Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

Dallas News.com ^ | March 14th, 2008 | DEAN FOSDICK

[nw_arizona_granny]

Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick

Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.

At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."

Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.

A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."

[snipped]

She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.

"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."

[nw_arizona_granny]

The original recipe calls for all AP flour and no peanut butter chips. I however have found that peanut butter cookies really benefit from peanut butter chips to boost the peanut butter flavor and I have also found that peanut butter cookies really embrace whole grain flours. Next time I will use an even greater percentage of white whole wheat flour—but if you don’t have any just use all AP.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunkers

Adapted from Nancy Baggett’s The All-American Cookie Book

Ingredients

1 cup white whole wheat flour (5 oz)

1 ½ cups AP flour (6 ¾ oz)

¼ t salt

1 t baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter

1 ¼ cups smooth or crunchy peanut butter (I used a combo of all natural and no stir natural)

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

2/3 sugar

2 large eggs

1 T light corn syrup

2 t vanilla extract

*10 oz bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate, chopped (we used Scharffen Berger semi sweet; we strongly prefer semi sweet with peanut butter in this house)

¾ cup peanut butter chips or swirled peanut butter and milk chocolate chips

½ cup (2 ¼ oz) chopped unsalted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 F.

*After chopping the chocolate, remove about 5 ounces of it into a separate bowl. If you are like me, and chopping your chocolate produces a lot of shavings, then remove all nice chocolate chunks into one of the bowls—the other bowl can have chunks and shavings.

Whisk together the salt, baking soda and flours and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter and sugars for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, corn syrup and vanilla and beat until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Stir in the peanut butter chips and the nice chocolate chunks (i.e., no shavings). Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to firm up.

While the dough is firming, mix the other chocolate chunks and shavings with the shopped peanuts. Place in a wide shallow bowl.

Shape portions of the dough into 1 ¾ inch balls with lightly greased hands. Dip the ball into the peanuts/chocolate chunks mixture, pressing lightly on one side. Place the balls, coated sides up, onto parchment lined baking sheets. The recipe makes 36 cookies—I made 12 cookies per sheet.

Bake the cookies for 13-16 minutes, until lightly browned and still soft to touch. Reverse the sheet from front to back halfway through (and top to bottom if cooking 2 trays at once). Transfer the sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies cool until they are firm enough to move. Because I like my cookies on the underdone side, I let them cool completely on the sheets. Remove them to a cooling rack individually sooner if you are concerned they will cook too much on the hot sheet.

http://thespicedlife.blogspot.com/search/label/peanut%20butter

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://thespicedlife.blogspot.com/search/label/peanut%20butter

“Birthday Pie is better than Birthday Cake!”

So announced my daughter, loyal to the latest dessert, after trying this confection. I have better pictures of it because, unless you get up really early, it is a 2 day affair, with frequent chillings. It is worth it. John found it perfect as is—I would have like a stronger chocolate and peanut butter flavor, so I might have decreased the whipped cream topping. The crust is sublime.

Tish’s Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cloud Pie

Baking By Flavor, Lisa Yockelson (taken from Tish Boyle)

Peanut Butter Cookie Crust

2/3 cup AP flour

½ t baking powder

1/8 t baking soda

pinch of salt

4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

¼ cup granulated sugar

¼ firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

½ t vanilla

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mousse Filling

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely

2 T cornstarch

½ cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1 ¾ cup milk

2 large egg yolks

½ cup creamy peanut butter

½ t vanilla

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

Whipped Cream for Topping the Pie

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

1 T superfine sugar

½ t vanilla

Chopped roasted peanuts and/or semi sweet chocolate curls and shavings for garnish

Crust:

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda and salt.

Cream the butter and peanut butter together in a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and beat for 1 minute. Add the dark brown sugar and beat 1 additional minute. Blend in the egg yolk and vanilla. On low speed add the flour mixture in 2 additions. Beat just until the flour is absorbed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Turn the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a disk about ½ inch thick. Wrap it up and refrigerate it for 45-60 minutes.

Place the chilled dough disk into the bottom of a 9 inch pie plate. Using your fingertips, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Refrigerate the pan with the crust for another 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F about 20 minutes before removing the pie crust. Bake the pie crust in the pan for 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. The crust will be soft and puffed when it comes out, but it will firm up and flatten as it cools. Place the pie pan onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Mousse Filling

Place the chopped chocolate into a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside.

