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Sunny Simmons Steincamp

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Posts posted by Sunny Simmons Steincamp

  1. I know there's a school for this in the U.S.  What sticks in my mind is that someplace in New Jersey has a week-long "train your dog to hunt for truffles" school.  If there are any other places in the US (or Canada!), I'd love to hear about them.

    <a href="http://www.trifectatraining.com/">Trifecta Training Center</a>, near Eugene, Oregon appear to have truffle dog training, although I don't see anything about a week-long workshop. Might be worth a shot, though.

    <a href="http://www.truffleusa.com/index.html">Truffle USA</a> in New Jersey also offers the training, as well as videos for training yourself.

    According to the <a href="http://www.natruffling.org/">National Truffling Society</a>, these are the only two truffle dog trainers in the United States. Their website does list a couple overseas, if you feel like going that far.

    Good luck!

  2. lastly - do y'all have any thoughts on composting?  is that soemthing i can do on my patio?  perhaps under the stairs?

    You can buy small composters that can actually go indoors. Do you have a Plow & Hearth store near you? I've seen them there, although they're kinda pricey. A place like Lowe's or Home Depot with a big garden center might carry them, as well. I have a friend who has a barrel composter that, while is in her yard, would fit in a big closet or, as you said, under a stairway.

    Also, I know Jaymes answered this for you already, but I have to tell you that I just planted my first fig tree. I grew up with figs at my grandmother's, and I positively *adore* them... and the trees... but have never had one of my own. I was worried that it was too cold here, at first. I mean, I think I saw more snow in the first year of living in Virginia (and that was in Richmond, before we moved closer to the mountains) than I did my entire life before, having lived in Memphis, Birmingham, and central Florida! Before I found out that I *could* grow fig trees here, I was told by several people that they can do well in containers, so I'd give it a shot anyway, if you can protect it from the heat, as Jaymes suggested.

  3. what are the rules in combining plants in pots?

    <a href="http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/vcomp.htm">Garden Guides.com</a> has some, well, guides for companion planting that you can peruse until your book gets there, as well as a lot of other fun stuff. Depending on where you live, or, perhaps more correctly, how agricultural your area is, you might try contacting your Extension Office. Sometimes the agents are unbelievably helpful, even in urban areas... when I lived in Memphis, we had an agent come out and show us how to test our soil, gave us tons of good information, and even dropped by mid-season to see how things were going. And the best part is, the extension agents know things that are specific to your region.

  4. Just read Sunny's post and had a couple of thoughts...

    First, Sunny, don't know where you are, but my own experience with cilantro was that it did fine in the spring and fall in Texas, but just burned up in our hot summers.

    Aha.. that might explain why this past year was the first time I've had a really good experience with growing cilantro. I now live in south-central Virginia, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and when they complain here about heat & humidity, my family & I kinda snigger and roll our eyes, having moved here from Memphis, which has the same climate as, say, New Orleans or Houston. On the other hand, it's disorienting, having to wait so long to plant, as our last frost date is so much later here!

    Good to know.. thanks!

  5. All the things you mention can be successfully grown in containers! Just be warned... you may very well become addicted to gardening and find yourself digging up your yard to grow even more!

    If you're worried about wind, and can't place your tomato plants behind some sort of break, I'd advise a compact bush variety. Try Baxter's Early Bush Red, if you're not averse to a cherry tomato. They're an early variety, which is desirable if you are planting late. They're pretty, too... orangey red... and keep well. When I was given seed for these for the first time, the packaging said the fruits would keep for a month in the fridge. I never managed to test that thoroughly, since we ate them about as fast as they matured, but I saw no significant deterioration in a few that stayed in my chiller drawer for over two weeks. Other good bets are Bush Early Girl and, if you like variety, try to find Carbon seeds or plants; they're interesting looking dark brownish tomatoes that make wonderful sauce.

    Garlic and onions are fun to grow, although I've never tried them in containers. Just realize that you need to plant them in the fall and let them overwinter before you wind up with anything edible.

    Chilis can be prolific, but they're fun, easy, and beautiful. I've almost always had a Tabasco pepper plant growing in either (or) my garden & in pots. If you can't use them all up, dry them and string them, and you will have a way to make special gifts for your friends & family. You can also grow chiles to make homemade salsa or picante sauce, if you have an inclination to can things, and these also make nifty gifts.

    Cilantro can be tricky to grow. My thumbs have always been instinctively green, but there have been difficulties with this one herb. The plants flower quickly, so you have to harvest right on time and often, but the plants are pretty and smell wonderful. Mint is so easy to grow it's dangerous; the first year I decided to plant an herb garden, it took over not only my whole plot, but my whole *yard* the second year, and I had a devil of a time controlling it! Sure did smell nice, of course. There are some fun varieties of mint, too... my brother's favorite was the chocolate mint, which smelled just like a York Peppermint Patty!

