Subj : Re: Bits & Bobs To : Ruth Haffly From : Dave Drum Date : Tue Jan 14 2025 06:11:30 -=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=- DD> My kitchen is a *ONE* peson (at a time) affair. I have to turn DD> slightly sideways to pass between the ice bo and the upright freezer. RH> Now that is small! I don't think I've ever had a kitchen that small RH> except in the campers. DD> When I call it a "Pullman" kitchen people think I'm joking. It's not a DD> joke. In many ways it resembles the dining car galley on a DD> ctoss-country rail-car. RH> When we did our last Alaska cruise (the one with the rail trip to RH> Denali, then a couple of days in Fairbanks), we had lunch on the train. RH> We were seated right near the entrance/exit to the kitchen; our seats RH> were so that we could see in when people went in/out. I could see RH> basically one counter where it looked like they were assembling the RH> sandwiches. Menu choices were quite limited, mostly soups and RH> sandwiches, but the train was a limited run. I understand the old time RH> dining cars on cross country rail trips were quite impressive with what RH> they turned out. My first long rail trip - Here to St. Louis thern switch to the Twin Cities Rocket bound for Faribault, MN on the CB&Q/Rock Island. The dining car was all linen tablecloths and napkins and stemware. Quite upmarket. And, for my supper I chose Roast Duckling a l'Orange. My mom and the waiter both tried to steer me to something else. And I should haver listened. With the rocking of the train and the slipperyness of the orange sauce on the duck I would up with almost as much on me as in me. Bv)= But it was good. Comiing home on the reverse route I had a nice, easy to maneuver Roast Beef Manhattan. DD> If one of DD> us is in the kitchen doing something and the other needs/wants/desires DD> some item or action either the person in the kitchen has to get it and DD> hand it over - or leave the kitchen so the other can do what needs DD> done. RH> You didn't realise when you bought the house that a small kitchen was RH> going to be a problem? DD> Truthfully, I didn't even think about it. It didn't look obviously as DD> inconvenient with everything except the appliances out and the swing DD> down long counter on the inside wall in the raised position. I made a DD> very "lowball" bid on the asking price ... mostly because it's on a DD> high traffic artery and I was concerned about getiing out onto the DD> road from the drive. In practice that has been a non-existent concern. DD> But the kitchen more than makes up for it. Bv)= RH> We looked at several other houses, was less than impressed with the RH> kitchens. This one has more counter space and drawers than the rental RH> house; we'd bought a "butler" for extra counter space and storage so we RH> took that with us. It takes up a bit of floor space but does give that RH> extra bit of storage. It's also stationed right below our pot rack so RH> we don't bump our head--too often. (G) My pot hangers (for the wok and paella pan) is over the sink. Nowhere else to hang them and the paella pan is to big to fit in any of the cabinets. Bv)= DD> Shawn and I had a discussion about tiny kitchens so we swappped DD> pixture via text messages. He say that I "won". Heck the kitchen DD> in my old tin can (mobil home) was larder AND better laid out/more DD> functional than what I now have. RH> I've had good sized kitchens and small ones with the various places we RH> lived. The one in Berlin was nice, quite roomy, but it lacked a RH> dishwasher (important to me, more so as I get older). The one in RH> Savannah was in brand mew housing but not designed for a serious cook. RH> Best part of that one (other than all new appliances) was a counter RH> with cabinet space below and above that ran the length of one of the RH> short walls, maybe about 6 feet. Other counter space was severely RH> limited. I've never had a home with a dishwasher other than the two at the ends of my arms. If I get my dream place that will change. DD> My first house had a kitchen about the same size as this one in square DD> feet. But muich better laid out, Plus it had a pantry about half the DD> size of the kitchen with plenty of shelving to stash extra pots DD> and/or counter top appliances. RH> Layout is important. In Savannah there was a small room right off the RH> kitchen, going to the garage, for the washer and dryer. It had some RH> shelving so we were able to stow extra kitchen stuff there. An attached garage is a n ice warehouse for all manner of excess baggage. RH> some. But he never ditched (don't know if it wasn't allowed where we RH> stayed) the family camp sites. DD> Well the Boy Sprouts is where I learned that trick. I think "Boy's DD> Life" (the Boy Scout magazine) had a feature on it. I could be wrong DD> as that was about 70 years ago. RH> I