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  Recipe: Bachelor's Neapolitan Ragù

  I know I haven't blogged in a while someday I'll get back to it.

  This is my attempt to create a decent Ragù in a little over an hour. There are some short cuts, but for someone looking for a sauce recipe that's better then what comes out of a jar and is quicker then a full blown sunday gravy this is rather good. This is the first time I've attempted to measure everything as I go, but I hope it's enjoyable to you.

  It serves 8-10.

  It freezes well. I tend to put half in the fridge and the rest in 4 small containers in the freezer.

  Ingredients:

  2 Lb. Chuck Chopped
  1 lb. Ground Pork
  1 Lb. Italian Sausage (Sweet or Hot depending on taste)

  3 tbs. EVOO

  1 Garlic Clove
  1 Medium Sized Spanish onion or yellow onion
  1 Green Pepper
  1 Large Carrot
  1 Celery Stalk
  2 Cups Peas

  1 Tbs Rosemary
  1 Tbs Oregano
  1 Tbs Basil

  Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

  4 16oz Cans Stewed Tomatoes
  2 16oz Cans Tomato Sauce (Plain Tomato Sauce, Not Spaghetti Sauce)

  How To Make it:

  1) Dice the soffritto (Garlic, Onion, Green Pepper, Carrot and Celery). I prefer to leave it chunky but chop it as fine as you want. (Yes, I know that Green Pepper doesn't belong in a soffritto, blame it on my German / Irish ancestry)
  2) Put a heavy pot on the stove, Add 2 tbs. of EVOO coating the bottom of the pot, heat over high-medium heat
  3) Brown the sausage and remove. It's OK if the Sausage is not cooked all the way through yet. Slice the sausage.
  4) Reduce pan to medium heat, add the rest of the EVOO
  5) Add the soffritto stir for a couple of minutes until the onions begin to turn pale gold.
  6) Return pan to medium-high heat.
  7) Add and Brown the other meats.
  8) Drain some of the grease.
  9) Re-add sliced sausage to pot.
  10) Sprinkle with Rosemary, Oregano & Basil & Salt and Pepper.
  11) Add Peas.
  12) Add Stewed Tomatoes & Tomato Sauce to Pot, Bring Mixture to a boil.
  13) Lower heat and Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
  14) Sauce should be "thick" with meat and vegetables.
  15) Serve over pasta. Share and Enjoy.

  Variations:

  If you don't have a well stocked spice rack, I have found that about 4 Tbs. of Mrs. Dash Italian Medley is a good substitute.

  Of course, if you have the time stewing your own tomatoes is preferable but the goal is to knock this out in under an hour and a half.

  Be bold with vegetables. I've used snap peas, string beans, mushrooms, zucchini, summer squash.

  For a healthier option replace the Beef, Pork and Sausage w/ ground turkey, chicken and turkey sausage.

  Also veal, lamb and porkchops are options for the meat.

  2 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity
• 

  Recipe: Bachelor's Neapolitan Ragù

  I know I haven't blogged in a while someday I'll get back to it.

  This is my attempt to create a decent Ragù in a little over an hour. There are some short cuts, but for someone looking for a sauce recipe that's better then what comes out of a jar and is quicker then a full blown sunday gravy this is rather good. This is the first time I've attempted to measure everything as I go, but I hope it's enjoyable to you.

  It serves 8-10.

  It freezes well. I tend to put half in the fridge and the rest in 4 small containers in the freezer.

  Ingredients:

  2 Lb. Chuck Chopped
  1 lb. Ground Pork
  1 Lb. Italian Sausage (Sweet or Hot depending on taste)

  3 tbs. EVOO

  1 Garlic Clove
  1 Medium Sized Spanish onion or yellow onion
  1 Green Pepper
  1 Large Carrot
  1 Celery Stalk
  2 Cups Peas

  1 Tbs Rosemary
  1 Tbs Oregano
  1 Tbs Basil

  Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

  4 16oz Cans Stewed Tomatoes
  2 16oz Cans Tomato Sauce (Plain Tomato Sauce, Not Spaghetti Sauce)

  How To Make it:

