Clouds, dreary and a greatMeatball recipe

Good Morning Augusta

Today we have cloudy skies with a slight chance of a rain shower. High will reach 52ºF. Winds are from the N at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight it will be cloudy with a slight chance of a shower throughout the evening. Low will drop to 41ºF. Winds will remain from the N at 5 to 10 mph.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 78%, the dew point is 38.1ºF and outside it’s 44.6ºF.

The wind direction is East Northeast between 6.0 MPH and 7.4 MPH, with a heat index of 45ºF.

The Barometric pressure is 29.97 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The UV rating is 1 out of 16, Sunrise is at 5:17 a.m. Sunset is 7:54 P.M. Moon rise is at 7:38 p.m., Moon set is 5:32 a.m., and the moon phase is a FULL MOON being 100% illuminated.

The RAW METAR reading from Augusta’s airport is:

METAR KAUG 101053Z AUTO 33004KT 10SM FEW032 BKN040 OVC100 07/02 A2996 RMK AO2 SLP146 T00670022

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 Kilometers with some clouds down to 3,200 ft / 975 m., mostly cloudy (to 4,000 ft / 1,219 m. and overcast to 10,000 ft / 3,048 m.

We received 0.28 inches of rain over the past 24 hours.

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today’s Solar flux is 70, the solar wind speed is 358  Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

Since we’re still in some cold and mildly raw weather, try this one for a special meal.

Swedish Meatballs

These mildly spiced meatballs are the essence of winter comfort food, just the kind of thing you'll want to come in from a blustery day to enjoy. Serve them with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam, if you want something sweet.

1 'cup' panko bread crumbs

1/2 'cup' warm milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, diced

2 teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed

1 tablespoon brandy-optional.

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 'cup' beef or chicken broth, low sodium or homemade

1/2 'cup' heavy cream

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, optional

1 pound ground beef

when purchasing hamburg, use the more expensive type and brand for a much nicer taste.

1 pound ground pork

go ahead and use any prefered meats such as ground Veal, turkey, even Venison.  BE creative!

2 large eggs

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch cloves

Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed for drizzling Chopped fresh parsley or dill, for garnish

1. In a medium bowl, soak bread crumbs in warm milk while you prepare the onions.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Stir in onions and a pinch of salt and cook until pale golden, about 3 to 4 minutes.

keep an eye don't let them burn, Transfer half the onions to a large bowl and set aside.

3. Prepare sauce: Add brandy to skillet with onions and ignite with a long match or igniter (or if you're using a gas stove, just swirl pan, brandy should catch fire). Let flame die down, then add the remaining butter, letting it melt. Sprinkle in flour. Saute? until flour browns, about 3 minutes. Whisk in broth, cream and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Simmer, whisking, until reduced to a sauce, about 5 minutes. Add mustard, if you like, and season with more salt, if needed.

4. To large bowl with onion, add remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, soaked bread crumbs, beef, pork, eggs, garlic, pepper, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and cloves-and if desired add tablespoon jam.  Roll into 1-inch balls (about 2 tablespoons each), placing them on one or two rimmed baking sheets as you go.

5. Heat broiler. Drizzle meatballs with oil. Broil meatballs, switching pans' positions if using more than one so they both get close to the broiler, until well browned all over, 5 to 10 minutes, best to place first baking sheet on middle rack, not too close to broiler, the second sheet on bottom rack, or, just use one commercial sized cookie sheet to bake all meatballs needed, you decide. Serve with gravy, garnished with herbs. yummmy  Enjoy!