ON NASCAR: Best in Show
News article posted by SC Press Association on February 23rd, 2012
Cathy Elliott
by Cathy Elliott
In perhaps the only time these two sporting entities may ever be mentioned in the same sentence, I always enjoy watching the Westminster Dog Show (WDS) this time of year, because it reminds me a lot of NASCAR.
Held each February in Madison Square Garden, the WDS assembles the superstars of the canine community in one place, and then pits them against each other in head to head – and muzzle to muzzle, and whisker to whisker – competition, gradually weeding down the field until only one remains. There is some circling and snarling, some preening and parading, and more often than not, a tussle or two.
Pre-event favorites fall early, while sometimes unlikely candidates – underdogs, you might say – have been known to make a late charge to win it all.
Is any of this starting to sound familiar? Minus the floppy ears (insert your own joke here) and wagging tails (see insert your own joke here, above), we might be talking about the Daytona 500.
While the WDS and the Great American Race may seem on the surface to have absolutely nothing in common, there are actually a number of parallels to be drawn.
Both events are at the very pinnacle of their genres. Each incorporates preliminary levels of qualification prior to the main event. Both feature a wide variety of competitors with an array of different attributes, but one common goal: They all want to win.
At Westminster, participants compete against one another in group shows before going on to what is called the All-Breed Show.
Daytona uses the same system. Its pre-500 group show is called the Gatorade Duel, and it is fierce, as drivers fight for the best possible starting position in NASCAR’s most prestigious event. Some will prevail and secure a prime starting spot – for whatever that’s worth — while those who find themselves at the proverbial tail end of the pack will be relegated to watching the race from the doghouse sofa.
In sports, it is usually pretty easy to define “the best.” The best hitter is the guy with the highest batting average; the best shooter is the player with highest field goal percentage, and the lowest overall scorer snags the win in golf.
But when the discussion turns to individual events, things get a bit stickier, and this is particularly true in the case of the Daytona 500.
Any given sport’s opening day certainly brings its share of excitement and anticipation, but it isn’t the biggest day of the year; it is merely a means to get there. The Daytona 500, however, is the most highly anticipated day in NASCAR. This is the race that non-race fans will make it a point to watch.
Daytona isn’t the oldest track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit – that distinction belongs to Darlington Raceway – and it isn’t the longest, as Talladega Superspeedway beats it slightly. When you get right down to it, the race isn’t even the most exciting of the year. Poll a group of fans and you’ll find out in a hurry that the night race at Bristol holds that particular title.
But poll a group of drivers and you will discover that if they could win only one race in a single year, or even in a single career, that race would be the Daytona 500. Like J.R.R. Tolkien’s one ring of power, you’re not sure why you need it, but you’re certain you can’t live without it. Where’s the fun without the mystery?
In sporting competition, as in life, nothing is ever a sure thing.
Just ask the Malachy the Pekingese. Compared to everything from one of the stars of “The Jersey Shore” to one of the most popular characters from “Star Wars,” the 11-pound upstart took on bigger, faster competitors to beat out, among others, a German shepherd, a Dalmatian and a Doberman pinscher to claim the title of 2012 Westminster Dog Show champion.
Better yet, ask Trevor Bayne. Neither Snooki nor Wookiee, the 20-year-old Trevor was definitely a rookie in 2011, yet he still managed to hang on and win the 2011 Daytona 500, in one of the most feel-good stories of the season.
Now that I think about it, maybe there is one sure thing, after all. Regardless of breed or bearing, whisker thickness or muzzle strength, where NASCAR’s early season is concerned, there’s no question about the identity of the top dog.
The Daytona 500 title winner is undoubtedly the Best in Show.
TREE TALK: State Commission of Forestry works to protect forest lands
News article posted by SC Press Association on February 22nd, 2012
State Commission of Forestry works to protect forest lands
By Joanna Angle
Public attention to protecting S.C. forest land began as early as 1787 when a law was passed to provide punishment to anyone who “…willfully, maliciously or negligently” caused fire to damage someone else’s property. Over the following 125 years, additional forestry related legislation was enacted, most addressing fire protection.
Meanwhile, growth of lumbering and turpentine businesses began threatening the state’s timber inventory, prompting the General Assembly to form the State Commission of Forestry on April 26, 1927. The following year, groups of landowners partnered with the commission to form the first five Forest Protective Associations. These groups were expanded by legislative action in 1945, making S.C. the first Southeastern state to have organized forest fire protection in every county.
