Chili-Rubbed, Maple-Glazed Pork Chops.

Delicious.

Fiance was not a fan of the glaze, and chose to forgo that part. He's not a fan of maple-meat mixtures...though he devoured the maple-flavored bacon I was cooking for breakfast last month...

Got this recipe from Thunder Roads Magazine. Fiance's friend, whom I shall call Biker, was perusing the magazine at our local bar the other night when he stumbled upon this piece of culinary gold. He showed it to me, and the page included a few other recipes I'd like to try at some point (cinnamon fried apples and pink lemonade cupcakes, yum!). He tore the page out, handed it to me, and then put the magazine back on the rack on the bar.

The only things I did differently: instead of ancho chili powder, I used - - wait for it - - chili powder. And because I didn't have any maple syrup, I used...Mrs Buttersworth Lite. Don't judge, it was still delicious!



Ingredients:
4 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 extra-large, center-cut, bone-in pork chops, thick
6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup chicken stock
4 Tbsp butter

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. This will be your rub. Rub the mixture into meat generously. Get it in there deep and well-coated, on both sides. Let rest at room temp for about 15 minutes.

Get a cast-iron skillet really hot over medium-high heat. Drizzle in some olive oil, along with a couple of pats of butter. Make sure the chops cook golden brown on both sides. You can reduce heat to medium-low and let go to make sure of doneness.

Reduce down your balsamic vinegar in a small pot over medium-high heat, until it thickens up. Add maple syrup, chicken stock, and 4 Tbsp butter. Bring down to medium heat and just let go about 7 minutes until thick.

Turn heat to pork chops off. Pour glaze generously all over chops, but save enough as dipping sauce. Cover chops and let saturate for about 5 minutes.

I wish I had the guts to do something like this.

This woman is setting such a great example and helping so many kids! Read here.

Gotta love little misunderstandings.

I saw someone on FB yesterday say that the president had canceled his "vacation" to deal with the budget crisis. But, um, according to CNN [disclaimer: they can't agree on what they disagree on!]...it was a trip to promote clean energy. Sounds like work to me.

Others have commented on how the House, mostly controlled by the GOP, is trying to pass a bill that would cover funding for the Pentagon for the rest of the year, and that the Democrats are opposed to it. This makes the Democrats look like the bad guys. Don't they want at least a temporary resolution to all this? Again, according to CNN [same article], it's not the funding of the Pentagon they're opposed to...it's the goddamn policy riders attached to said bill! Including one that would slash funding for Planned Parenthood!!

Um, yeah, I'd vote against that, too!! I was just at Planned Parenthood a few days ago, where for $123, I received the following: testing for HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis (not that I believe I have any of that, but better to be safe than sorry); the first of my Gardasil shots for four different types of HPV; and four months worth of birth control. So that my unemployed ass doesn't end up with a disease or a kid to support that would put me on welfare, costing the government even more money. Donate to Planned Parenthood today!!

How many times have politicians been the bad guy for voting against bills that everyone else is all for? Too many times to count, and why? Because it's not the main topic of the bills that they're necessarily opposed to; it's all the attached, non-related crap that they're voting against!

Gawd...DAMMIT.

I guess some people learned NOTHING in their government class in high school.

I was watching Fox News today...for the hell of it...and for once no one was yelling, so I was not subjected to a headache. They were discussing the threat of a government shutdown, and to my surprise, instead of blaming the Dems...they didn't know who to blame!! I was hooked for the next hour-and-a-half. Haha...

I read an article earlier that I can't find now, but it mentioned that 21 Senate Democrats wanted to pass a bill that would prevent Congress or the president from being paid in the event of a shutdown, their reasoning being that they wouldn't be working during a shutdown, and therefore shouldn't be paid for not working. So for those of you who are making villains out of the Dems right now...just stop it. Both sides are to blame, but both sides are trying to do that they think is best for the country. And it's hard for nearly 600 people to come to a consensus on ANYTHING.

