Replies

Other News:

(U.S.) Clinton Vows to Reach Out to Islamic World
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/17/AR2009021700957.html?wprss=rss_nation
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024887.php

(U.S.) Northern Virginia - Omeish for Delegate?
— former president of Muslim American Society’s Esam Omeish running as Democrat for House of Delegates
http://www.nvdaily.com/blogs/politics/2009/02/omeish-for-delegate.html
-— IPT Dossier: Muslim American Society (MAS) and Historical Roots in the Muslim Brotherhood
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/44.pdf

(U.S.) Muslim Brotherhood-founded group and Stalinist-led ANSWER group to march on Pentagon March 21
-— “MAS Freedom, ANSWER Coalition and Hundreds of Endorsers [to] March on the Pentagon Saturday, March 21”
http://www.masnet.org/takeaction.asp?id=5291
-— MAS Freedom’s (MASF) Executive Director Mahdi Bray
http://www.masnet.org/news.asp?id=170
-— Reports on MAS Freedom’s Mahdi Bray:
http://www.investigativeproject.org/profile/112
(see section II, page 5 on following link)
http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/85.pdf
http://www.investigativeproject.org/blog/2008/02/the-mendacity-of-mas.html
http://www.ohioagainstterror.blogspot.com/2008/02/muslim-brotherhoods-grand-jihad-in.html
http://www.investigativeproject.org/760/american-brotherhood-samis-our-man
-— MAS Freedom reports that it met with Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton
http://www.investigativeproject.org/585/strange-bedfellows-on-the-campaign-trail
— Other MAS Freedom reports
http://www.investigativeproject.org/501/when-islamists-get-caught-mas-edition

(U.S.) Florida: Islamic reformer, former terrorist to speak — Tawfik Hamid
— hosted by Temple Beth Sholom’s in Sarasota, Florida and West Coast Florida AJC
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/llnews.aspx?articleID=11716&bnpg=0
-— West Coast Florida AJC web site - show your support!
http://www.ajc.org/site/c.ffITK0OyFoG/b.843901/k.B574/West_Coast_Florida.htm
-— The Trouble With Islam: Sadly, mainstream Muslim teaching accepts and promotes violence - by Tawfik Hamid
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009890
— CAIR: Fla. Muslims Ask Synagogue to Balance Presentation on Islam
-— Unindicted co-conspirator group CAIR criticizes Temple Beth Sholom’s plans to have Tawfik Hamid lecture on radical Islam
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20090217/pl_usnw/cair__fla__muslims_ask_synagogue_to_balance_presentation_on_islam

(U.S.) Alabama: iReport Not Sitting Well with Residents of Arab, Alabama
-— CNN reporting Muslims “were shocked” that they weren’t discrimated against
http://www.waaytv.com/global/story.asp?s=9850816
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-201137

(U.S.) Colorado: “Islam one of most misunderstood faiths, speaker says”
— Fairouz Abu-Ghazalen says jihad means “striving in the way of God”
— coordinates with local Somali community, which includes workers at Swift Company in nearby Greeley
http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/news/2009/feb/17/islam-one-most-misunderstood-faiths-speaker-says/?partner=RSS
http://www.thecoloradotrust.org/repository/initiatives/pdfs/SIRFI/MorganCounty1-pager5-08.pdf

(UK) Libraries told to move books in response to complaints that Quran is not on top shelf
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1148363/Libraries-Bible-shelf-sop-Muslims.html

Commentaries:

Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence? by Phyllis Chesler
http://www.meforum.org/article/2067

Jihad TV in Europe: It’s time to shut down Hezbollah and Hamas broadcasts to the Continent
— by Mark Dubowitz and Roberta Bonazzi
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123490878778903321.html?mod=

Further Comments by David G. Littman, twenty years after the Rushdie Fatwa
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024888.php
-— February 19, 2004 comments
http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/795e575f36093592c1256e9700555791?Opendocument

So is Britain really going to break with the Muslim Brothers? — by Melanie Phillips
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/3365496/so-is-britain-really-going-to-break-with-the-muslim-brothers.thtml

Propaganda:

ABC: “Former Gitmo Guard Recalls Abuse, Climate of Fear”
— War resister Brandon Neely interviewed
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6879032
-— War resister Neely on “Alternet”
http://www.alternet.org/story/106404/this_veterans_day%2C_u.s._soldiers_say_%27stop_the_war%27/

__._,_.___

If reposting elsewhere, please credit source of this research as UnitedStatesAction.com

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/

Green Harvest Soup

Posted: 17 Feb 2009 08:20 AM PST

Good Day Folks,

Most of these ingredients are available now from your local farmers market vendors. If you are not yet a locavore check out your local farmers markets for the freshest produce.

