Tag: Ask Roger Anything

Ask Roger about Gooey Swedish Cake

a little bit more cooked than not

gooeyI’m regularly asking you to Ask Roger Anything. And I will.

Before that, though, I figure I should GIVE you something. A few months ago, ,a href=”http://amerinz.blogspot.com/” target=_new>Arthur suggested, “Maybe you could try cooking recipes you haven’t before and posting a photo and then talk about it?” Well, no picture, but here’s a recipe for Gooey 6-Ingredient Swedish Cake from one of my nieces.

Just over ½ cup, or 1¼ sticks salted butter
½ cups cocoa powder unsweetened
1¾ cups sugar
1 cup plain flour (wee bit less than a full cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs lightly whisked

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Line/grease the bottom of a 7-9 inch springform cake pan.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then take off the heat and set aside.
Add the cocoa, sugar, flour, and vanilla to the butter and stir a little. Then add the eggs and stir everything together until well combined.
Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is set but the center is still gooey (the top should be firm but crack under a little pressure from your finger). (We generally favored it a little bit more cooked than not)
Let the cake cool in the pan, then run a knife between the pan and the cake to loosen it and remove sides from pan. Dust generously with cocoa powder or powdered sugar and serve warm with ice cream or cream.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post

Ask Roger Anything is that thing I post regularly. Occasionally, I receive questions that have really stumped me. Or made me kind of uncomfortable. Or forced me to contemplate things I didn’t want to contemplate. MORE, MORE! I’ll generally reply to your questions in the next month.

As usual, you can leave any of your questions and/or suggestions, in the comments section of this blog or on Facebook or Twitter; for the latter, my name is ersie. Always look for the duck.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, that is acceptable. However, you need to SAYE THAT specifically. E-mail me at rogerogreen (AT) gmail (DOT) com, or send me an IM on FB and note that you want to be unnamed; otherwise, I’ll assume you want me to make you as famous, or gooey, as Betty Crocker.

Recipes, rocks? Ask Roger Anything

bread recipe included

Tim CurryLast month, I noted that sometimes it’s difficult to come up with topics here because I’m not going anywhere. Arthur kindly made suggestions.

“Maybe you could try cooking recipes you haven’t before and posting a photo and then talk about it? Or maybe spread some rocks. Apparently, those sorts of things give some people to talk about or they wouldn’t blog at all.”

Hmm. I suppose I could do the cooking thing. Before the pandemic, there was this segment on CBS This Morning Saturday called The Dish. It would have chefs bring out a panoply of delicious-looking items. Often, the items were from their recent books. I’m not sure that I know how to write about food that would be interesting enough for me.

Still, every other person seems to be baking bread. Here’s a recipe for The Best Super Soft and Chewy Hoagie Bread Rolls that one of my wife’s sisters-in-law sent along. I haven’t made it.

I do the rock, myself

Or maybe I can try the tried and true method of having you all Ask Roger Anything. I’ve already shared my favorite recipe. The only thing I’ve ever done with rocks is to skip them across a river. But maybe you want my recipe for stone soup; that topic combines recipes and rocks. I’ll even answer your queries, most likely in the next 30 days.

Per usual, you can leave any of your questions and/or suggestions, in the comments section of this blog or on Facebook or Twitter; for the latter, my name is ersie. Always look for the duck.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, that is allowable. However, you need to STATE THAT specifically. E-mail me at rogerogreen (AT) gmail (DOT) com, or send me an IM on FB and note that you want to be unnamed; otherwise, I’ll assume you want your name emblazed on the rock I’m painting.

Odd habits: Ask Roger Anything

eggs

odd eggYou could Ask Roger Anything. About his odd habits, for instance. Of course, he might tell you that he has no odd habits. This would mean one of two possibilities. Either he’s totally self-unaware or he’s lying.

Is my sleeping pattern a habit? Here’s an article about sleeping in two shifts. This is definitely me, especially in the last year. So if I’m writing to you at 3 a.m., my time, it’s likely that I just got up, read my email, and will probably go to bed in a half hour.

I have had the habit of playing music related to the birthdays of the musicians. But in retirement, I have fallen well behind. I used to play 6-10 CDs at work each day, but I’m not at home now nearly as much as I was at work then.

OK, I suppose this is odd. When I take eggs out of a carton, I remove a egg from one end, then the one from the opposite corner. The last eggs in the carton are in the middle. This has something to with me once dropping a carton because I grabbed it at one end, which was empty, and I didn’t anticipate a half dozen at the other end.

The ask

Want to know more odd habits, or anything else about me? This is your lucky day! It’s that time again for you to Ask Roger Anything. I mean anything. Based on my track record, I’ll even take the time to answer them, most likely within a month. That’s the swell guy I am!

Per usual, you can leave any of your questions and/or suggestions, in the comments section of this blog or on Facebook or Twitter; for the latter, my name is ersie. Always look for the duck.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can do that. However, you need to SAY so specifically. E-mail me at rogerogreen (AT) gmail (DOT) com, or send me an IM on FB and note that you want to be unnamed; otherwise, I’ll assume you want your moniker to be noted.

