Category Archives: Food

2024, education, Family, Food, Kids, Technology, Travel

Where in the World is XDFBen?

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A rhetorical question really. The photos will give it away. But I hardly ever get to say this so couldn’t pass it up.

A college sponsored vacation? Well, sure! At least for me. Kelly and daughter are the bonus on the trip.

Thirty four years ago we came here on our honeymoon. A year ago when I knew this event would be here, I said we couldn’t pass it up. And now I keep asking, do you recognize anything? Nope. Even the famous places, I know we were there, but not much recollection. And that’s ok. The weather was beautiful Sunday – Tuesday.  Wednesday was cloudy and Thursday It rained in the evening.

One day we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Standing on the deck watching the water, it was just beautiful. I tried to get that to be an indelible memory. I made a comment to Kelly that I thought it was pretty cool go back to an island we had been at 34 years ago and she pointed out we were on Whidbey Island, not Bainbridge Island. Damn. I don’t know where I got Bainbridge from. Well, I’m a writer, time to change the narrative! From now on, we went to Bainbridge Island as part of our Honeymoon. Wasn’t much to see there, it’s 55 minutes between returning ferries, and we were back to the dock in time to catch the next one returning to the mainland.  We all enjoyed the boat ride.

Tuesday we rode the Ferris wheel, we went to the aquarium, and we visited three used bookstores. Everything’s expensive here, but some of the food has really been good.

We hit some of the other tourist attractions, and got to watch them toss some fish.

Wednesday was the first day of the USITT conference, the United States Institute of Theatre Technology, and I am now a certified MEWP operator. Mobile Elevated Work Platform. Scissor lift, genie lift, all those big bucket things you see at construction sites or theaters. It was a good class.

Thursday I attended a soldering workshop and wired up a little LED strip,

got my hearing tested for free, saw a famous Broadway lighting designer and listened to her speak: Dawn Chiang.

Friday was a class on organizing your shop, which I’m hoping will be useful for home, as well as a class titled “the psychology of stupidity”. I’ll fill you in on that next week.

The convention Center: Two buildings, 6 floors. Getting my steps in. Not to mention how far UP HILL it is from the wharf to downtown. We were never lost, but I went the wrong direction multiple times. 

We rode the light rail and monorail, we met some friends here and had supper at their house, I made a couple new friends, and more surprising was the fact we three survived all being in one hotel room together for a week!

The people watching has been great!

March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day. 3,21, because down syndrome comes from the fact those kids have three copies of the 21st chromosome as opposed to two. That’s why it’s also called trisomy 21. Daughter is a pretty interesting kid. Lots of people will smile at her and make conversation with her, she says hello to a lot of people, and animals just love her. She’s kind of fun to hang out with.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE CERTIFIED IN?

2024, Business, Farming Update, Food, Mysteries, Nature

Spring Approacheth

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

Evidently at some point last summer, I took the corn planter seed units, the thing in the planter that picks up an individual seed, and drops it in the ground, I took the seed units up to my dealer to be inspected and upgraded as necessary. I say ‘evidently’ because I forgot about that until he called asking what I wanted done with them. Gosh, I’d have been ready to run out and plant some day and sure been surprised by the hole in the bottom of the tank where these go. And I’d have spent a long time digging around in the shop trying to find them!

They are getting new backing plates and brushes. $600 roughly.

I was watching an online auction last week and I had bid on a couple used corn planters newer than mine. I have a John Deere 7000 planter. Had been completely rebuilt when I bought it 20-some years ago. I think I paid $6000 for it. The 7000 planter was made from 1974 to 1986. At the auction were two John Deere 1750, 6 row planters. The same size as mine, but much newer than mine. One was in pretty good shape, and one was pretty beat up. But I figured if I could get it cheap, I could fix it up on my own time. They sold for $16,185 and $14,259 respectively. Plus, commission. Wowzer! A couple nice tractors: a 2020 front wheel assist with 4000 hours, sold for $181,500. A 2012 4-wheel drive with a blade sold for $178,000. I didn’t even bid on those. I should have, early, just to say I did. Golly.