While increasing fire protection, the Commission of Forestry addressed the need to reforest cutover and fallow land. Through the state nursery (authorized by the General Assembly in 1929) it has been able to distribute millions of containerized and bare-root seedlings across the state. The commission also became a leader in improving forest genetics. In 1961 it began a cooperative public-private partnership called the Tree Improvement Program, which established seed orchards of superior trees.
Today the S.C. Forestry Commission’s mission is to “protect, promote, enhance and nurture the forest lands of S.C. in a manner consistent with achieving the greatest good for its citizens.” Responsibilities of the commission’s approximately 400 employees encompass all forest land, both rural and urban, and all forest-related attributes, including “timber, wildlife, water quality, air quality, soil protection, recreation and aesthetics.”
The commission manages three state forests as well as the state greenhouse and nursery. It has a wide range of educational and landowner assistance programs. For detailed information, visit their excellent web site, www.trees.sc.gov.
Joanna Angle is a 30-year resident of Chester County and a Master Tree Farmer. She has previously directed the Olde English District Tourism Commission, produced and hosted “Palmetto Places” for SCETV and helped establish the Chester campus of York Technical College.
Free Pass or Tough Love for Juvenile Offenders?
News article posted by SC Policy Council on February 22nd, 2012
Published at The Nerve by Rick Brundrett on February 22, 2012
Juveniles who plead guilty to non-violent and other minor offenses could have their cases dismissed if they pass a probation program run by family courts, under an S.C. House bill introduced this month.
Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Richland and the House Judiciary Committee chairman, told The Nerve last week that he believes his bill (H. 4737) would help reduce the number of young repeat offenders in the state. He said the program would be similar to state drug court programs in which charges are dropped if participants meet certain requirements during a specified period.
“If a person enters this program, it reduces the possibility of that person entering a DJJ (state Department of Juvenile Justice) facility,” Harrison said. “The drug-court analogy is kind of what swayed me – that it could be good if used properly.”
But a least one victim advocate opposes Harrison’s proposal.
“It’s a very bad idea,” Laura Hudson, executive director of the nonprofit South Carolina Crime Victims’ Council, told The Nerve. “The biggest sin of this bill is that it masks the repeat offender.” Read the rest of this entry »
Still No Sunshine on S.C. House, Senate Spending
News article posted by SC Policy Council on February 21st, 2012
Posted by Rick Brundrett at The Nerve on February 21, 2012
It doesn’t look like any sunlight will shine for now on the traditionally secretive process that the S.C. General Assembly uses in adopting budgets for its own chambers, which have grown significantly in recent years.
Since January 2011, The Nerve has pointed out that the Legislature typically doesn’t follow the budget process most other state agencies use. The two chambers, for example, don’t submit their proposed budgets for the upcoming fiscal year by a Nov. 1 annual deadline as required by state law.
And, unlike many other agencies, the Legislature doesn’t vet its proposed budgets before budget-writing committees in public hearings.
What typically happens is that the clerks of both houses work out proposed budgets for their respective chambers privately with legislative leaders. The public usually doesn’t get its first glimpse of those budgets until March when the House Ways and Means Committee adopts the first version of the upcoming state budget. Read the rest of this entry »
“In the Dump” by Stuart Neiman
Cartoon article posted by SC Press Association on February 21st, 2012
"In the Dump" by Stuart Neiman
NOBLE COLUMN: Why is SC So Stupid About Education and Technology?
Opinion article posted by SC Press Association on February 20th, 2012
By Phil Noble
Phil Noble
Some issues are a close call – it is hard to know what is the right thing to do. Technology and education is not one of these issues. It’s obvious that technology and education are the keys to success in the global economy of the 21st century, both for us as individuals and as a state.
The only question is: Why is SC so stupid about figuring this out and doing the right things?
While our experience in South Carolina is discouraging, we only have to look across the border 20 miles north of Charlotte to see an excellent example of what we are missing.
First, the bad news: the foundation has been laid for success, but the SC Legislature has refused to do their part. I was fortunate to be a part of an innovative project called One Laptop Per Child SC (LaptopSC.org) that raised over $1 million in private money to provide almost 3,000 laptops to every child in 15 schools across the state. After a year of evaluation, then Supt. of Education Jim Rex found that ‘dollar for dollar this computer will have a bigger impact in improving education that anything else we can do.’
Sadly, the Legislature refused to take the next step and provide the funding to expand the project. However, local school districts are now moving ahead on their own, with several good initiatives underway. Most recently, the Charleston County School District provided iPads to all the students in three low-performing high schools and three elementary schools, with an eye to expanding to the whole district.
