Merry Christmas Cat

cat haiku

You never feed me.  Perhaps I'll sleep on your face.  That will sure show you. You must scratch me there!  Yes, above my tail!  Behold, elevator butt. The rule for today:  Touch my tail, I shred your hand.  New rule tomorrow. In deep sleep hear sound  cat vomit hairball somewhere  will find in morning. Grace personified.  I leap into the window.  I meant to do that. Blur of motion, then --  silence, me, a paper bag.  What is so funny? The mighty hunter  Returns with gifts of plump birds --  your foot just squashed one. You're always typing.  Well, let's see you ignore my  sitting on your hands. My small cardboard box.  You cannot see me if I  can just hide my head. Terrible battle.  I fought for hours. Come and see!  What's a 'term paper?' Small brave carnivores  Kill pine cones and mosquitoes,  Fear vacuum cleaner I want to be close  to you. Can I fit my head  inside your armpit? Wanna go outside.  Oh, poop! Help! I got outside!  Let me back inside! Oh no! Big One  has been trapped by newspaper!  Cat to the rescue! Humans are so strange.  Mine lies still in bed, then screams;  My claws are not that sharp.

mail welcome: admin @ strangeplaces.net

Trashcan Potatoes - Guest Author La Motocycliste

Over the weekend, I tipped over the trashcan, and harvested enough French Fingerling potatoes for a good meal for two.

Growing potatoes in a trashcan is fun and easy. In case you think, "Potatoes are cheap, why do all this work?" price heirloom varieties at Whole Paycheck sometime.

A lot of communities have gone to high tech trashcans that can be emptied by an automated garbage truck. This leaves the householder with old trashcans, which can be used for low tech urban potato farming.

The first step is to locate a sunny spot. Potatoes are not really choosy, but they do like sun and water. If your sunny spot is over a patch of dirt, cut the bottom off the trashcan with a Sawzall or a hacksaw. If your sunny spot is over concrete, drill drainage holes in the bottom of the trashcan. If the trashcan is really disgusting, clean it up a bit.

Next, put your trashcan on your chosen spot and fill it with four inches of cheap potting soil with a handful of bone meal mixed in. Head off to choose your potatoes. You need about a quarter pound organic potatoes per trashcan. Look for potatoes with nice big prominent eyes. If you have potatoes that have started growing in your pantry, use those.

Cut up the potatoes so you have one or two eyes per piece. Many people leave the potatoes out overnight to skin over, but I have never bothered. Put the pieces about six inches apart on top of the dirt in the trashcan, then cover with another couple of inches of potting soil and another handful of bonemeal. Don't bother to tamp down. Water so that the dirt is as wet as a wrung out sponge. Cover the trashcan with a piece of chicken wire or an old screen to keep critters out.

Keep the dirt moist, and in 2-3 weeks you should see sprouts. Potatoes grow along the stems, so when the sprouts are 8 or nine inches tall and have nice glossy leaves, shake some more dirt along the stems. The plants will grow towards the light, so keep covering the stems as they grow. Keep them watered and the potato plants will grow for about three months. Eventually they will die down. Stop watering. When the plants are deceased, knock over the garbage can and pick out your potatoes.

Note: Reposted from dkos. For those who learn more easily from seeing than reading:

California Marrow Bones

I do not eat a lot of Beef or any meat these days. I occasionally am overcome with a desire for some and I indulge myself.

I love marrow. It never occurred to me it could be a whole course. I just always hung over the stockpot and ate marrow before anyone else could get to it. It was my own dirty little secret.

The beauty of vintage community cookbooks is that an odd recipe you find will open a new frontier. This Appetizer recipe comes from Los Angeles and the Farmers Market Cookbook by Florine Sikking published in 1975. Each stall in the market contibuted a recipe. This recipe is from Tunstall's Gift Shop,

La Brea Tarpits Marrow Bones

4 Marrow Bones (have the Butcher cut them in half lengthwise)
1/4 pound Margarine, unsalted
4 cloves Garlic, crushed
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine Margarine and Garlic and make into a paste. Spread the paste over the marrow side of the bone. Sprinkle Bread Crumbs, Paprika and Salt on each bone. Place Bones on cookie sheets and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the Marrow has turned creamy in color. Makes 8 servings.

Green Revolution - Food is Politics and Vice Versa

Sometimes I am "seized by a rebellion so sickening" that I will not write. The chilly Spring rain outside is making music on my window and I seem, like my garden, to have thawed a bit.