Sift the cornstarch, sugar and salt into a medium sized heavy saucepan and then whisk to combine thoroughly. Turn the heat onto medium high and slowly blend in the milk, stirring as you pour. Heat until it thickens (this is similar to making a white sauce); it will take 5-7 minutes for this to happen.

In a small, heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Add 2-3 T of the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks to temper them. Off the heat stir the tempered egg yolks into the saucepan. Then put the saucepan back onto moderate heat and let it bubble, stirring, until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla.

Pour 1 cup of the heated peanut butter/milk mixture onto the chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and incorporated.

Scrape the chocolate mixture onto the cooled pie crust. Smooth the top with a spatula or offset palette knife. Refrigerate for 60-90 minutes or until completely set.

Transfer the remaining peanut butter filling to a medium sized bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the peanut butter mixture. Chill for 45 minutes, or until cool but not set.

Place the chilled cream into a bowl and whip until soft peaks are formed. Stir 2-3 large spoonfuls of the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture, then gently fold the rest in. Scrape this mousse onto the chilled chocolate layer of the pie, smoothing the surface. Chill until set, at least 4-6 hours.

Whip the remaining cream until just beginning to mound. Add the sugar and vanilla and whip until softly firm peaks have formed. Top the pie with the whipped cream and chill for one more hour.

Garnish the pie with chopped roasted peanuts and/or chocolate shavings and curls. I opted for the chocolate (which was my change, not listed in the recipe).

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://thespicedlife.blogspot.com/search/label/peanut%20butter

Peanut Butter Brownies

Source: Domino’s Sugar, The Savory Notebook and CLBB

1 cup peanut butter — not natural PB (I used a hybrid—a “no stir” slightly sweetened organic PB)
1/2 cup butter — at room temperature
2 1/2 cups Domino Demerara Washed Raw Sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw turbinado sugar)
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla (I used 3 1/2)
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks, to taste — optional
4 tablespoons Domino Demerara Washed Raw Sugar — for topping

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a 9x13 pan with release foil (I used parchment paper) or grease the pan.

Cream peanut butter, butter, and sugar until light in color. You will notice that the sugar stays pretty coarse—OK. Add eggs and blend to combine. Add vanilla and blend well.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, soda, and salt. Add to peanut butter mixture and blend until just combined. Stir in chips, if using.

Scoop batter into prepared pan and smooth it out. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons demerara over the top. Bake 28-30 minutes. Brownies will sink slightly in the center while cooling. Cool completely before cutting.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/

This is my contribution to World Food Day - Time to be Thankful, an event hosted by Ivy, Val, and Giz. I’m thankful that I have access to good food, have acquired the means to transform it into something not only nourishing but delicious and most of all, I am thankful that I have loved ones to share with.

Black-Eyed Pea Patties with Pilipili

For the bean patties:

1 cup of dried black-eyed peas
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 - 2 fresh green chilies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup of unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
oil for frying

For the pilipili:

2 red bell peppers, seeded, and halved
2 fresh green chilies, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 clove of garlic, coarsely chopped
juice from one small lemon

Soak the beans in water overnight. Drain, transfer to a large pot, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover and cook until the beans are soft - roughly 40 minutes. Drain and transfer to a food processor. Pulse the beans, adding warm water a tablespoon at a time until you get a smooth paste that has a consistency much like a thick cake batter. Add the onion, green chili, salt, eggs, flour and baking powder. Pulse until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

In a large non-stick pan, heat a shallow pool of oil over medium heat. When hot, drop in heaped tablespoons of the batter and fry until golden on each side.

To make the chili sauce, put the peppers in a pot of boiling water and cook until they are soft - roughly 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a food processor, along with the chillies, salt, garlic and lemon juice. Process until well combined. Serve with the bean patties.

Makes enough to feed 4-6 people.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/

Cassoulet with Bread Topping

An old legend about cassoulet relates that the popular French bean casserole was invented in the southern French town of Castelnaudary during an English siege in the Hundred Years War. Unable to venture outside the town walls to collect fresh vegetables, the townspeople invented a rich and hearty repast with their preserved stock of dried beans and herbs, cold storage vegetables, and pork sausages and duck fat. A more contemporary legend has it that we vegetarians can dispense with the copious meats that are added to traditional cassoulets and still enjoy a robust, filling and delicious meal that’s perfect for cool fall weather.

