![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Two updates which have nothing to do with each other.
First up, waffles.
I've decided I'm not fond of the banana substitution. I like banana bread, and if I was going for banana nut waffles (which could be good), that would work well. But I don't think it's really what I'm going for. Instead, I tried substituting 2 cups of plain yogurt for the 2 cups of buttermilk. Which, I realized just a little too late, completely ignores the fact that the milk is the primary source of liquid in the recipe. The batter was too thick. Next time, I'll try 1 cup milk, 1 cup yogurt. I think that'll work better. I've updated the previous post accordingly.
One thing I noticed is that, with the same batter, the later in the batch it was, the better the waffles cooked up. I'd thought I'd let it stand enough, but it's really important to give it plenty of time.
Also playing around with spices. Added some nutmeg, which worked well. May try some tweaks next time. Less nutmeg, but some allspice, perhaps. Maybe a touch of cloves? Or maybe I'm overthinking. We'll see.
In any case, it's still built off of Alton Brown's basic recipe, more or less, and he's got some great pointers on technique. If you're interested, the ep is on YouTube (for now). Part One and Part Two.
In completely other news, Chapter Five of Darrow's autobiography had this passage near the beginning:
That made me want to look things up. Wiki was the best source I had handy, so I read that summary last night. And went to Answers.com this morning, which gave me , among other things, Britannica's short version:
Emphasis mine. I just find that sentence astounding.
The next source down has a slightly different take:
Yet another take from the Colombia Encyclopedia (this is why I love Answers.com):
Wiki has a fuller section in Tilden's bio, and, in fact, a complete article on the election.
Their take, to sum up, goes like this:
Votes in the south were, broadly speaking, split along racial lines. It was less than a decade since the end of the Civil War, and Lincoln was a Republican. So Southern Black voters leaned heavily Republican while Whites leaned heavily Democratic. The Democrats worked to suppress the Black vote by a number of means, including systemic violence. The Republicans, however, made up for it with extensive voter fraud.
Tilden won the popular vote. In the electoral college, one of the votes from Oregon was disqualified on a technicality. In South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida, both sides claimed victory, each saying the other had cheated. So they both sent their representatives to the electoral college. Tilden, the Democrat, was one electoral vote shy of victory. But if all the remaining votes went to Hayes, the Republican, he'd win.
The issue was to be decided by a committee made up of five Congressional Democrats, five Congressional Republicans, two members of the Supreme Court from each party, and one justice who was technically independent. Tilden's family, however, had just helped him win an Illinois state election. Instead of returning the favor, he resigned from the Court, turned down the spot on the committee, took the Senate seat, and was replaced by a Republican. The committee voted along party lines, and so the election went to the Republican.
In some ways, it sounds so familiar. But it does make the 2000 election look rather tame by comparison, doesn't it?
First up, waffles.
I've decided I'm not fond of the banana substitution. I like banana bread, and if I was going for banana nut waffles (which could be good), that would work well. But I don't think it's really what I'm going for. Instead, I tried substituting 2 cups of plain yogurt for the 2 cups of buttermilk. Which, I realized just a little too late, completely ignores the fact that the milk is the primary source of liquid in the recipe. The batter was too thick. Next time, I'll try 1 cup milk, 1 cup yogurt. I think that'll work better. I've updated the previous post accordingly.
One thing I noticed is that, with the same batter, the later in the batch it was, the better the waffles cooked up. I'd thought I'd let it stand enough, but it's really important to give it plenty of time.
Also playing around with spices. Added some nutmeg, which worked well. May try some tweaks next time. Less nutmeg, but some allspice, perhaps. Maybe a touch of cloves? Or maybe I'm overthinking. We'll see.
In any case, it's still built off of Alton Brown's basic recipe, more or less, and he's got some great pointers on technique. If you're interested, the ep is on YouTube (for now). Part One and Part Two.
