Spaghetti For an Army

Submitted by tired_gardener on Fri, 12/26/2008 - 01:00
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I made a batch of my meat sauce and for the first time, I actually wrote down the recipe. I've been making this recipe for 20 years, but have never written it down. My mom taught me how to make it and I improved it over time. I've talked with others about their sauce and used some of the techniques they use in order to improve the sauce. I've also at least quadrupled the size of the batch. I like to have enough left over to freeze. This batch will last the three of us about 6 months. There are a lot of ingredients, but the work is fairly easy, but it does take some time.

I use three types of meat for this sauce. I like the mix of flavors. You can use other meats as well. Elk is great with it, but it is not available at the market I go to and I've never been hunting. I also put a little cayenne in it. Not enough to make it spicy, just enough to cut any sweetness in the sauce and give it a little boost. If you can't find buffalo at your market, you can use beef, but buffalo has a richer taste and less fat.

The wine can also vary. I had Merlot around. I did not have any white wine, but I had some sake, so I used sake this time. It was fine. Some people also like to use a dessert wine, like Marsala, but I think it is a little too sweet, so I don't. Spice also vary. My mom always used "Italian Seasoning". I use individual spices. I don't put much salt in it, some people will put more in. I just put enough in to pull the flavor of the meat. Any more can be added later. Larger mushrooms slice easier. You can also buy pre-sliced mushrooms. I don't because they are more expensive and less environmentally sound (the packaging).

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • 1 lb ground buffalo
  • 1 lb ground mild or sweet sausage
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 green pepper
  • 2 onions
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 2 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp savory
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp tarragon
  • 2 tsp parsley
  • 2 tsp thyme
  • 1 lb button and/or white mushrooms
  • 1 cup red wine (like Merlot)
  • 1 cup white wine (like chardonnay)
  • 1/4 cup dry vermouth
  • 4 29oz cans of tomato sauce
  • 4 12oz cans of tomato paste

Dice onions and peppers. Mash and dice garlic. Clean and slice mushrooms.

Heat an 11 qt pot on medium to medium high heat. Add oil. Brown meat with onion, peppers, garlic, salt and herbs.

Reduce heat. Add mushrooms and simmer till onion, peppers and mushrooms are soft.

Add wine, simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.

Add sauce and paste. Stir. cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 hour. Season with extra spices, if needed.

Remove bay leaves. Serve over spaghetti noodles and freeze remainder for later.


Jesus Christ is Born!

Submitted by tired_gardener on Thu, 12/25/2008 - 01:00
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Merry Christmas. On this wonderful day, I thought I should send out a shout to everyone and remind them of why we are celebrating today. It is true that some of the traditions of Christmas come from the pagan celebration of Winter Solstice, but for many of us, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

A little more than 2000 years ago, a virgin named Mary was visited by the Lord. She was told that she would have a child, even though she had never been with a man. Her pregnancy created quite a stir, but her fiance, Joseph stood by her side. He knew that her child was the son of God and that she was not cheating on him.

Nine months later, they had to travel to Bethlehem to pay taxes. No-one would give this poor couple a place to stay and all the inns were full. They ended up spending the night in a stable. That night Mary had her child. Kings and beggars all came to pay homage to their Lord; bowing to the baby who would save them all from their sins.

Now, many did not believe that Jesus was Son of God. They thought He was just a man. They did not understand the miracles He had performed. Eventually He was beaten till He was no longer recognizable, then He was made to walk through the streets, carrying a cross and was then hung by that cross, nails in His hands and feet. Three days after His death, He rose again, forgiving His persecutors.

During those three days, He traveled to hell, freed all the trapped souls who went to heaven. He then took on the burden of the sin of every man. He had no sin, but was persecuted and killed for sinning. In so doing, He freed us of our sin. Because He died, we do not have to. We have a choice, we can live with and of the world. Enjoy everything that the world has to offer. Or we can place our lives in the loving hands of Jesus. We can believe that He died for us, accepting him as our personal Lord and Savior and in so doing, free our selves of the burden of our own sin; the sin we cannot avoid. When we free ourselves of this sin, we get to join Him in heaven after we leave this temporary existence. The choice is yours. Do you want to live for now or for eternity?


Heroes at Home

Submitted by tired_gardener on Thu, 12/25/2008 - 00:42
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Sears has joined hands with several non-profits to provide much needed supplies to families of our military heroes. The proud men and women who stand by as their family members follow the commands they are given and fight for our freedom are heroes. We often think about the soldiers as heroes, but their families are also heroes and deserve our support.

