The truth about "anarchy and violence" in New Orleans

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Reports of anarchy at Superdome overstated

Ever get the feeling you're not getting all the news?

Project Censored

Prayers...

...for my brother-in-law Randy, who suffered a brain aneurysm last night and is in the Stanford Medical Center hospital awaiting test results and further treatment. And for Nina and the kids.

What really happened in New Orleans...

Denise Moore's story

Trapped in New Orleans by the Flood -- and Martial Law

Oh, well. No great loss without some small gain...
Houston Finds Business Boon After Katrina

"Oil services companies based here are racing to carry out repairs to damaged offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico; the promise of plenty of work to do sent shares in two large companies, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, soaring to 52-week highs last week."

Halliburton--they always seem to be in the right place at the right time to profit from misfortune.

More hot weather fare

Fruit smoothies:

I don't have much fruit in my garden, but once we went to a wedding reception and there was a whole lot of fruit chunks left over--from those fruit platters you get from Costco. Lots of melon, strawberries, pineapple and stuff. They were going to throw it out, so I brought it home and froze it. When things got really blistering hot, I took a handful of the frozen fruit and a banana, and pureed them in the blender with some fruit juice. (You could also use yogurt.)

This is a good way to use any fruit that's been sitting around for a while and is in danger of getting overripe. Just chop it, freeze it, and get it out later when you need a cool, refreshing drink. (Or you can buy the frozen fruit at Trader Joe's.)

More from the garden

We are overflowing in cucumbers. We also have a lot of dill and garlic. And so... Cucumber Yogurt Smoothies! Perfect for a hot day.

Chop some cucumbers and put them in the blender with chopped fresh garlic, snipped fresh dill and plain yogurt. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend. Taste and add more yogurt, dill, salt, pepper or cucumber until it tastes even more heavenly. Serve chilled.

From the non-weed part of the garden

What to do with all the tomatoes? Here's my solution:

Saute some chopped garlic in a little olive oil. Add chopped fresh tomatoes straight from the garden--those red baseballs from the supermarket won't work. If you're having company and you want to be fancy, first dip the whole tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds and then slip the skins off before chopping them.

Cover the tomatoes and simmer them 10 minutes or so until they begin to disintegrate. Mash them a little with a spoon. Then add chopped fresh basil. Serve this sauce over angel hair pasta. I like to top everything with parmesan cheese, but Steve likes it just straight.

I've been deliberately vague about the amounts of each substance, because you really can't go wrong. Just use whatever amount you have handy of each.

From the Archives...

September 2002