Rather than discuss the Founding Fathers, or the pros and cons of nationalism, or even how my stupid neighbors are already shooting off fireworks in our tinder-dry neighborhood...before 10:00 a.m....I'll just tell you about my newest project:
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It's just a box within a box, stuffed in between with too-short-to-spin alpaca fiber as insulation. The interior of the box is painted with non-toxic, washable poster paint. Added a little black pot and a glass casserole lid from Goodwill for around five bucks. With the paint, the whole set-up cost less than $10.
It works surprisingly (to me, anyway) well. Yesterday I baked (or, technically, more like steamed) a batch of biscuits in it. Today, in honor of the holiday, I'm fixing that most uniquely American of dishes, brown rice cooked in coconut milk with curry, lime, and lemongrass...