  1) Dice the soffritto (Garlic, Onion, Green Pepper, Carrot and Celery). I prefer to leave it chunky but chop it as fine as you want. (Yes, I know that Green Pepper doesn't belong in a soffritto, blame it on my German / Irish ancestry)
  2) Put a heavy pot on the stove, Add 2 tbs. of EVOO coating the bottom of the pot, heat over high-medium heat
  3) Brown the sausage and remove. It's OK if the Sausage is not cooked all the way through yet. Slice the sausage.
  4) Reduce pan to medium heat, add the rest of the EVOO
  5) Add the soffritto stir for a couple of minutes until the onions begin to turn pale gold.
  6) Return pan to medium-high heat.
  7) Add and Brown the other meats.
  8) Drain some of the grease.
  9) Re-add sliced sausage to pot.
  10) Sprinkle with Rosemary, Oregano & Basil & Salt and Pepper.
  11) Add Peas.
  12) Add Stewed Tomatoes & Tomato Sauce to Pot, Bring Mixture to a boil.
  13) Lower heat and Simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.
  14) Sauce should be "thick" with meat and vegetables.
  15) Serve over pasta. Share and Enjoy.

  Variations:

  If you don't have a well stocked spice rack, I have found that about 4 Tbs. of Mrs. Dash Italian Medley is a good substitute.

  Of course, if you have the time stewing your own tomatoes is preferable but the goal is to knock this out in under an hour and a half.

  Be bold with vegetables. I've used snap peas, string beans, mushrooms, zucchini, summer squash.

  For a healthier option replace the Beef, Pork and Sausage w/ ground turkey, chicken and turkey sausage.

  Also veal, lamb and porkchops are options for the meat.

  2 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity
• 

  Intellectual Property vs Real Property

  Since the supreme court ruled on Kelso vs. The City of New London allowing the use of eminent domain to transfer real property from one private owner to another to increase tax receipts and jobs, many cities have begun projects to build sports arenas, corporate parks, factories and bus stations. They have taken advantage of eminent domain to assist developers in acquiring the land they require to execute. Gone are the days of pesky home owners holding onto their land until they get a "fair price", now if a developer wants a piece of land the government can intercede and condemn the property and transfer it to the developer. My question is, why doesn't this apply to intellectual property as well?

  World famous internet balladeer Jonathan Coulton makes a fair living writing, selling and performing music but let's face it Mr. Coulton is a small operation. If SonyBMG can prove to the City of New York that they could make more money off of Mr. Coulton's music, shouldn't his music be transferred to them? Sony would require more personnel to market, promote, and produce Mr Coulton's music and could produce more tax receipts then Mr. Coulton does out of his Brooklyn apartment. The same can be said for open source projects such as Linux, Firefox, and Drupal. If tax receipts and job creation can be used as rationale for using eminent domain, shouldn't any intellectual property just be transferred to the company who can make the most off of it since that would create income and jobs?

  All this satire leads to my real question... Why should real property be less protected intellectual property?

  7 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity
• 

  Intellectual Property vs Real Property

  Since the supreme court ruled on Kelso vs. The City of New London allowing the use of eminent domain to transfer real property from one private owner to another to increase tax receipts and jobs, many cities have begun projects to build sports arenas, corporate parks, factories and bus stations. They have taken advantage of eminent domain to assist developers in acquiring the land they require to execute.

  7 months on
  seanreiser.com - The Early Reiser
• 

  Intellectual Property vs Real Property

  Since the supreme court ruled on Kelso vs. The City of New London allowing the use of eminent domain to transfer real property from one private owner to another to increase tax receipts and jobs, many cities have begun projects to build sports arenas, corporate parks, factories and bus stations. They have taken advantage of eminent domain to assist developers in acquiring the land they require to execute. Gone are the days of pesky home owners holding onto their land until they get a "fair price", now if a developer wants a piece of land the government can intercede and condemn the property and transfer it to the developer. My question is, why doesn't this apply to intellectual property as well?

  World famous internet balladeer Jonathan Coulton makes a fair living writing, selling and performing music but let's face it Mr. Coulton is a small operation. If SonyBMG can prove to the City of New York that they could make more money off of Mr. Coulton's music, shouldn't his music be transferred to them? Sony would require more personnel to market, promote, and produce Mr Coulton's music and could produce more tax receipts then Mr. Coulton does out of his Brooklyn apartment. The same can be said for open source projects such as Linux, Firefox, and Drupal. If tax receipts and job creation can be used as rationale for using eminent domain, shouldn't any intellectual property just be transferred to the company who can make the most off of it since that would create income and jobs?

  All this satire leads to my real question... Why should real property be less protected intellectual property?

