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No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world's fastest jet-propelled aircraft. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War.
This Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and Lt. Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flight's conclusion, they landed at Washington-Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to the Smithsonian.
No reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71 Blackbird. It is the fastest aircraft propelled by air-breathing engines. The Blackbird's performance and operational achievements placed it at the pinnacle of aviation technology developments during the Cold War. The airplane was conceived when tensions with communist Eastern Europe reached levels approaching a full-blown crisis in the mid-1950s. U.S. military commanders desperately needed accurate assessments of Soviet worldwide military deployments, particularly near the Iron Curtain. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation's subsonic U-2 (see NASM collection) reconnaissance aircraft was an able platform but the U. S. Air Force recognized that this relatively slow aircraft was already vulnerable to Soviet interceptors. They also understood that the rapid development of surface-to-air missile systems could put U-2 pilots at grave risk. The danger proved reality when a U-2 was shot down by a surface to air missile over the Soviet Union in 1960.
Lockheed's first proposal for a new high speed, high altitude, reconnaissance aircraft, to be capable of avoiding interceptors and missiles, centered on a design propelled by liquid hydrogen. This proved to be impracticable because of considerable fuel consumption. Lockheed then reconfigured the design for conventional fuels. This was feasible and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), already flying the Lockheed U-2, issued a production contract for an aircraft designated the A-12. Lockheed's clandestine 'Skunk Works' division (headed by the gifted design engineer Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson) designed the A-12 to cruise at Mach 3.2 and fly well above 18,288 m (60,000 feet). To meet these challenging requirements, Lockheed engineers overcame many daunting technical challenges. Flying more than three times the speed of sound generates 316° C (600° F) temperatures on external aircraft surfaces, which are enough to severely weaken the structure of conventional aluminum airframes. The design team chose to make the jet's external skin of titanium alloy to which shielded the internal aluminum airframe. Two conventional, but very powerful, afterburning turbine engines propelled this remarkable aircraft. These power plants had to operate across a huge speed envelope in flight, from a takeoff speed of 334 kph (207 mph) to more than 3,540 kph (2,200 mph). To prevent supersonic shock waves from moving inside the engine intake causing flameouts, Johnson's team had to design a complex air intake and bypass system for the engines.
Skunk Works engineers also optimized the A-12 cross-section design to exhibit a low radar profile. Lockheed hoped to achieve this by carefully shaping the airframe to reflect as little transmitted radar energy (radio waves) as possible, and by application of special paint designed to absorb, rather than reflect, those waves. This treatment became one of the first applications of stealth technology, but it never completely met the design goals.
Test pilot Lou Schalk flew the single-seat A-12 on April 24, 1962, after he became airborne accidentally during high-speed taxi trials. The airplane showed great promise but it needed considerable technical refinement before the CIA could fly the first operational sortie on May 31, 1967 - a surveillance flight over North Vietnam. A-12s, flown by CIA pilots, operated as part of the Air Force's 1129th Special Activities Squadron under the "Oxcart" program. While Lockheed continued to refine the A-12, the U. S. Air Force ordered an interceptor version of the aircraft designated the YF-12A. The Skunk Works, however, proposed a "specific mission" version configured to conduct post-nuclear strike reconnaissance. This system evolved into the USAF's familiar SR-71.
Lockheed built fifteen A-12s, including a special two-seat trainer version. Two A-12s were modified to carry a special reconnaissance drone, designated D-21. The modified A-12s were redesignated M-21s. These were designed to take off with the D-21 drone, powered by a Marquart ramjet engine mounted on a pylon between the rudders. The M-21 then hauled the drone aloft and launched it at speeds high enough to ignite the drone's ramjet motor. Lockheed also built three YF-12As but this type never went into production. Two of the YF-12As crashed during testing. Only one survives and is on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The aft section of one of the "written off" YF-12As which was later used along with an SR-71A static test airframe to manufacture the sole SR-71C trainer. One SR-71 was lent to NASA and designated YF-12C. Including the SR-71C and two SR-71B pilot trainers, Lockheed constructed thirty-two Blackbirds. The first SR-71 flew on December 22, 1964. Because of extreme operational costs, military strategists decided that the more capable USAF SR-71s should replace the CIA's A-12s. These were retired in 1968 after only one year of operational missions, mostly over southeast Asia. The Air Force's 1st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing) took over the missions, flying the SR-71 beginning in the spring of 1968.
After the Air Force began to operate the SR-71, it acquired the official name Blackbird-- for the special black paint that covered the airplane. This paint was formulated to absorb radar signals, to radiate some of the tremendous airframe heat generated by air friction, and to camouflage the aircraft against the dark sky at high altitudes.
Experience gained from the A-12 program convinced the Air Force that flying the SR-71 safely required two crew members, a pilot and a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). The RSO operated with the wide array of monitoring and defensive systems installed on the airplane. This equipment included a sophisticated Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) system that could jam most acquisition and targeting radar. In addition to an array of advanced, high-resolution cameras, the aircraft could also carry equipment designed to record the strength, frequency, and wavelength of signals emitted by communications and sensor devices such as radar. The SR-71 was designed to fly deep into hostile territory, avoiding interception with its tremendous speed and high altitude. It could operate safely at a maximum speed of Mach 3.3 at an altitude more than sixteen miles, or 25,908 m (85,000 ft), above the earth. The crew had to wear pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. These suits were required to protect the crew in the event of sudden cabin pressure loss while at operating altitudes.
To climb and cruise at supersonic speeds, the Blackbird's Pratt & Whitney J-58 engines were designed to operate continuously in afterburner. While this would appear to dictate high fuel flows, the Blackbird actually achieved its best "gas mileage," in terms of air nautical miles per pound of fuel burned, during the Mach 3+ cruise. A typical Blackbird reconnaissance flight might require several aerial refueling operations from an airborne tanker. Each time the SR-71 refueled, the crew had to descend to the tanker's altitude, usually about 6,000 m to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft), and slow the airplane to subsonic speeds. As velocity decreased, so did frictional heat. This cooling effect caused the aircraft's skin panels to shrink considerably, and those covering the fuel tanks contracted so much that fuel leaked, forming a distinctive vapor trail as the tanker topped off the Blackbird. As soon as the tanks were filled, the jet's crew disconnected from the tanker, relit the afterburners, and again climbed to high altitude.
Air Force pilots flew the SR-71 from Kadena AB, Japan, throughout its operational career but other bases hosted Blackbird operations, too. The 9th SRW occasionally deployed from Beale AFB, California, to other locations to carryout operational missions. Cuban missions were flown directly from Beale. The SR-71 did not begin to operate in Europe until 1974, and then only temporarily. In 1982, when the U.S. Air Force based two aircraft at Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall to fly monitoring mission in Eastern Europe.
When the SR-71 became operational, orbiting reconnaissance satellites had already replaced manned aircraft to gather intelligence from sites deep within Soviet territory. Satellites could not cover every geopolitical hotspot so the Blackbird remained a vital tool for global intelligence gathering. On many occasions, pilots and RSOs flying the SR-71 provided information that proved vital in formulating successful U. S. foreign policy. Blackbird crews provided important intelligence about the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and its aftermath, and pre- and post-strike imagery of the 1986 raid conducted by American air forces on Libya. In 1987, Kadena-based SR-71 crews flew a number of missions over the Persian Gulf, revealing Iranian Silkworm missile batteries that threatened commercial shipping and American escort vessels.
