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Only because you asked for it, after doing my dumb post yesterday on my refrigerators, here goes DUMB POST #2: Freezers.
Here's the runt of the family. My husband went to a garage sale two years ago by a couple who were moving across country. I can't remember what he went for, but he came home with this little 9 cu. ft. number. One of those deals that was too good to pass up, you know. The freezer was less than a year old and, I must admit, has worked out well for us.
Last summer when we bit the bullet and got my commercial refrig, we were also looking for a BIG freezer to replace a couple of old ones that were . . . old. As in 30-40 years old.
It must have been our lucky day when we saw the huge freezer in the same outlet store as the refrig. It had a big red sale tag on it (marked down substantially) along with some other appliances in the store. When the salesman went to write up the sale he hesitated, looked up a couple of things in a book, went to talk to the manager and finally said the freezer had just come in the day before and was NOT supposed to be included with the sale appliances. Well, long story short, "the boys" excused themselves to go have a conference in the back room and then returned saying that since we were purchasing the commercial refrigerator AND wanted the freezer, we could have the big freezer for the sale price. Wa-hoo! We took them and ran.
The big freezer is 25 cu. ft. and six feet long as you can tell from the above picture (hahahachortlesnort) in which I coerced my 6'3" hubby to lie atop it to illustrate its size. As a friend said when he saw the freezer for the first time, "You could hide two or three bodies in there."
We managed to fill it nearly to the tip-top this summer and fall. I could stuff a few more items in there, but not many. (Oh, I love a full freezer!)
It currently resides in the garage and I thought I wanted it eventually to go in the new pantry. BUT it does take up a lot of room and if I can sweet-talk hubby into letting me keep it in the garage, I may just put the small one in my pantry.
So. What's next? Water heaters?
This morning Jane over at Hard Work Homestead was agonizing a little over the fact that she may have to give up her freezer(s) and refrigerator when they switch over to their soon-to-be ready solar energy system.
That got me to thinking about my own refrigeration system which definitely got bumped up a notch this summer.
I got the commercial refrigerator that I've wanted for a long time. Twenty-one cubic feet and it's not even my main refrigerator. Its job is as a storage refrig in addition to the one in the kitchen.
It's my pride and joy. (Still can't believe I'm this enamored with a refrigerator!) We spent a couple of hours, blood, sweat and tears getting the monster into its present position this summer. (Okay, no blood or tears involved; only sweat.) Currently it sits at one end of what we call our "entry room" which also holds a large outdoor coat closet, a small chest freezer, a broom closet, some file cabinets and storage space that I use as my pantry area because my kitchen proper is so small. (The door in the picture with the curtain and valance goes out into our attached garage.) Eventually, this huge refrig will go into my new pantry which will be directly off my new kitchen. Eventually. Someday. As soon as we win the lottery.
Since I do nearly all my cooking from scratch with whole ingredients, I really do need the space the second refrig offers. I store my various grains, nuts, seeds, kombucha, coffee, maple syrup, economy size bottle of soy sauce, popcorn, potatoes, and beets in there as basics. It also is holding this year's entire crop of carrots because we've found refrigeration keeps them better than any other method we've tried.
Hmmm, looks like quite the stash of beer in there, too. Let's just say we're ready for the holidays and leave it at that.
This is the interior of my kitchen refrig. (Just for the record, this is the emptiest you will ever see it. Usually it is stuffed to the gills, but I've been concentrating on using up leftovers for the last couple of days. Also throwing out some items that were yearning to go to the compost pile.) You might notice that it doesn't have a freezer section. Nope, just all refrigerator. That wasn't by choice but rather the only way this particular refrig was made.
It's a Crosley which is rated very energy efficient. We've never had one single problem with it in the fourteen years we've had it. Every now and then either hubby or I will cock our head and ask, "What's that noise?" Turns out it's the Crosley motor running. Seriously, it goes on that seldom that we're still apparently not used to it.