This recipe, adapted from Delicious Living, includes a mock version of herbes de provence, a mixture of dried herbs and lavender flowers, for those of us who don’t usually have it on hand. If you do have it, however, just substitute a tablespoon of herbes de provence for the herb blend given below.

Cassoulet with bread topping

Herb blend:

3/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon dried savory
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon dried sage
1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds

Cassoulet:

1 1/4 cups dried cannellini (white kidney) beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 whole dried hot red chilies
3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 cups vegetable stock
3 plum tomatoes, diced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sea salt
fresh ground black pepper

Bread topping:

3 thick slices French bread
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic

Rinse the dried beans under running water and soak overnight covered in several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain the next day and add to a medium saucepan with several inches of fresh cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are soft but not falling apart. Drain and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325° and heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the olive oil, wait a few moments, then swirl around to coat the pan. Toss in the onion, potato, carrot, celery and dried red chilies and sauté for 5 minutes. Now add the herb blend along with the garlic, and continue to cook for another minute.

Remove from heat and stir in the beans, vegetable stock, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper to taste. Pour into a large and lightly oiled casserole dish, and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the bread topping by combining the bread, olive oil, parsley, Parmesan cheese and garlic in a food processor and blending on high speed until the bread is reduced to fine crumbs.

Remove the cassoulet from the oven and discard the whole chilies and bay leaf. Turn up the oven to 400° and sprinkle half the bread topping over the beans. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven once more, and stir the baked topping into the cassoulet. Sprinkle the rest of the topping over the beans and return to the oven for 15 more minutes, or until the bread topping is a light brown.

Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/

Savoury Cheese Crackers

Somehow or other, I’ve had more kitchen disasters in the last few weeks than I have had in the past two years. First, there was a cornmeal shortbread that tempted me, and though the dough was delicious, it didn’t hold together and into the trash can it went. After that, there were the little discs of goat cheese that I tried to fry up to serve with sauted portabello mushrooms. It was all good until it was time to flip them over. I ended up with a glob of cheese, but I spread it over some toast, along with a mushroom, and so managed to salvage dinner. Finally, we come to this recipe for Savoury Cheese Crackers.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was treated to a visit from my Dad this past weekend. On the afternoon he arrived, I decided I wanted to make a little snack. I was short on ingredients but had everything I needed for these crackers. Into the food processor went the dry ingredients, butter and cheese. At this point, I was supposed to have a dough to knead. Well, the mixture just resembled flour. Perhaps my ingredients were too cold? What to do? Not wanting to waste cheese and butter, and still determined to make something for my Dad to enjoy, I threw in a couple of eggs, pulsed them a few times and so I had a dough. I probably could have managed with just one egg, but no matter, as they ended up turning out well and the egg gave the crackers an extra richness and a slight crispiness. They are essentially a cross between a cracker and a savory cookie.

Savory Cheese Crackers

1 1/4 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of dry mustard
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of cold butter
2 cups of cold grated extra old cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of cold grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, mustard, salt and cayenne in a food processor.

Add the butter and cheeses and pulse. Now add the eggs and pulse until you get a dough. Turn out onto a whole wheat floured board and knead a few times. Divide the dough into four pieces. Roll out the dough until it is roughly 1/8 thick. Cut with a cookie cutter of your choice and transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat with each portion of dough, and reroll the scraps.

Bake in batches in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 - 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and serve at room temperature.

Makes roughly 3 dozen.

[nw_arizona_granny]

[This is to drive you insane, photos and links...LOL...granny]

Bread Baking Day #10 Roundup!

It is my pleasure to present to you the fine collection of Breakfast Breads baked up for this month’s BBD challenge. We had 53 54 55 submissions from 16 different countries - quite a variety of breakfast goodies!

http://www.bakingasweetlife.com/2008/06/04/bread-baking-day-10-roundup/

[Library Lady]

Thank you so much for all this good information. I started with post 6000+ and have darted here and there following interesting links. I have numerous seed catalogs and can’t wait for the new ones to come out. I, too, will be ordering non-hybrid varieties.

[gardengirl]

Granny—

The bread post was too funny! Try looking up “material” sometime, instead of “fabric”—better have your firewall on and anti spam stuff in place! LOL

Thanks for the links! The bath thing for babies was cute and the roller shoes. Everything old is new again, huh?

