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When Friends Do Awesome Things…. is a post from: Charles French

“Hate crimes are a form of domestic terrorism. They send the poisonous message that some Americans deserve to be victimized solely because of who they are” (Statement on hate crimes, 2007)

“America stands for justice for all. Congress must make clear that when we say “all” we mean all. America will never be America until we do.”(Statement on ENDA, 2007)

“It is wrong for our civil laws to deny any American the basic right to be part of a family, to have loved ones with whom to build a secure future and share life’s joys and tears, and to be free from the stain of bigotry and discrimination.” (Statement on the Federal Marriage Amendment, 2006)

“While we have come a long way, we still face major challenges in responding to this devastating disease in communities across the country… [N]o state by itself can provide the significant resources to help persons living with HIV disease obtain the medical and support services they need. The Ryan White CARE Act is indispensible…We know that the CARE Act has made a difference not only in the lives of persons with HIV/AIDS, but also in the lives of countless loved ones who have seen despair turn to hope through the support of CARE Act services.” (Statement on the Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization, 2000)

“We all know what this issue is about. It’s not about how to protect the sanctity of marriage, or how to deal with activist judges. It’s about politics and an attempt to drive a wedge between one group of citizens and the rest of the country, solely for partisan advantage. We’ve rejected that tactic before, and I’m hopeful that we will do so again. I’m also hopeful that many of our Republican colleagues – those with whom we’ve worked over the years on a bipartisan basis to expand and defend the civil rights of gay and straight Americans alike – will join us in rejecting this divisive effort.” (Statement on the Federal Marriage Amendment, 2004).

Taken from here.

Now I understand why I’ve felt such an inexplicable, deep, personal loss with his passing.

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In the Words of Senator Ted Kennedy… is a post from: Charles French

When Manly Men Love Men…

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My Mendocino Vacation – Narrated by @PreppyDude is a post from: Charles French

Ingredients:
12 ounces heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved.
2 cloves of garlic, minced.
1/2 medium shallot, minced
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 to 2 1/2 ounces grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, (I used both).
1 good handful of Italian parsley, medium fine chop.
2 pinches red chili flakes
1/2 tsp salt.

Method:
Prep all of your ingredients first, this goes very quickly. Make the pasta first, drain it and set it aside.

Get a 10inch saute pan hot, add the oil, lower the heat.
Add the shallot and saute over medium heat for two to three minutes until translucent, and not browned.
Add the garlic and sautee for 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, salt, chili flakes at once and saute for two minutes over medium high heat.
Lower heat to medium and add half the parsley and half the cheese, stir to blend.
Add the pasta, slowly stir to blend, trying not to break down the tomatoes.

Serve immediately, topping the pasta with the remaining parsley and cheese, add another pinch of chili flake as serving.

Enjoy!
Chaz

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Summer Tomato Sauce is a post from: Charles French

I wanted dessert, and I didn’t really have anything ready to eat, so I figured I’d do something with puff pastry, and remembered I had passion fruit pulp in the freezer… I figured I’d make a jam to go with the pastry and some whipped cream I’d made the day before… Well as I was cooking the pulp, I realized I needed to add some sugar to thicken it into a jam, then as it was reducing I decided to add pinches of salt, cardamom, and ginger. Things were coming along nicely, but it was clear that without pectin this wouldn’t be a jam, so my brain firing at high speed decided “Grab some heavy cream.” I added a few ounces of cream to the mix and continued to cook it down, and I ended up with the most amazing Passion Fruit Caramel. I cooked it beyond the ‘caramel sauce’ point and went to the soft candy stage. It was so fucking amazing that it blew my socks off, and that takes a lot.

So Tomorrow’s plan is to remake the caramel, and find a store that sells Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder so I can redo the ice cream.

In the non-dessert arena, I made an amazing quick summer tomato ’sauce’ with heirloom cherry tomatoes, lightly sauteed with in olive oil with garlic and shallots. It was heavenly over fresh beet fettuccine, I’m making that again for dinner, and will post pics along with instructions.

I fucking love summer’s bounty!

