Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Orange Marmalade Cranberry Sauce

I only have one oven and I'm doing Thanksgiving (just for four) single-handed, so I'm cooking up a storm the day before Thanksgiving.  I got inspired and made a cranberry orange marmalade, starting from this recipe but with more cranberry.  I wanted something relatively low sugar--this is not a recipe intended for canning--but with fairly long cooking it did set.

Orange Marmalade Cranberry Sauce

2 good sized navel oranges
enough cider or apple juice to cover
2 cups sugar
1 bag cranberries

I removed the central pith and seeds from the oranges and cut peel and flesh together into thin slices.  I packed them down and poured cider over them to barely cover.  I put the bowl in the refrigerator overnight, as is recommended for marmalades.  The next day I measured the fruit and juice (I had 4 cups) and added half as much sugar.  I brought it to a simmer, added the cranberries, and simmered for perhaps an hour and a half. 

I thought it was going to have the bitterness that some marmalade has (which I like ok), but even the orange pieces that include the white part of the peel are not bitter.   It made about 3 cups.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

child sexual abuse at Penn State

I'm very caught up in the Penn State story, though not to the point of having the stomach to read the indictment.  It seems to me very clear that children could have been saved from harm, and instead the program was protected.

To me, the legal issues are important because I think those of us at colleges and universities should know a lot more about our legal responsibilities.  I have seen contradictory information, but it looks to me like this article is based on actual research into the details.  Pennsylvania law mandates that school personnel report evidence of child abuse, but that reporting can be up the chain of command.  School administrators are mandated to report to the police, and they are the ones who have been indicted for failing to report.  That is not the case in most states, where school personnel are mandated to report directly to the police or child welfare workers.

So Paterno technically did fulfill his legal responsibility to report up the chain of command.  What is left is the ethical responsibility--harm was still being done, and he didn't act to stop it.  There is a really good article here that focuses on the comparison with the Catholic Church.  And an interesting story about the reporter who has been reporting the story for 6 months.

But the best thing I have read addresses the victims: Rick Reilly on the Penn State Scandal.

update 11/12.  A good story about our ability to act.