Recipe - Belgian Embassy - Beer Meatballs

RECIPE Meatballs with Lambic (Beer) (Recipe courtesy of the Embassy of Belgium) Ingredients for 4 persons: - 350 g minced veal (or minced beef if veal unavailable) - 100 g minced chicken - 250 g minced pork - 2 slices of white bread - 25 cl lambic beer - 20 cl olive oil - 50 g butter - 1 egg, slightly beaten - salt, pepper, nutmeg - 2 spoons of chopped parsley - 1 shallot, 1 garlic clove, finely chopped - 20 g all-purpose flour - juice of half a lemon Preparation: 1. Cut the bread (using the inside of the loaf, without the crust) in small pieces and brown it with 4 spoons of beer. After a little while squeeze it to extract the remaining liquid. 2. At the same time heat 2 spoons of olive oil in a non-stick wok, add 20gr butter and brown the finely chopped clove of garlic and the shallot until it becomes transparent. 3. Bring 1 and 2 in a large bowl together with the three kinds of minced meat, the slightly beaten egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well. 4. Dip fingers in flour and shape 8 meatballs without compressing too much. 5. Heat some olive oil and one spoon of butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the meatballs, add the remainder of the beer, the 1/2 lemon juice and one pinch of caster sugar. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 min. 6. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon, and keep warm under aluminum foil. 7. Reduce the cooking juices by half over high heat. Transfer the remaining liquid in another bowl through a sieve. Off the heat, whisk the butter in and stir well to obtain a creamy sauce. 8. Serve with roasted potatoes and a lettuce heart with a touch of vinegar. source http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20150824p2a00m0na015000c.html ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Even though I feel guilty eating meat, I like the sound of these. I'd probably adapt the recipe, because I couldn't be stuffed playing around with 3 different types of mince. ꕤ

