Category: Food & Wine

Pennsylvania Seed Library Smacked Down By State

The Cumberland County Library System thought it had a neat idea. With the local Penn State Agricultural Extension System and the Cumberland County Commission for Women, it created a seed-gardening program — aka a seed library — that allowed residents to “borrow” seeds in the spring and replace them with new ones harvested at season’s end.

It was launched on April 26, Earth Day, at the Joseph T. Simpson’ Public Library in Mechanicsburg as part of the borough’s Earth Day Festival.

Sixty signed up.

Oh pity them for they didn’t realize they were part of a nefarious plot to violate  the Pennsylvania Seed Act of 2004 signed into law by then Gov. Ed Rendell.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture sent a high-ranking official and a bevy of lawyers to the library in July to shut the program down and make sure those running things got their minds right.

The Seed Act is about proper labeling in the sale of seeds, which the library was not doing. Apparently our state officials feared the seeds might be mislabeled on purpose hence allowing terrorists to spread poison ivy or some such thing.

Some cynics think the crackdown is because big agriculture doesn’t want competition no matter how small.

When is it going to dawn on the rest of you that really stupid and/or greedy people are governing our lives?

Hat tips Tom Flocco and Naomi Creason of the Sentinel of Cumberland County.

Pennsylvania Seed Library Smacked Down By State

 

Pennsylvania Seed Library Smacked Down By State

Plum Baked Honey Ham Steak

Plum Baked Honey Ham Steak

Tonight’s meal by Chef Bill was a plum baked ham steak with a Greek salad featuring garden-fresh parsley by Mrs. Chef Bill.

The plums were brought today from Produce Junction.

Dessert was an apple-pie from Walmart.

Peel Mucho Potatoes In Minute

Leo Morten Lund of Denmark has found a way to peel a pretty big bag of potatoes in 40 second by using an electric drill and a toilet bowl brush.
Tip: use a new toilet bowl brush.
Here’s the demonstration

 
 

Peel Mucho Potatoes In Minute

 

Peel Mucho Potatoes In Minute

Hillbilly Bruschetta Grits

Hillybilly Bruschetta Grits Chef Bill Sr

Chef Bill Sr. recently put to use some leftover grits to create hillbilly bruschetta, which as far as we know is an original dish.

Chef Bill would be the first to tell you it is not as good as the traditional way. On the other hand, why let good grits go to waste?

And it is a fun and tasty meal.

Here’s the recipe, which — if you cook the grits just for this — makes about two dozen. Really though, it’s best to be used for leftovers:

Hillbilly Bruschetta Grits

3 cups water
1 cup uncooked stone-ground white  grits
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
3/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped red or green sweet pepper
1/2 cup  sliced green olives
1/2 cup sliced black olives

Combine water, grits, and salt in a medium, heavy saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until grits are very thick, stirring often.

Remove the grits from the heat, and stir in Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and pepper. Pour out onto a flat baking sheet and spread to about 3/8-inch thickness (10-inch square). Allow to cool completely (about 1 hour in a refrigerator) so that the mixture is firm to the touch.

Cut the grits into 2-inch squares. Place them on a skillet coated with cooking spray; brush with a tablespoon olive oil and grill at medium heat  until golden brown, which should be about 15 minutes. Flip the squares over, and brush other sides with remaining olive oil and put on the tomatoes, olives and bell pepper slices. Fry for about 10 more minutes. Remove, cool and eat.

Wes Johansen Ranks Consumer Coffee

Los Angelese barista — that’s a person who makes coffee — Wes Johansen rated consumer coffee. Wes Johansen Ranks Consumer Coffee -- Los Angelese barista -- that's a person who makes coffee -- Wes Johansen rated consumer coffee. He liked Dunkin' Donuts and Folgers (four stars out of five apiece), albeit with a bit of snark, and gave a passable review to McDonald's (three and a half stars). He did not like Maxwell House (two and a half stars) or 7-Eleven (two stars). He really, really didn't like Starbucks giving it but one star. The loser, though, was Denny's with Johansen saying it was almost all water and that it tasted like Graham cracker's that "had been hiding in the back of your closet for months." His rankings actually mesh pretty well with ours. Ah, but poor Californians. Do they even know what a Wawa is?