HOMESTYLE HEALTHY: Triathlete’s Quinoa and Salmon Salad
Features article posted by SC Press Association on February 20th, 2012
By May Vokaty
May Vokaty
When my husband turned 42 he realized he was suffering from a condition that affects most Americans, including myself: Creeping Fat. While it sounds like a 1950’s horror film, trust me, it’s not.
As The Vokatys pushed onward towards Middle Age, our lifestyles slowed down. We certainly stayed busy, but we weren’t using much energy or building muscle. Clearly, it was time to make some changes.
Considered by most to be the sensible one of the family, I began a walking program and re-vamped our diet. My husband, on the other hand, literally leapt from the sofa and began to train for a triathlon.
Now, 18 months later he’s a lean, mean Tri Machine and I’m quite adept at feeding a triathlete. A triathlon requires grueling feats of endurance and strength and it’s vital to fuel the body with proper, quality food.
While most of us are not going to leap from the sofa and begin training for a triathlon, still it’s not a bad idea to make a few changes for the better in our diets and lifestyle. February is National Heart Month; there couldn’t be a better time!
Here are a few small changes that give you big results: eat a balanced diet and a variety of foods. Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fats. Limit your consumption of “unnatural” foods; if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. Drink lots of water and have a few cups of green tea every day.
Training for a triathlon requires a lot of physical activity and most of us just can’t make that commitment. But you don’t have to be a triathlete to benefit from exercise. A brisk walk will clear your mind, get your heart pumping and boost your energy level tremendously.
Protect yourself and your loved ones from heart disease. Decide to make some changes, make a plan and get started. Be sure to check with your doctor before starting any exercise routine.
This Triathlete’s Training Supper is the perfect place to start. Salmon is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and helps reduce triglycerides and blood pressure. Olive oil, in moderation, can help lower cholesterol and normalize blood clotting. While quinoa (KEEN-wa), the sacred seed of the ancient Inca’s is a protein powerhouse and is much less filling than other grains such as pasta or rice.
The first time I heard the name edamame, I had to ask, “eda-whatty?” Turns out, edamame is just a fancy name for soybeans and one of my favorite snacks. Rich with health benefits from soy and protein, edamame also punches up the fiber content of your meal.
With such nutritional powerhouses on board, this Triathlete’s Training Supper is bona fide health food. In fact, it’s so good for you that it ought to taste terrible, but SURPRISE, it’s delicious!
I’ve cooked a lot of good salmon, bad in my life, but this recipe is foolproof. The hot pan gives the salmon a beautiful, crisp crust and short cooking time ensures the interior is moist and delicious.
The unique, nutty flavor of quinoa and edamame are enhanced by the sweet and sour Oriental Vinaigrette. This recipe makes more than enough to moisten the salad with some left over to drizzle over the salmon at the table.
While I don’t usually recommend out-of-season produce, I find that the sweet, tart acidity of cherry or grape tomatoes perks up the flavors considerably. Leaving you with a sweet, sour, rich yet surprisingly light supper.
Whether you’re feeding a triathlete in training, a walker hoping to lose a few pounds or a contented couch potato, this healthy supper is sure to make everyone happy.
Triathlete’s Training Supper
Yield: feeds 4 regular people, or 2 triathletes in training
WARNING: Consumption of this meal may cause an intense desire to swim, bike and run your way to the best physical shape of your life. Proceed with delight.
1 cup Quinoa prepared according to package directions and slightly cooled.
1 12-oz package of frozen, shelled edamame, prepared according to package directions and drained.
½ cup chopped scallions
½ cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
Oriental Vinaigrette
4 (approximately 8 oz. each) salmon filets
Olive Oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Combine warm quinoa, edamame, scallions and tomatoes in a mixing bowl. Toss with 2/3 cup of oriental vinaigrette; Add more vinaigrette if you like.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
For the salmon, heat an oven-proof skillet over high heat for 4 minutes.
Rub both sides of the salmon generously with olive oil. Salt and pepper one side only.
When the pan is very hot, place the salmon filets, seasoning side down in the pan and cook over medium heat without moving them for 2 minutes. Turn the filets and place the pan into the hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until the salmon is cooked to your liking. I like mine medium rare and mine is usually perfect at 5 minutes
Spoon a mound of quinoa mix on each plate and place a salmon filet on top. Serve with remaining vinaigrette.
Oriental Vinaigrette
1 Tablespoon finely chopped onion, red or yellow
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 to 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ to ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ to 1 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
2Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
½ teaspoon dark sesame oil
Combine lesser amounts of all ingredients in a jar. Shake vigorously to combine. Taste, then correct seasoning by adding the remaining oil or vinegar if you like.