I have an ongoing interest in feeding the children and myself good food. I must be interested in the economics of farming in America to that end. I have discovered a new source for GREEN information. Meet the American Farm Bureau. 

I was drawn to the site by an article Monarch Habitat Restoration Benefits Farmers and the Environment by Robert Giblin. I plan to make my garden Monarch friendly. I stayed for the informative articles about Farm Policy. No food without happy and prosperous Farmers. Photograph by C Watts.

The Monarch Butterfly is in trouble. Find out how to be a guardian of the Monarch Butterfly HERE. 

'No matter who you are or where you live, you can make a difference and help conserve the monarch butterfly. From a small pot on your front steps to a backyard pollinator garden, there are many ways individuals can provide essential habitat. We provide support to local communities, NGOs and private landowners through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program with technical assistance and funding support for improving pollinator habitats.'

Java Sweet and Hot

Coffee is good and good for you. Hallelujah! I am celebrating with a cup of Poor Richard's blend coffee from Reading Terminal Market. Life is good.

I was so happy to read this article. How much do we love coffee? We love coffee so much that we write songs about coffee. Coffee songs below.

Good to know that our love for that first cup in the morning is not in vain. And that drinking another two or three cups may have health benefits.

The illustration is a vintage tin sign. You can find more signs of this type HERE.

Why Coffee Is Good for You
Kris Gunnars, Authority Nutrition

It is more than just dark-colored liquid with caffeine. Coffee actually contains hundreds of different compounds, some of which have important health benefits.

Several massive studies have now shown that the people who drink the most coffee live longer and have a reduced risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Read more ..

Rain Gardens with Music

Spring is here. I am ordering Herb Seeds and plotting Flowers. I am planting Milkweed for the Monarch Butterflies this year. I am getting that Happy Green Feeling in spite of the cold outside.

I have learned you can make that boggy place in your yard a thing of beauty and help clean and conserve water by planting a Rain Garden. 

Once planted, such a garden is maintained with little to no effort. And that is good news. Gardening can be hard work.

The woman in the photograph below is teaching a class in Rain Gardens and you can see the perfect sort of location. Find out all the particulars at this link.

"To select a location for a rain garden, begin by observing your yard during a good rainfall. Notice where water is flowing. Rain gardens should ideally be located between the source of runoff (roofs and driveways) and the runoff destination (drains, streams, low spots, etc.)."

The photograph on the right is a rain garden in Philadelphia, designed by Edgar David.

"Rainwater that flows from the house roof to the stone cistern is used to irrigate an intimate collection of woodland plants."

The Philadelphia Water Department has some excellent information about making Rain Gardens. The PWD also has a rain barrel program for those of us who do not have a boggy spot and still want to utilize and help manage rain water runoff. And now it is time for a Spring song by The Velvet Fog.

Tutti Frutti Pie

My Aunt Carrie (rest in peace you Great Cook) made Tutti Frutti Pie often. I was so happy when I found this old recipe in a community cookbook Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes.

This pie is delicious and inexpensive. Best of all there is no need for fresh fruit. Pie in the Winter. Pie from the pantry.

Miss Maxie Gaine's Tutti Frutti Cream Pie

1 cup Sugar
2 cups Milk
1 tablespoon Corn Starch
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Butter
2 Eggs
1 tablespoon Flour
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 cup canned Fruit Cocktail, well drained

Heat one cup Sugar, Milk and Butter together. Make a smooth paste of Flour, Salt and Corn Starch with a little Water. Add this gradually to the heated Milk. Separate Eggs. Beat Yolks well; blend into the Milk mixtures, stirring constantly to keep smooth; cook 5 minutes over low heat until mixture becomes thick. Remove from heat and fold in well drained Fruit Cocktail. Pour into a baked Pie Shell. Beat the Egg Whites until stiff and blend in two tablespoons of Sugar until very smooth. Spoon onto the Pie filling. Place in a 300 degree oven until light brown.

Never Fail Pie Crust
(makes 4 single crusts)

4 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 3/4 cup Vegetable Shortening
1 tablespoon Vinegar
1 Egg
1/2 cup Water

Mix Flour, Sugar, and Salt. Cut in the Shortening with a fork or cutting tool (or you could give it a whirl in your food processor for a bit).