As the performance of space-based surveillance systems grew, along with the effectiveness of ground-based air defense networks, the Air Force started to lose enthusiasm for the expensive program and the 9th SRW ceased SR-71 operations in January 1990. Despite protests by military leaders, Congress revived the program in 1995. Continued wrangling over operating budgets, however, soon led to final termination. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration retained two SR-71As and the one SR-71B for high-speed research projects and flew these airplanes until 1999.
On March 6, 1990, the service career of one Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird ended with a record-setting flight. This special airplane bore Air Force serial number 61-7972. Lt. Col. Ed Yeilding and his RSO, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Vida, flew this aircraft from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kph (2,124 mph). At the conclusion of the flight, '972 landed at Dulles International Airport and taxied into the custody of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. At that time, Lt. Col. Vida had logged 1,392.7 hours of flight time in Blackbirds, more than that of any other crewman.
This particular SR-71 was also flown by Tom Alison, a former National Air and Space Museum's Chief of Collections Management. Flying with Detachment 1 at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa, Alison logged more than a dozen '972 operational sorties. The aircraft spent twenty-four years in active Air Force service and accrued a total of 2,801.1 hours of flight time.
Wingspan: 55'7"
Length: 107'5"
Height: 18'6"
Weight: 170,000 Lbs
Reference and Further Reading:
Crickmore, Paul F. Lockheed SR-71: The Secret Missions Exposed. Oxford: Osprey
Publishing, 1996.
Francillon, Rene J. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1987.
Johnson, Clarence L. Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Washington D.C.:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1985.
Miller, Jay. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. Leicester, U.K.: Midland Counties
Publishing Ltd., 1995.
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird curatorial file, Aeronautics Division, National Air and Space Museum.
This object is on display in Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.


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text:
Pedestrians in Old Town could see smaller, portable versions of even the city's most established restaurant fixtures this spring should a new food cart vending initiative become reality.
Members of the Department of Planning and Zoning hope it will, for the sake of tourism, commerce and revenue for city coffers, but that reality relies on interest from the city's food service industry.
Planning and Zoning staff members held a preliminary meeting with restaurant owners and representatives last Friday to gauge interest, gain insight and entice restaurateurs to join the pilot program, which is nothing more than a sketch at this point, as Deputy Director Barbara Ross was quick to point out Tuesday.
"We're testing interest, but it is not a real program yet," Ross said. "There were a whole bunch of suggestions last week that we're looking at. The whole basis of the program, if there is one, could change in the next week or so."
The model presented to about 30 restaurant representatives included the establishment of eight food carts to be decided with some sort of competition confined to Market Square that would operate from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. each weekday. The program would initially limit participants to Old Town restaurants but would expand citywide if successful.
"There's some flak about that, and I understand it," Ross said. "It's Alexandria and we have to start small. And if we do this right, we all benefit, and there's no reason we can't expand it next year."
City staff seeks a diversity of food choices with no overlap among the eight restaurants selected, Ross said.
Some industry representatives have expressed concern with the preliminary model, namely the abbreviated hours of operation, and the element of business risk that comes with investing in food carts ranging from $2,900 to $12,000, plus other incidental costs.
Others worried that it would hinder revenue for traditional restaurant establishments.
"I don't understand how it's going to be additional revenue for the city," said Ralph Davis, who owns RT's, The Warehouse and The Wharf. "Seems to me that really, you're taking an existing amount of business and the pie is now being cut up even more."
The city's pilot program would mitigate the business risk by waiving fees that are traditional in similar programs, Ross said.
The concept would compliment broader tourism initiatives in the works aimed at bringing more foot traffic to the city and, eventually, the rest of the city, according to Farroll Hamer, director of Planning and Zoning.
"We don't see the number of people here as finite," Hamer said. "We're looking to attract more people to Alexandria and we want to make sure there's room and things for them to do. So it's not just a cart program."
Based on a study performed last spring, 400 to 800 people a day disembark from motor coach tours at Market Square alone, not counting other tourists, residents or people who work in the area.
Planning and Zoning had not received many letters of intent by Tuesday afternoon, but the deadline is Friday.
"I think it's a great idea that the city's going out and trying to encourage business," said Mike Anderson, owner of Mango Mike's and co-owner of Pork Barrel BBQ, adding that while vending carts could increase the area's vibrancy, eight may be too many in one place and dinner hours would be more appetizing to business owners.
"This is a whole new thing for the city, so we've got to look at every angle," Ross said. "The general thing we're looking at is how to expand the program … to make the program as viable as possible for the businesses."
Without interest from restaurateurs, though, the plan will not go forward. The pilot program would require changes to several city ordinances, but staff will not lobby City Council without more interest from stakeholders.
The city and its restaurants seem to seek the same ends improved commerce and vibrancy but the means are still up in the air, or in this case, on the table.


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For Sandy's homeless, lives of anxiety in hotels
TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — Diane Burstein spends her days sifting through apartment listings and disaster paperwork and her nights lying awake with worry, her daughter and grandson sleeping feet from her in a cramped hotel room.
The family has nowhere else to go. Three months after Superstorm Sandy destroyed their apartment, the Bursteins are among at least 3,500 families displaced by the storm in New York and New Jersey who have been living in hotels and motels, sometimes bouncing to a different room as reservations for weddings, parties and conferences eat up hotel space.
Their hotel stays — funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — expire every two weeks, leaving them in a constant state of anxiety over whether they'll be pushed out onto the street.
"I'm panicking. I just panic," said Burstein, who is staying at a hotel in Toms River. "I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack."
The next deadline is Saturday, when families will learn whether they must pack their bags and check out. The program has been extended in New York and New Jersey until Feb. 9, but individual families are still waiting to hear whether they will be allowed to stay because claims are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
According to FEMA, people are no longer eligible for hotel assistance if they have received rental assistance, have a viable housing option or an insurance settlement, or can return to a repaired home.
For storm victims with no other housing options, the anxiety is palpable. Most spend their days on the phone with a never-ending stream of federal agencies, contractors and insurance agents, struggling to sort out the housing mess Sandy left behind.
"What happens if you don't have the money to fix your home?" wondered Ayanna Diego, who is holed up at a hotel near LaGuardia Airport with her mother, 17-year-old son and 12-year-old niece. "It's an issue."
Diego, 37, is staring down $180,000 in repairs to her family's home in the Far Rockaway section of Queens. She was laid off from her job at Verizon last summer and is currently living off FEMA money and unemployment checks to feed her family and pay for daily expenses.
The family has been living in a blur of hotel rooms and short-term rentals since the storm. Her 61-year-old mother stopped showing up to work as a roaming public school nurse after the storm because the commute became too difficult.
Diego qualified for the maximum $31,900 lump sum allowed under FEMA's household assistance program, and the money is supposed to be used for home repairs and short-term rentals. Instead, she is using those dollars to pay for gas and tolls to drive her niece to school in their old neighborhood, pay the mortgage on their wrecked home and buy meals for the family of four.
"We're in a hotel. I can't cook," Diego said. "You have breakfast, lunch and dinner. What's happening is you're using that money to survive off of, day to day. We've had to order meals."
Agnes Ruggiero, 69, whose Toms River apartment was destroyed, has been told by FEMA that she shouldn't expect to remain in a hotel for much longer. She doesn't understand why she and others are out of housing options when millions of dollars are being spent to rebuild boardwalks in the tourist-heavy region.
