andiesenji

The 30.30 Marlin has less kick than an '06 and very accurate close in. I've shot both as well as a 12 ga shotgun with a slug and 300gr load which kicks like hell. I use to have a 10 ga, over and under double barrel that was a nice large bird gun with a light load of 190 gr and BB shot - we used copper instead of lead. I had reloading equipment for the shotguns. The only time I was injured by a recoil was when I forgot to put the safety on the 10 guage, It had a "rocker" firing pin and when I pulled the trigger on the upper barrel, the pin recoiled and fired the bottom one. I was wearing a heavy padded coat and the stock had a 3-inch pad but it still knocked me backwards in the boat (hunting geese). I had a technicolor chest for a few weeks.

Regarding the family plates. In the 1940s there were a couple of companies who toured the midwest teaching and providing supplies for china painting, cloth stenciling, gadgets for "quick knitting" and knot and braid gadgets - a generation later would morph into "macrame" ... They would be in small towns for a week or so, long enough to give basic classes. Rural people on farms would participate a lot because in many places, similar to where I was born and raised, there was no TV and visual hobbies could be done while listening to the radio. I recall that it began soon after the war ended because my uncle Willard had just come home from the VA hospital with his new arm prosthesis and he accompanied my aunt to the first few classes and then joined himself because they also sold model-building supplies and he wanted to build model planes. After the customers painted the china, the company would box them up and send them to the factory to be glazed and fired and then shipped back. There were also little figurines - mostly elves - angels, butterflies and other creatures - one of my aunts painted an elephant sitting on a ball, remarkable only because the larger than normal eyes were crossed - which she did on purpose. My aunts were avid hobbyists and they went in for the more elaborate flower painting on china rather than the "family" portraits, mainly because there were way too many in my family. They would have covered an entire wall. I never was allowed near the china painting but I was allowed to do some stenciling on table linens, pillowcases, and even was allowed to use my own artwork on my pillowcase, (a portrait of my horse).

I don't know where you are located in Missouri but I have a cousin that has a farm near the southern border and they are plagued with feral hogs. Some are very big. He doesn't let his kids wander around in the woods alone and when he goes out mushrooming or nutting, he carries a rifle, he says a 30.30 because of the shorter barrel and it doesn't carry as far but at close range can stop a hog. He shot a big boar last October while out gathering Hazelnuts and pecans. He says you can Google "feral hogs in Missouri" and get a map that shows locations.

Here is a good treatise on how to process the salt water into salt. You should have it tested to make sure there are no other chemicals - some harmful - in the water. There was a big salt lick on my grandpa's farm in western Kentucky. There were also a couple of mineral springs that arose from a limestone bluff and the area was fenced off because the springs contained a lot of arsenic and some other undesirable minerals. The salt lick was mined and the crushed salt mixed in one of the big galvanized stock tanks and left to evaporate in the sun and tarped when it rained. The resulting salt was only used for the livestock.

I have one of the white handles which only fits the Corningware French White stove top items that have a slightly curved "lug" handle. Attempting to use it on other Corningware pieces will cause breakage. Almost all of my Corningware and Pyrex is from many years ago. I bought a ton of it when I began catering in the '70s - at the Pyrex/Corning factory outlet in Sun Valley, CA that was in a big barn of a building, with stuff just stacked on the floor in boxes and wooden crates. It was always busy.

Bundt pans transfer heat better than tube pans when making very dense, fruited cakes. There is a "forumla" for a "grease" for these pans that works very well. I make it in batches and store in the fridge and I apply it with a fairly stiff brush - more recently I use a silicone brush. Vegetable Oil ½ Cup (120ml) (I use rice bran oil) Solid Vegetable Shortening 1 Cup (226g) (for this only Crisco works) All Purpose Flour 1 Cup (130g) Dump it all in a mixing bowl and blend with a hand mixer. You can do it in food processor but believe me, it is more difficult to get it all out. It will keep at room temp for a week or so - keeps well in the fridge for a couple of months. Next month, when I begin preparing for holiday baking, I will prepare a double batch.

