Smithy

Haha! I was going to ask about that Aussie energy drink!

Welcome! What sort of cooking do you like to do now? Do you cook only for yourself, or for a family with its own collective ideas about what's good? Do you have any of your grandfather's or great-uncle's notes?

When I was growing up, we were strictly forbidden from touching or hunting jackrabbits because of Tularemia. Maybe it isn't as common in your area, but as it happens the disease is named for a town about 25 miles from our erstwhile ranch. The Mayo Clinic web page in my link suggests that other animals can carry it too, so maybe my parents were being overprotective.

I confess: I was so overwhelmed with the various choices that I just decided to wing it, based on loose principles of solids to liquids ratios and what I actually had on hand. I ended up with too much goo and not enough solids, thereby needing more oats and nuts in an attempt to balance it all out. It came out looking and tasting all right but despite quite a lot of cooking it's still a bit softer than my husband would like. One thing I did right: put the cranberries in after the cooking was almost done, so they didn't turn into rocks! I'll be going to a grocery store in the next couple of days, so I'll be able to stock up on the right ingredients.

My grandfather grew up as a subsistence hunter in the Tennessee hills, and when he could bring home rabbits his family knew there'd be good eats. I don't know how great-grandmama would have prepared them, though. Stew, possibly? (Once, he brought home squirrels as a desperation measure, and his mother passed them off as rabbit as a little joke between the two of them. Later, neither dared 'fess up to his father!) I have cooked rabbit a few times in my adult life, and enjoyed eating it. I look forward to seeing what comes across these pages for inspiration.

That would be a helluva huge fish, to need the largest openings. Then again, I guess I've seen them that big out in the ocean.

I've learned through private channels that @suzilightning, a member since 2001, passed away in January. I'll miss her. As with so many of my eGullet friends, we never met in person but had some good offline conversations. She was generous with her discarded cookbooks, and I still have many that she gave me. She was also an avid birder, and it was on our shared bucket list to meet up at my place during the hawk migration season. I imagine we'd have done some fine cooking together if that had ever happened. More information will be posted here if and as it arrives through public channels. In the meantime, please share your memories of her in this topic.

That dessert looks to me like a slice of cheese layered between 2 slices of lime jello. If it is, it belongs in the "what were they thinking???" category. Your poor husband's food misadventures remind me of stories I heard from a few cargo vessel cooks I've known who worked for shipping companies on the Great Lakes or the Mississippi River. The food budget was essentially unlimited; it was vital to crew morale to have good food, plenty of it, and warm for those cold trips. More than one told me that the gulls and fish ate very well until he learned his craft! One at least told me about hearing that a bad cook could simply...disappear...in the night if he was too bad a cook. I think (hope) that was urban legend, but it was probably a powerful motivator.

Heidi's right, it's a plastic honey bottle. So no honey-coated shards of glass, but lots of honey-coated melted plastic all over the rack and oven bottom might have been as bad. So glad I caught it in time!

I'd have been tempted to just sell the trailer as-is, or at least buy a new oven!

Here's my near-miss contribution to the topic. I will never again turn on the oven without double-checking its contents first. The honey had crystallized and was inside for gentle warming by the pilot light. Fortunately I remembered before the oven had reached its full 350F.

Filo wrapped around leftover chili. Now there's a concept I could have done without.

I'm surprised too. I had forgotte Fleischman's margarine! I don't think I ever knew that Planter's and Royal were under the Fleischman's umbrella. The mega-corporation model must be older than I thought. Isn't is funny how the photography and food styling date pictures? I know we've commented on this before but it's still striking to me.

..... Here's why I've been wondering about the ZIP code. This pamphlet has been in my cousin's collection for who-knows-how-long: since it was first published. JoNorvelleWalker's information puts it at or after 1963, but I know that the Sunnyside Packing Company is no longer at that Fresno location. Their web site says they opened their Selma plant, its current location, in 1978. I think the pamphlet's styling puts it more in the 1960's. My cousin lent the pamphlet to me a couple of times to make copies. Once I scanned it in its entirety; once I only shot the recipes, cover and overleaf. The snippets are all I can find right now. The persimmon cookies were a Smith-clan staple during the holiday season. We never had a persimmon tree, but neighbors did. Mother got lots of persimmons from them, and rewarded them with her Christmas cookie trays that included persimmon cookies.

