Text 39934, 167 rader
Skriven 2010-07-11 09:52:43 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 39898 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
Ärende: A dinner party.. but you have to work first! :)(3)       [1]
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Hi Janis,

 JK> > peppermint tea, if you've overeaten, would help to settle the
 JK> stomach.

 JK> Yes - I planted the peppermint and made tea with it, because Ron was
 JK> having problems with his intestines from the med he takes for the MG.
 JK> It does help a lot. We'd hoped it would and luckily first found it at
 JK> the Binghamton farmer's market.. turned out the fellow who was selling
 JK> it was an organic herbal farmer from Windsor, that was neat.  Anyway,
 JK> soon after that I checked the type I'd planted last year, and it was
 JK> peppermint and it comes up every year :)

Sounds like you did well all around with that.  When we were in
Frankfurt, our girls and a friend of theirs liked to drink peppermint
tea. It made them feel "grown up" to enjoy a hot drink other than cocoa.
(G)  I also used it as a stomach soother for them from time to time.  I
see moms giving their babies a commercial gas relief product (for
infants) now and think that they would be much better off with a bit of
peppermint tea.

>> Yeah, I know what you mean.  I'm always looking for 'easier and
>> better' things to do with my cooking (g).

 JK> > Sometimes the better way isn't always the easiest but in the
 JK> interest of > good health, is well worth the extra time to do it.

 JK> Most things I do in that vein turn out to be not such a big deal to
 JK> do.. You know, once you've ground the flour the next step isn't such a
 JK> big deal (g).  I guess if I waited to grind flour and then make bread
 JK> or whatever, that would take a while :)  I got used to cooking from
 JK> scratch long ago, when $$ was tight.  Then it just made more sense,
 JK> and we couldn't stand most store bought foods. :)

I grew up cooking from scratch. After I left home for college, my mom
turned more and more to mixes or boughten.  I don't think she bakes any
sweets now except at Christmas; then it's only cookies.  Part of that is
from the arthritis and not having any kids around to do the baking for
her.

We will grind more flour than we need for bread since I use it in other
things as well.  Most of the time I use it "straight" but sometimes, to
get sort of a whole wheat version of all purpose, I'll mix it with ww
pastry flour that we've also ground.  I keep containers of both in my
fridge.  And, like you, I'd rather have home made in most things than
store bought.  We'll probably make a lot of ravioli now. (G)

 JK> Last night, around 9pm I made a cherry pie with cherries I found at
 JK> wegman's - boy was that good :)  A little sweet for my taste, but good
 JK> :)

 JK> ==Cherry pie==
 JK> Filling:
 JK> 1 double crust pie crust (see below) 4-5 cups dark cherries
 JK> 2 cups sugar (or less (g))

 JK> Pie Crust:
 JK> 2 1/2 cups flour
 JK> pinch of salt
 JK> 1/2 cup shortening
 JK> 1/4 cup butter
 JK> 4 Tablespoons chilled water, more may be needed.  If so, add only a
 JK> teaspoon at   at a time.

Looks good. What's your usual shortening?  My mom can't make an edible
pie crust without lard but I use a non trans fat shortening we get in a
natural/organic foods store.  I don't recall the name of it right off my
head tho.

(ravioli maker)
 JK> get > back to NC.

 JK> Sounds interesting :)  What's the name and or company?  I don't think
 JK> I've seen that one :)

I'll have to get back to you with it. The gadget is out in the car and
I'm in a dorm room. We're packing up to head south today, visiting
friends and relatives in PA for a couple of days.  (time out to show the
quilt top to a couple of classmates)

 JK> >  This one makes 12, came with a "cute little rolling pin"
 JK> > (Steve's words) and has "sticky" feet so it won't try to get away
 JK> from > you as you roll.

 JK> That's a bonus :)  When I have the counter cleared off and have lots
 JK> of room the one I have doesn't seem to move as much (g).  I wish I'd
 JK> had time to show you how the villaware attacment for the Atlas
 JK> macaroni machine works - you might have like that one as well.  At
 JK> first I thought the raviolis were going to be too small, like the
 JK> atlas attachment I have, but that wasn't the case. they're about the
 JK> size of the villaware stand-alone that we used that day.

And that looks to be about the size of the raviolis this gadget will
make.

>> It involves pretty much the same idea as the ricotta, but also
>> requires kneading by hand and cutting the curds. Not impossible if
>> Steve does the kneading for you :)  I'm not sure, but I think the whey
>> from making ricotta would not work.

 JK> > OK, proper instructions do help.  I thought you had said that the
 JK> whey > could be used but I must have mixed up the cheeses in my head.

 JK> No, I don't think so.... I think I was remembering wrong (grin). I
 JK> remembered reading that recipe, but I'd never made it.

And now we've got the info for the book so we can get it and have the
instructions.  Thanks.

 JK> > But I doubt she will try making it. (G)

 JK> It's not easy for older folks to take the time to do it.. I know how
 JK> hard just regular cooking was for Mom as she got older.  What kills me

Same as my mom is having so much trouble that my dad has taken on a lot
of the cooking and other household jobs.

 JK> is my Aunt Carmeline, one of Mom's older sisters.. she still cooks
 JK> complete dinners every night since her son, my cousin, moved back home
 JK> last year.  She tells me that she's really wiped out after she does
 JK> it, but doesn't think she has much choice :(   I wish Billy, my
 JK> cousin, would give her break :(

Maybe he needs a bug in his ear? (G)


>> Maybe you can find a couple of dozen at farmer's markets in your

 JK> > We've also got a produce stand locally that would have them.  I got
 JK> my > salsa tomatoes there last year.

 JK> That's great :)  Windsor also has a farmer's market but unfortunately,
 JK> none of the local farmers sell veggies or fruit there.. they all take
 JK> their produce to the binghamton farmer's market.  The only thing I've

Bummer!


 JK> seen at the Windsor market is homemade jams, bread and such.  One of
 JK> these years I should get my extra veggies there :)  I don't know if
 JK> the village charges a fee to do so, but I have a feeling they will.

Worth checking into anyway.  Might be some extra income.

>> I believe it's about 160F.. that's what I remember.  I have to buy a
>> new instant read thermometer.. somehow I keep killing them (laugh).

 JK> > Look for a digital.  You can also get a laser "point and read" like
 JK> > Alton Brown uses. (G)

 JK> Yes, I haven't been able to find a digital one around here ..
 JK> surprising, I thought.  Maybe I'll order one online one of these days.

That'll work. No specialty cooing stores in any malls around Binghamton?
That's where we usually find the widgets, gadgets and gizmos.


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... Our necessities are few but our wants are endless...

--- PPoint 3.01
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