Text 40147, 171 rader
Skriven 2010-07-19 16:47:36 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 39969 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
Ärende: A dinner party.. but you have to work first! :)(3)       [1]
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Hi Janis,

>> soon after that I checked the type I'd planted last year, and it was
>> peppermint and it comes up every year :)

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

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

It's an almost forgotten practice. I need to do more research on herbs
and such like.  Right now I have a bit of knowledge; if I can learn
more, it'll be a benefit to me (and maybe others).

>> scratch long ago, when $$ was tight.  Then it just made more sense,
>> and we couldn't stand most store bought foods. :)

 JK> > I grew up cooking from scratch. After I left home for college, my
 JK> mom > turned more and more to mixes or boughten.  I don't think she
 JK> bakes any

 JK> Makes sense when older folks don't have a number of people to cook

Mom & Dad still had 3 other kids at home when I went to school.  I think
it was more of a convenience thing for them then.

 JK> for.. My mom always made everything from scratch and when I was
 JK> married it just made sense to go that route.  Luckily for us, it
 JK> helped with the budget as well - especially when I started gardening.

Scratch cooking does make more sense (with few exceptions) but so many
people are used to the taste of prepackaged foods these days.  A cake
from a mix is pretty consistant from time to time and flavor to flavor.
Even one brand is pretty much like another.  OTOH, a scratch cake is
more flavorful (IMO), may not always turn out perfectly and definately
very different from mix cakes.  I'd rather take time to create a cake
from scratch than toss a mix, oil, eggs and water into a pan.  It may
not save that much money these days but it would taste lots better.

 JK> I have pictures of my daughter helping me plant seeds in the garden -
 JK> she was such a little cutie :)  She doesn't like it when I show off
 JK> those pictures haha

I know the feeling on the pictures. (G)  Dad used to do a lot of photo
work for the newspaper and other & was always sticking a camera in our
faces.

 JK> > We will grind more flour than we need for bread since I use it in
 JK> other > things as well.  Most of the time I use it "straight" but
 JK> sometimes, to > get sort of a whole wheat version of all purpose, I'll
 JK> mix it with ww > pastry flour that we've also ground.  I keep
 JK> containers of both in my

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

Got to go with what the gut likes.  We are used to the whole wheat and
don't have problems with it.  Haven't tried the ravioli maker yet; still
settling "dust" from the trip.  We'll probably wait until the weather
cools off a bit too.

 JK> > fridge.  And, like you, I'd rather have home made in most things
 JK> than > store bought.  We'll probably make a lot of ravioli now. (G)

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

Probably more than half, since it's just the 2 of us.  But yes, good way
to stock up.


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

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


Steve would like it, I'm not so fond of coconut.

 JK> visiting
 JK> > friends and relatives in PA for a couple of days.  (time out to show
 JK> the > quilt top to a couple of classmates)

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

They did; the husband of one suggested I enter it into competition like
a fair.  I don't think it's that quality yet.

>> 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.

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

 JK> Sounds good.

So, once things settle down,  we'll give it a try.


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

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

So do I. Steve put in an Amazon order (text books) today but I didn't
know until after the fact.  I'd have suggested he look for it.


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

Sounds like you do a pretty good job of taking care of her when she's
visiting you. (G)  BTW,  Steve checked our herb plantings when we got
home & said they're looking good.

>> it, but doesn't think she has much choice :(   I wish Billy, my
>> cousin, would give her break :(

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

 JK> A big one Lol

There are some good sized ones I could suggest..............


>> 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

 JK> > Bummer!

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

Don't I know it!


>> CONTINUED IN NEXT MESSAGE <<

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


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