Homemade Onion & Herb Dip

With picnic season already here, I'm sure there will be a lot of chips and dips enjoyed at various summer gatherings. Aside from the time of year, chips and dips are a year round snack everyone can indulge in! One of my favorite dips is a good French Onion dip. Although it's super convenient to just pick up a tub of French Onion Dip at the grocery store, this is one dip that's worth making from scratch. Here's just the recipe to try out for a Homemade Onion & Herb Dip...

There's something wonderful about the subtle sweetness of caramelized onions swirled in a creamy combination of sour cream and mayonnaise, speckled with fresh parsley. That's exactly how I'd describe this dip and the perfect vessel to enjoy this is a crispy and crunchy potato chip! There's no mistake that this recipe is easy and made with ingredients you may already have on hand. I found that the longer it chills, the more intense the flavors get... so if you love that sweet caramelized onion flavor, this dip captures it perfectly!

Homemade Onion & Herb Dip
recipe adapted from Alton Brown

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onions
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


In a saute pan over medium heat add oil, heat and add onions and salt. Cook the onions until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.

Read more »

Autism Is A Learning Preference Not a Disability? Educationalist Needs Some Reality Based Autism Education

educationalist

Main Entry: ed·u·ca·tion·ist 

Pronunciation: \ˌe-jə-ˈkā-sh(ə-)nist\

Variant(s): also ed·u·ca·tion·al·ist  \-shnə-list, -shə-n^əl-ist\

Function: noun

Date: 1829

1 chiefly British : a professional educator
2 : an educational theorist

preference

Main Entry: pref·er·ence 

Pronunciation: \ˈpre-fərn(t)s, ˈpre-f(ə-)rən(t)s\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English preferraunce, from Middle French preferance,from Medieval Latin praeferentia, from Latin praeferent-, praeferens,present participle of praeferre

Date: 15th century

1 a : the act of preferring : the state of being preferred b : the power or opportunity of choosing

2 : one that is preferred

3 : the act, fact, or principle of giving advantages to some over others

"New Zealand schools should view autism as a learning preference, rather than a difficulty or disability, says UK educationalist Neil Mackay."

According to the Miriam Webster online dictionary an educationalist is a professional educator or an educational theorist.  In the above reference  which also formed the headline  of the article in question and is now on the internet the Educationalist distorts the realities of Autism Disorders.  A preference, as set out in the MW involves a choice, the power to choose. Even for those with High Functioning Autism or Aspergers I have never seen a scholarly article or even a Neurodiversity ideological tract which describes their methods of learning as being choices.

The educationalist says  that autism is not a disability? Tell that to those with Autistic Disorder and intellectual disability. For them, including my son, autism is a serious disability.  The Educationalist should educate himself about autism DISORDERS before telling the world that autism is not a disability.

Educationalist educate thyself!

Read more »

Free Gaza Now. Israel killing all of us.

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

My Heart Beats for Palestine

View more presentations from Nubia _.

Read more »

Corn, Black Beans & Beef Empanadas

It's quite a convenience to have a freezer stocked with food... especially when you have guests coming over with little time to prepare! I made these Corn, Black Beans & Beef Empanadas in advance and baked them up for out of town guests and friends that came to visit. They were a hit and sadly I have no leftovers to enjoy... so I guess that means I'll have to make more very soon!...

Empanadas are a great snack and can be filled with pretty much anything. This version is filled with beef, corn black beans and some cheese, making them a meal all in itself! Growing up, empanadas were a special treat since they were time consuming to prepare. The empanadas I had growing up were also deep fried which wasn't exactly healthy and dealing with a deep fryer can be a pain. But I came across this recipe from Cook's Illustrated that made it much more approachable. These are baked but after having one, you wouldn't know the difference. The trick to baking them up crispy is a quick brush of oil on the top of the empanadas and preheating a baking sheet and drizzling it with oil ensured the underside of the crust got as crispy as the top. A bonus was that these can be made in advance and baked from frozen!

Corn, Black Beans & Beef Empanadas
recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Filling
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pound 85% lean ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup taco shredded cheese blend

1 package empanada dough rounds


To make the filling, heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onions and garlic until softened. Add the corn, black beans, cumin, cayenne, and cloves and cook until fragrant. Crumble the beef into the pan and brown. Add the chicken broth to the pan to deglaze and transfer the beef mixture to a bowl; cool.

Stir in the cilantro leaves into the beef mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cool completely in the refrigerator. Once cooled completely, fold in the cheese.

To assemble the empanadas, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and place a large baking sheet in the oven. Using the premade empanada dough, place 1/3 cup of filling mixture in the center of each dough round. Brush the edges of the dough with water and fold dough over the filling. Press the edges to seal and crimp the edges using a fork.

To bake, drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over the surface of the large preheated baking sheet and then return to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the empanadas onto the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the empanadas with oil. Place the baking sheet of empanadas in the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until well browned and crisp. Cool empanadas on a wire rack for 10 minutes and serve.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare the empanadas as directed above. Once assembled, place empanadas in a gallon sized freezer bag in one layer. Remove any excess air from the bag and freeze flat. When ready to prepare, preheat oven to 425 degrees and place a large baking sheet in the oven. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over the surface of the large preheated baking sheet and then return to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the frozen empanadas onto the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the empanadas with oil. Place the baking sheet of frozen empanadas in the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until well browned and crisp. Cool empanadas on a wire rack for 10 minutes and serve.

