Uncategorized – Planet Sue

4. February 2024

The flood is coming

There’s a belief amongst some biblical scholars that “Methusaleh”, the moniker of the putatively oldest man in recorded history, means “When he is dead, it shall come”. Why this matters? Some scholars believe that Methusaleh was on the side of “good”, and if he did, indeed, live to the grand old age of 969, he would have been alive just as the Great Flood of Reckoning began. If he was on the side on Good, however, he would not have been included in the dead of the flood. So it matters that he died before the flood.

What does this have to do with anything? Nothing really, but the Deer Mouse previously known as Mowcie Maus, having attained four years of age, earned the moniker Methuselah as a tribute to his advanced age. The oldest recorded deer mouse in captivity was about 6 years old. Most of these critters live to be about two years old. MM, or MMM, was 5 years and 4 months old (roughly) when his advanced age let him die in his sleep, surrounded by sweet grasses and oilseed sunflower seeds. Rescued by Jessa von Fabaceae, Waldkönigin, he outlived his rescuer by four months.

The Caustic one will miss watching him forage for food, and listening to him running up and down the metal ramp in his habitat at 2:00 AM. He was quite brilliant! He preferred corn on the cob, so CO grew various organic popcorns and dent corns in the little garden, producing just enough to supply MMM with clean local food. When the supply was not sufficient, organic popcorn cobs supplemented the diet. The cobs were completely cleared of kernels, with no damage to the cobs; when a cob was stripped, MMM pulled the empty cob out of his little house- box to let me know that another cob was required.

So now, I wait.

for the Flood.

of tears.

23. July 202223. July 2022

Scotch Egg?

After listening to a quest in which the Oxventurers’ companion Seal Gaimon chowed down on Scotch Eggs, and having seen Babish (of Binging with Babish Fame) make them, a craving for these deep-fried ‘delicacies’ has been growing. Actually, this craving started earlier than that, but finally, when presented with a sale package of pork with garlic and herbs at the grocer’s and tasty small eggs from one of the favorite local farmers, it became a need to try to make these.

Voila!

23. July 2022

Muggy day at the Farmers’ Market – 23 Jul

Some days feel much warmer and uncomfortable than the thermometer reading suggests. One cracked-open door small moment in anticipation of having Tea on the Balcony revealed that today was one of those days. As the beautiful green eyes of Posh Pasht looked up at the Caustic One, the door was quickly shut again, and apologies made to the Feline overlord. Not happening.

Also not happening was working on some of the garden beds this morning. And serious consideration into whether leaving the house at all, for anything, was even something that was worth the foray into the steam sauna.

Hm. What to do. M Planet really didn’t *need* anything at the Farmers’ Market. But the people, the smaller farmers, are nice to talk to. And after a week of very little Other Adult Human contact, that was more of a “need” than trading coupons for veggies. So after a cup of coffee and some muesli, the wet heat was braved.

Today’s stash was much greater than expected. By farmer:

Joyful Wren – these are the people whose hens lay the most beautiful eggs! Plus, they have small eggs, which are nice as ‘bundtei’ – boiled eggs. They also made some seriously delicious Scotch Eggs!! Today, they also had new potatoes. Those in the know, know that Potatoes are one of the Great Loves of M Planet (-:
Kountry Fresh / Koss Family Farms – the aquaculture gurus. Tilapia and two heads of Boston Bibb lettuce. Last week, the tilapia was poached in stout and cream, with garlic, onions, and Italian seasoning. The BB lettuce heads are small, and perfect for Salad for One.
Moore Family Farm – This week, a bunch of produce called out: pickles and dill – for ‘crock pickles’ (which, since the cracking of the crock pot, will be done in Large Weck Jars instead, or maybe Large Olive Jars, if there are any empty ones hiding in the pantry) – sadly, they will have to be made without grape leaves. The Old Settlement Cookbook from … oh, 100 years ago… calls for grape leaves under and on top of the pickles. They do add something marvelous to the flavor. Picked up some golden beets, although the leaves were not appealing, so no greens will be enjoyed from this batch – not sure if they will be cooked plain or grated into a nice summer salad with vinegar, salt, pepper, olive oil. The dining companion likes plain beets, but won’t touch the grated salad. Literally purchased a handful of green beans for dinner. Also a few red spring onions; these are lovely roasted with olive oil and herbs, or minced over salad. And finally, some breakfast sausage billed as “maple flavored”. Would like to think that means they have actual maple syrup in them.
Roth Countryside Produce had some beautiful bell peppers in pale yellow and lilac colors. Stuffed peppers will be had for dinner! These will not be rice filled, however – they will be filled with chicken prepared with maize flour a la tamale filling. Picked up a few red tomatoes as well, may make a tomato salad with one of the red onions from Moore Family Farms.
Meyer Produce had the most inviting Turkish eggplants! They are beautiful orange striped small things, but will probably make amazing Baba ghanouj. Also picked up an Asian melon called the Sun Jewel. It was a bit like a honeydew, with a pale interior. The seeds were all in the center, easily removed for saving. The melon had some spots that were more sweet than others, which was surprising. Also picked up some beautiful orange-yellow tomatoes.

