An observation of inconsideration

Unfortunately, like most people, I have to work. So, I was on my way to work the other morning.  And running a little late, as well. Wouldn't you know it I got stuck behind a schoolbus?  Okay . . . whatever.

The bus makes a stop and there's a fairly long line of cars behind it and another line, of course, in front of it.  The little girl who was waiting for said bus is sitting eating her breakfast from a paper plate at the stop.  Instead of getting on the bus . . . with or without the plate of food . . . she sits there and finishes is and in no particular rush, it seemed.  All the while, the the bus is waiting and other people waiting . . . just for her to get on the bus so it can proceed.

For about a half a second it looked like she was done and so I assumed . . . incorrectly . . . that she would finally board the bus.  Then from from my rear view mirror I see a man darting across the road through the waiting line of cars with a cup of juice in his hand.  The little girl . . . you know, the one not getting on the schoolbus? . . . just stood there waiting for him.  Did I mention the lines of cars waiting in front of and in back of the bus?

Anyhoo, the girl took the juice from the man and . . . in no hurry whatsoever . . . finally  gets on the schoolbus.  Five minutes for what should have a second long stop.

I can't imagine who this child could have gotten her . . .uhm . . . manners from.   **Cough**parents**Cough**

The point of this aggravating little anecdote is that it annoys the bejoobies out of that some people have no consideration of other people's time or of other people in general, for that matter.

Meddle not in the affairs of the dragon; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Ketchup . . . Catsup . . . confused?

Ketchup is a condiment . . . that we all know.  Except did you know that it wasn’t originally tomato based?  That and the word ketchup has its roots in Chinese . . . I’ll bet you didn’t know that!  From as far back as the 1700’s, it was found in the Far East.  Except there it was originally a spicy pickled fish sauce or a soy sauce called ke-tsiap or kecap.  Kecap . . . morphed . . . ketchup.

Catsup (or catchup) is an Anglicized version of the word ketchup . . . same stuff, different word.  Mystery solved.

Early ketchups were all dipping sauces.  Most included mushrooms, walnuts or anchovies as a base instead of tomatoes . . . plus other spices.  Not quite what most of us have in our refrigerators today.  That wasn’t introduced until about 100 years later in America by none other than crafty New Englanders.  And even then it wasn’t the popular condiment it is today.  It took a while to gain popularity. 

You wonder why you can’t find ketchup in most European dining establishments?  That’s because it’s an American thing.  So if you travel abroad . . . bring your own.

It wasn’t until Henry J. Heinz began making ketchup in the late 19th century that it started to catch up.  He had to compete with a whole slew of others to make ketchup one of the most common condiments in American kitchens today.

Heinz Ketchup vied for tomato-ee domination against Del Monte & Hunts Catsup.   In wasn’t until the 1980's when ketchup was declared a vegetable by the government for school lunch menus that ketchup won out over catsup.   Catsup, because of its spelling, was not on the approved list.  Heinz won! 

I know people who put ketchup on everything they eat . . . and I mean everything . . . it’s really a bit much and I’m sure it’s insulting to whoever does the cooking for them.

Ketchup goes well with lots of foods.  Just not every food.  


Make sure to shake your ketchup bottle before using to avoid the inevitable flow of liquid that settles on the top.

Did you know there’s a whole phychology around who eats ketchup and how? There’re dippers and squirters, to sprinklers and smotherers.  Really . . . you can’t make this stuff up!

The sauciology is as follows:

1. Those who dunk into a well of ketchup are methodical and trustworthy. But they may also be control freaks who are afraid of change.

2. Ambitious people splodge their sauce in the middle of their food.

3. Creative types squirt and swirl their sauce in thin lines. But deep down they are impatient and do not tolerate fools or timewasting.

4. Those who dot their ketchup are friendly, but live conservatively and dream of adventure holidays.

5. Smotherers are the life and soul of the party.

6. Artists who draw faces and words on their food have an easy-going approach to life.

7. Gourmets who keep ketchup in a cruet appear charming but, deep down, may be snobbish social charmers.

Firewater Friday . . . Mmmm, Daddy!

You know the old wives’ tale that says a watched pot never boils? Well, I’m thinking too many old wives spent too much time in the kitchen and had nothing better to do than make sh!t up to mess with our minds.   Of course a pot will boil even if you’re staring at it.  It just feels like it takes longer because you are concentrating on the water and nothing else.

In order to distract you from all this water watching, someone invented a device so that you don't have to . . . it's call the Boil Buoy.  It's a little device goes into your pot of boilables and will chime when the water is ready to go.  How cool is that!!