May Vokaty is the food editor of The Voice in Blythewood. She approaches cooking with a lighter approach to traditional recipes to keep people both happy and healthy. She grew up in Mississippi and worked in health care for 15 years…and she has been cooking since she got an Easy Bake oven at age 6. Contact her at MayKVokaty@gmail.com.
Preserving History without Burdening Taxpayers
News article posted by SC Policy Council on February 17th, 2012
Posted by Kevin Dietrich at The Nerve on Feb. 17, 2012
South Carolina’s ties to the Civil War are legion, beginning with the state’s secession from the union in late 1860 and the firing on Fort Sumter the following April, to Sherman’s burning of Columbia in the waning weeks of the bloody four-year conflict.
Not surprisingly, the Palmetto State has long been a tourist destination for those interested in the events associated with the 1861-85 war.
Last year during the 150th anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter, the famed Charleston Harbor site recorded 753,678 visitors, up about 6 percent from the previous year, according to the National Park Service.
Partly to take advantage of the tourism boost associated with the Civil War’s sesquicentennial, and partly to draw in more history aficionados, a Georgia-based nonprofit is seeking approval from the General Assembly to erect historical markers and road signs in different parts of the state to highlight specific campaigns that took place during the War Between the States. Read the rest of this entry »
Time for annual oyster roast
Features, Press Releases article posted by News and Press on February 16th, 2012
It’s time for the annual Darlington Kiwanis Club Oyster Roast and Pig Pickin’! The event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. March 17 at the Checkered Flag Club in Darlington.
Tickets are $25. To purchase, contact Rick Bonnoitt at (843) 229-8777 or any Darlington Kiwanis Club members. Tickets are also available at the Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce. Read the rest of this entry »
Council votes for $2 fee without holding public hearing
News article posted by News and Press on February 16th, 2012
Darlington City Council voted 4-3 to institute a $2 fee increase on sanitation to cover a deficit created by the elimination of the pay-per-throw (yellow bag) program on Feb. 7.
That vote will have to be re-taken if the fee is to pass legal muster because a public hearing was not held prior to its passage. Additionally, the vote on second reading did not appear on the agenda for the meeting and came after a lengthy executive session on contract negotiations for sanitation. Read the rest of this entry »
Love of family expressed through cookbook
Before the mosquitoes got too bad and the oppressive summer heat settled in, Rosa DuBose Adams would stir together homemade chicken bog in a cast iron wash pot over an open flame outside her brother’s tobacco barn. All the family would bring something and gather for an annual picnic. Tables overflowed with the best food imaginable. Read the rest of this entry »
Think State Government Is Broke? Think Again.
News article posted by SC Policy Council on February 15th, 2012
Published at The Nerve on February 15, 2012
In September, Forbes magazine listed University of South Carolina graduate Robert McNair, who owns a controlling stake in the National Football League’s Houston Texans, as one of America’s 400 richest people, estimating his net worth at $1.5 billion.
If the state of South Carolina could be considered for the annualForbes list, it would rank alongside McNair – at least when it comes to surpluses in a state budget category known as “other” funds.
The Nerve’s review of a 656-page document produced by the Office of State Budget, formally known as the “detail base budget” and dubbed “the brick,” found that 99 state agencies, divisions and separate funds started this fiscal year on July 1 with a collective $1.498 billion surplus in “other” funds. Read the rest of this entry »
MY BRAIN ON NASCAR: Return of the Wild Bunch
Sports article posted by SC Press Association on February 15th, 2012
Editor’s Note: This is a pre-event column for this weekend’s Budweiser Shootout. We will put up a post-race version on Monday for those of you who will not be running this until next week.
By Cathy Elliott
Cathy Elliott
Is it totally uncool to admit that the Budweiser Shootout is one of my top five favorite races of the year?
Although the Shootout does end the seemingly interminable drought known as the NASCAR off-season – with Budweiser instead of water, no less — it isn’t a points-paying event and doesn’t even feature a full 43-driver field. Still, I love it, and the format is the reason why.
Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for Westerns. When I go home to the Outer Banks for a visit, the days pass in a virtually endless loop of me and my dad eating shrimp and watching “3:10 to Yuma.” I, along with several of my cronies in Darlington, S.C., have spent many an afternoon forgoing Drs. Oz and Phil in favor of “The Big Valley” and “Rawhide.”
So when my friend Pete learned I had never seen the 1995 film “The Quick and the Dead,” he was fast on the trigger and put his own DVD copy in my hands the very next day. “You’re gonna love this,” he said.
