Bib Overalls

Our dad wore bib overalls.  He was a farmer you see.  Still, it seemed that all the other kids’ dads wore belted jeans and that was way more trendy.  So my sister and I tried to get dad to wear jeans, but he’d have none of it.  He said that when he had to climb around on the ground under farm equipment for repairs, jeans just didn’t stay where they were supposed to--I guess by that he meant covering his skinny rear end. 

In addition, bibs have a handy pocket on the side for a pair of pliers, big deep pockets in front and back, so that things like pocketknives and lucky buckeyes don’t fall out very easily.  Oh, and we mustn’t forget those intriguing little pockets on the bib part itself.  This is the very best feature of all.  Let’s see, there is the small vertical strip of a pocket just right for a knife-sharpened, stubby lead pencil. Then there's a pocket made to hold the miniature tablet that dad always got from the seed-corn company.  He used that sometimes to figure stuff like crop yields and insecticide/water ratios. It closed with a 'snap' button.  A pocket watch could fit in one of the bib pockets too, but he preferred his old scratched up wrist-style Bulova. Lastly, there is the pocket that held his unfiltered Lucky Strike cigarettes.  Even years after he gave up the habit, you could still see his hand gravitate toward that pocket at certain times.

With a grandchild perched on his lap, he’d let them explore those entire bib pockets.  Small fingers would first pull out the pencil, then the tiny tablet. Next thing you know dad would be drawing a cartoon version of the grandkid, always featuring an exaggerated and humongous nose. This never ceased to be funny to the grandchild or to me.

Dad frequently left the top waist button on his bibs undone.  I guess that was for extra comfort, especially after a large meal.  He always took his bibs off by unfastening just one of the straps, and slipping the other snapped one off of his shoulder.  I asked him about that and he said it saved time getting back into the same pair the next day.

At day's end dad would lie on the couch and watch the news and weather forecast on TV, or read the latest issue of “The Prairie Farmer”.  He often tucked one hand under the bid of his overalls and rested it upon his chest.  He looked comfortable that way--so much so that we laid him to rest in that pose following his bold fight, but defeat from pancreatic cancer. There really was no question in my mind how we would attire dad as we sent him off to meet his Maker though. So, for eternity he is outfitted with a John Deere cap in hand, and a brand spanking-new pair of Osh Kosh by gosh! 

dad in bibs, me, and the dogs

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Lady in Pearls

“Lady in Pearls” was the identification label placed on this photo when I had it reproduced several years ago. I liked that very much—it sort of sounds like the title of a Van Gogh painting to me. If I had labeled the tag it would have just simply read, “1946 graduation picture”.
Now as coincidence has it, I have recently come into possession of those pearls. They were in a box of old family pictures that an aunt gave my brother, and he in turn passed along to me. I am making it my duty to find out something about them. As you can see they are quite discolored. I will make an attempt to clean them, but they should be restrung too. Maybe I’ll check into that later on.

The pearls are resting in their original velvet case. The inscriptions indicate that they are Deltah Pearls. That company existed from 1893 until the 1950's when it merged with another. During the 40's famous movie stars advertised for Deltah Pearls, including Elizabeth Taylor, Loretta Young and Martha Vickers. I had never heard of Martha, but I discovered that she gets slapped by Humphrey Bogart in a film entitled, "The Big Sleep". Here she is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuLDUgdEIsk

Unfortunately, my Deltah Pearls are simulated, not natural or even the cultured ones. I can tell this because some of the coating has chipped off one of the larger pearls and I can see a glass bead underneath. I learned that this is one of the ways faux pearls are made; a luminescent finish is applied to the glass. Such is my luck! Oh well, let me just finish with a posthumous greeting of "Happy Mother's Day" to my mom, the "Lady in Pearls"!

Royal Wedding Party

Royal Wedding Party

Well I made the crumpets for the Royal Wedding Party held at my friend Susan's house. I used the recipe and instructions from the King Arthur Flour website (I think that is fitting--I mean King Arthur being British and all too). http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crumpets-recipe
Here is the encapsulated batter (these are egg poaching rings that we have; doesn't every kitchen have these?).

Here they are all finished and ready to be served with strawberry jam and tea.

And so we celebrated with the crumpets, as well as little tea sandwiches and Champagne. Just a pair of Queens.....

Easter Meal

They have risen! Such a good thing for Easter Sunday don't you think? These are the yeast buns I made for the smoked beef brisket that Jay is preparing for our guests. I really like making breads--there's just nothing that compares with that warm, yeasty aroma as it bakes. One year for Easter I made this Easter egg bread.

You actually put the colored, raw eggs in the dough and then bake the whole thing. I was afraid the eggs might explode in the oven, but they turned out perfectly cooked. For the final touch at our Easter meal, look at the clever cake our friend baked and brought for the celebration!

Horse Manure or White Sauce

Some time ago my friend Gary and I were discussing the care and management of our respective asparagus patches. We had opposing notions regarding the advisability of using rock salt as a weed deterrent. When another friend happened into the room, he asked, "Pat what does your father put on his asparagus?" She replied, "horse manure".
Between fits of laughter I asked, "What would be wrong with a nice white sauce?"
Well there is nothing wrong with a nice white sauce, but there is something wrong with an ordinary old white sauce. So here's how I like to elevate a typical white sauce recipe to a luscious, lip-licking one with just some simple additions.
Recipe:
2 T. real butter
A couple of sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
2 T. all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk (or lighten it up with 2% but no fat-free please!)
A pinch of grated nutmeg
S & P to taste
Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the thyme leaves and cook over low heat just a moment or two until aromatic and golden. Whisk in the flour and slowly add the milk stirring the entire while. When the sauce becomes thickened add the grated nutmeg (yes, I have one of those little micro plane graters and real nuts) and salt and pepper. It's yummy on asparagus and almost every other vegetable, but I bet it would also be good atop meatloaf or biscuits. Of course if you want to take your sauce to a decadent level, grate some Smoked Gouda Cheese over the dish and you are in Heaven--much better than horse manure!

A pink Depression Glass dish holds this serving.

My First Blog

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2011
Well here is my first stab at blogging. I'm going to just write about things in my everyday life as the Blog title implies.
I subscribe to Food and Wine magazine and an article from the February 2011 issue provided a list of 5 widely available reds and 5 available whites to try. I decided to try each and rate them on a scale of 1-10 as far as my palate is concerned. Magazine in hand, I approached the sommalier at the local grocer's wine and spirit section and asked for the Apothic Red 2008 California. He obligingly directed me toward the section of the cellar containing the blends. He indicated that if I enjoyed the Apothic Red then I would most certainly be the type of wine taster who would enjoy "menage trois". I smacked him with the Food and Wine magazine. Then he explained that it is a blend of three California grapes as is the Apothic Red. I liked the Red better than the Menage Trois.