Thank you for that. I've been trying to use the presence or absence of a ZIP code to establish publication dates, but didn't have the history (or the original of the acronym) right. Gotta love the librarians!

That's a good thing about the Princessmobile: a gas oven. I love having a pilot light to keep the chamber just a bit warm! I was surprised when I discovered that my best friend's new gas oven does not have a pilot light. Some modern foolishness about efficiency, I suppose. Made it tough to proof bread at her place when it was cold.

I wonder whether the CSO could reheat the leftovers in such a way that the tots would recrisp. We had 3 containers of leftovers in sealed containers in the refrigerator (down to 2 now) and of course the tots are soggy. Since the CSO is somewhere between 1 and 2 kilomiles away I'll have to try it some other time. Maybe someone else can try reheating such a dish and report back?

Poppy seeds! That sounds like a nice addition.

Spring may be starting to spring. How much is due to the rain we don't know, but it certainly can't hurt. We spotted a few ocotillos beginning to bloom. These plants bloom in the spring even when it's too dry to produce leaves, in a symbiotic dance with the northward hummingbird migration. So is this one blooming because of the rain, or the season? Will it produce leaves this year? We hope so. We've been puzzling over whether certain of the plants whose leaves seem withered will start afresh with new leaves, or simply rehydrate the existing ones. Today we have reason to think the velvet mallows, at least, will do both. Look! Those big fat leaves are rehydrating! And glory be, here's the first blossom we've seen this year! (Sorry the pic is out of focus.) Last night I tried a recipe out of @JAZ's Dutch Oven Dinners (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) that I've had bookmarked for a while: Chili-Cheese-Tater Tot Casserole. I love Tater Tots. I don't often indulge in them, but this looked like a winner. I admit that I had a "what was I thinking?" moment after I'd begun. I hate frying inside. It makes a mess, it's difficult to get the odors out afterward, and all too often I don't control the temperature well enough. By that time I was committed, and I didn't want to move outside to the cold campstove, so I soldiered on. The reward was that as the tots cooled and drained I could snitch a few as cook's treats. I had purchased a can of pinto beans for the occasion. Thanks to our discussion upthread I paid careful attention to the labels. No sugar here! After the tots are fried and draining on paper (next time I'll try baking them) you brown the burger, add onion and jalapeno and cook more; add spices; add the drained beans and diced tomatoes. She does a good job of describing the timing in the recipe. (She also says that if you have a favorite chili recipe to do that instead as long as it isn't soupy.) Top with shredded cheese and then tots. Bake until tots are browned and cheese melted. I had already browned the tots, but they didn't overcook. Serve and enjoy. This recipe is absolutely a keeper! I liked her chili very much, and so did my darling despite his having his own pet recipe. It was gratifying to see the way the stuff set up in the pot, although we didn't give it enough time to set up fully before we were digging in. The cleanup wasn't even bad, despite my whingeing about frying inside. But next time I'll try baking to see how that works.

I've been experimenting with making granola at home. I've written about my efforts elsewhere, but today I thought to look for a dedicated topic. Here it is! Time to give it a bump. I tried a New York Times recipe for Olive Oil Granola with Dried Apricots and Pistachios, thanks to a suggestion from @heidih, that uses olive oil rather than butter as the fat. I was surprised at how the rather strong olive oil aroma and taste mellowed during the baking process. Aside from that I was also surprised at how serious a mistake it is to add the dried fruit BEFORE baking. At the begining of this very old topic, @helenjp refers to not wanting nut-and-bolt type objects in that cereal. I think I know what she meant. Last year was my very first attempt at making granola, based on my best friend's recipe: 1 cup of oats, 1 Tbsp honey and 1 Tbsp safflower oil, some sunflower seeds. Bake at 350F for 8 - 10 minutes. Add toasted nuts afterward if desired. Very different than the NYT recipe above, except for the use of oil instead of butter. How had I forgotten that her recipe also uses oil? My mind, how I miss it. It seems everyone has a favorite granola recipe, and the recipes and methods all seem pretty forgiving. That is, they're forgiving if you don't accidentally include chunks of pecan shell as I did last year, or add the dried fruit before cooking as I did this year. @kayb added her standard recipe here, but may be willing to post it again. What are your preferences for granola? Super- or barely-sweet? With or without coconut? Large clumps or small? Got any troubleshooting tips or major failure stories? (@Kim Shook got help for making non-clumpy granola more clumpy here: How can I fix my granola to make it clumpier?) Feel free to post your favorite recipes here, or better still in RecipeGullet.

