It's one of the world's most enduring mysteries that has lasted for the last three centuries and been charged with the disappearance of more than 2,000 sea vessels and 200 airplanes.

The Bermuda Triangle, which spans from Bermuda to Puerto Rico and over to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale coast, comprises half a million square miles of infamous seas.

Inquisitive minds have questioned whether the supernatural or actual science is to blame for all the area's mysteries. The subject has sparked books, articles and Web sites.

Legend has it that explorer Christopher Columbus was the first to report strange happenings in the area in 1492. According to ship's logs, Columbus said the compasses could not maintain a constant bearing, and that the North Star appeared to move.

Since then, thousands have reported eerie incidents around the Bermuda Triangle, including one last December when a twin-engine plane with 12 people vanished on its way to Mayaguana Island in the Bahamas.

One of the region's most perplexing incidents happened just off the U.S. coast and sparked and enduring legend. In 1945, five torpedo bombers took off into the skies from the U.S. Naval air station in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on a routine training mission that became the now infamous "Flight 19."

"Five avenger bombers who left Lauderdale on Dec. 5, 1945 -- leave in the late afternoon and they are never heard of again," said meteorologist Dave Pares. Rough weather, compasses spun uncontrollably by an unknown force and a disoriented flight leader helped seal the aircrafts' fates. The fleet disappeared without a trace.

Like all the other mysterious vanishing acts in the Bermuda Triangle, Flight 19 sparked debate among people who tried to determine what had occurred.

"I believe all of these incidents have scientific explanations," said Hans Graber, of the Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. He believes rogue waves are to blame.

Rough Weather Could Contribute to Mystery

Rogue waves are a massive pile up of ocean swells that can stand five times the size of regular waves and take shape fast, with little warning to victims.

The Bermuda Triangle is home to some of the roughest weather at sea, and Graber said one rogue wave could submerge ships and planes entirely.

"The Bermuda Triangle, simply by its geographic locations, with the gulfstream, with the island of Bermuda itself, is prone to where you can have rogue waves occur," he said,

While Graber looks to the waves to explain the triangle's mysteries, Bruce Gernon, author of "The Fog: A Never Before Published Theory of the Bermuda Triangle Phenomenon," thinks there's something else at work.

In his book, he details an experience he said he had while flying off the Florida coast in 1970, when he claims he flew into an "electronic fog" and time traveled.

"Some of the instruments were malfunctioning. The wet compass was spinning slowly, counter-clockwise all by itself. The electronic navigational instruments were all malfunctioning," Gernon said. "And at the same time, I traveled 30 minutes through time."

David Parest, a professor of meteorology of the University of Nebraska who has studied Gernon's experience and other incidents in the Bermuda Triangle, said similar conditions were at work in all of the cases, and ultimately, it is the weather that is to blame.

"The cases I have analyzed, over 87 percent of these missing aircraft all have the same identical weather conditions," Parest said.

No bounds to creativity

Spring is here and planting the vegetable/fruit garden but conserving water are issues that go hand in hand. So can you use reclaimed water on your gardens?

A. Here’s the answer from the Rockledge Wastewater Department:
1. Irrigation of edible crops that will be peeled, skinned, cooked or thermally processed before consumption is allowed. Direct contact of the reclaimed water with such edible crops is allowed.
2. Irrigation of tobacco or citrus is allowed. Direct contact of the reclaimed water with tobacco or citrus is allowed, including citrus used for fresh table fruit, processing into concentrate, or other purposes.
3. Irrigation of edible crops that will not be peeled, skinned, cooked, or thermally processed before consumption is allowed if an indirect application method that will preclude direct contact with the reclaimed water (such as ridge and furrow irrigation, drip irrigation, or a subsurface distribution system) is used.
4. Irrigation of edible crops that will not be peeled, skinned, cooked or thermally processed before consumption using an application method that allows for direct contact of the reclaimed water on the crop is prohibited.

