Italian Sausage Soup

Asparagus-Chicken Stirfry with Wild Rice

Fra Diavolo Sauce with Linguine

F. More-About-Murphy Sites

G. People Pleasing Soups

H. People Pleasing Au Jus

I. Customer's Recipes Corner

J. Short and Sweet

K. Quote of the Month

L. Murphy's Lesser-Known Laws

You know the feeling - your goal is to work out more, quit smoking, watch less TV - and it seems that everything you try to do, somehow goes wrong. You don't have to get frustrated and give up though! Read this newsletter to find out more about Murphy, his laws, and how to get around them!

Happy New Years to all our Soup Central readers and the best of (Murphy-Free) luck in 2005!

Undoubtedly, most people are familiar with Murphy's Law ("If anything can go wrong, it will"), but many people don't know how this law came to be. As with most 'origin' stories, there is more than one variation. Here is the most commonly accepted version (actually it's just the one that appeared the most - If everything I write isn't completely accurate, Murphy's Law says that someone will write in to correct me =)

It all happened in 1949 at Edwards Air Force Base (All accounts agree on this fact). They were working on a project designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash (I have to say here, this isn't the type of situation I'd really want Murphy's Law to be born in!). An engineer, Captain Edward Murphy, apparently didn't have too much trust in the responsible technician because one day, after finding that a transducer had been wired wrong, he cursed said technician with that now-famous line "If there is any way to do it wrong, he'll find it".

The project manager, who kept a list of 'laws', added this one, which he called Murphy's Law. A short time later, the test was run and the test subject, Dr. John Paul Stapp, attributed the team's success and excellent safety record to their firm belief in Murphy's Law and in the necessity to try and circumvent it.

Aerospace manufacturers picked it up and used it in many of their ads during the next few months. Like any catchy phrase, it was soon being quoted in news and magazine articles everywhere.

In 1958, Murphy's Law was added into the Webster's dictionary and people everywhere breathed a deep sigh of relief knowing that now, when everything that could go wrong, does - they can chalk it up to Murphy and his indisputable law.

1. If anything can go wrong, it will

2. If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong

3. If anything just cannot go wrong, it will anyway

4. If you perceive that there are four possible ways in which something can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop

5. Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse

6. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something

7. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw

8. Mother nature is a b**ch

9. Every solution breeds new problems

10. Logic is a systematic method of coming to the wrong conclusion with confidence

Obviously, Murphy's Laws are not inevitable - if they were, no one would ever get anything done (or at least done right)! But the truth behind these popular pessimistic laws cannot be denied, and so experts at British Gas got together and came up with an equation to figure out the probability of Murphy's famous law (also referred to as Sod's Law).
For those mathematically minded individuals, the formula is:

((U+C+I) x (10-S))/20 x A x 1/(1-sin(F/10)) (got that?) Where U=urgency
C=complexity
I=importance
S=skill
F=frequency
A=aggravation (which has been since made into a constant, with a value of 0.7)

Here's how it works:
-Take any event or project in which you want to know the probability that Murphy's Law will come in to play. Score the above characteristics on a scale of 1-9, 1 being the least, 9 being the most.

-Plug in the numbers and find out how likely it is that things just won't quite work out.

(Author's note - there is a 26% probability that this newsletter won't go out this Friday...I guess time will tell =)

Now, if your eyes have glazed over by this point, don't worry!

There are Murphy's Law calculators online that are completely free. As this is a mathematical formula, your answers shouldn't vary, regardless of which site you choose, but here is one that I used:

http://andrew.triumf.ca/cgi-bin/murphy.html

So the next time you have a big presentation at work, or an important party to host, or even if you're just worried that your hair appointment will leave you looking like Marge Simpson - you can go and use this quick calculator to find out how likely failure is (and they even give you suggestions on how to minimize your risk!)

That being said, you can bet Murphy's Law that someone will try one of these, something will go wrong, and I will be blamed =). So, let's just say I'm sorry and move on!

Now, to prevent (or to lower the probability of) disaster happening, I've also added in a small blurb after each recipe explaining a common cooking problem and how to fix it.

2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked
2 hard-boiled eggs
3 potatoes, cooked
1 1/4 cups pickled cucumbers
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp dried dill weed
1 tbsp minced dry onion
1/2 tsp powdered dry mustard (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper (to taste)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup mayonnaise

1. Chop the chicken, eggs, potatoes and pickled cucumbers into very small pieces. Mix all together. Add the garlic, salt, dill weed, onion, mustard powder, salt, pepper and mayonnaise, then the olive oil. Toss to coat. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Cracked Hard-Boiled Eggs - When an egg cracks while being boiled, just add a little vinegar to the water - it will help seal the egg.

1 pound Italian sausage
2 clove garlic, minced
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 ounce) can great northern beans, undrained
2 small zucchini, cubed
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1. In a stock pot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
3. Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.

Oversalting - At one time or another, every cook has gotten a little too overexcited in their salting efforts. There are a few things you can do to correct this:

- Dilute with water, if this will not effect your recipe
- For soups, peel and cut a raw white potato and add it to the broth - it will absorb a lot of the salt (just remember to remove the potato before serving!)
- Add a little sugar and vinegar.

1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 cups wild rice (or rice of your choice)
1/2 pound fresh asparagus (or veggies of your choice)
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
4 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp brown sugar

1. Cut asparagus into 3/4 inch to 1 inch pieces, discarding tough bottoms of spears. In a small bowl, mix together the hoisin sauce and brown sugar and set aside. Prepare rice.
2. Heat wok over medium high heat. When hot, dribble 1 tablespoon of oil around the rim. Stir fry asparagus for approximately 2 minutes. Remove from the wok and keep warm. Heat wok to high heat.
3. Heat wok to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, the garlic and the chicken pieces and stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the reserved asparagus and hoisin/sugar sauce and stir fry all together until pieces are coated with sauce. Serve over the hot rice.

