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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Sunday, October 27, 2002

The Scuppernong Jelly salvage project looks like a success. The thermometer gave insight into the two previous failures. The mixture begins to boil at 203F, not 212F. Of course, the alcohol content of the wine lowers the boiling point. To boil off the alcohol, Christine Ferber suggests 10-15 minutes, which I did the first time. Now I've added more wine. The next temperature plateau after 203F was 212F, what you'd expect with water boiling. Then the temperature slowly crept up and plateaued at 219F again, just 2 degrees below the gell point. It spent a long time there and I learned why wise canners advise to never double batches. It foamed up and threatened to boil over. I stirred the bubbly top frantically and wondered if it would ever get to 221F. Bubbles near the surface would pop and shoot very hot sticky jelly, sometimes hitting me. But those droplets were cool enough by the time they hit me that they were only a minor irritation. It seemed an eternity at 219F until suddenly the Polder started beeping. After 2 previous failed attempts and 3 stalling points at plateaus, we had reached the summit - 221F, the gelling point! 2:34:46 PM    comment []

When I heard Graham Nash on NPR this morning, I knew his latest CD, Songs For Survivors was great. When he said that the death of Roy Orbison was the inspiration for the track Lost Another One, I made a mental note to order the CD as soon as I got home. This morning has been a quest for jelly jars. Attempt 2 to get the Scuppernong Blush Jelly to set has been another failure and the added sugar made it too darned sweet. The third attempt (maybe I should just drink the wine and not get cute) will use another bottle of wine and a cup less sugar to compensate for the extra cup added last time. This time, a thermometer reading of 221F is the only end point I'll accept, no boil an extra minute or sheeting test, Mr. Wizard says use the thermometer. I still needed some extra 1-cup jelly jars and scouting 3 local stores yesterday found zilch - all the canning stuff must be back in the warehouse. Nothing either on my trip to Lowes' Food this morning, but I did get a couple of relacement onions for the chili. Failure at Lowes' warehouse, WalMart, Linen & Things, and Home Depot as well - but the driving was pleasant, it was on the road I heard the Graham Nash interview. I knew Krogers' had jars, but that was a longer drive. When I got there, all they had was 4-ounce, pint, and quart jars in the big box. They did have 4-packs of ornamental jars for 4 bucks, hideously overpriced. Then again, who wants to drive all day looking for jars? I bought 8 jars and came home. At home, I ran across this NYT article about Osvaldo Golijov that compelled me over to Amazon.com and buy Pasion Segun San Marcos to accompany the Graham Nash in a super saver shipping container to my door. I think they'll get along just fine, even though it's a long ride. 12:01:52 PM    comment []

This hour is free! We have fallen back and get to live it over! My first thought, as I read this Online Journal article, was "Why doesn't anybody scream about links to the US Army in cases of domestic terrorism?" Timothy McVeigh, John Allen Muhammed, the anthrax guy, and Eric Rudolf all have terrorist vitae as credible as those attributed to Saddam but, for some reason, not of these are being explored. No conspiracy theories here, but what exactly and to whom exactly are we teaching terrorist techniques and to what end? 1:34:07 AM    comment []

What makes a foodie smile? Experimenting with a technique that produces the desired result on the first attempt, that's what. I wanted beef in chewy pieces for my chili and I got 'em. Here's how: I blotted the liquid from the surface of the standard issue London Broil and cut it into long half-inch wide biltong-like strips. Each strip was cut into segments approximately 3 inches long (the thickness of this cut was about 3/4 inches). I put these, properly separated to prevent illicit bonding, on a pizza pan that had been sprayed with olive oil which was then put into the freezer. The strips "set" in about 25 minutes. I fed the partially frozen strips, one at a time into the KitchenAid with the grinder attachment, using the larger plate (about 1/4 inch). After the last one, I threw in a 1/4 cup of unseasoned bread crumbs to force out the last bits of meat. For the chili testure I like, these are perfect: twisted coils of beef about 3/8 inch long, lubricated with EV olive oil to compensate for being lean in the saute. It's sealed up in a ziplock bag now, chillin' out for chili tomorrow. You cannot buy beef ground this way, but the butcher might do it for you if you ask. 1:35:22 AM    comment []

One of the better tips in The Rosengarten Report is that pasta para duros can be nuked! He suggests having your guests gather 'round the microwave (remember when the hearth was the soul of the house?) to watch them expand: 1 minute on high. No added oils in the microwave, this makes them a nearly perfect snack. 12:02:51 AM    comment []