> that.  PSI -- for anyone who has a mail-in ballot that you have not yet
> mailed, DO NOT mail it now.  It will not get there in time.  TAKE it to
> a drop box or the election clerk office in your area. I don't care who
> you might vote for, BUT -- do vote, it matters.

I strongly prefer in-person voting, and last time
that's what I did - took the bus half an hour to
the polling place, stood in line for more than an
hour, the procedure took maybe ten or fifteen, and
then the bus back. Basically half a day counting
dead time, for whatever good it did.

I was thinking what would most amuse Mr. Putin, and
whether a subtle tweaking of the results one way or
the other would get less than desired attention, but 
an obvious heavy-handed intervention, with the reported 
tallies being so contrary to good sense, could easily 
put the whole system in a bad odor. Like an illogical
checkerboard of results or every state north of the
Mason-Dixon line going blue and every state south 
going red, or something, and the KGB or the Chinese
saying, hey, look what we can do, you'll never sleep
through the night again.

>  ML> I started off with a control - Diet Pepsi and Red Vines, but this
>  ML> brought out acrid off flavors in both, a distinct failure. Well,
> I think I saw a picture of you doing that.  Not a good look!

I wonder about that Facebook thing. Most of the
time I don't see the use of it.

> As to soft drinks, we have lately not been able to find Brag's root beer
> ( a Coke product) anywhere in this area.  Some stores are carrying the
> two liter bottle, but no cans.

There's the competition among the big three, the
other two being Mug and A&W, with the distributors
sometimes being the same, which I don't understand.
Why isn't there a conflict of interest, I wonder,
but maybe in a more cooperative world it can happen,
same as real estate agents in some jurisdictions
being able to represent both buyer and seller at
the same time. 

>  ML> Cheddar Jalapeno Crunchy - red flecks overlaid on the usual 
> Not sure that we have seen these -- quite sure that we have not had
> them.

They were okay. Aside from the green note, which
would be hard to duplicate at home, I'd probably
be inclined to take a cayenne shaker to a bag of
regular snacks.

>  ML> XXtra flamin' hot - yeah, I got suckered into these again.
> How soon you forget.  Recall that we brought a bag to the picnic at
> Lydia's for folks to try so that they would not waste good money on
> getting them to try for themselves.  The decision was "NO redeeming
> qualities".

Sad, as if I'd had my wits about me, the regular
flamin' hot were there on the same display, and
they taste much better.

> Not sure how this would turn out, but it is the only eggplant in
> tonight's file:-}}
> That sounds like a *lot* of rosemary, even for me.  I know that you
> would use a lot less, if any.  Personally, our spicy oregano would be a
> better spice for this sort of chicken.  Also, 1/8 ts black pepper almost
> sounds like "why bother".  I'd go for a lot more.

I'm with you on the rosemary, but someone who
really liked it would use at least that much.
Oregano, different effect; traditionally it
goes with lemon as well, and I'd add some juice
or zest if substituting it. An interesting
absence is zucchini - was it missing to begin
with, or did you do a merciful surgery to the
recipe? I'll make up for that, see below.

>       2 tb Fresh rosemary leaves, or

Laura Bush's Zuni Stew
categories: celebrity, political, main, vegetarian
yield: 1 pot

1 1/2 c pinto beans (soaked overnight; drained)
1 bay leaf
1 ts dried oregano
1 ts salt
2 Tb corn or vegetable oil
2 yellow onions, chopped into 1/4" pieces
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 Tb red chile powder
1 ts ground cumin
1/2 ts ground coriander
1 lb fresh tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
2 dried ancho chile peppers cut into narrow strips
1 lb yellow or zucchini squash cut into 1" pieces
4 ears corn, cut kernels of
8 oz fresh green beans, 1" pieces
4 oz Monterey jack cheese, grated
1/2 bn cilantro, chopped rough

Place beans, bay leaf and oregano in a saucepan; 
cover with plenty of water and cook over medium 
heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. Remove from heat when 
beans are soft, but not mushy. Add salt. Drain 
beans, but save the broth. Heat oil in a large 
skillet; saute onions over high heat 1 to 2 min. 
Lower the heat, then add garlic, spices, and 
stir. Add a little bean broth so the chile 
powder doesn't scorch. Cook until onions begin 
to soften, about 4 min. Add tomatoes and cook 
for another 5 min. Stir in chiles and remaining 
vegetables, along with the cooked beans and 
enough of the broth to make a moist, thick stew. 
Cook at a high simmer until vegetables are done, 
about 20 min. Stir in cheese and chopped cilantro. 
Serve with cornbread or tortillas.
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