sparrowgrass

I never see a ripe cantaloupe at the grocery store. Maybe at the farmers market, but never at the grocery store. When I buy cantaloupes, I look for the indentation where the stem was--as turkeybone said. Then, the melon sits on the counter at home til it smells like a cantaloupe and is just a little yielding to the touch. Edited because I can't read. But I am a nice person.

I can can. And I do. I grow a big garden, and can green beans, salsa and a V-8 type of tomato juice. I get such a feeling of satisfaction when I see those all those jars lined up on the counter. I pressure can everything--green beans because they are low acid and can bo-tox you if you don't, and the tomato things because pressure canning is so much quicker than trying to get a big canner to come to a boil. I have never canned salmon, but I used to can razor clam necks for chowder--absolutely imperative to use a pressure canner for fish or meat. Unless you have a death wish. And I don't care how grandma did it. For the real skinny on canning, call your local extension office, and buy the Ball Blue Book on canning. All the latest USDA recommendations.

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? All six of us at the table every evening, no TV or radio. Dinner was at 6, come hell or high water. Meat, a veggie and potatoes. Usually plain boiled taters, you put the butter (really margarine--the real butter was for Daddy) on yourself. Broccoli boiled to a grey sludge. We bought a side of beef every year from Uncle Rudy, so beef was a big part of meals. Was meal time important? Yep--everyone was expected to be there, and you had to eat a spoonful of everything, even if you didn't like it. Mom finally gave up on liver--kids got hotdogs instead. Was cooking important? For my Mom, I think it was a chore--I think she heard "yuck, I hate that stuff" too many times from too many kids. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? I don't remember that, but you did have to chew with your mouth closed, and no singing at the table. (Why no singing? Dunno.) Who cooked in the family? I remember my Dad cooking in the kitchen once--when my Mom was in the hospital having my little sister. He did the grilling. I started doing dinner at 12, when my Mom when to work. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Every Friday night, we all loaded in the Chevy and went to McDonalds--this was back in the while tile, order outside at the window, eat in the car days of Mickey D's. When we were done, we did the weekly grocery shopping--Mom, Dad, and all 3 or 4 kids. Other than that, restaurant meals were few and far between. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? I remember kiddy tables at grandparents, but we hardly ever had big dinners at our house. When did you get that first sip of wine? I was young, and it was Mogen David. Why? I dunno--we were Lutheran. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Every night--"come Lord Jesus". Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? Nope. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Well, my family is grown and gone, but some things were similar. Dinner together every night. Meat, veg and starch at each meal. My kids got a little more freedom on what they had to eat--no force feeding, no "if you don't eat that you have to go to bed".

I finally got the tiller fired up and running, and tilled about half the garden last night. This afternoon, I will plant peas and potatoes, lettuce and spinach. Has anyone played with Google Earth? Neat program of satellite photos, allows you to "fly" to different places. My garden is so big, you can see it from outer space!! Sparrowgrass Hill The two rectangles in the middle of the photo are my house (left) and garden (right). The bright white line is the neighbor's drive, just above the house and garden. Too bad it looks so flat--this country is pretty lumpy!

Not even for that. Nope. Nope. Nope. (Might consider a one night stand for a good knife, however.)

Fruit flavored anything. Maybe I should say froot-flavored. Margarine. Vienna sausages--we say Vie-anny here--the kind in the small can, little soft finger shaped things. Glurk. Cheap milk chocolate that tastes like parafin. Kool-aid. Jello. (Fits in the froot flavored category.) Canned spaghetti/ravioli products.

Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi--whichever one is on sale. Butter and olive oil--I am sure I eat those every day.

