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"Food" Stamps Last month my friend Bob and his wife were vacationing at their lake cabin about twenty miles north of here. I was invited to visit during the week, when it's most peaceful and quiet, to have lunch and to inspect their garden. It's my custom to bring a small gift for my host and hostess, but since I knew they were in the process of cleaning and throwing a lot of stuff away, I decided to bring something consumable. I stopped at the Post Office on my way to the lake and saw the Garden Produce stamps. Appropriate, decorative, and useful; the perfect gift! Food Stamps Many years ago, while going to school, I lived with four other guys in an apartment building that could generously be described as being in "the bad part of town". I was one of the few real cash customers at the local market. I know this because I often got my change in Food Stamps when there was no money in the till!

I've bought powdered honey by mail order. It's good for baking because it's easy to measure. SB (powdered bears love it too!)

Or perhaps .... the trendy lip balm and Phyllis Diller's husband? SB

Your rustic tart looks just like the galett from "Baking With Julia" (Child)! They are prone to leakage, (I see you were wise enough to use parchment paper ), because the dough tends to crack where it's folded over. Use of a soft dough, and brushing the edges with water after folding helps, but I feel that without leaks the finished product loses some of its rustic charm? SB (then again, I am crust-rolling challenged)

I'd love to have a setting of those leopard plates! SB (maybe next time you go could take a big purse?)

I prefer not to drink anything at all with my meal. I'll have coffee while I wait, and afterwards. SB (never wondered if anyone else cared or not)

My Mother learned how to make pasties from my Dad's Mother, and they were one of her specialties for years. Both the recipes cited look pretty good. I agree that lard is the key ingredient in making a good crust that will protect the pasty even if it's dropped down a mine shaft! SB (You know you're getting authentic pasty when "with" or "without" referes to rutabaga.)

I had no idea such a campaign existed, but if that's the case, are they looking for a new campaign manager? Sign me up. For me, eating a variety of colors is a huge part of what I consider to be good nutrition. Different colors usually connote different nutrients, from what I was taught. ← One thing I picked up from my Mother was making sure food was attractive and "color coordinated" on the plate. Since she had a BS in Home Economics from the U of MN, (we used to say this made her a certified Professional Mother), I don't know whether her primary motive was aesthetic or nutritional. Probably a bit of each? SB (learned a lot about cooking via osmotic action)

If I might illustrate a point about taste in food by using a comparrison using taste in music: I currently run a business selling parts for high performance street and race cars. (I don't make any money, but nobody laughs as often during a day at work as I do! ) I'll usually have a current or classic rock radio station on in the shop, but occasionally I'll tune in to MN's NPR station, which is famous for it's classical programming. Since my customers tend to be a lot more familiar with Top Fuel Dragster Campion Kenny Bernstein than Leonard Berstein they'll sometimes give me an odd look or make a crude remark. I tell them, "A little bit of ****in culture never hurt anyone!" Likewise, although I'm not a fanatic about it, I'll usually try and error on the healthy side of food preperation on the theory that if anyone doesn't like it, "A little bit of ****in nutrition never hurt anyone!" SB

The was once a proctologist's nurse, said she didn't know which was the worse, Those who gardened while nude or wrong-ended their food, her stories were really perverse! SB (based on actual events)

I'll cop to being pretentious, in a less severe definition of the word, although less when it comes to food than in other areas, but I still wouldn't consider myself a snob. SB (for instance, I don't even speak French)

I hardly ever pay attention to prices when I shop, but I did once happen to notice that "baby" carrots cost over twice as much as "normal" carrots. Although both were fairly cheap, I had a hard time buying the cut, peeled ones. Then I figured the guy who's job it is to whittle out the little carrots all day probably has a family to feed, so what the heck? SB (helper of the exploited)

From Meriam-Webster OnLine: "One who blatantly imitates, fawningly admires, or vulgarly seeks association with those regarded as social superiors" Not Guilty. "One who tends to rebuff, avoid, or ignore those regarded as inferior" On the contrary. (In fact, I can even be somewhat of a "reverse snob") "One who has an offensive air of superiority in matters of knowledge or taste" Moi?

