Text 6179, 139 rader
Skriven 2008-04-28 12:29:44 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
   Kommentar till text 6166 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: picnic                                                   [1]
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Hi Ruth!

>> migraines in Texas ... probably from the 'new' allergies there.. it
>> was so sad.

> That's too bad; we knew a young man who had the same sort of problem
> when he went to SC from HI for his basic training. He didn't have food
> allergies but his asthma kicked into high gear & he had to be sent home
> with a "sorry, thanks for trying" deferrment.

Yes, same with my daughter.. it was especially sad because she'd never gotten
migraines before.. Ron gets them though.. very badly as a matter of fact. He
doesn't have any allergies so go figure.. just weird stuff I guess.

> Yes, and she had to rub it in that on the way back to her unit after her
> R&R (which she took to visit her sister & meet her new-7 weeks old-
> nephew she was routed thru Frankfurt, Germany.  She was able to deplane
> briefly & got a brotchen which brought back memories of when we were
> stationed there.

Her sister must have been thrilled to have her visit then :)  and those must
have been good memories for you I'd bet ...

>> Oh no, she loved it.. it fit right in with her super organized brain

> Getting up for PT at 0darkwhatever, standing in formation in the pouring
> rain (no umbrellas allowed) or blistering sun (those berets do not
> protect you from the sun)..........yes, it takes a special person to
> love that. I married one and am mom to another one. (G)

Indeed... my dad was one, for sure :)  No doubt my daughter took after him a
bit in that.  She had some tales to tell as you can imagine from ROTC at A&M :)

>> anyway, she wanted 'in' very very badly, and had intended to make it
>> to West Point... that was her dream :(

> Well, give her credit for trying.

Oh I do.. she's a very strong minded person. Very much like her dad :)

>> left in, leave more water in the mix..  I always seed my tomatoes
>> before cooking them down.. just a habit because really, I hate the
>> seeds in my sauce. :)  That's probably why I don't notice the extra
>> water in my sauce as well (grin).

> I wasn't brought up making sauce like this, nor was Steve, actually.

Understand.. and it's proably not that unusual.

> I don't have a gas stove (sure wish I did tho) but was brought up giving

Yes, know what you mean.. even though I'm a little bothered by gas stoves..
somehow the smell gets to me at times.. I wouldn't call it an 'allergy', but it
does bother me some.. I still prefer it to an electric stove though.

> the tomatoes a hot water bath to skin them.  The X in the bottom is a
> new idea for me tho. Have to suggest it to my mom for her canning times.

It's good for just a few tomatoes, but for large quantities, a hot water bath
is faster and more effiecient obviously.

>> Ok, so you want 1lb turkey and 2lb beef.. or something like that I
>> guess or a straight 50/50 mix.. either is fine.. I can do that easy..
>> I always have that in my freezer.

> Probably 1.5 pounds of each, beef and turkey.

No problem :)

>> > guessing for this crowd, about 3 pounds of meat, total. Then there's
>> > about 3 cups (+/-) of home made whole wheat bread crumbs, about 3/4c


> I use the recipe Steve's mom gave me; it's all bread crumbs.  But, mine,
> unlike hers, are from the whole wheat bread I make.  I save up a bunch
> of crusts (until I get a gallon size zip lock bag full) in the freezer,
> then cube and toast them.  Then they get ground into crumbs.

Ok.. if you bring them, then I won't make bread.. if not, it's no trouble to
make a loaf of whole wheat as I mentioned.. I'm used to making a loaf on the
fly since I do it all the time when my grandson is here or when we want some.
Using crusts is a good idea, I usually use the whole loaf and toast it up..

>> grind it up and toast it, or whatever.. how do you normally make them?
>> Do you season them?  I usually season them with garlic salt, oregano,
>> basil, parsley, italian cheese, and garlic chunks while the bread
>> crumbs are warm.. then toast them to make them crunchy..

> Hmmmmmmmm, I might try that with the next batch.  Since I use the crumbs
> for other things, I don't season them as a general rule.  I've been
> thinking about having some seasoned ones on hand tho

I season mine since most of the time I'm using them for Italian recipes.. Your
mileage may vary (g).


> I've read various ways of doing it over the years. I guess it all comes
> down to whoever taught you how to make meat balls originally. And, that,
> in turn, comes from whoever taught them and the part of Italy the family
> comes from. I learned from my MIL but add my own varients to them, as do
> my girls.

True.. My mother's family is from Northern Italy, Florence actually.. they were
Jewelers there.. Mom made good meatballs (bg) My dad's family was from Sicily
and Grandma Mary (his mom) also made great meatballs.. their recipes were very
similar actually. Grandma Romey's family was Sicilian as well (Dad's stepmom)..
I don't think I've ever seen her recipe but I'd bet it was similar given the
taste.

Here's another funny and somewhat embarrassing note.. you've heard of Toni
Basil? (I'm sure you've never cared to buy one of her records if you've ever
heard one (laugh)) She did that great (haha) song 'Hey Mickey'.. (ouch).. She's
one of my relatives (bg)..Granda Romey's last name was Basilotta.. that's the
family name, really (grin). My Godfather was Tony Basilotta, her son.. :)  Toni
Basil, (the singer) is a second cousin, actually.

>> Sounds just right :)  Depends on how you want to do it.. you can make
>> them big and fat or little, either way will be fine, I'm sure.  Bigger
>> is quicker (grin).

> For sure, but my hands aren't too big. And, I suspect, you probably
> don't use a scoop, either (nor do I) but I've seen some people use one.

Nah, no scoop.. all you need to do is grab a big chunk and roll it up though
:)

> It does ensure a fairly uniform (there we go, back to the military-G-)
> size but the slight irregularity in size is part of the "fun" of meat
> balls.

hahaha.. I don't insist on my meatballs conforming to uniform size though they
usually end up that way somehow... guess it's just because I'm used to making
them :)

Take care,
Janis

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