My husband has always wanted to build a refrigerator that runs on absolutely no energy source. He has a file of plans for one that maybe in forty or fifty years when he has nothing else to do, he can finally build. It's basically a box (of any size you want) that is flush with an interior wall of the kitchen and sticks out into the elements on the other side. The temperature is controlled with vents, and I do think we could make it work efficiently for possibly three seasons of the year up here. Maybe even in the summer it would be feasible if it were built with a compartment for a block of ice.
Well now, I'm just sure this post on my refrigerators has been one of the most interesting you've come across in a long while. I don't know what set me off on it except for thinking about Jane's dilemma on and off all day. If she and her husband could figure out how to make a constant supply of ice blocks year round, she's got one beautiful, old ice box she could use for their refrigeration when they pull the plug on grid power. Go take a look at it if you wish. It's a beauty.
We had these muffins for our breakfast/brunch today. I haven't made them for a while, but was reminded this morning just how good they are.
First off, let me say that as I mixed up the milk/oatmeal mixture last night before bed, I planned on doing a post on them today. Then I thought, "Nah, these little guys are so 'blah' looking, no one will be tempted to make them." Well, they may lack pizzazz in the looks department, but they make up for it in wholesome, smack-your-lips flavor.
You might ask why there are only two lonely little muffins in the above picture? (Geesh, they really don't look like much, do they?) That's how many are left. No, no, no, the two of us did not consume 22 muffins this morning. The recipe only makes 16, and beyond that I divide it in half for us. (So yes, we both ate three, but hey, they were small! And sooo good. I can guarantee these two will not last the day.)
This recipe is adapted from a great cookbook, The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham. Eating these muffins is like consuming a bowl of hot, steamy oatmeal . . . only much better. They are moist, heavy and . . . and . . . and creamy. (Creamy? Can a muffin be creamy? That's what I think of when I bite into one of these. Slathered with butter, of course. The butter makes them PERFECT, but I did notice someone at the table this morning putting a bit of strawberry jam on his.)
I sprinkle cinnamon on the top before baking because I love cinnamon in my oatmeal. Like raisins in your oatmeal? Throw some raisins in the batter.
Okay, on with the recipe.
BOWL OF OATMEAL MUFFINS
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup rolled oats
2 eggs
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1-2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter
(I seldom have buttermilk around when I need it so I frequently use plain yogurt with whole milk added to duplicate the consistency of buttermilk which is what I did with this batch. Worked great.
For the flour, I've used whole wheat, spelt, oat, or some unbleached white flour in combination with one of the aforementioned. All seem equally yummy in the end product.)
For this recipe there's a need to think ahead a little bit because you start the night before by mixing your buttermilk and oats together, covering and letting them take a snooze in the refrigerator over night.
In the morning, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the muffin tins.
In medium mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly, then add the brown sugar and beat until well blended.
Add the buttermilk/oatmeal mixture, then the flour, baking soda, salt and melted butter. Beat until batter is well mixed.
Fill the muffin tins about three-quarters full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from pans and cool slightly on racks. Serve warm on a blustery, cold morning. Or any other time. Makes 16 muffins.
I was fortunate to grow up in a very large extended family. My mom was one of seven children and my grandparents and all their married children lived in the same good-sized town. Even though I had only one brother, my childhood was spent surrounded with many, many cousins, aunts and uncles and my grandparents, all of whom I saw weekly if not more often.
One get together that was a tradition for the whole clan for all my growing up years was our Christmas Eve celebration at Uncle Frank and Aunt Helen's house. Uncle Frank had the distinction of being the first born of the seven kids; much to his chagrin, he was the only male child followed by six females.
Uncle Frank and Aunt Helen were the most well-to-do of the family. Not that Uncle Frank didn't work for his prosperity. When he was just thirteen, he started working in a small auto repair shop next door to where Grandma and Grandpa lived. By the time he was forty, he owned the business which by then had become a thriving enterprise.
The basement of my uncle's house was finished off into a very classy "rec room" complete with fireplace, comfortable furniture and a home bar. Not at all like the basement of our house which was . . . well, a basement.
