Years ago after 9 / 11 I raised this question on
www.able2know.com and it went for 26 pages. The best thing that came out of it was this award winning recipe from Frank Apasia, which I share with you:
A recipe for G:
Pasta Fagioli
1/3 lb. Salt pork finely diced (if the salt pork has a skin attached, cut it off first)
1 Medium Onion, thinly sliced
2 -3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Two celery stalks diced (split each stalk in half lengthwise -- and then dice into half inch pieces)
1 16 oz. can white or red kidney beans
1 35 oz. can whole Italian Plum tomatoes -- squashed as you would for a pasta sauce.
3 8oz. cans tomato sauce (not paste)
1/3 pound ground beef
1/3 pound Italian sausage crumbled (casing removed)
(In a frying pan, fry the sausage until almost brown -- add the ground beef and fry until both are browned, reserve)
1/3 stick of pepperoni diced (slice the pepperoni stick in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/2 inch pieces.)
Tbsp of Oregano (actually, to taste)
Dash of red pepper or hot sauce (optional)
1 lb. Medium Shell macaroni.
In a soup pot or Dutch oven (I prefer the Dutch oven), render the diced salt pork over slow heat until its oils are released. (Adding a couple tbsps. of olive oil helps this process) (If the salt pork had skin attached—put the whole detached skin into the pot – and leave in there until the cooking is over. Remove and eat separately if you like skin. It is delicious!)
Saute the onions in the olive oil/rendered salt pork (do not remove the pieces of fried salt pork.)
You want to saute the onions until they start to brown at the edges. As you see the onions get their first hint of brown -- add the garlic and continue the saute for another two minutes.
Add the diced celery and beans (do not drain) --- continue to cook over medium low heat for three minutes - stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano -- continue to cook for three more minutes - stirring occasionally..
Add ground beef, sausage mixture, diced pepperoni, and hot stuff (if you desire) – bring to a simmer - lower heat 'til just simmering and simmer for 15 minutes -stirring occasionally.
(All cooking to be done without a cover.)
In a separate operation -- best done during that last few minutes of cooking -- cook the shells in slightly salted, boiling water -- leaving them al dente. Do not overcook—they will continue to cook after integration with the tomato mixture.
When the shells are cooked and drained, put half of them into a large, deep bowl and ladle several scoops of the tomato mixture over them. Put in plenty of sauce -- it should look almost like a thick soup. Let it sit for five minutes to integrate. (You'll do the same for the other half of the shells -- as the first serving gets used up.)
On the table, you should have crusty Italian or French bread. Another bread option is to take some sliced Italian round loaf and toast several pieces. A bowl of grated Romano cheese is a must.
Some people don't like the mixture too thick -- so a bit of water added to thin it down is fine. I prefer to use a bit of the water the shells were cooked in – and always reserve a cup or two of it. (Be sure the water was only slightly salted!) A thinning done with a bit of red wine ain't bad either.
Halved black olives added as you add the tomatoes works fine. Anchovies added as you add the tomatoes are great also. A bit of diced green bell pepper works. Using a can of chick peas (garbanzos) in place of the kidney beans is a nice touch. And some people like pasta other than shells -- give any pasta a try.
* * * *
Peter
Back on subject. We, with higher intelligence, give meaning to things, its part of what we do. This scales all the way up to the Universe itself. The Universe would still be magnificent beyond words were we to never have existed. But our being here, sentient and capable of pondering our precious existence makes it oh so special.
Whether you have a faith or not, whether it concides with science or not, the Universe and us in it is a pretty amazing thing. From the science perspective alone its insanely incredibile that we exist at all. I've studied this for quite some time, and quite some angles. I think it is actually justified, and not horribly conceited to consider potentially we are a key, not incidential part of the Universe, and somewhere buried deep is a purpose or sense of mission for this vehicle of existence and us in it. I just ponder (from my personal faith and science standpoint) what all this is about!
Take pleasure in learning to understand the universe - we have the tools to do that: scientific method. As for "why?"... who says there has to be a reason?
For me it is Faith and science, As a Buddhist and a fan of Science. My view is the same as the Dalai Lama's that if science dissproves something in Buddhism we must accept the scientific reality. Buddhist's don't believe in a creator God anyway. As for the reality of the Universe, nobody knows, we can only speculate using the best scientific evidence. I do find it compelling, however that if the parameters for the charge of an electron were off by only a tiny amount life (even vaguely as we know it) would be impossable.
errr ahhh, I don't suggest He used magic BTW.