So anyway, $600 for planter unit overhauls is a good deal. The important thing about planting, is having each seed dropped in the right place, 6” apart. That’s called “singulation”. And looking at the fields last year, my singulation wasn’t very good. Lots of misses, or doubles. The repair should help with that.

If you think about an ear of corn, next time you’re having corn on the cob, pay attention to the kernels. Notice the kernels at the bottom are sort of large and round? While the middle ones are flat? Seed is sorted like that, and some guys ask for ‘flats’ or ‘rounds’ in particular. Clyde, did you sort out seed like that?

I did get the starter put back in the  630 tractor. Bailey helped.

A hot air balloon landed at our place on Sunday. The dogs alerted me to it first and I saw it was way off to the south. A little later I noticed it really high off to the south. A little while later, it was very low and close to us, then it went up a bit again, then back down and landed at our place. He took off from the college, which is only a couple miles as the balloon flies, but there was no wind and it took him 90 minutes to get to our place and he didn’t have enough gas to go too much further. It was a real fun crew of people and for the first time in the multiple balloon landings at our place, they actually had champagne and did a toast.

That night I picked up pizza from a new place in Rochester, Red Savoy pizza. I picked it up wearing a John Deere cap, and the owner told me he worked at John Deere in Waterloo for a lot of years and he and I talked about tractors for 20 minutes. It was fun to meet these two diverse groups of such nice people. It felt good to reaffirm there are just fun, nice people out there.

WHAT HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN? HAVE YOU MET FUN PEOPLE LATELY?

2024, Food, Gatherings, Mysteries

Easy as Pie

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“In my element.”  That’s the thought that was going through my mind as I headed out of the house yesterday morning to do some grocery shopping.  With Pi Day coming up, I’ve been busy with the prep work.  Organizing things is just about my favorite activity and Pi Day needs all the organization it can get.

Before hitting the grocery stores, I have to pick the pies.  I go through all my appropriate cookbooks and pick out recipes that sound good to me, mark them w/ post-it notes and write them down.  When I’m done with that, I cull the recipes down to 12 (always making sure I have our four regulars listed.  Then I make a list of ingredients, cross check it against what I already have on hand and then head out.  Had to hit three stores to get everything (including finding golden syrup without having to make a separate trip to World Market!) and it took four trips from the car to the house because I packed all the bags at Aldis pretty heavily.

I have two to-do lists for Pi Day… the lead up to Pi Day list and the Pi Day list.  The lead up is all the stuff I can do a day ahead (crumble topping, pre-baking shells, putting out plates/napkins).  Then the Pi Day list is sorted in the order that the pies need to be done The secondary sort is by oven temperature.  The baking times are also on this list so the minute a pie goes in the oven, I can put the cookbook away.

Add making placecards, nametags with this year’s pie clipart and setting up a station for some temporary tattoos that I found and, voila… party time! 

I’m not sure what it is in my personality that all this makes me quite happy, but it does!

How to bakers dress up?

2024, Family, Food, Uncategorized

New Diet

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A member of our extended family has developed gluten and lactose intolerance due to an autoimmune disorder. I am helping with diet ideas and foods to help her find some yummy new things to eat. I ordered a bunch of gluten free baking products for her from King Arthur Baking Company, as well as 9 pounds of lentils and quinoa from other sources. . She likes Asian and Indian food, so that helps a lot.

I would have a really hard time giving up wheat and dairy products. I suppose there is a grieving process when something like this happens. I was surprised, though, at how many of the foods we like to eat are actually gluten free. Beans, corn, lentils, rice, quinoa, all gluten free. Ice cream, half and half in my coffee, those would be hard to go without. I love dairy products. It is comforting that butter is relatively lactose free. It is a good thing our relative doesn’t drink beer, which is full of gluten. I am hopeful she will feel better with her new diet.

What foods would be hard for you to give up? Any tips or recipes for someone venturing into a gluten and lactose free life?

2024, Family, Fantasy, Food

Never Underestimate the Power…..

