Subj : Packrats was: Al K. Haul
To : Ruth Haffly
From : Dave Drum
Date : Fri Jan 05 2024 06:25:18
-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-
DD> I usually don't have room in the ice box for stuff that should be in
DD> there. Or the freezer. Mostly because Dennis is a pack-rat. I'm not
DD> scheduled to work next Tuesday so there's going to be a big clear-out
DD> to the bare shelves - which will get washed and spiffed up. All
DD> science experiments and "what is this?" item will be binned, etc.
RH> Sounds like a good idea. We've probably got some stuff in our fridge
RH> that should find a new home in the trash can.
DD> I'm going to do it the evening before trash day so it doesn't have
DD> time to take over the wheelie bin. Or attract raccooons, tree rats and
DD> opossums.
RH> Sounds good; our trash day is Friday but because of the holiday, pushed
RH> to Saturday again this week. I've done the "clean out the fridge" thing
RH> the night before also.
Ours did the same - except our usual day is Wednesday. I use Waste
Management (because they're union) who e-mails me a "heads up" before
every holidays which changes their usual schedule.
DD> 8<----- EDIT -----.8
RH> Town I grew up in was well settled by (mostly) Scotch-Irish long before
RH> my parents moved there. Farming was mostly dairy but from what I've
RH> read, there was a time when cauliflower was a big cash crop in the
RH> area.
DD> Most farms these days are strictly "ca$h grain" and the farmers shop
DD> at stupormarkups. Our family farm rotated crops between corn, soybeans,
DD> wheat, oats, alfalfa, rye and sorghum (a relative of corn). And we had
DD> a small orchard with apples, peaches, apricots and paw-paw trees. The
DD> orchard and the acre+ "truck" garden were bordered by blackberry and
DD> raspberry brambles. And there was a strawberry bed at the top of the
DD> garden.
RH> My dad planted a couple of gardens for family eating. Mom canned a lot,
RH> then got a freezer in 1973. Dad usually put in rhubarb, sweet corn,
RH> lettuce, beets, carrots, yellow wax beans and tomatoes when I was
RH> growing up, later added brussels sprouts and a couple of other veggies.
RH> He had a small (6?) vines for grapes, on the property also had a couple
RH> of apple trees and a pear tree. Neighbor's property had blackberry
RH> bushes we had free picking on, strawberries were wild (but not
RH> abundant) on both properties.
When I was still a pre-teen I used that garden for summer income. I
had an iron wheeled pushcart which I loaded with freshly picked produce.
I had tomatoes, both green and wax beans, radishes, carrots, cucumbers,
sweet corn, popcorn, cabbages muskmelon and asparagus .... all "in
season". At that time (early 1950s) most wives were "house" wives. And
they knew when they heard the iron wheels on the sidewalk that I had
just picked vegetables on offer at good prices.
DD> I was told by a friend (and fellow chilli cook) who had been a cook on
DD> transcontinental trains that the small bottles served two (or more)
DD> purposes. Inventory was easier - and it made it harder for an
DD> unscrupulous attendant/bartender to deplete the stock by nipping at
DD> the bottle. And since the bottles contained about a "jigger/shot" of
DD> booze, measurement was simple.
RH> Sounds like a win-win all the way around (except for the unscrupulous
RH> folks). We had our first meal on a train this past spring on our trip
RH> to Denali from Whittier, Alaska. We were seated so that we could see a
RH> bit of the kitchen as waiters came in/went out; from what we could see,
RH> it was very tight working space. The menu we were offered was very
RH> limited, looked like very minimal cooking was actually done on the
RH> train except maybe the salmon chowder. The rest of the hot offerings
RH> were probably just microwaved.
DD> Railroad dining car galleys are, of necessity, very tight quarters.
DD> And they put out some amazing dishes. Airlines, OTOH, use pre-made,
DD> nuked
DD> to serving temperature dishes for their in-flight offerings. If you've
DD> eaten airline food you'll know it's all lowest common denominator
DD> stuff.
RH> I've had airline food, think the last regular meal we had was coming
RH> back from Berlin in 1992.
DD> My first railroad meal was on the Rock Island Twin Cities Rocket
DD> and I was 14 years old. Roast Duckling w/Orange Sauce. I managed
DD> to get more of it in me than on me. Bv)=
RH> That's commendable. (G)
Here's another bread recipe. I'll be making this again tonight for
a potluck at my work tomorrow ...... well, one loaf. The other is
going to get turned into Reuben sandwiches at home.
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Rustic Rye Bread
Categories: Breads
Yield: 24 slices
1/4 oz Env active dry yeast
1 3/4 c Warm water (110ºF/43ºC);
- divided
1/4 c (packed) brown sugar
1/4 c Molasses *
3 tb Caraway seeds; ground
2 tb Neutral oil
1 tb Salt
1 3/4 c Rye flour
3/4 c Whole wheat flour
3 c A-P flour
* Do not use "blackstrap" molasses.
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.
Stir in brown sugar, molasses, caraway seeds, oil, salt
and remaining water. Add rye flour, whole wheat flour
and 1 cup all-purpose flour; beat on medium speed until
smooth. Stir in enough remaining all-purpose flour to
form a firm dough.
Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth
and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl,
turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a
warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface;
divide in half. Shape each into a round loaf; place on a
baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cover with
kitchen towels; let rise in a warm place until almost
doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Set oven @ 350ºF/175ºC.
Before baking, brush loaves with an egg white beaten
lightly with water; sprinkle with whole caraway seeds.
Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pan
to wire racks to cool.
Holly Wade, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Makes: 2 loaves (12 pieces each)
RECIPE FROM:
https://www.tasteofhome.com
Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen
MMMMM
... The modern young foodie cannot imagine a 1950s world,
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200)