Rice Problems - I am absolutely hopeless at cooking rice. I even manage to mess it up when using a rice cooker (I've still never figured out how I can even do that...). But I don't think I'm completely alone here, so let's look at some common rice
problems:

Chewy/hard rice - Add just enough water to create some steam
(1/4 cup or less). Put the lid on and cook on very low heat for
5 minutes.

Excess water after cooking - Uncover the pot and cook over low heat to evaporate the water, or turn rice out onto a baking sheet and dry it (on low heat) in the oven.

Burnt bottom layer - Run cold water over the outside for the pot's bottom to keep the burnt flavor from permeating the rest of the rice (don't add water to the rice itself!). Tip out as much rice as you can salvage.

4 tbsp olive oil, divided
6 cloves garlic, crushed
6 cups whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
2 tsp salt
2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 (16 ounce) package linguine pasta
8 ounces small shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces bay scallops
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the garlic over medium heat. When the garlic starts to sizzle, pour in the tomatoes. Season with salt and red pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
Cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
3. In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over high heat. Add the shrimp and scallops. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the shrimp turn pink. Add shrimp and scallops to the tomato mixture, and stir in the parsley. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce just begins to bubble. Serve sauce over pasta.

Overcooked Pasta - Considering that pasta is the base for any pasta dish, it really does make a difference how it's cooked. And while undercooked pasta can just be cooked a little longer, what do you do when your end result is mush?

- Drain well. Chop longer pasta (such as spaghetti or linguine) and stir-fry in a bit of oil over med-high heat to crispen it. (If you haven't already started making the rest of your dish, you can always turn this into a yummy fried noodle dish by adding some herbs, spices and soy sauce!)

www.murphys-laws.com

There may be other fun sites listed in this section, but this is all you need if you want to learn more about Murphy and his laws.

http://andrew.triumf.ca/cgi-bin/murphy.html

Do you have a big project due at work soon? Worried about missing an important early-morning interview? Well, this site calculates the probability of Murphy's Law coming into play.

nzmaths.co.nz/Statistics/Probability/MurphysLaw.htm

Using Murphy's Law to teach kids all about probabilities? Sounds good to me! This site has step-by-step instructions on experiments your kids can try to (dis)prove Murphy's law.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law

Lots of information on Murphy's Law, and the laws themselves
- in 10 languages (they are universal laws!).

www.mathsyear2000.org/thesum/issue8/sunbottom.html

A detailed account of the Tumbling Toast Test, designed to either prove or disprove the Murphy's Law variation "If toast can land butter-side down, it will"

http://www.baycooking.com/kitchen_tips.htm#baking

When Murphy just won't leave you alone at home, this site has some great tips for fixing many common cooking and household problems.

"You have a great thing here. Your soups are delicious! I have never had a tastier soup that wasn't made from scratch!
Thanks for the samples with my order! I will be ordering again, and often!"
Michelle Pippin, CO

"We had the Chicken Noodle soup for dinner and it was a meal in itself! Fantastic product. Also had the Vegetarian Chili and my husband says its the best he has ever tasted. Keep up the GREAT WORK!!"
Sheila Cooper, BC

"We've tried every single product and love them all. Our very favorite of all time though, of which my husband always reminds me to reorder when low on supply, is the Au Jus Beef Dip. We use it in a variety of ways - As the dip; as a gravy base; as a soup base; and in the crock pot as a base when making a delicious pot of slow-cooking beef stew.
I've never yet been disappointed with an ED product."
Denise Vaughn, FL

"I tried the Au Jus and it was fantastic."
Patricia Bibbins, CA

"We tried the Coleslaw mix, and the Au Jus (my nephew calls it "awe juice"), to rave reviews. My brother finally has the solution for his specialty French dip sammiches, and my mother, an easy solution for her special coleslaw. Thanks a bundle!"
M.B. Gallagher, WA

Creamy Potato and Ham Soup

1 Bag O.G. Creamy Potato Soup
1lb Diced or cubed ham
16oz finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Cook the Creamy Potato Soup as directed on package, but add diced or cubed ham to the pot at the same time you add in the soup mixture. When the soup is done, add the cheddar cheese to the soup and stir until melted. Serve and enjoy!
Susie Lalonde

"Easy to prepare and tastes homemade. Very enjoyable"
Marjorie Padua, HI

"Everyone thought I had made it from scratch!"
M. Goss, CO

"Oh My Goodness! Your Soups Are The BEST..Simply Delish! :)"
Bambi Wright, UT

1. The Law of Common Sense: Never accept a drink from a urologist

2. The Law of Self Sacrifice: When you starve with a tiger, the tiger starves last.

3. The Law of Motivation: Creativity is great, but plagiarism is faster.

4. Wailer's Law: Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself.

5. Law of Probable Dispersal: Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

6. Law of Volunteer Labor: People are always available for work in the past tense.

7. Conway's Law: In any organization there is one person who knows what is going on. That person must be fired.

8. Hoare's Law of Large Problems: Inside every large problem is a small problem struggling to get out.

9. Law of Drunkenness: You can't fall off the floor.

10. Heeler's Law: The first myth of management is that it exists.

11. Osborne's Law: Variables won't; constants aren't.

12. Main's Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.

13. Weinberg's Second Law: If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would have destroyed civilization.

14. It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious.

15. Great ideas are never remembered and dumb statements are never forgotten.

http://www.tech-sol.net/humor/vocabulary20.htm