Zup's Grocery, on Main Street in Ely, doesn't have much of a selection, but it sure smells good. They smoke their own meat and fish, so be sure to pick up some of that. Don't buy beer in the grocery store--it is 3.2. Farm stands on the way up probably will have strawberries, maybe some late asparagus. Take lots of skeeter repellent--you are going at prime time. Be sure to visit the Molter Museum, the little museum at Vermillion Community College, and the International Wolf Center. And do NOT miss the Soudan Underground Iron Mine. And when you are there, tell them Debra from Missouri sent you. I lived in Ely and worked at the park for 5 years--please feel free to PM me with any questions.

Doesn't anyone else use one of these? From Presto, this microwave popping bowl works great, you can use it with oil or without. You use regular popcorn (or Orville's) so the per batch price is much less than making microwave popcorn in the little bags. And you don't have that toxic artificial butter to worry about. I pop mine with olive oil, and sprinkle with the aforementioned nutritional yeast. I like microwaved popcorn better than pan popped--crunchier.

Here is the official University of Missouri Extension answer: Steps in controlling pantry pests Pantry pest infestations may be eliminated by following a systematic and complete control program. Shortcuts may result in control failure. Carefully examine all susceptible foods to determine sources of infestations. Throw away any that are heavily infested. If infested food has further value or if infestation is questionable, heat the food at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 30 minutes or place in a deep freezer at zero for four days. Empty and clean up shelves with a vacuum and wash with soap and water. Spray shelves lightly, particularly cracks where shelves and wall come together. If a sprayer is not available, use a paint brush to apply the insecticide. Use 1 percent propoxur (Baygon), 0.5 percent diazinon, 0.5 percent chlorpyrifos (Dursban), or 0.25 percent resmethrin or any other insecticide labeled for this use. (I'd skip this part--no insecticides in my kitchen, thank you very much.) After the spray has dried, cover shelves with clean, untreated shelf paper before replacing food and dishes. Store food that may become infested in tight containers. Insects such as the Angoumois grain moth and the seed weevils which occur in whole kernels of grain, can be controlled by the heat or cold treatment. Heat should not be used on popcorn for obvious reasons. Seeds kept for planting should not be subjected to heating or freezing, because such treatment may affect germination. Click here for more than you want to know about kitchen bugs.

rooftop, you have lady bugs because the citrus growers introduced Asian lady bugs some years ago to control aphids and scale on their trees. Asian lady bugs, unlike our native lady bugs, bunch up to hibernate, and they prefer attics and wall spaces to cuddle up in over the winter. When you get a warm day, they come and fly around. Vacuum them up and carry the bag outdoors, caulk your windows and doors to keep them out.

Oh, my word, how pretty!! I hope you aren't going to let anyone eat any of those--I want one for my wall.

I once had deep fried cabbage cores at a KFC (I think). They took the leftovers from the slaw, I suppose. They were sweet and tender and quite good. And it took us a little while to figure out what they were.

"Cat Barf" is what my children call scrambled eggs with cheese and ham. ("Called", I guess I should say--they are 22 and 26 now.)

I have heard that some folks, if they butchered a hen, would put the "unborn" eggs into the soup. Seems like I remember 5 or 6 eggs forming inside a hen, the biggest one almost ready to be laid, and the rest smaller and smaller and smaller, and mostly yolk.

Scrubbing the grease off the cabinet doors above the stove. And let's not even talk about the collection of old pitchers and baskets sitting on top of the cabinets. They are probably welded in place by the greasy dust coating them. (They still look good, from 7 or 8 feet away, anyhow.)