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I don’t remember when I found my donut at Sunstreet Breads… it was before pandemic, I do know that.  All these years it’s my Wednesday default… donut and raspberry cream scone.  Throughout all that time YA has only been moderately interested.  Some weeks she’ll ask for a savory treat (spinach swirl, sweet potato chevre bundle…) and occasionally a fruit turnover of some kind.  Some weeks nothing.

Then last week she asked for a donut.  Doubletake on my part but I got her a donut.  The gal at the bakery was surprised as well when I said two donuts.  When I asked YA how she liked it, her lukewarm response was “it’s OK”. 

So imagine my surprise when yesterday morning she asked “Can you get me two things?”  The blueberry turnover and… wait for it… a donut.  “They’re good” she commented when I looked at her as if hot frogs were on the loose.

Have you ever turned someone to the Dark Side?

2024, Food, home, Mysteries

To Meat or Not to Meat

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I’ve been a vegetarian for 51 years.  At that time there was a company in California called Loma Linda who made a handful of meat analogs; here in the Midwest you could find them in the occasional health food store.  I only tried one of their products once.  Too much money and the taste didn’t appeal too much.  It looks like they are still in business but I haven’t seen their products around here for a few decades. 

Meat alternatives have never been a big draw for me.  We do some vegetarian sausages regularly and occasionally a veggie hot dog or veggie bacon, but that’s about it.  I’m not interested in fake tuna or fake corn dogs or fake chicken filets. There are TONS more vegetarian/fake meats out there these days but I don’t pay too much attention. 

Last week Trader Joe’s featured “Vegan Pepperoni” in their monthly flyer and it caught my eye so I stopped by when I was out and about and picked up a package.  Also got some herbed pizza dough while I was there (pizza dough is in the refrigerated section right beneath the pepperoni – coincidence?

I made the pizza the next day – tomato sauce, pepperonis, green olives, black olives, provolone, shaved parmesan/romano, mozzarella.  It was quite yummy.

There is a half package of the vegan pepperonis left – I will probably make another pizza in the next couple of days.  I’m pretty sure that the pepperonis won’t ben a regular purchase for us.  While they were OK, they certainly didn’t make the pizza stand out.  There are so many good things that can go on a pizza; pepperonis just aren’t necessary in my book.  I’m not sorry I got them, just not looking forward to getting them again.

Have you tried anything new recently?

2024, Food, History, Uncategorized

Swedish Meatloaf

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Husband and I found an intriguing meatloaf recipe on our New York Times food app and made it this weekend. It is still in the oven as I write this and I don’t know how it tastes.

It is intriguing to me because it is made with caramelized cabbage inside it and on top of it. I am only so so about cabbage, but this looked like a nice way to get more greens into my diet. The cabbage is caramelized in butter and Lyles Golden Syrup. After it is baked, the meatloaf is served with a sauce made from lingonberry preserves, red wine vinegar, and Worcester sauce.

I never realized before that we have the Ottoman Empire to thank for meatloaf and meatballs. In the early 1700’s the King of Sweden traveled to Turkey and loved the kofte and ground meat recipes he tasted. He brought the recipes to Sweden. The rest is history.

What are your feelings about cabbage? If you were a historian, what would you like to research, and why?

2024, Food, gardening, home, Uncategorized

Just Double The Garlic

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The garlic bulbs that we get in our local grocery stores typically have very small cloves. I have taken to automatically doubling the number of garlic cloves that recipes call for. I never know what size clove the recipe author means, but I always assume that the cloves we have are much smaller than the ones where the food authors live. We love garlic, so even if I add more than was intended, it turns out fine. I refuse to grow garlic, as it is an awful lot of work, and what do you do to keep dozens of garlic cloves good until you can use them.

I am liking more and more recipes that come with weights for ingredients as well as volume. A cup of flour may differ depending on the brand of measuring cup, the humidity, and the condition of the flour. Knowing how many grams or ounces as well as the volume is sure helpful. Our kitchen scale measures in both grams and ounces. We use it all the time. Both Husband and I are left brained cooks, needing to measure instead of going by instinct. I haven’t gone so far as to compare the relative volumes of the two sets of dry measuring cups that we have, but I have sometimes been tempted. They just don’t look the same size!