    Another good herb to grow in containers is rosemary. There's nothing quite like fresh rosemary in Italian red sauces, and it's my family's favorite flavoring for meat gravy. I once was bounced by my (rather large) dog while adding rosemary to a gravy pot, accidentally putting in about four times as much as I'd planned to, and it was instantly regarded as "right" by the whole household! If your plant gets large enough, you may be rewarded with a beautiful, naturally spiralling woody stalk that can have interesting uses if you're a crafty sort.

    Last year I tried for the first time something that was suggested to me by folks on a gardening e-list: growing certain vining plants vertically. Mine weren't in containers, but I'm sure you could figure out a way to do it. I built a trellis and grew canteloupe, summer squash, zucchini, and butternut squashes running up it. Just be sure to tie up the vines carefully as they grow. In the garden, there were lots of advantages -- they took up far less room, were perfectly shaped since they weren't sitting on the ground, and I had no instances of any sort of rot. (And, in my particular case, these plants were left alone by the deer that ate virtually everything else in the entire garden that wasn't on that big trellis!) If you want to do watermelon like this, I'd suggest finding a small variety, of course, and making sure your trellising or supports are very sturdy, but I don't see why you couldn't manage it. My canteloupes were huge, and my butternuts weren't exactly puny, either. The flowers of these plants are so pretty that I think they'd be beautiful grown up along a deck or patio or whatever, too!

    I hope you decide to try this... there's nothing quite like growing your own food, no matter if it's on the balcony of a small apartment or in a huge garden plot! If you're new to the whole thing, there are tons of good books and even websites... I can recommend a few if you're interested... and if you ever have any specific questions, please feel free to ask me, and I'll help all I can. Most gardeners are more than willing to do so... it's such a passion that we always love to share it with others.

    Have fun!

  6. I'm late finding this thread, too, but it's very timely! I'm performing a marriage in mid-June, and besides hosting the entire event (reception & all) on our pretty, rural homestead, I'm doing the reception food for the couple as a wedding gift... and helping the bride's sister make the wedding cake. (Yes, the phrase glutton for punishment does occasionally leap to my mind!) So, reading all of these posts was really helpful, as I am trying to help the couple come up with a workable menu for 70 (inluding about a dozen of the groom's Mormon family & friends from Utah.)

    My own wedding was held on the beach -- November 20, if you can believe the audacity -- and was beautiful. I made all the food myself (except the wedding cake, which my wonderfully talented cousin created, and deli-bought stuff,) and would change only ONE thing about the entire affair... it was a huge tactical error not to delegate the setting out of the food to several someones.. and I mean someone elses! By the time my husband and I went to our hotel rooms, got ready for the reception, and made our way to my cousin's house where it was held, the guests had been milling around for over half an hour without food, because nobody dared touch all the dishes, not knowing how to warm/serve/set them up!! My cousin was embarassed and I felt horrible! But... fortunately it was an easygoing group of about 80 people, and while I spent the entire first hour of my own wedding reception slaving away, it was a blast.

    I would have thought I couldn't possibly forget anything on the menu, but I found it took some hard thinking. We had cold trays of Smithfield ham, rare roast beef, cheeses, etc., along with buns & biscuits for making sandwiches (with the usual condiments, of course.) There were also fruit & veggie trays. Then I made some of my dishes that family & friends love to eat most (because I am always happiest when I'm making someone go "Yum!" and who doesn't want to be happy at your wedding reception?) There was hot crab dip, spinach & artichoke & cheese dip, jalapeno chicken casserole, and 5 1/2 dozen stuffed eggs. There were pounds of potato salad, homemade macaroni & cheese, and broccoli & rice bake. Chips, crackers, and other things to dip, scoop, and otherwise handle the foods were abundant. A friend played bartender for us, pouring mixed drinks, wine, champagne, and mead, and coolers full of all different kinds of iced-down beer were strategically placed around the house & yard. Since most of our guests were from out of town (as we were; we got married in Virginia Beach,) everyone stayed late (after midnight!) and consumed almost 100 percent of the food & beverages, which was a good thing, considering we really didn't have room for all our stuff, plus wedding gifts, plus my kids, plus leftovers in our little Saturn!

  7. I'm late finding this thread, too, but it's very timely! I'm performing a marriage in mid-June, and besides hosting the entire event (reception & all) on our pretty, rural homestead, I'm doing the reception food for the couple as a wedding gift... and helping the bride's sister make the wedding cake. (Yes, the phrase glutton for punishment does occasionally leap to my mind!) So, reading all of these posts was really helpful, as I am trying to help the couple come up with a workable menu for 70 (inluding about a dozen of the groom's Mormon family & friends from Utah.)

    My own wedding was held on the beach -- November 20, if you can believe the audacity -- and was beautiful. I made all the food myself (except the wedding cake, which my wonderfully talented cousin created,) and would change only ONE thing about the entire affair... it was a huge tactical error not to delegate the setting out of the food to several someones.. and I mean someone elses! By the time my husband and I went to our hotel rooms, got ready for the reception, and made our way to my cousin's house where it was held, the guests had been milling around for over half an hour without food, because nobody dared touch all the dishes, not knowing how to warm/serve/set them up!! My cousin was embarassed and I felt horrible! But... fortunately it was an easygoing group of about 80 people, and while I spent the entire first hour of my own wedding reception slaving away, it was a blast.

