Packaging

Who remembers back in the crappy old days when we-- as responsible human beings-- were concerned with wasting resources? One of the things we thought about was packaging, specifically unnecessary packaging. Mr. Big Food got him a new cell phone the other day and I am sorry to report those crappy old days are long gone. Good grief! Motorola-- a company wholly owned by Google-- makes Apple packaging look conservative by comparison. Truly amazing.

Here is how things should be packaged:

Products

Packages

Please note that these packages are biodegradable!

Maybe Google could learn something from God. 

I'm not there yet.

Polly put the kettle on, we'll all have a cup of tea.

--Grip in chapter 17 of Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens

I have a new book of quotations, The Oxford Book of Quotations Third Edition. Unlike my other book of quotations, this one is organized by author so I went looking for something from Dickens' historical novel which Miss M implored me to read. I thought this about the tea was funny but I didn't recall the character Grip. And then I saw it's from chapter 17.

As I said, I'm not there yet.

Daisy, Daisy

"I'm half crazy all for the love of you."

Try and get that out of your head if you can. I dare you!

Why, yes I have!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Well this is exciting! Or stupid.": 

Have you ever considered writing an ebook or guest authoring on other sites?I have a blog centered on the same ideas you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my visitors would value your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to send me an email.

I won't post the link to Anonymous' "work out plans at the gym," but I do appreciate the encouragement!

Thanks, Anonymous!

Well this is exciting! Or stupid.

Below are my thoughts on this evening's election returns. In reverse chronological order.

Oh. By the way. This was the first election where we had to show ID. :-) Guess what? I have a state issued ID which I showed to the little ladies. They commented on the spelling of my first name. No one said word boo about the fact that I have a license to carry a conceal fire arm.

12:11 Huh? He didn't win. Aren't you following along? There's going to be a run off and Tom Carey doesn't get to play. 

12:10 This just in on my email

Tea Party Express, the nation's largest Tea Party political action committee, congratulates State Senator Chris McDaniel for winning the U.S. Senate primary against 47-year incumbent Thad Cochran.

11:54 Okay-- so after we got done laughing... we wondered, "Who is this Thomas Carey guy?" 

11:51 Guess the folks in Covington Co. woke up.

11:16 Election fraud is an interesting thought. Not like it hasn't happened here in Mississippi before. One could cross-reference the Y'All Politics summary of endorsements coming out of these two counties as a start. 

"home in bed" Well-- I wouldn't put that past her, but.... [Sorry-- didn't get the time stamp on that. From legalinsurrection.com]

11:05 Why are there no results from Holmes and Covington Counties? "Election fraud?" Mr. Big Food asks. If you don't know the Mississippi landscape, you may not understand that question. 

11:00 Fascinating. All of a sudden everyone in the national punditry is an expert on Mississippi voting rules. Run-off? 

10:43 95.4% reporting. 1400 votes. 

10:30 Still waiting on Holmes and Covington. Claiborne went for Thad, 161 to 112. Now about a 1300 vote lead. 

10:22 I've been taking a few hand written notes as I'm watching. Fewer than 2000 votes separate them and two large counties have yet to report: Holmes and Covington. 91.9% of precincts have reported. 

10:15 Ponotoc County went for Thad-- but only by 150 votes. He's about 3000 behind now. 

9:59 Here I am sitting in front of my computer looking at the Clarion Ledger "live" election results. I flip to another screen, come back and what do you know? McDaniel takes the lead.

Recipe: Carrot Top Stock

In the comments, suek writes:

Carrot top soup?? More info, please! 

We have a veggie stand about a half mile down the road. If we stop in to buy something like beets, the clerk always asks "do you want me to take the tops off?"..... NO...absolutely not....thank you. We have the beet greens for dinner that night (they don't hold very well). The beets themselves will hold way longer. 

I've never thought about using carrot tops - other than feeding them to the horses. I'm guessing ... add onions, chicken broth, salt pepper and ???? maybe celery?

Before we get to the carrot tops, let's remember that beet greens = Swiss chard. It's the same plant. One's been selected-- think Gregor Mendel-- for roots, the other for vegetative growth. 

I cannot for the life of me grow beets. But I can grow beet greens.

And now to the carrot tops.


Carrot top stock is rich. In my humble opinion, it rivals beef stock in complexity-- but is of course vegan. As Miss M notes, it has a suggestion of ginger with respect to the aroma. Color-wise, it resembles weak beef stock. (That would be real beef stock, not something made from a cube.) 

RINOs of America UNTIE | UPDATE!

Okay. That's a joke. I think the original T-shirt read, "Bad spellers of America Untie."

From Y'all Politics:

One endorsement is usually not enough to move the needle in a campaign. However, when taken in totality, endorsements often provide a very clear picture of where the battle lines are drawn in a contested race. There is no clearer example of that than the race between Thad Cochran and Chris McDaniel.

It goes on to list the endorsements the two clowns candidates running for the United States Senate-- you know, that great deliberative body-- have garnered. 

