Frank Francosky

Clafoutis

FrankF — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:50:42 +0000

I recently found a book by Michel Roux titled “eggs”. Yes, it’s a cookbook all about eggs but it has a wonderful personal touch in the explanations and the general reading. It has everything about cooking eggs and cooking with eggs. He explains everything from what kind of eggs come from what bird to mollet eggs, scrambled, fried, omelets, crepes, meringue, mousse and soufflés. You’ll have to read the book to find the “egg-stra” stuff he serves up. If you ever wanted to know about the incredible, edible egg, this is the book to have. I’m going to give you his recipe for cherry clafoutis. When I make it, everyone makes little yummy noises and ask for the recipe. The following recipe is right out of his book.

Clafoutis

8 tbsp (100g) butter

¾ lb (350g) ripe cherries pitted

for the batter:

2 eggs

Generous ½ cup (80g) all-purpose flour

6 ½ tbsp (80g) butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup (60g) granulated sugar, plus extra

2/3 cup (150g) cold milk

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1 cup Kirsch (optional)

To make the batter, very lightly beat the eggs in a bowl with a fork and add the flour. Whisk in the melted butter, then gradually mix in the granulated sugar and milk. Use a knife tip to scrape the vanilla seeds into the batter, and add the Kirsch if using.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 C). Use about 5 tbsp(60g) of the butter to generously grease an 8-inch (20-cm) diameter, 2-inch (5-cm) deep ovenproof dish. Spread the cherries in the bottom, then pour the batter over them.

Carefully place in the hot oven, making sure that the batter doesn’t spill over the top. Bake 10 minutes, then lower the oven setting to 350 F (180 C). Cut the remaining butter into small pieces, dot them over the top of the clafoutis, and bake for another 25 minutes or so.

To check if the clafoutis is cooked, deicaely slide in a knife tip. If it comes out smooth and clean, the clafoutis is ready. Dust with a little granulated sugar and let stand for a few minutes. Serve the clafoutis warm from the dish.

E4S Entrepreneurs for Sustainability

FrankF — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:46:00 +0000

June 15. My first E4S meeting. What a great group of energized people. And they had the good sense to have the meeting at Great Lakes Brewery. The topic for the night was sustainable transportation. Everything from walking to high tech bikes to hybrid cars to mass transit to biodiesel fuel. How do you implement it? How do you make it practical? How do you get people and companies to buy in? The presenters were not just on soap boxes saying “this must be done”. They addressed real life hurdles that have to be overcome to make this happen. Creative people with a grasp of the real world. These are the kind of people who accomplish big things. I like the feeling I get when I am surrounded by a group of people who refuse to put limits on creativity. No judgments. No censoring. No problem telling you something new and different. New technology, old technology in a new application or form, all with the common goal of solving some particular sustainability problem. Small start-up companies, big ideas. This is how the world gets changed. Don’t think so. At one time people thought you couldn’t build a boat out of steel. Think about it.

Spring in NE Ohio

FrankF — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 07:55:21 +0000

Ahhh, springtime in NE Ohio. The first couple of days of spring were glorious. Sunshine, decent temps, people smiling, singing, laughing. Well, maybe not singing and laughing, but definitely in a better mood, even at the mall. A couple of days later, SNOW! Actually it’s not too bad. If it has to snow it happened just the way I like it. Snow on the lawns and no snow on the roads. Now all we have to see is if March goes out like a lion or a lamb. The question I have is, what if March goes out like a beagle or maybe a komodo dragon. Should I worry? If anyone has some advice, I’d appreciate it.

Thanks.

To be sure

FrankF — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:27:36 +0000

When men are most sure and arrogant they are commonly most mistaken, giving views to passion without that proper deliberation which alone can secure them from the grossest absurdities

David Hume

Action

FrankF — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:09:25 +0000

Never mistake motion for action.

Ernest Hemingway

2010

FrankF — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:42:32 +0000

Well here it is 2010. The holidays are behind us and the new year looms on the horizon. I hope everyone made it through the P and P (power shopping and partying) days without too much stress. Resolutions? Prognostications? Anxieties? Now is the time to develop your best scenarios. As for me, I don’t make yearly resolutions. I find them too limiting. If you feel strongly about something it will become part of who you are. Don’t get me wrong, I make short term goals and then I manage them. Small successes lead to big progress. My prognostication is things will change. They always do. If life was the same year after year it would be so boring people would be jumping off the planet like fleas looking for something new. The exceptions now are the astronauts but I don’t think they do it ‘cause they’re bored. Anxieties? That sometimes comes with change. The best thing to do is pick your head up and get involved. It helps you see what’s ahead. If you don’t, someone or something else will tell you what is going to happen. Your year will be better if you set the direction and take the first step. Here’s wishing everyone the best year they’ve ever had… until the next best year (2011).

Windy Madison

FrankF — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:06:05 +0000

I had the opportunity to attend a “town hall” meeting in Madison Ohio last week. The topic of discussion; wind energy. Three gentlemen shared a presentation to the people in Madison. Dr. Don Sherer, former President of Green Energy Ohio, Thomas Williams Jr. Managing Director of North Coast Wind & Power and Edward Fleeman of Legacy Renewable Energy Development. The presentation was about 45 minutes long followed by 30 minutes of questions. I must say the 70 -80 people that showed up all seemed fairly positive about the idea of green energy coming to their area. It turns out that Madison and the surrounding area (parts of Geauga and Ashtabula counties) is a prime spot for wind energy development. This area has several items that make it very attractive to wind energy developers. First… wind, duh, ok class 3 wind or better. Second, lots of open land. Most of the area is nursery or other farm land. Third, is close proximity to main power grids. This makes the tie in costs affordable. Here is the rub. It takes a lot of land to develop a commercial wind farm. I mean a loooottt of land. These gentlemen were estimating 1200 acres of contiguous land to be the minimum. If this were Texas or Montana, I don’t think this would be an issue, but in Madison the range is 5 -120 acre lots. This means that the community has to come together and allow their properties to be bundled to provide enough clearances. This is usually the biggest hurdle in wind power development. The rest is mostly government regulations; zoning, environmental, construction permits and such. My impression of the good people of Madison is that green energy may be coming to NE Ohio with Madison leading the way. Smart People. And you wonder why I like living here?

Maple Cornbread

FrankF — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:06 +0000

Well, this just might be the thing you were looking for, for that last minute piece of Thanksgiving dinner (there’s never enough food). I know… I know real “down home” cornbread isn’t sweetened but hey, I’m in notheast Ohio and we have some of the finest maple syrup around “my home”. So here’s the recipe right out of one of my favorite books, the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

1 cup (4 1/4 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (4 1/4 oz.) yellow cornmeal

1 tbls. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup (8 oz.) milk - skim, 2% or whole

1/4 cup (2 3/4 oz.) maple syrup

4 tbls. (1/2 stick) butter, melted

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425 F

Lightly grease 8X8 square or 9 in round pan

In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt

In a small bowl whisk together the milk, maple syrup, melted butter and eggs

Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 – 25 minutes

It’s good with butter or more maple syrup. It also goes good with chili, stew or red beans and rice.

Enjoy.

Not Eureka

FrankF — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:14:08 +0000

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…’

Isaac Asimov

Experts

FrankF — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:03:22 +0000

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.

Niels Bohr