Retiring shuttle may doom 38,200 Space Coast jobs

Macaroni and Cheese 101

- serves 12 -
Adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole
6 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to l/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for water
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyère or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.

2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

3. While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.

4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyère (or 1 cup Pecorino Romano); set the cheese sauce aside.

5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyère (or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano), and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.

Related Recipes You Might Enjoy

Perfect Grilled Cheese
Serious Bacon-Cheese Hot Dogs
Mark Bittman's Baked Ziti

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ed’s post last week got me thinking about how hard it is to find a really great chocolate chip cookie; the issue is that no one cookie can be the chocolate chip cookie for all people. Some prefer crisp cookies, while others insist on gooey, doughy ones. These cookies tread the happy middle ground between the two.

This is one of the great urban myth recipes—supposedly, years ago, a woman dining at Neiman Marcus asked for their cookie recipe, was told it would cost $2.50, and was later shocked to find a $250 charge on her credit card. For revenge, she shared the recipe with as many people as possible. Even if the story is a fabrication, the cookies are great, and the addition of ground oats adds to their wholesome appeal. This version is from Nancy Baggett’s The All-American Cookie Book.

Related Recipes You Might Enjoy

Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies
World Peace Cookies
Alexis's Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or 12 ounces top-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
3-1/2 to 4 ounces top-quality milk chocolate, finely chopped or coarsely grated
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional)

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.

In a food processor or blender, grind the oats to a very fine powder. (If using a blender, stop the motor and stir the oats several times.) In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In another large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar, sugar, and corn syrup and beat until well blended and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until evenly incorporated. Beat in about half of the flour mixture. Beat or stir in the chocolate morsels, chopped milk chocolate, walnuts or pecans (if using), and remaining flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the dough firms up just slightly.

Divide the dough into quarters. Divide each quarter into 5 or 6 equal portions. Shape them into balls with lightly greased hands. Place on the baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart. Using your hands, pat down the balls to 1 inch thick.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at time, in the upper third of the oven for 9 to 12 minutes, or until tinged with brown and just beginning to firm up in the centers; for very moist cookies, be careful not to overbake. Reverse the sheet front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks. Let stand until completely cooled.

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.

Note: Sometimes I leave out the milk chocolate and add more dark chocolate instead. And when I make these cookies, I refrigerate the dough overnight and then shape rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. This makes smaller, more compact cookies, which I prefer. For thinner, slightly crisper cookies, follow the directions above.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2006/09/neiman-marcus-chocolate-chip-c.html?ref=fn

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Note: Crunchy cookie - for softer cookie reduce baking soda or store a slice of bread in container with cookies.

Cheese Lovers 5 Cheese Mac and Cheese

Recipe courtesy Rick Massa

Ingredients

2

Cheese Lovers 5 Cheese Mac and Cheese

Recipe courtesy Rick Massa

3/4 cup grated Gruyere
3/4 cup grated white Cheddar (Australian)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and butter a 9 by 13-inch
glass baking dish.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and
reserve. Saute the onion in the bacon drippings until soft. Add the 5 tablespoons butter to the onion mixture
and melt the butter stirring with a wooden spoon.
Using a whisk, add the flour, and stir constantly until well mixed with the fat making a roux. Whisk in the
mustard. Gradually add the milk and cream whisking constantly.
Add the thyme, bay leaf, and salt. Let come to a simmer and stir frequently for 15 minutes.

Strain the hot milk mixture into a metal bowl and discard the solids. Working quickly, mix in 1 cup fontina,
blue cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere, 1/2 cup white Cheddar, 1/2 cup Parmesan, the reserved bacon, and parsley.
Continue to stir until all cheese is melted.

Copyright 2009 Television Food Network G.P., All Rights Reserved

Heirloom Carrot Spoon Cake

Recipe courtesy Sandra Lee, 2007

Ingredients

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch ovenproof omelet pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned but not crisp. Take the bacon out of the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.

Place the potatoes in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until very tender and browned, tossing occasionally to brown evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon to the same plate with the bacon.