Pete was right. The movie’s plot revolves around a dueling competition in which a field of talented sharpshooters battles head to head until only one remains. Although each participant is talented, somehow every contest becomes a free-for-all with a lot of yelling and flailing around and taking wildly improbable shots. Picture the NCAA basketball tournament with guns and you’ll get the picture.
Better yet, check out the Budweiser Shootout (Saturday, Feb. 18, 8 p.m. ET, FOX).
This Shootout offers an action-packed combination of the Good, the Bad, and sometimes the Ugly; no points are involved, so as far as the overall 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes, winning can’t help you and losing can’t hurt you.
The field is comprised of last season’s top 25 in the driver standings, former Shootout champions, and past Daytona points race winners. For our purposes here, since they’re racing for glory and money rather than points, we’ll just call them the Searchers. Or maybe the Wild Bunch would be more appropriate.
The starting grid for the Shootout is determined by a random draw. The race is a two-part event totaling 75 laps – one 50 and one 25-lap segment. A 10-minute intermission-type pit stop between segments allows teams to change tires, fill ‘er up with fuel and make adjustments.
Since this is Daytona International Speedway (DIS) we’re talking about, drafting certainly comes into play, but team loyalty does not. True Grit is required to make it to the end, and no matter who helps a particular driver out during the contest, he will Hang ‘Em High with no hesitation whatsoever if that checkered flag is within reach.
“Throughout its long history, the Budweiser Shootout has produced plenty of fireworks on the track and race fans can expect another exciting star-studded night of racing as we kick off the new NASCAR season,” said Joie Chitwood III, president of DIS.
With this year’s Shootout purse exceeding $1 million, much more than bragging rights are at stake — a Fistful of Dollars. What else?
The Budweiser Shootout, of course, is the first major event leading up to the 54th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 26.
The week also includes Daytona 500 qualifying on Sunday, Feb. 19; the Gatorade Duel races on Thursday, Feb. 23; the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, Feb. 24; and Danica Patrick’s fulltime NASCAR debut in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, Feb. 25. It’s sort of like taking the starving cast of “Survivor” to a steakhouse buffet line and telling them to have it.
In other words, after a long and lonely winter, it’s time for a real racing Bonanza.
NASCAR columnist Cathy Elliott is also the author of the book “Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR.” Visit her online at www.mybrainonnascar.com.
S.C. House Bill Would Raise Student Dropout Age
News article posted by SC Policy Council on February 14th, 2012
By Rick Brundrett at The Nerve (February 14, 2012).
Students would be required to attend school until they are 18 years old instead of 17 under an S.C. House bill introduced last week.
“When you consider the fact that you have so many young people under the age of 18 who are dropping out of school, it’s certainly not doing anything for the community, for society or for our state,” Rep. Curtis Brantley, D-Jasper and a co-sponsor of the bill, told The Nerve.
“If we are the door keepers, if you please, for the well-being of our children,” the retired Jasper County School District superintendent continued, “then we need to act in their best interests. They (children) cannot see many of the pitfalls down the road.”
State Superintendent of Education Mick Zais opposes the bill (H. 4727). Read the rest of this entry »
HOMESTYLE HEALTHY: Chili Spice Squash Soup
Features article posted by SC Press Association on February 13th, 2012
By May Vokaty
May Vokaty
I have read reports of cave drawings in France that portray our ancient ancestors enjoying a steaming hot bowl of winter squash soup.
I don’t know if this story is true, but it is an undisputed fact that winter squash soup recipes have been around for a long time. So long, in fact, that I felt this old standby was in desperate need of a makeover.
In keeping with my resolution to eat healthier foods, I rejected all recipes that start with bacon or salt pork. While undeniably delicious, bacon fat negates the wonderful nutritional masterpiece that is winter squash.
And who wants to negate the vitamins A, C and B, fiber, manganese, potassium, folate, omega 3 fatty acids that a serving of winter squash provides, all with a measly 75 calories? Let’s face it; winter squash gives you lots of nutritional bang for your buck.
Did I mention the 75 calories are also delicious? Everyone seems to adore winter squash. It’s one of my baby’s favorite foods and my husband takes on a slight orange tint in the winter from eating so much squash (he fades a bit in the summer).
While most of my family revels in squash happiness, I have to admit; I find winter squash soup to be a bit boring. Over the years, it’s devolved from a fancy-restaurant appetizer to store shelf staple. Spiced with everything from cinnamon to curry powder and topped with cashews or crème fraiche or for that extra fancy touch, a curly lettuce salad. Squash soup is everywhere.
