Meanwhile, the provincial police and sheriffs have raided sugar shacks and seized barrels of maple syrup. The federation’s goal: enforcing a supply management system that controls the sale and proceeds of maple syrup in Quebec. See more at:

It's Fiddlehead Picking Time

I was out in the woods over the weekend to check on the status of this year’s fiddlehead fern growth. With the late winter snow melt this year, it was two weeks later for my annual foraging trip. The fiddleheads were emerging this weekend from the area that I pick from. It was a good pick so if you’re from Southern NE, the time has arrived. I offer you my no longer top secret recipe for canning the fiddleheads. The only thing that is still a secret is where I go picking.

This is a re-post from last year.

If you have never tried canning them before and want to give it a try, head out to the store and buy a case of canning jars for fewer than eight dollars. You will also need a good set of tongs to remove the jars from the boiling water pot during the water bath canning method. If you like it, there are more things you can purchase later to make the job easier.

                                                    Canning Fiddlehead Ferns

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon dill seed
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five spice
1/2 tablespoon black mustard seed
1/2 tablespoons pickling salt
1 tablespoons pickling spice
1/2 tablespoon juniper berries
3 lbs. washed fiddlehead ferns
7cups cider vinegar
3 sliced red onions

Preparation:

Fiddleheads should be washed and rinsed in ice cold water at least three times to remove any brown casings that grow on the outside of the fern.

Sterilize and prepare the canning jars.

In a large nonreactive kettle, bring the vinegar and spices to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and continue simmering for 10 minutes and stir frequently. Add the fiddleheads and onions into brine, let sit for one minute.

Remove pot from heat and with a slotted spoon, pack the fiddleheads and onions into prepared canning jars. When jars are filled, cover ferns with the pickling liquid, leaving about 1/4-inch headspace. Cover with lids and place the jars back in boiling water to complete the 10 min. water bath.

Makes about 10 half pints. Age 3 months before serving. Now you have a wild tasty way to garnish salads, antipasto, and even a Bloody Mary.

Moose and More

4/26/2015

Is this why Happy Hour is illegal in Massachusetts? A naked woman plowed her car through the front of a Houston Kohl's store at about 60 mph. The unidentified woman had just left happy hour at a P.F. Chang's restaurant. . More

Because Girls just want to have fun….A Maine woman who was being hauled off to jail is facing even more charges after allegedly tearing apart a police cruiser with her teeth and attempting to head-butt a sheriff's deputy. More

Here today, gone tomorrow……China vows crackdown on strippers at funerals. More

Now there is good News from California….. Community leaders are standing tall and having their voices heard. They want topless sunbathing in L.A.'s Venice Beach. More.

Someone spiked the Hookah pipe, A husband and wife have been stabbed with a sword in a domestic dispute at a Connecticut water pipe smoking lounge. More

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4/25/2015

Time to Buy a Lottery Ticket

Friday's Open Road

4/24/2015

Norway Will Be the First Country to Turn Off FM Radio in 2017 Norway’s Minister of Culture announced this week that a national FM-radio switch off will commence in 2017, allowing the country to complete its transition over to digital radio.

15 Companies That Paid Zero Income Tax Last Year (Despite $23 Billion in Profits) Due to completely messed up U.S. tax policies, some even got a rebate check. More

Six Common Food Additives Used in the US that Are Banned in Other Countries

This is not a good thing. An untreatable and sometimes fatal tick-borne disease is turning up in parts of southern Connecticut, according to Dr. Theodore Andreadis. More

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4/23/2015

Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

Roald Dahl

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4/22/2015

Heads up! The Lyrid Meteor shower will reach its peak tonight when as many as 20 meteors per hour are expected to whiz through the night sky.

Governor Paul LePage of Maine

4/22/2015

Last November, just one week after his re-election, Governor Paul LePage of Maine did something unusual — he made good on a major campaign promise, by slashing funds for cities who give welfare to illegal aliens.

The policy has already had a huge impact, with illegal’s fleeing in droves. Now, just 6 months later, Governor Paul LePage of Maine is making good on another promise: to put an end to the welfare leeches in his state, once and for all. …

Governor LePage passed a measure last year that requires recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) to complete a certain number of work, job-training, or volunteer hours in order to be eligible for assistance. The new requirement has resulted in a dramatic decline in food stamp enrollment.

At the end of 2014 the enrollment count for SNAP was approximately 12,000 individuals. Now that individuals have to complete either 20 hours of part-time work a week, volunteer for at least 24 hours per month, or get involved in a vocational program, the amount of SNAP recipients has dramatically dropped from 12,000 to approximately 2,500 by the end of March — a nearly 80% reduction in state aid.

The truly needy still get their assistance, while the able-bodied will have to get up from in front of their widescreens and do something positive with their lives. It looks like Maine no longer has a guarantee check in the mail policy.