Canned Coleslaw

If you have extra cabbage and want another way to preserve them for future use, try canning coleslaw.

1 larage head cabbage, shredded
1 c celery, diced
1/2 c onion, cut up
1/2 c vinegar
carrot, small amount cut up
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp mustard
2 c white sugar

Mix all of the ingredients together, put into jars and cold pack for 10 minutes.

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Weights of cabbage heads (L to R) 9-1/4 lb, 12-3/4 lb, 14 lb, 15-1/2 lb The cauliflower weight was 10 lbs. Note: the pint jar of spaghetti sauce is for size  reference

You may have to increase the amount of ingredients for heads this size!

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Classic Television programs of the 50’s and 60’s

I would bet that there are very few, if any, of us that can remember the late 1940’s when television stations began to send out signals to millions of Americans. During the 1950’s and 60’s a new era for entertainment began with the broadcast of some of these classic television programs, many of which are still viewed today thanks to re-runs, syndications and online. How many of these do you remember?

Addams Family
American Bandstand
Andy Griffith Show
Batman
Beverly Hillbillies
Bonanza
Dick Van Dyke Show
Dragnet
Flipper
Fury
Gidget
Gilligan’s island
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Hazel
Highway Patrol
Honeymooners
Howdy Doody Show
I Love Lucy
I Spy
Jetsons
Lassie
Lone Ranger
Lost In Space
Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Mission Impossible
Mister Ed
Monkees
Munsters
My Friend Flicka
Perry Mason
Sky King
Star Trek
Twilight Zone
What’s My Line?
You Bet Your Life

Did any of these bring back childhood memories?

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Wayward Sheep

The year was 1978 and Langford, SD was looking for an agriculture instructor to start an agricultural education program in their school system. The Pickle Queen’s two older brothers had an empty farmstead 14 miles out-of-town where we could move onto. It was just a few miles from their places and they had added this land to their operation and didn’t want the buildings to set empty. So, we loaded up our belongings and moved from a new home in Fairmont, MN to an older farm-house in windswept SD.

We had neighbors about a half mile to our west. An empty farmstead sat half a mile to the east. Between us and the place to the west sat a slough that provided excellent duck hunting in the fall. A stock dam sat in our pasture between our building site and the empty place to the east. Deer liked to travel between the rushes of these two water sources via the grove of trees surrounding our place that gave us some wind protection on all sides except the south. But, I digress.

The Enstad’s, living on the place west of us, had a dairy operation with a small farm flock of sheep to give the kids some responsibility. They had no problem with the dairy cows getting out, but the ewe’s were another story. Anyone who has been around sheep know that there hasn’t been a fence built that sheep can’t find a way through. It seems that it was a weekly chore for the Enstad’s to round up the wayward sheep and return them to their pen.

It was a colder Saturday afternoon in mid-winter of 1980 when Brownie, our ‘farm dog’ started raising a ruckus. Knowing that coyotes were a common occurrence in the neighborhood, I grabbed my rifle and headed out the door. As I rounded the trees to out east, I seen the Enstad’s with their flock of sheep on the other side of our frozen stockdam. Evidently, the coyotes had scattered the flock and they were in the process of trying to get them back home. I walked over to them and said, “Hey neighbor, what are you up to?” as if I didn’t already know. I had seen them trying to chase the sheep  across the frozen ice, with no luck. I had seen them try to push the frightened ewe’s across the ice, also with no luck. As they were grabbing the sheep to try pulling them across I said, “You can’t take your sheep home that way.”

He replied, “I was just taking a shortcut across your frozen pond. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nobody pulls the wool over my ice!” I answered.

Think about it, he had to.

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Household Hints – Part 2

Here are more household hints to add to those that I started on 15 October.