It’s time, don’t you think, to spice things up a bit. And what’s spicier than chili seasonings? The collision of spicy chili and warm, sweet winter squash results in a culinary combination that is incredible.
Roasting the vegetables instead of boiling intensifies the sweetness and color of the squash. The spicy chili seasonings partner well with the sweet squash. The resulting soup is spicy-sweet, velvety smooth and somehow impossibly rich with very little fat.
This is the time to use homemade chicken or vegetable stock if you have it in the freezer. If you don’t have any homemade stock in your freezer when the squash calls, don’t fret. Choose a high quality, low sodium stock from the store for a perfectly acceptable substitute.
Chili Spiced Squash Soup with Croutons
Dairy, for the lactose-tolerant non-vegans among us, is mandatory. And chili spices call for Mexican Crema instead of the usual sour cream or yogurt. However, if Mexican Crema is not to your taste, feel free to substitute sour cream.
This soup is easy to make and is well suited to advance preparation, perfect for a quick winter supper. The only tricky part is the last step: pureeing the soup. It requires stick or an upright blender. The stick blender allows you to perfectly puree the soup without third degree burns or hot soup explosions. But Food Snobs will argue that the upright blender gives a finer puree. I use the upright blender, because it’s all I have. Either way, this soup is so thick and rich, it hardly matters how you puree it.
While Chili calls out for cornbread, or at least in my house it does, this spicy, sweet soup calls for something a little crispier to dunk. Since I usually have left-over cornbread, long, skinny cornbread croutons fit the bill.
Cornbread recipes abound, but if you don’t have one, Joe Trapp has a mighty good one on his cornmeal bag. I don’t think my grandmother would mind if I shared her recipe for cornbread either. Just remember, if you choose to use my grandmother’s recipe, make sure the oil is hot enough to make those red pepper flakes dance before you put in the batter.
Chili Spiced Squash Soup with Cornbread Croutons is a wonderful winter supper. You’ll be warm and spicy on the inside, no matter what the temperature outside.
Butternut Squash Ingredients
Chili Spiced Squash Soup
Serves 4 to 6
3 to 4 pounds winter squash, I use butternut squash
1 yellow onion
3 Tablespoons olive oil
32 oz. low sodium chicken or vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped (Use 2 peppers if you like your soup spicy.)
1 tablespoon of the chipotle pepper’s adobo sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
Salt and Freshly ground pepper to taste
Mexican Crema
Cilantro for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cut the butternut squash and onions into 1” cubes. Toss with olive oil, place on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring once until the vegetables are very tender.
If you are lucky enough to have an immersion blender, mix the vegetables and stock in a large saucepan and purée until smooth.
If you are using a blender to puree the soup, put 1 cup of the stock in the blender, add 1/3 of the cooked vegetables and puree until smooth. Remove pureed vegetables to the large saucepan. Repeat until all the vegetables are pureed. Add 1 cup of the stock to the blender and blend to clean out all the squash bits left behind; add to saucepan.
When all the vegetables have been pureed, add the remaining stock to the saucepan. Stir in the chili powder, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, cumin and salt and pepper to taste.
If necessary, add more stock to make a thick soup. Warm the soup over medium heat.
Top individual servings of soup with a dollop of Mexican Crema and chopped cilantro; serve with cornbread croutons.
Butternut Squash Soup Spices
Cornbread Croutons
Leftover cornbread (recipe follows)
4 Tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Slice the cornbread into slices ½” thick. Brush both sides with olive oil and place on a baking rack in a sheet pan. Sprinkle with pepper.
Bake, checking every 5 minutes, for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, cool on a wire rack.
Grandmother’s Corn Bread
Yield: One 10” cornbread
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup stone ground corn meal
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
pinch of baking soda, about ¼ teaspoon
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
¼ cup canola oil for skillet
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Preheat a cast iron skillet on a stove burner on high heat. Pour in ¼ cup canola oil and heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the red pepper flakes. The oil is ready for the cornbread batter when the red pepper flakes begin to dance.
While the skillet is heating, mix the dry ingredients together; make a well in the center, add the eggs and oil. Mix the baking soda with the buttermilk and pour into the well.
Stir until combined. Pour the batter into the hot skillet. Cook on the top of the stove for 1 minute to let the crust set. Move to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove immediately from pan and cool on a wire rack.
May Vokaty is the food editor of The Voice in Blythewood. She approaches cooking with a lighter approach to traditional recipes to keep people both happy and healthy. She grew up in Mississippi and worked in health care for 15 years…and she has been cooking since she got an Easy Bake oven at age 6. Contact her at MayKVokaty@gmail.com.
