sparrowgrass
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Heidih, bacillus Thuringiensis (aka bT, Dipel or other brand names)is an organic control for those nasty green worms on broccoli and other cole plants. I can't deal with broccoli that hasn't had its bT--I never find all the worms until I cook the broccoli, and limp green worms are not my favorite food.
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*happy dance* I had my first asparagus of the spring for dinner last night. *happy dance*
My new knee is feeling much better, and I have run the tiller a little and planted peas and lettuce. The rabbits have eaten every pea for the last couple of years, so I bought a roll of chicken wire and fenced the pea patch. I hope it discourages the bunnies until the peas are up and vining.
My fruit trees arrived--at least the lemon, the cherry and the delicious pear did. Someone forgot to put the Seckel pear in the box, but I called them this morning and they are shipping it.
I also got my first shipment of chicks last week--all cockerels, destined for the freezer. The pullets will be arriving later this month.
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On the grill, charred just a little and very hot. Or better yet, stuck on the end of a stick and cooked over a campfire. On smooshy buns with just a little whole grain mustard.
Served with chips of various exotic, unnatural flavors, American beer, and marshmallows for dessert. If you are really lucky, some storebought potato salad and a bag of creme filled cookies.
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I have a friend with prostate cancer whose wife makes him brownies. She sautees the finely ground pot in the butter from the recipe before incorporating it into the batter--she was told that the oil releases the THC. I don't know how much she uses, but I am sure you can google that.
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What does 'NSF rated' mean?
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I bought a couple of half sheet pans at Sam's Club--very heavy, plain old aluminum, cheap.
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The way you take hair off a whole hog is by dunking it in scalding water. Dunk them in boiling water a few seconds, tug on the hair and see if it pulls out. Repeat as needed.
There is a special scraper for taking hair off a hog, but I think people used to use the dull side of a knife, too.
Good luck.
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Azurite--I ordered from Stark Bros. I got Seckel Pear Standard, Starking® Delicious™ Pear Standard, Blackgold™ Sweet Cherry Semi-Dwarf and a Meyeri Lemon Plant. I have 2 acres, so room for standard trees is not a problem. (Picking pears from the tops of standard trees might be, however, but we will climb that ladder when we come to it.) I am hoping that my hardy kiwis produce something this year--they will be 3 years old, I think.
Yesterday, I planted tomato seeds (Ananas Noir, Golden Sunray, German Johnson and Big Month, all from Baker Creek Seeds) and green pepper seeds--a variety that turns orange at maturity.
I might be able to get the garden tilled towards the end of next week. Right now it is warm and rainy, and everything is too wet. Some years I already have lettuce and spinach up by the first of March, but spring has been slow coming this year. The daffodils are blooming now, and the peepers are peeping, so I guess it is here to stay.
I gave all my chickens to my son last fall--I had knee surgery at Christmas, and wasn't able to care for them. I am getting ready to order new chicks--they should be here in April. I miss having my "automatic composters" out in the pen to take care of all my kitchen and garden waste.
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The saying in Ely was "any place you have a hole in the ground you will have Cousin Jacks"--Cornishmen--and where you have Cousin Jacks, you have pasties. There are big holes in the ground up on the Iron Range, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and in Butte.
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I know (from my Feeds and Feeding classes in grad school) that different feeds affect the consistency of the fat on a hog. Do a google for "soft pork" and you will learn more than you really want to know.
Basically, if you feed a high fat diet to finish the hog, you will end up with softer fat. Commercially, this is bad, because it makes bacon impossible to slice neatly. But, just glancing thru some of the articles I came up with, soft fat may be better tasting.
Here's one link: fat quality
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Ah, everybody knows that is an Ole and Lena joke. Maybe toughness extends across cultures to all grandmas?
Ole is on his deathbed. The doctor has told him he has only a few hours to live. He catches the scent of his favorite bars wafting through the air. With all the strength he can muster, he drags himself into the kitchen and sees a fresh pan cooling on the rack. He cuts one out and bites into the scrumptious cookie. Lena comes in, smacks his hand, and says, "Shame on you, Ole! Dese are for after de funeral!"
edited to add: A similar joke is in currency among American Jews, but rather than a cookie, the food in question is a brisket.
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I just ordered 2 pear trees, a cherry and (for indoors) a Meyer lemon. I don't know how much gardening I will be able to do this year--I had a knee replacement in December, and am having trouble getting it "broke in".
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My favorite combination of garlic and bread is to roast a couple of heads of garlic, chop it roughly, and mix it into some NYT bread dough. I don't even need to put butter on that--but butter makes everything better.
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Still hobbling around after knee surgery in December, but I have gone to the Murray McMurray hatchery site to browse for my spring order. I have ordered from them 3 times, and all three times I bought 25 mixed brown layers. I love having all the different colored babies, and different colored eggs when the girls mature. If I was a more practical person, I would settle on one breed--a heavy bird that wouldn't fly over the yard fence, and preferably one that didn't get broody. Broody hens quit laying, and they peck your hands when you try to steal their "babies".