"How could they start worrying about a boardwalk when all these people have no place to live?" she said.
At the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Toms River, which sits on a state highway leading to a barrier island that suffered some of the state's worst damage, a hotel manager said about 80 percent of the hotel's guests are in the FEMA program.
The Sandy victims have formed a community here, waving to one another as they walk through the lobby to their rooms, sneaking out for cigarettes together and offering rides to people who need them. On a recent afternoon, a white box filled with cookies and cannoli was passed around for someone's birthday.
Burstein, 69, who is on disability, and her 37-year-old daughter — who doesn't work because her 3-year-old disabled son recently had surgery — have been living here since early December. Like many other storm victims, they can't find an affordable rental. Even if they did find one, they barely have enough money for a security deposit.
On Saturday, they will file down to the lobby along with the other Sandy refugees to learn their fate, as they do every two weeks. Burstein and Ruggiero said hotel staff will read the names of people whose assistance was extended for another two weeks. In the past, some people have been left off the list.
"Can't you let the people know ahead of time so they don't go crazy worrying?" she asked.
People like 68-year-old Janice Yunginger, of Point Pleasant, N.J., are stranded because they're waiting to hear back from their insurance companies.
Yunginger's home was destroyed, and she is still awaiting a final flood insurance estimate. Her hotel assistance ran out Jan. 12. She and her 26-year-old daughter are paying the $450 a week, out of pocket, for a room at the Red Roof Inn in Tinton Falls, N.J.
"I've applied for everything I can apply for, and for some reason they extended some of the people under the temporary shelter program, but not me," Yunginger said.
FEMA officials in both states say they are working with people staying in hotels on a daily basis, trying to resolve the obstacles that are preventing them from finding other housing opportunities.
"We're there to fill the gap between the devastation that you encountered and getting you to a more permanent solution," said Michael Byrne, the FEMA official supervising Superstorm Sandy recovery in New York.
The process of figuring out how to help homeless Sandy victims find a more permanent solution was delayed by Congress' slow passage of the hurricane recovery bill. New Jersey has set aside 1,000 Section 8 federal housing vouchers for low-income families displaced by the storm and currently living in hotels.
New Jersey created dozens of housing units at Fort Monmouth, a former military installation, for Sandy victims.
Both FEMA and New Jersey have set up websites to help connect people displaced by the storm with rental listings.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is working with state and local officials to help find long-term housing for displaced people, according to a spokesman for HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan who could not give details on specific plans.


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Yesterday I got the comment:
"I find that you very often quote the macaroons Pierre Hermé….you have some shares of his Co. ? "
I thought I better do a little macaron inventory on PB just to be sure I'm not biased in a certain direction. These macarons are from La Grande Epicerie De Paris by the way. The above macs are from Angelina and Fauchon respectively.
An all time favorite macaron of mine is from Gerard Mulot.
I would not like to think I haven't been even-handed in my macaron researche after all!
I have drunk many cups of tea in the name of that researche and I don't even drink tea as a rule. Hot chocolate is my drink of choice - these macs are from Dalloyau.
Macarons from Sadaharu Aoki.
La Maison du Chocolat
Dare we forget -Certainment pas!
In NYC I've let you know about Georgia's Bake shop...
And the lovely, pas cher macarons at supermarche CHAMPION (now Carrefour).
My obsession with Paris macaronerie has led me to create mac mouse pads.
I don't like to even think about how many macarons I have painted - hundreds for sure! Way more than I have eaten Thanks Gawd!
My collection of mini macarons is fairly expansive too....
Did I mention last trip I entered MacDonald's Paris take a look at their macarons? I felt I had to, though I should have tasted one...
I have filled my Paris Frigo with every brand in the name of that ^%$#@ researche too - life can be tough at times...


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Implicit Bias and the Pushback from the Left
Implicit Bias and Pushback from the Left, 54 St. Louis L. Rev. 1139-50 (2010) (commentary to Childress Lecture by john a. powell).
Over the past three decades, the mind sciences have provided remarkable insights about how our brains process social categories. For example, scientists have discovered that implicit biases—in the form of stereotypes and attitudes that we are unaware of, do not consciously intend, and might reject upon conscious self-reflection—exist and have wide-ranging behavioral consequences. Such findings destabilize our self-serving self-conceptions as bias-free. Not surprisingly, there has been backlash from the political Right. This Article examines some aspects of the more surprising pushback from the Left.
Part I briefly explains how new findings in the mind sciences, especially Implicit Social Cognition, are incorporated into the law, legal scholarship, and legal institutions, under the banner of "behavioral realism." Part II describes the pushback from the Left. Part III responds by suggesting that our deepest understanding of social hierarchy and discrimination requires analysis at multiple layers of knowledge. Instead of trading off knowledge, for example, at the cognitive layer for the sociological layer (or vice versa), we should seek understanding at each layer, and then interpenetrate the entire stack.
- Full text @ SSRN (pdf)


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As many of you may know, I am completely obsessed with grilled cheese sandwiches! They are so simple and yet so irresistibly good! Over the years I have made countless grilled cheese sandwiches and more recently I have been experimenting with them and sharing my adventures with you. I recently realized that although I have posted a lot of grilled cheese sandwich recipes, I have not written about the basic grilled cheese sandwich or gone into much detail about how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Since I have picked up a few tricks along the way, I thought that it was about time that I shared them with you.
At its base a grilled cheese sandwich is pretty simple consisting of bread, butter and cheese. These three ingredients, when combined correctly, come together to form something that is truly magical! Now, I am not going to tell you that you need to to use expensive high end ingredients to make a perfect grilled cheese sandwich because you do not. Lets face it, a grilled cheese sandwich made with basic white bread and a slice of American cheese can be pure pleasure with the ability to instantly transport you back to your child hood days and even I get the cravings every once in a while. That is not to say that you cannot get better results using better ingredients but this post is more about the techniques to get that perfectly grilled cheese sandwich.
Lets start with the bread: What you are looking for in the end result with respect to your bread is a light, crispy, and toasty outside with a moist and tender inside that has soaked up all of the buttery goodness while still retaining the ability to hold in all of the melted cheese. I like a nice light sourdough for this but there are a lot of different types of breads that work well in grilled cheese sandwiches. In general, I prefer to use day old bread for your basic grilled cheese sandwich as it holds together better than fresh bread. If your grilled cheese is going to include some ingredients that are on the wetter side then you can very lightly toast the bread before using it in your sandwich. Keep in mind that the thicker the bread is, the longer you will need to cook to allow the cheese in the middle to melt so thinner is generally better.
Next up is the butter, and salted works best. I prefer to spread the butter on the bread rather than melting it in the pan and the adding the bread as I can ensure that the entire surface of the bread is covered. One thing that you want to do is make sure that the butter is at room temperature so that you do not damage your bread while spreading it on. An alternative to butter is to use mayo (mayonnaise) to 'butter' the outside of the bread!
The cheese is perhaps the most important part of the best grilled cheese sandwich and the one and only thing that you need to ensure is that it melts! It is almost a sacrilege to bite into a melted cheese sandwich where the cheese is not fully melted! There is one caveat here and that is that you do not want to burn the outside of your bread while waiting for the cheese to melt so you need the cheese to melt before your sandwich hits the golden brown point. To that end, it is best to bring your cheese up to room temperature before cooking your sandwich and grating or shredding the cheese will help ensure that it melts faster and more evenly. You can use either cheese slices or shredded cheese. (I like using grated cheese has the added benefit in that you invariably spill some into the pan when sprinkling it onto the bread and lets face it those burnt pieces of cheese are the best part of the toasted cheese sandwich!)
