Recipe: Blue Bonnet Café Meatloaf

Meatloaf--

with salad, homemade French bread, and mashed potatoes (not pictured)

Served at the Blue Bonnet Café in Marble Falls, Texas, every Wednesday 

BLUE BONNET CAFÉ MEAT LOAF 

2 lbs lean hamburger meat 
1 slice white bread torn into pieces OR ½ C cracker crumbs 
2 eggs, beaten 
½ C onion, chopped 
½ C chopped green pepper 
1 Tbsp A-1 steak sauce 
1 tsp celery salt 
½ tsp pepper 
3 slices bacon 

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix together all ingredients except bacon. Pour into greased loaf pan and top with bacon slices. Bake 45 minutes. Pour Sauce over and bake 15 minutes longer or until meat loaf is done. 

SAUCE 

Recipe: Pork Roast III

Fork tender

“Serve with dumplings and sauerkraut.”

PORK ROAST III
2 lbs (about) pork roast (“You can make pork roast with skin or without. The best piece of pork is with the tenderloin. You can also use pork shoulder.”), washed, salted to taste, sprinkled with a large pinch caraway seed

Ladle of water or soup stock (the latter preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section)

Pork hock or foot (optional) (“to get a tasty gravy, you can roast a pork hock or foot with the pork”)

Salt (if necessary)

Preheat oven to 350°. If cooking a roast with skin put in roaster first skin-side down. Add a ladle of water or soup, and roast, basting frequently. Roast covered for the first half of roasting time and uncovered for the second half. Turn meat over after about 1 hour roasting time. “You can also simmer on top of the stove for awhile and then place in oven.” “If you are making a pork roast with the skin, after about 1 hour, cut skin into quarters. Sprinkle with salt and let skin brown and get crispy.”

Civility, con't

Isn't this silly?

I mean really-- look at all of those dishes I'm going to have to do by hand tomorrow morning. And whose bright idea was it to think that when folks arrive home from school & work they'd want to just hang around a table and nibble and chat before they dress for dinner? What a crappy old idea.

But go figure! They seemed to enjoy it. (And I won't really mind doing those few dishes.)

Recipe: Vanilla Cream Pie

Pie.

Not the prettiest photo, and the crust fell. But it's a danged good pie!

VANILLA CREAM PIE

One pie crust, baked and cooled
large can evaporated milk
2 egg yolks
1 C sugar
4 Tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a saucepan, blending well. Stir in egg yolks, vanilla, and milk, mixing well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens into a custard. (This tends to happen all of a sudden.) Pour custard into cooked baked pie shell, cool, and then refrigerate uncovered.

What an Oblique Word!

When Mr. Obama announced that he was not made "directly" aware of the impending failure of the Unaffordable-If-You-Don't-Like-It-Too-Bad-Act, he was was speaking with obliquity.

--A. Leland

The obliquity of contemporary politics, although reprehensible, is a deliberate product of the Corporate State.

--Mr. Big Food

The obliquity of his answer to my question tipped me off to his insecurity on the subject.

--Daughter C

The obliquity of his explanation for the failure of his program served to only further convince us he was a charlatan.

--Marica

Forever Encouraged

Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government, the preservation of liberty, and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged in this state.

Mississippi Constitution, 1817, Art. VI, Sec. 16

from Chapter 13, "Education in Mississippi from Statehood to the Civil War," in A History of Mississippi Volume I (Richard Aubrey McLemore, ed., University & College Press of Mississippi, Jackson, 1973, p. 352).

Curses

Oh. My. I'm just re-reading our sentences from this evening. Upon reading A. Leland's, I remembered his comment that it might not be suitable for posting.

Ah. Far be it from me to censor A. Leland or any one else-- although I'll add a comma or two.

It will, I hope, be taken as no imprecation if I borrow a page from Alex Baldwin's portfolio and condemn all of the liberal sackhounds grovelling beneath the groin of progressivism to hell.

--A. Leland

His hatred for his sworn enemy was so ingrained that the imprecation he muttered on his grave [deathbed?] was expected.