So with all of these things now gracing the counter, some decisions will have to be made as to what edible delicacies will be made. At this very moment, however, the idea of baba ghanouj is gaining ground. This means, though, that either some crisp bread or pita will need to be made, as the conveyance upon which the deliciousness will “get in the stomach!”… although, baba ghanouj can also be used as a dip, and goes well with cucumbers. Hm. So many options.. so little time.

6. July 20226. July 2022

Musings on Müsli

Sometimes, it’s nice to just have a bowl of cereal for breakfast, or snack, or tea time. But most American cereals are so full of … stuff. So much sugar. So many other things. And while occasionally it’s nice to snack on those little pillows of wheat with frosting on one side, it’s just not a daily thing. Now that the temps in the middle of the corn-and-soybean fields are in the Why am I not much much much much much further North (as in, this week, 36 deg C –> body temp. Plus. Ick), cooking isn’t much fun.

Lots of places have mixes of cereals, nuts, fruits available, boxed or bagged for consumption. But they seem to mostly be quite sweet. One of the things that was learned in the past life in Europe was that hey! this stuff is easy to make. Some seeds and oats, a little yogurt atop (and oh boy, was there nice yogurt to be had), maybe some dried fruit… and one was all set. So it was decided to make up a batch. And then.. another batch, cuz for some reason the heat isn’t going anywhere but the first batch just vanished —-

M Planet has a lot of stuff in the house as a matter of “component needs”. This is partially because of parental units from the Great Depression always had food to survive on aplenty, and partly because M Planet likes to eat good food, and to eat good food on a budget, it’s best to make it oneself. This stuff doesn’t get used up quickly, so dried figs and apricots and the like are plentiful at the moment. Don’t want to have this stuff in the cupboard for years, either, so the decision to make Decadent Musli was made.

Toasted rolled oats, nuts, seeds combined with dried fruit – apricot, fig, plum, apple.

5. July 2022

For the love of a cat

Or, purposefully enslaving oneself to the whims of the Feline Overlords.

It’s no secret amongst those that know M Planet that cats are a huge part of The Life. Sometimes a bit of levity is exchanged, teasing, maybe even downright insults, as a result of this. When young, Slideman used to say that the Planet would probably end up living in a secluded area with a cathouse. No, the double entendre is not lost on MP, but there are also days when M Planet should have been a saxophone player in a whorehouse. This post is not about that.

The Current Queen of the House is Jessa von Fabaceae, Waldkönigin. Jessa is, as have been a majority of the Feline Overlords, a rescue. Age unknown – probably around 14-16 – she is marvelous and soft and oh, so persnickety about having visitors. She’s also a bit picky in her eating habits. One of the things that MP has been doing for a couple of decades now is making homemade cat food for the Discerning Feline (aka: picky eater). Jessa is not a fish-eating cat, but she does love her chicken, and she prefers a pate’, so the cat food that has been made for Jessa has earned the nickname “Jessa Hummus”, because it bears a not-small resemblance to the chickpea dish common in Middle Eastern Fare.