NOBLE COLUMN: SC Wind Energy Industry – The Politicians May Blow It
Opinion article posted by SC Press Association on February 10th, 2012
by Phil Noble
Phil Noble
Because of the convergence of a number of factors – God, global economics and good luck – South Carolina is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the emerging global wind industry, unless our politicians blow it. And they may.
Let’s start with God. The good Lord created a natural environment that makes our state ideal for the development of the wind energy industry. Just off our coast, up around our border with North Carolina, the ocean winds blow at consistent speeds that may be ideal for windmills that generate electricity. Plus, the ocean is not very deep in this area, thus making it fairly easy to build stable windmills in relatively shallow water.
Second, anyone that can read a news paper understands that development of wind and other alternative energy sources is vital to our counties long-term security, both economic and physical. Oil and terrorists are principal exports of the same region.
Third, in South Carolina today, we have the technology, know-how and manufacturing base to be a leader in the global wind industry. This is not some pie-in-the-sky, ‘maybe in the future’ idea. I’m talking right here, right now.
Pop Quiz – Where is the largest manufacturer of windmill turbines in the US? Answer: Upstate South Carolina.
The General Electric facilities there are among the best in the world, but we do not have a single windmill in the state – zero, none, nada.
The good news is that this may be changing and the potential is huge, unless the politicians screw it up.
With a number of other public and private sector partners, Clemson University is building a mammoth facility at the old Charleston Navy Base to test windmill drive trains. The drive train is the key component that takes the energy created by the turning windmill blades and increases the speed to generate electricity. It functions much like the transmission in a car.
The new facility was put together with about $100 million in financing from the US Department of Energy and private investors and when it is finished, this testing facility will be the most advance facility of its type in the world.
OPINION: We Want Better Access, Not Worse
News article posted by SC Press Association on February 10th, 2012
2/10/12 By The Sun News
A pair of bills being debated in the S.C. House illustrate the ongoing tension between those who would open government up for all to see and those who seek to close its doors to pesky outsiders. The first would outrageously clamp the door firmly shut on a wide swath of law enforcement records. The second would helpfully ease the path for citizens who seek to learn more about their government.
The first, H. 4740, would allow police – or any other public agency – to withhold any “information to be used in a prospective law enforcement action or criminal prosecution.” After its introduction Tuesday, transparency advocates quickly responded with indignation.
“This is a carte blanche to withhold every police report,” said Bill Rogers, executive director of the S.C. Press Association.
We generally don’t get too worked up about recently proposed bills, as the majority will never become law, but this dangerous proposal has more weight behind it than most, with the names of 34 representatives already attached.
Draping a veil of secrecy over all pending investigations, incident reports and police actions until the process is complete would leave the public insupportably in the dark when it comes to the status of current public safety and would represent an outrageous step backward when it comes to the public right to know.
As Rogers said of the sweeping exemptions the bill would grant, “You could drive a truck through these. … The people would totally lose oversight of the police in their communities.”
We can envision all sorts of ways this law could harm the public. Imagine living in an area where all of the houses surrounding yours have been robbed in the past few days. You’d like to know now, not nine months from now when the perpetrators have been caught and are on trial. Imagine that a local politician running for re-election is arrested and charged with murder, rape or any of a dozen other crimes. Voters deserve to have that information before election day, not months after he’s been returned to office. Imagine a worker fired for embezzlement (or a teacher fired for improprieties with students), now looking for a new job. He or she could quickly find more work, secure in the knowledge that the new employer wouldn’t have access to any arrest record until after an investigation was complete.
This terrible proposal would put all of this information beyond timely public scrutiny, not to mention details in other cases that would be forever hidden because a prosecution never occurs and an investigation is kept open.
The pursuit of justice is not something that should be covert and concealed. Secrecy breeds distrust and promotes wild conspiracy theories. Officials who are proud of their actions and decisions have little reason to hide them. We expect secret police in Eastern European autocracies, not the land of the free.
The public deserves to have and should have broad powers to see what its government is up to. Any exemptions to that rule should be narrow and limited, not the indiscriminate generalizations present in this bill. The prevailing instinct should always be in favor of access, while enacting this law would reverse that balance.
Thankfully, not all lawmakers are taking such a dim view of the public’s need for access. The second Freedom of Information bill addressed recently by the House (H. 3235) would make it cheaper and faster for citizens to obtain public documents. The bill, which passed a House subcommittee on Wednesday, would prevent public agencies from overcharging for making copies of documents – a not uncommon strategy for avoiding requests – and set a firm deadline for producing the documents.
