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Date:         Tue, 12 Jan 1993 13:43:00 EST
From:         CROSEN%BGSUOPIE.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu
Subject:      forewarned is forearmed

Greetings,

Tushar, the guiltless have nothing to fear.

Travel report: Mary and I enjoyed a peaceful sojourn on Neebish Island,
Michigan, about 20 miles southeast of Sault St. Marie.  This is more
frequently a summer destination, but we found it lovely in winter.  The
winter human population is circa 40, but deer and raven are abundant.
Access is by ferry until mid-January.  After that, one reaches the island
via the ice bridge (locals say one can drive across in an auto, but less
intrepid folks might prefer to be picked up in a snowmobile, and I may
do that next year, since I am reliably informed that the ice fishing is
transcendant).   CBC radio comes in loud and clear, so entertainment was
no problem.  We spent quite a bit of time hiking through snow of 1.5-2
feet.  Our landlord loaned us cross country skis and kept us well
supplied with firewood (we kept fires going from morning till night).
Accomodations were cheap: rustic cabin with two bedrooms, indoor plumbing,
fireplace, kitchenett, and huge windows overlooking the river for $300/wk.
We had planned our supplies carefully, since there is no retail on the
island in winter, and managed well.  Our site was so remote that I
suggested to Mary on the way that the landlords would probably ask us
who had won the election; she responded: "Which one?"  At any rate, our
hosts were cordial but unobtrusive.

"Good Old Marty": If anyone here thinks of me as "just good old Marty,"
I'll be pleasantly surprised, since I'm as mean as anyone else.  When I
think of ad hominem attacks, I usually think of attempts to question the
validity of an argument by invoking some quality or qualities associated
with the source of the argument.  Asserting a source's stupidity is
necessarily an attack on the source, but probably cannot really be
an ad hominem attack unless the stupidity of the source is used to call
the validity of the argument into question.  When one observes repeated
behavior that strikes one as stupid, one may conclude the the person
engaging in the behavior is stupid.  One may, or may not, depending on
one's style in these matters, choose to call the person stupid, and label
his or her behavior as "typically stupid."  This is certainly a personal
attack, and the attackee may respond as he or she is wont; other bystanders
can take sides if and as they like.  If I have made an ad hominem attack
on the logic of anyone's posts, I sincerely apologize, but as for
personal attacks...hey, why not?

Recipe: Here's a healthy, easy pasta recipe that I debuted on Sunday to some
success (derived from a Molly Katzen).

coursely chop two onions and cook them over a low to medium heat in a
*deep* skillet or dutch oven for about ten minutes in 6 tablespoons of
olive oil (don't brown them, just cook them).

Wash, dry, and coursely chop two or three bunches of greens (one of
spinach, one of escarole, for example--you can use other kinds of greens if
you like).  Once the onions have cooked the requisite ten minutes, toss
in the greens and stir them around a couple of minutes, until they start
looking a little wilted.  Sprinkle some salt atop them.  Close the lid
tightly and let this stuff simmer for 15 minutes over a low heat.  Stir
occasionally, if you're afraid your heat isn't low enough.

Once the 15 minutes is done--hey, if you're hungry even ten minutes will be
enough, so don't worry about it--sprinkle 8 ounces of crumbled feta cheese
over the onions and greens.  Make sure the heat is low.  Stir this around
a few times.  If you had enough olive oil in the pan, it won't stick.

This is the sauce.  You can make it and refrigerate it for serving a
couple of days later if you like, but why?  You never make anything until
you're starving and don't have enough money to go out, do you?  So, when
you started cooking the onions, you should have put a big pan of water on
to boil.  About the time you added the greens, the water should have been
boiling, and you should have added a 16 oz package of penne or fusili or
shells or some other big sticky pasta to the water.  If you did that, by
now the pasta is ready, and you know how to check it, right?

So, if the penne is ready, you use a strainer to scoop it out of the
boiling water and let it drain over the pan for a moment, then you
dump as many scoops as it takes into the skillet or dutch oven.  Once
you've added all the pasta to the sauce, stir it around a couple of times and
let it cook for a minute or two.  Then add a little shreded parmesan, if you
like, get out the pepper grinder and coarsely (did I write "coursely" above
when I meant "coarsely"?  Of course I did, slap my little peapickin
hand). grind quite a bit of pepper over the whole thing.

Serve it on warmed plates accompanied by some french bread and whatever
other dishes you like (maybe some beluga caviar flown in fresh, or
pork stomach stuffed with boneless duck feet).  It's nice and has a
lovely texture.

Chess:  Today
in the BG News a columnist who learned chess over the holiday reports:
"I thought chess would be a hideously insipid game, but it's not--it's a
fascinating, even emotional event played by hideously insipid people."

Future travel:  I'm thinking of amtraking from here to San Francisco for
a conference during the first week of February.  I think I'll stay in
the Hostel at Union Square (hey, I want to taste it all).  Meanwhile, I
have two papers to write, one for the SF meeting, so I don't know how
much I'll be able to play with youall;  I may have to lurk this month.

Marty
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