Now that we have all of the ingredients ready it is time to cook the grilled cheese sandwich. The basic steps are: butter your bread, place a slice into the heated pan, sprinkle on the cheese, top with the remaining slice of bread and cook until golden brown on both sides making sure that the cheese has fully melted. The key to getting that golden brown bread and melted cheese is the heat. The higher the heat the quicker your bread is going to brown and the lower the heat the longer it will take. This means that cooking at a lower temperature will allow you to cook for longer and thus give the heat time to penetrate into the sandwich and melt the cheese. I find that pre-heating my pan to medium heat and then lowing the temperature to one notch below medium works best for your basic grilled cheese sandwich. You can use this knowledge to your advantage when cooking melted cheese sandwiches with different fillings for example you might want to cook this caprese grilled cheese sandwich at a slightly higher temperature as the fresh mozzarella will melt quickly and you do not really wan the pesto or tomatoes to cook all that much. One more tip for making sure that the cheese is completely melted is to place a lid on the pan while cooking the sandwich
What if your bread is perfectly golden brown and your cheese still has still not melted? You can transfer your sandwich to a preheated 200F oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts.
Tip: If your grilled cheese sandwich is looking a bit over stuffed and you can just see all of the filling spilling out as you flip it, just throw a plate on top of the sandwich, hold onto it and flip the pan and then lower the plate with the sandwich on top of it and slide it back into the pan.
Now that your grilled cheese sandwich is done, it goes great with some ketchup for dipping and a crispy crunchy pickle on the side.
Of course grilled cheese sandwiches are even better with a nice bowl of fresh homemade roasted tomato soup or chicken noodle soup for dipping!
Once you have mastered the basic grilled cheese sandwich it is time to move on and experiment with them! A great place to start is with my Top Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipes or with some of my other grilled cheese sandwich recipes .
The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich
A perfectly golden brown toasty, buttery grilled cheese sandwich filled with ooey gooey melted cheese.
- 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
- 2 slices bread, day old
- 3 ounces cheese, grated/shredded, room temperature
- Heat a pan over medium heat.
- Completely butter one side of each slice of bread.
- Place one slice of bread in the pan, buttered side down, sprinkle on the cheese and top with the remaining slice of bread, buttered side up
- Turn the heat down a notch and cook until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.
- Flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2-4 minutes.
Caramelized Cheese Covered Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich (aka The Mushroom Melt)
Breakfast Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Maple Syrup
Jalapeno Cornbread Grilled Cheese with Chipotle Caramelized Onions, Refried Black Beans and Guacamole


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Because we love you, and because October 4 is National Taco Day, here are some of our favorite taco recipes from The Other Side of The Tortilla and our friends.
See below the slideshow for the links on where to find each of these 10 recipes that will make you say "Que rico."
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Where to find these tacos:
Tacos Vegetarianos | Vegetarian tacos
- Tacos de hongo, chile poblano y cebolla (mushroom, poblano and onion)
- Rajas con crema
- Tacos de nopalitos from Nibbles and Feasts
- Tacos de papa from Sweet Life Bake
- Tacos de rajas con elote from Mama Latina Tips
Tacos de carne | Tacos with meat
Tacos de pescado y de mariscos | Fish and shellfish tacos
Do you have a favorite kind of taco? Leave a comment below to let me know!


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Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. Water-soluble vitamins are stored in the body in very limited amounts, and are excreted through the urine. Therefore, it is a good idea to have them in your daily diet. Vitamin C is sensitive to light, heat, and air and can be destroyed during food preparation, cooking, or storage.
Vitamin C's functions include:
- Acting as an antioxidant in the body
- Playing a major role in collagen formation
- Assisting in the synthesis of a neurotransmitter, norepinephrine
- Helping break down cholesterol and synthesize bile
- Playing a role in the absorption, metabolism, and utilization of other nutrients, such as folate, calcium, and iron
- Promoting healing of wounds
Recommended Intake:
Age Group (in years) |
Recommended Dietary Allowance
(mg/day) [milligrams per day] |
Females | Males | |
1-3 | 15 | 15 |
4-8 | 25 | 25 |
9-13 | 45 | 45 |
14-18 | 65 | 75 |
14-18 Pregnancy | 80 | n/a |
14-18 Lactation | 115 | n/a |
19-50 | 75 | 90 |
19-50 Pregnancy | 85 | n/a |
19-50 Lactation | 120 | n/a |
50+ | 75 | 90 |
Vitamin C Deficiency
Intakes of less than 10 mg per day of vitamin C can result in scurvy. Symptoms of vitamin C deficiency include:
- Bleeding gums
- Easy bruising
- Impaired wound and fracture healing
- Joint pain and swelling
- Loose and decaying teeth
- Hair loss
- Fatigue
- Bone pain and fractures
Vitamin C Toxicity
The tolerable upper intake level (UL) for vitamin C from dietary sources and supplements combined is:
- Ages 1-3: 400 mg/day
- Ages 4-8: 650 mg/day
- Ages 9-13: 1,200 mg/day
- Ages 14-18: 1,800 mg/day
- Ages 19+: 2,000 mg/day
Because excess vitamin C is excreted in the urine, toxicity is rare. It can happen though, with several large doses throughout the day. Symptoms of vitamin C toxicity include:
- Nausea
- Excessive urination
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal cramps
- Formation of kidney stones in susceptible people
Major Food Sources
- Strawberries
- Broccoli
- Kiwi
- Oranges
- Green or red peppers
- Cantaloupe
- Tomato juice
- Avacado
- Baked potato
- Green peas
- Spinach
Health Implications
Populations at Risk for Vitamin C Deficiency
The following populations may be at risk for vitamin C deficiency and may require a supplement:
- People who smoke cigarettes—Due to an increased metabolic turnover of vitamin C, smokers have lower blood vitamin C levels. It is recommended that smokers take 35 mg more per day than the applicable RDA.
- People who drink excessive amounts of alcohol—This may, in part, be due to a nutritionally inadequate diet.
- The elderly—Studies have shown that older adults have lower levels of serum vitamin C. This may be due to a diet lacking in essential nutrients.
- Infants—Feeding babies evaporated or boiled milk can cause vitamin C deficiency. This is because heat can destroy the vitamin C found in cow's milk.
- People with limited variety in their diet—People whose diets are affected by poverty; food faddists; and people with mental illness may not prepare meals that contain a variety of foods to obtain enough vitamin C.
- People with malabsorption and certain chronic diseases—Those with certain medical conditions like severe intestinal malabsorption, renal disease, or cancer may not be able to absorb enough vitamin C.
Antioxidant Capabilities
Free radicals are normal by-products of metabolism, but they can cause chain reactions that result in cell damage. This cell damage can, in turn, increase the risk of chronic diseases, including certain forms of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Antioxidants have the ability to stop this chain reaction. Vitamin C functions in the body as an antioxidant. Because of this antioxidant capability, vitamin C is being studied for a possible role in prevention of certain conditions like age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Currently there is not sufficient evidence to recommend vitamin C for any of these conditions.
