Text 25556, 163 rader
Skriven 2015-03-31 06:23:00 av Dave Drum (1:18/200.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Ruth Haffly
Ärende: Re: move
================
-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

 DD> wisteria. Be glad it's not kudzu or Virginia creeper.

 RH> We don't have any of that around the property that I know of. But yes,
 RH> it is extremely invasive.

 DD> I thought Virginia Creeper might be on the Illinois list of noxious
 DD> weeds (it's certainly on MY list) so I went and looked .... common
 DD> ragweed, giant ragweed, marijuana, musk thistle, Canada thistle,
 DD> kudzu, perennial sowthistle, Columbus grass, and johnsongrass. Source:
 DD> Illinois State-listed Noxious Weeds (http://plants.usda.gov)

 RH> So you have it, with a bunch of others.

The pretty purple flowers of the Canada Thistle (aka "Lettuce From Hell") are
quite attractive. But, the plant itself is aggressive and invasive crowding out
more desirable vegetation. Heck, marijuana (hemp) is also an attractive plant
and has been seen planted in more than a few "little old lady" flower gardens
by innocents who didn't know what it was. It was farmed extensively in this
area for WWII rope production. Personally I think the only reason that it's on
the noxious weeds list (other than my allergy to the THC) is because of Harry
Anslinger and the Feral Gummint demonising it. It is, on balance, a very useful
plant.

 DD> There is another (from Africa) used in this area as ground cover, much
 DD> as kudzu started out in the south. Called "ice plant". I thought it
 DD> might have made "noxious" status. But, nooooooo.

 RH> Anything like the ice plant I saw lots of in CA?

You betchum, Red Ryder. Some misguided landscaper introduced it to hold down
hillside erosion, etc. And as the Southern California climate is very like that
of South Africa ........
 
 DD>    --->>> CUT <<<---

 DD> And I am trying to do a deal on a pretty nice Hoosier cabinet which
 DD> will give both more counter/prep space and stash - as well as being
 DD> decorative.

 RH> Sounds interesting; is it a wooden cabinet? Our butler (theorhetically)
 RH> has a work space on top but I've got it covered with a towel and then
 RH> house has more counter top space that I'm trying to keep clearer for
 RH> work room.

 DD> It's wood with a pull out porcelainised work surface. Many farmsteads
 DD> and early 20th century kitchens had them for mixing/making breads and
 DD> pastry. They're called "Hoosier Cabinets" because the originals were
 DD> built by the Hoosier Manufacturing Co of New Castle, IN. They seem to
 DD> have decent antique value and new examples can go north of $2K. A
 DD> picture very like the one I am dickering on can be seen at:

 DD> http://tinyurl.com/CABINET-HOOSIER and a listing on Amazon for a new
 DD> one is at: http://tinyurl.com/CABINET-HOOSIER2

 RH> just from the description, it sounds nnice but a bit out of my price
 RH> range right now.

 DD> The current owner of the cabinet I am pursuing is currently at $900. I
 DD> am currently offering $600. I won't go over $750 and I suspect I might
 DD> get it for <$700. We'll see.

 RH> Plus shipping, if I were to buy one. (G)

Amazon offers a couple examples for <$600. Not (I suspect) as a kitchen use
thing, more as a decorative touch/planter/etc. IIRC Steve has Amazon Prime, so
shipping would be free.   Bv)=

 DD> Fortunately the tin can had three doors when I moved in - so, I can
 DD> sacrifice one and still be legal.

 RH> Staying on the right side of the law is good.

 DD> I never (well, seldom) break a law knowingly. Civil disobedience and
 DD> the 1960s notwithstanding.

 RH> Gotcha!

 DD>       Title: Kudzu Jelly
 DD>  Categories: Five, Flowers, Citrus, Condiments
 DD>       Yield: 5 Pints

 RH> I've heard of it but not tried it. OTOH, I did try the kudzu powder for
 RH> thickening a while back. It works like corn starch, but IMO, wasn't as
 RH> good as corn starch. I understand it's big over in Japan however.

 DD> I believe that's where it came from originally. As the ice plant (AKA:
 DD> Hottentot-fig, highway ice plant or pigface and as the sour fig, on
 DD> account of its edible fruit.) came from South Africa.

 RH> And not welcome in your back yard.

Nor mine. I am currently fighting a creeper that has leaves that look like
shiny strawberry leaves. It's not the false strawberry - I have some of that
and the leaves are not especially shiny. I really need to take some to my
chill-cooking buddy, Jim Griffin, who is an Illinois Master Gardener, for
identification and eradication information.

MMMMM Recipe via Meal Master (tm) v8.06

      Title: Thistle Soup
 Categories: Vegetables, Herbs, Seafood, Poultry, Vegetables
      Yield: 3 servings

      6 lg Thistles; chopped
           Water
      2    Wild onions; tops & all;
           - chopped
           +=OR=+
      2 md Onions; chopped
    1/2 lb Fish
    1/2 lb Chicken or venison; diced
           - small
           +=OR=+
      6    (to 8) chicken feet
           +=OR=+
      1 lb Pkg chicken backs and necks
      2 c  Arrowhead tubers; chopped
           +=OR=+
      2 c  Potatoes; chopped
      6    (to 8) sorrel leaves
    1/2 c  Cat-tail stems; chopped
           +=OR=+
    1/2 c  Celery; chopped

  Chop and boil about six thistles until the water has
  absorbed most of the juice from the plants. As they're
  boiling, add water as needed until you have two quarts of
  very dark green juice or soup stock. 

  Add to the two quarts of stock, two wild onions - tops and
  all - or medium chopped domestic onion bulbs. Use less if
  you like only a mild onion taste. Now add 1/2 pound of
  fish and 1/2 pound meat. The combination of meat and fish
  that I like best is 1/2 pound diced browned venison shin
  and 1/2 pound filet of bullhead. If you're still city
  bound, use 1/2 pound fish or fish heads and six to eight
  chicken feet or one package of chicken necks or backs.

  Add two cups cleaned and peeled arrow head tubers or
  chopped potatoes, a few leaves of sorrel and 1/2 cup
  chopped cattail stems or celery stalks. Bring to a boil,
  season well and simmer for about two hours. 

  Taste before removing from the fire and add seasoning if
  desired. If anyone can think of a way to make a soup as
  good tasting and nutritious as this for as little as this
  one costs I would certainly like to hear about it.

  By James E. Churchill - May/June 1971 

  Recipe from: http://www.motherearthnews.com

  Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it. -- Jack Handey
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