Text 39969, 155 rader
Skriven 2010-07-11 15:55:42 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
  Kommentar till text 39934 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: A dinner party.. but you have to work first! :)(3)       [1]
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Hi Ruth,

>> It does help a lot. We'd hoped it would and luckily first found it at
>> the Binghamton farmer's market.. turned out the fellow who was selling
>> it was an organic herbal farmer from Windsor, that was neat.  Anyway,
>> soon after that I checked the type I'd planted last year, and it was
>> 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.

No doubt - While so many of today's mom's do go more natural in a lot of ways,
it's sad to see them forget about such natural things as herbal teas, etc.

>> or whatever, that would take a while :)  I got used to cooking from
>> scratch long ago, when $$ was tight.  Then it just made more sense,
>> 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

Makes sense when older folks don't have a number of people to cook for.. My mom
always made everything from scratch and when I was married it just made sense
to go that route.  Luckily for us, it helped with the budget as well -
especially when I started gardening.  I have pictures of my daughter helping me
plant seeds in the garden - she was such a little cutie :)  She doesn't like it
when I show off those pictures haha

> 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

Yes, that's what we used for the ravioli we made.. I think I kept it to 10%
hard winter, and the rest soft white berries.  That bread cookbook I showed you
from the grain site uses a different mix for 'all-purpose' but my guts don't
like that very well (g).



> 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)

It's so easy to do, and then if you throw half of it in the freezer, you've got
it "in stock" (g)

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

>> 1/2 cup shortening
>> 1/4 cup butter
>> 4 Tablespoons chilled water, more may be needed.  If so, add only a
>> 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.

Yes, I found an olive oil and a number of different oils mix shortening at our
health food store.. It is made by a company named EarthBalance.. It's great
because there is NO corn products in it so Eoin doesn't have a problem.  I've
also used Coconut oil for pies because it is a solid shortening in it's natural
form (g)... trouble is it can be very coconut-y flavored in a pie shell - which
I don't mind since I love coconut, but my daughter isn't a big fan (g).


>> Sounds interesting :)  What's the name and or company?  I don't think
>> 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)

That's neat - bet they'll love seeing that.

>> macaroni machine works - you might have like that one as well.  At
>> first I thought the raviolis were going to be too small, like the
>> atlas attachment I have, but that wasn't the case. they're about the
>> 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.

Sounds good.

>> No, I don't think so.... I think I was remembering wrong (grin). I
>> 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.

I think I found it at a book sale at Barnes and Noble.. discounted books :) I
love finding little treasures like that.

>> It's not easy for older folks to take the time to do it.. I know how
>> 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.

Yep.. I remember my dad being so upset when he found out he had cancer.. his
first reaction was 'who's going to take care of mom??'.  I'll never forget
that.

>> last year.  She tells me that she's really wiped out after she does
>> it, but doesn't think she has much choice :(   I wish Billy, my
>> cousin, would give her break :(

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

A big one Lol

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

> Bummer!

Yeah, it is.. it's not a terrible big deal to get up a little earlier on
Saturday to make it to the one in Binghamton, but there are weekends when I
really need to catch up on sleep now and again.. side effects of some of the
drugs I have to take.

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

> Worth checking into anyway.  Might be some extra income.

Yes, and if my garden produces as it normally seems to :)  The heat wave did in
my pumpkin plants, but I think I'll have time to plant more seed.. I'll have to
look for a short season variety or one that can take chill in Sept.

>> Yes, I haven't been able to find a digital one around here ..
>> 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?

Not in binghamton.. there's one in Ithaca though that is like a cook's dream
world..  My daughter and I go there now and again so maybe I'll check there
next time we're in Ithaca.

Take care,
Janis

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