Respiratory Infections
Many people believe that taking mega-doses of vitamin C will cure a cold. There is no scientific evidence to support this idea in the general population. However, there may be some preventative benefit in people exposed to extreme physical stress, cold environments, or those not getting enough vitamin C normally. Studies have found that taking vitamin C daily may help slightly reduce the symptoms and the duration of a cold. But taking vitamin C after the onset of the cold does not appear to effect the course of the illness. In addition, a review of studies on vitamin C found that it may be able to prevent and treat pneumonia, particularly in people who do not get enough vitamin C in their diet.
Tips For Increasing Your Vitamin C Intake:
To help increase your intake of vitamin C:
- Serve fruits and vegetables raw whenever possible.
- Leave the skin on potatoes and sweet potatoes.
- Add sliced strawberries, mango, or kiwi to your breakfast cereal.
- Use mashed avocado in place of mayonnaise as a sandwich spread.
- Throw snow peas in your stir-fry.
- Replace your morning coffee with a glass of orange or grapefruit juice.
- If you take a vitamin supplement, make sure it contains vitamin C.
Choose My Plate—Department of Agriculture http://www.choosemyplate.gov
Eat Right—American Dietetic Association http://www.eatright.org
Canadian Digestive Health Foundation http://www.cdhf.ca
Dietitians of Canada http://www.dietitians.ca
Ascorbic acid. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated July 7, 2016. Accessed July 21, 2016.
Vitamin C. Office of Dietary Supplements National Institutes of Health website. Available at: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional. Updated February 11, 2016. Accessed July 21, 2016.
Vitamin C. Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute website. Available at: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-C. Updated January 14, 2014. Accessed July 21, 2016.
Vitmin C deficiency. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated April 27, 2010. Accessed July 21, 2016.
10/30/2009 DynaMed Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed: Hemila H, Louhiala P. Vitamin C for preventing and treating pneumonia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;(3):CD005532.


text:
Let's say you want to build a radio-controlled polystyrene airplane or mess around with fabrication robots. It can be messy, noisy, and even a bit dangerous to explore new technologies. The kitchen table is not an option.
Ace Monster Toys is a hackspace in North Oakland. While they have advanced tools and organized classes, they are primarily a place where people come together to share a passion for making things. Members are provided with a workbench and unlimited access to the shop. Rather than being project or class based, the group encourages collaboration, experimentation, and community.
Board member Christian Fernandez, puts it this way. "We have cool stuff, but really it's about having these interesting, creative people, have them all in the same place at the same time, and see what comes out of that."
Fernandez recently completed a decidedly low tech project, an Aleut baidarka, or skin boat. Of course he replaced the traditional seal skins with an advanced material. "It's cool, you can see the waterline from inside the boat." Other members are hard at work figuring out cool things to do with their new cutting laser.
Visit the Ace Monster Toys booth at the East Bay Mini Maker Faire for more information. If you decide you need more making in your life, they have a bench for you!


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Terms & conditions
Placing an order with Drinkstuff
You can order from Drinkstuff in the following ways:
- Online via the website – www.drinkstuff.com
- By phone 01763 264 280: Choose the option for Sales
- By post/cheque (Please make all cheques payable to Drinkstuff)
When you place an order for any products in any of the methods above, you are buying the product at the price stated at the time of order, subject to these terms.
When you place an order online we will send you an email to confirm that we have received your order. This email is produced automatically and confirms the details that you have given us. It is a receipt of order but it is not confirmation that we can fulfil the order. If we cannot for any reason fulfil the order we will contact you directly. Confirmation of fulfilment will be received in the form of a dispatch email. This will include how to track your order if a tracking number is available. This is dependent on the service used to dispatch the order. We store the contract's content and will send you the details of your order as well as our general terms via e-mail. You can find the terms here at all times. The details about your recent orders can be found in "My account".
Drinkstuff may cancel any sale and not supply products if it is reasonable to do so and may change or discontinue the availability of products at any time.
All new orders are deemed separate and each order is treated individually.
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Our prices on the website www.drinkstuff.com are in GBP and are inclusive of VAT at 20%. Please note our currency converter is only a guide and may not accurately reflect current exchange rates.
You are responsible for the disclosure and payment of any import duties or other taxes, which may apply when the products are delivered. Unfortunately we cannot advise you what these costs may be. Please consult your local customs office for more information.
We always try to make sure that the prices on Drinkstuff.com are correct but errors may occur. If we discover an error in pricing of the products in your order we will inform you as soon as possible using the contact details you supply us with. We will then give you the option of reconfirming the order at the correct price or cancelling it. If the order is cancelled, we will refund you for any payments made. If we cannot get hold of you using the contact information given we will cancel and refund the order.
Delivery Price
You will be notified of the delivery costs automatically before you submit your order. The delivery cost will be based on the delivery address you supply.
For more information on delivery please view the Delivery Information.
For international deliveries, the postage price for delivery is charged on a per parcel basis. The checkout process assumes the delivery is for a single parcel only. The majority of orders are sent by one parcel however in rare cases, the delivery may require more than one parcel to be sent. Any orders of this nature will be sent as a pallet delivery. If this occurs, we will contact you for an additional payment to cover the postage charges prior to dispatch. You will also be given the option to cancel your order. This would normally be applicable to large orders where a high quantity of products has been ordered.
You must pay for your order before it is dispatched (except account customers) and you can do this by:
Credit/Debit Card
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Delta, Switch, Solo, Eurocard or JCB. We aim to debit money from your account within two working days after receiving your order however this can depend on your service provider. Should your payment decline we recommend double checking all the details entered to make sure these were correct as often a typing error can be the cause. If they were correct you will need to contact your card issuer to find out the reasons why.
PayPal / PayPal Express
Payment method available through website only.
BACS/CHAPS payment transfers are accepted for higher value orders (you will be responsible for all charges).
Cancellation Policy
Orders may be cancelled prior to dispatch providing the status in "My account" is not set to "Packed (Awaiting Despatch)" or "Despatched". If the order is either of these two statuses, the order will need to be dispatched with our couriers. However, when delivery is attempted, you can refuse the order from the courier and the goods will be returned to us for a refund. Please note: For any unwanted dispatched orders, you will be liable for any postage charges incurred.
Cooling off period
Customers have a 30 working day cooling off period from the day after receipt of the item. During these 30 working days, you may decide your item is not suitable and wish to return the order. You will be able to return the goods for a full refund, however the return postage will be borne by you unless the item is faulty or damaged. If the item is faulty or damaged, we may collect the item from you. Any damaged items must be reported to us within three working days of receipt of damaged goods. You can also notify us of cancellation in writing to email@example.com or by post to our address at the bottom of this page.
Please note: You will not have any right to cancel a purchase for the supply of goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised.
For more information on returning items please see our returns policy.
We try to keep Drinkstuff.com as up to date as possible but cannot guarantee that particular products will always be available. If we can't supply a product you will not be charged for it and we will refund any money taken for that item.
All offers are available while stocks last. If we are unable to supply a product you have ordered, we will notify you as soon as we can. If this happens you may cancel your order and we will refund you in full.
Our aim is to deliver all goods on a Standard Delivery service within 2-4 working days and all other addresses within 10 working days of confirming the order (unless otherwise stated), however sometimes delays do happen and deliveries can take up to 28 days. This can be the case with some Direct Delivery items.
We also have a next working day delivery service available to England and Wales mainland. Please see our delivery page for further details. Next working day delivery orders need to be placed before 16:30. This guarantees Drinkstuff will dispatch your order on a next day service however we do have to rely on a third party courier to deliver within the stated time.
