Tag: Summer
2022 Week 28 – Pew Pew
July 1, 2022, was the first day of Constitutional Carry in Indiana. This means if you’re 18 or older and a person not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm, you may legally carry a gun throughout the State. Previously you had to obtain a License to Carry a Handgun (LCH) through an application process. Yes, you had to jump through a few hoops like getting fingerprinted and visiting your local Police Dept to submit paperwork, but overall it was not a big deal.
In my opinion, the LCH process prevented lazy, law-abiding people from carrying firearms outside the home because it was too much work to go through the licensing process. But, unfortunately, bad guys will carry anyway because they don’t care about the law, so this had no impact on them. Law enforcement agencies are not happy about the new law either (rightfully so).
So we now have three types of people carrying firearms:
- 1. The bad guys, who have always carried illegally despite the law
- 2. People who were licensed correctly (and probably go to the range on occasion)
- 3. Individuals who can now carry as of July 1 but probably shouldn’t because they have no idea what they are doing or how their firearm works (let alone the legal repercussions should they ever discharge their weapon).
The third person scares me as much or more than the second. Time will tell if this Constitutional Carry law increases violence in Indiana. Some states have had similar laws for years with reportedly no ill effect. I hope my fellow Hoosiers can follow the same path and behave themselves.
We’re halfway through the year, and I’m still enjoying the weekly post format of the Blog I started in 2021. I hope you have been too. I usually collect ideas throughout the week and spend some time on Sat/Sun looking back on the week to create a post that’s usually out each Sunday evening (or earlier). It’s a great way to share things I find online throughout the week and gives me a reason to do some creative writing every week.
I touched on this back in 2015 at the end of my GoPro Review. One or Two spaces after a period when writing (typing)? Slate said to stop doing it back in 2011; The Atlantic was still discussing it in 2018, so will there ever be a consensus on this? Two spaces were the norm when typewriters were in regular use, which was a long ago. I guess it’s just a habit that’s hard to break. While writing this, I just noticed that double-tapping the space key on any of my Apple products will insert a period AND only ONE space after the period. I’m not sure when that changed, but If it’s the same on Windows, maybe it will be easier to change! Grammarly asks me every time I draft a blog post if I want to use one space or two. I chose one for this one 🙂
And finally… You might have noticed it’s a little warm out, with it being Summer and all. I’m not one for hot drinks unless it’s cold out, and the beverage’s heat will warm me up. However, I’m a cold drink fan, especially in the morning, and when it comes to morning caffeine, if I have any, it’s usually in the form of Cold Brew.
You can purchase Cold Brew Coffee just about anywhere and pay a small fortune, or you can buy something that helps you make it at home for a fraction of the price. My initial foray into Cold Brew was years ago with the Toddy Cold Brew System ($40). It did a good job and produced at least a 7-days worth of cold brew concentrate. The only issue was that it’s bulky, and you have to replace the fiber filters every couple of uses.
Then we converted to the KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker ($85). This little thing is built like a tank with glass, stainless steel, and a non-drip spout that makes dispensing your concentrate simple and mess-free. It doesn’t make as much concentrate as the Toddy (they now have a larger model that does), but the filter basket is made from a stainless mesh and is dishwasher safe, so there’s nothing to replace. After several years it’s going strong and allows me to keep a batch of cold brew concentrate in the fridge ready to go!
Carmel – Saturday Photowalk
Decided to get out of the house this morning and venture to the Carmel Farmers Market. Â I was obviously not the only one with that idea because the market was PACKED. Â I mean elbow to elbow people. Â After making a couple of laps I’d had enough of the congestion and headed up to Main Street for more photographic opportunities.
Here are some of the images that caught my eye today.
Lemon Custard Ice Cream
This is a family recipe that I grew up on. I promised in the Maple Bacon Ice Cream post that I would share. Since it’s a custard the lemon flavor is smooth and sweet, not tart.
Ingredients:
2 C. whipping cream
2 C. half-and-half
1 C. sugar
1/3 C. finely grated lemon zest
6 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
1 t. pure vanilla extract
3/4 C. fresh lemon juice
Directions:
Bring the cream, half-and-half, sugar and zest just to a boil over medium heat in a heavy medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Whisk the egg yolks and salt together in a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the cream mixture to the yolk mixture and whisk until blended.
In a slow steady stream, add the remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly, and continue whisking until blended.
Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until the custard thickens and leaves a path on the back of a wooden spoon when a finger is drawn across it; do not allow the mixture to boil.
Immediately pour the custard through a strainer into a bowl and stir in the vanilla. Let cool to room temperature, whisking occasionally. Refrigerate, covered, for 3 hours, until thoroughly chilled.
When ready to freeze, stir the lemon juice into the cold custard, pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
The ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For a firmer texture, transfer to a freezer container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.
Yield: 1 1/2 quarts.
Greek Salad
Cool, refreshing, crunchy and savory. Those words all describe the classic Greek Salad. The use of local summer produce makes this even better. This salad goes great with burgers, pork chops or even by itself. Be sure to use good quality oil, vinegar and feta cheese.
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
2 diced seeded & peeled English cucumbers
1 diced red bell pepper
1 diced yellow bell pepper
1 cup pitted kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, halved
1/2 thinly sliced medium red onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
8oz feta cheese cubed
Freshly ground pepper to taste (you should not need salt because of the feta and olives)
Combine all vegetables and set aside.
Whisk Oil, Vinegar & lemon juice into a light emulsion. Pout vinaigrette over vegetables and mix to combine.
Add feta and mix lightly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Vinaigrette may partially solidify if refrigerated overnight. If this occurs, leave bowl on the counter for 10-15 minutes prior to mixing and serving.