srhcb

Oh, I'm sure it can be done. But eating locally through a Vermont winter, having had adequate time to plan and prepare, is somewhat different than trying to provide for a family, year after year, totally at the mercy of the elements. My Grandfather was born in Harding County, South Dakota. (the poorest part of SD, and that's saying something!) When my family had the old farmstead appraised in the 50's its agricultural potential was stated as "maybe suitable for grazing horses." My Grandfather liked to tell his story about bananas. They were available once a year. One time his Dad bought a whole stalk, and everyone ate so many they all got sick. My Grandfather never ate bananas again in his life. They "subsisted" all right, but there was nothing romantic or noble about it. SB (no thanks )

Just out of curiosity, how much farmland is needed to feed the population of the Greater New York Metropolitan Area? Somebody must be able to do that computation. Is it more or less farmland than exists in New Jersey, Connecticut and the Hudson River Valley? Or would it be possible to pull it off, just in terms of the raw calories needed for survival and leaving aside issues of what would be available when? ← Estimates very wildly, depending more on politics than any combination of scientific, agricultural and medical data, but if you figure on 1/8 hectare per person for sustainable subsistence living, you'll get some rough idea. SB

I'm with you 100% on that one! A friend of mine was a delivery man for a local bottled water company. The company bottles water directly from the town's well: "The water comes from an underground aquifer that's 700 or 1,000 feet deep, depending on who you ask. The city has been drawing water from the aquifer since 1901, and selling it for close to 20 years." Lots of people paid to have the same water delivered that they could get from their own tap! SB (go figure? )

Waste, gratuitous or otherwise, will sooner or later catch up with any system, and will need to be accounted for in cost/price calculations. Wise use of resources, natural or otherwise, is efficient, and ultimately profitable. There will always be instances of misappropriation, exploitation, and beauracratic bungling that upset the equation, but in general anything that advances the prospect of greater selection for the largest number of consumers wouldn't be considered "gratuitously wasteful" if one considers human beings our greatest "natural resource"? SB (naturally resourceful )

I do wonder how well eating locally goes over in areas where there is poor soil and little water, histories of ongoing war and social disruption. Most of those, of course, are not here in our country, but the challenge to "eat locally" certainly seems to be a bit difficult sometimes, even moreso than if I had to eat turnips and dried beef through the winter, here. ← Where I live, my diet would consist mostly of venison, (which has been in good supply lately), wild rice, (the crop was poor this season), some root vegetables, (the earth is snow covered for half the year), apples, and maybe a few fresh tomatoes for a couple weeks each year. We have plenty of water, but it's frozen for five to six months. No Thanks! (although it's not really that bad) There's certainly nothing wrong with eating locally, any more than there is to patronizing neighborhood merchants. It's a "nice" thing to do. To try and expand a "nice" idea into an international economic or environmental argument is ludicrous. SB (Remember, up until recent times we had no choice but to "eat locally". We didn't like it.)

Once when I made small maraschino cherry quick breads they rose a little too much, and then fell in the centers. Worse yet, I couldn't get them out of the pans without breaking the tops off! The tops did break off neatly along the pan rim though. I just used the frosting intended for the top to cement the pieces back together! The best part was the way a spot of frosting oozed through the hole on top where the centers had fallen. They were quite distinctive looking. SB (like I'd intended this result all along! )

I thought you were going to say you added the eggs for two batches of filling into the one! SB (remember, before you start, always have your mice in place )

Would this be similar to using blood in cooking? I'm thinking you could use the "juice" in sausage making, where the coagulation is useful. SB (think blood sausage )

Just Google [candy boxes] SB (loves Google!)

Sure, just be sure to change its name to "salt zebra" or something like that -- then, you can use it for koshering if you've a mind to. Jmahl ← Not quite the same thing ...., but I wonder if unglazed ceramic shakers would keep salt from clumping, or does the wide opening for air circulation also have something to do with it? SB

I wonder if it's okay to keep Kosher Salt in a Salt Pig? SB

As long as the interior is unglazed it will work. SB (or, it's magic!)

Milk or buttermilk in a marinade is used primarily as a tenderizer. It isn't supposed to impart any flavor, in fact, some claim it tones down the "gamey" edge wild foods sometimes have. SB (it does work well with pheasant)

The King Arthur Flour The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook has a recipe for "construction grade gingerbread" with good "carrying capacity". Gingerbread 3/4 C Buutermilk 6 T Butter or margarine 1 C Brown Sugar 1/2 C Molasses 1 Egg 5 Cups (KAF) AP or Whole Wheat Flour 1 t Baking Soda 1 t Ginger 1 t Cinnamon 1/2 t Salt Melt Butter into Buttermilk - remove from heat Add Brown Sugar & Molasses Beat in Egg Blend dry ingredients and quickly stir into liquid ingredients Roll out 1/8" thick Cut out with pattern Bake on greased sheet 20-25 min Cool on sheet "Mortar" 3 1/2 C unsifted Confectioners Sugar 3 Egg Whites 1/2 t Cream of Tartar Food Color/Flavor Extract (optional) Mix all ingredients together I used this recipe for gingerbread people, and they were sturdy, but also good eating.