In a separate bowl mix Vinegar, Egg, and Water. Add it to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork until moistened. Use your hands to mold into 4 equal balls. The dough may be frozen and thawed for future use. Four frozen homemade pie crusts and four cans of fruit and you do not have to go out in the snow all Winter. 

First Day of Spring 2018

“If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind

Today is the official First Day of Spring. The United Nations declared today is official International Happiness Day.

Humbug! We have a 24 hour Winter Storm Warning In Philadelphia today. Happy Spring all the same. I am planning my garden. It must be Spring.

Jeffrey Koterba is the cartoonist. His blog is HERE.

Polish Dill Pickles

Is there a difference between a Polish Dill Pickle and a Kosher Dill Pickle? No difference, although I think a Polish pickle has much more garlic. I am sure pickle enthusiasts will disagree.

A Kosher or Polish pickle is made without using vinegar, uses a crock or glass jar (with a weight if necessary) to keep the cucumbers submerged in the liquid, and involves lactic acid producing fermentation. 

I was going to type the recipe and then I discovered Danny Mac's Kitchen video. Lots of good suggestions in the comments. Seeing is believing. Making Pickles is easy and you can do it even if you think you cannot cook. After four days of fermentation, you can make Pickle Soup.

There is more than one way to sour a Pickle. A charming Russian Lady gives us her system which includes Lemon and Apple Cider Vinegar. So yummy.

In my house old fashioned winter preparation starts with pickling cucumbers. So enjoy my grandmothers old fashioned Naturally Fermented Kosher Dill Pickles - Рцепт Малосольных Огурцов.

Crochet and the Impatient Woman or Xmas is Coming Sooner than You Think.

I crochet. It is a very soothing occupation. What beginning and/or impatient crocheters (like me) need is simple patterns that work up fast. This impatient crocheter sticks with hats and slippers. These free patterns are the best. I am going to make the Yoda Hat for my son-in-law. Yes, there is a pattern for Baby Yoda hat at the link as well.

This is the easiest fastest slipper pattern I have encountered. And the video is a great tutorial for beginning crocheters. Who does not need cozy TV socks. Warning: No running in slipper socks on slippery floors. I think I will look for a tutorial on how to add nonslip soles. Note: 7 terrific suggestions for making your slippers slip free HERE.

The newest fashion trend is Dog Hats. This video will teach you how to make a small dog hat. Same teacher has tutorials for large/medium dogs as well. Be kind. Some dogs love their new hats. Some dogs hate them. Do not force your dog to wear a hat.

Haitian Mango Pie from Simpson-Fletcher Soul Food Recipes

Tommy Atkins Mangos are in season now. I enjoy a Mango more than a Peach. And I love Peach. We do grow them in the United States. And we import some as well. They make a luscious Pie. You can find some variety of Mango year round.

Haitian Mango Pie

4 cups chopped Mango

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon grated Lime Peel

2/3 cup Flour

1/2 cup Lime Juice

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 unbaked Pie Shell

Combine the Flour, one half of the Sugar, Lime Peel, and Salt with the Butter. Mix until they are like crumbs. Chill. Toss the chopped Mango with Lime Juice and the remaining Sugar. Mix the Mango mixture and pour into the Pie Shell. Sprinkle the chilled sugar crumbs over the fruit, covering well. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees continue baking until crumbs are brown and fruit is tender. 

This divine recipe is from Simpson-Fletcher Soul Food Recipes and Albert the Chef, who also gave us Fish Stuffing.

Never Fail Pie Crust
(makes 4 single crusts)

4 cups flour
1 Tbl sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup vegetable shortening (non trans fat, such as Crisco or other). 

1 Tbl vinegar

1 egg
1/2 cup water

Mix flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the shortening with a fork or cutting tool (or you could give it a whirl in your food processor for a bit).

In a separate bowl mix vinegar, egg, and water. Add it to the flour mixture, stirring with a fork until moistened. Use your hands to mold into 4 equal balls. The dough may be frozen and thawed for future use. 

Salsa Criolla - Comida Latina

This recipe comes from a paperback cookbook Comida Latina published by Center for Latin American Studies at Stanford University.

A covered glass bowl of this condiment appears on the table of every restaurant in the Sierras. And you find it on the counter in every kitchen. This recipe came from Helene and Fredrick Kruger of the School of Earth Sciences.

