sparrowgrass

Yep, I know about Highway 1. A good place to see moose, especially if it is dark and you are driving too fast. When I lived in Ely, a friend just back from Two Harbors called me over to look at his front bumper. It was splattered with what looked like cow manure. He said he had just narrowly missed not one, not two, but SEVEN moose standing in the highway just east of Isabella. Scared the shit out of all of them, him included.

I am on my way up to your part of the country mid-July, snowangel. I am taking my mom on a road trip--to Chicago to see the brother, to Ely to visit with some friends, and then, if we have the energy, down along the shore to Duluth and then over to Ironwood MI for some rock hunting on the beach. Looking forward to fried walleye and buying lots of cheap wild rice.

I saw Coke zero in 12 ounce bottles yesterday. Pretty tasty, but then I usually buy whatever diet cola is on sale, so what do I know?

Rice Chicken Onions

That is interesting. But then what are the bloodspots? Are they just lesions of some sort? It's interesting to hear that the eggs are candled. I always thought this was a defunct Jewish occupation. In Yiddish, the person who does this is called a "kindler," and it was actually done with a candle in bygone days. Eggs with bloodspots were destroyed. I always thought of this as a particularly Jewish thing, and that the "profession" ended with modernization. ← Nope, USDA graded eggs are all candled--blood or "meat" spotted eggs are removed, and used for animal feed or for liquid eggs, used in baking. Blood or "meat" spots come from the reproductive tract of the hen-- a slight injury might leak some blood which will then end up inside the egg. A "meat" spot is a tiny bit of reproductive tract flesh that tears off and gets incorporated into the white of the egg. Some candling is done by human eyes--eggs roll over a big light table, and someone grabs the ones that have spots, or double yolks, or other defects. In big new plants, this is done electronically. When I worked for USDA, the plant I inspected produced Eggland eggs. A rabbi came in periodically and inspected the place, because the Eggland eggs were kosher. When I inspected the Eggland runs, one bloodspot disqualified the whole run, and they had to be candled over again to be certified. I don't know anything about the Canadian system--you might call your department of agriculture to see if they have a similar grading system. Fertilized eggs in a hatchery are also candled, to check on the embryos, and to discard eggs that aren't fertile. When I incubate a batch of eggs, I candle them after 5 or 6 days of incubation, and I can see the little chick--it shows up as 2 black dots--the eyeballs!

I hit the same sale and love mine. I especially like that the cutters com off the center post making it easy to store. ← What these two said. Same sale, same opinion of the little bowl.

I bought some of that--just didn't get around to putting it up. I usually use twine strung between T-posts, but this spring, I was recovering from pneumonia, and just didn't have the energy after I planted. I use cattle panels for my tomatoes--2 set parallel about a foot apart. All I have to do is poke escaping branches back into the middle once in a while.

So maybe my 6 hills of watermelon and the 3 hills of cantaloupe were too much? I have never had much luck with melons in this garden, so maybe I will be alright. The best part of gardening for me (well, maybe second best after eating) is feeding friends and family. I always plant more than I need. Same reason I have the chickens--I can't possibly eat all those eggs. (New baby chicks came in the mail Monday--a multicultural bunch of brown egg layers. Little black chicks with yellow markings, ones that are striped like little chipmunks, yellow ones with darker stripes, plain light yellow ones, silvery grey ones. They are living in the guest room shower right now, but will move outside to the brooder this weekend. I will try and take a picture before they start sprouting feathers and turn homely, sometime next week.)

Next spring, when I tell you I am getting ready to plant 5 different kinds of peas, will someone please STOP me? I have never had peas like this--I have been picking almost a gallon of peas a day, and have been for 2 weeks. I love peas--don't get me wrong. I have had them for lunch and dinner every day, and have a big bowl of peas in front of me as I type--just salted and buttered, the way I like them best. But I have been spending every evening bent over in the garden, picking, and then sitting in front of the TV, shelling (or stringing, for the snaps and snows). MY thumbnail is a permanent green, I think. Thank goodness the weather has turned hot, and they are almost done. I pulled up 2 rows and picked the last of the peas off the plants in the relative comfort of the back porch, in the shade. Also, while you are trying to stop me from planting all those peas, remind me that ALL peas like trellising--no matter what the packet says. It also makes them much easier to pick--no bending over trying to sort pea pods from tangled pea stems.