All delivery costs will be shown automatically before you confirm your order. Please click on the delivery page for more information.
Delivery outside the EU may be subject to local import taxes, which is your responsibility where these apply. If they do apply our shipping company should contact you once your goods are in the country to let you know the customs charges. We cannot be held responsible for any charges.
Please be aware that your supplied telephone number may be printed on the delivery label to provide a point of contact if the courier needs to contact you.
Dispatch Methods:
Parcels will be dispatched by either Evri or UK Mail.
Parcels will be sent UK Mail if they are:
- Domestic orders over £150
- Commercial orders over £60
- All orders over 15kg
Parcels sent Evri:
- Domestic orders under £150
- Commercial orders under £60
- All orders under 15kg
All deliveries will be attempted between 8am and 6pm however in busier periods these hours maybe extended.
Some orders, due to their size, will be dispatched using a pallet company. If your order needs to be dispatched by pallet we will contact you directly before dispatching the goods to arrange a suitable delivery time. Please note the order will not be dispatched until we have spoken with you. If you are unavailable on the contact information given at the time of ordering, dispatch will be delayed until you contact us.
If your delivery has not arrived within the time frame specified please contact us by either phone or email and we will do our best to make sure you receive your order, as soon as possible. If there is a problem with a delivery we will need time to communicate and rectify this with the courier. This can take up to seven working days.
We do everything we can to make sure your goods are delivered on time however we cannot be held liable for any late deliveries, as we are relying on a 3rd party courier.
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Please refer to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.
Returns/Guarantees policy
Please go to our complete Returns Policy.
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Other than personally identifiable information, which is covered under the Privacy Policy, any material you transmit or post to www.Drinkstuff.com will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. We will have no obligations with respect to such material. We and our nominees will be free to copy, disclose, distribute, incorporate and otherwise use such material and all data, images, sounds, text and other things embodied therein for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes.
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We will fully co-operate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or locate anyone posting any material in breach of the above clauses in this section.
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Unless otherwise stated, the copyright and other intellectual property rights in all material on this website (including without limitation photographs and graphical images) are owned by us or our licensors. For the purposes of these terms and conditions, any use of extracts from this website other than in accordance with the clause above for any purpose is prohibited. If you breach any of the terms in these terms and conditions, your permission to use this website automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any downloaded or printed extracts from this website.
No part of this website may be reproduced or stored in any other website or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service without our prior written permission.
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Drinkstuff is registered trademark of Drinkstuff (UK Trademark No. 2383087). bar@drinkstuff and dine@drinkstuff is a trademark of Drinkstuff.
These trademarks may not be used by others without our express permission. Trademarks for brands of items displayed on our website belong to their respective owners.
The content of the website is copyright to Drinkstuff and must not be used or copied without our prior written consent. This includes all images, product descriptions, the design and the layout of the website and any other intellectual property.
You may however, as a customer, use the content of this website for private non-commercial use only, with the purposes of placing an order. This includes printing or copying sections of the website. You may not however do this for any other purpose.
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Business accounts are given to business customers who place frequent orders, to receive discounts on selected products.
To apply for a Platinum Account, please go to our Business Sales page.
Platinum Account Terms:
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Any Platinum Account Customers in breach of these terms will be advised directly by Drinkstuff.com. If corrective action is not taken within a reasonable time, then the Platinum Account may be suspended or removed.
Drinkstuff's responsibilities
All product images, descriptions, specifications and dimensions on Drinkstuff.com are accurate to the best of our knowledge. If you believe there to be an error, please contact us.
Links from Drinkstuff.com to external websites: Our website contains links to other websites, which are not under our control and are not maintained by us. These links are provided for your convenience only and we cannot be held responsible for the content of those sites.
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Please read all instructions and manuals carefully, Drinkstuff.com is not involved in manufacturing any products so cannot advise on how to use a product. You are urged to use all products safely and in accordance with the manufacturer guidelines.
These terms and conditions do not affect your statutory rights as a consumer, which are available to you.
Under the U.K criminal justice act 1988 it is an offence to sell knives and certain bladed or pointed articles to persons under 18 years of age.
Use of Drinkstuff.com and these terms and conditions are subject to the law of England and the jurisdiction of the English court.
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Nothing in these terms and conditions shall exclude or limit our liability for (i) death or personal injury caused by negligence (as such term is defined by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977); (ii) fraud; (iii) misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter; or (iv) any liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
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We do not warrant that materials/items for sale on the website are appropriate or available for use outside the United Kingdom. It is prohibited to access the website from territories where its contents are illegal or unlawful. If you access this website from locations outside the United Kingdom, you do so at your own risk and you are responsible for compliance with local laws.
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Only the parties to these terms and conditions may seek to enforce them under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
Contact information
The www.drinkstuff.com website is operated by:
Drinkstuff - A company registered in England and Wales.
Registered office and trading address:
Hampstead Avenue
Bury St. Edmunds
United Kingdom
Our company registration number is 0256 3265
Our VAT registration number is GB188085175
General email: email@example.com
Telephone: 01763 264 280
Office opening hours
Business premises open Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays): 9:00am to 4:30pm
Telephone lines open Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays): 9:00am to 4:30pm
Last update: 20 March 2024 by Duncan Hann
Last reviewed: 10 September 2018 by Claire Bedford


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John Brennan, now President Barack Obama's nominee to be CIA director, sat quietly around a conference table at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Va., during briefings about the capture and waterboarding of key al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah.
Former and current U.S. intelligence officials who were part of those briefings say Brennan, then deputy executive director of the CIA's administrative arm, did not raise objections to the interrogation practices in those forums. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the top-secret meetings publicly.
Brennan's silence may have cost him his first chance to lead the spy agency. He withdrew his name from consideration in 2008 following a stream of complaints that he was tainted by his CIA service during the administration of President George W. Bush, when harsh interrogation techniques like waterboarding came under fire.
But in his letter withdrawing his nomination, Brennan wrote that he'd been a "strong opponent" of the program. Throughout Obama's first term, Brennan added to the body of criticism of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques in his role as Obama's counterterrorism adviser.
The same issue that caused him to withdraw from consideration to be the nation's spy chief is likely to come up again this week as Brennan faces his confirmation hearings in Congress to be director of the CIA.
Brennan declined to be interviewed, as is customary ahead of confirmation hearings.
A senior administration official speaking on Brennan's behalf said Brennan had "significant concerns and personal objections to many elements of the EIT program while it was under way. He voiced those objections privately with colleagues at the agency."
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the nomination publicly, said Brennan spoke out after being named to his current job, where he was "in a position of influence over decisions such as how we handle interrogations, and he advised the president to ban such techniques."
Brennan is likely to be quizzed on his desire to stop the CIA from conducting drone strikes on terror suspects and leave that to the military. He will also probably be asked about a growing feeling in Congress that the administration has too much authority to kill terror suspects, including U.S. citizens.
Some of the former and current U.S. intelligence officials said he was silent during the Bush administration because it wasn't his place to object to a White House-approved policy that was run by another CIA department. Others said he could have objected to any subject raised at any briefing in keeping with CIA custom.
Brennan moved from his job as deputy executive CIA director in 2003 to become director of the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, and then interim director of its next incarnation, the National Counterterrorism Center. When Bush's second term began, Brennan left government to run The Analysis Corp., which provides counterterror analysis to government agencies, from 2005 to 2008. After Obama's election, he returned to the government payroll, in 2009, as the White House counterterror czar.