A TALE OF TWO GRANOLAS Well, the title is about as dramatic as it gets. Got your attention, didn't it? I finally got around to making granola. I made one batch of what's actually an oatmeal crumble intended as a dessert base. I discovered last year that it's pretty good over yogurt. I also tried, more or less, the granola recipe @heidih recommended here. I say "more or less" because I took extreme liberties with the recipe. I had pistachios, for once, but no dried apricots or cinnamon(!) or coconut flakes. I'm not overly fond of maple flavor, except in very small doses, so I combined maple syrup and honey for the sweetener. Despite the liberties the original recipe taught me a few things. I was surprised at how much the olive oil flavor mellowed out after the granola was baked. Before it went into the oven I was none too impressed with the aroma or flavor of the mixture. I used dried cranberries for the dried fruit portion. Looking back at the recipe, I see that it says to add the dried fruit AFTER the baking. So that's where I went wrong! The fruit, and maybe something else, are almost toothbreakingly hard until the granola soaks in milk for a while. I'll make it again, paying closer attention to the dried fruit question. My darling quite likes it. He uses almond milk with his breakfast fruit and cereal, so he's in no danger of needing emergency dentistry. Funny, the textural difference isn't as clear in these photos as it is in real life. The oatmeal crumble has no fruit. I prefer it on my yogurt. It may survive long enough for a dessert, but don't hold your breath.

Thanks so much for posting this, and please thank your husband for being such a good sport about it! I've gone back to the beginning, found a couple of answers and a new question. So now I think I understand the "hut" vs. "crib hut" distinction. Can you / does he talk about the logistics of this food? Does it all come in at the same time as the new crews, or are there intermediate deliveries? That seems like a staggering amount of planning to me, but it can't be any different than what has to happen aboard a ship. Have you found out yet what happens to the garbage? That's a lot of plastic waste. If they're like my former mining company, they won't be interested in hauling the waste back. Local landfill? Incinerator?

I made it in to Yuma yesterday and had a chance to check out the Farmers' Market that's attempting to grow in the parking lot of a shopping center. It used to be in the old historic downtown area, and was a happy find for me last year. This year the downtown gatherings are still closed due to the pandemic, but the mall parking lot seems to be spread out enough to be safe. The market is still struggling for its footing. A couple of weeks ago one vendor had a largish stall with produce; this week there was no fresh produce. There was one vendor selling "exotic jerky"; another sold CBD products; a third stall featured some sort of clothing articles; and this gentleman was selling locally-produced fine (I hope) olive oils and vinegars. I actually bought some of his product when I was there 2 weeks ago, but that was for gifts. This time, I treated myself. I still haven't opened it. I think I'll need to make some good crusty bread for it. I suspect some of it will be drizzled on chicken or fish as it's cooking. I'll report back when I open it. In the meantime, suggestions are welcome. My errands took me past the taqueria I mentioned before, so I indulged in a pair of tacos al gubernador. They were still 2 for $5, a heck of a bargain, and the two women who work the place are pleasant. The woman who took my order (and money) was good enough to coach me on how to say 'gubernador' properly, after I stumbled over it and asked for the pronunciation. Oh, that chipotle mayonnaise is good stuff. I got an extra container as a spare. It's in the refrigerator now.

Ah! Foot in lower left. Aha! I was too mesmerized by the food to spot it. Thanks.

Sorry, I've looked repeatedly and still don't know what you mean here. I suspect another Yank vs. Oz language discrepancy, but it could be my terminal dumbness first thing in the morning. Please explain? That roast thing looked pretty good, actually. It's his own personal crib, right? Or does he have to share?