    I would have thought I couldn't possibly forget anything on the menu, but I found it took some hard thinking. We had cold trays of Smithfield ham, rare roast beef, cheeses, etc., along with buns & biscuits for making sandwiches (with the usual condiments, of course.) There were also fruit & veggie trays. Then I made some of my dishes that family & friends love to eat most (because I am always happiest when I'm making someone go "Yum!" and who doesn't want to be happy at your wedding reception?) There was hot crab dip, spinach & artichoke & cheese dip, jalapeno chicken casserole, and 5 1/2 dozen stuffed eggs. There were pounds of potato salad, homemade macaroni & cheese, and broccoli & rice bake. Chips, crackers, and other things to dip, scoop, and otherwise handle the foods were abundant. A friend played bartender for us, pouring mixed drinks, wine, champagne, and mead, and coolers full of all different kinds of iced-down beer were strategically placed around the house & yard. Since most of our guests were from out of town (as we were; we got married in Virginia Beach,) everyone stayed late (after midnight!) and consumed almost 100 percent of the food & beverages, which was a good thing, considering we really didn't have room for all our stuff, plus wedding gifts, plus my kids, plus leftovers in our little Saturn!

  8. I'm also from a Mississippi River town (Memphis,) and grew up having picnics on the bluff regularly. Maybe it's those roots, but the most romantic picnic food to me is still cold fried chicken, cole slaw, biscuits, and corn on the cob. With a checkered tablecloth, a stable candle, and a bottle of wine, I can't think of anything I'd rather have. I might go a little nuts with food in other instances, but for picnics -- especially with a river view and someone you love -- I find simple suits me best.

    Happy anniversary!

  9. I just had a wild little vision... Oh, I just had an even wilder vision: such an eGullet camping jamboree ... staged at Burning Man.

    My family & friends actually do something like this every year at the festivals we attend at <a href="http://www.4qf.org">Four Quarters Farm</a>. Several of us set up our campsites together and have our meals together, which we work out in advance. To be honest, I do most of the heavy-duty cooking, but that's because the whole thing evolved around my beef jerky chili (with cheddar cheese & sour cream, cornbread, and peach cobbler) cooked over the campfires, the aromas of which drew more and more people every year and began to be a communal event. Now everyone divvies up bringing the ingredients, and I have the fun of teaching some of the younger folks how to make some things over campfire and campstove that they might not otherwise think to try and make even in their home kitchens.. and I have to say I really do dig that. :)

    Some of the other dishes I make regularly using, for the most part, cast iron cookware over the fires, include: eggs benedict (a no-brainer; I did use the propane campstove to make the hollandaise, but the English muffins were homemade, just like I make 'em at home,) sausage gravy & biscuits (we're from the American deep south, what can I say,) and shrimp & grits for breafasts. Lunch favorites include crab cakes, shrimp remoulade, philly cheesteak sandwiches (I made the buns & brought them from home; smaller yeast breads seem easy enough to make on the go, but not having a real, evenly heating oven made my attempts at loaves & such less than up to my standards,) and stuffed grape leaves and kibbeh balls. So we aren't stuck eating pre-made snack foods exclusively on days we have, for example, too large a breakfast and/or dinner planned to make a full lunch, we enjoy things like seafood-stuffed mushroom caps, conch fritters, Asian-style garlic noodles, and pizza (with homemade crust, made ahead and kept chilled until time to use it. We also usually have breakfast pizza at least one morning.)

    With the exception of the jerky chili, I try to mix up the dinners every year, although I got some disappointed whines last year when I skipped lasagna (in the cast iron Dutch oven,) jalapeno chicken chimichangas, and jambalaya. (Nobody exactly complained about the replacements, however, which were crab-stuffed flounder with champagne cream sauce, honey-gingered chicken tenderloins with fried rice, and gumbo. I haven't decided on this year's menus (we go to 4QF twice each summer, for a week each time,) except for a few of the desserts.

    Marlene, I have to say that while we enjoy the more primitive camping, I definitely understand the attraction of an RV or a 5th wheel. Some of our friends who moved to PA recently came back for a visit and "camped" here on our land in their humongous 5th that looked to be equipped very much like yours -- it was amazing! There are several things I'd be able to do in one of those that I have been unsuccessful with so far over a campfire and without a real kitchen; although I've had a blast with the challenge of making "things that make people go yum," there are some things that just didn't go well out there. For example, I don't recommend making homemade pasta dough & using a pasta machine to make ravioli outdoors, next to a fire, under a bunch of pine trees, unless you like pasta that has ash, dirt, and pine needles for seasonings. :)

    Hope you have a great season camping!

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