This time, I am thinkig about adding 25 "frying pan" chicks--all cockerels, all destined for the freezer. If I get them in April, the cockerels will be ready to process midsummer. Anybody want to come help? Sweet corn will be ready to pick--fresh fried chicken and corn-on-the-cob, anybody?
I eat a lot of chicken, and really would prefer to grow my own--they taste better, and I know they wouldn't be full of antibiotics. Am I crazy?
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We had Cousin Jack miners in Ely, Minnesota, too, and lots of pasties. I have seen them made with venison or moose meat. There were bloody arguments over the inclusion of carrots, and the meat is always chopped, never ground. Many churches make pasties as a fund-raiser, selling them frozen for folks to take home, or a family might have a pasty making day.
A Cornish friend said his granny used to cut a slit in the top of the pasty when it was almost done, and pour in some cream. Not being a fan of ketchup, this sounds good to me. Leaving some fat in the meat when you chop it helps add some flavor, but for goodness sakes, no spices or herbs, if you want an authentic pasty.
Just don't forget to leave some the crust for the tommyknockers--or you will be very sorry.
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I have been involuntarily doing a freezer/pantry cleanout. I had a total knee replacement Dec. 15, and have been pretty much stuck at home since then, since I really couldn't drive for the first 6 weeks. Then I had trouble with the knee and they had to do another procedure, so I am home again. I live alone, so the grocery store has had little of my business for the last couple of months.
I thank heavens that I am such a "hoarder"--my freezer contained about quarter of a beef, 10 or 15 pounds of chicken, and tomatoes, peppers, celery and carrots from last summer's garden, as well as a few commercial packages of frozen veggies.
The pantry was full of pasta, flours, sugar, beans, hominy.
I have eaten pretty well--I did have my sister here early on, and she brought home some fresh veggies, which I am about out of now.
Oh, and the dogs would like someone to bring up a bag of Purina, please.
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Your roasted tomatoes and peppers will make great pizza sauce. Throw in some red pepper flakes before you spread it on the crust and add your favorite pizza seasonings--I love fennel, myself.
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I would think that you would be able to see bug bits in the bag if it was bugs--surely some would have become trapped.
I have a vague memory of some sort of spice affecting plastic--I googled, and found one reference to cloves being hard on plastic.
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It only takes an hour or so for the potstickers to freeze on the cookie sheet. Make your potstickers, then cook some and eat--by the time you are done, the take-home product will be ready to package.
Could you invite me, too? I know how to make the wrappers!
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Chicken and dumplings are common here in Missouri--churches often have C & D dinners as fundraisers, and they are a standard lunch special at our little cafes.
I don't know that I have ever seen drop dumplings here like y'all are talking about--ours are rolled out and cut, like a thick, soft noodle. I don't think the cooks use eggs, just flour, water (some recipes call for boiling water), salt, shortening, maybe some baking powder. These kind of dumplings can be purchased frozen in most grocery stores.
These dumplings are cooking in a rich stock with chunks or shreds of chicken, and no veggies. I am sure carrots, celery and onions are used in the stock, but they are discarded and not served.
I use spaetzle instead of dumplings when I want a carb overload. Mmmmmm.
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Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets, with honey mustard. (I like McD's fries, too, but only if they are too hot to eat when I get them. As soon as they cool off, I am done.)
Cheetos.
Packaged French Onion Dip and Tostitos.
I like milk chocolate better than dark.
*slinking away in shame*
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Mmmmm--oysters are my favorite mushroom. Breaded and fried is great, but I also like them in Asian stir fry.
They dry well, too--just lay them out on paper towels or a rack until they lose most of their moisture. I keep mine in the freezer after I dry them.
Here in Missouri you can find them any month of the year, usually a week or so after heavy rains.
Be sure to keep an eye on that tree--often the mushrooms will appear again and again.
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No chickens here on Sparrowgrass Hill, and I am very glad. I had my knee surgery Dec. 15, and haven't been out of the house since I returned from the hospital. With no family nearby, I am depending on the kindness of friends and wouldn't want to ask anyone to do daily chicken chores.
I miss them, and hope that I will be recovered enough to order some new chicks in the spring. My chicken house and chicken yard need some major rehab work, so that will be the hold up.
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Oh, you guys!! You are lyrical and nostalgic and inspiring--but not Tweetable.
I cook because I love to eat, and I love to share!
What's the Oldest Thing in Your Kitchen?
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
I have a worked chert stone about the same age that I picked up in a bottomland field in Indiana, and I do use it in my kitchen. It fits perfectly in my hand (how cool is that--a thousand year old tool!) and I use it to gently mash garlic cloves so I can peel them. Somebody a thousand years ago used it to crush bones for the marrow or to crack hickory nuts, and it now has a place on my window sill.