Raining here, again. We’ve gotten 3-4 “ this am, sposed to rain for the next 3 days. :(

We’re going to Raleigh tom eve to see Corban. Can’t wait!

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://beta.bloglines.com/b/preview?siteid=28834

Tips 24

Spray-On Cooking Oil As Expedient Wetsuit Remover

As a triathlete, I practice the transition during every training session, meaning I try to remove my wetsuit in super fast time.

Every Friday last summer I swam in a lake in my Promotion triathlon wetsuit. I spent the whole summer struggling to get off my wetsuit. I tried slopping some water down the front before getting out of the water, Superglide and all kinds of things. My Ironman friend swears by Pam Spray On Cooking Oil. He’s used it for 17 years and has had no damage to his wetsuits. You can’t buy Pam in the UK (at least not cheaply). All I could find was Frys spray on oil. I bought a pump-action one since this is more eco-friendly.

I got to the lake one Friday and sprayed a generous coating on my legs. I was sure the oil would come off during my hour-long swim so I didn’t really expect it to work. As I clambered out of the water I unzipped my wetsuit, ripped it down to my waist and then pulled it off my legs. I couldn’t believe how effective this is. Triathletes normally try to pull a wetsuit down enough that they can tred on it to pull the rest of it off. I hadn’t managed to do this all summer, but on my first attempt using cooking oil, I was instantly able to get the wetsuit down. Absolutely perfect!

— Carl Myhill

***************
Chopsticks for Whisking

On one of my trips to Asia, I noticed an omelet chef at breakfast using a pair of chopsticks to whisk the eggs. Since then I have kept several pairs of good quality chopsticks in my kitchen for whisking and stirring jobs where a traditional balloon whisk is simply too big and also doesn’t get into the corners if the container or pot does not have a rounded bottom. For this use, simply grasp the chopsticks as if they were a pair of pencils; only holding towards the thick (far) end. For better whisking power, slightly separate the two thin ends. As with a balloon whisk, most of the power should come from moving your forearm from the elbow, with your wrist just giving the ‘whip’-like follow through. — Aryeh Abramovitz

***************
Tie Wraps in a Bike Repair Kit

I would strongly suggest adding tie-wraps or zip ties to any bicycle repair set. They can hold a whole lot of things in place when screws get lost... I’m speaking here as an avid cyclist (I do about 2 to 3000 kilometers every year, most in vacations). — Michiel Kemeling

***************
Prevent Flat Bike/Motorcycle Tires

Here’s an easier way to flat-proof your bicycle: make a flap of stiff plastic that extends in front of the back wheel until it nearly touches the pavement. Then glue or rivet a rubber flap to the lower edge that brushes against the pavement. A bleach bottle is a particularly good source of plastic since you can gain some stiffness from curve to the neck, and depending on your bicycle design, you might even profit from the neck itself. I learned this many years ago when I was a motorcycle mechanic and discovered that perhaps 90 percent of all flats are on the back wheel. The reason: the front wheel stands the object up, the back wheel runs into it. All the flap does is knock the object back down, and that’s all that’s necessary. I put one these on my motorcycles and have never again had a flat in more than thirty years and hundreds of thousands of miles of riding. I put them on my bicycles too, and never have flats. — Bill Babcock

***************
Quick Ways To Open a Shrinkwrapped CD

I got my start writing about music, so I received review copies of a lot of CDs. Since the days of physical, shrinkwrapped CDs are numbered, I feel compelled to share the two solutions I picked up. 1) To cut the shrinkwrap, vigorously rub one side of the disc on the corner or leg of a desk (preferably a metal one). Don’t rub the face of the case, otherwise you’ll scratch it. 2) To remove the barcode sticker binding the edge of the case: pry open the case at the hinges, then use the leverage to pull the sticker off in one long, quick movement.

These are so simple, I was able to do both in a minute with my left hand (I’m right-handed):

Here’s a video of the shrinkwrap removal.

Here’s a video of the sticker removal.

— Steven Leckart
Related Entries:
Tips 23 Tips 22 Tips 21 at:

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/12/chicken-tractor-desi.html

Chicken tractor design
Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, November 12, 2008 5:24 PM

If you are interested in chickens, take a few minutes to read this page, the comments add to the design and it is workable.

LOL, I like the new design and the suggestions are right, as I always let out at least one when I moved the square one that I had.

granny

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://www.google.org/flutrends/

Explore flu trends across the U.S.

