#sorryloseryou | UPDATED

We like nice things here at the Farm. We appreciate the aesthetically pleasing, especially at Christmastime. And this, my Dear Friends, is not among the nice, aesthetically pleasing, things.

Don't worry. I'm not going to talk about youknowwhat. This isn't a political blog.

Let us begin by considering the green. I like forest green. But this particular shade or hue or whatever is not a good forest green. It's far too dull.

Next, look at the contrast between the Jammie's red jammies and the red throw (?) on the arm of the couch. Y.U.C.K. And that little pillow of cream with the splash of turquoise? Seriously? That's either a leather or faux leather couch and I'd bet it's about the size of ours. That pillow is way too small and just doesn't go. It offends. How about some Christmas pillows?

The mug. That's the best you can do? Boooorrrring. 

Look at the string of lights, and the shadows of the walls. This really looks like it was shot in someone's apartment, doesn't it? The entrance to the hallway leading to two bedrooms and a bath is behind Jammie's head. The horizontal swag of lights defines an archway behind which is probably the dining/kitchen area. (Is that an out of focus vent in the center of the arch?)

If this is someone's apartment, it would explain the dopy pillow, wouldn't it? But why are there no pictures on the walls? Where is the end table with the lamp? How about a Norfolk Island pine against that wall on the left?

Here's the implication. Jammie is "home" for Christmas and is supposed to talk to his friends & family whose home this supposedly is. Unless Jammie went home to his unemployed bachelor brother's barren apartment, I'm not buying it. 

Furthermore, if this is where the creator of this little ditty lives, and if this is how you think the rest of us live, I'm not buying any of it you #sorryloseryou.  

UPDATE: Funny stuff here.

Fall & Winter Soup Contest Entrant #4: Beer Cheese Broccoli Soup

This is a sorry photograph. I apologize for the glare.

Entrant #4 in our 2013/14 Fall & Winter Soup Contest is Beer Cheese Broccoli Soup. I'm not entirely sure that's its official name, you can transpose Beer Cheese & Broccoli any way you choose.

This soup presented something of a little dilemma. It was, in fact, the first entrant in the original Fall & Winter Soup Contest. We have rules about such things. And I was over-ruled. So it stands. This Soup gets a 2nd chance.

It's a good little soup. The homemade bran bread augmented it. 

In my humble opinion, it is not a contest winner. We did this once already. It didn't win last time, either. 

But it's a good soup.

SCOREBOARD:

Daughter C: 1st place #4 (this soup); 2nd place #1
A. Leland:  1st place #4 (this soup); 2nd place #1
Mr. Big Food: 1st place #4 (this soup); 2nd place #3
Me: 1st place #1; 2nd place #4

The bread was good.

I Ain't Blaming Ya

Oh what profound ignorance doth exonerate our mighty president.

--A. Leland

We commented that this might be one of A. Leland's shortest sentences.

He didn't give her a chance to exonerate him-- he called her back straight away to apologize.

--Daughter C

To err is human, to exonerate, divine.

--Mr. Big Food

Having learned of the circumstances under which he answered her call, she was willing to exonerate him for being so brusque.

--Saint Marica

Recipe: Venison Black Bean Crock Pot Chili

One danged good chili; after about two hours of slow-cooking, there was no denying we were having chili for supper

FYI: 'Venison' comes from the Latin, venari: to hunt

VENISON BLACK BEAN CROCK POT CHILI  

2 pounds venison, chili meat or roast cut up in 1 inch cubes 
1 packet chili seasonings 
2 tsp chili powder (preferably Pure—see instructions in Basics section) 
1 tsp garlic powder 
1 tsp cumin 
1 large onion (white or yellow), chopped coarse 
2 15 oz cans black beans, drained 
1 14 ½ oz chili-style chopped tomatoes with juice (can use canned, undrained) 
1 can Ro*tel
1 6 oz can tomato paste 
1 16 oz refried beans 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
Sour cream 
1 bunch green onions, sliced 
1 C shredded cheese (any variety) 

Brown venison and onion in skillet. Stir in chili seasoning, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Turn the crock pot on low and stir in venison mixture, beans, stewed tomatoes, and Ro*tel. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 hours. Uncover and stir in tomato paste, refried beans and salt and pepper. Serve, garnished with sour cream, green onions and cheese.