--Mr. Big Food

The weather has become an imprecation on the whole farming community.

--Miss M

Alexander Hamilton's influence on our founding documents was a lasting imprecation on our liberty.

--Marica

I do not like Alexander Hamilton, the "brat bastard of a Scotch peddler." 

No offense to Scotch peddlers. It was John Adams who described Hamilton thusly. I've yet to uncover the reasons that explain how the Jamaican-born brat bastard came to have so much influence over G. Washington and others.

Hey! Smarty Pants!

I'll remind readers that this is not a political blog. But we do love us some good crappy old fashioned grammar here on the Farm. So let me help you out, Mr. Smarty Pants Secretary of Education, and do some editing for you.

Regarding parents' opposition to "Common Core," you said:

white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.

Should be:

white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — discover their child isn’t children aren't as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t schools aren't quite as good as they thought they were.

It's called AGREEMENT. Sheeeze.

Civilized Human Beings

You may recall that Mr. Big Food proposed we dine like civilized critters.

Yes. Those are saucers, not bread & butter plates. You make due with what you have.

Such fun! I've moved the little CD player into the dining room. Who knew Daughter C had such a stack of classical music?

We supped on potato soup and talked.

"I think I'd rather die and go to hell and face the devil... "

Words first. Story afterward.

Genuine pathos requires tragedy-- the non-participation of the agent in his or her misfortune, tough circumstances alone don't suffice.

--Mr. Big Food

A sense of pathos is the sole accompaniment of the sentiment of disgust I feel watching msnbc.

--A. Leland

It has been made abundantly clear over the course of the semester that [Miss M] harbors no pathos for Hester Prynne.

--Daughter C

"Id' be better off in a pine box, on a slow train back to Georgia," invoked such pathos in Max and me that we convinced [Mr. Big Food] to not delete the duplicate copy on the Redneck Collection.

--Marica

As long time readers know, the Redneck Collection-- a set of 50+ CDs filled with, well, redneck music, writ large, that Mr. Big Food has been putting together over the last 10 or so years, maybe more-- is always in the background. It's more than Country/Western. It's American music. We know these songs. Together with show tunes from the 50s, gospel hymns, The Beatles, The Who, The Dead, a little Credence, some Phish, and Charlie Brown songs we know, they comprise Our Family Song Library.

Early on, Mr. Big Food put Doug Stone's I'd Be Better Off on the Redneck Collection. It's hard to have a favorite from among these many many songs. But I've always liked this one. I remember commenting to Max that I thought this was the most pathetic song on the collection-- "pathetic" in the Greek sense of pathos. 

Through some series of events no one can quite recreate, the exact same song, same version, was duplicated on The Collection. This is against the Redneck Collection rules. Same songs are allowed-- how many version of Poncho & Lefty are there?-- but not identical same songs. Except for this one. As I recall, it took both Max and I to twist Mr. Big Food's leg to allow this song to be identically duplicated.

I cannot remember what arguments we put forth. But if we're randomly selecting songs, this one has a 2/n chance of being played. That's all we wanted. Just an increased chance to hear it.

FYI-- the saddest song is the one that chronicles the path from Hillbilly Heaven to Honkytonk Hell. And the most poignant is of course, June & Johnny's Waiting on the Far Side Banks of Jordan:

I'll Admit My Steps Are Growing Wearier Each Day
Still I've Got A Certain Journey On My Mind
Lures Of This Old World Have Ceased To Make Me Want To Stay
My One Regret Is Leaving You Be-hind

If It Proves To Be His Will That I Am First To Cross
And Somehow I've A Feeling It Will Be
When It Comes Your Turn To Travel Likewise Don't Feel Lost
For I Will Be The First One That You'll See

"Genuine pathos requires tragedy... ."

"Thank you, dear. You saved my life!"

Now, call me skeptical, but I don't think the nice little old lady would really have departed for the Great Beyond right there in aisle 8 of the Dollar General had I not shown her where the spray starch was located and reached up on the top shelf to get her a bottle. But I could be wrong. Perhaps her husband was threatening her over his limp collars. One never knows.

