kayb

Don't know Michigans, but Steak and Shake makes an orange shake that tastes a whole lot like I remember an Orange Julius tasting.

I actually thought at first glance they were masks printed with strips of bacon.

A mask on which we can all agree....

Citrus going off always had a smell like a sweet acetone to me. As for rattlesnakes -- if I'm close enough to smell 'em, it isn't going to matter, because I'm going to be dead. Else I'd be running.

I discovered the other day I have a beaver making excursions into my back yard and garden. I was somewhat taken aback by this. I have dealt with many different kinds of garden pests (witness this, from a storytelling session years back) , but never beavers. I cannot see where they have been marauding, unless it is in the dying squash vines. I do have several eggplants ready to pick, and tomatoes are coming in apace and I have a small watermelon thriving. Those Romas are some prolific plants, for which I'm grateful. I'll make more sauce, end of the week, I'm sure. But I'm back to depending on the generosity of friends and neighbors for yellow squash and zucchini; who'd'a thunk it? And cucumbers; the cucumber vines died as well. Do beavers like squash and cucumbers? The kraut molded, and I chunked it. May have had something to do with the week it was 80 degrees F in the house when the a/c was on the fritz. I'll try again later this year.

The barter economy lives. I traded a bag of tomatoes and a pint of tomato sauce for two quarts of pickled okra. Both of us felt we got the better end of the deal. WalMart announced today it will require masks be worn inside its stores beginning Monday. I will be interested to see how many people wear them below their noses. Kroger says it will follow suit on July 22. I'm pleased, but not hopeful. My city has taken the first step toward a mask mandate, but per our state government, cities may not provide for any prosecution/enforcement method for those who decline to wear it. The governor continues to reject any potential statewide mandate, although he "encourages" everyone to wear a mask. Currently, I'm not seeing tons of shortages in anything other than canning jars and lids and freezer bags. And, of course, disinfectant wipes.

Fellow southerner here. Have always believed Memphis to be the center of the barbecue universe. Of which school of barbecue are you? Welcome to the group.

Oh, NICE! My house has a gas log fireplace. It is the only thing presently gas in the house. The previous owners didn't use it, and had the gas turned off, and gas company took the meters out. I'm told that if I want to reactivate the fireplace, I'll have to have an inspection and get the gas company to reset the meter, and I didn't get around to that last winter. Eventually, I will convert to gas water heaters as well, and if and when the stove ever goes out, a good gas range.

Four and a half more pints of tomato sauce... ...and six pints and three pint and a half bags of peaches in the freezer. Tomorrow I'm canning kraut.

I like "firmly earthed." I think they mean use a grounded plug.

Welcome! I am sure you will teach as well as learn.

This is an interesting thread. Down here, there's a currently under way dust-up centering around John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, a private non-profit dedicated to chronicling Southern cuisine and operated under the umbrella of the Center for Southern Folklore at Ole Miss. Now, Southern cuisine of necessity is all wrapped up in the cuisine of African Americans, along with the Western European immigrants who were some of the first pioneers west of the Appalachians, the Spanish, French and Cajuns of Louisiana, the indigenous tribes, the Lebanese and Syrians who came as merchants, followed by the Chinese who came as laborers and often stayed as merchants and restauranteurs, and on and on. But a big part of Southern Foodways Alliance has been the celebrating and chronicling of African American chefs and restaurants. And Edge is white. And all the (small) staff at SFA is white. They do good work -- but they're not representative of the kitchens of the cultures they represent. That's a different animal from what you're talking about, for sure. But it's all caught up in the same net. Me, I'll proudly go on frying okra and being grateful to the slaves who brought those first seeds over with them. Pass on the chitlins, though.

My dumplings always dissolve.

Got into my birthday charcuterie, which necessitated a trip to the cheese section. Gorgonzola dolce, Reading, a young Gouda, and a bloomy rind goat cheese whose name I forget. Three kinds of olives, two kinds of pickles. Preserved walnuts. I sampled the nduja (it's hot!); the sopressata and the chorizo. Good stuff.

Truth be told, I am thinking of using some frozen hash browns, letting them thaw and perhaps mixing in an egg to help them bind. Latke waffles, if you will. I have an el cheapo Belgian waffle iron I bought for 10 bucks at a Big Lots discount store 10 years ago. It makes one serving-sized waffle at a time, so it's not a quick and easy effort for a crowd, but I take them up onto a rack in the oven turned to warm. It's done yeoman's service. I make yeasted waffles when I have a horde of family staying over, and I will forever be grateful to @Kim Shook for the idea of making cornbread in a waffle iron, which is a wonderful thing. I also have a quesadilla maker, which I scored for something like $15 at Aldi a year or so back. I'm contemplating whether one could scatter a thin layer of hash browns, add the ham, then the cheese, then a bit more ham, and a final layer of hash browns, and cook it that way. May have to experiment.

I don't remember how big the hens were when they got retired from egg-laying duties (to a little kid, all of them looked about the size of ostriches), but that was always an occasion for chicken and dumplings. Which is, btw, a dish I have NEVER been successful in making.

God help me. I may have to make this tomorrow.

Guess I need to make tomato sauce again tomorrow.

A belated birthday gift arrived today. Hot and regular soppressata, pepperoni, nduja, chorizo. I shall be off later today to the deli at Kroger to fetch cheese, olives and cornichons.

Your Southernism for the day. Never have been sure why the hinges are hotter than the rest of the gate.

A trio of salads, being that it's hotter'n the hinges on the gates of hell. Pasta salad, broccoli-cauliflower salad, cottage cheese with peaches.

Thanks. Amazon says some shipped today and should arrive Monday. We shall see. This weekend, I'm freezing stuff; picked up a half-bushel of purple hulled peas and a quarter-bushel of peaches at the Farmers Market this morning. They'll all be in the freezer by tomorrow night. I'll can a few tomatoes along as long as mine keep producing, then buy a box or two if mine don't make enough. I canned the stewed ones from DRR a year or so ago. Tip: can prior to putting in the bread crumbs. They're easy enough to add when you open a jar to eat. And not half bad without them. I love them to poach eggs in for a Southern take on shakshuka.

Today I decided to make a small batch of tomato sauce, as the Romas were outgrowing their allocated space on the counter. Couldn't find any lids, so I set out to Walmart Neighborhood Market to pick up some. They don't carry them. Went to Kroger; no jars, no lids. Gritted my teeth, took my life in my hands, and headed to WalMart, where there were also...no lids. There were, however, jars, so I bought a dozen I didn't really need and used the lids and rings of six of them. Came home and ordered eight dozen rings and flats in both regular and wide mouth, which should do me through the summer. Supposed to ship July 17. Let us hope. I have kraut that will need to be taken up by then. Got home and jarred up the tomato sauce, but could not find my jar lifter nor my magnet-on-a-stick for plucking lids out of hot water. I'm blaming that one on Child B, who unpacked the kitchen when we moved last year. Anyway, some right pretty tomato sauce:

Picked enough tomatoes to go with what I'd accumulated that I figured it was time to make sauce. Marcella style -- just romas, butter and onion. I'll let it simmer all day, the run it trough the food mill and can it. ETA: The Romas are prolific this year. I should have lots of sauce.

Thanks. Think I'm going to try a small portion with the quinoa pasta I have and see how it works. Have ordered some chickpea pasta.