Mmm clotted cream!

For those of you that know me personally you know that I don't get fired up about much of anything. So I want to be clear, "I don't hate the royals any more than I hate a multitude of other privilaged bastards that started life 2 yards from the finish line. Doesn't matter what your politics are, you just don't impress me if you work as a hobby instead of as a survival skill. It's not just the royals. Donald Trump, starting with a mere $40,000,000 of real estate left to him by his father ( That "Death Tax" sure does harm peoples lives), mangaged through shear will to become the mogul you see today. Ted Kennedy, when Hiliary Clinton left the senate, thought it would be a peachy idea to appoint his niece Caroline to the position. Camelot and all that what. The appointment would have just streamlined things anyway, both the Kennedy's and the Bushes have access to family political machines that can pretty much gaurentee a victory if they match the kid to the right district. They all lose touch with what it is like for me, you, your families, and your friends to get through a week. To have to earn things.

I'm not a hater. I can do a good imitation of one in print but hate is a waste of time. What I was going for with my last post was we can't waste our time on bad thinking.  In the sixties they used to say "What if they gave a war and nobody came?"

If nobody came it's all good, but what if one side didn't get the flash mob untext?

I'm no peacenik either. Wars happen, but what if the people resist the idea of war? What if we don't march in lock step behind our soverign lords when they decide killing people is a good way to blow off steam? "Obama shot a man in Libya just to watch him die", That was a lyric to an old Johnny Cash song wasn't it? Take it one step further. What if you gave a royal wedding and nobody watched? What if  privlige is something you earn instead of inherit. What if we just stop buying into corrupt outmoded concepts.

I don't remember the source, but Gabrielle Giffords traveled to see her husband do a shuttle launch this week. Who do you want your daughter to be? Who do you want to be? If you are asking "Who is Gabrielle Giffords?" please don't because you'll make me cry. Just put on your slave coller and bow down to your king and queen.

My Italian grandfather wasn't always a good man, but then neither am I. He might have been all about the wild demons that haunted him, and it might seem like I would have a hard time getting excited if I was with the Swedish bikini team during Mardi Gras. He only went to 3rd grade, I graduated collage.  We both agreed on one thing though, America might not always do the right thing, but the concept of "America" is what will save this world. Best a King could ever do, hopefully a benevolent one,  is make the world good for his lifetime.

That was great grandpa's favorite song. It isn't spiritual but it is perfect for Sunday morning all the same.



 Royal Wedding? Well I ignored the wedding, and got my hate on for the royals in my last post, but that doesn't mean I didn't have me some scones and clotted cream for breakfast. Mmmm clotted cream!

Clotted cream is easy to make. Take 2 pints of pasturized or raw cream ( ultrapasturized won't work so don't even try) and put it in a cassorle dish. The dish should be sized so the cream is 2 or 3 inches deep. Place the dish in a 185 degree oven. After about 8 to 12 hours take the dish out of the oven and move it to the refridgerator. The clotted part is going to be like thick whipped cream, but it will taste buttery. Mmmm butter! Skim it off, then use the liquid that is left for cooking.

Now if you are going full British you will need something to act as a transport device to get the yummy clotted cream, Mmm clotted cream! to your mouth. Scones will work just fine.

1. Put 2 cups of flour, a third of a cup of sugar, a teaspoon of baking powder, a quater teaspoon of baking soda, and a healthy pinch of salt in a bowl. Combine.
2. Take a frozen stick of butter and grate it into the dry goods. Use the big holes on a box grater.
3. Get in there with your (immaculately clean) hands and work the stuff until it forms coarse meal.
4. Now is the time to add whatever extras you like. Dried fruit, grated zest, nuts, chocolate chips... fresh fruit won't survive the next step.
5. In a different bowl add a half cup of sour cream and a large egg. Stir well.
6. Combine the 2 bowls, stir the mixture with a fork.
7. When large clumps form use your (immaculatly clean) hands to press the stuff into a dough. Work it gently you don't want too much gluten to form which would make the scone tought.
8. Put the dough on a floured surface and pat it into an 7 or 8 inch round.
9. Cut the round into 8 wedges.
10. Put them on a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan into a 400 degree oven.
11. 15 minutes in the oven, 5 minutes on the cooling rack, and you are finally ready to get that clotted cream into your mouth. Mmm clotted cream!