In other local news:

(Do not click to continue if you do not want to see a photo of a dead animal.)

Protection I Can Get Behind

Under the aegis of the 2nd Amendment, I carry my sidearm with me wherever I go.

--Marica

It's a crying shame that Sweetheart's puppies could not prosper under her aegis, instead of being turned over to their "father."

--Daughter C

Under the aegis of his genuine courage and practical wisdom, the Aristotelean virtuous agent is capable of exhibiting justice toward others.

--Mr. Big Food

King Arthur always traveled under the the aegis of his own banner.

--A. Leland

#1? Really?

Not from where I was sitting.

Aside from the tailgate-- which was very good-- the game was a complete bust.

Imagine having a team that's destined to go 4-8 and having the opportunity to see the #1 team in the nation. At 4-5 the excitement is long gone for State But, Alabama! Should be fun, right? 

Wrong.

State's now 4-6. Bama's now 10-0. And we are home. 

And that's it for me for college football this year except for from the comfort of my own home. 

There is one more home game. The Egg Bowl against Ole Miss on Thanksgiving evening. I have made a stand. I will not let ESPN dictate to me the traditions I will enjoy on Thanksgiving. 

Who ever heard of such a thing? Going to a college football game Thanksgiving evening? Because ESPN wants to make it a television tradition?

Dinner Games

"Why thank you, my dear Miss M. I do so appreciate your affection. I was just reading a bit about manners and the enjoyment of a fine meal. I know my behavior of late has been... shall I say, less than admirable. So sorry about that pork chop, by the way. I gave into temptation. It will never happen again. You have my word! Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to reading what Emily has to say about the napkin."

Mr. Big Food proposed to me today! He proposed we begin enjoying our evening meals at the dining table. I accepted! All are invited to join us, but participation is strictly voluntary.

Now that the Still Summer Season is over and we're no longer dining on the patio, we've fallen into the habit of eating in the living room-- with the television on. Disgraceful. I know. So I welcomed Mr. Big Food's proposal.

Tonight I set the table. We enjoyed a fine meal of a delicious Tex-Mex pork loaf served with salsa made from tomatillos and green tomatoes (picked right before the freeze) and fresh cilantro,  cleared the table, and chatted. We had a raucous discussion about 'Pilgrims' vs. 'Puritans' 

and then the conversation turned to table manners.

And games. How can they turn dining etiquette and enjoyment of good food into a game? They kicked around a lot of good ideas about readings and quizzes and point scoring. And comprehensive exams. 

It will be a short game, played at Sunday Supper. Each of us will "host" one play. 

It's been agreed there will be no meal police. Shouts of, "A. Leland's elbows are on the table! He looses points!!" have no place in the enjoyment of a fine meal.

More details to come.

Sad But True

There's a flea market in town. Not an organized, every one has a booth type, but the type that springs up in vacant lots and attracts old pickups filled with clothes and baby stuff and tattered paperbacks and boiled peanuts. I don't know what possessed me to stop in the other day-- I rarely do.

I found one of those compilations of reproduced newspaper front pages that's published as a commemorative after the occasion of a memorial event. HISTORY OF THE WAR IN FRONT PAGES. As I had recently reviewed some of the history of the war... . $3. What the heck?

And then I spied three or four boxes of non-paperback books on the ground. I knelt down to look over them-- not expecting much-- and the young fellow comes over to tell me they're all a quarter. We chat. He asks me if I know about old books. "A little bit," I say.

Do I know who L.M. Alcott was? Little Women. Blank stare. He has a book signed by her. Really? He digs it out and begins to read 

"To the many boys and girls"

but that's as far as he gets because she has terrible handwriting. He points to "1874." I show him where the book was published in... MCM ... L... VIII... 1958. That's probably a picture of her original dedication. 

And so it goes as he asks me about other authors-- he has a Shakespeare collection. He shows me a book published in 1895. Aren't first editions more valuable? How long would it take me to read that book? Well. It was a translation of one of the Dumas' Celebrated Crimes volumes-- so more than a week, for sure.

He thinks it's a shame-- that people don't keep these old books. Or worse, that they let them get ruined. 