We’ve found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional systems. Read more »
United States flu activity: Low

[Also has a few news articles listed]

[nw_arizona_granny]

The first seed catalogs, always reminded me that there was still a future, something good could be in it.

It pleases me that you are finding interesting posts, that fit your needs, LOL, keep reading.

And do post, if you will, there is so much that I miss posting,
and the readers are all types, city, farm and in the middle.

Hold on to your old catalogs, you will soon notice that you are using them for research.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Corban, gives meaning to life and why we fight on.

LOL, on the googled bread site, I can imagine how shocked that lady was to find out she was not a family site.

Those bread blogs turned out to be interesting, went all over the world and the ‘events’ they have proved interesting.

They pick a type of bread and you bake your recipe and share it, wild and inventive.

The old Popular Mechanics magazines, have the ideas that are being called new and a miracle today, LOL, I heard something on the news the other day, that was 1930’s Popular Mechanic in the beginning, as I remembered it.

The personal helicopters is one of them.

About 1947, Studebaker had a car that would change its own tire, if you had a flat.........I don’t think it ever hit the general market, but I went with my dad and saw it in El Paso, Texas, he worked for the company as a mechanic at the time.

LOL, will check your material search, once I was looking for a shoe pattern and found a new bomb making book, that even Homeland Security had not found.

Never did understand why it came up under shoe patterns.

One could spend a lifetime, just doing googles and learning.

Stay safe and have a wonderful weekend.

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/PumpkinPie.htm

[snipped]

1651 -
Francois Pierre la Varenne, the famous French chef and author of one of the most important French cookbooks of the 17th century, wrote a cookbook called Le Vrai Cuisinier Francois (The True French Cook). It was translated and published in England as The French Cook in 1653. It has a recipe for a pumpkin pie that included the pastry:

Tourte of pumpkin - Boile it with good milk, pass it through a straining pan very thick, and mix it with sugar, butter, a little salt and if you will, a few stamped almonds; let all be very thin. Put it in your sheet of paste; bake it. After it is baked, besprinkle it with sugar and serve.

1670s - By the 1670’s, recipes for a sort of “pumpion pie” were appearing in such English cookbooks as the The Queen-like closet, or rich cabinet stored with all manner of rare receipts for preserving, candying and cookery by Hannah Wooley and The Compleat Cook - Expertly Prescribing the Most Ready Wayes, Whether Italian, Spanish or French, for Dressing of Flesh and Fish, Ordering Of Sauces or Making of Pastry by W.M. NOTE: Thanks to librarian JK Holloway for her assistance.

* 1670 - The Queen-like Closet by Hannah Wooley:

To make a Pumpion-Pie - Take a Pumpion, pare it, and cut it in thin slices, dip it in beaten Eggs and Herbs shred small, and fry it till it be enough, then lay it into a Pie with Butter, Raisins, Currans, Su|gar and Sack, and in the bottom some sharp Apples, when it is baked, butter it and serve it in.

* 1671 - The Compleat Cook by W.M:

Pumpion Pie - Take about halfe a pound of Pumpion and slice it, a handfull of Tyme, a little Rosemary, Parsley and sweet Marjoram slipped off the stalks, and chop them smal, then take Cinamon, Nutmeg, Pepper, and six Cloves, and beat them; take ten Eggs and beat them; then mix them, and beat them altogether, and put in as much Sugar as you think fit, then fry them like a froiz; after it is fryed, let it stand till it be cold, then fill your Pye, take sliced Apples thinne round wayes, and lay a row of the Froiz, and a layer of Apples with Currans betwixt the layer while your Pye is fitted, and put in a good deal of sweet butter before you close it; when the Pye is baked, take six yolks of Eggs, some white-wine or Verjuyce, & make a Caudle of this, but not too thick; cut up the Lid and put it in, stir them well together whilst the Eggs and Pumpions be not perceived, and so serve it up.

1796 - It was not until 1796 that a truly American cookbook, American cookery, by an American orphan by Amelia Simmons, was published. It was the first American cookbook written and published in America, and the first cook book that developed recipes for foods native to America. Her pumpkin puddings were baked in a crust and similar to present day pumpkin pies:

Pompkin Pudding No. 1. One quart stewed and strained, 3 pints cream, 9 beaten eggs, sugar, mace, nutmeg and ginger, laid into paste No. 7 or 3, and with a dough spur, cross and chequer it, and baked in dishes three quarters of an hour.

