>  ML> > Hopefully won't spread world wide then.
>  ML> Eh, why not.
> Don't want any more toxic waste down here. (G)

If Jim is to be believed, and I see no reason to
disbelieve, they produce less waste than most of the 
things we have, and we might well benefit from them.

>  ML> And the worst casualty is the black eye that
>  ML> science is going to be suffering in the long run.
> Seems it gets a black eye quite often, then is proved either right or
> wrong. Galileo and others of his era were doubted, disowned, etc for
> years, but eventually proved right or wrong.

We're in a situation where precipitate action has
immediate and far-reaching consequences. You'll note
that people were blaming Sweden for indulging in a
massive experiment at the expense of its people, and
its chief public health officers pointed out that in
fact it's the rest of the world that was doing the
irresponsible experiment. I almost wished for the sake 
of the rest of the world that the Swedish had suffered 
some unusual catastrophe, but in fact, their results 
have been no worse than the US or much of Europe at 
little cost to their economy or psychic well-being.
Somewhere between the US and Canada at last count.

>  ML> the New York outbreaks have been shown to
>  ML> have come from a strain that has been cooking
>  ML> in Italy and not a direct import from China.
> OK, I've not been paying that much attention to the scientific minutia.

If you don't want to do the digging, you can't
find out any of the facts. The sad thing is that
even a careful watcher has to be pretty fast,
because the relevant snippets of information go
away at the blink of an eye, and it becomes
extremely difficult to make a coherent picture.

>  ML> According to ACA, it should be free to those who
>  ML> qualify for any kind of insurance. According to
>  ML> me, it should be free for everyone.
> Should be, but isn't so it has to be paid for somehow.

That's the thing - anyone who qualifies for ACA or ANY
other US-based insurance gets it with zero out of pocket,
by federal law. It's of course being paid through the 
government, not perhaps the most efficient method, but so 
far as I can see, the only one. This of course means that 
your taxpayer dollars are underwriting the whole thing, 
but that's what insurance is all about to begin with. 
According to hhs.gov, 
 Flu and other vaccines are required to be covered
 by your health insurance without charging a
 copayment or coinsurance. But, be sure to check
 with your insurance company to find out if you
 must go to a specific facility to receive the
 vaccine. Some insurance plans only cover vaccines
 given by your doctor or at a limited set of
 locations.

>  ML> That would be a peculiar wrinkle to the law - that
>  ML> a pack of lies could be redeemed by a bit of truth.
> I'll zip my lip so as not to descend into areas not approved for
> discussion here.

That's my call as of now at least. If you want
to steer well clear, that's fine, but don't bother
mentioning it, which is like sticking in your 
thumb and pulling out a plum and saying what
a good girl you are.

>  ML> you'd be likely to find. And, yeah, it's pretty
>  ML> easy to tell fresh from stale - fresh matzoh tastes
>  ML> like fresh cardboard, stale matzoh tastes like old
>  ML> cardboard.
> It worked, and filled us up. Instead of making big balls (package said
> to make about 9), I made about 18-20 smaller ones.

I'd always wondered why tradition favored big
blobs over small ones, but it seems likely that
they were designed as meat substitute and belly
filler, and denser things are more effective at
those tasks. I've always run in circles where
sheer aesthetics are taken into account, so 
tender meat and matzoh balls are given value as
opposed to more resilient things with resistant
chew. If you can pay only for five minutes'
worth of jaw exercise, you make it worth your
while. I could see an old traditionalist pushing
away his delicate dumpling or sous-vided steak
and saying, If I eat something, I want to know
I'm eating it. For me, a piece of meat should 
have some resistance, but I'm not so poor that
I'll prefer a heavy matzoh ball to a light one.

>  ML> > Hopefully they won't go over like a lead balloon. (G)
>  ML> One hopes that for all doughnuts, but in truth, they
>  ML> are not hard to make - in fact it's tough to make an
>  ML> inedible one if one uses enough oil. I'm temporarily
>  ML> out of fried dough ideas.
> Sounds good. Makes me think back to when I was a kid--the local Rotary
> Club sponsored Halloween activities at the school gym (after a parade
> down Main Street). After all the inside activities were done, they
> served cider and doughnuts outside. If I can find some cider without
> preservatives..................

I have some leftover french fry oil; maybe it's
time for an experimental batch of doughnuts, though
it's up in the 90s again this week (50 at night!).

>  ML> Warm Tortellini Pasta Salad
> That looks good! Steve doesn't care for pasta salad or Brussels sprouts
> so..................the more for me. (G)

Porcini Ravioli Salad with a Garlic-Anchovy-EVOO Dressing
categories: Singaporean, side, main, fusion
servings: 2 to 4

1 lg hd purple cauliflower, cut into florets, about 5 c
1 lg hd broccoli, cut into florets, about 5 cups
1 sm cn anchovies, about 5 fillets
1/2 c almond flakes
10 cloves garlic, sliced thinly into chips
4 stalks fresh rosemary
1 c edamame, cooked and peeled
1 pk porcini mushroom ravioli, 250 g
1 c extra virgin olive oil
salt

Toss purple cauliflower florets in EVOO, salting lightly, 
and roasting at 220C/430F for about 35 min, turning up to 
230C/450F for the last 5 min to really brown up those edges.

In the meantime, fry anchovies in 4 Tb EVOO on low heat, 
mushing up the anchovies into the oil, about 3 min. Don't 
worry about the anchovies smelling fishy or the little 
fish bones or that the mush looks like crap, it will melt 
and mellow out into a glorious golden toasty accent to 
the garlic and nuts, trust me.

Add almond chips and toss, letting it toast 1 min. 
Add garlic chips and toss.

Add rosemary and toast another 7 min or until the garlic 
is crispy and golden brown. Turn off heat and remove 
rosemary.

Toss broccoli florets in EVOO, salting lightly, and 
roast at 220C for about 35 min, turning up to 230C for 
the last 5 min.

Cook ravioli according to package directions in salted 
water, draining it about 30 sec before its prescribed 
cooking time and reserving a few tablespoons of salty 
pasta water.

Add pasta and 1 Tb pasta water to the anchovy-garlic 
chip-almond EVOO blend and turn on heat to medium, 
tossing through. Turn off heat thereafter.

Assembly time: intersperse the ravioli with roasted 
cauliflower and broccoli and top with edamame and 
extra lashings of toasty anchovy-flavoured garlic 
and almond chips.  

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