Both changes would be welcome and strengthen some of the weaker portions of our current law. The bill now moves on to the full Judiciary committee.
ON NASCAR: Pretty is as Pretty Does
Sports article posted by SC Press Association on February 10th, 2012
By Cathy Elliott
All this bellyaching I keep hearing about Danica Patrick is beginning to get on my nerves. It’s everywhere; on the radio, on Internet message boards and in every NASCAR conversation I’ve had since the announcement that Patrick would be a fulltime NASCAR competitor in 2012.
The phrasing is different according to who you’re talking – or listening – to, but the litany of complaints generally remains the same.
The first and perhaps the weakest is that Patrick has had everything handed to her on the proverbial silver platter, and hasn’t earned her way into NASCAR’s top two series.
Where I come from, earning something means working hard to get what you want, and Danica has proven herself to be one extremely dedicated worker. In a story that should sound familiar to fans of almost every driver in the Cup Series, she began her racing career in go-karts at the age of 10 before moving to England at age 16 to compete in various open wheel series.
Patrick began racing in the IndyCar Series fulltime in 2005, when she was named Rookie of the Year for the season as well as for theIndianapolis500. In 2008, she became the first woman to win an IndyCar race. She is also the highest-finishing woman in the storied history of theIndianapolis500.
So we might think open wheel cars look a little funny and she may have been whizzing around “across the pond” rather than spending half her life zipping around dirt tracks on Saturday night, but you have to concede that Patrick has made the effort and put in her time. In fact, as that rare and elusive animal known as a woman in racing, she has been a groundbreaker in many ways.
Another
oft-repeated comment about Danica is that she isn’t dedicated to NASCAR. This may stem from an interview a while back in which she was asked if she would ever consider moving from IndyCar to NASCAR. Her response was something to the effect that the NASCAR season was too long, that she didn’t want to race 36 times a year, perhaps making some diehard stock car fans experience a little bit of the “woman scorned” syndrome: OK, if she doesn’t want us, we certainly don’t want her.
But that was a while ago, and Danica – who is still only 29 years old, remember — has matured, and apparently has also discovered that sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence. She will race more than 36 times this year; in addition to a full Nationwide Series season with JR Motorsports, she will compete in 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, including the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the Daytona 500, with Stewart Haas Racing. Also, she announced recently that she will forgo theIndianapolis500 on Memorial Day weekend in favor of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Her boss, three-time Cup Series champion and Stewart-Haas Racing owner Tony Stewart, certainly doesn’t seem to question her commitment. “The thing you see in Danica right away is how determined she is to be good at what she does,” he said. “She’s very dedicated to taking the time and effort to make the transition from Indy cars to stock cars. She has talent, she has the right mindset, and she has the proper drive and determination. It doesn’t matter who it is you’re looking for, those are the key attributes that you look for in a driver, and Danica’s got them.”
Rounding out the top three is my personal favorite Danica diss: “She’s nothing but a pretty face.” Really? The reason she can’t be taken seriously as a professional athlete is because she’s good-looking? Are only those who are average in appearance allowed to excel in sports? Someone should share this information with Tom Brady and Maria Sharapova; Kasey Kahne and David Beckham might need to know as well. That’s just silly.
Excellence in athletics is based not on appearance, but on performance. True race fans know what an asset Patrick is to the sport. She should be able to hold her own on the track, particularly in the Nationwide Series. She is polarizing, one of those people who, whether you like her or you don’t, is always going to have your attention. As a role model, she is one of the best examples out there for little girls who dream of being behind the wheel instead of behind a desk. She will bring even more attention to our already wildly popular sport; how is that a bad thing?
If pretty is as pretty does, NASCAR in 2012 may well turn out to be a beautiful thing to see.
NASCAR columnist Cathy Elliott is also author of the book “Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR.” Visit her online at www.mybrainonnascar.com.
Local family seeking room for hope
Many young families in small homes grapple with lack of space, but for the Tolson family of Lamar, every square foot they can get is crucial. Their 3-year-old daughter Holly suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), which immobilizes nearly all her voluntary muscles and necessitates the use of numerous bulky medical devices. As a result, the Tolson’s narrow living room often becomes a bottleneck of upright wheelchairs and suction and cough assist machines that everyone must navigate. Read the rest of this entry »
Showering grandmothers with love
Features article posted by News and Press on February 7th, 2012
When a family welcomes a new baby, the mother gets most of the attention prior to the child’s birth. A new trend has some of that love being showered on the grandmother. Read the rest of this entry »