Cats are obligate carnivores. What this means in Normal People language is that, no, that vegan cat food you saw in the store is not a good idea. Cats need the protein, fat, amino acids, etc that are found in animals. So cat food mixed with grains is also not natural – in the wild, the most “dangerous” of all felines (with a kill rate of up to 14-15 small prey per night), the Black Footed cat (Felis nigripes) does not go after the grasses, unless they are in the belly of the creature they are dining on. Domestic cats are also small creatures (about the same size as the African death machine mentioned above), and as small creatures, the amount of additives in commercially prepared cat food is higher in percentage to body weight than to humans (who also eat things with copious quantities of additives). Anyway, all this to say: M Planet serves at the pleasure of the feline overlords, and as any good devotee, wants the best in health for the feline(s) of the house.

So, when Jessa goes on her divine Hunger Strike, it’s time to break out the cat food pot. Over the course of much experimentation, the discovery that chicken thighs in bulk make the best source – originally, whole chickens were used. Price per pound (unless one has their own chicken farm), this makes sense – but when one takes into account how much actual meat, and how much time it takes to get said meat and skin off a whole chicken, the economy changes. Nowadays, a couple family packs of chicken thighs result in very little waste: all one has to do is remover the bone and cartilage – quick and easy. Cook up the rest of the ingredients while the chicken is being deboned, save the broth for any number of culinary delights for the humans in the house, and Bob’s your uncle.

Crazy cat people. Yes.

Black Footed Cat info from Wild Cats Worl

Facts about Black Footed Cats – Big Cat Rescue

3. July 20223. July 2022

Thai inspired Jellies

Thai iced coffee and mango sticky rice on a hot day, what’s not to love…

The latest creations in the Great Jelly Experiment was inspired by a lovely time out with a colleague. It may be safe to say that M Planet, while quite the Hermit, should get out more. Anyway, an aborted trip to try the sushi at a local place ended up with a meal at a Thai place. Eons ago, M Planet was taught how to cook Thai food by a Thai friend, so that Thai food could be enjoyed at any time, any place, that was desired, rather than having to live in a place with Thai food available. Also – it’s more economical to cook one’s own food, and hanging out in Asian Grocery stores is marvelous.

Back to the matter at hand. In the last six or so months, the CO has been developing different jellies to have on hand for snacks, lunch, breakfast, what-have-you. Using Agar instead of animal gelatin allows for a firmer set, and a more natural neutral flavor. Beginning with a pre-sweetened powder, the use of the strands of agar or an unsweetened powder is now the norm. M Planet loves the taste of fruit, and the addition of sweetener to mask that is not really their thing – it seems that in the US, at least, everything is sweetened – a fresh blueberry is sweetened. A peach is sweetened. Grapefruit is sugar-laden. Here on Planet Sue, we like the taste of fruit, and add sweetening only when the end object is a sweet thing, or if the fruit is a bit too tart, such as lemons – and even then, only enough to be able to enjoy the flavor.

This particular jelly exploration involves Sweet Desires. The juxtaposition of a strong, dark coffee with condensed/evaporated milk and sugar in a Thai Iced Coffee on a Hot Humid day is one of the few times M Planet uses sugar in their coffee. Usually, they just use sweetened, condensed milk – sadly, there was non in the cupboard, so evaporated milk was used with added raw cane sugar. To make the jelly, brew a good quality dark coffee. Pour the hot brew into a pan and simmer in the agar for 3-5 minutes. This forms the bottom layer of the jelly. Heat the sweetened, condensed milk in a pan, simmering in the agar. Allow the coffee layer to set before pouring the milk layer. A few slashes of the bottom layer to allow the milk layer to seep into some parts of the coffee layer prior to pouring in the milk gives a bit of a ‘swirl’ to the jelly, similar to what one would get in a Thai Iced Coffee!

