Text 18370, 177 rader
Skriven 2014-10-22 14:46:42 av Janis Kracht (1:261/38)
  Kommentar till text 18247 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
Ärende: Peppers                                                  [2]
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Hi Ruth,

>> We lived in a total electric apartment very early on in Warick just
>> after we were married... My dad and his business partner had built
>> these and the utility company had convinced them that going total
>> electric was going to be "the future" and cheap. Haha -
>> Unfortunately, the utility bills were _horrendous_ such that we

> Our first apartment had 10' ceilings and was heated with propane. It was
> a converted hotel, don't think there was a bit of insulation in the
> building so we ran up some major heating costs. No a/c in the place
> either.

That sounds incredibly painful using propane for those kinds of rooms :(  We
have two furnaces in Windsor which is another reason we were so happy to move
to this house in Ithaca.. In Windsor the main furnace was oil, the second one
was propane. Luckily the propane furnace only heated perhaps 3 rooms downstairs
and one upstairs IIRC. But it was still expensive since the utility company
wouldn't sell "partial" fills for the propane tanks.  You had to have the tank
filled.

>> started calling the O&R company (Orange & Rockland utility company)
>> the "rape and plunder" co. - it was that bad. :( Luckily we were able

> Outrageous and ridiculous--I know what you mean.

Yes, I'm sure you do :)   That was the worst place we every lived for utility
bills.. :(  Well, given the size of the living quarters (2 bedroom apartment
with living room/dining area, and kitchen and 1 bathroom) and the size of the
bills.  It was nice living so close to "home" but that was the only benefit
(grin).  My parents owned a huge meandering colonial house in Warwick, with 4
1/2 acres of land in the village of Warwick.. so Dad decided to use that
acreage for 3 total-electric apartment buildings.  Beautiful aparments, but
killers for utilities :( I still remember crying when the builders tore down
the barn and play-house that had been in our backyard throughout the time I
grew up there... :(

>> those big radiators, that held the heat in the radiators for a long
>> time.. what a great house that was.  This house in Ithaca is natural

> We had the big old radiators in our apartment in Berlin. Great for
> putting a pan of water on to add humidity, for drying mittens, etc.

Yes, It was great for that.  :)

>> gas/hot water heat as well, but only baseboards.. When the house was
>> rebuilt the radiators were removed. It's still cheaper than our house
>> in Windsor was though, because it's got much better insulation than
>> the house in Windsor, and that house in Windsor uses oil.  ouch.  Talk
>> about painful :(

> My folks have oil in their house; they've had some rough winters. The
> natural gas heating should cut our electric bill considerably.

Yes, it should :)


>> > Yes, and knowing the farmers is nice too. We trade recipies, ideas
>> for > cooking, etc.

>> That is very nice - I imagine it's a place to look forward to. :)

> Very much so! I was able to get up there today for the first time in
> about a month--got some baby bok choy, spinach, a couple of small yellow
> squash, a small eggplant, a couple of small cucumbers, some sweet
> potatoes and some snap (green) beans. Steve came home with some more
> tomatoes and a bag of mixed leaf lettuce. The tomatoes have been juiced
> up, some of the lettuce and a cucumber went into a salad for supper. The
> eggplant will go into a not quite eggplant parm; the bok choy and squash
> into a stir fry (with other veggies). The rest of the lettuce will go
> into a wilted lettuce salad and the green beans into my grandmoter's
> green bean recipe.

Sounds really good :)  Matt's been cleaning out my jars of dill pickles already
haha.. I didn't do that many, maybe 5 jars.  Still have two left I think.  I
used a bunch of my potatoes in a dish that Jamie Oliver had for Fish Pie.. like
a shepard's pie, but with fish filet.  That was a really nice recipe.

> Steve took some home made (he made, using my baking mix and kefir)
> biscuits filled with pastrami (from what he made) and swiss cheese up to
> some vendors today. He had requests for the pastrami recipe and I had
> one for the baking mix recipe (home made version of bisquik).

Neat.. :)  I can imagine they were happy to see both!

>> > cabinet--stood on my sewing chair, and broke my wrists. Pack out was
>> That must have been a terrible fall.  :(

> The right wrist has, over the years, done quite well except when I've
> used it a lot over several days. The break wasn't too bad for that one.
> OTOH, the left wrist has given me more problems over the years--it
> shatterd, and I'm left handed. One orthopedic surgeon wanted to fuse it
> about 23 years ago; I declined then but it may have to be done at some
> point down the road. I've had 2 surgeries on the right wrist, 3 on the
> left but I can still use them.

That's good to hear, sorry to hear about the still expected surgeries, but I
understand.

>> than when we moved in.  In the house in Louisville, Ron installed a
>> parquet floor in the kitchen because I got very tired of the kitchen
>> floor which was covered with a rug.. who could stand a rug in the
>> kitchen?  I guess someone who didn't cook much :)

> A rug in the kitchen would be one of those "What in the world were they
> thinking?" when I saw it situations.

Exactly! (grin)

> I think most all of our places have
> had linoleum or something equivalent in the kitchen; the new place may
> get a floring upgrade at some point down the road.

Sure, I can understand that.  In the house in Windsor, the contractors redid
all wood floors downstairs, and installed ceramic tile floors in the kitchens
upstairs and in all the bathrooms.  They all look so beautiful.  The main
kitchen looks incredible.  I want to move back there (grin).

I'd love to have the $$ to redo some of the floors in this house, ceramic tile
floors are so easy to take of .. :)  Someday, maybe...

===Jamie Oliver's Chili Cheese Cornbread===


2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 corn on the cob
4 large eggs (preferably free range or organic), beaten 325 g coarse cornmeal
or polenta
250 ml full-fat milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons plain flour
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
140 g freshly grated mature Cheddar cheese 3 fresh green chillies, 2 of them
deseeded and finely chopped, the other
 finely sliced
olive oil

This is one of the most delicious cornbreads I've ever had. You get incredible
flavour from the onions and sweetcorn, while the cornmeal gives it a rustic,
spongy texture that's so brilliant. Two of my favourites, chilli and cheese, do
their thing in this bread and really take the flavour to a whole other level.

You can serve this cornbread alongside soups or stews, but frankly, I think a
good slice of this, with a bit of crunchy salad, makes a brilliant lunch. You
could also reheat it in a dry pan the next day for breakfast and eat it with
poached eggs and some smoky bacon . . . totally delicious.

Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Put your butter into a frying pan on a
medium heat and add your sliced onions. Fry gently for about 15 to 20 minutes,
until they've caramelized and are golden and sticky. While that's happening,
get your corn ready. Hold the cob upright on the board and carefully run a
small knife from the top of the corn to the bottom, cutting all the kernels
off. Add these to the pan with the onions and cook for a further 5 minutes,
then remove from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a bowl, mix your eggs, cornmeal, milk, baking powder, flour, a good pinch of
salt and pepper and most of your grated cheese. Beat until well mixed, then
stir in your cooled onion and corn mixture and your 2 finely chopped chillies.
Grease a 22cm cake tin with some olive oil, line the base with greaseproof
paper, and pour in your mixture.

Sprinkle the chilli slices on top, then pop the cornbread into the oven to bake
for 35 minutes. About 10 minutes before it's ready, pull it out, sprinkle over
your remaining Cheddar and return it to the oven.

Once ready, let it cool for 15 minutes, then turn it out on to a wire rack or
serving plate, cheesy side up.
Serve this straight away because it's unbelievably good when it's warm.
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/bread-recipes/chilli-cheese-cornbread/
===

Take
care, Janis

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