Pompkin Pudding No. 2. One quart of milk, 1 pint pompkin, 4 eggs, molasses, allspice and ginger in a crust, bake 1 hour.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Cooking Hints and Tips Resource Index

http://whatscookingamerica.net/CookingHintsIndex.htm

Index of Food and Cooking Articles

http://whatscookingamerica.net/CookingArticles/hints.htm

What’s Cooking America’s Recipe Collection
Thousands of recipes from beginners to gourmets - Recipe collection for everyone!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/RecipeIndex.htm

Secrets On Using The Bread Machine
Making Perfect Bread Machine Bread

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/Secrets.htm

Bread Recipes

Bread Machine, Regular Yeast Bread, Pizza Dough, Sweet Bread, Cinnamon Rolls, and Quick Bread Recipes

I use my bread machine for only the dough cycle and then bake all my breads in the oven. All the recipes posted below have been personally baked and tasted by myself. They look and taste like they came from the bakery!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/BreadRecipe.htm

[nw_arizona_granny]

http://blog.google.org/2008/11/deadly-new-arenavirus.html

A Deadly New Arenavirus
Tuesday 11/04/2008 11:07:00 AM

On September 12 2008, Cecilia van Deventer, a safari booking agent living in Zambia, was flown to South Africa in critical condition. She died just two days later. By October 6 2008, three more people had died: the paramedic who accompanied Cecilia to South Africa, the nurse who cared for her in Intensive Care, and the cleaner who cleaned her hospital room after her death. A fifth patient, a nurse who cared for the infected paramedic, is receiving anti-viral treatment. In all cases, people infected were exposed to infected blood and/or body fluids.

South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) quickly identified the infectious agent as an arenavirus similar to the one that causes Lassa Fever - a disease that affects 500 000 people per year in West Africa. Now, following full sequencing of the viral genome by Professor Ian Lipkin and colleagues at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University, it has been clearly shown that this is an arenavirus that has never been seen before. Google.org’s Predict and Prevent initiative recently announced a grant of $2.5 million to support CII’s work in pathogen discovery. This identification of a novel arenavirus not only represents an early success, but also demonstrates just why this work is so important. ‘There is no doubt we are dealing with a newly emerged virus,’ said Dr. Janusz Paweska, head of the special pathology unit at the NICD in Johannesburg. As Professor Robert Swanepoel, also of the NICD, has pointed out, the virus is ‘newly-discovered’ rather than new, and has probably been around in animal populations for some time before making a recent jump to humans.

Arenaviruses, normally transferred to humans through contact with the urine of their rodent hosts, can be classified into New and Old World viruses depending on whether they originate in the Western or Eastern hemisphere respectively. New World arenaviruses, including Junin, Machupo, Sabia and Guanarito, can cause viral hemorrhagic fever. This particular virus, classified as Old World due to its African origins, began as a flu-like illness, then caused diarrhea, pharyngitis and a rash before rapidly culminating in respiratory distress, neurological symptoms and circulatory collapse over a period of about 9-12 days. The virus has yet to receive a name.

Due to the swift action of the NICD, US-CDC and CII the outbreak is now described as contained. We commend their efforts!

Posted by Joanne Stevens, Associate, Predict & Prevent
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This post has hidden links in it.......ProMedMail covered these cases as they occurred.
granny

[Library Lady]

I usually don’t start looking at seed catalogs until the new ones come after Christmas, but my neighbor and I were talking about tomatoes and I need to look up what I think is called Amish paste tomatoes. She saw some this summer that looked like Romas but were much larger. I think this is probably what she is talking about.

Also, I need to do more research on sweet potatoes. We have trouble growing them here, and I think it’s because of the clay soil. I remember my mother buying sweet potatoes that were actually sweet - not the cardboard tasting things you buy now that you have to add sugar to make them edible.

[Library Lady]

I usually don’t start looking at seed catalogs until the new ones come after Christmas, but my neighbor and I were talking about tomatoes and I need to look up what I think is called Amish paste tomatoes. She saw some this summer that looked like Romas but were much larger. I think this is probably what she is talking about.

Also, I need to do more research on sweet potatoes. We have trouble growing them here, and I think it’s because of the clay soil. I remember my mother buying sweet potatoes that were actually sweet - not the cardboard tasting things you buy now that you have to add sugar to make them edible.

[metmom]

Makes sense.