Bloomberg’s Problem
Mike Bloomberg is going to the Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, because money can by unhappiness. Upon entering that stage, he will be open to attacks on stances, past statements, and possibly his height.
In virtually every piece of opposition research that gets dumped about Bloomberg, we see the same thing: He comes across as an out-of-touch billionaire who simply will not be able to connect with American voters. This is despite literally buying his way onto the Las Vegas debate stage and dropping insane amounts of money into his campaign staffing operations.
The hits keep on coming, whether it’s an apparent attack on farmers’ intelligence/skill level, African American communities, and sexist/misogynist comments over his lifetime. Bloomberg might be able to buy his way past Bernie Sanders, but he will not be able to buy the White House.
The Bloomberg Problem
Of course, the fact that he’s getting so much airtime and so much of the conversation is about him right now, he’s sucking the energy out of the room from other candidates. No one has given Elizabeth Warren a second thought after abysmal primary results in Iowa and New Hampshire. Of course, she is going to blame the media instead of the fact that she is all the socialism of Bernie Sanders but with less than half the charisma.
Amy Klobuchar has gotten more media love, although that’s because it makes for an interesting story: Seemingly out of nowhere, she gets third place! Of course, that’s very likely it for her, but that was certainly worth the extra twenty minutes of headlines, right?
Bloomberg isn’t letting many people get some room to breathe, and as a result these candidates will start dropping a bit faster than Republicans might like. Some of the Democrats will just be stubborn and stick around to prove something (because John Kasich isn’t the only one whose ego overpowers his reason in presidential primaries).
The Struggle of the Juggle
This week’s episode of the Homestyle podcast barely scratches the surface of the biggest struggle we all face: Balancing the demands of adulthood with the demands of parenthood. I teach, coach, write, and podcast and I have to fight hard to make time for my wife and daughters. I think I do a decent job at it, but it’s always a tough balance, you know?
Apparently, I Can’t Make Candy
Folks, making candy is tough. I struggled with pecan pralines around Christmas, and I have gotten close to but not been able to succeed with making something as (seemingly) simple as toffee.
Part of the struggle of making candy is humidity. Considering I live in south Louisiana, that will almost always be a struggle for me. Another problem is that making candy is like baking. You can’t taste as you go, so if you mess something up it’s difficult to fix right away. The batch of toffee I made recently got too dark and burned, but the texture was right. I had to half the recipe because I did not have as much butter as I thought I had. I found this out after getting home from the store.
Gonna keep trying, mostly because toffee is delicious. And it’s cheaper to make it yourself than to go to Walmart and buy Heath bars whenever you’ve got a craving.
Recipe of the Week: Gravy
All right. This is going to seem silly, but I promise you that you have to know how to make a good gravy because it’s a really solid, savory addition to many meals, and it’s so much better than making it from a pouch. This recipe is still in the experimental stage so if you want to go with it, you may have to make your own adjustments (I’d love to hear what they are if you make them).
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oil (I use vegetable)
1 cube beef bouillon
1-2 tsp. Worcestershire
Water
The first step is to make a dark roux.
Heat your cast iron skillet prior to adding the oil. Set your burner to medium-high heat and give it a few minutes.
Add the oil and wait until you see little wisps of smoke rising from it.
Add the flour little bits at a time by shaking or sifting it in while stirring. This will keep it from clumping up. Stir constantly after it is all in and watch the color start to turn.
The color of the roux you want is dependent on your taste. I prefer somewhere between the color of milk chocolate and dark chocolate.
Pull the roux off the heat and add the Worcestershire. If it’s just out of the fridge, it will be cool enough to stop the roux from cooking any further. Add a cube of beef bouillon and stir until it’s dissolved. Add water to the gravy until it reaches the thinness you prefer.