The second sweet desire is Mango with sticky rice. The use of a mango puree made this a fairly easy preparation. Heat the mango puree, some water, and some coconut cream to a simmer. Add in the agar and cook as necessary. Keep covered and warm. In another pan, make rice with water and coconut cream. It just happened that a small amount bit of bamboo rice was hanging out in the fridge (bamboo rice is instant rice that has been ‘greened’ with bamboo extract. It tastes a bit ‘green’ and was an interesting thing to try but found itself in the Lost Boys of Ingredients). Add in cane sugar or honey, and mix well with a bit more coconut cream and a bit of sale. Put a layer of rice in the jelly container, allow to cool a bit, and then layer the mango puree atop.

So, the proof is in the pudding — er, jelly – and in this case, the result was quite nice. Some of the ingredients were hanging around the kitchen for a while, so it was great to use them and have a tasty result in the process.

2. July 20223. July 2022

Farmers’ Market Haul 02 Jul 2022

The Urbana Farmers’ Market has a great selection of farmers, producers, artists, food trucks, and even musicians at various corners of the Market. The Market participates in LINK match, which means that, for up to $20 in EBT/Food Stamps, an additional 2x in value is given to the shopper for use on fresh fruits, vegetables, fungi, herbs. TGTW supports a fair price for produce to local, family farmers and producers, but in the real world of socioeconomics, this puts fresh, healthy food out of reach for many people. The Link matching program makes it possible for people with limited financial means to obtain fresh produce at the Farmers’ Market.

This week, the following items were obtained:

Eggs from The Joyful Wren. Not only are their eggs delicious, they are beautiful. They also are easy on the digestive tract!
Round Steak from Triple S farms. Great for Rouladen, stir fry, tartar – the flavor is wonderful.
Pork Sausage and sausage links from Moore Family Farm. Moore Family Farm was recommended to TGTW by a veterinarian colleague, who asserted that their animals were well cared for – “They do animal husbandry right”. Because of this, TGTW likes to support them by purchasing from them. They also have a great vegetable selection!
Tilapia and lettuces from Kountry Fresh Farms / Koss Family Farms. The tilapia is so fresh, as are the lettuces. A favorite is panang curry style tilapia!
Peaches and nectarines from Mileur Orchard – today, we were able to get ‘seconds’ peaches. These are just as tasty but smaller or funny shaped; sauces, leathers, canned chunks are all great ways to preserve these for a taste of summer later in the year. Nectarines were also available, for a “fuzz free” experience.
Red and white spring onions from Sola Gratia, a local farm which grows for local soup kitchens and charities providing fresh produce to folks.
A couple of interesting-sounding jams from Tiger Gardens. TGTW uses jams as a sort of “instant smoothie/lassie” component, as well as summer time flavored iced teas.
New potatoes, both red and white, from Roth Produce.
Dill and pickles from Green G Farm. Oddly, TGTW hadn’t thought of making pickles with this until … well, just now.

So, what to do with all this food?

The meat will go into the freezer for the time being, but usually the round steak is made into Rouladen or used in stir fry; mushroom beef or mongolian beef is popular around the dinner table. And.. well, it tastes really nice chopped up raw with onions and salt and pepper. M Planet loves raw meat; that germanic upbringing where raw ground round was served with salt, pepper, onions, and a good rye bread for special occasions (including a Very Strange Wedding) just .. is. Whilst in Europe, raw lamb, beef, and even pork (Worms! – actually, would never eat raw pork in the US. Germany is a small country and the animal inspection process for meats meant to be served raw is different there, and the spice mix is lovely) were a treat for both M Planet and the Feline OverLord. All the vegan/vegetarian people reading this are now cringing – don’t be a hater. Tofu literally ruins my life because of the phytoestrogens.

The ground pork is great in Wedding soup, but TGTW has been meaning to try making Scotch Eggs. Sometimes the Joyful Wren has small eggs, which would be nice for that attempt! But today, they were out of them – an egg is a perfect protein pack, and as such, a lot of eggs are cooked and consumed. Joyful Wren eggs are so beautiful, that our Artistic Side (VFP-McFergies) uses them for some of the art that they do! Tilapia is a really nice, light fish that poaches quickly and easily (and can be overcooked easily as well); the top favorites are Thai Style – panang curry, guiness and cream, white wine, and hard apple cider.

