Lost Symbol

After much prodding by a friend I read Dan Brown's Lost Symbol and it was good to see him target someone other than the church.  I recently read it a second time, to ensure I hadn't missed any subtle nuances.

Much like the Angels & Demons or The Da Vinci Code, conspiracy theorists will have a field day as our symbologist, Robert Langdon, looks into the secrets of the Masons. Runing around Washington DC to ensure the safety of its inhabitance, our protagonist tries to decode the secrets and symbols  and solve the mystery presented to him.

My friend and I each had an additional laugh because we each live near a Mason Hall in our respective cities. There are many reviews of this book on the net if you care to read them detail, and even a few spoiler sites to ruin your fun.

If you have liked any of his previous books I would say give this one a browse as well.


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G

Chocolate Crepes de Gregorio

Sometimes as an alternate to my Desert Crepes, I make a chocolate crepe instead. 

• 1 Cup -- All Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 Cup -- Milk
• 1/3 Cup -- Dutch Proccess Powdered Cocoa
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar 
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

I sift all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, I mix the liquids, then gently whisk everything together until it's fully mixed. I let the batter rest for a period of time, then I make the crepes per every other recipe.  Sometimes, I make them a little richer by substituting chocolate milk for the milk.

You can fill these with what ever your heart desires. Often I use a mixture of fruit jam, and cream cheese.

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NB: I think I learned this recipe via Better Home and Gardens Cookbooks, but I don't recall.

Blog Migration Update.

Well good readers, I have about 30 posts left to go, I've dropped any post dealing with the technology changes of my self-hosted services. Man it was a lot of work to get to where I am, but I have a couple of small things left to go.  Biggest issue, is doing a lightbox in my blogger blog, for my serendipity it was a simple plug-in.  Under blogger they don't have that specific one.  I can add the javascript and CSS, but it is a matter of time.

I will be posting about that as well, so I don't have to remember how to do it in the future.

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Desert Crepes de Gregorio

Often when I cook for friends or when I have a hankerin' for them, I make Desert Crepes.  Here is my basic recipe that I learned and keep comming back to after many years of trying.

• 1 Cup -- All Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 Cup -- Milk
• 2 eggs 
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar 
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

I sift all dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, I mix the liquids, then gently whisk everything together until it's fully mixed. I let the batter rest for a period of time, then I make the crepes per every other recipe.  Sometimes I make them a little richer by substituting cream or half-n-half for the milk.  It's also important to use a neutral flavoured oil, not olive oil, or a nut oil etc.

Sometimes I will add a splash of vanilla, or a touch of cinnamon for variety.

You can fill these with what ever your heart desires. Often I use Ricotta mixed with egg and cinnamon.  Fruit, or Nutella rank high on my list of favourites.  If you are feeling nostalgic and want something classical, Crepe Suzette.

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G

NB: I think I learned this recipe via Better Home and Gardens Cookbooks, but I don't recall.

World Cup 2010 -- Cards and Bookings

I've been very confused by the bookings in the 2010 Edition of the World Cup.  I thought there was an unusually high number of yellows and reds throughout the matches I've seen.  But, when I looked at the Fifa Stats page, there had only been an average of 3.9 cards per match (as of June 22).  The 2006 Edition of the world cup set the record for the most bookings over the period of the tournament.  Using the info from wikipedia, there were over 340 yellows and 28 reds for the whole 64 game tournament, over 5.4 cards per match!!  This astounded me.

Granted the we are only 2/3 done the group matches, so there is an opportunity to exceed that number.  Conversely I have been also surprised by many of the non-bookings as well.

More Later....
G