Cakelike Oatmeal Cookies and Nuclear War Possibilities
Now Playing: Buggles-Video Killed the Radio Star
Aha, the return of cake like oatmeal cookies. For me it's one of those things that I successfully created once upon a time and the other day I for some reason had a persistent desire to recreate those glorious cookies of bygone days. Of course, when in doubt about the information needed I asked the computer god- Goggle for the answer. In no time it had given me a list of possible places where the answer could be found. Soon I found myself reading in depth about the use of various ingredients and their effect on the cookies. Baking powder for cake like and baking soda providing the opposite effect, vegetable shorting as opposed to butter or oil, egg whites instead of whole eggs, milk over water, all of the possibilities were opened up to me. But you know, there was no recipe that incorporated all of the ingredients in the variety and portions I thought would be necessary. Soooooo, a bit of this recipe and a bit of that recipe were needed. For cake like, fluffy not flat oatmeal cookies with crunchy edges and soft interiors this is the recipe. :-)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups oats, -quaker oats 1 minute or old
fashioned
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup vegetable shortening -Crisco
4 egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup of milk
3 tablespoons water -(as needed)
Optional -- Any darn thing you want. (nuts, raisins, dried fruits chopped up, chocolate chips, coconut shredded, applesauce)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your cookie sheets by rubbing shortening in them and set them aside.
Mix your dry ingredients together on one large bowl, I mean a seriously large bowl. Were are talking about the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. The sugars go in the wet bowl. Every recipe I've seen says to put salt in it, usually about 1 teaspoon but ever since I had some oatmeal in New York which was made with salt in it I hesitate to put in salt in things I know are going to end up sweet. I mean that oatmeal was nasty, all salty - yuk.
Okay, now you need another large bowl for the wet ingredients. In goes the brown sugar and the granulated sugar along with the shortening, and vanilla. You will want to use a good blender for this unless you are really into stirring and have the wrists for it. I whip the sugars and the shortening together, put the vanilla in then the egg whites. Lastly I put the milk in, you could use water but you know we are blessed and privileged to usually have milk about the house so you might as well use it. It's also one of those 'best ingredients available' rules I have. Okay, this mixture might need to have the edges folded back into the mass under control of the whirling mixer, be sure to turn the mixer off for this event, you never know when you might catch a spoon in the mixer blades.
Now you'll want to fold this wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a sturdy spoon of large and impressive size. This should be very stiff and hard to do, use your judgment about whether the mix needs a small bit of water to ease the mixing. When your ingredients are good and as wet and mixed as possible then it is cookie time. Use a large spoon to scoop out cookie dough. You can oil your hands up and roll the balls out or just use your thumb to place them on a cookie sheet that has been rubbed with shortening. My cookie sheets are 10 inches by 15 inches and I get four cookies across and three down. Which, if I do my math correctly means 12 cookies per sheet. Cookies are to be cooked 8 to 10 minutes or so. You know, you really probably do what I do, which is to peek inside the oven and disregard the time clock and pull them cookies out just when you feel like they are done. So times are just suggestions. No pressure dudes or dudettes. You're the boss.
If you are totally lost as to what to do now then let's see, you have hopefully two cookie sheets so that you have prepared the other one while the one is in the oven. Take you baked cookies over to the counter and set them down, then place the uncooked cookies in the oven and close the door. Take note of the time since you know, it might help to know when to take this other batch out. Use a spatula to gently see if the cooling cookies feel like being move just yet. No pressure, they will let you know when they are ready to be moved over to the cooling rack, or the plate. When the cookies are off the cookie sheet then run a paper towel with a bit of shortening over it again and drop or roll your cookies out and have that sheet ready to go when the other batch is done. Soon you will be up to your neck in cookies. Now these cookies are tasty and not overly sweet as well as being cake like. Just the way I like my oatmeal cookies. Now I've completed my self imposed task which is to give myself an actual recipe so that I may recreate these cookies when the mood hits me once again. Voile' Or words to that effect.
In the words of Monty Python, "And now for something completely different"
I've been watching the news as is my wont. Nothing different or unusual in that and my spider senses are telling me that the possibilities of serious conflict are rising in Asia. This concerns everyone since it'll likely have nuclear weaponry, invasions and general mayhem and crisis for everyone involved.