Then there’s the claim that cold water boils faster than hot water does or that hot water freezes faster than cold water does . . . tell me how much sense that makes . . . but it must be true because I’ve been hearing it all my life.  Right??

Lets start with the first one . . . it’s true that cold water gains heat more rapidly than water that is already hot but that doesn’t mean it will boil faster.  Once it gets up to the temperature of hot water, the heating rate slows down and from there it takes just as long to bring it to a boil as the water that was hot to begin with. So, obviously, because it takes cold water takes some time to reach the temperature of hot water, cold water clearly takes longer to boil than hot water does.  DUH!  No brainer . . . right?

Sort of . . . there’s a caveat: water that has been boiled once and allowed to cool will boil faster than hot water straight from the tap. Seriously!  How can this be so you wonder just before your head explodes.  The reason is actually quite elemental, literally.  It’s because boiling gets rid of the dissolved oxygen usually found in water, making it easier for the water to boil the second time around.

Now the second claim, believe it or not, is actually true . . . under the right conditions.  Hot water can actually freeze faster than cold water . . . well not cold water, actually, but lukewarm water.  But how is this possible you are asking dubiously right at this very moment.  Physics, my dear Watson, physics.  Hotter water loses mass to evaporation.  Less mass equals less water to freeze . . . therefore, it freezes faster.  Ta-da!

On a side note . . . where did the term lukewarm come from?  It’s actually a biblical reference.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were walking down the street of Jerusalem. Three of them said they were cool, but Mark said, "Luke warm”.  Okay, okay . . . I made that up.  The word lukewarm is a centuries old word.  The adjective luke is thought to be an alternative form of lew, an Old English word meaning tepid.  There was a time when the word luke stood alone and meant the same thing as lukewarm.  Saying lukewarm is pretty much the same thing as saying ATM Machine. 

Gentlemen prefer blondes

Dumb blondes . . . everyone knows the stereotype . . . heck everyone probably knows one!  Have you ever thought about how they got such a less than flattering distinction?  Well, it just so happens that there is a ground zero for the basis of the discrimination against ditzy fair ones. 

Catherine-Rosalie Gerard Duthé was a beautiful and much adored French courtesan in the times of Marie Antoinette.  She was self described as l’arc et le carquois de l'Amour  . . . the bow and quiver of love

Rosalie was born into a minor bourgeoisie household, her father held a trivial position in the King’s household.  At a young age she was instructed by a female relative her that it would be beneficial for her to take full advantage of her feminine gifts . . . pale skin, rosy cheeks, shapely bosom and full figure . . .  perhaps realizing that was all the poor girl would have to work with.

She escaped the hold of her family by going to work for the Paris Opera.  In case you didn’t know . . . opera literally translates from Italian to English as work.  Ladies of the opera were often working ladies . . . yeah, that kind of working lady.    Indeed they sang and danced and performed the plays of the day but the young ladies of high society did not go to the opera, so that should tell you something.  Rosalie was also not known for her acting abilities . . . that should also tell you something.    In fact, a satire was written about her called "Les curiosités de la Foire"  . . .  Curiosities of the Fair.  The play mocked her vacuous acting style . . . the long pauses, the silence; it was a huge success.

She was known to be sweet and have a pleasant tinkling laugh . . . she was said to be vivacious and charming . . . and also to be dumb as a rock.  When spoken to she would pause for uncomfortably long periods before responding . . . if at all . . . searching the vast emptiness for something . . . anything . . . sensible to say in reply?    

But gentlemen were not necessarily interested in Rosalie's conversational skills.  She was asked by the king to spend some time with his son . . . to teach him les faits de la vie . . . the facts of life. 

She was the companion to kings and nobility.  She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle by accepting the gifts these men bestowed upon her.  When Rosalie was seen in the royal carriage, other women were jealous. Typically, only the royal family was allowed to travel in the carriage . . . not a woman of her trade.   It was said she earned this privilege by means of her blond hair and that La Duthé a dû téter  . . .  La Duthé must have suckled royally.  Nice huh?

She was also sought after by many artists to pose for them . . . both fully clothed and completely naked.   In fact, there were many painting of her nude or partially naked. Paintings of her were commissioned for gentlemen to meditate upon . . . meditate . . . riiiiiiiiiiiight.  She may have also been the original pin-up girl.  

I'm packing your extra pair of shoes, and your angry eyes just in case.