I would now like to address every single person who is blaming the president for what is going on. I still vaguely remember my US Government lessons from high school. I took three semesters of it...long story, but a good example of why education should be standardized across the nation. (Srsly, someone explain to me how a year of Army JROTC doesn't fill the physical education requirement, but fills the technology requirement?! W. T. F.) Anywho, the one thing I walked away from was this: the president really can't do a whole lot of shit.

Anyone know why? It's all due to a system of checks and balances, to prevent any of the three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) from becoming more powerful than the other.

Let's define the role of an American president. He (or she, one of these days) is both the head of government and head of state. He is also our foreign minister and commander-in-chief. Oooh, sounds important and powerful, right?

As head of government, he is responsible for running the functions of state, managing the bureaucracy, and deciding how to enforce the law. Of course, if the Supreme Court isn't down with how he's enforcing laws, or with anything he does, they can always pull the "unconstitutional" card. Or Congress could just pass a law to put him in is place. Bam! Checks and balances baby. (Though we all know the idea of Congress simply passing a law like that is ludicrous.)

As foreign minister, the president is responsible for overseeing the state's ambassadors and determining foreign policy. Big whoop, the president only gets his choice of ambassador if the Senate approves, and if the Senate isn't on his side, he's shit out of luck. As for foreign policy...you know what, let's not go there. Moving on...

As commander-in-chief, the president is responsible for commanding the state's armed forces and determining military policy. But he can't officially declare war without the approval of Congress, and we've seen what happens when he tries to change military policy. We're two years into Obama's presidency, and we're only just on the threshold of the repeal of DADT, a major campaign promise, because he couldn't pull it off without a referendum that took fucking forever. Let's get it over with.

I'm gonna quote Wikipedia here for a second.

"Since the founding of the United States, the power of the president and the federal government have grown substantially, and each modern president, despite possessing no formal legislative powers beyond signing or vetoing Congressionally passed bills, is largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of his party and the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. The president is frequently described as the most powerful person in the world."

 Yeah, the President can veto the shit out of anything he doesn't like...but that veto can always be overturned by a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress. Oh snap! As for dictating the legislative agenda...kinda hard to do if one or both chambers of Congress are all politically opposed to you. The next two years should be interesting.

Anyways, my point in all this is that President Obama is not single-handedly responsible for every obstacle or nation has faced since coming into office. No president ever has been. The fault lies with a much larger group. We could all blame Bush for the shenanigans that occurred during his tenure, but I sincerely doubt Hurricane Katrina was his fault, and if I ever meet any of those crazies who think 9/11 was planned by our government, I will personally lobotomize them.


You want someone to blame for the possibility of me and my fellow reservists and guardsmen working for free this weekend; of soldiers and airmen in the AOR being separated form their families and working 12-hr shifts, six days a week, with no immediate compensation; of military members who live paycheck to paycheck not being able to pay rent or mortgage or put food on the table? Blame the assholes who are either too far to the left or too far to the right to take their heads out of their asses long enough to actually SEE what all their squabbling is doing to us as a nation. Their words are full of sympathy and concern for their constituents; their actions are full of pettiness and partisanship.


(And could you all do me a huuuuuge favor, and stop watching Fox News and MSNBC, and stop listening to Keith Olbermann and Glenn Beck, and do the research yourself.)


(And dear Glenn Beck: FUCK YOU.)

The Great Egyptian Debate.

My current class is "History of the Middle East". We have one written assignment, which will also be an oral assignment. My chosen topic is Amenhotep IV, aka Akhenaten, aka the Heretic King, and so one. Sister thinks I should have gone with Hapshetsut.

"Nah, not nearly as intersting. Amenhotep was batshit crazy!!"

"Yea but Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh who decided to rule as a man!"

"This is true, but she didn't piss off the Egyptians nearly as much as Akenaten. He was called the Heretic King! His was family was labeled "enemies of Egypt"! HE TRIED TO BUILD A CITY OUT OF SAND." [This is when I feel I won the debate.]