I adapted this from a recipe I saw in better homes and gardens. Since I am not overly fond of cooked spinach, I chose a sweet potato over a regular potato to sweeten the soup — worked beautifully and the arugula adds just a nice amount of nutty bite.

GREEN HARVEST SOUP
1 large shallot, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon dried Herbes de Provence or Italian herb blend
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
2 cups defatted chicken stock - homemade is best - can substitute vegetable
1 large sweet potato, cleaned, peel left on, chopped
1 package baby spinach, rinsed well and dried - set aside 1 cup, torn into bite size pieces
1 cup arugula, torn into bite size pieces
Parmesan cheese curls
edible flowers for garnish (I used pansies, calendula petals and sweet alyssum)
baguette slices
salt to taste

Notes: I used spinach, shallot, onion, and sweet potato from the One Windmill Farm and the excellent seeded baguette from Classico Italian Breads. The arugula and edible flowers came from my gardens.

In a heavy pot, melt butter and olive, add shallot, onion and dried herbs and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the stock and sweet potato, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook covered until the sweet potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Begin adding all the spinach (except for the reserved 1 cup) a little at a time until incorporated and wilted. Remove from heat and let sit to cool for about 5 minutes.

I used an immersion (stick) blender, but you can use a regular blender or food processor to puree the soup. Careful! Don’t burn yourself - I do love my immersion blender - once you get the hang of it you are not dirtying another container (blender)*.

Taste the pureed soup for salt - you should not need to add any or only a very little.

Ladle into soup bowls, top with a bit of reserved spinach and arugula, edible flowers and cheese curls, and serve with baguette slices.

There are so many healthy benefits to these foods, it is almost a sin to not serve it whenever they are available from your local growers.

*Immersion blenders take only a minute to learn to use and about 2 minutes to do the job! First have your pot of hot whatever off of the burner — make sure the wand is locked on. Plug it in, and dip the blade all the way to the bottom of the pot, holding upright. Use the lowest setting - press and hold and begin to move the wand around near the bottom of the pot, side to side - do not raise it above the top of the liquid or you will have it all over the place. As I say, it will only take a minute to get the hang of it - move side to side and in a circular motion to make sure you are getting all the solids pureed. Release the button and you can now lift the wand - make sure there are no solids hanging out of the slots on the blade cover. Viola - you have pureed the soup in under 2 minutes.

Find more recipes like this one in my book “101+ Recipes from The Herb Lady”

— Catherine, The Herb Lady
Thanks for reading, and have a great day! — Catherine, The Herb Lady

http://edibleherbsandflowers.blogspot.com/

CLASS:

My 3-part “soil to table” class at the Desert Botanical Garden is coming up and filling up fast (there is a class limit) — First session is February 22. For information and registration (must pre- register) Call Steen Lawson Office 480.481.2066, or visit www.DBG.org.

SEASONAL RECIPES:

Check out my posting on January 1st for Rosemary Lemonade
Goes along nicely with the following seasonal recipes:

RED & GREEN COLE SLAW
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1 red apple
1 green apple
11/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
11/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon celery seed, crushed
Optional herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, cilantro, about half to 1 tablespoon finely minced.
Salt & pepper to taste (taste first)
Add celery seed to red wine vinegar and set aside. Core, shred or finely dice apples (don’t peel). Toss with cider vinegar.
Mix cabbages and apples (including the cider vinegar) in a large bowl. Mix red wine vinegar/celery seed with olive oil, pour over salad, and toss to coat well. Taste. Add salt and pepper to taste.

ALMOST EMPTY MUSTARD JAR RECIPES
...ah, the possibilities...frugal cooks once routinely saw the almost empty mustard jar as an opportunity for a salad dressing or sauce. Even 1 tablespoon left over could be turned into a tangy dinner enhancement.

SALAD DRESSING:
1 almost empty mustard jar
2 tablespoons citrus juice (orange or tangerine are lovely)
4 tablespoons oil
Dash of salt and pepper
1 tablespoons fresh herb of choice, finely chopped (rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram or combination)
Place all ingredients in the jar, cap and shake well, dress the salad.

Options: If you enjoy chunky salads aka chopped salad (where the ingredients are left larger sized) create your own ‘green goddess’ dressing — in a blender place this salad dressing and add 1-2 cups of finely chopped salad greens (lettuces, kale, escarole, etc.), blend to combine and pour over coarsely chopped vegetables.

MARINADE/SAUCE:
1 almost empty mustard jar
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons vinegar, citrus juice or other fruit juice (pineapple, apple, etc.)
4 tablespoons finely chopped thyme, or 2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano, or 1 tablespoon of finely chopped rosemary.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well and pour over boneless chicken or sturdy fish (tuna, shark, halibut, swordfish). Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Grill until cooked through, about 10-15 minutes per side depending on thickness and heat of grill, basting with marinade periodically during grilling.

Find more recipes in my book “101+ Recipes from The Herb Lady”