I have several of the Pyrex and Corning handles. They were a proprietary item made just to fit the Pyrex "Flameware" and later the Corning stove top and oven ware. They were not intended for use in the oven. Only for stove top use.

One of my favorites for many years.

I have the Ninja Coffee Bar, second generation, which I love. I also have a Ninja Shark vacuum which I love, wouldn't be without. Extremely impressed with their speedy customers service. When my first Ninja Coffee Bar failed, they immediately sent me a new one and included a prepaid shipping label to return the defective one. Did not quibble about it, just did it and I had the replacement in 4 days from the day I called.

No need to apologize. I'm sure you are correct when it comes to consumer use - it was two tablespoons for most homemakers when this came out, and how I was taught in the 1940s and continued to use that method for 20+ years. However, portion-control dishers of various sizes were used in commercial kitchens as early as the 1920s. When Horn & Hardart opened a retail store to sell the foods available at the Automats, the workers used various sized dishers for strict portion control. There used to be a YouTube video of this process. But the use was limited to commercial kitchens, hotels and restaurants. As far as I was able to learn, when I was actively collecting, the first ones directed at homemakers, consumers, were marketed by mail-order companies in the late 1960s.

I have these, pan grabbers that came with sets of utensils back in he early '70s. I got two sets because I like the long, perforated spatulas and the deep ladles that were part of the sets. It was a complimentary design to Corningware "Spice of Life" cookware which included some enamelware cookware in addition to the stovetop and ovenware. The could be used (with a folded paper towel) to grasp and lift the ceramic ovenware.

I use loose tea and brew a quart of tea - 2 tablespoons of loose tea, a quart of boiling water, steep for 8 minutes. Strain into the pot of beans that have been soaked overnight and drained. Add enough water to cover the beans plus about an inch. You can re-steep the tea with about a pint of water and leave it to steep for 30 minutes or so, in case you need more during the cooking, if the beans take up too much liquid and look dry on top. I use this tea in baked beans, I add some to the little new potatoes that are boiled in their skins. Any food that is enhanced by a smoky flavor.

I've got the big commercial 20 cup Cuisinart. I need a smaller one. I used to have an 11 cup and a 14 cup but I gave the smaller one away and I killed the 14. I have a DLX for large batches of bread dough or cookie dough. I have a 6-quart KA for mixing medium-sized batches. I don't use any attachments for the KA. When I first got this one, it came with a "bonus" meat grinder. It failed on first use, the drive shaft split so I tossed it. I have a meat grinder that has all metal parts and works just fine. I have a regular blender but the capacity is not enough for some of my recipes. The VitaMix I have needs a new jug because the gears are frozen in the bottom of the "wet" jug - the "dry" jug is okay but not suitable for regular liquid recipes. The older one with the stainless steel jug is not big enough for some of my recipes. The Ninja's 72 ounce capacity is what I need. And the small capacity food processor is perfect for small batches of things I prepare often. The utility cart with doors that has held the big Cuisinart and the VitaMix for years, will hold the Ninja and it's components once I move the VitaMix to the pantry.

This appliance combines a blender, food processor, spiralizer and Ice crusher using a motor base with 4 SEPARATE vessels that specialized blades and gearing to facilitate a multi-tasking tool. This base is 1200 watts, 300 watts less than the "Mega" system, which had a few problems. And priced at $199.75, direct from Ninja, it seems to me to be a pretty good deal. I am tempted to buy one because it is more versatile than my 20+ year old Vitamix and I need a food processor, having killed my smaller one and the big 20 cup is too large for many of the tasks. I still have my Thermomix but am considering selling it because I don't use it enough nowadays.

Actually the ice cream scoop was invented long before this cookie dough "dropper" and it fact, it is celebrated in Black History Month each year that a Mr. Cralie invented the ice cream scoop in 1897. I used to collect them and had several early ones from the "teens" and '20s. I sold them several years ago to a franchisee of an ice cream company whose name I can't recall. The Cookie Dough Dropper first appeared in the late 1940s and was a popular dime store item, I have one somewhere in my junk, still on the original card, priced at 19¢.

