Do you want to be loved by someone who creates false choices for you?

Love yourself.

Comments in the code below should give hints as to what the parts are doing. I relied on the Calibre manual news page, its API documentation, and hunting around the Recipes forum at Mobileread to figure this out.

from calibre.web.feeds.news import BasicNewsRecipe

class Savage_Minds(BasicNewsRecipe):
    title = u'Savage Minds'
    description = 'Notes and Queries in Anthropology - A Group Blog'
    oldest_article = 7
    max_articles_per_feed = 100

    #"cover_url" specifies a special cover image to use so it's pretty.
    cover_url = 'http://savageminds.org/wp-content/themes/SM2009Test/images/sidebar/sidebox.jpg'

    #"use_embedded_content" forces Calibre to ignore any content in the RSS
    #feed and to go get content from the articles linked in the feed.
    use_embedded_content = False

    #The next two items keep Calibre from cleaning the HTML or using
    #the blog's own stylesheets. Seems to work for me.
    auto_cleanup = False
    no_stylesheets = True

    feeds = [(u'Savage Minds Entries', u'http://savageminds.org/feed/')]

    """
    Next, "keep_only_tags" makes sure we're just grabbing the part of the
    blog page that contains the post and its comments.
    "remote_tags" cleans out some superfluous HTML that makes no sense in
    a kindle-ready ebook. This is all operating on the CSS in the website.
    I used the Firebug extension in Firefox to determine the appropriate
    element classes and ids to eliminate.
    """
    keep_only_tags    = [dict(name='div', attrs={'id':'content'})]
    remove_tags = [dict(name='div', attrs={'class':'meta clear'}),
        dict(name='div', attrs={'class':'snap_nopreview sharing robots-nocontent'}),
        dict(name='div', attrs={'id':'respond'}),
        dict(name='div', attrs={'class':'c-grav'}),
        dict(name='span', attrs={'class':'c-permalink'})
        ]

One thing Calibre can do is “fetch news”—download content from blogs and other sources and format it for your ereader. You can do this manually, or Calibre can automatically fetch it on a schedule and even automatically email it to your device. So I set it up to get a couple of blogs and news sites every day and email it to my kindle’s address so I’d have news to peruse each morning.

But there was one “first world problem.” Sure, if you use a USB cable to connect your device and then put the news on it that way, the items show their date, which is convenient for dated content. But if you have the news items automatically emailed to your Kindle, which is more convenient, the items lose the date and simply say “calibre,” which is their “author.” It’s a problem of metadata.

Then I discovered “metadata plugboards” in Calibre and figured out how to fix it so any news emailed to my Kindle shows its date, while everything else emailed shows its author. Here’s what I did:

1. click Preferences
2. click Metadata plugboards under import/export
3. next to “Add new plugboard”
1. select “any format” under Format
2. select “email” under Device
3. copy the following code and paste it into the “source template” box:

   {tags:'contains($, 'News', field('date'), field('authors'))'}

4. select “authors” under Destination field
4. click Save plugboard
5. click Close on the Preferences window

This idea evolved from a throwaway comment during a brunch that marshmallow-encrusted bacon might be tasty. Next thing you know, “I need to make bacon-marshmallow ice cream!”

I adapted this recipe for toasted marshmallow ice cream, adding chopped bacon and chopped, crystallized ginger in the last few minutes of churning.

It turned out amazing. Everyone at Thanksgiving was loving it. The toasty marshmallow flavor alone is divine, but the savory bacon bits and the bite of the ginger really makes this ice cream a lot of fun to eat. In fact, I highly suggest, once the bacon & ginger is chopped up, taking a pinch of both and just eating them together. I have to cook something with ginger & bacon sometime, they work very well together.

