• Pick Your Own [1]

    From Ruth Haffly@1:396/45.28 to Dave Drum on Wed Feb 22 15:15:46 2023
    Hi Dave,


    We never had the gooseberries, don't know if they would grow in the
    area I grew up in or not. I've read about them, may have had them a
    time or two but haven't had the opportunity to do anything much with them--yet. (G)

    Gooseberries grow as far north as Maine - where they are/were outlawed
    as being an intermediary host to pine rust. How Stuff Works tells us:

    "Gooseberries are divided into two major groups: European (Ribes grossularia var. uva-crispa) and American (Ribes hirtellum). They are hardy fruits that thrive in cool, humid climates. Germany, Russia,
    Poland and Scandinavia typically grow gooseberries on large,
    commercial plantations, while gooseberries are often planted in
    smaller pick-your- own operations across the U.S. and Canada,
    according to Science Direct.

    From my own knowledge - gooseberries come in a full range of colours.
    The ones on our land were the green variety which are quite tart in
    the wild. Stupormarkup gooseberries are larger and insipid since they
    have
    been bred for shipping and shelf life.

    I've seen the green ones, never bought any. I'll try to remember to
    check out the farmer's market this spring/summer, see if I find any
    there.


    Title: Old Fashioned Gooseberry Pie
    Categories: Pastry, Fruits, Pies, Citrus
    Yield: 6 Servings

    Pie is the only recipe I've ever seen for using gooseberries. Would they
    be good in jam/preserves?

    ---
    Catch you later,
    Ruth
    rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


    ... A truly wise person knows that he knows not.

    --- PPoint 3.01
    * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)
  • From Ruth Haffly@1:396/45.28 to Dave Drum on Wed Mar 1 15:16:58 2023
    Hi Dave,

    That's how things evolve.

    Yes, and I've adapted enough recipies in my cooking lifetime, including
    my MIL's all purpose spaghetti (and other pastas, pizza, etc) sauce.

    I seldom (unless trying to duplicate a specific recipe) use a written recipe for making pasta dishes. Nearly all are "head arrangements".

    I used the basic recipe my MIL gave me for years, took probably a month
    or so of making it once a week to get it memorised. Then one afternoon
    (I let it cook several hours) I tossed in some canned, diced tomatoes
    and tomato sauce. Now I usually don't make it the same way twice in a
    row, just using what's on hand. Basic sauce it a 6 ounce can of tomato
    paste, 3 cans of water, teaspoon each of oregano, parsley, basil, salt
    (I cut that to about 1/4 tsp early on), and garlic powder plus about
    half a teaspoon of black pepper. Mix, heat to boil, reduce to low and
    cook 2-3 hours, stirring occaisionally. I also make a fresh veggie sauce
    but that's for another discussion.

    One time I had made some pestp using dandelion greens from the
    front DD> yard DD> and was having it with spaghetti noodles when a
    fried of Italian DD> descent dropped by. I fixed him a plate and he
    exclaimed "This is like DD> my old DD> grandmother used to make!"

    Who knew ... I just made it up as I went along.

    And his grandmother had probably done the same. (G)


    going strong. At our church's Super Bowl/chili cook off event I was talking with a couple of younger women about various things, among them cooking. Somehow sourdough was brought up; one woman said she'd never
    been able to keep a starter going, the other woman was interested in trying it. We trouble shot the first woman's problems and yesterday I
    gave both of them a jar of starter from ours, with care & feeding instructions. Got a text last night from one of them--she's planning to use it today.

    Never made sourdough anything. I have never seen anything so "special" about it. Been served sourdough breads, biscuits, etc. in restaurant settings .... and TBH, it's no big deal to me.

    We like it and it's fun to experiment with for baked goods. Steve made
    some biscuits with it this morning, fried up some country ham to go
    inside them, with a bit of Cabot's Seriously Sharp cheddar cheese. That,
    with a cup of strawberry yogurt and a cuppa tea made a nice breakfast
    for me.

    Blanch peaches by dipping in boiling water for 30-60
    seconds. Use a large slotted spoon and do 5 peaches at a
    time. Immediately remove peaches to a sink or bowl with
    ice water to stop the cooking.

    I usually put them in a bowl, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for a minute or so. Drain, peel and can or continue with recipe. I
    do tomatoes the same way.

    I have a big red graniteware pot with a mesh basket to fit it for
    those purposes. I haven't a bowl big enough to use for more than one
    or two pieces of fruit - with the pour over boiling water method.

    I've got bowls ranging in size from 2 cups to 16 quarts in stainless
    steel or aluminum. The 16 qt one we bought fairly early on in our
    married life; it even travelled to Germany with us when we had to take
    a basic kitchen. I generally use a 5 or 7 qt bowl to hold peaches or tomatoes for skinning; they hold a good number of fruit.

    Don't got any metal dinnerware. Except some souffle' boats I bought
    off of eBay for use as chilli bowls. All my metal vessels are
    cookware. I do have a 3 qt (ish) heavy serving dish I got as a
    "premium" from Coca Cola rewards points. And a larger diameter, short walled bowl of about the
    same capacity - but that one would not allow for covering fruits with boiling water.

    We used to have a mix of pyrex and metal bowls, decided to go all metal
    when one more of the pyrex ones broke. Down side is that I can't use
    the metal ones in the microwave.

    Bring the water back to a boil. Process for 30 minutes.

    Takes less time to pressure can so I usually do it that way.

    I don't do canning and my Mom and her Mom used a "Mary Dunbar" rig
    they got from the Jewel Tea route salesman. It looked very much like
    the one here - https://www.simplycanning.com/water-bath-canning/

    I've got a boiling water bath canner also; I'll check yours out and see how mine compares. Got ours some years ago after years of using just a stock pot with improvised rack.

    One of my stock pots came with a rack so that it could also be used as
    a "steamer." So far I've never used it for that purpose. And my
    rice/pasta steamer's heating element has burned out. So, I do rice in
    the nuker now. Using that big bowl I mentioned above.

    I have both a rice cooker and a (not name brand) instant pot to do rice.

    ---
    Catch you later,
    Ruth
    rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


    ... My mind is like a steel, uh... thingy

    --- PPoint 3.01
    * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)