Cochran has the NRA. McDaniel has Gun Owners of America. 'Nuff said. But if you need a good laugh this morning, go check out both lists. 

UPDATE:
Aggie comments:

I'm writing in my dog.

OH MY GOODNESS!!

I got a personal phone call from Sarah Palin today! No S&^%!! Sarah P@Lin call3d m3 t0d@y!!!!!

~~

The phone has been ringing off the hook this weekend.

"Hey! I'm Some State Senator you've never heard of from Winona! I am proud to be a member of Mississippi Conservatives-- a group of Cochran ass ki88ers that sprang into existence about 36 hours ago. ... "

Every single person who is making fun of this Senate primary race is right to do so. This is Mississippi politics at its finest.

Laugh Out Loud.

"They don't smell like this in the grocery store," said Miss M.

"No. No they don't," said I. 

I pulled carrots today. I rinsed the dirt off in the outdoor sink and moved them inside.

Miss M took it from there.

She sorted the carrots into 'salad' and 'cooking' piles according to the 'peel' criteria-- if it's too small to peel... .  She then cut off the tops, rinsed them once more-- Miss M does not care for dirt-- and placed the tops into the gumbo pot along with some parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme & onion so I could simmer a few quarts of carrot top stock. We love carrot top stock. 

So for a few hours in mid-day, the kitchen smelled liked homegrown carrots. 

And then it smelled like pumpkin. 

I've begun this story in the middle of things-- for you literary  folk, that's in medias res. Earlier in the day, Mr Big Food & I had rectified his records with the true inventory of my freezer that I'd conducted a few days ago. We discovered 3 2 pounds of mashed pumpkin from last year. We used one pound today to make pumpkin pound cake. 

Like sucks, don't you know?

Later on it smelled like citrus and chicken and peppers. We still have 9 5 whole halves of pepper halves for stuffing from 2012!!!! And so we had a delightful chicken dish with an orange, onion, herb topping. It was good. And peppers stuffed with shredded carrots and whatnot.

Here's the funny thing. I've noticed-- though I can't point to any specific reference-- that other folks who garden do what we did today. The veggie freezer is pretty empty right now. It's a good time to tidy it up, take stock, and consume the last of yesteryear's harvest. 

And begin again! 

Mayfest Meanderings

So one thing led to another today and we wound up at Mayfest-- a celebration of the founding anniversary of a little town down the road.

As a GRIT, this offended Miss M. Here's my counter: Look how fat that's lady's thighs are! She's trying real hard to be Southern. 

And then we stopped in at the junk/"antique" stores on our way home.

WE SCORED.

This is real wood. Not that flimsy teaky stuff.

:-) Life is weird. 

We already have this. And Miss M has more.

Picnic!

Sausage, Peach, Cherry, Pepper

Repeat.

Serve with 

potato salad.

One of the strangest potato salad recipes I've ever seen. You boil the potatoes in the skins, peal, and toss with 1/4 C apple cider vinegar. Separately, while the potatoes are soaking up the apple cider vinegar, you cut up celery, onion, etc. and toss them with mayo-based dressing. Mr. Big Food used the Thousand Island we've been having on our salads. 

And then you combine it all.

Delicious. 

2-4-6-8 Who do we appreciate?

We've had some rain and cooler weather so I've been opening the windows in the Den the last few evenings.

Missy does love to look out the window.

Occasionally, something on the wind will capture her attention 

and she will signal to Rocky that he should come running & pay attention, too.

And then he gets bored and hops back up on the bed b/c he doesn't smell anything.

"Please forgive me, but I've had quite enough."

"'Enough' of what, Missy?"

"Well. You know. I know Rocky has a job."

"That's right. His job is to guard the joint. He is a Vicious Pit Bull."

"RUFF."

"But you know what? I am trying to have a job, too. I am trying to guard the joint, too, Marica! Pardon me for being so bold, but you have no idea how many evil vicious smelly things there are out there wandering around your garden."

"ruff."

"I know. There are armadillos and possums."

"Do you know how foul-- is that the right word? Fowl? they smell?"

"No."

"And all the while I am trying to guard your vegetables from these evil... ."

"ruff."

"And I bark in my robust bark and you think it's cute... .  I quit. You don't appreciate the danger I signal. You don't appreciate the work I do. I am under appreciated. I quit. I am just gonna be a fat and lazy dog like that dawg on heyhaw."

"Oh! No! Please don't quit, Missy."

.... 

"Mr. Big Food saved some of the fat from that roast for you."

"Ummm."

"R.U.F.F."

To My Dear Husband: The Quest

The book, whose inscription has garnered a fair amount of attention here on the blog, is The New Quest by Rufus M. Jones (1928).

Jones was a Quaker:

Rufus Jones (writer) 

Rufus Matthew Jones (January 25, 1863 – June 16, 1948) was an American writer, magazine editor, philosopher, and college professor. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Haverford Emergency Unit (a precursor to the American Friends Service Committee). One of the most influential Quakers of the 20th century, he was a Quaker historian and theologian as well as a philosopher. He is the only person to have delivered two Swarthmore Lectures.