I have some vegan friends, including a couple who are fairly new to it. One confessed to me that the one thing she really missed was the flavor of dried beans cooked with ham hocks. I cooked up a batch of beans using brewed Lapsang Souchong tea, so that the smoky flavor permeated the liquid and the beans and actually imparted a "meaty" flavor. They were very pleased with the dish and have since incorporated that routine into their bean cookery.

Correct.

Commercial bacon bits are awful. I don't use bacon bits in salad. I have a solution that works for me. I sauté chopped pecans in a tablespoon or so of bacon dripping (fresh) spread them on a pie pan and dry them in a toaster oven - takes about 3 minutes. I have yet to have anyone say they don't like them. In fact, they usually pick out any remaining pieces after the salad has been consumed.

I have a couple of cast iron bacon presses. One doubles as a grill press because it has ridges and perforations. I also have a medium-weight flat lid for a Calphalon pan that I ruined about 20 years ago and kept the lid because it works as a "press" when I don't want to crush things and also keep some stuff (hash for instance) from spattering. I also have a tempered glass bacon press. It is square and doesn't fit round pans. I don't use the square pan it fits all that much. Correction. I also have a round one that is too small to be effective. I also have one that is shaped like a pig - I've never used it, will have to dig it out and take a photo. I think it is steel, not cast iron.

I save bacon grease and in fact, I buy the boxes of "bacon ends and pieces" to render down into grease for cooking but I use it up quickly. Same with duck fat. I am fortunate in that I have a friend who will usually provide me with a duck if I need one. But if I have to buy one, I use up every bit so as to get my money's worth. Even the bones. I have a stash of jarred items that don't deteriorate with age. I have honey that is probably 10 years old, in a jar that I vac sealed in one of the heavy-duty vac bags. Same with ghee - I got a deal on some several years ago and vac-sealed all the jars. I opened one last week and it is still good. There was no expiration date on the jars.

I have several of the cookie press with cake decorating tips sets that I have picked up over the years, many were never used. I think they were bought on a whim at a dime store and then the instructions were just too much to absorb so they were put aside and forgotten.

I can't even recall the last time I bought mayo. It seems to always have a metallic taste - the curse of a "supertaster" is I pick up flavors that most people don't notice. I make my own, which never has that taste, which I think must be from one of the preservatives. I also make my own version of Miracle Whip.

I remember reading about this ancient tree a couple of years ago and wondered if there are others tucked away in odd places. A friend who had spent time mapping some of the Roman catacombs had mentioned that there are still vast areas around the city that have never been explored. When she was active there in the late '80s, they found sealed funerary vessels at altars that contained all kinds of "gifts" for the dead, including plant materials, grains, etc. These might hold viable seeds or other plant remnants. And this reminds me of my fascination back then with learning what happened to Smallage, which at one time was grown in every kitchen garden and was more used than celery until the early 19th century. In the '80s I could find no seed companies selling it. I wrote a letter to one of the herb magazines and subsequently someone wrote an article about it. Then one of the more obscure seed companies, specializing in herbs, began offering the seeds. Apparently it caught on because now several seed companies are offering it. It has a more pronounced flavor than either celery or lovage and has to be finely chopped or ground to use in cooked dishes or salads but at least it is available. And, oddly enough, it turns out that it is actually the plant grown commercially as "field celery" from which "celery seed" is harvested. It was there all along, just not identified as the ancient herb. The celery seed sold as an herb or spice, will not sprout, I think they are treated to retard germination.

Pedro's special is a simplified version of tamale pie, using corn chips instead of mixing cornmeal with ingredients. It works.

I have all of Peg Bracken's cookbooks & etc. The humor was outstanding and they were for reading as much as for ideas about cooking. I bought this book when it was first published in 1960 and enjoyed the quips and jokes. I tried several of the recipes and still prepare "Pedro's Special" occasionally because it is a very tasty dish. I used to belong to a book club, all elderly folks like me, and we had a potluck meal every 6 months or so. We make dishes from this book because it turned out we all owned it.