Are you a left or right brained cook? Use a kitchen scale very much? How do you feel about garlic?

2024, Fantasy, Food, holidays, Mysteries

Let Them Eat King Cake

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I saw a funny story online yesterday about a thief who stole seven King cakes from a bakery in New Orleans.  Cash and a case of vodka were also taken.  That’s a heck of a party someone is planning.

Growing up, while I had heard of Mardi Gras, I had never heard of a king cake.  Even working in bakeries for four years after I got married, I still never heard of it.  It was the travel industry that finally introduced this pastry to me – every year a king cake was delivered to the travel division from a supplier in New Orleans. 

The Bittersweet Confections king cake must be fabulous.  While the green, purple and yellow colors are bright and it’s fun to see who ends up with the plastic baby that is often baked into the cake, I’ve never thought king cake was the best use of butter, sugar and flour.  A little too sweet and sticky for my taste.  But a staple of the holiday it is and I suppose if I lived in New Orleans, or celebrated Mardi Gras, I would learn to make them.  Maybe I could make a version I like a little better??

Suppose you’re breaking into a bakery?  What would you take?

2024, Family, Food, Gatherings, holidays, Travel

Macaroni Conundrum

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The last time I was with my whole family for the holidays was 1978.  Some years they gather without me, some years they don’t gather at all.  So when I announced that I was visiting Nonny two weeks ago, they decided that January Christmas festivities would be a grand gesture.  By the time I got the first text the week before my trip – the plans were so far down the road there was no turning back.

It was a potluck at Nonny’s little condo (truly the best choice considering the options) and all the obligatory dishes had been claimed.  My baby sister had three things on her list and since I knew she would be starting a new second job that week, I volunteered to do the macaroni and cheese.  She immediately sent me a recipe that is apparently my nephew’s favorite. 

Now I’ve made many a dish of mac & cheese over the years, using many different recipes, but looking at this one made me put my head in my hands.  It was two fully-typed pages and included four kinds of cheese, two kinds of pasta, garlic, green onion and quite a few spices.  In addition to the fact that Nonny has next to nothing in the way of kitchen utensils or baking dishes, I wasn’t even sure if she had the spices.  (I mentioned this last week when I was thinking of taking the spices in a bag in my luggage.)  I confirmed my suspicions – no big pot for pasta, no casserole dish to bake or serve it in, no grater for the four kinds of cheese.  In a funny turn of events, she DID have all the spices.  We could purchase an aluminum casserole, a grater and all the ingredients, but unless we also sprang for a big pot, I’d have to make two batches to have enough for everybody.  Not to mention the cost.

That’s when I remembered that YA had purchased macaroni and cheese from Costco for our Thanksgiving gathering and it had been pretty good.  I know there is a Costco about 5 minutes from Nonny’s place so the day before the party, we headed over there and picked up a pan of the stuff.  I doctored it up with some garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.  Via text that morning YA kept asking me if I had told my sister I was buying instead of making the mac & cheese.  I know my audience.  If I had fessed up that I was going to get it from Costco, my sister would have thrown up her hands in exasperation and said “Fine… I’ll just do it.”   One of my mottos has always been “it’s easier to get forgiveness than permission” so that’s the route I decided to take.

Turns out my sister didn’t care at all…. but my nephew did.  He kind of made a big deal about the fact that I should have let them know so HE could have made it. Of course, when we were divvying up the leftovers, I noticed that he heaped quite a bit into their Tupperware!  But I was happy to have not gone to too much trouble and Nonny was happy to not have more utensils in her teeny weeny kitchen.  And truth be told, the macaroni and cheese was really good.

I expect it will have to be another gathering for us to buy it again – it’s way too much for two folks, even folks who like macaroni and cheese as much as YA and I do.  But now I aware it’s there, you never know!

Do you have a favorite pasta dish?  (Either made or bought…)