He liked Dunkin’ Donuts and Folgers (four stars out of five apiece), albeit with a bit of snark, and gave a passable review to McDonald’s (three and a half stars).

He did not like Maxwell House (two and a half stars) or 7-Eleven (two stars).

He really, really didn’t like Starbucks giving it but one star.

The loser, though, was Denny’s with Johansen saying it was almost all water and that it tasted like Graham cracker’s that “had been hiding in the back of your closet for months.”

His rankings actually mesh pretty well with ours.

Ah, but poor Californians. Do they even know what a Wawa is?

Here is Johansen’s review:

Wes Johansen -- He liked Dunkin' Donuts and Folgers (four stars out of five apiece), albeit with a bit of snark, and gave a passable review to McDonald's (three and a half stars). He did not like Maxwell House (two and a half stars) or 7-Eleven (two stars). He really, really didn't like Starbucks giving it but one star. The loser, though, was Denny's with Johansen saying it was almost all water and that it tasted like Graham cracker's that "had been hiding in the back of your closet for months."

Wes Johansen, barista

 

Soylent Finally Appears

A young, software engineer named Rob Rhinehart decided to create a food that would supply all the nutrients we need without the time, money and effort that usually goes into food preparation.

He developed the recipe through online research, textbooks, scientific journals and self-experimentation, and now he’s marketing the product, which he calls “Soylent”.

Yep.

Just like in the 1973 movie starring Charlton Heston about a bleak, cannibalistic future.

Hipsters will be doofuses.

In fairness, Rhinehart’s product does not contain people but rather things like fish oil, rice protein and lots of raw chemical powders.

And in further fairness, it’s not that dumb of an idea. Rhinehart seems to have his priorities correct as per this interview with Forbes.

 

Soylent Finally Appears

Soylent Finally Appears

Steaks Explained

With grilling season now in full swing we provide this  video which explains everything that you wanted to know about the different cuts of steaks.

 

Steaks Explained

 

Steaks Explained

Yuengling Rules Where It Perches

Yuengling Rules Where It Perches — TheAtlantic.com carried a story, April 15, that featured a chart showing the products produced by Pottsville-based D. G. Yuengling & Son to be the beer of choice in the states where it has significant distribution, namely Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

The funny thing is that except for the chart the brewery was not even mentioned in the story, The State of American Beer.

It is pretty hard to beat Yuengling as a go-to beer.

 

Yuengling Rules Where It Perches

 

Yuengling Rules Where It Perches

Corned Beef Cuts

With St. Patrick’s Day arriving Monday the topic of which cut of brisket to use for corned beef is one that most certainly must be addressed.

The point cut is fattier and usually cheaper.

The flat cut is leaner.

The flat cut makes better slices. The point cut makes for better shredding, some think.

We are glad to have been of assistance with this most pressing matter.

 

Visit BillLawrenceDittos.com for Corned Beef Cuts
Visit BillLawrenceOnline.com for Corned Beef Cuts

 

 

Trabant Wine TableLeaf Being Retired

Trabant Wine TableLeaf Being Retired — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board announced yesterday, Feb. 21, during an appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee that it would retire the TableLeaf brand, an exclusive label made for our government by a winery in California.

After the existing stocks are sold it is no more.

We never knew that TableLeaf was the in-house government brand albeit we are not surprised. It tasted like something we’d image the citizens of Russia were stuck with drinking circa 1989.

It’s time to retire Pennsylvania’s communistic liquor sale system albeit that’s not likely going to happen until people — from both parties — who are not beholden to getting rich off taxpayers take control of our government.

If you are a Republican consider picking Bob Guzzardi over Tom Corbett during the May 20 primary.

It would send a good message and be a good change.

Trabant Wine TableLeaf Being Retired

Trabant Wine TableLeaf Being Retired