Toasted Marshmallow Bacon Ginger Ice Cream Recipe:

adapted from this recipe by Healthy Food For Living
which was adapted from this recipe by Roasting Rambler

yield: about 4 cups; 8 servings

Ingredients:

7-10 oz marshmallows
2 cups 1% lowfat milk
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
5 egg yolks
1/3 cup evaporated cane juice OR other unrefined granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
7-10 pieces bacon, cooked crisp & chopped
2 handfulls crystallized ginger, chopped

Directions:

First, I used the “broiler method” in the Roasting Rambler recipe to “toast” the marshmallows. My only modification was, since I didn’t catch the marshmallows toasting fast enough, and they got a bit burned, I didn’t toast them again on the other side. The bit of burning was fine, and gave the ice cream plenty of toasty flavor.

Second, I cooked my bacon: to do this, I lined a baking sheet with foil, arranged the bacon slices on the sheet, sprinkled sugar over the slices, put the pan in the oven, and turned it on to 400°F. (Start with a cool oven! You might want to cook your bacon before broiling your marshmallows for this reason.) After 10 minutes or so, I flipped the slices over and sprinkled more sugar on them. After another 10 minutes they were done. I put them on a rack to cool, and when cool, trimmed off fatty bits that would be too unpleasantly chewey in the ice cream, and chopped up the crispier bits into tiny pieces. Set aside for later use.

Third, I took my couple handfulls of crystallized ginger and chopped them up into tiny pieces, too. Set aside for later use.

Making the ice cream:

1. Using a spatula, transfer the marshmallows into a blender. Set aside.
2. Place the egg yolks, evaporated cane juice, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously until the mixture turns a pale yellow color. Set aside.
3. Place the milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan. Set the burner on your stove to medium heat. Heat the mixture, stirring often, until it is steaming but not quite simmering.
4. Spoon out about 1/4 cup of the hot milk and slowly stream it into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.
5. When the mixture is well-combined, repeat step 7 with an additional 1/4 cup of the hot milk.
6. Pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the hot milk and heat, stirring slowly but constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon and has thickened to the consistency of heavy cream.
7. Remove mixture from the heat and whisk for a few minutes to cool it down slightly. Pour mixture over the marshmallows in the blender. Blend for a minute or so, then let the mixture sit with the lid off for a couple of minutes. Replace the lid and run the blender for an additional minute.
8. Add the cold heavy cream and vanilla extract to the blender and blend for 30 seconds.
9. Remove lid of blender and let sit on the counter until the mixture cools to room temperature. Replace the lid and let mixture chill in the fridge until very cold, at least 6 hours.
10. When ready to churn the ice cream, give the mixture a quick blend (it will be very thick after chilling, and some of the marshmallow might have begun to separate from the liquid), pour into your ice cream maker, and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
11. In the last few minutes of churning (or at least after the ice cream has begun to thicken a bit), slowly add the chopped-up bacon & crystallized ginger. Churning will evenly distribute it.
12. Transfer ice cream to a sealable container, cover, and place in freezer until firm, at least 2 hours.
    ]]> http://damek.org/2011/11/28/toasted-marshmallow-bacon-ginger-ice-cream-recipe/feed/ 0 http://damek.org/2011/11/28/drink-recipe-a-scotsman-on-a-horse/ http://damek.org/2011/11/28/drink-recipe-a-scotsman-on-a-horse/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:20:06 +0000 Adam http://damek.org/?p=1827 Continue reading →]]> Once upon a time (five or more years ago) I decided that the title of this Monty Python sketch, “A Scotsman on a Horse,” should be a cocktail:

    It just sounds fun to order! But what kind of drink? With some inspiration from a drink menu in Oxford, England, that had an equine-related name for a drink with ginger ale, I decided on the following:

    A Scotsman on a Horse

    • your favorite scotch whisky
    • ginger ale
    • a cinnamon stick, or a dash of ground cinnamon if necessary

    It’s delicious.

    ]]> http://damek.org/2011/11/28/drink-recipe-a-scotsman-on-a-horse/feed/ 0