"Tactics such as waterboarding were not in keeping with our values as Americans, and these practices have been rightly terminated and should not and will not happen again," Brennan said in an August 2009 speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But Brennan's previous public statements suggest he may have felt the program was both necessary, and useful, at the time.
Waterboarding is a technique in which interrogators typically wrap a cloth over a restrained suspect's face and pour water on the cloth at timed intervals to simulate the sensation of drowning.
In a 2006 interview with the PBS program "Frontline," Brennan said, "When it comes to individuals who are determined to destroy our nation, though, we have to make sure that we take every possible measure."
In a CBS News interview in 2007, Brennan acknowledged that the practices came close to torture, but he seemed to defend them. "There has been a lot of information that has come out from these interrogation procedures that the agency has, in fact, used against the real hard-core terrorists," Brennan said. "It has saved lives."
But in his first year in the Obama White House, Brennan offered a different view.
"Such practices not only fail to advance our counterterrorism efforts, they actually set back our efforts," he said in the 2009 speech. "They are a recruitment bonanza for terrorists, increase the determination of our enemies and decrease the willingness of other nations to cooperate with us."
One close associate of Brennan said his thinking evolved, as did that of many in the intelligence service. Panicked strategy sessions where CIA officers grasped at untried methods to speed up the intelligence cycle, under the pressure of the threat of another 9/11-style attack, gave way to the longer war. That second major attack did not materialize, and U.S. intelligence officials saw the news reports of harsh interrogation used against the U.S., fueling militant jihadist recruitment drives.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has signaled she will support Brennan's nomination, but congressional staffers say both she and her Republican counterparts will ask Brennan to explain publicly if he objected to the interrogation program and how, and whether he believes it produced any useful intelligence.
Feinstein's committee just produced a 6,000-page classified report on the interrogation program that says it did not.
The CIA program authorized intelligence officers to capture al-Qaida suspects and hold them around the world without charge, and interrogate them using techniques such as sleep deprivation and waterboarding,
The California senator wants the White House's support to declassify part of the document and let it become part of the argument against the program, congressional aides said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The administration and the CIA are both reviewing the report.
Feinstein has also demanded that the CIA share evidence backing up public statements that the program helped track down terrorist leader Osama bin Laden — proof she said her investigators could not find in the agency's report.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a member of the Intelligence Committee, also asked Brennan to react "to the report's revelation that the CIA repeatedly provided inaccurate information about its interrogation program to the White House, the Justice Department and Congress."
"This is about how Brennan will lead. What is he going to do about the fact that the White House and the Congress were lied to?" said Andrea Prasow, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch. "A commitment to disclosing that study will go a long way to showing he wants oversight."
Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., complained that Brennan would not go into the subject in a closed-door meeting with senators last week.
"He hadn't reviewed the report at all," but promised to review it before Thursday's hearings, Udall said.
"I understand that he may not see it in his or the CIA's interests to criticize the very agency that he hopes to lead, but I see this as an opportunity for Mr. Brennan to correct the record."
Among those listening closely to how Brennan explains his evolving statements to the senators will be CIA officers past and present, including those who helped craft the interrogation program.
John McLaughlin, who served as acting CIA director during Brennan's CIA tenure, said if asked, Brennan won't hold back or sugarcoat.
"John and I were discussing how to share a really difficult piece of news with the president," McLaughlin said of a conversation with Brennan during their time at the CIA. "John said, 'My dad always said the best policy is to tell the truth.' So that's what we did."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press
Copyright 2013 Capitol Hill Blue
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Princeton seniors Justine Drennan and Sukrit Silas have been awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarships, which give outstanding students from outside the United Kingdom an opportunity to pursue postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge.
Drennan and Silas are among 90 winners of the Gates Cambridge Scholarships from around the world.
Drennan, who is from San Mateo, Calif., is majoring in history and earning a certificate in visual arts. At Cambridge she plans to study for a master's degree in international relations, with a focus on Uighur and Han Chinese ethnic interactions in China's Xinjiang region, and on their relationship with the Chinese government's policies. Eventually she would like to work as an international journalist.
She received a Stone/Davis Prize from the Davis Center for Historical Studies for her thesis research on Chinese and Irish workers on the transcontinental railroad in 2010; a Fred Fox Princeton Class of '39 grant for study abroad through Hertford College's Visiting Student Program at the University of Oxford in 2010; and an Edwin Ferris Princeton Class of 1899 Grant for a journalism internship in 2009. Drennan also is a member of the Tigressions a cappella group, for which she previously served as music director, and is a member of the Chapel Choir. She and Silas are both members of the International Food Co-op.
Silas, who is from Delhi, India, is majoring in molecular biology and earning a certificate in applied and computational mathematics. At Cambridge he will study for a master's degree in pathology. After that he will pursue a Ph.D. in immunology at Stanford University through a Stanford Graduate Fellowship and eventually plans to work in academic research or public policy in India.
At Princeton he has served as a peer academic adviser for incoming freshmen and a peer tutor. He also served as treasurer and alumni relations chair for the International Relations Council, a forum for debating global issues. His research on fruit flies as a model to study the pathogenesis of fungal infections will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms.
In addition to Drennan and Silas, this year's Gates Cambridge Scholarship recipients include two Princeton graduate alumni: Luis Perez-Simon, who earned a master's degree in Spanish and Portuguese languages and cultures in 2005, and Kathryn Schoefert, who earned a master's degree in architecture in 2006.
The awards were established in 2001 through a $210 million donation to the University of Cambridge from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Recipients are selected on the basis of intellectual ability, leadership potential and desire to improve the lives of others.


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These are some cool hidden talents that I've developed after years of working with children. Some are talents I never knew I had, and some are talents I never really wanted.
I can tell who had Mexican food for dinner after one quick walk through around the room.
I can quiet a room in three claps and three snaps.
I can tie ten pairs of shoes in less than two minutes-double knotted.
I can recall the first name of any previous student one minute into a conversation. (It takes tad bit longer if it's during a Oregon State tailgating party at Smith Stadium.)
I can keep a straight face when Jack tells me the reason he is scratching is because his penis is stuck in his booty.
I can read the whole story that Claire wrote even though she used a few letters, some numbers, and a couple of Chinese symbols she learned from Hong-Bo. (Pssst…it always helps to use the pictures to guide you.)
I can read aloud a picture book, reach into my pocket and hand a child a tissue for a large deposit while never missing a beat in the story. (That took some practice.)
I can fly across the room with a garbage can in less than 15 seconds without knocking over any kids.
Put me in a room with 24 five-year-olds for 2 hours, and I can tell you who's an only child.
I can get permanent marker, glitter glue, paint and colored pencils off any table in the classroom. (I know where the janitor hides the good stuff.)
I can put the teeny tiny arms and legs onto the lego-man's body with one snap. I don't even need my reading glasses for that.
I know who's decided to "borrow" the lego-man for the night after one quick glance around the group that is sitting criss-cross applesauce on the carpet.
I can swoop, make the pick-up, and swing around the child who's ready to cry after her mommy left. Sometimes we even make it to the prize box. (Whoever said bribery doesn't work has never worked with children.)
I can steer a conversation from animals to mammals to rabbits having babies to baby sisters to something not appropriate and back to animals smoother than any NASCAR driver out there. (Let's see Dale Earnhardt Junior do that!)