Recipe: Spicy Deer Burgers with Lime Mayo

Spicy Deer Burgers

with Lime Mayo

--> SPICY DEER BURGERS WITH LIME MAYO  8 burgers 

1/3 C mayonnaise (preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section)
1 tsp lime juice 
1 tsp Dijon mustard (preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section) 
1/2 tsp grated lime peel 
2 lbs ground venison 
1/3 C green onions, sliced fine 
2 Tbsp jalapeno peppers, chopped fine 
1 egg 
Salt and pepper, to taste 
8 oz sliced Pepper Jack cheese 
8 good burger buns 
Lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced red onion (for garnish) 

Soak 2-3 hickory chunks in water for 1 hour prior to putting on grill. In small mixing bowl combine mayonnaise, lime juice, mustard and lime peel. Cover and chill. In large mixing bowl combine ground venison, onion, jalapeno peppers, beaten egg, and salt and pepper. Mix well and shape into eight patties and refrigerate. Start charcoal in grill and burn down until gray. Add hickory chunks to hot coals. Grill burgers on sprayed grill 15-18 minutes or until done to your liking. (Try to turn the burgers only once or twice during grilling.) Top each burger with Pepper Jack cheese slice during last 5 minutes of grilling time. Toast buns on grill. Put a lettuce leaf on bottom bun. Add burger and cheese. Top with tomato slice, red onion slice, and a dollop of lime mayo. Serve top bun next to burger on plate.

Recipe: Cream of Lima Bean Soup and Kidney Bean Variation (veganizable)

This was entrant #3 in our fall & Winter Soup Contest. Thoughts on the soup-- which we called 'Creamy Bean' for short-- here. More on the Soup Contest here.

CREAM OF LIMA BEAN SOUP AND KIDNEY BEAN VARIATION
Serves 4 to 6

2 ½ C canned or cooked lima beans, cooked covered in water just to cover plus 1 quart additional cold water, rubbed through a sieve with cooking water  
2 Tbsp fat 
1 small onion, diced 
¼ C carrot, peeled, diced 
2 Tbsp flour 
1 tsp salt 
½ tsp pepper 
½ tsp paprika 
Dash Tabasco 
2 C milk, scalded 
Chopped watercress 

Melt fat in saucepan, add onion and carrot, and cook for 5 minutes. Blend in flour, salt, pepper, paprika, and Tabasco to make a smooth roux, and add to bean mixture. Add milk and heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Serve hot garnished with watercress.

KIDNEY BEAN SOUP VARIATION 
Substitute canned or cooked kidney beans for lima beans.

Recipe: Carrot Casserole I

Ready to go into the oven

Ready to eat!

CARROT CASSEROLE I  

4 C carrots, peeled, sliced, cooked, and drained 
1 medium onion, chopped 
3 Tbsp butter 
¼ tsp pepper 
10 ½ oz can condensed cream of onion soup 
1/3 C melted butter 
1 C shredded cheese 
2 C prepared stuffing, crumbled (see recipes in Stuffings section) 

Preheat oven to 350°. Fry onion in butter. Stir in soup, pepper, and cheese, combine with carrots, and pour into a greased casserole. Toss stuffing with melted butter and spoon over carrot mixture. Bake 20 minutes.

Time to go, Thad

Senators John Barasso of Wyoming, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Thad Cochran of Mississippi declined to say how they would be voting. 

Via a blurb at NRO's The Corner regarding the Ryan-Murry budget deal.

I have little doubt that Cochran declined because his office is still tabulating the wishes of those he represents. Stop laughing. I'm talking about his corporate sponsors, not the citizens of Mississippi.

Stolid. Stupid. Whatever. | Poor Blitzen

This word has changed. It used to mean stupid. Now it means slow to excite, a.k.a. stupid.

The stolid democrat insisted that if I like[d] my plan, I could keep my plan despite the fact that I had already lost it.

--A. Leland

The stolid, stupid old hound dog finally found a job on Hee Haw.

--Marica

Stolid fielders make poor third basemen.

--Mr. Big Food

Much to his disadvantage, Blitzen remained stolid during the chaos of our arrival home.

--Daughter C

Indeed. Blitzen got his legs knocked out from under him. (We blame Missy.) A. Leland set him upright. And in trying to situate him properly, I knocked him over again. And this time, he was down for the count. 

Vixen was spared from Missy's highjinx

Blitzen, on the other hand, is in the intensive care unit. He will require some reconstructive surgery.

Blitzen isn't "covered." Here at the Farm we tend to catastrophic injuries as they arise. Lose an antler? No prob. We won't deduct it. We'll just go get another. Need a leg-screw adjustment? Dr. Morton is happy to do that.

~~

"Marica?"

"Yes. Missy."

"I'm sorry." 

"Well, you should be, Missy. You ran into Blitzen. That wasn't very polite."

"I know. And I am sorry. I just thought that he might want to get into the fun of the game with the Rockster and I. We were having such fun."

"Ruff!"

"Missy. That's beneath you. You know Blitzen isn't an animate deer."

"ruff"

"I am a bit disappointed in you, Missy"

"I know. I am sorry."

"Well. We love you. A. Leland will bring Blitzen back to life. Go to bed now and sleep sweet dreams. No real harm done."

Money, money, money!

Those incapable of thinking beyond pecuniary concerns are worthy of spiteful disapprobation.

--Mike

I disapprove of Alex's handling of pecuniary issues.

--Marica

His objections were ostensibly pecuniary since he was not lacking in time or interest.

--Daughter C

To place a pecuniary value on friendship is to misunderstand its value altogether.

--A. Leland.

That's rich. 

Pecuniary concerns by government officials are mostly _____ for helping their corporate _____ .