Chaz

Stay tuned

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Things I’m working on… is a post from: Charles French

This job and the office were abysmal, a group of 10 of use were stacked in a room no more than 10×18 feet, no personal space, no privacy, and you’d better find a way to get along…

Eric who sat about 2 feet to my right was  a late 20’s black ‘dude’ his focus was comic books, and being a stoner.  For the first 9 months that I worked there, Eric had never known a gay person, and since he seemed hostile towards gays in the beginning, I went with  The Gay Agenda – Article 1, Paragraph 1.  “If they seem anti-gay, don’t come out until they get to know you. -  (it’s really hard to hate someone you already know and like).”¹   So after 9 months he’d kinda figured it out, and asked, and we were cool.  (And man was he full of questions about ‘The Gay”).

We became ‘work friends’ who occasionally hung out after, going out for drinks, or food, a celebration here and there when someone, anyone would escape that job.

Five years ago today; August 13, 2004 Julia Child passed at the age of 92.  When the news broke, Eric became the kindest person, almost soft, gentle, he knew what Julia meant to me; not as a celebrity, not even necessarily as a cook, he knew that to me she was an inspiration, an ideal, a goal, a don’t you ever give up attitude, and a perseverance.  Julia was and still is a Hero of mine.  Eric got this, and he got it really well, but I didn’t fully understand how he got it until a few months later, when Christopher Reeve passed.  And then it dawned on me, when I found myself consoling Eric.  He understood because he had a hero who persevered too….

Here’s to our Heroes, may they live forever in our memories.

Chaz

¹ Actually, to the best of my knowledge, that is the entirety of “The Gay Agenda”.  Subtle, isn’t it?

Photographs are © Time Magazine.

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Heroes is a post from: Charles French

When it was finished, I loved it immediately, and as I was going home I thought about what more I could do with it.  So, the plan now is more bands in different widths above and below the current band.  When those are done, I’ll consider adding something else in-between the bands.

And so I begin…

Chaz

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Another journey begins is a post from: Charles French

Of course, I had to give it a try.  If for no other reason than to gross out Steve & Leigh.

I’m not going to post photos of the baking process, the ‘wet’ ingredients look kinda nasty when you’re putting this together.

But here’s the final product.

The recipe is available over at Joy The Baker and you should give it a try, it’s good to flex one’s baking muscles and try something new now and then.

A few notes if you’re going to try this.
Cake Batter: Even though I had run my avocado through the food processor and thought I had it smooth when I added it to the wet ingredients chunks started floating to the top, I ended up scooping them out and pressing them through a seive.  In my oven one cake was done a few minutes before the other.
Avocado “Buttercream” I ended up using a tablespoon of lemon juice, plus a little that I rubbed on the chopped avocado meat while I finished chopping the 2nd.

Also though the recipe says that it’s ‘Vegan’ it will only be truly vegan if you use  vegan sugar.  Most commercially available sugar is filtered through “bone char” and that makes it very much not-vegan.

Final note, go easy on the frosting, it can overpower the cake.  And while I will most definitely make the cake recipe again, I doubt I’ll make the ‘Avocado Buttercream’ again.

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This cake brought to you by my Google Reader friends & Joy The Baker is a post from: Charles French

I’d been trying to keep this a secret, but as each step came closer to reality I’ve let more close friends in on this.  Tonight I found out the money has come through, so barring some bizarre turn of events, this is really, truly, a go this time.

Starting in September I’ll be attending the Natural Gourmet Institute in NYC.

Some of my friends may wonder why I’d choose this school, and it’s easy, this is the future of food, slow, natural, whole, local, sustainable, preferably organic, and yes, less meat based.  I want to be a part of that food future.

I’ll be sharing more in the near future, and laying out some plans for things here.

Hang on folks, it’s gonna be a wild ride.

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I’m going to culinary school is a post from: Charles French

Now, we’re not even going to talk about the tackiness of the bra strap showing like that, this one is all about that color.   Seriously WTF!  Now, I can see how something like that might be useful when running at night on a dark country road, it certainly has its place, a very limited one.  But this was broad daylight.  That is not fashion, it is not proper attire for wearing in public, and she should be sent to a correctional fashion institution.

Up Next…

This one is hard to see on the cellphone camera.  But here we go.  He’s wearing dark striped pants, with one of those already hideous blue and white stripe jackets, his tie is a third different stripe, and even his socks are striped.    You aren’t dapper buddy, you’re a disaster.

Thus ends today’s fashion ramblings.

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What were they thinking? is a post from: Charles French