Maggie's Farm

Home cookin'. 

It's a southern Italian bean soup/stew. Real, non-Americanized Italian peasant food. If you are from around Napoli, it's pronounced something like "fazool." Otherwise, "fajole." Fagiole are la Carne dei Poveri. (No, I am not a paisan but I married a half of one.)

I see recipes online which include meat, but Pasta Fagioli is best made with meat broth (chicken or beef), and properly has no meat in it. When it was a meatless Friday meal, of course veg. broth. Why did the RC's get rid of meatless Fridays anyway?

This recipe about gets the basic version, but I use canned cannelini (white) beans for convenience - stupid not to - (no chef, unless cooking for hundreds, would waste time with dried beans), and chicken or beef broth instead of vegetable broth. I am not enough of one of the poveri not to have meat broth around. 

Another recipe includes tomato sauce. I've never had a Pasta Fagiole with tomato in it other than a tablespoon or two of tomato paste, and believe it ought to be without the tomato. It's meant to be pleasantly bland, cheap, and filling. If I make it, no tomato but I'll add some hot pepper flakes to give it a little zip.

Any small pasta works in it, but I like to use the small shell pasta. Serve with a plate of simple crostini, eg with oil and garlic and maybe some herbs on them. You can put some shaved parmesan on top of your soup if you want.

The thing with Italian cooking is that you make it your own way, and never follow a recipe after the first time.

No, my Mom never made this or ever heard of this, but my wife's Grandma made it to please her husband who required it weekly to feed his Neapolitan soul. Mrs. BD kindly claims my version is better than her nonna's.

My pic from the bow, heading towards Aswan. Flags down for a bridge. Yeah, we did have some pirates to make it fun.

Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age

In the1860s, the Egyptians didn't seem all that fascinated by the ancient history of their lands but the French, and especially the Brits, were.

At the time, Nile river cruises were already popular, especially for Brits escaping their winter weather. Some by sail, some by steamboat, up to the second cataract (which, due to the Aswan Dam, can not be done now).

Many of these travelers were women: lesbians, wives bored with their wealthy husbands, hypochondriacs and neurasthenics needing "rest and fresh air," etc. Sometimes their excavations were sponsored by people like Lord Carnavor of Downton Abbey familiarity. Cairo had a nice Brit hotel: Shepheards. Luxor had a nice hotel for Europeans.

Unsurprisingly, the riverboats then made the same stops that we did last week. Cook's Tours was the agent then.

Those women, God forbid, did not dig or get dirty but they did hire laborers and archeologists. They helped reveal the half-buried treasures of ancient Egypt that the tourists love today. They also naughtily bought and stole all sorts of artifacts - including mummies - and shipped them back home.

They were not "Egyptologists," but just curious tourists with money, no rules, and no knowledge. They rode donkeys and did not walk much, and took recuperative rests often. Laborers were happy to work and did not care about old stuff. They did hire some young eccentric archeologists.

At their times, the famous temples and ruins were lived in, some filled with pigeon coops, most half-buried by Nile floods, some transformed into Christian churches, etc.

Despite my interests in history, I still feel I was more interested in how Egyptians live today than 4000 years ago. They sure made some art, though. We term it "art." They did not have a concept of art but artisans for sure.

Those Brit ladies uncovered the 2-mile Alley of Sphinxes between the Karnak Temple to the Luxor Temple. Good for them:

Psalm 36:5-10

36:5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

36:6 Your
righteousness is like the mighty mountains; your judgments are like the
great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.

36:7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

36:8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

36:10 O continue your steadfast love to those who know you and your salvation to the upright of heart!

If so, we are working on it.

New England Journal of Medicine Publishes Screed Defending ‘Gender-Affirming Care’

PROF. GARRETT: Leftists’ victimhood mentality persists as DEI retreat accelerates

Is David Brooks a Moral Philosopher?