WOW! If they're selling American franchises, I'm interested. SB (was born in the wrong time and place)

I think we all grew up hearing some variation of the story about "babies in Africa", "Starving Armenians", etc. I sure we all listened incredulously, but that doesn't prevent us from appropriating the format. My three-year old grandson, Zach, is often reminded of the "crack babies in Minneapolis" who "would be more than happy to eat the fine macaroni and cheese" he refuses. Perhaps the fact we remember these stories and repeat them means they do have subliminal power to shape our views? SB (wonders what African, Armenian and Crack Mothers tell their kids to get them to eat?)

jsc, Thanks for reviving this thread! I've historically been ambivalent, even antagonistic about holidays, Christmas in particular. With one notably expceptional period, during which I actually dressed up in a Santa Claus suit and spent Christmas Eve spreading Holiday Cheer with my trusty "Reindeer", (really and excuse to get out of the house), I managed to avoid festivities and family celebrations altogether. But since I've aquired a de facto grandson, (GF's daughter's son), the Season has taken on a lot of personal meaning to me. My "family" is quite similar to yours in that Zach was three in August, about the same time his "Baby Sister Jenna" was born. This will be the first Christmas Zach really "gets it", and I know that like Jett, he understands he's been naughty at times, and that this may somehow impact the number of presents he can expect. (fat chance! ) I find myself wondering what some of his earliest memories will be, and what new traditions might develop that he'll carry on himself some day. I do know that Zach will get to "help" make cookies, since I've had him in the kitchen with me as much as possible since he was an infant. This year it's even a more poignant time for me, since my own Father passed away this past year. He wasn't much for big celebrations either, but every year for as long as I remember he took great interest in having a beautiful Christmas tree. My family had a civil engineering company, and our field crews would scout for a nice balsam for my Dad's tree all year. At it's grandest, Dad's tree stood sixteen feet high, about ten feet across the bottom, and was decorated with many hundreds of ornaments, some of which he'd inherieted from his own parents and were over one hundred years old. Last year we knew it was my Father's last Christmas, one way or another. (He had Ahzheimers) The nurse's aid we had helping out cut a tree from her farm and my Sister made a special trip home to decorate it. To tell the truth, it ended up having a rather "Charlie Brownish" look, but Dad sure seemed to enjoy it. THANX, SB

Hmmmmmmm This may explain the Christmas tale rat families tell their children, "The Magical Golden Christmas Eve Dinner"?

Although maybe this wasn't a "worst", it certainly was unusual. Somebody gave me a cup of McDonalds coffee. It actually tasted deep fried? SB (maybe it really is? )

"Olive Broth" is also a good braising liquid.

I use crushed egg shells when I make dog treats. See Marcy & Ilsa's Dog Brownies SB (waste not, wont not)

I'd ordered Mozzarella curd from the previously mentioned, now defunct, Egg Farm Dairy. It took a while to get the hang of using it. Water hot enough to soften the curd to its stretching stage was too hot for my hands. But once I finally got everything adjusted, and practiced for a while, it was actually fun. And, the cheese was .... (the term "to die for" would not be hyperbolic) Does anyone have a good internet source for the curd? SB (almost wishes he hadn't been reminded )

RE: Chef Kurt Michael Friese, Editor, Edible Iowa River Valley magazine Best of luck in your new publishing venture! And now, how about a plug for the entire Edibles Family of Publications? SB

That counts, but you don't get as many points as someone who lives in, say, North Dakota or Florida. ← I don't know about North Dakota, but Minnesota has a number of thriving vineyards and wineries. An article in the Fall 2006 issue of Edible Twin Cities magazine, "Discovering Minnesota Wines", listed seventeen locations. Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings is the oldest and probably best known. Their motto is, "Where The Grapes Can Suffer". SB (Will suffer too! Below zero temps forcast for tonite! )

Sometimes when my college friends and I wanted to joke with a bartender, (not really a good idea), we would ask for Gin and Root Beer with a Radish. We actually did drink Sweet Vermouth with Colored Mini-Marshmallows once. (It was called, for reasons I can't recall, a Lipshitz Cocktail) SB (no, it didn't stay down )