He offers me all of the boxes for $20. No. I can't. He understands. 

What's up with this guy? He told me he'd gotten a lot of the books by buying the contents of someone's shed. But clearly, he's looked at them. He's not going to get rich selling books for a quarter. But he's not going to toss them out, either.

The whole experience left me feeling rather sad.

No, Nancy. That's NOT what you do.

“At the beginning of every Congress we take an oath of office to protect and defend — that’s our first responsibility. It’s an honor to take that oath, but I’m ashamed to be here to face all of you not having finished the job yet,” said in her opening remarks.

“We must be relentless in how we pursue this, how we protect and defend the American people. In the two decades since the Brady Bill was signed into law, over two million gun requests did not get approved. Imagine: it stopped two million illegal gun purchases and helped protect millions of Americans from the incomprehensible tragedy felt by all of you here today,” she added.

(All of it here. My emphasis)

Let me set you straight on a little something, Nancy. You take an oath to protect and defend THE CONSTITUTION. How stupid do you think I am? I have the in-ter-net. I can check these things, you know.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

And just to refresh your memory, Nancy, here's what part of the Constitution of the United States of American says:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Got it? Now sit down and shut up like a nice old lady.

Live Long & Prosper!

Her longevity was threatened by the leprechaun who was thought to be chimerical.

--Miss M

Given that it was her only potential virtue, her longevity may have, in the end, been her chief vice.
--A. Leland

 Who you talkin' 'bout?

We attributed Suzy's longevity to a daily dose of baby aspirin and 1000mg of glucosamine piled atop a pile of people food.

--Marica

The classic nature & universal relatability account for the The Peanuts' longevity.

--Daughter C

"Longevity is over-rated"-- John Belushi

--Mr. Big Food

Recipe: Cottage Cheese Apple Pie

About to go in the oven

Just removed from the oven

I must say, this is one excellent pie. Trust me, I just had a slice.

COTTAGE CHEESE APPLE PIE
Makes 1 deep 9-inch pie

1 1/2 C apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin
2 eggs
1/2 C cottage cheese
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C heavy cream
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pie shell

Preheat oven to 450°. Cover bottom of uncooked pie shell with apples. Beat eggs slightly, add cottage cheese, 1/2 C sugar, cream and salt. Mix remaining 1/4 C sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over apple slices. Cover apple slices with egg-cottage cheese mixture, and bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake 30 minutes longer or until set.

Yea!

The lettuce made it though the night!

Updates are they become available.

(Cozy) Fire in the Hole!

Cozy Cloche (Search for it. You can buy them.)

I have probably two dozen or more heads of lettuce in a couple of above-ground planters. Being above ground means the lettuce isn't terribly affected by a mild Spring or Fall frost. But the forecast low for tonight is 25°F. 

We've been enjoying our salads, and I'm bound and determined to have a huge, fresh green salad for Thanksgiving. So today, I spent some time preparing the lettuce for a cold night. Mid-morning, I tucked them in the closed clothes. My thinking was that the micro-environment would get fairly warm. I opened a couple and I was right. Despite the cold wind, once the sun came out, it was noticeably warmer inside than out.  Around 4pm, I covered them all with blankets, etc. to retain the heat. 

Although sorely tempted, I didn't check the temperatures after dark. I'm hoping that the inside temperatures were elevated significantly above today's ambient temperature, and that by covering them before they started to loose heat, they'll retain enough-- and loose heat slowly enough-- to keep the micro-environment above freezing. That's my thinking. I'll let you know tomorrow if I have lettuce or planters of mush.

Meanwhile, I started a fire to welcome Daughter C and Miss M home on this frigid Fall day.

There's a hole in this log. The hole is on fire.

 "Fire in the hole!" Miss M shouted.

In other significant Farm news, Mr. Big Food is done cutting for 2013. He put his records away after announcing that he'd done more cutting this year than last.

Now. The thought occurs that we're not going to be spending a significant amount of time outside for a couple of months.

What shall we do with our time?? With ourselves!! 

I'm sure we'll think of something. 

Stay tuned.