kappydell

What kind of fence do you have? We recently got some plastic strips on sale at the local building supply store that we wove thru the links of the chain link fence for more privacy. Only moderately effective, but we did notice that some of the neighbors followed suit. They are noting more than properly sized strips of plastic, fastened with split fasteners at each end - easily duplicated from cheap/recycled materials. We also planted fast growing flowering shrubs as a hedge outside the fence - more friendly than the fence, easier to explain from the beautification angle, but they do block the back yard from snoopy types who might be standing at the bus stop 'waiting for the bus'. (You could always say you sunburn horribly or are allergic to the sun, so that is why you need all the 'shade'...)

How about planting patches of 'wild' herbs for remedies...that way you already know where they are if you need them! I already started last season in the untended fringe areas of my cities' parks

among my personal observations is a prep group I belong to...unlike many that do not last long, this one keeps growing and growing because it teaches simple, useful preps, with the members themselves doing presentations in their interest and experience areas. No gloom and doom...just how-to fun, welcoming the many 'newbies' with open arms. Many members are living the 'prep' lifestyle or changing their lifestyles to use what they've learned. This group has chosen to be part of the solution to todays problems, and I consider them part of the under-reported GOOD news.

Today is day three of our Christmas Baking Frenzy. For some reason, our life activities include several seasonal 'frenzies':

spring planting frenzy, shorter yard cleaning & weeding frenzies, harvest (picking & preserving) frenzy, salmon fishing frenzy, Christmas decorating frenzy, and now Christmas Baking Frenzy.

Not that it is a bad thing, we get a lot done. But I could not miss the humor when I looked at my kitchen and saw...

(cue music)

12 stollens cooling,

11 boxes for shipping,

10 kinds of cookies,

9 gumdrop fruitcakes,

8 gallons of peppernuts,

7 dozen mounds bars,

6 dozen thumbprints,

5 turkey roasters of Chex Mix!

4 sniffing canines,

3 loads of dishes,

2 frazzled cooks,

and one kitchen completely "blown awaaaaaay"!

We love Christmas, especially the goodies we make only once a year. What are your must-haves? (We're always looking for new recipes.)

im proud of myself...cooked up a chunk of tenderloin, came out perfect. I usually end up with tough meat. Along with oven baked taters, butter simmered corn...couldn't have asked for better for Sunday dinner!

Steamed on a rack, then it stays moist but most of the fat drips off. Keep the fat for frying though. Stick it under the broiler to crisp up the skin, or melt the glaze if you used one. An orange glaze is nice..."duck a la orange".

He likes the dark meat, its a favorite here, too.

computer literate, but life illiterate.

I am surprised. I never wanted to spring for 'membership' in either Sam's club or Costco, since most of the things they had in my area were things I did not want...more suited to the ritzy suburban trophy wives than my needs. So I found alternate places, and frankly, the prices are better. Canned veggies for 26 cents; those small canned hams for $1.50 and so forth. I guess I'm more a treasure hunter at heart. The travel is not so expensive when you have a big pantry like I keep & only have to go twice a year. Ethnic restaurants have excellent buys on rice (Asian market) and beans (Mexican market) and many ethnic herbs and such that I could never afford if I went mainstream. They are in business for the cash money, and are very happy to have you shop with them.

I was highly amused and amazed when I went to Wal-Mart looking for boric acid to make eye wash, last summer. I asked the pharmacist behind the counter, and she said "Boric ACID? What is it used for?" I told her, for making eye wash. She replied in alarm, "You should NOT be putting acid in your eyes, you could go blind!" So I asked if they had any pre-made eye wash, and she directed me to the contact lens washes, which are NOT the same thing at all.

It made me wonder if she slept the day they covered that in pharmacy class, or have discontinued compounding their own formulas for such simple things.

I left shaking my head in wonderment, and got the boric acid from Walgreens. We make human as well as canine eye wash for ourselves.

Well, I'm down to a cane now, and scoot around the house without it quite a bit. Now I'm working on retraining my muscles so I can stand straighter. Thank you for the encouragement.

I do have a question though...why is it that people who claim to love someone nonetheless feel free to judge their choices in life? I have never judged other's choices, just took them at face value and rejoiced with them when things went well, and commiserated when things did not. I always felt that since I was not in the other persons' shoes, and did not have their perspective and knowledge of the whole situation, that judging them would be hypocritical and just plain wrong. But I seem to stand alone on this...I love my family, but I loved my spouse, too, and it hurts when they casually pass judgement on his character, actions, and our life (30 years) together, when they know nothing of it. The man is dead and cant defend himself, only God should be judging him for Pete's sake. Oh well....thanks for the venting.

The children do have a way of cutting through the BS....

We made them in 4-H for the learn to knit project. I learned that I preferred to crochet.

Inland north. I thought it was 'Midwest standard', but I guess they are more subdivided than that....I do pick up other accents though when I talk for more than an hour or two with someone from another area.

Vi, I find recipes from Univ of Alaska Fairbanks extension all the time, citing usda sources, that include adding oil to fish that is canned. In fact, the usda guide from the national center for home food preservation specifically describes canning tuna in oil. I don't see the difference between that and adding a small square of bacon, so I respectfully disagree on this one.

Did 10 pints of fish yesterday - testing different flavors. They turned out great, and smelled sooo tempting while canning. I think my favorite is the mock smoked catfish, but the jalapeno cat, barbecued cat, and the carp (to taste like salmon) were excellent also. The Alaska Univ. of Fairbanks extension has an excellent booklet online "adding variety to canned fish" giving the mock smoked fish recipe and detailing their taste test with other ways to flavor up canned fish.