stopped reading "Boy's Life" when I left home, probably for college. DD> I stopped when I quit the scouts. We had a scoutmaster who really set DD> off my "gay-dar". I didn't know that's what it was called at that DD> stage of my life. But he really made me nervous. Read about him a few DD> years later in the local newspaper after he was attacked and severely DD> thrashed by a scout's father. That set off an investigation and he was DD> "outed". I showed the article to my folks and told them "You always DD> wondered why I quit the scouts? There it is." RH> AKAIK, none of the scoutmasters my brothers had leaned that way. RH> They were all dads of boys in the troop, and most were WWII vets. My friend Laszlo is a scoutmaster - despite having no chirrun of his own. Well, now he's sort-of on emeritus status. Another runs the monthly meetings. But Laszlo leads and counsels the boys in gardening, crafts, conservation projects and their winter holidays root beer making and bottling. DD> 8<----- SHIFT ----->8 DD> Dennis has severe asthma. His twice daily inhaler helps with everyting DD> but pollen season. I bought him an air "purifier" as a holiday gift DD> two Decembers ago. But he wouldn't even unpack it from its box. His DD> son and new D-I-L currently have it. This year I gave him a travel mug DD> so he can take his instant coffee with. That he uses. Bv)= RH> I have both albuterol and Trelegy--doctor started me on that last RH> summer after about 23 years of Advair. Latter was my miracle drug; that RH> and a good pulmonology doctor in Hawaii really got my asthma under RH> control. Last few years tho, I've been having more and more RH> problems--bad lungs from years of bronchitis and pneumonia so the RH> Trelegy adds a 3rd medication to the 2 that the Advair has and it RH> seems to be starting to help. DD> I'm doing two puff twice a day of the advair and the albuterol is an DD> "if, as and when" rescue inhaler. All down to 45 years of smoking 2 DD> packs a day unfiltered Camel cigarettes. DD> Would that I had never picked up the first one. RH> I never even lit up a cigarette to try, the smell of the burning RH> tobacco (and chemicals) was enough to turn me off. For a time I was on RH> both an inhaled steroid and another, inhaled anti-inflammitory, with RH> the albuterol as needed, then the doctor in HI put me on the Advair. It RH> helped me big time, until the last couple of years. Nice thing about RH> the Trelegy is that it's a once a day but it tastes nasty--good RH> incentive to remember to rinse my mouth. (G) My grandfater smoked a pipe and the tobacco/smoke was quite aromatic. Very much more so than cigarettes. Still, I was a hard-head. Couldn't tell me anything because I already knew it all. DD> Dennis has a round, fat inhaler he hits twice a day then gargles. I DD> can always tell when he's dne his inhaler. Him gargling sounds like DD> an Opera singer warming up to warble. Bv)= RH> Ever ask him when his debut at the Met is scheduled for? He wouldn't "get" it. Some days he can be pretty thick. Bv)= MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Homemade Sassafras Root Beer Categories: Beverages, Herbs Yield: 5 Pints Several roots; (including - some green stems) from - sassafras saplings, about - 30-40 inches worth of 1/4" - thick roots-enough to fill - one cup when you chop them - in 1/2" pieces) 4 c Water 2 Cloves 1/2 ts Anise seeds; can sub fennel 4 Allspice berries 1 (1") stick cinnamon 1/4 c Molasses 1 c Sugar 2 qt Soda water Scrub the roots clean of any dirt. Cut the roots into 1/2" long pieces. (The roots can be tough, if you have a pair of pruning shears, they work great to cut the roots.) If you have a few green stems, you can include them too, but you should have mostly roots. Cut up as much as you need to fill one cup. Put the roots into a small pot and cover with 4 cups of water. Add the cloves, anise seeds, allspice berries, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the molasses and simmer for 5 minutes more. Remove from heat. Strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve lined with a paper towel. Rinse out the pot. Return the liquid to the pot. Add the sugar, heat until just a simmer and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool. To assemble the root beer, fill a glass with ice cubes, add the syrup and soda water in a 1:2 ratio, so 1/3 cup of syrup to 2/3 cups of soda water. Add more soda water if you want it more diluted, add more syrup if you want it stronger. Yield: Makes about 2 1/2 quarts. From: http://www.simplyrecipes.com Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen MMMMM .... I got one of those crazy energy soft drinks that tired people like. ___ MultiMail/Win v0.52 --- Maximus/2 3.01 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS-Huntsville,AL-bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45) .