One way that we can show our support is by donating to the Heroes at Home foundation with Sears. Sears is giving the families gift cards so that they can go out and get shoes, clothing, and toys that their families need. They are trying to raise funds for 30,583 families. These families each has a soldier attached to it as well as several family members at home who need your help. If you can spare even $10 this holiday season to help out these heroes at home, you money would go to a good cause.

It appears that the monies are being distributed by Sears. This means that, while you are doing a charitable thing, the IRS does not look at it as a charitable contribution. If you are donating for the tax deduction, this is not for you. If however, you think it is good to just give for the sake of giving, even if you do not get anything in return, then God will bless you.

I realize I am posting this on Christmas Eve. I just found out about this project. But remember that just because Christmas is almost gone does not mean that the times of need are gone. People still need things. We give great at Christmas, but we need to be giving year round. If you have a little extra after the season is over, find some place that can use it. Perhaps some heroic families could.

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Winter Sowing - Is it too late?

Submitted by tired_gardener on Thu, 12/25/2008 - 00:25
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With all the snow and ice out there, I started thinking about winter sowing. You can't do much gardening with all that cold out there, but if you have done some winter sowing, you are sitting back, happy knowing that you little seeds are working away right now, getting ready to pop out of their shells and join you this spring.

I had every intention of doing some winter sowing. Have some big trays I was going to use and everything. Unfortunately for me, the only thing under all that snow is soil and weeds. I can still get some together, if I choose. Nothing to stop me from putting the seeds out there now. Except that I don't have time, with Christmas and all. Heck, look at the time stamp on this and you will see that I stayed up late to write it. Since tomorrow is Christmas, I'll be up early tomorrow playing with my daughters new toys. I'll even let her play with them!

Yes, I should have started winter sowing in the fall, but I've looked up some information on winter sowing, and some seeds can be winter sown as late as March, so I'm not too worried about it. I'll get some out in January... maybe.


Dragon Naturally Speaking Coupon Code

Submitted by tired_gardener on Tue, 12/23/2008 - 22:24
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Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Basic with Discount Coupon Code I first came across Dragon Naturally Speaking several years ago at one one my technical jobs. Back then, it was cool, but it was so hard to train that unless you really needed to be able to talk to your computer instead of use the keyboard, it was not useful. Now, it is another story. Now, it is so easy to train, that I have considered getting it. Imagine, being able to just talk into a microphone and have your computer type everything you say, without ever touching the keyboard. You can even control your computer, Star Trek like, with it. Although, you do have to use a standard set of commands and not just talk to it like a person.

My sister's boss uses it. He has Parkinson's, and the program gives him a little extra ease in his daily life. He runs a very successful small business and is able to do so, because of the help of tools like Dragon Naturally Speaking. It is not just for those that need it anymore though. It has come a long way and unless you can type at 150 words per minute (I certainly can't) then it would be faster to read it and let the program write it for you.

I have used the software a few time, but I don't own it. The truth is that I do most of my work late in the evening when people in the house are sleeping. Sometimes I'll get up early to work. If people are sleeping, I can't very well be sitting here talking to myself. Although, I suppose that if I was not talking loudly, like I do when I'm making audio or video files, that I might be able to.

Our readers have been offered a special coupon code. With this code: $50 Coupon Code- DNSMSBG -Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred you can get $50 off the preferred package. If you want the standard package, you can get $25 off. Get all the codes below, but don't wait. These codes are only good till the end of the year! If this is for your business, you can even write it off on your taxes. If you are a blogger, you might be able to claim it as a business expense. Talk to your accountant.

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Winter Pictures

Submitted by tired_gardener on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 10:26
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thought I'd share some winter time pictures. And a video.

Emma dancing.

A rose.
Frozen Rose

Lilac.
Frozen Lilac

The Tired Gardener's Front Yard.
Front Yard


Chicken Winter

Submitted by tired_gardener on Sun, 12/21/2008 - 12:47
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I went out to give the chickens some food and warm water when I noticed that Saunders had ventured outside of the coop. It's a little chilly out there, so they are mostly staying in the coop. Saunders did not appear to want to get her feet cold and just sat there, looking at the funny white stuff on the ground.

Saunders looking at the snow.

They have been seeing snow off and on for several days, but this is the first time it has stayed around and the first time it has been more than a dusting. Last night when I bedded them down, two of the ladies were outside the coop, just standing there. They seemed to be asking me to help them get in. I picked them up and put them next to the others in the coop. With the four little chickeny space heaters in there, it stays fairly warm, so they are staying in today.