You hear it all the time . . . eat green vegetables.  They mean green leafy veggies not potatoes.  Green potatoes are, in fact, poisonous.  Actually . . . all potatoes are poisonous but you have to eat eleven pounds of them in one sitting to feel any ill effect.

Potatoes are a member of solanaceae . . . the nightshade plant . . .  family. They make a toxin which is a neurotoxin called solanine . . . a relative of strychnine.  Solanine tends to concentrate in the areas of the potato that are exposed to sunlight.  They turn green because the light exposure encourages the production of chlorophyll.  The chlorophyll is harmless but it indicates a concentration of toxins so be ware. 

The production of solanine is a defensive mechanism . . . it prevents them from being eaten by predators.  Solanine poisoning causes nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, headache and dizziness . . . and if you consume enough of it  . . . death, hallucinations, and paralysis.

I was always taught that when you see patches of green on potatoes as you peel them, cut out the green parts entirely and discard them.  Others say you should discard the whole potato. To prevent the production of solanine in potatoes, always store them in a cool (not cold), completely dark place.

The eyes have it . . . solanine and lots of it.  They are indeed very poisonous to eat . . . so don’t!  Make sure to remove the eyes from a potato before eating it and discard any potatoes that have started to sprout . . . unless you plan to plant them.  The leaves and stems of the potato plant are also naturally high in glycoalkaloids, so ingestion of these parts of the plant must be avoided at all costs. 

Green potato chips . . . poisonous?  Only slightly.  Let’s just say you’d have to eat a whole heck of a lot . . . like a chip per dollar of our national debt a lot . . .  of them to get sick and you’d probably get sick from just eating that many potato chips, in general. 

The pressure's off

A few years ago my husband bought me a pressure canner . . . a top of the line pressure canner.  I put up produce all the time but I use the water bath method and I've been avoiding the presser canner.  Why?  Because it's scary . . . yes, I admit I was afraid of using it.  The obvious reason is because when that thing is cranking it's full of steam . . . pressurized steam.    Then there's the weighted gauge rattling around reminding me that there's all that pressure in there . . . that thing could explode at any minute!  Except for the fact that the pot is made from heavy cast aluminum and the lid clamps down with wingnuts and is vented.  

Anyhoo . . . I had no real need to use it until someone gave me a big pile of carrots from their garden.  Carrots are easy to can; however, they need to be pressure canned. So the time had come . . . do or hopefully not die.  It turns out pressure canning isn't all that complicated or scary.  It did it and I survived!

Like other canning methods, the jars have to be washed and the lids have to be sterilized.  This prevents mold, fungus and other bacteria from feasting on your veggies. 

When preparing the pressure canner you should follow the directions included with your canner.  But a good rule of thumb is fill it with four inches of hot tap water and put it on the stove over low heat, with the lid OFF, to get it heating up for later on.  It’s going to evaporate some, but that’s okay.

Wash, peel and trim the carrots and then cut them in slices or sticks. 

The carrots have to be hot packed so they must be cooked for 5 minutes before packing them in the jars.  Simply bring the carrots to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Next fill the jars, leaving 1-inch of headspace. Pack them fairly tightly, but be sure to leave 1 inch of space at the TOP of the jar to allow for expansion during heating.  Use a ladle or pyrex measuring cup to carefully fill each packed jar with water from pot of boiling water that they were cooked in. The carrots should be covered and there should still be 1 inch of airspace left in the top of each jar.

Put the lids on each jar and seal them by putting a ring on and screwing it down snugly  . . . but not over tighten.

Using the jar tongs, put the jars on the rack in the canner.  By now the water level has probably boiled down to 3 inches.  If it is lower than that, add more hot tap water to the canner. When all the jars that the canner will hold are in, put on the lid and twist it into place, but leave the weight off (or valve open, if you have that type of pressure canner).

Put the heat on high and let the steam escape through the vent for 10 minutes to purge the airspace inside the canner.

After 10 minutes of venting, put the weight on and close any openings to allow the pressure to build to 11 pounds.

Once the gauge hits 10 pounds, start your timer going - for 25 minutes.  Adjust the heat, as needed, to maintain 10 pounds of pressure.  This is for sea-level, the processing time will vary depending on your elevation.

After 25 minutes at 10 pounds, turn off the heat and let the canner cool down. After the pressure drops to zero (usually, you can tell but the "click" sound of the safety release vents opening, as well as but the gauge.  Wait 3 more minutes, then open the vent or remove the weight and allow the steam to escape.

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool on a wooden cutting board or a towel,  without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight). You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, but that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

That’s it.  Easy peasy.