In completely other news, Chapter Five of Darrow's autobiography had this passage near the beginning:
From Greeley our family went to Tilden in 1876, but I was not old enough to vote. Of course most of the people in our neighborhood were for Hayes. In our town it was hard to tell which was the chief bulwark, Republicanism or religion. Both were sacred; but not to my family, who always lined up against the great majority. Our candidate, Samuel J. Tilden, was elected in 1876, but was not allowed to take his seat. The Civil War was not then so far in the background as it is now, and any sort of political larceny was justifiable to save the country from the party that had tried to destroy the Union. So, though Tilden was elected, Rutherford B. Hayes was inaugurated and served Tilden's term.
That made me want to look things up. Wiki was the best source I had handy, so I read that summary last night. And went to Answers.com this morning, which gave me , among other things, Britannica's short version:
In 1876 [Tilden] was the Democratic nominee for president. The bitterly fought campaign ended in a popular-vote victory for Tilden, but Republicans contested the results in four states. To settle the controversy, Congress appointed the Electoral Commission, which decided in favour of the Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes (see also electoral college). Unwilling to cause further conflict, Tilden accepted the decision and returned to his prosperous law practice. On his death he left his large fortune to establish a free public library for New York City.
Emphasis mine. I just find that sentence astounding.
The next source down has a slightly different take:
The election, the most controversial in American history, left Tilden bitter. Although he received a plurality of some 250, 000 votes, an electoral commission awarded the election to Rutherford B. Hayes. Tilden said that he would not risk more civil war by forcing his installation. In fact, his defeat, no simple "corrupt bargain, " involved an elaborate attempt at sectional compromise. Mentioned again as a candidate, Tilden, now definitely ailing, pleaded illness.
Yet another take from the Colombia Encyclopedia (this is why I love Answers.com):
Tilden thus became the outstanding Democrat in the nation, and in 1876 his party nominated him for President. Rutherford B. Hayes was his Republican opponent. The campaign resulted in one of the most famous election disputes in American history. By a slim margin, Tilden received a majority of the popular vote, but there were double and conflicting returns of electoral votes from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina and a contest over one Oregon elector. To settle the unusual question, not covered by the Constitution, Congress created an electoral commission of five senators, five representatives, and five Supreme Court justices. Eight were Republicans and seven were Democrats, as plans for one independent failed. The commission, by partisan division, awarded (Mar. 2, 1877) Hayes all the disputed votes, making his total a majority of one (185 to 184). Tilden discouraged further contest. In his will he left a large sum toward establishing a free public library in New York City, and in 1895 this trust was joined with the Astor and Lenox libraries to form the New York Public Library.
Wiki has a fuller section in Tilden's bio, and, in fact, a complete article on the election.
Their take, to sum up, goes like this:
Votes in the south were, broadly speaking, split along racial lines. It was less than a decade since the end of the Civil War, and Lincoln was a Republican. So Southern Black voters leaned heavily Republican while Whites leaned heavily Democratic. The Democrats worked to suppress the Black vote by a number of means, including systemic violence. The Republicans, however, made up for it with extensive voter fraud.
Tilden won the popular vote. In the electoral college, one of the votes from Oregon was disqualified on a technicality. In South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida, both sides claimed victory, each saying the other had cheated. So they both sent their representatives to the electoral college. Tilden, the Democrat, was one electoral vote shy of victory. But if all the remaining votes went to Hayes, the Republican, he'd win.
The issue was to be decided by a committee made up of five Congressional Democrats, five Congressional Republicans, two members of the Supreme Court from each party, and one justice who was technically independent. Tilden's family, however, had just helped him win an Illinois state election. Instead of returning the favor, he resigned from the Court, turned down the spot on the committee, took the Senate seat, and was replaced by a Republican. The committee voted along party lines, and so the election went to the Republican.
In some ways, it sounds so familiar. But it does make the 2000 election look rather tame by comparison, doesn't it?