The blueberry crop here was dismal due to lack of rain, but, on the other hand, raspberries are ahead of schedule and plentiful, although small. I'm hoping the hot dry weather will produce blackberries later this summer. We don't get them every year, but I know a few patches my grandfather discovered some fifty years ago, and I'll check them out. SB (congratulating "The Man" on his good automotive taste: SHO and Dale Sr hat! ) PS: Depending on the winds, you may get smoke from the BWCA fires. A friend of mine has a place at "the end of the road", about two miles from where the fire was yesterday, and he emailed some spectacular photos of the day and night skies.

A Swiss Army Knife and a Bic lighter. SB (bare minimalist)

Around here the unusually warm, dry weather in May and June made for a miserable strawberry crop and disappointing blueberries. Raspberries, hpwever, are two weeks ahead of schedule, and although small, they're plentiful. We might even have enough blackberries to make picking worthwhile? We also have choke cherries, which make decent wine, hazlenuts, and wild horseradish. SB (oh, and wild rice)

Eat Cake! SB

Organic food is like nice weather and healthy babies. Nobody is against these things. Wal-Mart grew into the world's largest retailer by giving people (everywhere) what they want at reasonable prices. Maybe their organic food isn't up to the quality or standards of your local boutique grocery or co-op, but I'd think the fact Wal-Mart offers it at all would be greeted with, at the very least, quiet condescension, rather than snide remarks and hoots of derision. I live in the middle of Northern Minnesota. Believe me, the addition of a Wal-Mart Super Store to a community of 20,000 was a real boon to the cooking and eating population. Their presence has spurred local supermarkets and grocery stores to expand selections and emphasize quality, and probably to also hold down prices. Perhaps those living on the coasts, or in progressive enclaves of large cities, may not understand, but organic food has simply not been conveniently available at affordable prices to a majority of the population. I can personally attest to an interest in organic food and healthy eating, especially among families with young children, and Wal-Mart's research apparently noticed the same thing. With their buying and marketing prowness they're able to provide products to less populated and remote areas much sooner than would otherwise be the case. I can, and do, bemoan the closing of my conveniently located, family-run corner grocery store, replete with resident butcher, Dave, (who used to be a rodeo bull rider and always had a joke to tell), but they were financially strapped even before Wal-Mart came to town. While I personally dislike large stores and crowds, and have only set foot in a Wal-Mart once, (at 5:30 am), GF, her daughter and 1 8/9ths grandchildren visit the local Super Store nearly every day. I give them a list, and I've been generally pleased with the selection of packaged goods and quality of produce, although the meat admitedly does leave a lot to be desired. However, a local chain supermarket, sensing opportunity, has recently installed a custom cut meat case, complete with butcher! He's not a colorful or witty as my old butcher Dave, but I still think the town is coming out ahead overall, food-wise?

Nobody neccessarily has to "sell out" in order for somebody else to buy in. Market growth isn't a zero sum game. SB

Other than the obvious wild game, (bison, deer, bear, water fowl, grouse and pheasants), the only unique Native American product I can think of from this region is wild rice. I have posted several times on the subject in different threads. Try entering it into the 'search' function, or send me a PM. SB (looks like a great crop this year )(*knock* on wood)

My Julia Child and MFK Fisher books. SB

Figs, like pineapple, kiwi, papaya and guava, (and soap?), contain an enzyme that breaks down protein. Most recipes used canned figs because the canning process kills off the enzyme. SB (the same reason these fruits, (and soap), don't make good Jello)

My Grandmother used to roast a pig every year for Serbian Christmas. About all I remember about the process was that the tail and ears were done long before the rest, so they became "delicacies" used to placate restless, hungry children. SB (cook's perogative though ....

Check with the school's insurer. They can advise you. SB (knows a lot of plaintiff's lawyers)

I always do, but that's because I prefer to eat pie cold. SB