The party on Christmas Eve was pretty much the same every year. We all dressed up (haven't we lost something these days when we all dress so casually no matter the occasion?) in special Christmas outfits, and each family brought a festive dish to pass. Uncle Frank and his family provided the liquid libations for both adults and children.
What a group we made. At first we numbered probably around 28, adults and kids. As the years went by and more little ones were born, our ranks swelled to about 36; sixteen adults and twenty children.
Other than eating a lot of good food, I can't remember anything specific we did on those Christmas Eves. The night was very low key and enjoyable. When we cousins were little we played the usual games, got into the usual squabbles and probably drove the adults crazy. As we grew older, we entered into more discussions, both with each other and our elders. Now that I think back on it, I guess it was pretty amazing that that many family members got along so well and could spend an evening together with no one having too much to drink and/or behaving in an undesirable way. (Well, perhaps there were a couple or three of the men who enjoyed the free spirits more than they would have under other non-holiday circumstances, but everyone was jovial and happy, and a couple of the wives would now and then commandeer the car keys before heading home.)
Heading home. Ah, that was the part of the evening that always caused me much angst. For some reason, I had the idea Santa wouldn't stop at our house if we weren't home and all tucked safely in bed. I was just sure we would fail to get home before Santa got to us on his route. You have no idea how anxious I was as I sat with my face pressed up against the cold car window scanning the heavens as we drove the few miles home. My eyes were peeled searching for a lit up sleigh pulled by reindeer racing across the night sky. I never did spot Santa's entourage (thank goodness as I'm sure I would have burst into hysterical tears if I had) on our way home. My brother and I probably made it out of our festive duds, on with our p.j.s and into bed faster than any other night of the year. Knowing it was okay for Santa to arrive since we were home, we quickly fell asleep thinking of the fun time we'd just had with all of our cousins, Grandma and Grandpa, and aunts and uncles on yet another Christmas Eve.
Dear daughter stopped over a little after mid-day today and asked her dad if he wanted to use her plow truck (which she had driven in today) to do any plowing around our place. So he sent her on her way into her office in town in my little Toyota and she left the truck and plow here for him to play with. Five inches of snow, a truck with a nine-foot plow blade . . . what man could resist? I didn't see him for the next hour.
I thought I'd get our Christmas tree up and decorated today but it didn't quite happen. Hubby helped me get it in after lunch but we decided to wait until after dark to put the lights on thinking it would be easier to see if we were getting them spaced evenly when it was dark.
So after dinner tonight we did string the lights up, but I decided to wait until tomorrow to put on the ornaments and the rest of the decorations. I need to go to bed early tonight. Although I thought I had a soft landing when I did my pratfall on the driveway yesterday, seems I have several muscles in various parts of my body that have been complaining loudly all day today, and I think a good (long) night's sleep is in order.
Chicken Mama stopped here for a dinner of tossed salad, spaghetti with meat sauce and a glass of good red wine with us tonight. She also brought (ta-dah!) a copy of her 2011 photographic calendar for us to see. Speaking purely objectively (ahem), we were very impressed. Besides the fact that her photos are gorgeous, she implemented a little different twist that I've never seen done on a calendar before. I think it's going to be a very saleable item for her. Unless I misunderstood, she's going to put up a video showing a flip-through of the calendar on her blog site.
Cross another week off your calendar on the countdown to Christmas. Only two more weeks to go. Yikes, don't know about you, but I gotta get crackin'!
Here's the runt of the family. My husband went to a garage sale two years ago by a couple who were moving across country. I can't remember what he went for, but he came home with this little 9 cu. ft. number. One of those deals that was too good to pass up, you know. The freezer was less than a year old and, I must admit, has worked out well for us.
The big freezer is 25 cu. ft. and six feet long as you can tell from the above picture (hahahachortlesnort) in which I coerced my 6'3" hubby to lie atop it to illustrate its size. As a friend said when he saw the freezer for the first time, "You could hide two or three bodies in there."
We managed to fill it nearly to the tip-top this summer and fall. I could stuff a few more items in there, but not many. (Oh, I love a full freezer!)