This particular book was discarded by the Sanders Memorial Library of Clarke College, Newton, Mississippi and somehow made its way to the Palmer Thrift Shop in Starkville, Mississippi where I purchased it for $0.50. (Books are 1/2 price lately.)

We should all be Quakers. 

May Mrs. Thomas Lockhart and her Dear Husband rest in peace knowing that her Christmas gift to him has at last found a deserving home.

Must be a theme

Blue skies everywhere!

Double Nickel Farm, New Mexico

Framboise Manor, Nova Scotia

To My Dear Husband UPDATED AGAIN! AND AGAIN

Can you make this out? 

Clearly a Christmas gift. 

UPDATE:

Thanks, Aggie!

To My Dear Husband

Whose constantly reaching out into new quests enriches our lives and brings us richer life forever. 

Doris ? Lockhart

UPDATE 2

judydee suggests in the comments that it's "Mrs. Thomas Lockhart." That looks right to me. It was 1928. Married women did refer to themselves as "Mrs."

UPDATE 3

Mr. Big Food's Dad weighs in via email:

"I think it says ... and brings us richer life experience(s)..."

Recipe: Dilly Casserole Bread

Served with Salad Nicoise

DILLY CASSEROLE BREAD

2 1/2 - 3 C flour
2 T sugar
2-3 t minced onion
2 t dill seed
1 1/4 t salt
1/4 t soda
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 C (8 oz.) cottage cheese
1/4 C water
1 T butter
1 egg
butter, softened
course salt, if desired

In large bowl combine 1 C flour, sugar, onion, dill seed, salt, soda, and yeast. In saucepan, heat cottage cheese, water, and 1 T butter until very warm. Add warm liquid and egg to flour mixture. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, mix in remaining 1 1/2 - 2 C flour to form a stiff dough. 

Cover. Let rise in a warm place until double in size about 45-65 mins.

Punch down. Turn into greased-- not oiled-- round casserole dish. Cover. Let rise until double in size... . About 30-40 mins. 

It's bread, for crying out loud. 

Bake at 350. 

Recipe: Salad Nicoise

This recipe calls for "2 quarts torn, mixed salad greens" which we have times infinity -1. (Because it's nonsensical to multiply infinity. We have a lot of lettuce.)

It's an old favorite recipe

from an old favorite cookbook-- now falling apart-- that I've had since before the Girls were born.

It is the vinaigrette that hold everything together. So it's not so much a recipe for a salad as it is an inspiration. Note the carrots-- nowhere to be seen in the recipe- but I pulled them and marinated them. Two weeks from now-- after this evening's rain-- the canned beans will be replaced by fresh. 

SALAD NICOISE

Vinaigrette Dressing

3/4 C salad oil
3/4 C tarragon white wine vinegar
1/4 C chopped green onion
2 T snipped fresh parsley
2  t salt
1 t dry mustard
1 t sugar
1/2 t tarragon crushed

Salad

16 oz. can cut green beans, drained
2 quarts torn, mixed salad greens
2 tomatoes, sliced
2-3 hard cooked eggs, cut into wedges
6 1/2 oz can white tune, drained
3-4 anchovy fillets, drained [OMIT]
3-4 slices salami or summer sausage, cut into strips
1/2 C ripe olives
1 C tiny whole pickled beets, drained.

Combine first nine ingredients in container with tight cover. Shake well. Pour 1/2 C over beans. Marinate 1 hour, chilling thoroughly. Toss salad greens with enough dressing to coat; place on two large platters, Drain marinated beans.; arrange on salad greens with remaining ingredients.

TIP: Select a combination of 3 salad greens from...

[That's not a problem!]

Capers, artichoke hearts, green pepper strips or strips of boiled ham are also good in this salad.

~~
Serve with Dilly Bread.

Please excuse me a moment...

O. M. G.

Are you kidding me? The Supreme Court has been fallible since forever, i.e., since the great jurist John Marshall-- who was jolly but slovenly-- set the tone.

And what is with the unit of analysis here? "The Court?" As if the Court is an entity not comprised of individuals?

Please do excuse the interruption. Via Instapundit.com, this just hit me wrong. 

Quick Kitten Update

[Because I know you're only humoring me when you pretend to care about history and crappy old books and such.]

Yesterday morning only two kittens were in the box. We didn't see hide nor hair of the mamma. Miss M set out a bowl of cat food topped with a spoonful of tuna. We checked on them periodically throughout the day and gave them a dropper full of water later in the evening. 

We were prepared to go into full-on kit* rescue mode this morning if necessary. Zero kits this morning but the food bowl was empty.

There have since been two sightings of mamma in or near the garage. AND the food bowl is again empty. 

So... . The kits are around here somewhere and Miss M is doing her best to see that the mamma is well-fed.

*"Kits" because the mamma can apparently read. She put them in the old packing box marked "kit."

supper