Thursday, January 19

Meme's The Word: Part One


My love of chocolate chip cookies is certainly no secret.

I've been tagged for several memes lately, and since the thought of combining them into one giant post like my pal Clare did is more than slightly overwhelming, I figured I'd just start with one and see what happens. The sweet B'Gina at Stalking The Waiter tagged me for the Ten Mysterious Things meme, for which, I am told, you reveal ten weird things about you that nobody knows. Yeah, right. Like I'm going to admit on my blog that I call Joe Big Dog, didn't know how to use a washing machine until I was in college, and still get very scared during thunderstorms. Oops.

Instead, I'm giving this meme a little twist. Since this is a food blog, I'm willing to disclose ten foodie things you probably don't know about me. But only because B'Gina called me interesting--and begged. (If you are totally not into this kind of stuff, I won't feel bad at all if you bail out now and head over to somebody else's blog. But I'm warning you--these memes are everywhere.)

Okay, here goes.

1. When I was 17 years old and about to go off to college, the only three things I remember being able to 'cook' were chocolate chip cookies, super nachos, and guacamole. The 'last meal' I requested before moving out of the house was my mother's fabulous chicken & dumplings. I have since learned to make this dish myself--along with a few other things.

(An interesting aside: this morning's daily e-mail recipe from World Wide Recipes just happened to be for Stewed Rabbit & Dumplings. Hmmmm. Robin is an ace rabbit catcher, but the only problem is she doesn't like to share.)

2. I consider hot crusty bread, organic butter, and red wine to be a complete and well balanced meal.

3. I can devour an extremely large school of Pepperidge Farm cheddar goldfish in a very short period of time.

4. Every year I grow (and even dry) all kinds of culinary herbs and never use most of them.

5. When I dine at home (which is almost always), I eat everything from green beans to lamb chops with my fingers.

6. I've processed and then vacuum sealed an entire deer by myself--more than once.

Note: Scroll down to the comments section in that 'vacuum sealed' link if you want to read a (at least in my opinion) hilarious ongoing discussion between me and Louisa about vacuum sealing, venison, and the joys of lard-fried food.

7. I eat 'healthy' microwave popcorn. A lot.

8. I am incapable of not going somewhat overboard when I happen upon a really good sale on something I use regularly. This means that I recently came home with 16 pounds of brown sugar, 15 bags of walnut halves, and about two dozen boxes of herbal tea (half price plus coupons!). They joined the 17 jars of peanut butter and 17 bottles of vanilla extract already living in the pantry.

9. I have no problem eating the same thing for dinner several days in a row, especially if it is leftover homemade pizza or pita bread pizzas.

10. I've eaten squirrel--and liked it.

Thanks again to B'Gina for tagging me. And now I'm supposed to tag five more people, but since I (sadly) haven't been out in the blogosphere much lately, I have no idea who has already been tagged. So I'm going to swipe an idea from my pal Amy, who swiped it from our pal Alisha and choose:

1. Anyone
2. Who
3. Wants
4. To
5. Play!

Just be sure to leave the permalink to your post in a comment here so we can hop over and read all about you. And have fun!

13 comments:

  1. LOL
    you are too funny and cute fg. That was so much fun, I am so glad that you wrote tht but what ever will big dog say?

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  2. You're right, these memes are everywhere. I am seriously behind on them, and I've done two this week. Love the vaccuum sealer. I use it for everything from cheese to frozen fish.

    Start freezing your herbs (stems and all), then just pull a few off in the dead of winter when you need something fresh tasting. I use this way of preserving rosemary, thyme, and save. For basil I process it with olive oil and freeze in ice cube trays. (But I am guessing that you use up the fresh basil and it's the other herbs that get neglected. Unless you're not a basil lover, most people don't let the fresh basil go to waste.)

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  3. Oops. That should have said sage.

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  4. Awesome list. I, too, could eat pizza and/or pita bread pretty much forever.

    I made beer batter bread (a specialty of yours, I understand :-)) yesterday and have been eating it for every meal!

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  5. Okay, I just got back from moveable feast, and I also must be put on the deer leg list! I must remember that next season!

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  6. The best Thanksgiving meal I've ever had was a loaf of homemade bread, butter, and a bottle of high-quality wine.

    Not to say I don't enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but some days (and it depends upon the circumstances) the simple things in life are truly the best.

