Jersey Girl wrote:Nah...that'd make waaaaay too much sense!!
Actually, the cost of a tomato from south America is MUCH cheaper than a domestic tomato. Globalization is a reality that has benefits and downsides. The best we can do is adapt. If not then our economy is blown to hell.
My garden this year had a record amount of produce. I've been giving away tomatoes and cucumbers like crazy. Can't get any cheaper than that. :D
Another gardener! Barrel, my garden is booming, too. I think it's all the rain we've had lately. My tomatoes are just ripening and they're delicious! We're having BLT's tomorrow. We had squash yesterday. I'm going bonkers trying to figure out different ways to prepare squash because I've got so much of it. In fact, I dreamed about cooking squash last night, lol! I was scooping out the middle, making little squash boats and filling them with some sort of stuffing. I wish I could remember exactly what I was doing, my dream squash was delicious.
Jersey Girl wrote:Nah...that'd make waaaaay too much sense!!
Actually, the cost of a tomato from south America is MUCH cheaper than a domestic tomato. Globalization is a reality that has benefits and downsides. The best we can do is adapt. If not then our economy is blown to hell.
And if the imports are used for bio terrorism? How cheap will it be then?
In other news, a woman in New Jersey is frozen in fear, refusing to drive when told that people die in car accidents.
A woman in New Jersey?
Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.
Chinese Proverb
Butternut Squash Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes
(Adapted from MarthaStewart.com)
What You'll Need...
1 large butternut squash (for 2 cups of puree)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups of flour
What You'll Do...
1) Quarter and seed the squash. Place in a dish with 1/4 cup of water and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool, scoop out (no skins!) then puree in a food processor or blender.
2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, and butter. Add dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Whisk in butternut puree.
4) Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake at 350 until tops spring back when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-22 minutes. Rotate pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack to let cool.
Sage Cream Cheese Frosting
(This makes a lot; freeze the rest and use it for bagels or fruit. Throw in the fridge to thaw when ready for use. Adapted from Cupcake Bakeshop)
What You'll Need...
1 bunch of sage
3 tablespoons of water
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
12 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter
3 cups powdered sugar
What You'll Do...
1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature.
2. Heat sugar and water in a small pan under medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
3. Chop up the fennel and add to the sugar and let boil over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is syrupy. Set aside to cool.
4. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment.
5. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy.
6. Add half of the sugar and the sage syrup. Beat until combined.
7. Gradually add remaining sugar. Spread onto cupcakes and sprinkle on allspice if desired.
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. - Plato
Jersey Girl wrote:Yep. Children drinking out of hoses in the yard is mainly why I posted this. That and the sheer irony of it.
Here's another one:
The import of foods is at an all time high in the US. Guess what? Almost none of it is inspected by the FDA!
Yup! We put the American farmer out of business, import food stuffs from other countries and we don't bother to inspect it!
Now the FDA does have plans to revamp their system in order to be able to inspect food as it comes into port. But, well you guessed it...it's gonna take a WHOLE LOT of money to get that puppy up and running!
Would it be asking too much to take the "whole lot" of money, direct it back into the US agriculture industry where systems are already in place for FDA inspection?
Nah...that'd make waaaaay too much sense!
And guess who is leading the reason for exporting jobs to import cheap crap?
Shoppers at Walmart looking for a $150 32" TV and cheap produce.
Isn't it ironic that the people who complain the most about off-shoring of jobs are the very ones who demanded it via low prices at whitetrash mart?
Porter,
Where would you suggest Americans shop besides Wal Mart? Store names please.
Sadly, Walmart leads the market to the same place.
A Chinese coworker's wife said Walmart is the largest employer in her manufacturing town and they treat their employees like crap.
Remember the Wally world charade from a few years ago about how every damn thing in their store was PROUDLY made in the US?
Walmart comes in and forces the rest of the retailers to sell cheap crap.
Thanks to the masses of wally world shoppers the rest of the retailer are forced to compete with whitetrash mart, and the only why is to buy the cheap crap from the same damn place...China.
KimberlyAnn wrote: Another gardener! Barrel, my garden is booming, too. I think it's all the rain we've had lately. My tomatoes are just ripening and they're delicious! We're having BLT's tomorrow. We had squash yesterday. I'm going bonkers trying to figure out different ways to prepare squash because I've got so much of it. In fact, I dreamed about cooking squash last night, lol! I was scooping out the middle, making little squash boats and filling them with some sort of stuffing. I wish I could remember exactly what I was doing, my dream squash was delicious.
KA
We've had a lot of squash too! Have you made squash casserole? I just slice squash, crumble crackers, onions, salt and pepper, sour cream and loads of cheese on top with a pat of butter.
My garden has enjoyed the rain as well. I've been eating tomato sandwiches like crazy. It's really one of the best parts of summer for me.
Walmart comes in and forces the rest of the retailers to sell cheap crap.
Thanks to the masses of wally world shoppers the rest of the retailer are forced to compete with whitetrash mart, and the only why is to buy the cheap crap from the same damn place...China.
My town is very small. All of our toy stores closed down within 2 years of WalMart moving in. We've lost 2 groceries and all but one of our shoe stores. :( It's really frustrating. We did have a K-Mart too, which I would actually go to since I hated going to Wal-Mart so much. It went out of business too. I have to drive an hour to go shopping. I do most of my shopping on the internet now.
What's really aggravating is that all the other places go out of business and the Wal-mart doesn't carry what I need. I get so pissed off. I hate going in there to begin with. Usually I send my husband.
I wish I had a garden. I miss working my mom's vegetable patch.
Here's my summer squash recipe: I've been slicing zuccini and yellow squash into length-wise peices, brushing with olive oil, sprinking some black peper and kosher salt over them and then running them under the broiler untill they toast a bit.
This is bascially so I don't have to have the oven on too long. It can be unbearable humid in the evening here.
I love to stuff squash, KA, but that's more of a winter meal: I make stuffing out of fresh sausage, bread crumbs, raisins or dried cranberries, nuts of some sort (everything from walnuts to pepitas) and mash it all together with a little milk and butter.
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."