What My Taste Buds Are Thankful For This Year!

I've been accused of using this blog to promote and propagandize the global domination of the Illuminati and their Union foot soldiers, so in the spirit of the holiday season I thought I'd back off a bit to promote something undeniably good and honorable, unless of course you're a pumpkin hater!

Two weekends before Halloween my family was visiting my aunt's outside Doylestown, PA, and went pumpkin picking at one of the local farms that also had a market and bakery. Now I have more of a sweet tooth than I'd care to admit, especially pumpkin pie, and they didn't have just pumpkin pie, they had a table full of pumpkin pastries. Of course I had to try them all; pie, tart, crumb cake, fudge, but the winner, the most irresistible was the pumpkin brownie! Somewhere between bread and pie, it was a sweet, moist, dense, cream cheese slathered 5"x5" block of pure bliss. I had to eat five of them on top of the other desserts just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. A lot of high praise and sweet talk scored me the recipe and last night was the first attempt at recreating the Pieta of pumpkin based confectionary. Usually when I cook or bake I make it up as I go which makes repeating successful experiments nearly impossible much to the chagrin of my wife. Once I made a pretty amazing Balsamic Chicken, her very favorite, with lemon, diced tomato, and drizzled egg that I've never been able to reproduce. For these brownie's I stayed as true as possible:

Cream 1/2# butter and 2 cups of dark brown sugar

Blend in 2 eggs, 2 cups solid pak pumpkin, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tbs baking powder, 1/2 tbs cinnamon ( anytime cinnamon is called for I quadruple it ), 1/4 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves, 2 cups of flour, 1/2 tbs orange extract, dash of vanilla ( my addition since every recipe should have a dash of something! )

Spread into a greased and floured brownie pan and cook at 325 until you can poke it with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

For the cinnamon cream cheese frosting mix 1/2 cup of butter and 12 oz of cream cheese, 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon ( or 4! ), 1 tsp vanilla

Then I heat the frosting up slowly until it's liquid enough to drizzle and enjoy, but if you're like me have a trusted friend or relative hide the brownies you don't plan to eat!

Pat Gottschalk, Former Republican Municipal Chair, Endorses Leitner & Welch

 
Dear Point Pleasant Residents,
 
You may remember me as the former Republican Municipal Chairperson for 12 years, charter member of the Point Pleasant Republican Club, and County Committeewoman.  I have been committed to the Republican cause locally and nationally.  Yet this year I find that the best choice for Point Pleasant is to endorse Democrats Christopher Leitner and Brian Welch.
 
I am proud to be a Republican but some things are more important than party politics. My decision to endorse Councilman Leitner and his running mate Brian Welch is an easy decision because it is the right thing to do.
 
I know there are many Republicans in Point Pleasant that crossed party lines to support Mayor Bill Schroeder because he was the best candidate, regardless of party affiliation. This year is no different. You need to vote for the people who are most qualified and will do the best job for ALL residents, regardless of party affiliation. You need to vote for people who will respect the residents of Point Pleasant and the employees who work for Point Pleasant while being fiscally responsible and making sure everyone can afford to live here. You need to vote for Chris Leitner and Brian Welch.
 
I have worked on many political campaigns at the National, State, County and Local levels and have served as a campaign manager for 26 successful campaigns, without a loss, in Point Pleasant.  I am saddened to see the negative tone of this year's Republican campaign, and their embrace of Sue Rogers’ discredited and damaging policies.
 
You need strong leadership that can build bridges - not burn bridges.
 
You need Chris Leitner and Brian Welch to bring Point Pleasant back to a community people love and are proud to call home.
 
Sincerely,
 
Pat Gottschalk
 

My Endorsement of Chris Leitner & Brian Welch

Point Pleasant needs Chris Leitner and Brian Welch. We

need Chris and Brian to help put an end to decades of

control by a small circle whose only interest is influence

and status. Self-servers and rubberstampers have left our

boro’s finances in tatters and services in jeopardy.

Despite all claims to the contrary, past administrations

left us in deficit, with unstable tax, water, and sewer rates,

with less police on the street, with a reliance on furloughs

and reduced services, and worst of all, left us feeling

unsure and uncertain instead of feeling the closeness and

security we all love about our community.

Mayor Schroeder, Chris Leitner and Jack McHugh have

brought fresh eyes to our finances for the first time in

over a decade, putting an end to a long history of wasteful

practices. They have put our professionals to the task of

creating a long-term debt management plan. They are

preparing for the first complete water/sewer audit in

recent memory. They are coordinating a multi-agency

Complete Streets Program that will provide safe bicycle

and pedestrian routes to schools, transportation and businesses

throughout the entire town.

And they have done all this with thoughtful and

methodical consideration. Plans like theirs to reduce

garbage fees for all boro residents have been discussed in

public for months, not presented last minute and rubberstamped

like so many half-baked plans of the past. Bill,

Jack, and Chris have welcomed our residents back to borough

hall, no longer a members-only club for the most

connected.

This progress hasn’t been easy. Bob, Mitch, and Toni

have tried to stall most of these actions only to try and

later claim them as their own. Why would they try to

block the opportunity of a shared service with Brick that

ex-council president Rogers falsely claims is the fruit of

her labor? It’s just as bizarre as Bob claiming responsibility

for the unaccounted reserves discovered by our new

auditor, or claiming to have confirmation from our new

chief financial officer that the boro had a surplus. A claim

repeated by their council candidate that prompted Ms.

Swisher to immediately respond to mayor and council,

saying, “My guess by now is that most of you have read

the Sept. 30 edition of the Ocean Star. Well, that was certainly

a surprise for me especially since I was quoted so

often on a topic I don’t remember speaking about,” and

that she “never mentioned the word surplus.” This time of

transition needs councilmembers working for our neighbors

instead of working to sabotage each other.

Thankfully many recognize that Point Pleasant’s time to

celebrate itself has come. Most of us know that the bare

minimum will no longer do, and that the status quo is no

longer enough. Point Pleasant deserves to reach its full

potential. Brian Welch and I look forward to working with

the mayor, Chris Leitner and any other willing participants

to see this happen. Together we are changing the

attitude of “How much do I have to do?” into “How much

can I do?” Join me in voting Nov. 8th for Chris Leitner and

Brian Welch and a better Point Pleasant.

CHRISTOPHER GOSS

Councilman, Point Pleasant

Kilkare Parkway, Point Pleasant