"I know...Still a poor choice I say haha."

Pffft. Whatevs. Akhenaten RULES.

One hell of a vicious cycle.

When will history stop repeating itself?

When will we learn from the mistakes of our predecessors?

Fuck these guys, too.

Oh, yes, allowing gays to serve in the military would be a CATASTROPHE, but allowing these guys to run amok is okay. And why have no charges been brought against the leadership? Where's the fucking accountability?!

Fuck you, Terry Jones.

I'm not fond of bees. Not many people are. I express my dislike by keeping a safe distance from them, their tempers, and their stingers. That's what smart people do.

Terry Jones does not like Islam. Good for you, Terry. But instead of staying away from Islam, he decided to STOMP THE SHIT OUT OF THE BEEHIVE.

Thanks to that asshole, 12 people are dead. Way to go, Terry. Way to be a compassionate Christian who loves his fellow man.

I'm not saying it's okay for terrorists to react in this way. It's not. But Terry KNEW that the radicals would be enraged by his actions. And he should have known that instead of responding by burning a Bible, or specifically targeting him, these terrorists would respond by targeting individuals that had nothing to do with Terry's abhorrent actions. Because that's what terrorists do. They behave irrationally and harm the innocent.

Fuck you, Terry Jones.

Some progress.

I've lost three pounds, and yesterday I ran a mile. It was broken up, but it was a mile nonetheless. Gotta work harder!!!!

I'm gonna be miserable tomorrow.

Aiden is gonna have to feed himself and change his own diaper tomorrow. 'Cause I'm not gonna be able to move.

I did approximately 110 sit-ups, an unspecified number of 20-rep sets on my biceps and triceps, a 45-minute Kenpo X workout (part of the P90X series), and a 3/4-mile run on a nature trail.

A quick plug for Sketchers Shape-Ups: while running, mu abs were getting a workout!!

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The selfishness of a Dread Pirate.

A friend is pregnant after two miscarriages, and while I am happy for her, my first thought was...well, it was a painful thought. Let'a just leave it at that.

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I've been GOOGLED.

Search words: dread pirate davi

I'm famous!

PS, The Yoga X of P90X huuurrrts.

PPS, Fellow blogger Monica is hosting a Pampered Chef party for me! Woot!

Getting back into shape...again.

Who totally let herself go after losing 14 pounds last year with Weight Watchers?

This girl.

Who failed her PT test for the third goddamn time?

THIS GIRL.

I'm taking a quick break from my workout. The time to stop fucking around and start taking this srsly was a year ago...and I let the ball drop.

NOT. HAPPENING. AGAIN.

Feel free to leave disparaging comments to keep me motivated.

Super Moon!

If it weren't for Twitter, I wouldn't even know about this. Once again, social networking manages to just barely keep me in the loop of world happenings.

Check it out!

Thoughts on the meaning of life.

Lecture notes, second night of "Religion in the United States":

"Why are we here?" Why do we ask this question? Why is it important? 

It is important because this question is the basis for the establishment of religion eons ago.

 My thoughts after noting this:

I think was people are REALLY asking is, "What is the meaning of MY life?" They use religion to give their life meaning. and so their life purpose becomes the worshiping of their chosen deity (or deities).

I heard a girl say that maybe life is meant to be a journey, to learn before we cross over. I could take that and run with it. It would mean that our physical existences on this earth are merely a step in a long process. That the old cliche of death being a beginning, not an end, that it is simply a doorway to the next plane of existence, to the next step in the journey. That "heaven" or "hell" are not the final destinations, that there is something else waiting on the other side of either of those, and so on.

My head hurts. But anyways, if "why are we here" and "what is our purpose" are valid questions with legitimate answers, I don't think we'll discover them in this reality. I think we have to proceed a few more steps before we get to the answers.

Or maybe there are no answers, and I'm just talking crazy.