Salsa Criolla from Peru

Onions, Pepper, Salt
Marjoram or Oregano
Ground Yellow Chili Pepper
Fresh Chilis
Bitter Oranges or Lemons
Olive Oil

Cut Onions in this slices and soak in heavily salted water for 10 to 15 minutes. Rub the onions lightly through the fingers to loosen the rings, then rinse in cold clear water and dry. Place onion rings in a china or glass dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and marjoram to taste. Add a pinch or two of ground yellow chili pepper. Cut fresh chilis, without seeds and fiber, into very thin strips. Add to the onions and mix gently. Pour juice of bitter oranges or lemons to barely cover. Set aside for a couple of hours, then add a little olive oil, mix and serve with boiled potatoes, fried fish, salad, etc.

Please Note: Ingredients may be adjusted in amount to suit taste and number of servings. Some add fresh chopped Cilantro or Marjoram to this condiment.

Reading to Cats

This is the feel-good Pennsylvania story of the month. I love cats.

The Animal Rescue League of Berks County PA has a program called “Book Buddies.” Children volunteer to read to sheltered cats. Via Reddit.

Have patience if you go to their website. Everyone is going there for more information, more pictures and to donate to this great program. The boy in the photo thought he was "too dumb" to learn to read. Nope. His reading and grades have improved tremendously. And the cats are finding forever homes. 

Since You've Been Gone Valentine

since you’ve been gone

since you’ve been gone, I’ve been alone.
like an arm without a bone.
dangling limply like a phone that’s out of charge.
like homer without marge.
like an egg without a spoon.
like a dugong on the moon.
like a clownfish without nemo.
like twilight without emo.
like hardy without laurel.
like high ground without the moral.
like disney without walt.
like battery without assault.
like a pet shop without gerbils.
like hitler without goebbels.
like a dilemma without the di,
just a lemma and a sigh.
like déjà without vu,
I am nothing without you.
till the day that you come back,
I’m like whitney without crack.

- Bill Bailey (via acupofpoetry)

Food and Artists

I have an ongoing interest in Food Art. Food Artists continue to redefine the relationship between Art and Food. It is not just about the plate and the table anymore. Or even the advertising business. It seems like a culture shift. We are looking at food itself in new ways.

I thank Providence for visually oriented folks like Ms. Alice Yoo who created Fine Art of Food.  Go there for more images that will startle and amaze.

Fantastic Food Photo Manipulations by Jean Francois De Witte

Incredible Food Landscapes by Carl Warner

Hyperrealistic Food Paintings by Tjalf Sparnaay

English Cottage Pie

This is another recipe from Sadie Dell. She writes:

 “Proper English Cottage Pie is a delicious, very traditional mince pie topped with mashed Potato. Serve with garden or mushy peas.”

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground Beef

1 Onion, diced

3 Carrots, diced

2 tablespoons all-purpose Flour

½ teaspoon ground Nutmeg 

1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Parsley

1 ½ cups Beef Broth

1 tablespoon Tomato Paste

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 Potatoes, peeled and diced

¼ cup Butter, softened

1 cup Milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ pound shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble in ground Beef and saute one minute. Add Onion and Carrot and continue to saute until Meat is no longer pink and Onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Mix in Flour, Nutmeg, mixed Herbs and Parsley. In a small bowl, combine Beef Broth and Tomato Paste. Mix together and then add to the Beef mixture. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of liquid has been absorbed. Spoon the mixture into a 9 inch pie plate.

Place diced potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and boil until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mash Potatoes until smooth, and then add Butter and Milk. Whip until fluffy. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. Spread potatoes over Beef filling. Sprinkle with Cheddar Cheese. Bake for 25 minutes until top is browned and Cheese is bubbly.

Beautiful Soup So Rich and Green

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
- by Lewis Carroll

January is National Soup Month. I love soup both hot and cold. The soup recipe below had its start with a recipe by Poppy Cannon in Eating European at Home and Abroad published by Doubleday in 1961. I altered it to suit our family. Poppy Cannon (August 2, 1905 - April 1975) was at various times the food editor of the Ladies Home Journal and House Beautiful.

Perhaps best known for her books on food, Miss Cannon was also the author of 2,000 magazine articles on a variety of topics, and wrote newspaper columns ranging from fashion and travel to race relations as well as poetry and fiction. Read more...

Emeril LaGasse makes this Portugese soup with linguica sausage added. I have tried that and my children like this Vegan version better.