Cuba's Going Down

Total overdose of information.  Winding down. Big news for a while has been the Sony Hack.  Don't know what the big deal is, save that it's amusing. CUBA Other big news is US moving towards being 'pals' with Cuba. US plans to reopen its embassy in Havana & US to significantly ease restrictions on travel and commerce. >> http://bernews.com/2014/12/cuba/ OBAMA: "today we are making these changes because it is the right thing to do". Anyone who believes the US does anything because it's the 'right thing to do' is an idiot.  There's got to be some agenda here. It appears the Vatican is still involving itself in politics. Vatican has long supported US-CUBA "normalisation of relations"  -- http://www.aleteia.org/en/world/article/the-churchs-long-standing-interest-in-normalizing-us-cuba-relations-5881514080337920 Sounds like USA getting foothold in Cuba through manipulation of religion / Catholic Church. US politicians speak out against closer ties with ‘Castro regime’ - http://on.rt.com/7wfprw Cuba Opposed US politicians: >John McCain >Lindsey Graham >Jeb Bush >Robert Menendez >Ted Cruz > House Speaker John Boehner also jumped on-board criticising US move to 'normalise' relations with Cuba >Florida Gov. Rick Scott is sharply criticizing Obama over his plans to normalise relations with Cuba --  http://www.bradenton.com/2014/12/17/5537543/gov-scott-rips-president-obama.html All this opposition is for show.  Don't be coy, guys, you know you want Cuba.  Meanwhile, Ecuador celebrates the decision to free x3 Cuban heroes from US prison & looks forward to new regional relations --  http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Ecuador-Celebrates-Freedom-of-Cuban-5-20141217-0049.html Cuban5  >>  x3 released in exchange for the release of USAID contractor Alan Gross - http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Ecuador-Celebrates-Freedom-of-Cuban-5-20141217-0049.html Obama's annual Hanukkah White House bash: small acts can make miracles ... Cuban5 -- Obama tied themes of Hanukkah to return of Alan Gross, a Jewish-American released by Cuba after five years in captivity.  >>   http://www.kjrh.com/news/national/obama-on-hanukkah-says-small-acts-can-make-miracles_06062097_ Call me cynical, but I think Obama might be hustling some Jewish votes for the Democrats.  UNNAMED US SPY: Cuba is releasing unnamed US spy imprisoned for nearly 20 years - http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20141217/ARTICLES/141219887?Title=Cuba-releasing-spy-for-US-in-move-to-restore-ties UNNAMED US SPY TO BE RELEASED: 1.  provided information:  identification & conviction of Ana Belen Montes (former senior analyst at the Defence Intelligence Agency).  Montes arrested in 2001 on charges of spying for Cuba -  serving a 25-year prison sentence. 2. helped prosecute:  retired State Department intelligence analyst Walter Kendall Myers & his wife, Gwendolyn, convicted in 2010 of spying for Cuba & are serving life in prison without parole. Unnamed US spy: Instrumental in US Cuba spy convictions: >Ana Belen Montes - 25yrs sentence >Walter Kendall Myers - 30yrs sentence >Gwendolyn Myers (wife) - 30yrs sentence Another Blogger's view (akahnnyc):  US goal in Cuba is eradication of Cuban Revolution & destruction of independent sovereign socialism. US embassy in Havana is a post for WA spooks to guide hand-picked neo-liberal "reformers" to seize control of a neutered Communist Party. Cuba be advised to stand by for a "sick, twisted Communist Disneyland" & no healthcare, education or social safety net. Will Cuba allow quicksand of imperialism & capitalism to envelop them, by not assuring future of socialism in Cuba? Slippery slope destruction of socialism:  US empire may count future successes as children beg in the streets outside Sheraton hotel in downtown Havana. USA - charge d’affaires: USA career foreign-service officer, at US mission Cuba -- Jeffrey DeLaurentis -- gets promotion to charge d’affaires   >>  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/18/our-man-in-havana-for-real.html Jeffrey DeLaurentis described as: >career foreign-service officer >measured & cautious diplomat >businesslike >Prior Cuba & UN experience. It looks as though "Democracy in the Americas" has been lobbying for US policy change, from a humanitarian angle  >>  http://www.democracyinamericas.org/cuba/ And it looks like CIA is all over Cuba: CIA - USAID's secret Cuban hip-hop project - http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7c275c134f1b4a0ca3428929fcece82d/us-co-opted-cubas-hip-hop-scene-spark-change US focus in Cuba is to continue to improve human rights & democratic reforms, with the stated aim of:   political, economic & social freedoms.  Same humanitarian pretext.  No word on any other aims, of course. Voice of America & Radio Marti  International Broadcasting Bureau - CIA spin-off Runs Voice of America & Radio Marti propaganda for subverting Cuba’s communist regime *Now operates under the Broadcasting Board of Governors Pando  -  http://pando.com/2014/07/16/tor-spooks/ PREVIOUSLY UNIDENTIFIED US SPY TRADED, NOW NAMED: Rolando “Roly” Sarraff Trujillo cryptography expert for Cubans - http://www.matthewaid.com/post/105516524231/our-man-in-havana-rolando-roly-sarraff-trujillo "only thing that saved him from execution was the fact that both his parents were retired senior intelligence officers" ... and maybe the fact that you can't trade dead spies. Although I'm curious why US would want him.  Not sure what practical use a busted spy is.  After 20 years in prison, the cryptography skills might be a bit rusty. Terrorism Obama has initiated review of  Cuba designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. [John Kerry] US Cuba Recipe: * NGO - Humanitarian Spin * Religious leverage * Media / Communications influence * CIA meddling * USAID spies So what does this mean?  Looks like this is the beginning of the end.  Che Guevara died for nothing.  No cause is worth dying for. [Excuse typos or if this doesn't make sense.  Sleep deprivation.  Totally wrecked.]

Libyan Exodus

Libya: UK Embassy Closes As Security Worsens 9:19am UK, Saturday 02 August 2014 Dozens of people are evacuated from Libya by the Greek military as the fighting intensifies and the UK Embassy is closed. The British Embassy in Libya has suspended all operations and staff are leaving the country - due to a recent upsurge in violence. ... Militias are now holding increasing sway in the country as the central government, police and military have lost much of their authority. They have filled a power vacuum that was left after the ousting of long time dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Fighting between rival militias has escalated over the past two weeks, prompting many western governments to pull their diplomats out of the country. A British Embassy convoy was fired at during an attempted carjacking on Sunday, resulting in all UK nationals being urged to leave the country immediately. Many UK diplomatic staff were evacuated earlier this week after intense fighting near the embassy compound but now the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] has said it will suspend its consulate once it has assisted the departure of British nationals. ...The United States shut its embassy last Saturday and evacuated its diplomats by road to neighbouring Tunisia under the protection of F16 fighter jets. On Friday, several explosions were heard and plumes of smoke seen in Libya's second largest city Benghazi, thought to be from air attacks by a renegade general on the bases of Islamic militias. A coalition of Islamic militias had captured a number of army bases in Benghazi, the city that was the main headquarters for the opposition during resistance to Gaddafi. Meanwhile, in the capital Tripoli, other rival militias have been battling for weeks over control of its airport. Foreign nationals who were forced to flee Libya as the fighting intensified, arrived in Athens on Saturday morning aboard the Greek navy ship Salamis. ...  http://news.sky.com/story/1311882/libya-uk-embassy-closes-as-security-worsens

That sounds pretty full on.

Guess the ambassadors to the Middle East are the ones that have drawn the short straws.