  7 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity
• 

  Some Random Thoughts on the 4th Amendment

  I'm going to try and revive the blog in the new year... here's the first post...

  Recently in some reading I came across a Patrick Henry quote "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests" which made me think of a story. <!--break--> Those who know me know I have a metal copy of the US Bill of Rights in my wallet. I carry it to set off metal detectors and make a point that we are giving up our 4th amendment rights. When asked what it is I'll say something like "Oh, it's the Bill of Rights, I guess you have a problem with that here".

  For a while I was traveling to Washington DC for business. While I was there I'd take advantage of the museums and national monuments that DC has to offer. On one such trip I was visiting the National Archive where there is a metal detector. There's a delicious level of irony when one has to be searched to see the document that protects you from illegal search. When I set off the detector I made my flippant comment about the Bill of Rights. The guard's response surprised me, "It's my job to protect the Bill of Rights from people like you".

  I must've been in a snarky mood, and considering that I had an audience fueled my desire to drive my point home, I responded, "No, it's the job of the Bill of Right to protect me from government thugs like you". I'm not sure this was what he was looking for as an answer as he grimaced before letting me past. I do find it sad that this man has no appreciation for what he's guarding, because he is doing more to destroy the Bill of Rights then I could do.

  I suspect that this is in my mind recently in the wake of the "crotch bomber" incident. Since the attempted bombing every day there has been one story or another about the "millimeter wave full body scanners" which essentially give security personnel the ability to see under someone's clothes so they can look for weapons and other contraband. A side effect of this is that the security guard gets to see the person being scanned essentially naked. In the past people have criticized my civil disobedience around metal detectors reminding me that the amendment protects us from an "unreasonable search". I think we can all agree that being strip searched to get on an airplane is unreasonable.

  I'm also concerned about how this spreads out in the world. In 2001 most people were only subjected to metal detectors at airports. 8 years later we find them in government buildings, office buildings, sports venues, and at some public gatherings like Times Square on New Years Eve. We are subjected to "random" bag searches when getting on the NYC subways. We have all been conditioned to believe that this is the way it has to be. Once body scanning becomes common in airports, and it's part of the culture I believe to will begin to find it's way into the world as metal detectors have.

  At the end of the day, the only real security is an alert citizenry. If both the shoe bomber and crotch bomber cases have taught us anything, it is that we, the people, are the last line of defense, not the TSA, not some piece of technology. No matter what defenses we put in place, someone will work out a way around them. The real legacy of 9/11 is not ungraded security, it's that people are willing to stand up to these attackers.

  8 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity
• 

  Some Random Thoughts on the 4th Amendment

  I'm going to try and revive the blog in the new year... here's the first post...

  Recently in some reading I came across a Patrick Henry quote "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests" which made me think of a story. <!--break--> Those who know me know I have a metal copy of the US Bill of Rights in my wallet. I carry it to set off metal detectors and make a point that we are giving up our 4th amendment rights. When asked what it is I'll say something like "Oh, it's the Bill of Rights, I guess you have a problem with that here".

  For a while I was traveling to Washington DC for business. While I was there I'd take advantage of the museums and national monuments that DC has to offer. On one such trip I was visiting the National Archive where there is a metal detector. There's a delicious level of irony when one has to be searched to see the document that protects you from illegal search. When I set off the detector I made my flippant comment about the Bill of Rights. The guard's response surprised me, "It's my job to protect the Bill of Rights from people like you".

  I must've been in a snarky mood, and considering that I had an audience fueled my desire to drive my point home, I responded, "No, it's the job of the Bill of Right to protect me from government thugs like you". I'm not sure this was what he was looking for as an answer as he grimaced before letting me past. I do find it sad that this man has no appreciation for what he's guarding, because he is doing more to destroy the Bill of Rights then I could do.

  I suspect that this is in my mind recently in the wake of the "crotch bomber" incident. Since the attempted bombing every day there has been one story or another about the "millimeter wave full body scanners" which essentially give security personnel the ability to see under someone's clothes so they can look for weapons and other contraband. A side effect of this is that the security guard gets to see the person being scanned essentially naked. In the past people have criticized my civil disobedience around metal detectors reminding me that the amendment protects us from an "unreasonable search". I think we can all agree that being strip searched to get on an airplane is unreasonable.