I can take a dead guinea pig to our resident guinea pig mother, replace it with one that looks NOTHING like the other one, and teach the children about guinea pig magic without skipping a beat. (Her name is Mrs. Smythe- and she knows everything there is about guinea pigs! As far as the harsh realities of life- they have plenty of time to learn about that.)


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Could these possibly be the last of the strawberries for the year?
It seems not too long ago that we were just getting excited about the start of the strawberry season. Spending quite a few days at our pick-your-own strawberry farm on the way home from work and school became customary.
However a couple of weeks ago as we made our way to the fields both Soeren and I were saddened by the sight of a small tractor turning the soil over and preparing the individual patches for the next season – next year!
Our favorite patch on the field had been trimmed and laid to rest, but the farmer's wife pointed us to a lone patch at the far end of the field and told us we might be able to find a few there. Alas, although we did find a few, they were not enough to really bring home. Instead, we gathered what we found and then made our way back to the car where we sat with the boot open and munched the few fistfuls of the juicy fruit.
It did not take long for the tractor to make its way to that patch, working its way like a fierce giant treading all that came in its way flat. Simultaneously, Soeren and I let out a forlorn sigh. We both were recalling the lovely day we spent with 3 of his friends at the field just a few days earlier.
It was a hot and muggy afternoon and the house echoed with the giggles and squeaks of pre-teens. Soeren had three friends over and after spending most of the morning outdoors, were taking refuge in the coolness of his room. Usher played on the radio and the four kids seemed to be getting nosier by the minute. As I tried to concentrate on some paperwork, the combination of rising temperatures combatting against the rising pandemonium in Soeren's room became impossible.
Shutting my notebook, I told the four to put their shoes on as we were going on a little trip. I revel at the sight of sparkles in the eyes of 10 year olds when adventure or mystery lies ahead and I piped on that tune like the Pied Piper to lure them into the car.
As we neared the fields I told them what their mission was.
"A Tart – not just any tart but THE perfect strawberry tart is in the planning. As the best Strawberry Agents in Weimar, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find the juiciest and plumpest strawberries on the field. But be aware: there are other strawberries camouflaged as juicy strawberries but a closer look reveals them to be moldy, mushy and tasteless. Your weapons: bamboo strawberry baskets, your bare hands and your mouths. Make sure you devour as many of the strawberries before you use the baskets. Wish you all the best with your Strawberry Mission"
Off they hastened giggling, but fully submerged in their new role of Strawberry Agents on their strawberry mission. I watched them chattering away, squealing at the sight of the right fruit.
"No! These are too big! Look here are so many!"
"Oh look these are so red!"
"No no – they do not taste good enough for the tart"
And in this way a few hours passed and we came home with about 4 kilos of the juiciest and sweetest strawberries of the season. In these few hours I was able to put together a couple of ideas I had whizzing in my head for a tart and our teamwork proved to be extremely fruitful.
Back at home I prepped the ingredients and the kids helped to weigh, cut and mix. Rolling out the pastry, whisking the filling and cutting the strawberries, the mission continued into the afternoon. Finally when I put the tart together, 4 pairs of gleaming eyes looked at me with big beaming grins.
Their mission was a success!
I simply adore strawberries with thick creamy custard and the idea for this tart is inspired from this. I add ground hazelnuts to the pastry as I find nuts give a pastry case that extra bite. The filling for the best strawberries was to be something luxurious and the creaminess of a smooth crème pâtissière just beckoned me. I did not go through the task of using a bain-marie for the custard though, with the kids all in the kitchen, I opted to heat it very gently in a saucepan. It's a simple and easy to put together kind of tart without much hassle of a complicated pastry crust. Brilliant for Strawberry Agents waiting to devour the most perfect strawberry tart ever!
Printable version of recipe here
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 10
For the pastry
- 140g all-purpose flour
- 50g ground hazelnuts
- 100g butter, cubed
- 50g fine granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 350ml whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
- 4 egg yolks
- 100g brown sugar
- 25g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 500g strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered depending on size
- 4 tablespoons strawberry jelly
- Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees C.
- In a food processor add flour, hazelnuts and butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add the sugar and mix briefly. Add the egg yolk and 1-2 tablespoons cold water, then pulse to a firm dough.
- Knead the dough briefly on a lightly floured surface, then roll out and line a 24cm tart form with the dough. Using a sharp knife, trim off the excess pastry, then chill for 15 mins.
- Line pastry case with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 mins, then remove the paper and beans and cook for a further 5-7 mins until the pastry is cooked and pale golden. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, make the crème pâtissière placing the milk and vanilla pod in a large pan and bringing it to the boil. Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar for 10 minutes until voluminous and thick, then beat in the flour and lemon zest. Strain the warm milk slowly into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Clean the pan, then pour the mixture back in and gently bring to the boil on a low heat, stirring constantly until it has thickened. Take the pan off the heat, cover the surface of the crème pâtissière with baking paper and leave to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar for 10 minutes until voluminous and thick, then beat in the flour and lemon zest. Strain the warm milk slowly into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Clean the pan, then pour the mixture back in and gently bring to the boil on a low heat, stirring constantly until it has thickened. Take the pan off the heat, cover the surface of the crème pâtissière with baking paper and leave to cool.
- Spoon the crème pâtissière into the tart, then level the surface with the back of a spoon. Scatter the strawberries over the crème pâtissière until it is completely covered by the fruit.
- Gently warm the jelly with 2 tablespoons water until melted, brush over the strawberries and leave for 2 minutes to set. Serve.
Notes: Strawberries scream summer and in my Food Guide you will find great tips on selecting, storing and preparing strawberries.
A divine variation for all the chocolate addicts is a chocolate pastry cream by Pierre Hermé.
A rich buttery hazelnut pastry embracing luscious strawberries and creamy custard filling for an unbeatable summer feeling, this tart is for connoisseurs who like to indulge in a bit of luxury. Although it's an easy tart to create, it provides some extravagant flavors. Only the best strawberries will make this worthwhile as the tart is loaded with the fresh fruit. Hold on the last of the summer … it'll be gone before you know it.
Strawberry Link Love
Honey Balsamic Strawberry Galette by Hannah of Honey & Jam
Strawberry Shortcakes by Naomi of Bakers Royale
Strawberry Hues Design Seed
Strawberry Music Festival at Yosemite National Park
Monochromatic Monday: Strawberry Shortcake by Camille Styles
and of course the divine
Strawberry Mascarpone Whipped Cream Tart by Jamie of Life's A Feast
I've started to long overdue and much needed blog maintenance - its going slowly - very slowly but one of the first things I wanted to tackle was to add a designated page for all the workshops I am teaching and have taught. You'll find the Workshops page on the navigation bar above for easy access. This page will be updated to add all the upcoming workshops and for an easier overview of all the past workshops and their reviews,
Don't forget you can still join us for the A Taste of Yellow - A Tribute to Barbara Harris till August 11th, 2012. Our August Mingle will be announced shortly over at the lovely Zizi's Adventures , who has chosen a fantastic and fun theme. Make sure to keep yourself updated.
Hold-on-to-summer tart ideas from WFLH:
Apricot and Pistachio Frangipane Tart | Bakewell Tart with Thyme Infused Cherry Preserve and Cashew Frangipane | Minty Peach & Cardamom Goat Cheese Tart |
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2012 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First