Peachy version of Ask Roger Anything

Pseudonyms also work

peachA few years ago, my church had a gathering for people experiencing the Christmas blues. I didn’t go, but I understand it wasn’t well-attended, so it fell by the wayside. I never believed it was from a lack of need.

There is surely a market. I think a lot of people feel OBLIGATED to act peachy-keen about the holidays.

They may be financially underwater or stressed about getting the perfect gift. Loneliness is often a factor at this time of year, ironically. Grief and estrangement are huge during the holidays. I have to actively work against the melancholy, myself.

Let me tell you what makes me feel just a little peachier at this time of year. It’s when I use my solstice powers to request that you Ask Roger Anything. If you do so, I am obliged to answer, generally within four weeks.

A wide variety

You could ask about impeachment or peach melba or the book James and the Giant Peach, though I have, in fact, never read it. The Allman Brothers album Eat a Peach or the duo Peaches and Herb or songs referencing the fruit. Or a different fruit. Or even vegetables.

Think of this as a method of social interaction that could alleviate your stress and mine. If you’d rather, vent that frustration over family gatherings, as you bite your lip not saying the wrong thing. Or saying it. You could share it here.

Per usual, you can leave any of your questions and/or suggestions, in the comments section of this blog or on Facebook or Twitter; for the latter, my name is ersie. Always look for the duck.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, that’s ducky, but you need to state that specifically. E-mail me at rogerogreen (AT) gmail (DOT) com, or send me an IM on FB and note that you want to be unnamed; otherwise, I’ll assume you want to share your identity. Pseudonyms also work.

Dems lying about Trump’s racism?

“bound together in love and loyalty, friendship and affection.”

Trump.racist..Newsweek coverHey, I said you can Ask Roger Anything. Someone I know IRL sent me this link from Fox News – “Deroy Murdock: Dem presidential candidates lie when they claim Trump is a racist.” The subtitle: “Democrats love to call President Trump a ‘racist.’ It’s a lie fanned by the Old Guard media that contributes to the poison of division choking America.” I’m not connecting to it, but you can find it if you want.

“These and other Democrats deliberately ignore the 25 or more instances in which Trump condemned racism, denounced white nationalism, attacked anti-Semitism, applauded Jews, embraced blacks, praised Muslims, and preached national unity and love among Americans, from coast to coast.” These include calls against white supremacy after the El Paso shootings, and generic good wishes during Black History Month or Ramadan.

This is a lot to unpack. First off, I reject the notion that the candidates are “lying.” They are expressing opinions. I mean, “What IS racist anyway?”, which I tried to address.

Next, the notion that the MSM is “fanning” the flames suggests something that isn’t accurate. I’ve watched the evening news on two networks (CBS, NBC) at least five days a week for several years. Many people, and I am among them, had been exasperated by the media saying he said something “racially tinged.” It’s been only fairly recently when a report noted when a “racist” comment had been made.

I have said I believe he is racist. This does not reflect a few events or policies but rather a systemic pattern of behavior.

An Example

One of the positive examples Murdock, citing a National Review article, mentions is this: “All Americans, whether first-generation or tenth generation, are bound together in love and loyalty, friendship and affection.” This was at a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on January 19, 2019.

“We are all equal. We are one team, and one people, proudly saluting one great American flag. We believe in a safe and lawful system of immigration, one that upholds our laws, our traditions, and our most cherished values.” Yet his policy on LEGAL immigration belies his rhetoric.

In other words, his words are often not to be believed. In other words – yes, I’m going to use the same L-word here, so brace yourselves – he lies. He prevaricates about issues consequential and irrelevant. He states mistruths about foreign policy and weather maps.

On Full Frontal, there is The Well-Documented Case of Trump’s Undocumented Employees. One of them called him “a hypocrite, a liar, racist.”

“My African-American”

The man he once called ‘my African American’ leaves the Republican Party, with harsh words on his way out. “My African-American,” BTW, is, at best, cringeworthy.

His “attacks on the congresswomen of color in The Squad were the breaking point for… Gregory Cheadle. [He] has not only broken with the Republican Party, he’s running for Congress as an independent.

“President Trump is a rich guy who is mired in white privilege to the extreme,” Cheadle told PBS Newshour. “Republicans are too sheepish to call him out on anything and they are afraid of losing their positions and losing any power themselves.”

“Cheadle is calling out the ‘pro-white’ agenda of Republicans, and he’s come to have second thoughts about his initial response to [Trump’s characterization] ‘I wonder to what extent he said that for political gain or for attention.’ Don’t wonder!”

Still, if you are uncomfortable with labeling him “racist,” that’s fine by me. Former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile recently said that she often has trouble from people angry because she will not label [him] as a racist… She thinks it is time for citizens to have a ‘conversation’ without resorting to name-calling.

“Brazile said, as a woman of color, people, and not only Democrats, expect to hear she thinks [he] is a racist, but racism, ‘America’s original sin, slavery,’ is something that everyone has to deal with.” This is no doubt true.

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