Downloading Audio Books

Submitted by tired_gardener on Sun, 12/21/2008 - 02:26
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I love reading, but what with school and all, I have so little time to sit down with a dead tree and really enjoy the smell of paper, the curve of the letters, the sound of the pages rubbing together. I prefer to read it, but if I am to get my fill I need to find other methods to get it.

One such way is audio books. Through my volunteer work with Project Gutenberg and the Distributed Proofreaders, I found out about Librivox. Basically Librivox takes old books (must be in the public domain) and reads them so that you and I can download them and listen to them. I've done a little work with them as well, but again, lack of time has kept me from doing much. I read a couple of chapters before I started my Masters and I started a couple of projects with them. One of which I expect to be done in 5 years.

I'm not the only one who has trouble finding time. Justin says "I have come to love the audio book medium better than reading the books manually." I can't agree with that. I don't like the feel of headphones. I might listen while driving, if I drove more, but it doesn't quite work out listening to 1 chapter over 10 trips to the store.

If you have time, it would be awesome if you could volunteer with Librivox and get your own voice down. Some of the stuff of there is better than much of the commercial stuff. Others are.... not. If you have some time, they can use you. If you can read, do so. If you can edit, that is needed too. If you can manage, there is space for that. At the least, check them out and download a book or two. Maybe you can even do a reading for The Scarlet Pimpernel for me.


Coq Au Vin

Submitted by tired_gardener on Sat, 12/20/2008 - 23:13
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Since I have some time, I've been making big batches of food and freezing it. Yesterday I made some Coq au Vin and froze most of it. Kept a little out for dinner tonight and it was yummy. I read a couple of recipes, and combined them in order to get the results I wanted. Below is the recipe I ended up with.

Ingredients

  • 6 lb whole chicken
  • 5 tbsp butter
  • 1 1⁄2 tbsp olive oil
  • 6 oz bacon slices
  • 18 pearl onions, or one medium onion sliced
  • 6 oz whole mushrooms, small
  • 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 2 1/2 tbsp flour
  • 3 cup red wine, dry
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper to taste

Tools

  • Fry pan
  • 3 qt casserole dish

Cut chicken into pieces, reserving the bones and scraps for raw dog food or chicken stock (I did a little of both). If you buy already cut chicken, get 4 lbs.

Blanch the bacon by boiling in water for a few minutes. This takes out some of the saltiness. Melt 3 tbsp of the butter in a pan with the olive oil. Fry bacon in butter oil mixture until crispy. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

pre-heat oven to 350 F. Lightly salt and brown the chicken in fat a couple minutes on each side. Place the chicken into a 3 qt casserole dish. Crumble bacon over top.

Fry onions and celery in fat until soft. Add to casserole dish.

Melt remaining butter in pan and saute mushrooms for 2 minutes. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

Blend flour and crushed garlic in remaining fat (add more butter if needed) and brown to make a rue. Add wine, stock and bay. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer, stirring, until thickened. Poor into casserole dish.

Cover and place in 350 F oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven, add mushrooms.

Eat hot, or place in freezer safe containers and freeze for later.

The next time I make this, I think I will make two birds. The one bird makes about 12 servings, but a larger bird will allow us to fill the freezer quicker.


Banana Bread again

Submitted by tired_gardener on Fri, 12/19/2008 - 08:28
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I made some more banana bread, and altered the recipe I used last time a little. I think it turned out better, so I thought I'd post it. What is better about it, you ask? Well, it was moister for one. I have a fondness for moist bread. Try it and see how you like it. The main difference is that I used an extra banana, and they were just barely over-ripe, clearly still in the I could eat them stage, instead of the regular so over ripe that I won't eat them bananas that I usually use.

  • 3/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1/2 cup margarine
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 slightly over ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream sugar with margarine. It should be well mixed and light and airy. Make sure the margarine is cold when you do this step. I've never tried it with real butter, but I bet you would need to let it warm to room temperature first.

Mash eggs with a fork. They should be well mashed, but a few big chunks are ok. They leave some nice moist spots in the bread.

Beat in eggs, bananas, milk and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients.

Add dry mixture to wet mixture and combine. Mix just enough to combine.

Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, or until toothpick comes back clean. I did not cook until the toothpick was completely clean as it turns out a little dry if you do. It will continue to cook for a few minutes as it cools and will be moist.

Cool 5 minutes, remove from pan. Completely cool on cooling rack before wrapping and refrigerating or freezing.