Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 22, 2013

A10

FOOD & DRINK

 Mountain Views News Saturday, June 22, 2013 


TIPPING - THE REFRESHER COURSE

(While Mr. Dills is on vacation!)

Let’s review my previous columns on tipping:

If you’re not sure of the percentage to tip, just double the tax. That usually makes everyone, including 
your server, happy. Remember, the server doesn’t make the food; so if the food wasn’t so hot, but 
the service was accurate and speedy, don’t penalize the server. You must tip for service. One last 
reminder - - - kids! If your kids make a mess (sometimes they do) leave the busboy a few extra 
bucks. Come on don’t be cheap; servers rely on 
your generoiusity to earn a living.

Some people tip heavily to prove that they are a 
big shot or to impress their friends. Regardless, 
I think you’ll agree that we all work hard for our money and sometimes it’s hard to part with it on 
tips. But, believe you me, the best places to tip are the places you go to most often - your favorite car 
wash/restaurant/hotel. Remember we are rewarding those who 
take care of us.

Speaking of Hotels here are a few suggestions for tipping at your 
favorite Hotel. On a recent stay at the Ritz Carlton here are few 
of my recent tips.

Hotel Concierge: If the concierge arranges for tickets to a local 
show or a sporting event I suggest a $10 to $20 gratuity, depending 
on the venue. Restaurant reservations outside the hotel, usually 
$10 will be appreciated.

Room Service: In many hotels the tip is added to the bill. However 
depending on speed of service add another $2. I usually leave $10 
for the cleaning person if I left a bit of a mess. 

Bellhop: $2 per bag and an extra $5 if they arranged for ice or 
glasses to be sent to your room.

Pool Attendant: A nice chair and a towel, I tip $3 to $5 for this 
service.

Club/Concierge Level Captain: Many of the better hotels offer Concierge Level; I always tip at least 
$5 per attendant.

Hotel Valet: Hotels charge between $15 and $25 for in and out privileges for their guests. At the 
end of your stay, $10 is suggested. The Valets usually pool the tips.

Yes – I know that’s a lot of tipping, but trust me if you plan on returning you will be treated like 
royalty!!! If you have your own tips on tipping e mail me: the chefknows@yahoo.com. 

ENGLISH TRIFLE

A wonderful summer dessert!

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 (8 or 9 inch)white cake layers, baked and cooled

2pints fresh strawberries

1/4 cup white sugar

1 pints fresh blueberries

2 bananas

1/4 cup orange juice

1 (3.5 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds

12 maraschino cherries 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Slice strawberries and sprinkle them with sugar. Cut the bananas into slices and toss with 
orange juice. Combine pudding mix with milk and mix until smooth. Cut the cake into 1 inch cubes.

2. Use half of the cake cubes to line the bottom of a large glass bowl. Layer half of the strawberries 
followed by half of the blueberries, and then half of the bananas. Spread half of the pudding over 
the fruit. Repeat layers in the same order.

3. In a medium bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks and spread over top of trifle. Garnish with 

maraschino cherries and slivered almonds.


THE WORLD AROUND US


ALIVE ON A PALE BLUE DOT

 On July 19, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will be turned 
to image Saturn and its entire ring system during a 
total eclipse of the Sun, as it has done twice before 
during its 9 years in orbit. But this time, the images 
that will be collected have been specifically designed 
for something very special. They will capture, in 
natural color, a glimpse of our own planet next to 
Saturn and its rings, taken from nearly a billion miles 
away.

 “It will be a day,” says Cassini imaging team leader 
Carolyn Porco of the Space Science Institute in 
Boulder, Colorado, “for all the world to celebrate.”

 “Ever since we caught sight of the Earth among the 
rings of Saturn in September 2006 in a mosaic that 
has become one of Cassini’s most beloved images, I 
have wanted to do it all over again, only better,” says 
Porco. “And this time, I wanted to turn the entire 
event into an opportunity for everyone around the 
globe, at the same time, to savor the uniqueness of 
our beautiful blue-ocean planet and the preciousness 
of the life on it.”

 Porco was involved in co-initiating and executing 
the famous “Pale Blue Dot” image of Earth taken by 
NASA’s Voyager 1 from beyond the orbit of Neptune 
in 1990.

 The intent for the upcoming mosaic is to capture 
the whole scene, Earth and Saturn’s rings from one 
end to the other, in those particular camera filters—
red, green and blue—that can be composited to form 
a natural color view, or what human eyes might see 
at Saturn. It also includes imaging the Earth and the 
Moon with the high-resolution camera, something 
not yet done by Cassini.

 Three years ago, Porco and her staff members 
at CICLOPS began carefully examining Cassini’s 
planned trajectory for the remainder of its Saturn mission in search of the best time to image the Earth when it was unobstructed by Saturn or its rings, and when there weren’t other pressing scientific 
observations that rendered the idea impossible. Imaging any planetary body close to the Sun necessitates doing so when the Sun is completely blocked, so that no undiluted sunlight can enter the cameras or 
other Cassini instruments and damage their sensitive detectors. Such opportunities during Cassini’s orbital tour are rare.

 When all was considered, the best time for this event was found on July 19, 2013. For several hours on that day, the spacecraft was once again going to be in Saturn’s shadow. Unlike previous images of 
Earth by NASA interplanetary spacecraft since the days of Voyager, this will be the first time the world’s people will know ahead of time that their picture is being taken. 

 “My sincere wish is that people the world over stop what they’re doing at the time the Earth picture is taken to revel in the sheer wonder of simply being alive on a pale blue dot of a planet, and to appreciate 
the ever-widening perspective of ourselves and our world that we have gained from our interplanetary explorations,” says Porco. 

 “We are dreamers, thinkers, and explorers, inhabiting one achingly beautiful planet, yearning for the sublime, and capable of the magnificent,” she adds. “Let’s celebrate that, and make this one day a day 
the whole Earth smiles in unison.”

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com. 


This graphic shows the view of Earth and the portion of its surface that will be illuminated during the Earth imaging event on July 
19, 2013. In both the final composited mosaic of Saturn and its rings, and in the high resolution narrow angle camera images, the 
illuminated portion of Earth will be no more than one pixel wide. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech