One Giant Leap
February 29, 2016
“This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
~ Neil Armstrong, first person to walk on the Moon
I love to walk. Walking helps me get out of my house and my head, to make a fresh start mentally and to benefit my body physically.
Now, thanks to engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, technology has been developed that could bring power-generating capability to the act of walking. Your shoes could one day power your phone.
Tom Krupenkin, a professor of mechanical engineering at UW-Madison, estimates that human walking can produce up to 10 watts per shoe. That energy, normally just wasted as heat, could help to recharge your phone, tablet, or any number of things requiring batteries for operation.
This could be especially helpful for people who live in remote areas or developing countries that don’t have electrical power grids.
If taking a walk at lunch or upon returning from work could recharge spent devices for the evening, this technology might also encourage modern humans to get out and see their neighborhoods a little more often.
Power generating shoes will require a bit more research and development before they move from technological possibility to actual footwear. Until then, go take a nice walk. Look around you. Explore the sights, listen to the sounds, let your mind and imagination wander as you go.
And leave your phone behind to charge the soon-to-be old fashioned way.
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Scientists are also working on making batteries out of mushrooms (see this week’s “Thank You to the Plants”, up and to the right of the post), making Macaroni with Mushrooms and Mascarpone a scientific breakthrough in deliciousness.
Macaroni with Mushrooms and Mascarpone
This is one of the yummiest recipes I’ve ever created. Sure to be a hit with anyone who enjoys creamy, cheesy goodness. Think of it as a sophisticated Mac N’ Cheese that you can make on your stove top.
1 clove of garlic
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup course bread crumbs
8 oz elbow macaroni pasta
8 oz carton cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
A pinch of crumbled, dried rosemary
1 cup milk (2% or whole)
1 (8 oz) carton mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for the table
1 & 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Peel garlic clove and smash lightly, leaving intact. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, deep skillet. Add the garlic and bread crumbs and cook over medium heat, stirring, until golden and crisp, 4 to 5 minutes. Discard garlic clove. Transfer the bread crumbs to a plate and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until just barely al dente. Drain the pasta.
While the pasta water is boiling, and pasta is cooking, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the skillet. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, pepper and rosemary and cook over med-high heat, stirring, until mushrooms soften and begin to release their liquid, about 3 minutes.
Decrease heat to medium. Add milk and cook, stirring and scraping bits from bottom of pan for about 2 minutes.
Decrease heat to medium-low. Add the mascarpone and cook, stirring, until well-combined into a creamy sauce.
Add the pasta to the sauce and toss gently over medium-low heat until pasta absorbs some of the sauce, is fully coated and cooked through, but still al dente, 1 or 2 minutes.
Add the chives and the 1/2 cup of Parmesan and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Transfer to a large, warmed serving bowl. Sprinkle with the toasted bread crumbs and serve. Offer extra Parmesan at the table.
Serves 4
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