--Mr. Big Food

Two words I can't decipher. If they come to me, I'll update. 

Sunday & Sunday Supper

Mr. big Food baked some cookies late afternoon. They were a comfort.

The Piglet was packed this morning. And we can't figure out why, although our collective money is on a mini-stimulus from the government.

Mr. Big Food and I spent $114 and change at the Piglet. The most decadent purchase was the six-pack of bottles of good Root Beer for $4.69. That is a waste and I know it. But you know what? Tomorrow when I eat my leftover deer burger with lime mayo & whathave you, I may wash it down with a root beer.

One of the people at the Piglet this morning was a little old lady. Mr. Big Food says he's seen her before and I can't imagine that if I had, I'd have forgotten. 

It was hard for me to get an idea of her age based on her face. But judging from her clothes, which were right nice!-- I'd put her at 65-75 (+/- 10, it really was that hard). She wore a longish purple skirt, and a redish embroidered jacket. And she carried a baby doll. At first glance, you want to believe this is a grandmother holding a baby. But it's a baby doll wrapped in a baby blanket which she holds close to her under one side of her beautiful jacket.

About twice a month, pecuniary considerations dictate that I go the to Dollar General after we finish up at the Piglet. $0.50 here & there adds up.

And sure enough, there she was again.

I got in line behind some folks who spent $97.00 on their weekly grocery store run. It is possible to buy a week's worth of groceries at the Dollar General, but I wouldn't recommend it. He was a skinny little fellow. Scrappy but skinny. He wasn't too nice to his wife. Decent. But not too nice. I'm betting he has a drug problem.

She was cute but 50+ overweight. Based on her bookkeeping ability, she's what's holding him together. The kid is destined to be fat.

Soda is cheap at the Dollar General. She bought five bags of Lays (R) chips-- all kinds of flavors. I can just imagine what might happen if we came home from the grocery with five bags of Lays (R) chips-- all kinds of flavors.

And some sugar for the kids' breakfasts. 

She paid for the cupcake paper cup things and the three DVDs out of her own money. The Government paid for the chips. 

Anyway-- we made it back to the Farm.

Roughing it with deer meat burgers

lime mayonaise

vegan grillers (C does not eat deer meat)

and sweet potato fried

For another view of "roughing it" see American Grouch. For the vegans/vegetarians, read his December posts.

Gastronomy

Redneck gastronomy reaches its zenith in The Big Food Manual and Redneck Survivalist Flourish Guide.

--Mr Big Food

Counter-intuitively, fasting can be instrumental in the study and pursuit of gastronomy.

--Mike

It seems to me that one's mastery of gastronomy involves one's understanding of where food comes from.

--Marica

Prehistoric gastronomy included reindeer hindquarters.

--Daughter C

Living on the Farm has been a genuine study in gastronomy; Rocky's Adventures under the table involve a different sort of study concerning the behavior of gasses.

--A. Leland

If you cut into my abdomen, you will see that I know a bit about gastronomy.

--Matt

-- Derek

Saturday Supper

Carrot Casserole I about to go into the oven

Daughter C made the best fire. Ever.

We used our imaginations.

And we did some 'hands-on' projects

Yes. That is broccoli raab you see in there. As we were enjoying our salads, A. Leland commented that he'd never eaten flowers before. OMG. The range of topics with which I disagree with A. Leland is vast. But I always thought we could agree that broccoli is a flower.

Photos of food below

More Western Culture

"The Annunciation" Arthur Hacker (1892)

"A very large part of the impressiveness of the original of this wonderful masterpiece, regarded by many as the most ethereally beautiful of the Annunciation paintings, is lost in half-tone reproduction." 


You can say that again! http://bigfoodetc.blogspot.com/2013/12/preserving-western-culture-one-50-cent.html

Christ and the Fine Arts Revised and Enlarged Edition: An Anthology of Pictures, Poetry, Music and Stories Centering in the Life of Christ. Cynthia Pearl Maus. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York and Evanston. 1959. 1938.

Christmas Tour: We Interupt the Christmas Tour to Take a Tour Through Christmas at Woodland, Mississippi

Woodland, Mississippi is an old fashioned Company Town which puts on a great light display at Christmas. Having been in Woodland in July, I suspect this doesn't take as much effort as you would at first think because I don't think they put away their Christmas lights. Nonetheless-- if you've never seen the display, it's worth seeing.

A. Leland has never seen the display. So in two cars-- connected by walkie talkies-- we went to check it out.

And before I post a Noah's Ark boat load of photos, I'll ask, "What did you do this evening?" Miss M is excused. I know what she did.

the approach

the entrance

Pretty

Daughter C took some pics, too.

"God Bless America, my home sweet home. Stand beside her, and guide her... "

Am I Going Two for Two?

"The warm front of a depression is probably on the way, so that the wind will increase and rain is likely later."

Who needs AccuWeather when you have a crappy old book?

From Instant Weather Forecasting, Alan Watts. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1968.