I don't like the texture of rare hamburger, so put them on the grill and make mine well done, but still juicy. Add a nice slice (or two) of Vidalia onion, lots of salt and pepper and a good squirt of ketchup, on a sesame seed bun. I know what's for dinner at my house tonight.

If you want the best pizza in this town (that is, besides mine) ya gotta go to the Casey's. A block south of the courthouse, on the left. (We don't have a Pizza Hut or Domino's.)

I don't know nuthin' bout kosher, but I do know my eggs. A blood spot has nothing to do with embryos--a fertilized egg has a tiny white "donut" shaped spot on it for the first 2 or 3 days of incubation, then it develops a network of blood veins, very different and distinct from the little blood spots found in supermardket eggs. Think "bloodshot eyeball" and you will have a good picture of a yolk with a 3 or 4 day old embryo in it. If your eggs are "USDA grade A", they should have no (or very few--sometimes one slips by) bloodspots, because USDA grade A eggs are candled to remove bloodspots. Check for the USDA shield--grade A can be printed on any package, but the USDA shield is only on inspected eggs.

Just poking thru this thread, and I know nothing about this particular diet, but I would say the "no fats with carbs" thing works like this: Who wants bread without butter, macaroni without cheese, potatoes without sour cream?

All the convenience stores around here (Missouri) sell pizza. The shells are premade, and the toppings come in little packets. They are baked on site, and are not too bad. Kinda chewy and gummy sometimes, but edible. They have a heated display case with rotating shelves, and you can buy by the slice, or call in an order for a whole pizza.

I didn't buy them, but those fresh peas I picked yesterday. Took me more than an hour to pick (you should see my sunburn) and shell 3 cups of peas. I ate about half of them last night for dinner, and I am not sharing with anybody. If I invite you to the house and serve fresh peas from the garden, you better be watching your wallet and/or your honor. I am after something.

Just about anything fresh out of the garden, particularly the first of the season. Asparagus , peas, new potatoes, that first ear of corn, real tomatoes warm from the sun.

Tomatoes, peppers, okra, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, green beans, corn, watermelons, cantaloupe, squash (summer and winter). Ready to eat now: peas, snow peas, lettuce. The asparagus is almost over. Also have 3 peach trees, a pear tree, blackberries, rhubarb, strawberries and blueberries. The berries are new this year. Not for eating--3 kinds of gourds, just for fun. Picked a quart of snowpeas yesterday--had the first batch kinda stir fried in butter, with a bit of salt.

I can agree with everything else you said, but the salt thing? Who died and left you Ruler of the Salt Shaker?

$18 plus shipping for 2 pounds of grits?!? No, I will just go on in blissful ignorance of "good" grits. I will just wait for the sweet corn in my garden, instead.

Grits. I have never had edible grits, and I don't care how much cheese and garlic you add. While I was born Yankee, I have spent most of my life south of the Smith and Wesson line, and love green beans cooked all day, fried cabbage, okra--but NO GRITS.

Nutritional yeast is sprinkled on top of popped corn. My mom used to always pop corn in bacon grease.

I like my popcorn with olive oil and nutritional yeast--that yellow flakey stuff from the health food store. And salt. Don't forget the salt.

I got lucky with the beef. I am in cattle country here, and my best bud, Cowboy Kenny, buys a dozen Corriente steers each year, to use for team penning and roping at the fairgrounds. His Corrientes are little fellas--maybe a thousand pounds when they are grown, so a packaged side of beef is around 250 pounds or so. I live alone, but have shared some of the beef with my sons, when they visit, so I am not tired of beef. My final cost, processing included, was about $2 a pound. (Processing includes killing and cutting/wrapping.) Of course, if some of you big city folks want to buy one, I will tell him to jack it up to $3. PM me for more info, if you want. While I tease Kenny about this "stringy Mexican beef" and tell him I am tired of tacos, it really has been the best beef ever, very tender, and quite lean. And, I know the critters had a good life. They did have to run around on Sundays and get roped and sorted, but the rest of the time they were on pasture. They were fattened on corn, no hormones or antibiotics.

I bought a side of beef last fall, and I have eaten most of the easy stuff--the burger, the steaks--but down in the bottom of the freezer lurks a 6 or 7 pound sirloin tip roast. This was a lean little steer--almost no fat, so take that into consideration when you suggest recipes.

People lived for gazillions of years without refrigeration, and some of them survived. However, that was before they invented lawyers. Unless this food is to be consumed within hours, I would stick to stuff like bread and cheese and peanut butter.