Read more »

Chili Rubbed Pork Spareribs

Memorial Day weekend wouldn't be properly celebrated without some ribs! Although enjoyed a day after the holiday, it was a delicious dinner nonetheless. These Chili Rubbed Pork Spareribs were especially tasty because the flavor all came from my spice drawer. By making a homemade chili seasoning rub using the spices I had on hand, various meats take on some great flavor perfect for grilling...

One easy freezer meal is to season various cuts of meat with a flavorful spice rub and freeze. These ribs are no exception since I used some pretty common spices to create a rub for the pork spareribs I had. Simply combine the spices, coat the ribs with the spice mixture and let the ribs absorb the flavors while it cooks on low heat for a few hours. I did make a few substitutions from the original recipe where I used garlic and onion powder instead of dried minced garlic and onion. I also omitted dried parsley and basil also called for in the original recipe. These substitutions and changes suited my tastes more but feel free to check out the original recipe or use this one as a guide to come up with your own spice blend to use!

Chili Rubbed Pork Spareribs

recipe adapted from AllRecipes

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons chili powder

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine flour, chili powder, red pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, sugar, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

Coat the ribs with the spice mixture and wrap the spice rubbed ribs in foil. Grill on medium low heat for 3-4 hours or bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 3 hours.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare the recipe as directed above and place spice rubbed ribs in a gallon sized freezer bag. Remove excess air from bag, seal and freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost completely. Remove the spice rubbed ribs from the freezer bag and wrap spice rubbed ribs in foil. Grill on medium low heat for 3-4 hours or bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 3 hours.

Read more »

Autism Blame From Refrigerator Moms to Stressed Out Moms and Dads

That deep well of autism knowledge, the New York Post, shouts the retro headline in tabloid size letters:  The parental stress behind autism.   Where once cold and distant mothers were blamed for causing their child's autism disorder now the blame is laid at the feet of both parents, stressed out moms and dads.  What would Bernard Rimland say? 

"Parents stressed out from hectic lives and neglected or volatile marriages are putting their kids' health at risk, too. Parental stress may be a major factor in many childhood problems, including even autism and asthma.

That's the conclusion of more than 20 separate studies, including several articles by the National Scientific Council for the Developing Child, a Harvard-based group of researchers from top universities: "The realization that stresses experienced by parents and other caregivers can affect a child's developing brain architecture and chemistry in a way that makes some children more susceptible to stress-related disorders later in life is startling news to most people."

Thank heavens they did the research and now all further autism causation research can be shut down and money saved.  It WAS those darn, evil parents of autistic children all along.  That 'll teach them for asking questions about autism and vaccine safety. 

Serves them right.

Read more »

New Autism Spectrum Disorder and Severity: DSM-5 Puts the Cart Before the Horse

From DSM-5 Development, Autistic Disorder, Severity, June 1, 2010 

The decision has already been made by the American Psychiatric Association's DSM revision team to rename and revise the current Pervasive Development Disorders in the DSM-IV  by combining them into one Autistic Disorder 299.0. 

The DSM-5.org site presents a rationale for the changes including the observation that "A single spectrum disorder is a better reflection of the state of knowledge about pathology and clinical presentation; previously, the criteria were equivalent to trying to “cleave meatloaf at the joints”." I am not that big on meatloaf so they have lost me with that image.

The New Autism Spectrum Disorder (NASD) rationale also states that currently :

•  ... distinctions among disorders have been found to be inconsistent over time, variable across sites and often associated with severity, language level or intelligence rather than features of the disorder.
• Because autism is defined by a common set of behaviors, it is best represented as a single diagnostic category that is adapted to the individual’s clinical presentation by inclusion of clinical specifiers (e.g., severity, verbal abilities and others) and associated features (e.g., known genetic disorders, epilepsy, intellectual disability and others.)

As the father of a boy with Autistic Disorder with profound developmental delays, a boy who in ordinary language would be described as severely autistic and affected in every single aspect of his existence by a low functioning level I understand the severity aspect of the rationale for the New Autism Spectrum Disorder. I  tire of listening to the barely autistic engineers, lawyers, writers, university students,  successful business persons, Washington political circle navigators and IMFAR  socialites who are interviewed daily by the main stream  media and tell the world what it means to "be autistic".

Despite my previously expressed concerns (1, 2)  about the New Autism Spectrum Disorder I can see the logic in one"spectrum" disorder as long as the spectrum is clearly differentiated, as the DSM-5 site suggests, based on severity.   Unfortunately the DSM-5 people have committed to the New Autism Spectrum Disorder without having clear criteria for differentiating severity categories and criteria in the NASD, or at least without having communicated severity criteria to the public including "autism parents" like this Dad.

I don't know much about cleaving meatloaf at the joints but it seems to me that  with the New Autism Spectrum Disorder the DSM-5 team has put the  cart before the horse by committing to the creation of a single autism spectrum disorder,  the New Autism Spectrum Disorder, which recognizes distinctions based on severity,  without first clearly defining severity categories or criteria.

Until comprehensible severity categories and criteria are developed this father of a boy diagnosed with the current Autistic Disorder and assessed with profound developmental delays says NEIGH to the New Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Read more »