Text 1875, 147 rader
Skriven 2006-05-31 23:16:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE SACERDOTE
Ärende: good things 731
=======================
 -=> Quoting Dave Sacerdote to Jim Weller <=-

 JW> What's this hate on for squirrels? They're cute, playful, smart and
 JW> tasty. (Up here they are rare and not a nuisance, so maybe that's the
 JW> difference in perspective.)

 DS> You can't possibly have lived so long up near the Arctic Circle that
 DS> you've forgotten what pestilential little vermin squirrels are, can
 DS> you? [g]

See note to Ruth. But no, I didn't dislike them in Ontario either.
Perhaps they are more common now.

I do remember one year they took over the house and nobody was very
impressed. Dad had a one year contract in Ottawa and we rented a house
there for the duration. We went home to the country most summer
weekends but without kids and dogs in the yard on a daily basis, the
wildlife really took over. Woodchucks, deer and racoons completely
destroyed the garden, squirrels infested the attic, garter snakes
invaded and had families in the basement and herons swooped in and
annihilated the goldfish in the pond. We stopped going back on a regular
basis Labour Day weekend but went back for one more week around
Christmas and New Years. While Dad primed the well and Mom fired up the
furnace and the woodstove, I went up to my old room to unpack; it was so
cold there was frost on the walls. When I opened up my closet door I
found a hole chewed through the wall, the few clothes I had left behind
in a pile on the floor covered in droppings and a couple of bushels of
shriveled up dried apples. The squirrels had come right through the wall
and stored their whole harvest from our orchard there. I wasn't going to
disturb the apples (I was 12 then) but Mom threw all the apples in the
compost heap and set 12 rat traps. The next morning we had twelve dead
squirrels. The second day 10 more. But when we returned in June for good
there were dozens of new ones squatting. (I got the job of evicting the
snakes from the basement.... there were hundreds of little wigglers by
June.) Oh yeah, there were mouse holes in all the mattresses too. We had
to replace them all.

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Puchero (Uruguay Meat And Vegetable Stew)
Categories: latin amer, beef, stews
  Servings: 16

      2 lb stewing beef (preferably
           chuck)), in 1 large piece
      2 lb stewing veal or pork,
           preferablely in 1 piece
      2    bay leaves
      2    onions, chopped
           Cloves from 1 head of garlic
           peeled, coarsely chopped
      2 TB chopped cilantro
      3    carrots, sliced
      2    celery stalks, diced
      2    or 3 bouillon cubes
      1    chorizo sausage, skinned,
           crumbled
      1    chicken, cut into serving
           pieces
      8    tomatoes, chopped
      1    guajillo chile, soaked and
           pureed
           Ground cumin, to taste
           Grated rind of 1/2 orange
      1    sweet potato (or chunk of
           pumpkin or other winter
           squash), peeled,
           cut into chunks
      2    zucchini, cut into bite-size
           pieces -- 1/2 cabbage,
           thinly sliced,
           blanched --3 ears of corn,
           husked, each broken into 3
           pieces
      1    apple, cored, cut into bite-
           size pieces
      2    turnips, quartered
           (optional)
     10    pitted prunes
           Juice of 1 to 2 oranges
    1/4 ts cinnamon, or to taste
        pn powdered ginger
      8 oz green beans
     14 oz cooked drained chick-peas
           Salt
      4 oz thin pasta, rice or orzo,
           cooked
      6    green onions, trimmed,
           thinly sliced
           Vinaigrette (olive oil,
           vinegar and crushed garlic)
      2 lb creamer potatoes, boiled
           until tender
           Chipotle-Tomato Salsa (see
           recipe)
           Guacamole (optional)
           Chopped cilantro leaves
           Argentinean Pumpkin-Chile
           Sauce (see recipe)

Combine beef, veal or pork, the bay leaves, onions, garlic, cilantro,
carrot and celery in a large pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil,
then reduce heat to a simmer. Skim the scum that rises to the surface.

Add bouillon cubes and cook for 1 hour, or until meat starts to become
tender.

Add chorizo, chicken, tomatoes, chile, cumin and orange rind; cook for
30 minutes. Skim off fat.

Add sweet potato, zucchini, cabbage, corn, apple, turnips, prunes,
orange juice, cinnamon and ginger; simmer 15 minutes, or until the
zucchini is tender.

Add green beans and chick-peas and heat through (the beans should be al
dente; tender, but green, not gray). Season to taste with salt and skim
off all surface fat.

Serve in two courses: As a first course, ladle the hot broth over cooked
pasta and garnish with sliced green onions. For main course, arrange the
tender meats on a platter and carve. Dress vegetables with garlic
vinaigrette and serve as an accompaniment, along with boiled potatoes.
Offer salsa, guacamole, chopped onions, cilantro, and/or Pumpkin Sauce
at the table. Serves 4, with leftovers for 3 or 4 more meals To store
leftovers: Refrigerate leftover meats and vegetables in their broth
overnight. The next day, discard the layer of fat on the surface. Remove
large pieces of meat and wrap tight; refrigerate for up to 5 days or
freeze for up to 2 months. Ladle vegetables (keep chick-peas separate)
into covered containers and store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Strain broth into a clean container; refrigerate for up to 1 week (I
recommend boiling it once or twice during the week, then straining it
into a clean pot), or freeze for 2 to 4 months.

MMMMM-------------------------------------------------


Cheers

Jim, in Yellowknife




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