Just passing on a quick link to anyone following the alternative energy gossip. An approach on how to use and store solar energy after the sun’s hours by mimicking the plants ability to manipulate oxygen. Read about MIT’s recent researcher here.

This one today is for all you that still drink coffee in the summertime, sipping a hot cup o joe outside your neighborhood cafe or underneath your own home version of the sun’s heavy rays. Nothing else is like having a little snack during the fun, and the Italian twice baked cookies can be a treat (and a meal) in itself.

Photo by andreas hagerman

Biscotti

Makes about 30 cookies.

Ingredients

• 10 ounces bread flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 ounces white bread crumbs
• 4 ounces whole almonds, with skin
• 4 ounces whole hazelnuts, with skin
• 1/8 cup Orange Juice
• 1/2 tea. Orange flower water
• 1/2 tea. vanilla extract
• 2-3 eggs
• Egg wash
• Crystal sugar

Procedure

1. Combine Flour and baking soda and sift.
2. Add sugar and bread crumbs and combine at low speeds
3. Mix in almonds and hazelnuts. You can toast them before hand if you like that kind of flavor.
4. Combine orange juice, orange flower water, vanilla, and eggs and add to the dry gradually. Mix for about 1 minute or until dough is firm.
5. Separate dough into uniform halves for easier working and roll each half into a uniform rope, a little over a foot or so long.
6. Place ropes onto sheet pans lined with baking paper. Brush on egg wash and sprinkle with crystal sugar.
7. Bake at 350 F until golden (about 25 minutes).
8. Let cool. At least wait an hour but leaving them overnight will produce a better result.
9. Slice ropes into cookies on a diagona, placing the cut-side down on sheet pans lined with baking paper.
10. Bake 375 F until golden around the edges ( about 15 minutes).

Once cooled down you can dip them into melted chocolate for some added delight. Bo Friberg suggests in The Professional Pastry Chef that it is worthwhile to temper real chocolate instead of coating chocolate.

Cookies will last 2-3 weeks in an airtight container.

Now that we have our cookies and are ready to sit down with our coffees, lets take attention to this heat and the surrounding environment. Watch 350.org’s new cartoon made to spread awareness in stabilizing carbon dioxide at 350 parts per million.

If you are reading this in an email click here to watch.

Hey Interneters,

Just want to pass a little observation off concerning our consuming nature here in the country. I’m Back in Philadelphia, but have been quite busy lately with catering events. At these events I’ve been serving hand sliced sandwiches and similar, just like in Reading Terminal when I am there. There has been one major difference though, and that is the size of these sandwiches. In the terminal, when these sandwiches are singularly paid for directly;y by the consumer there is quite a push to get these foods as large and big as possible. During catered events, I get a striking and sometimes scornful eye if I would even push the amount to as close as the amount sold in the retail store.

Just another quick post over here, Out of work and now over to the Restaurant School.

Good day Internets.

I apologize for the recent absence lately but I have been spending the last couple day visiting my parents up in upstate New York. Since I’ve gotten here the power has been on and off (mostly off, Didn’t even have time to finish a load of laundry yesterday). But, This morning it came back and it looks like it is for good.

You could say it has been one of those change of pace, get out of the city visit. And which it has, especially without the electricity, but really not entirely. The last couple years I have let this whole state of the world, more so our country, suburban mindset really bother me. And isn’t the greater Philadelphia area a great example of our values and morality going out the window. (Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve met a lot of great progressive people in the area). The point is I mostly considered this small town I grew up in somewhat less invasive than what I am constantly bombarded with during my regular days. But is it?

The majority here still falls into that popular consumerist mindset, And it’s quite sad. Within five minutes of the power going off initially, you could here the two out of three neighbors generators kicking on. Perhaps they had more important things that really did need to have constant electricity than us, but I couldn’t quite help my shock.

This brings me back to a ongoing debating question concerning our infrastructure here in the states. Can we overcome the post ww2 GI Bill supported framework protruding into our nations mindset? Where do we start? Greenpa has a good little read here.

As I ponder this I’ll go back to getting sucked into it myself with the availability of television and the foodnetwork here. (I’ve been about 4 years without it.) And no not the food network, In fact I’ve never really watched it before, But I here so much talk about it. As far as I’ve witnessed, It just a bunch of nonsense. Perhaps the wrong show were on today.

Anyway, Sorry for the rant style of the post. I will be back in Philly this evening.

All the Best,

Jimi

PS, thanks to Jenn for inviting us into the foodie blogroll

Our website is finally up and running, and just in time for Earth Day!

As almost 40 years has passed since the beginnings of Earth Day in the United States, we hope the celebrations for such a wonderful holiday continue and keep us reminded of the day’s true purpose. Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 in anticipation of putting environmental issues on the national agenda. Nelson’s idea “to put the environment into the political ‘limelight’ once and for all” was a major step in environmental awareness, but in 2008 the issues still are not solved.

Today convenient enough, is also the date of the 2008 Pennsylvania primary election. We encourage everyone, not only here in our home state of PA, but everywhere in the United States to stop looking at the polls, the propaganda or their emotions toward these candidates and start looking at their issues, especially toward environmentalism.

We hope Earth Day this year has reminded everyone of the political attention environmentalism needs.

For more information on the history of Earth Day from Senator Gaylord Nelson and The Presidential Medal of Freedom he has received from President Clinton

visit http://earthday.wilderness.org/history/

For more information on what our current government is doing on the subject

http://www.earthday.gov/

Or for the Presidential Runner’s Environmental policy’s

Hillary Clinton

Barrack Obama

John McCain