NPR buries election lede, then says, "Oops? Did we do that?"

On NPR Morning Edition, Michelle Norris was interviewing Tim Storey, a political scientist with elections expertise. The subject was how conservative interests had worked hard to control redistricting, further eroding the possibility that liberals might ever regain governing authority. She had the nerve to ask, "Did the mainstream media bury the lede on this election?" Gods, I wanted to yell at her: YES, you idiot, you and your ilk helped bury the main story because you were too busy giggling over Christine O'Donnell, Sharon Angle, and the guy who dressed up like a Nazi. Liberal websites have only been screaming about this issue for months.

And it's not just redistricting. The number of conservative school board members soared this election. Be prepared to waste precious hours explaining why your kids shouldn't be taught "intelligent design" or shamed into participating in religious events, while other nations get on with the real business of teaching their kids science, math, and multiple languages.

So much for the so-called liberal media.

(p.s. NPR, your transcripter apparently doesn't know that the word is spelled "lede": lede :the introductory section of a story.)

Apparently, I have found the perfect formula for feeding Kouryou-chan

Saturday night, I cooked Alton Brown's Swedish Meatball recipe, along with egg noodles and roasted brussel sprouts doused in vinegar and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The only substitutions I made were: I used ghee instead of clarifying the butter myself, and challah instead of white bread, since we didn't have any white bread in the house.

Although she didn't like the brussel sprouts (trim, halve, and drown in olive oil, then place cut side face-down to a pan and roast at 375°F for fifteen minutes, then flip and roast an additional ten; drizzle with balsamic vinegar and bacon bits), the meatballs vanished and she went back for seconds. Goodness, have I found something savory that Kouryou-chan likes? That's unpossible!

Even better, she ate the leftovers for lunch Sunday.

Experiment #1 in slow-cooked oatmeal: modest failure

Omaha bought a new bag of "steel-cut oatmeal," which is basically chopped groats. I've never had the stuff soften enough to be edible, so I decided to try it in a slow-cooker overnight. It's supposed to be even better for ya than the roller-flattened oats that most people are familiar with. (Actually, I suspect most folkes are familiar with the roller-flattened and then spin-cut stuff marketed as "instant," where all the fiber has been destroyed by the secondary cutting process to make it absorb moisture faster, but the physiology-related nutritional value has been destroyed.)

It worked, at least as far as softening was concerned. But it makes twice as much food, measured by dry volume, as any added sweetener is so fully absorbed as to be undetectable, making today's breakfast very bland. I'll try it again, but next time with half as much oats.

More cooking: Pico de gallo

Getting more vegetables into yourself while also cutting back on the food budget can be a challenge, so my challenge for the weekend was to make home-made pico de gallo.

I used 1/2 white onion, 1 large tomato, and one seeded jalapeno, all diced very small. To that I added handfuls each of cilantro, parsley, and basil (because they were in the 'fridge and I had to use them up), juice of one lime, and salt and pepper.

There wasn't enough tomato to overcome the onions, but I kinda liked it that way. The basil and parsley added a wonderful smell to recipe, and it made just about the best relish I could imagine for a cooked sweet italian sausage lunch.