Ingredients for Caldo Verde Soup:

6 Potatoes
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Salt
1 Dried Hot Pepper (optional)
4 cups shredded Greens (Kale or Turnip are especially good)
2-6 cloves fresh Garlic
2 quarts Water

Wakame finely shredded with scissors (optional and to taste)

Peel and slice the potatoes. Cover with water and add olive oil and peeled garlic cloves, and cook until tender. Remove the Hot Pepper. Mash the potatoes and garlic in the broth. Add salt and pepper. Then add 4 cups shredded fresh greens or one large package of frozen greens and the wakame if using it. I almost always use frozen because it’s faster than shredding fresh greens and the results are good. Cook for an hour or until the greens are tender.

Note: If you are cooking for dedicated hot food haters, make Caldo Verde without the hot pepper and serve Louisiana hot sauce or Tabasco as a condiment. Ms. Cannon writes that this soup may be made with a combination of cabbage and spinach. I found that combination insipid. She also does not include garlic. I don’t think she would recognize my version but I must thank her for the fabulous start.

And to those who know and love Lewis Carroll as much as I, please forgive the poetic license and quotation wantonness. I know the soup spoken of was Turtle, Mock Turtle.

The Other French Onion Soup

It is icy and cold in Philadelphia. I want hot comforting soup. January is National Soup Month so I am republishing this easy Soup recipe.

This onion and cheese soup is simple to make, really tasty, and does not require any special cooking skill at all.  The quantity is infinitely expandable, just maintain the proportion of  equal weights of onion to potato. Serves 2 to 4 people.

3 large potatoes
3 large onions
8 ounces Swiss Cheese (quantity to taste)
Garnish of Minced Celery Tops

Peel onions and potatoes and place them in a deep soup pot. Be generous about removing outer layers of onion that are too tough to cook. Add enough water to cover the vegetables plus one inch above them. Bring water to a boil, then turn down and simmer until onions and potatoes are very soft. Grate the cheese. Mash the vegetables in their own broth when tender. Season with Salt and Pepper. Stir the cheese into the hot soup and serve. Garnish with minced celery tops.

Note: Do not overcook or it will be glue. Cook only until the vegetables can be pierced with a fork. You want some texture in your soup.

You may wish to substitute another cheese or garnish (minced parsley, bacon bits, etc.).  I prefer the combination above, as taught me by an elderly French woman whose surname I never learned. She was Madame Sophie always. A little green salad and some good bread and I feel a happy well fed person.

White Deviled Chicken

This dish is from Virginia and is of British origin. I found the recipe in Nika Hazelton's American Home Cooking. This out of print cookbook is a selection of recipes from all regions of the United States. I would never part with my copy.

Ms. Hazelton was an expatriate from England who married an American. This cookbook of hers is not just an exercise in ego. Every recipe works.

She published 30 books and they reflected her firm, no-nonsense taste in food. "American Home Cooking" (Bobbs Merrill, 1967), "French Home Cooking" (Viking Penguin, 1979,) "International Cookbook" (Harper & Row, 1967) and "The Italian Cookbook (Henry Holt, 1979) remain standards. Read more...

DEVILed Chicken

Here are the Ingredients - To Devil Four Servings:

3 cups 1/2 inch cooked chicken pieces, white meat only
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco or to taste
salt
freshly ground pepper
hot buttered toast

Place the chicken in a generously buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish, the dish should not be too deep. Whip the cream until stiff. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, Tabasco, and a little salt and pepper. Spoon mixture over the chicken. Cook in a preheated hot oven (400 degrees) for ten minutes. Serve immediately on hot plates, with hot buttered toast.

Do this dish for company. So elegant. More than worth the trouble to whip the cream. It is divine. Even though it is also Deviled.

Date Pie

This Pie recipe comes from Simpson-Fletcher's Soul Food Recipes. Seems like the perfect Pie for Winter when there is no fresh native Fruit.

Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. Date Palms are believed to have originated around Iraq, and have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt, possibly as early as 4000 BCE.

Miss Melvina Price's Date Pie

1 cup chopped Dates
3/4 cup of Sugar
2 Eggs, separated
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
1 cup Butter
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 unbaked Pie Crust

Cream Butter and Sugar together until light and fluffy. Add beaten Egg Yolks. Blend in milk. Beat well. Stir in Pecans and Dates. Beat Egg Whites until stiff. and fold into the Date mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until set and browned. This Pie is good served with Whipped Cream, Ice Cream, or Custard Sauce.