Head of Infamous "Information Disorder" Commission Promoted at NPR. A
Twitter Files all-star and former head of an Aspen Institute panel on
content suppression is moved up the ranks at National Public Radio

Saturday Miscellany

The five tech titans that will sit with Trump during inauguration and what their position means

Black Lives Matter Demands Grocery Store Remain Open Despite Losing $7,000 a Day to Theft

Once Again, Life Catches Up to The Bee

Bill Gates had ‘intriguing’ three-hour dinner with Trump: ‘I was frankly impressed’

Trump is Reforming the Intelligence Community Already

My Decade with Donald Trump -He
chased her with hair spray. She saw him get shot. Salena Zito is the
journalist who knows Trump—and his voters—better than anyone.

Suddenly, Gavin Newsom's Electric Car Mandate Looks Pretty Dumb to LA Fire Victims

Why Europe Fears Free Speech

Taranto: ‘Fact Checkers’ Become Rent Seekers. The decline of journalism may have hit rock bottom with the end of Meta’s censorship regime.

Woke Prof. Gives Lecture on ‘Trans Ghosts and Nonbinary Magical Realism’

NY spends whopping $89B on schools — more than any other state — with only mediocre results

American Free Speech Vs European Censorship

Biden Exits Office Promoting The Big Tech Censorship That Got Him Elected

TGIF:  Biden bids adieu. Zuckerberg takes the red pill. Poor Meghan Markle
can’t catch a break. DEI and the L.A. fires. A new town just for January
6ers. And much, much more.

She is amusing

Trump splits the press

Trump Is Troll in Chief, and It Is Hilarious

Chicago Just Keeps Waving That Red Flag at Trump's Immigration Bull

The president promised to connect rural Americans to the internet. But
‘woke leftist policies’ have helped prevent the $42 billion scheme from
servicing a single customer.

CA Incinerated Its Insurance Market

Shame on Us for Ever Believing Him. Justin Trudeau convinced me he was
a sunny patriot who’d unify Canada. What I got instead was a cynical
culture warrior who smeared opponents as bigots and defamed my country
as a genocide stat

What Do Russians Think of the War?

That nice lady was our Cairo guide for 3 days. Hassam was our driver - excellent too but he had no English. Yes, we liked to stop for coffee.

From our trip:

- They like US dollars - not their own currency.

- Everybody expects baksheesh (in US dollars), even if you are an Asian tourist. No Euros either. For everything including using a bathroom.

- Everyone has a cell phone

- Nothing seems dangerous, but you are out of place in non-tourist sites without an Arabic-speaking guide. It's a bargaining culture too, so everything feels like they want to rip you off. Cairo is dirty, kinda random. Has some top-knotch hotels.

- Feral cats and dogs are everywhere. No pets.

- Zero recreational boats on the Nile. All work boats. 

- The Coptic Christian religion is alive and well, thus all the Christmas decorations. There are no Jews in Egypt now, but there used to be.

- Every male smokes cigarettes, except a few who smoke hookahs.

- English is their second language. Not widely spoken, though.

- All those camels are just for tourist photos. I refused that.

- Even in Cairo, lots (not most) of guys wear thobes with turbans.

- Pretty much all women wear head scarves at the least. Commonly other Moslem coverings too, generally black. What's the difference between a hijab, niqab and burka?

- Why is Egypt considered a "developing country"?

- Great thing about Egypt? Their coffee, with nutmeg and cardamom. Mrs. BD preferred their fresh mint tea. It's a different sort of mint.

How Do Igloos Keep People Warm?

Amazon Uses Huge Diesel Generator To Charge Electric Delivery Van Fleet

Never seen VDH giggling

L.A. County Inferno Expected To Top $250 Billion In Losses

California: Failure to govern

Jack Smith accidentally tells the truth about that J6 ‘insurrection’…

Biden Snaps at Reporter Asking If Trump Deserves Credit For Ceasefire,
Hostage Release… and Then His State Department Spox Says This…

 The Evolution of Marco Rubio. Plus... Biden’s broadband
boondoggle. Eric Adams gets his brows done. Inside the Rose Bowl’s
firefighter village. A conversation with a ‘climate realist.’ Eli Lake’s
new podcast. And more.

What The Flying F**k Is Going On In Britain?

I like what he had to say.

No John Lennon Imagine in it.

How to Become a Morning Workout Person, in 9 Easy Steps

Fire, Snow And A Storm Of Climate Nonsense

More On Monkeys Typing Shakespeare & Why Chance Isn't Enough

This announcement of the founding of The Contrarian would be fantastic if it were a comedy sketch. But these people are for real...