    Also agreed about the chocolate chip cookie baking and the college laundry experience. :)

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  7. Hi Farmgirl! I was finishing off a bag of Pepperidge farm cheddar goldfish when I came upon number 3 - I just bought the bag yesterday! And #8 is my biggest foodie weakness! Great list, and interesting to know all these little tidbits about you! BTW - what was your degree in college?

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  8. Hi Clare,
    Well, I figure I have about a 1% chance that Big Dog won't find that little tidbit I added on a whim. But not to worry if he does, because this is the ranking around here:

    1. Top Dog (that would be me, which is why #3 and #4 run to me for guidance when something really exciting or scary is happening)

    2. Big Dog

    3. Robin

    4. Bear

    See, just because you're the Big Dog, doesn't mean you're the Top Dog! : )

    Hi Kalyn,
    I, too, love my vacuum sealer. As far as using/not using the herbs from my garden, you are right about the basil--what isn't consumed fresh is turned into pesto that is frozen in tiny containers and ice cube trays. I dry oregano and also keep the plants alive by letting them live on the living room floor during the winter. It's more the other herbs I never end up using, mainly, I think, because I've never been a huge herb fan, and the fresh bounty of the garden often doesn't need it. So why do I keep growing them? Well, obviously I'm a bit demented. : )

    Thanks for the herb freezing tip. One question, though: doesn't the aroma of the herbs permeate everything else in your freezer? When I first moved to the country and was thrilled that I suddenly had an entire freezer to fill, I froze everything. I then found myself in the dead of winter with a whole bunch of cantaloupe chunks that tasted of cilantro. Ick! : )

    Hi Jamie,
    Oh, beer bread, yummy beer bread. I'd managed to forget it for a while, but now you put it back in my head. Hmmmmmm. I could probably whip up a loaf tonight! (Very wise of you to be eating it at every meal, as it tastes best freshly baked, you know. : )

    Hi Lacy,
    You did see the photos I posted last month of Robin with her deer leg, right? Click here if you missed them. And get ready to smile.

    Hi Berecca,
    Sounds like a perfect Thanksgiving to me!

    As far as the college laundry experience, it didn't take me long to realize that if I procured 14 pairs of panties, I would only have to do laundry once every two weeks! : )

    Hi Michelle,
    Oh that is just too funny about the goldfish crackers and the timing. Well, at least you didn't buy the gigantic BOX that I did recently. Shopping at Costco after a 12 year absence can be quite an impulse buying experience. And yes, they're ALL gone. At least they didn't disappear in one day. And I swear the cats were munching on them during the night. At least I hope so. : )

    My college degree? The ever-so-useful-degree-on-a-farm: Graphic Design! LOL, could anything have prepared me less?

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  9. My god, I thought sometimes that only I and little kids preferred to eat with their fingers. Glad to know their are others in this tribe :D

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  10. Hi Dining Dica,
    Oh I think the Finger Eating Tribe is bigger than either of us realize. We're just some of the few willing to admit belonging to it! I can't help it. As Julia Ormond said to Harrison Ford in "Sabrina," (the remake) "It's really so much better if you eat it with your hands." I did, of course, preface my disclosure by saying that I almost always eat at home. : )

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  11. Oh wow..beer and bread together? Sounds great! Care to share? Also, do you blanche your herbs before freezing them?

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  12. Hi Gourmetish,
    Welcome to the farm! Yes! Beer and bread together. One of the easiest, most scrumptious loaves of bread you'll ever bake. And I've happily shared the recipe:

    Click here to read my post "Beyond Easy Beer Bread."

    And click here to read my "Beer Bread Update: The Whole Wheat Version."

    Happy baking!

    As far as freezing herbs, I don't freeze them anymore. I usually dry them and store them in glass jars in my cool, dark pantry. Kalyn mentioned in her comment above that she puts rosemary, thyme, and sage (stems and all) right into the freezer. I don't think she blanches them; doesn't seem like you would need to.

    I do know that if you have a bounty of fresh chives, you can chop them up, stick them in a plastic freezer container, and pull out a few pinches anytime you like. They will freeze in individual pieces, not one solid chive block. No blanching required. : )

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  13. Thanks for the beer bread links! We get some delicious brew directly from a local brewery. I'm thinking that will make for a superb bread.

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December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.

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