Welcome to Saturday's Potluck

The few extra minutes of sunlight at the beginning end of each day. The farm is starting to awaken from its winter slumber. Daffodil and tulip leaves have emerged from the soil, crocuses suddenly began blooming. Finding chicken eggs once again in the nest boxes. The forecast of snow tomorrow may slow those hens downs a bit.

Eggs are my comfort food. A complete protein. Come with their own packaging, no plastic required. The cat prefers his with a little tuna mixed in for flavor. Dogs are not fussy - fried, baked, boiled or raw added as a topping to their homemade food instead of meat.

________

Collected a few basic techniques for cooking egg dishes.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ7wPIghScA]

[video:www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g93sAo2cFM]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpaBeS7bTIU]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WCni7y8i44]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuiq2wCahSo]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nzgd3X20fg]

________

South China Morning Post created two short videos on some of China's Governing processes.

(3.41 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbC4Og4hZYI]

(5.56 min)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pd5YxO4DBI]

________

What is on your mind today?

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Comments

Is that racist, too? Ha! Julia Childs is funny. Opening an ostrich egg with a skill saw. Ha, ha!
I like mine poached. Having a good quality non-stick pan is key to cooking eggs, imo.

Thanks for the OT SOE. Glad to hear spring is on it's way to your ranch.

Egg riddle ..

“A box without hinges, key, or lid,
Yet golden treasure inside is hid.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

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studentofearth's picture

@QMS the secret ingredient to health and enjoyment of life. After I saw Julia use a blow torch to remove pin feathers on a fresh chicken restrictions in the kitchen were gone.

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4 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Economy and schools returning to "normal" around here, despite everything. Shooting for statewide reopening April 1st, why not. coyote yip

After receiving a donation of Bombas socks, Parkside donated a pair of socks to every student at Jefferson, along with a Rice Krispie Treat and Nutri-Grain bar.

Woof woof! yum
vintage cereal commercial from 50's (probably) with snap crackle and pop!
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6TIsxTdrCU width:500]

top comment by who? lol thanks youtube

puppetmaster983
...
12 years ago
"got to have some crack..." wtf?! "...le" oh

Administration of Drug and Food
tacssagnilias.jpg
le oh
...
Yesterday I had green eggs and cheddar for a meal, no ham. Broccoli instead, which sounds gross but it tasted good and I felt lucky to have it. Thank mother earth may all beings feel her loving kindness and her generous abundance.

Peace and Love

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@eyo

And I thought crack spackle was something used
to fix plumbers butt Wink

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@QMS hah you reminded me of the time I bought my brother the house builder a gag gift can of crack spackle from Duluth Trading Company, during "The Catalog Years". It had a longtail(tm) tee shirt inside, they were great. I wore 'em too. Good quality comfy fit, I don't know what they are like these days. Companies change, butt names stay the same. ar ar Do be a wise crack.

https://www.duluthtrading.com/duluth-lore.html
longtailtee.jpg
oh my

Peace and Love

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Raggedy Ann's picture

@eyo
with broccoli. Delish!

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Raggedy Ann's picture

Thanks for the videos. Eggs are my absolute favorite - if I only had eggs, I would never be hungry. I loved my chickens, too - maybe I'll have some more some day.

Enjoy the day! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

studentofearth's picture

@Raggedy Ann so many twists and turns. Glad you stopped by to say hi.

Raising urban chickens does not seem to be a quick passing fad. Fascinating to look at the treat products now being bought by small flock owners. Some of the descriptions as persuasive current health food products.

Garden Delight Poultry Treat

A wholesome and delicious poultry treat for growing and mature birds. Contains pumpkin seeds, broccoli, raisins, sweet potatoes, beets, peas and sunflower seeds.

Also includes specially formulated pellets including oregano and thyme to provide an added zest.

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3 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@Raggedy Ann @Raggedy Ann My daughter sent me a Dash, and after some of my usual resistance to new appliances, I tried it for my (preferred) medium boiled eggs.

It's a small round red plastic domed creation. It cooks the eggs just as you instruct it to and plays a merry tune to alert you when it is done. Not a necessity, obviously, but I'm enjoying it so I thought I'd pass this info on.

I just looked it up and it's available at Target for 14.99. It says it cools 7 eggs but mine holds 6. So maybe it's an earlier model.

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NYCVG

@NYCVG

I thought Dash was a spice.
It's good to keep up with these
new fangled appliances.
Guess that is what kids are for?

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studentofearth's picture

@NYCVG It looks fairly small. When traveling is an option again it would be nice to have one in the car for overnight motel stays. Find my energy stays up better if restaurant meals and processed foods are limited.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Good morning all!

I love to make my version of stove top frittatas. They usually include whatever leftover bits and pieces of veggies from the week so it could be a few peas, Brussels sprouts, carrots, bell peppers and on and on. The beauty is it can be a very filling meal using only one egg to pull it all together if just for me.

Days are getting warmer here and brother in law is beginning to get his beds ready for planting. Went to a nursery this past weekend and of course was very tempted to get a few herbs to make a small herb garden I could transport from place to place in my moving about. May still do this.

Got some mending of broken pipes in my place up in the hill country. May get one of my other brother in laws to help with this since will have to move some furniture around to reach one of the pipes. Does not look bad considering how severe the freeze was.

Hope all have a good weekend. Planning a nice bike ride later today.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

studentofearth's picture

@jakkalbessie Good idea - I have a few inexpensive plastic tool caddies that 4" pots would fit. I could start them now, set out on warm days and easy to bring in when its going to freeze. Easier than growing trays.

Do a lot of stove top one of a kind frittatas. The youtube videos I videos viewed made them seem so complicated.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

for the 'De Mi Rancho A Tu Cocina series.
I am seriously jealous of the oven and her kitchen set-up. A semi-outdoor kitchen makes so much sense when you live in a hot climate.

We do a good deal of cooking outside to keep the cooking heat out of the house during the summer. It's also way more fun to be in the open air.

I love her nopalito recipe. For those who eschew flour, you could try mesquite flour to dredge the nopalitos.

Our prickly pear cactus took a beating this winter. We had so many and I have never gone to the trouble to take the spines off to make nopalitos. I made cactus-pear juice once. Now I'm wondering if I will get the opportunity to try it again. I'll just have to wait another 8 weeks to see if some cactus made it through the freeze.

Nutritional value of nopales:
https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Nopales,_raw_nutritional_value.html

From the Mayo Clinic site, some health benefits of nopales:

Some preliminary evidence shows that prickly pear cactus can decrease blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Some research also suggests that prickly pear cactus extract may lessen the unpleasant effects of a hangover, possibly due to its anti-inflammatory effects.

It might be too early to call prickly pear cactus a superfood, but it can be part of a healthy diet. It's high in fiber, antioxidants and carotenoids. Indeed, prickly pear cactus is popular in many areas of the world, particularly Latin America, where it is a native plant.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/expert-answ...

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studentofearth's picture

@randtntx I have a variety which handles the cold weather well. Have not been tempted to try and get past the heavy covering of spines to harvest. Now I am thinking about coming up with a method.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@studentofearth https://honest-food.net/how-to-clean-nopales/
Hank Shaw has a lot of good advice and recipes for those that hunt or fish or garden or forage.

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studentofearth's picture

@peachcreek

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

I hope el and magi, and whoever is in Northern California that caught a whiff of it will comment too. It really dumped up here in wine cave country. Browsing the weather history for instant gratification, I see a whole fifth of one inch fell, almost one quarter. Woo hoo.

And that one wildflower in the dirt patch squeezed out two more hats, I thought for sure it would be without petals this morning but nope. Fully intact and ready to bloom.
rainpoppy.jpg
https://www.gaiaherbs.com/blogs/herbs/california-poppy

The US Formulary of 1918 says of this botanical: “Attention has been brought to this California member of the Papaveraceae, as a powerful herb for calming and supporting sleep." Native American tribes from different parts of California used this plant for many traditional purposes- especially as a calming agent. The Pomo tribes from areas north of what is now Sacramento reportedly used the crushed seeds as a topical application, while the Mendocino used a root preparation as an external cleansing agent and internally. It was used by the Costanoan tribes from what is now Monterey to promote healthy sleep (Soporific). It has a long tradition of use in Western Botanical medicine as a Nervine and Trophorestorative (promotes nutrition uptake at the cellular level).

Huh. Now I have to go down some Nervine rabbit hole, thanks gaiaherbs. LOL

Peace and Love

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@eyo , kept their hats on. It sounds like an interesting herb, I'm going to have to read about it as well. Thanks for the tip.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@eyo

what I can tell. You just sent me on a chase/dive for Ca poppy info - our yard is always full of them.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

@eyo I have a packet of seed and a small spot that needs cleared for planting. If all goes well it will become a self seeding patch. I am glad you now have the opportunity to get your hands into soil outside.
I was inspired by your growing oak leaf lettuce indoors. The last 2 winters have kept a small pot of greens to nibble on.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

enhydra lutris's picture

often, but my wife requires added ingredients/elements, because, to her eggs in and of themselves have no taste. Since I love the taste of the yolk, I disagree, but who cares. An exception is egg salad sandwiches, which she loves

We, accordingly, make a lot of scrambles which are omelettes made easy, saute a bunch of leftover veggies or a few fresh ones and some chopped up leftover baked/boiled spuds, add some (2) beaten eggs and scramble it all up together. We mostly eat separate breakfasts, and I do a lot of egg concoctions for myself.

2 minute "poached egg" comes in handy for me, make and put on or overe or with anything. Put 1 cup of water in a microwave safe cup, crack in one egg, nuke for one minute and carefully decant. That's it, so start the toast first. I also love hard boiled eggs done so the yolk is just barely set aliced lengthwise with a thin pat of butter and pepper.

We do do a fritatta, but it lasts for days, and I have a souffle that lasts forever (it fills a bundt pan).

One thing we rarely do, but have done, is Tortilla de España, known to english speakers as spanish omelet. If you've been to Spain you've certainly had it. It is served hot or cold, any time of day, often as a tapa, Layers of thin sliced spuds and onion are softened in lots of olive oil, then drain and save the oil for something else. Gently mix the spuds and onion with beaten eggs, trying not to break up the potatoes, reheat a bit of the oil in the pan dump in the mixture and cook until barely set, then turn it over, some flip, but most invert pan and contents over a plate and then slide it back off, now inverted, back into the pan. Cook til set. Remove from pan, let cool, slice into wedges and serve. A lot of hassle, but really good.

Now I'm hungry. I once broke down and got a sistema egg thingie that makes sort of an egg patty in the nuker, which permits the creation of a quickie non-fried fried egg sandwich, so I do beliee I will go make one.

Still no effects from second moderna jab beyond sore deltoid muscle.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

@enhydra lutris sounds very good. Often the same three ingredients to make fried potatoes with onion in a caste iron pan and when almost done fry a couple of eggs over medium to serve beside or on top and let the egg yolk spread across the top.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JceGMNG7rpU]

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Saturday, and the variations on the egg theme.

Now I'm curious about your dog food recipe. I've always been wary of homemade dog food for fear of not being nutritionally complete. I would though, make my own if deemed OK.

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studentofearth's picture

@randtntx and try to write up by the end of March. My house pet have been on homemade food for several years now with no apparent problem.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

@studentofearth about it as well. If I do switch his diet it will be very gradually over a long time and with a great deal of information under my belt. I will be glad to get as much input as possible but no rush or pressure, I anticipate this will take me a while. Smile

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magiamma's picture

I have gotten eggs recently from Marion when I show her quiltting. They never make it beyond breakfast. So yum.

Just .1 “. More rain maybe in our future. Hoping.

From my early morning walk now. Arana gulch.
4EF6503A-BE2C-43AE-B724-C4F369E7C6A8.jpeg

Take good care y’all.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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studentofearth's picture

@magiamma Thanks for the picture.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Lookout's picture

A busy one here. Had howling wind and about 40 this AM. Baby pants did fine. I went to trade day and got avocados...my favorite item there. Recycled, visited the bank ATM for cash. Grocery shopped. Dealt with seedlings and watered new beds. Then put a 2nd coat of paint on the camp house door. So busy.

We eat eggs on the regular (pasture raised when possible) in most any way. Fried, scrambled, poached, baked...super tasty and excellent nutrition. About to have fried eggs, parsley salad, and bacon...hard to beat! Oops, and a piece of avocado.

Thanks for the OT, and hope everyone has a great day!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout
Pretty much disappeared here. Stores want to give vouchers for change. I'm using plastic everywhere. Used to tip cash, now on the card.

Why is there a cash shortage? Then I read about a proposalo for a digital dollar. No cash and all transactions to go through a federal government clearing house so they can see what every gasoline transaction and burger is being bought and by whom.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Lookout's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

Some of which are automated, and the others where I use a check, I always use cash. They don't take credit cards at trade day...and at least around here everyone takes cash.

Kinda 3rd world here and I'm mostly glad. Trade offs with everything of course.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout
in Anniston. Figured they wouldn't take an out of state check. Figured wrong. Installer said he had a mechanic's lien if the check bounced so the out of state check would be fine. Neither Citibank nor Chase has a bank in Alabama! Citibank (or was it Chase?) isn't in Georgia either. Floored me. After running around for an hour looking for a bank to get an advance,I asked him what his objection to the card was. He said "the 3% fee they charge". I said, "How about if I pay you 3% more and you take the charge?" He was surprised I could put $10,000 on a credit card (IIRC my limit is $15.000) but agreed. Hey, it was like carrying the charge for two months.

Business is very different down there from up here. Credit cards preferred to checks up here. Even when I bought my own furnace from a local up here they wanted me to sign a loan agreement instead of a check. I agreed because the agreement was zero per cent for 12 months then a godawful rate (30%?) retroactive if not paid in 12 months. Paid 10% a month for ten months. Habit. Bank pays me 0.01%, got 4 cents on my savings account last month. It costs them more to mail the statement.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

enhydra lutris's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

machines all over the place. Some folks might be hoarding some? Dunno. I'm never without some in my pocket, it's de rigeur for street vendors, farmers' markets, tipping, and the occasional hand-out.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris
This is the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago district. IIRC you are West coast. Different district. Hmmm. Any New Yorkers or Bostonians chiming in?

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4 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

studentofearth's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness are having more trouble with counterfeit currency. Merchants are 100% at risk for bad bills.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

studentofearth's picture

@Lookout I will be looking forward to spending time in the morning reading your Open Thread.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

if they don't accept cash?
Get your money for nuthin
and your hens for free (range) ..

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studentofearth's picture

beautiful warm day, up to 45 now and need to take advantage to get some stuff done outside. Snow is back in the forecast beginning Monday. Thanks for participating and will join up again early evening.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

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magiamma's picture

The collapse of Northern California kelp forests will be hard to reverse

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210305080126.htm

Satellite imagery shows that the area covered by kelp forests off the coast of Northern California has dropped by more than 95 percent, with just a few small, isolated patches of bull kelp remaining. Species-rich kelp forests have been replaced by 'urchin barrens,' where purple sea urchins cover a seafloor devoid of kelp and other algae. A new study documents this dramatic shift in the coastal ecosystem and analyzes the events that caused it.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

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enhydra lutris's picture

@magiamma

colony of sea otters in the target zone. Too bad.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

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Granma's picture

@humphrey

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studentofearth's picture

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

studentofearth's picture

@magiamma or the other plans in the Sonoma-Mendocino Bull Kelp Recovery Plan.

Urchin Ranching and a Glimmer of Hope

In what could be a glimmer of hope for bull kelp forests, UC Davis researchers are working with Bay Area shellfish company Urchinomics to explore the possibility of removing purple urchins from their sea floor barrens and fattening them up for market -- in short, urchin ranching.

If the resulting product gives kelp beds a chance to recover, dining on purple urchin could go beyond "sustainable seafood" to become restorative. Rogers-Bennett and UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory Director Gary Cherr will begin trials this fall to see if urchin ranching could be a viable strategy.

Other strategies are outlined in the Sonoma-Mendocino Bull Kelp Recovery Plan, released last June by the Greater Farallones Association and CDFW. It includes measures such as creating a kelp oasis to preserve seed stock and repopulate bull kelp when conditions are conducive to restoration.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

studentofearth's picture

@humphrey We could have had a reasonable national discussion on improvement of other respiratory infections in this country.

up
4 users have voted.

Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.