Peaches have so many potential uses – dried, leathered, canned, made into sauces, chutneys, juices. And then there is always ‘eating over the sink dripping down your face and hands’! Maybe another meringue pie – crisp. Oatmeal crisp with peaches. Love, love, love peaches – millions of peaches, peaches for me… which reminds M Planet of The Presidents’ song:

Peaches! Song by PUSA

Then there are the Potatoes! Spring onions! Roasted, toasted, fried, buttered, herbed, mashed… TGTW loves potatoes and onions.

So the obvious missing element is .. tomatoes. The last time tomatoes were purchased from the Farmers’ Market, they were pretty but didn’t have much flavor. This is anathema to Mx Planet. There are several varieties budding on the balcony, so rather than tasteless large tomatoes, we’ll just be waiting for our Very Local heirloom babies to produce.

30. May 202230. May 2022

Cilantro Cream Soup

Back on 21. May, a recipe for Mexican Cilantro Cream soup was posted as part of the Farmers’ Market Haul blog of the week. This entry is a follow-up to that recipe.

Firstly, the difference between “Mexican Full Cream” and the Full Cream / whipping cream purchased at Aldi might make for some variation between the final product and the product offered by Douglas over at the Mexican Food Journal. There were also a few lines in the recipe from MFJ that, for some reason, did not make sense to the Caustic One, so in the end, this recipe is not really that of the one shared. For one thing, the total volume of water provided in the ingredients list was four (4) cups, but during the method portion of the recipe, it seemed as though six (6) cups was actually called for, to one cup of chicken stock and 3/4 cup of cream. This seemed a bit thin, so the Caustic one ended up using three (3) cups of water and two (2) cups of chicken stock, with one cup of cream at the end. The recipe called for serving the soup immediately, so a serving was consumed at the end of the cooking process. It was tasty, but not as tasty as expected. The rest of the soup was put into a container and refrigerated overnight; the next day, it was consumed as a cold soup. This was actually really refreshing, and richer than the day before. The balance of the soup was consumed as a cold soup. It’s possible it would have been lovely warmed as well, but with the hot temperatures here, cold was the order of the day… an order that was well received.

30. May 2022

Finally

30. May 2022

Farmers’ Market visit – more to yap than to buy…

M. Planet has become accustomed to the fresh lettuce and herbs from Kountry Fresh Farms. Because of this, when they aren’t at the Farmers’ Market, a sort of brain-freeze happens that requires the purchasing routine to be re-evaluated. Usually a bag or two of lettuce is perfect for the week’s lunch salads. This weekend, Kountry Fresh had sold out of all of their delicious offerings during the week and was not at the market. Thankfully, Avery farms has a nice salad blend as well.

Farmer Avery: “oh! you’re back!”

M. Planet: “ah, yes. Koss Farms is not here today, so I will need to purchase more of your salad mix”.

The acquisition of purple asparagus, rhubarb, and a large quantity of salad mix had already been made from Farmer Avery that morning. We talked a little about Koss Farms (Kountry Fresh), and Farmer Avery shared that he used to have a stall next to Koss, and that they only had one type of lettuce at the time. Apparently they have really branched out, as there are frequently at least five varieties of lettuce, as well as herbs, at the Koss stand.

There was a group selling tomatoes: beautiful orange, pink, and red ones. They also had a basket of mixed ones with a sign saying “Small and Ugly tomatoes” – for 75c/pound cheaper than the others. They were neither small nor ugly, but a selection was made from these. So far, they have been sliced and eaten with a little salt, made into a tomato and red onion salad with some salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar, and eaten in salad. They aren’t as flavorful as expected, but then, these aren’t from The Great Tomato Woman’s gardens! They’ll be fried one of these days (a la Full Scottish Breakfast) as well.

Grabbed a couple bunches of herbs from Sola Gratia (dill and oregano). Will try to root the oregano; the dill will go into salads and was part of a pickling brine for the purple cauliflower obtained in an earlier trip:

Cary’s Garden of Eatin’ had quite a selection; picked up some cucumbers from them for salads and sandwiches and just plain eating.