Wednesday Potpourri

The LA fires are the horrifying consequence of Democratic misrule. Blue states’ embrace of progressive fads over good governance was bound to end in disaster.

41 Percent of Chicago Teachers Were Chronically Absent Last Year, Report Finds

After 50 years, several women’s studies programs on chopping block

“Americans who engage in misinformation should be civilly or criminally charged.”

Brussels fears Musk, he fights the ancient fight for free speech

Population 55,000.

How Bob Dylan fought the proto-woke He refused to be a Leftist prophet

Weighted Vests Are Making a Comeback – But Do They Really Work?

The Best Obesity Drugs Aren’t Even Here Yet. A new review highlights
the future of anti-obesity medications that could outperform today's
already blockbuster drugs like Ozempic.

Who Will Need An ETA To Visit The UK?

I needed it just to pass through Heathrow

What Age Should Kids LEGALLY Be Allowed to Play Outside?

The Tiger Mother Roars Back

Who Will Buy TikTok From China? Plus. . .

Mamet:  Wildfires don’t care about DEI Public safety went up in smoke

Environmentalism, the Great Destroyer

Jen Rubin "Exits" the Washington Post; Chuck Todd "Exits" NBC

How the LAFD Came to be Run by Three Lesbians Named 'Kirsten'

The Great American Political Divide Is Just Going to Get Bigger Now

Trump’s Greenland push is about growing China threat — and the media is missing the message

The EU Doesn’t Censor, and If You Say It Does, It Will Censor You

When I get my Egypt pics organized, I will post them. I would not term a trip to Egypt as adventurous but it is another world for sure. Could not have done it without drivers and guides.

This is a trinket shop in Cairo. Yes, plenty of Christmas trees. Egypt is 10% Coptic Christian.

Why Skyscrapers Became Glass Boxes

Inferno-Plagued Palisades Braces For Santa Ana Windstorm As Death Toll Rises

The Los Angeles Blame Game

Cabinet of the Canceled - Trump has chosen people who understand the threat of government coercion—because they have experienced it firsthand.

Merchan’s Verdict: A Conviction Without Consequence. The New York
legal system's crusade against Trump ended in farce, with a biased judge
delivering a hollow conviction and wishing Godspeed to the
president-elect.

Trump Energizes Greenland Independence Movement

Back from trip, with lots of links to unload on our readers.

The Truth About Bob Dylan’s Falling Out with Pete Seeger

Robotic puppy, shown at electronics trade show, seen as boon for mental health

Environmental Experts To Rip Out Trees, Build Solar Electric Plant In Snow Belt To “Save The Environment”

Victimhood U: colleges’ leftist brainwashing is making young Americans miserable

Anti-Semitism on Campus

Things Worth Remembering: The Dangers of Multiculturalism

Saturday Miscellany

Mark Zuckerberg’s Vibe Shift. Plus. . .

" Just about everyone agrees that America’s institutions are broken. Most
of us agree that we do not trust the government, business, the academy
or the media. Worse yet, we do not trust each other."

Companies hiring less diverse executives amid anti-DEI pushback

Biden Honors Kamala Harris With Presidential Medal Of Participation

The Most Under-Reported Story Of The Biden Presidency

Alan Dershowitz: Lawfare Against Trump & Allies "Worse Than Stalinism"

How Well-Intentioned Policies Fueled L.A.’s Fires

Los Angeles is burning. The Daily Mail calls it the bonfire of the vanities, and I cannot beat that headline.

The climate ‘calamity’ - The road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions

Rape Gangs in Great Britain

The Biggest Peacetime Crime—and Cover-up—in British History

UK Father Whose Daughter Was Gang-Raped: "Police Told Me To Let It Go"

How the grooming gangs scandal was covered up

Noted Columnist Caroline Glick: “Blinken himself has devoted most of his energies to pressuring and castigating Israel.”

How Billionaires Became An Endangered Species In Norway

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

3:15 As
the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in
their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,

3:16 John
answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water, but one who
is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of
his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

3:17 His
winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to
gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire."\

3:21 Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,

3:22 and
the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a
voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased."