Watermelon Rind Pickles

Well... I didn't accomplish very many of my 2013 Food Resolutions. Oh well! I did manage to make some watermelon rind pickles this summer. I cannot find the recipe I used anymore but I do remember that there was a bowl of watermelon rinds in vinegar in my fridge for close to three days. 

The pickles themselves are interesting. They are very tart with a background of sweet. I would make them again because I like the waste reducing aspect of this pickle. I think they would go nicely on a sandwich or on a plate of pickles/chutneys.  

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Palt: The Recipe

Palt:

5 cups shredded drained potatoes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups milk

Shred pototoes coarsely on a box grater. Drain thoroughly. I place a handful in a tea towel and squish and twist vigorously. Add flour and mix thoroughly. This is best done with your hands in the same manner (but more vigorously) as mixing ground meat. The mixture should have the consistency of ground meat when mixed. Shape into patties of equal size. 

Bring a  large pot of water to the boil. Add in the patties and boil until all patties are floating. Strain. 

Cut the patties into cubes and place in a saucepan. Add milk and saute until milk begins to thicken. Stir frequently to avoid scorching. Serve when all of the milk has thickened and is coating the palt. Consume with salt and pepper and copious amounts of butter. 

 

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Palt: A Tradition

One of my favorite potato dishes is my family's tradition of palt. Palt is one of those amazing, hearty potato dishes that is not well known. In elementary school I naively assumed that everyone knew about the wonderful palt, but I was shocked to discover that my teacher did not know how to spell it. Palt, in family lore, is an Eastern European dish that was passed down to us through my father's Swedish ancestors. Therefore palt was one of the few dishes that my dad cooked. Palt sounds disgusting, being a boiled mixture of shredded raw potatoes and flour. The raw palt which has the texture of meatless ground meat, is shaped into hamburger-like patties. My dad would boil the palt in two huge roasters, spanning two burners each, until the tiny kitchen windows were streaked with condensing steam. The large, gelatinous, white mounds are virtually tasteless and are consumed for supper, with a large pat of butter on the side of the plate. Palt, served the next day for breakfast, is the perfect meal. Leftover palt patties are cut into cubes, and fried with milk. The milk is cooked until the cubes of palt are warm and covered with a thick, white, gluey, starchy palty goodness!

There is a proper and improper way to consume palt. The proper way is as follows. One cube of palt, covered in milk glue, is placed on a huge pat of butter. Hold the hot palt against the butter until the butter turns from an opaque yellow solid to a liquid. Consume the cube and begin again. The improper way to consume palt is to mix the butter into the milk glue covered cubes as this way of consuming palt does not allow the proper freshly melted butter to palt ratio. Consume only palt cubes thoroughly covered in milk glue. If this is not done, there will be too much milk glue left on your plate at the end of the meal. Also,no matter what happens, place the empty plates in hot water immediately after eating. The milk glue dries into an impossibly hard crust if not cleaned immediately. Palt may sound disgusting but trust me it's a wonderful dish! Palt is starchy, warm and gooey consumed with large amounts of butter fat, and milk fat. There is nothing that can go wrong with this combination of carbohydrates and fat!

There are many versions of palt and it appears that the filling-less version is known as flat-palt. It appears that palt is commonly filled with ground meat and boiled in the same manner that a dumpling would be. Also flours made from barley and rye are commonly used. I plan on exploring these other traditions that involve palt.   


  

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VIA Train Travel: Hints and Tips

For the past five years my husband and I have been choosing the more environmentally friendly (and casual) way of traveling. We choose trains over planes whenever we can. The major downside of train travel is that it takes a lot longer to arrive then flying but we enjoy the casual and low-stress environment of the train over the hectic, stressful nature of flying.

 

Tips for Economy:

- Hot water is provides so bring hot chocolate, soups, and tea/coffee.

- Blanket: Its way easier to sleep with a blanket in any circumstance but the odd body positions you get into at night require a blanket.

- Utilize the observation car. For some reasons passengers in economy hardly move from their seats. This means that the observation car will be mostly empty making for nice daytime viewing and a place to stretch out at night (if you don’t mind sleeping in the light).

Economy is the cheapest option but in all honesty I would recommend upgrading to first class berths. The price difference is that great and you receive all the benefits of first class as well as full bed. Economy is mostly comprised of Canadian travelers while first class is comprised of overseas tourists. This makes first class passengers a lot friendlier and talkative.

Tips for First Class:

- Meals are included and there is complimentary coffee/tea/fruit/cookies throughout the day so you won’t starve. Do not choose the middle dinner seating as that seating is the most popular. VIA staff usually host wine/beer tastings during the middle dinner seating as a morale booster to those passengers who have to eat earlier and/or later.

- Ask for the entertainment car. This may or may not be the nearest observation car to your room but it will be worth the walk as this car will hold all the party people, the excellent staff, and all of the activities. Activities could include a musician, movies, talks about the local environment, wine/beer tastings, and/or souvenir shopping.

- Make the trek down to the Park Car. This car is set up entirely different than the regular observation and activity cars. Have a martini. You’ll feel like Bond and won’t regret it.

No matter how you travel make sure to register for a FREE VIA rail preference number. You can redeem points for FREE train travel!

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The End of 2013 .... The Beginning of 2014

During the daily grind of the year - during the repetitive process of cooking, errands, general life - one can forget the small goals and accomplishments that really add up over the course of a year. 

2013 was the year I...

... Launched an e-course about Kombucha
... Wrote weekly beer-related blog posts for a local bar
... had a regular column over at Paperdroids
... Submitted to SegaZine and Self Care Zine
... Hosted several workshops
... Sold zines at several Zine Fairs
... Collaborated on a comic zine! 

 

2014 is the year I ... write.    

Write is my One Little Word (wherein you choose one little word that represents the upcoming year - inspire by Campfire Chic) which means that I will write...

 ... blog posts

 ... zine submissions and zines

 ... to-do lists

 ... emails about collaborations and potential projects

 ... NaNoWriMo 

 ... postcards and letters

 ... e-courses and e-books

 ... new project websites            

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Eggnog Debate Zine

Eggnog: Pro or Con?

Are you pro eggnog? Do you love the creamy, nutmeg-ed Christmas drink? Do you enjoy your eggnog with rum or whiskey? Do you wish eggnog was a year round libation? Then submit a short (100-500 word) explanation, story, poem or recipe that describes your love for this holiday drink.

Are you anti-eggnog? Do you hate the white semi-set pudding like drink? Do you wish it was outlawed? Do you have stories of imbibing on eggnog only to be sick? Then submit a short (100-500 word) explanation, story, poem or recipe that describes your hatred for this holiday drink.

Contributors will receive a complementary copy.

Deadline: 20 December 2013

Submit to: wingedsnail99@hotmail.ca

Release: January 2014

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Making Christmas: Food Ornaments

My love for food does not cease to exist just because it's time to trim a Christmas tree. This year my tree may just be covered in food....

1. Of course, you must have a cranberry and popcorn garland especially if you are a Gilmore Girl fan. Case in point...

Lorelai: [To Gigi] Very pretty, honey.

Rory: Hey, what a good job.

Lorelai: You know what I really like? Your cranberry-to-popcorn ratio — Rory’s more of a one-to-one kind of gal, but I’m like you, I like a lot of cranberry, a little popcorn thrown in for flair. [aside to Rory] Yours is pretty too.

Rory: Thank you.

(Source) 

2. Dried Orange Ornaments have intrigued me for years. 

(Source) 

3. Cinnamon Dough Ornaments seem like such a nice smelling way to incorporate cinnamon unto your tree. 

(Source) 

4. And of course, the easiest way to incorporate equipment from your kitchen onto your Christmas tree. Hang cookie cutters from your tree!

(Source) 

5. Been drinking too many beers lately? Want to get rid of the evidence? Make some Bottle Cap Snowmen for your tree. 

(Source)

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