Now, you'll note that North Korea, following the law of unintended consequences, continues to move toward having nuclear weapons. (this would be the unintended consequence of the United States stating it's 'preemptive attack policy against threatening nations' )You'll also note interestingly enough that there is actual evidence this time of the fact. Testing near the areas is showing traces of certain isotopes and such that are given off when nuclear fuel rods are being reprocessed. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the knowledge to make nuclear weapons has been available since the 1940's, it's a 1940's technology and it can be done by many countries or by many individuals with the means and desire. These are known facts. What's different in North Korea is that they have their own medium range missiles capable of delivering payloads all the way to Japan and they have a demonstrated paranoid irrational leadership in place. What is not different in North Korea and what would not be different is that they already have the ability to devastate South Korea, they have over 100 thousand artillery pieces within range of the capitol of South Korea, (Seoul) and they have I think the fifth largest military in the world.
Now North Korea will get nuclear weapons, if they don't Aleda have them, because they rightly perceive that the United States is a direct threat to the existence of that regime. To the North Koreans the invasion of Iraq is more than enough proof for them that the US is willing to attack it's enemies and perceived enemies of which North Korea knows it is up high on that list. So, for the North Koreans they don't believe that they have anything to lose by provoking a response from the US in this matter. In fact, if they test a nuclear weapon and announce that they have an arsenal of such weapons that's the ball game. It's over, no attacks on North Korea ever. If you are North Korean why wouldn't you take that chance? You could be up there with the big boys and your needs and desires would have greater weight and a better response. Game over.
Now this is just one ingredient in the soup. You have to see the drama being played out in Hong Kong, China , Taiwan and Japan. Hong Kong is in the throes of a crisis. A new set of completely expected 'laws' that have been pushed by the mainland red Chinese overlords which would put the squeeze on a number of freedoms in Hong Kong is being protested and has effectively been stopped for the moment. In Taiwan, the people seeing this nightmare are being pushed to seek a more definitive expression of their desire to remain independent from the mainland. This of course could and would provoke a military response from the mainland if their is a chance that they could get away with it in terms of being able to weather the international storm of protests and probably ten years of isolation that would result providing they could quickly neutralize the US response and accomplish the task of invasion and conquering of Taiwan in a short period of time. A task incidental that the Chinese military is preparing itself for.
One of the other players in this drama is Japan. Already Japan is seeing how the wind is blowing in it's region of the world and they are making serious moves toward throwing off the yoke of the pacifist constitution imposed on them by the US after World War II. Rightly perceiving a threat that the US cannot completely control the Japanese are perfectly capable of becoming an overnight regional superpower complete with nuclear weaponry and the necessary technological ability to whack the bejeezus out of the Chinese or the North Koreans. The instant that the Chinese believe that this is going to happen, a re militarized Japan beginning to emerge will change the calculations in Beijing and tip the balance to the side that believes that it's now or never and that they need to take Taiwan and provide themselves with the ability to hunker down with their meal and digest it while everyone else yammers on.
Right now the response of the Mainland Chinese to the crisis in Hong Kong will be indicative of which side is really in control in Beijing and the relative danger faced by Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the US. The events are intensely being watched in Taiwan and their response will be a factor in the next round of events and responses. The puppets of Beijing in Hong Kong are in a bad spot right now, they thought they could get the draconian 'anti subversion' laws rammed through their legislature and make their masters happy. Now they have a population in a cycle of protest who have successfully shown some 'people power' and an ability to affect the outcome at least for the moment. Will those in Beijing go slowly and attempt to massage the desired changes or will they panic and bring forth a furthering of the crisis? It's a dangerous road that is being traveled right now and it's not something that is easily examined. Again, there are a huge number of factors to consider and that are being considered by the parties involved.
It's all connected together. I mean, it's not likely that the North Koreans will lob a nuke at a concentration of US troops and decimate Seoul as they successfully invade South Korea but if they do then it's on and the United States troops will be in North Korea in short order. The last time United States troops entered North Korea a million Chinese came over from China and the first US-Chinese war ground on into a stalemate. This time, at the time that the US is blowing up North Korea the people in Hong Kong could be trying to rise up and being viciously shot down like they were in Tianamen Square. The Taiwanese could see all of this and say forget this load of crap and declare their independence from China. (you know Taiwan has nukes) The Japanese would be mobilizing and their own nuclear weaponry program kicks up -is announced or leaked and it would surprise me if it wasn't already far far advanced. The Chinese reacting to the US in North Korea, reacting to the Taiwanese, The Japanese, the US. Somebody tell me what good things would be happening now? I would think that the moderates in Beijing would be lined up and shot by then, the Chinese would blow into North Korea and they would attempt to invade Taiwan while crushing Hong Kong. Boom.
Posted by gilbert davis
at 1:54 PM EDT
lucky
irritated
a-ok
chillin'
on fire