I also found a 'Mormon canned trout' recipe which makes a smoke flavored fish too, only they add bacon as well. Would that make a great chowder, or what?

Mormon Canned Trout

Per pint jar, put on the bottom of the jar:

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vinegar

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp butter

1 inch square of bacon

Pack jar with fish, leaving 1 inch headspace. Do not add liquid. Process at 10 lbs pressure for 100 min.

Did 10 pints of fish yesterday - testing different flavors. They turned out great, and smelled sooo tempting while canning. I think my favorite is the mock smoked catfish, but the jalapeno cat, barbecued cat, and the carp (to taste like salmon) were excellent also. The Alaska Univ. of Fairbanks extension has an excellent booklet online "adding variety to canned fish" giving the mock smoked fish recipe and detailing their taste test with other ways to flavor up canned fish.

Well, I did the canning, but used pint jars because I have many more of them than money to buy half-pints. Oh my, but the flavors I tried for the fish turned out GOOOOD. They smelled wonderful as they canned and were delicious. I made the mock smoked catfish, some jalapeno pepper flavored ones, some barbecue sauced ones, and some carp (to-taste-like-salmon) ones (see above). I had to....the freezer was filled with catfish, and we went salmon fishing....got one coho salmon (12 lbs as he came from the lake) and 13 even bigger rainbow trout, from Lake Michigan! Took along the disabled folks we fish with and camped in a nearby state park for 3 nights ($14 a night), with big bonfires, and the works! (The park had excellent wheelchair access, and our site was reasonably close to the toilets and hot showers. For a couple retired ladies, we get around!) Once we cleaned, filleted and divvied up the fish it came to about 25 lbs of boneless fillets per couple. But I gotta say it...next year I'm taking my shopping cart...each stringer with "just" four 12-lb and up trout on it was a real test of character just to carry. One of these days I'll learn to work smart, not hard.

She also had a book out (I got it when I was researching Depression era recipes for my recipe compilation "the budget is in the crapper again' cookbook for a new bride.) It was fascinating, and I did appreciate the burdock recipe, seeing as how I have plans for the ones in the garden....

Yup, my insurance now covers much less than it used to. The docs did not like being told that I would NOT be coming in every three months like they wanted, due to having a co-pay where before there was none. All due to my being REQUIRED to take medicare when I wanted to keep my own private insurance. My insurance company 'co-insurance' pays for much less, and as a final result, I have to argue with my docs all the time over $$$. Every time something is 'mandated' the insurance company usually phases out the formerly superior coverage for the 'mandated' minimums. Sux.

I have heard of 'buffalo chips' being used for fires, especially in places where wood was more precious for other uses.

For those that don't know how to make army style sos...this serves 4, more if you make extra 'sauce'

1 lb hamburger, brown well. Drain well.

Stir in 5 TB flour, 2 crushed beef bouillon cubes. Stir until it coats the hamburger & looks dry.

Stir in 2 cups milk (reconstituted dry milk works well here), and season to taste with salt, pepper & Worcestershire sauce.

Stir often over medium heat until it thickens and bubbles. It should bubble at least 3 min to cook out the 'raw' flour taste.

Pour over whatever you have on hand for breakfast - we usually put over eggs, bread or toast, and hash browns if I had leftover potatoes.

You can add more seasoning to suit yourself, but the S & P, and Worcestershire sauce are the army standbys.

This stuff is variable as the day is long - extremely good made with sausage & over biscuits, too - in stuffed potatoes, burritos, hamburger buns (kind of a 'blonde barbecue'?), over rice, noodles, and my old favorite, mashed potatoes.

Who'd a thunk army & comfort food went together?

 

 

 

My mother in law used to make hamburger gravy. She would fry some hamburger then add flour, milk, salt and pepper. She served it over bread or biscuits. It was really very good.

 

My family always add macaroni to our chili. We all still do. Hamburger, chili beans, tomatoes, onions, cooked macaroni, catsup and chili powder. It makes a huge pot full. I didn't know other people didn't add macaroni until I was well into my adult years. My in-laws add it too. Maybe it's regional? It's okay to laugh!

Well, in Cincinnati they put chili over spaghetti...

Chili is soooo versatile! Stuffed baked potatoes (cheese on top for decadence), I've seen it served at restaurants over French fries (too much for me, but the truckers liked it), over any kind of pasta, stuffed into burritos, over eggs for breakfast, and as a base for Shepherd's Pie. Hard to beat a classic like chili (Mmmmmmm). And hamburger gravy? My roommate (prior Army drill sgt) is nuts for SOS (hamburger-milk gravy) over eggs for breakfasts and pouts if she does not get it at least once a week.

pancakes for supper was a great treat, with home made brown sugar syrup. Homemade bread always; I was taught by my mom that if you fed your family homemade bread and a good thick gravy, you could serve fried shoe soles as the main course, and they would never notice. It worked for me & my husband too during our lean times! So my vote is on homemade bread with good thick gravy.

Perennials will come back easily, others tend to self-seed esp if you help them along. Yes, I have had many volunteers come up in the garden. Thyme is perennial if protected from my harsh winters, chives come back & spread like crazy. Parsley self seeds vigorously. Basil did not overwinter for me, too cold I think. Sage makes a pretty potted plant, but it spreads from the center outward, and needs to be divided to keep it alive after a year or two.

Dried salt fish. The fillets come out dry and light as Styrofoam. Weird, actually, but just because I'm not used to dealing with salt fish. Tonight I re-hydrate some to get some practice in that...Creamed Salt Fish over potatoes, or Fish patties?