My Missouri grandma was a good country cook--I remember thick sliced bacon and thin sliced ham and summer sausage from the smoke house, gallon mason jars of milk in the fridge with thick caps of cream, cream used to make ice cream out under the maples. Ice cream that you HAD TO EAT, because the little freezer in the fridge was just about big enough for a couple of ice cube trays, so no way to save ice cream for tomorrow. Watch out for those ice cream headaches, always worse from the home made stuff. I remember running across the road to the corn field for big roasting ears, and the watermelon man coming by in his truck--watermelons a dollar each, and cantaloupes 8 for a dollar. Peaches from the farm stand in a bushel basket. That farm stand is still open, and I stop every time I go by. (Mmmm--just thought about peaches with that nice cream poured over, and some sugar sprinkled on top.) Gathering eggs and calling in the cows in the early morning for milking. Helping in garden--fresh beans and tomatoes and okra. My grandma bet my cousins that I *would* like okra--she paid me twenty six cents behind their backs to rave over it. (Good money in those days, but I really did like it--deep fried, of course, with a crunchy corn meal crust.) The big meal of the day was dinner, served at dinner time--noon. Seems like it was always beef of some sort, usually pot roasted, but I remember fish fries and frog legs and squirrel, and once, fried turtle. Taters. Corn and beans and tomatoes, cucumbers with sweet and sour dressing. And pie, of course. I do remember watching her kill chickens once, and hanging them on the line to bleed out. I remember my mom showing me the unformed eggs inside the hen. Breakfast was pretty substantial too--a platter of fried eggs, bacon or ham, toast. Glasses of that thick milk. I really only have one memory of Grandpa--he was eating a bowl of Hay and Straw. (His name for All Bran with one of those big Shredded Wheat biscuits broken on top.) Supper was leftovers or sandwiches, eaten after the evening milking, and just before we went out on the porch to watch the sun go done, and to sit in the dark, talking.

Fifi, sounds to me like the Garlic Genius does a better job of uniform dice. The Twist kinda mashes the garlic instead of slicing it. Twist it a few more times, and you have garlic paste. I have never used my microplane with garlic--I think I would lose my finger prints. I do use it for ginger. I keep the ginger in the freezer, and just grate off what I need without peeling. Most of peel stays on top of the grater--the rest is shaved too fine to notice. I got my microplane at the hardware store, on sale for $8.

I think that is an awful looking thing, and you should immediately send it to me for proper disposal. (Opens fridge, checks to make sure there is plenty of butter.)

There is a variety of acorn called a chinkapin which is sweet enough to eat out ot hand, but most have to be crushed and then held in running water to wash the tannins out. Native Americans accomplished this by crushing the nutmeats and putting them in a basket in a running stream. My ex did this once, and I ate some of the bread he made. I prefer whole wheat.

I bought a Garlic Twister, and I love it. Peel the clove (smash it with your mushroom, go ahead), stick it in the Garlic Twist, and in 10 seconds you have nicely minced garlic. Run it under the faucet, and it rinses clean. I bought mine at a Kitchen Collections outlet store, but they are available on line.

I have a cast iron mold that makes teddy bear muffins. Or as my kids called them, cubcakes.

I work for University of Missouri Extension, and we are working on getting our farmer's market started again. I just called our health department about selling baked goods. Here, the rule is that each package must have a label with ingredients, weight, and name and address of maker. If the baked goods are made in a kitchen that is not certified, that must be on the label and also posted on the booth. Your mileage may vary, but you might want to call the HD and see what you *have* to do. Personally, the little cello bags with a cute label would appeal to me, decorated cookies sound wonderful and a real kid magnet. Put them down where the kids can see them.

Not a kitchen mistake, but food related. I went out to the chicken house, and gathered the eggs. Too many to carry in my hands, so I put 4 or 5 in my coat pocket. (Pay attention to that "4 or 5"--I didn't count.) Got back in the kitchen, emptied the eggs out of my pocket into the bowl on the counter. A blue stoneware bowl--nothing prettier than a blue bowl on the oak table, full of eggs in all shades of brown, morning sun shining in--but that has nothing to do with the story, so never mind. Anyhow--next morning, I had to go to the doctor, and he told me to bring all my 'scripts with me--ok. Dump 'em all in my coat pocket. I don't even have to tell the rest, do I? Took me a while to figure out what was all over my pill bottles--looked like orange juice concentrate.

I used to use those, for camping. They cook quickly, are lightweight (important if you are portaging your canoe, or hiking), taste better and are cheaper than freeze dried camping food.