• For a crisp crust  on chicken, rub with mayonnaise before baking.
• Use a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol to remove water spots from stainless steel.
• Club soda will shine up stainless steel in a jiffy.
• Add sliced green pepper to fried potatoes to give them a fine flavor.
• To freshen left over mashed potatoes, put milk in a skillet, add the potatoes and heat; then whip them well and they will taste like fresh ones.
• Boiled potatoes will stay white if a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar is added to the water.
• To extinguish a grease fire on the stove, quickly sprinkle a lot of baking soda on the flames.
• To make marshmallow creme, dissolve 10 oz. of marshmallows in 1/2 cup of milk. Makes 1 cup.
• Use your potato peeler to shave chocolate. It makes long curled shavings, perfect for use in decorating tops of cakes, pies and puddings.
• When baking drop cookies, try having a cup of very hot water handy to dip the spoon into. The batter will cut off easily and drop from the spoon without sticking.
• When baking cream puffs, do not remove them from oven as soon as they are done, but let them stand in the closed oven until they are cool. This prevents them from falling.
• Baking soda removes fish odor from hands and cooking utensils.
• Thaw fish in milk for a fresh caught flavor.
• To prevent edges of pies from browning too much, brush them with water before baking.
• Household cleaner: put 1 pint rubbing alcohol, 2 tablespoons household ammonia and 2 tablespoons of liquid detergent into a gallon of water. A few drops of bluer coloring may be added to let you know that it is not water.
• Try using honey instead of sugar in your fresh cucumber salads the next time you make them. It gives them a pleasant but different flavor.
• Use a can of asparagus soup to cream your asparagus.
• Homemade cake flour: Use 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon of regular flour. Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and sift together.
• To make brown sugar: Blend 1/2 cup white sugar and 2 tablespoons of molasses. This equals 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
• To double whipped cream: Add 8 marshmallows to 1/2 pint of whipping cream the night before. Refrigerate. Next day, whip until stiff. No sugar or flavoring is needed.
• To make bananas stay fresh looking in jello, add a teaspoon of vinegar to the jello.
• Pour pineapple juice over fresh fruits, such as apples and bananas, to keep them from darkening.

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Hummus

Back in May I had several posts on dried beans. Here is a hummus recipe that is made with chick-peas. If you have someone who says they don’t like hummus, tell them that this isn’t hummus, it’s pureed chick-peas. Hummus is usually served with Arab or pita bread, but use it with whole wheat bread or as a vegetable dip.

2 c cooked chick-peas
1 clove garlic
1/4 c lemon juice
1/4 c olive oil
cold water
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Using a food processor, blender or food mill, puree the chick-peas. Mix in the lemon juice and olive oil. If needed, add a little cold water to make a soft mixture. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top and chill at least an hour before serving.

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Not The Brightest Cowboy

Back in South Dakota you have the real cowboys and the wanna be cowboys. It’s difficult to tell them apart as most guys and gals own and wear at least one pair of boots, blue jeans and a hat. I’d say there are probably more in the ‘wanna be’ category than the ‘real’ category. It’s hard to tell which one this cowboy belonged to.

A cowboy had two horses and had a hard time telling them apart. He cut one of the horse’s mane off, but it grew back; he cut off the tail, but it also grew back. A friend suggested that he measure the horses.

The cowboy measured them and went back to see his friend. “That was a great idea,” he told his friend, “The black one is 1 hand (4 inches for the wanna be’s) taller than the white one.”

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Household Hints – Part 1

Some of these may be old hat to you while others may be new. I learned a few new tricks.

• If the juice from a pie runs over in the oven, shake some salt on it which causes the juice to burn to a crisp so it can be removed.
• To prevent a one crust pie shell from shrinking, make a little tuck across the middle of the crust when fitting it in the pan.
• When an egg white is beaten, adding 1 tablespoon cold water to it will increase the bulk considerably.
• Juice saved from cooking a sausage makes an excellent base or broth for vegetable soup.
• Cauliflower cooked in water with a little vinegar or lemon juice will keep it snowy white.
• Cutting marshmallows may be simplified by dipping scissors in powdered sugar after each cut.
• Tough meat can be tenderized without affecting the flavor by the addition of several drops of vinegar while cooking.
• Onion odor may be removed from your hands by rubbing the hands with damp salt.
• Add a teaspoon of vinegar to frosting to prevent breaking when cut.
• To take odor out of Tupperware, stuff with newspaper and cover for a while.
• Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes before baking will bake more rapidly.
• When making cake icing or candy consisting of milk or cream and sugar, add 1 teaspoon of ordinary table syrup for each cup of sugar used. Boil in the usual way. Your finished product will be much smoother and not so apt to become sugary.
• A tablespoon of ammonia added to the final rinse water will keep most blankets fluffy after laundering.
• When making refrigerator or rolled cookies, keep them crisp by sprinkling with crushed peanut brittle while still hot from the oven. The brittle melts slightly giving the cookies a delightful topping.
• Dark corn syrup removes grass stains. Pour the syrup full strength on the stain and let it stand for a few minutes, then wash as usual.
• Use leftover suntan oil as a moisturizer to keep your skin soft and smooth in cold weather.
• To clean a canvas handbag, don’t wash it. Use dry baking soda, rubbing it on with a small brush. Soil will come off easily.
• Spraying shaving cream directly on a wood tick will make it let go.
• Liquid floor wax will preserve those autumn leaves that are so colorful. Pour the wax in a flat dish, dip the leaves, than hang or set them aside to dry.
• Vinegar removes fruit stains from your hands.

Household Hints – Part 2 to come later.

Keep your fork