  I'm also concerned about how this spreads out in the world. In 2001 most people were only subjected to metal detectors at airports. 8 years later we find them in government buildings, office buildings, sports venues, and at some public gatherings like Times Square on New Years Eve. We are subjected to "random" bag searches when getting on the NYC subways. We have all been conditioned to believe that this is the way it has to be. Once body scanning becomes common in airports, and it's part of the culture I believe to will begin to find it's way into the world as metal detectors have.

  At the end of the day, the only real security is an alert citizenry. If both the shoe bomber and crotch bomber cases have taught us anything, it is that we, the people, are the last line of defense, not the TSA, not some piece of technology. No matter what defenses we put in place, someone will work out a way around them. The real legacy of 9/11 is not ungraded security, it's that people are willing to stand up to these attackers.

  8 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity
• 

  Some Random Thoughts on the 4th Amendment

  I'm going to try and revive the blog in the new year... here's the first post...

  Recently in some reading I came across a Patrick Henry quote "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests" which made me think of a story.

  8 months on
  seanreiser.com - The Early Reiser
• 

  Obama Addressing Students

  I can tell you my first "political memory", it was January 21, 1981, I was 11 years old. When was came to school that day TV sets were in the classroom. By mid day we were watching Ronald Reagan's Inauguration. I remember the Pomp and Circumstance around the event. As it was a Catholic school we prayed for the President, and for the Hostages released from Iran that day. Where President Reagan wasn't addressing the students directly, I do feel I learned a lot that day. I also learned a lot about the meaning of the Presidency some from Reagan's speech, some from the teacher afterwards.

  12 months on
  seanreiser.com - The Early Reiser
• 

  Obama Addressing Students

  I can tell you my first "political memory", it was January 21, 1981, I was 11 years old. When was came to school that day TV sets were in the classroom. By mid day we were watching Ronald Reagan's Inauguration. I remember the Pomp and Circumstance around the event. As it was a Catholic school we prayed for the President, and for the Hostages released from Iran that day. Where President Reagan wasn't addressing the students directly, I do feel I learned a lot that day. I also learned a lot about the meaning of the Presidency some from Reagan's speech, some from the teacher afterwards.

  To be honest, I suspect my belief that the government is not the solution to problems may have come directly from that speech. Now, I don't believe in everything Reagan represented but that one thing stays with me to this day. It occurs to me that from the people I've stayed in touch with there's a pretty even split between conservatives and liberals but the majority of them are politically active or at least aware. I think any interest I have in politics today can be traced back to that day and I suspect that other people in that class would feel the same.

  So, I have to ask a question, in the last 28 years how did we get from a point where people would believe that a President addressing the youth of the nation might be the worst thing to happen to humanity? As I read tweets and blog entries there is a lot of "OMG! Obama is coming for the children. Lock them in the cellar for their own good!" out there and quite frankly it scares me. I didn't come out of the Reagan Inauguration an Alex P Keaton ultra-conservative clone, and I don't believe that children will come out of the school that day as full fledged socialists. I would like to believe that they will come out of school more politically aware as I and my classmates did.

  12 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity
• 

  Obama Addressing Students

  I can tell you my first "political memory", it was January 21, 1981, I was 11 years old. When was came to school that day TV sets were in the classroom. By mid day we were watching Ronald Reagan's Inauguration. I remember the Pomp and Circumstance around the event. As it was a Catholic school we prayed for the President, and for the Hostages released from Iran that day. Where President Reagan wasn't addressing the students directly, I do feel I learned a lot that day. I also learned a lot about the meaning of the Presidency some from Reagan's speech, some from the teacher afterwards.

  To be honest, I suspect my belief that the government is not the solution to problems may have come directly from that speech. Now, I don't believe in everything Reagan represented but that one thing stays with me to this day. It occurs to me that from the people I've stayed in touch with there's a pretty even split between conservatives and liberals but the majority of them are politically active or at least aware. I think any interest I have in politics today can be traced back to that day and I suspect that other people in that class would feel the same.

  So, I have to ask a question, in the last 28 years how did we get from a point where people would believe that a President addressing the youth of the nation might be the worst thing to happen to humanity? As I read tweets and blog entries there is a lot of "OMG! Obama is coming for the children. Lock them in the cellar for their own good!" out there and quite frankly it scares me. I didn't come out of the Reagan Inauguration an Alex P Keaton ultra-conservative clone, and I don't believe that children will come out of the school that day as full fledged socialists. I would like to believe that they will come out of school more politically aware as I and my classmates did.

  12 months on
  Sean Reiser - celebrating 40 years of interactivity