> > That's part of why uncles and aunts and grandfolks
> > and such often enjoy their young relatives more than
> > the parents do. Also there's the issue of more is not
> > necessarily better.
> Hmm.. I'm _sure_ my grandparents really enjoyed my staying with them for
> sometimes 2-3weeks at a time in Dumore, PA where they lived.. uh.. I guess
they
> could have just been just being nice though (laugh)

Toward the end of the visit, they were probably
exercising a little patience. There is a fatigue issue, 
after all. It's another case of the "toffee for tea" 
phenomenon (everything I needed to know I learned at 
Gilbert and Sullivan, not Kindergarten).
 
> My grandfather did like to teach me all kinds of things though... How to
skin a
> rabbit and gut it for cooking... (he didn't show me how to trap the dang beast
> (smile)).  He played guitar and he was always trying to get me to learn it but
> I'd cry and say "my fingers hurt!!" so he'd give up until the next summer's
> visit -  Then I'd scamp off to my cousin's house across town in Scranton
> (grin).

Hah, cunning little vixen.
 
> >> > U-Bet, none of the staff, and we're talking guys who
> >> > were 50 or 60 years old and did not seem like oblivious
> >> > idiots, had even heard of it.
> >> That is kind of insane.  In NY yet.. :(

It blindsided me, the fact that nobody even knew
what I was talking about.
 
> > And it wasn't even that they were expressing the
> > famous upstate/downstate attitude - they seemed
> > genuinely baffled by my request.
> Understand.  I went to that Wegman's site in Newark, NY. and while they will
> give you details about U-Bet syrup, they also state "not available" in Newark
> NY... Kind of insane for any store in NY IMO.

I thought it odd, not respecting your state
institutions like that. Like not knowing what
the Yankees are, or the Empire State Building.
Maybe the management of that particular store 
had a run-in with the Fox's company.
 
> >> That's scary... I note that the online display for Wegmans in Ithaca
says it
> >>does carry it, in "aisle 13B".  Ron says he's never noticed it there but
then
> >>again he'd already ordered it online (he got 3 bottles (grin)). I'll
have him
> >> check next time he goes just out of curiosity.
> > I'll remember Aisle 13B.
> In Burlington MA, it's in aisle 9B :) and in a Boston MA wegmans's it's
also in
> 9B.  Interesting seeing that.

I wonder why they don't standardize them more.
Make life easier for people who switch locations.
On the other hand, maybe my own life habits make
me overestimate the number and importance of those
people.
 
> >>It must have been great to see them again, I'm glad they were able to
join in
> >> and I'm sure they enjoyed seeing you folks as well.  I hope the two of
> > It was, and we all wish you could have been there
> > to see them.
> Yeah we will really have to try to make next years' picnic.

Please do. We were tossing various ideas around, care
to say what your geographic limits are (one day drive,
two days' drive, flight, and so on).
 
> > Or pizza filling. Of course you remember Jeno's pizza
> > rolls? The story is that this very foresighted Italian
> > guy called Luigino (Jeno for short) founded a Chinese-
> > food company (not a Chinese food company) called Chun
> Here's the article in the NYTimes about him:
> http://preview.tinyurl.com/h7vtqt8

Thanks.
 
> > these with one of his ancestral favorites, the peetsa
> > (why he didn't spell it that way when he misspelled
> > his own name I don't know), and came up with the pizza
> > roll, which made him rich and a household name.
> It's funny.. I never liked his pizza rolls ... guess I'm a purist at heart.

I had one once. Didn't find it memorable except
for the strange nonprominence of cheese - of course
there must have been cheese, but it did not make
itself properly known. Which reminds me, what if
one made little frozen drops of marinara and 
inserted them into mozzarella sticks before
coating them? Better than pizza rolls, I'd imagine.

> > Ants climbing trees
> > 1 bundle bean threads (2 oz or so)
> The way I see these, they are in a large  bunch.. Once in a while I will be
> successful at breaking it in half :)

They also get sold in a big pack holding a number 
of little packs. That way you get the benefit of 
buying a pound or so at a time and also of being 
able to use an ounce or two at a time. Win-win, 
unless you decide you don't like them that well.
 
> > 1 garlic clove, minced
> > 1/2 ts minced ginger
> > 1 ts chili paste with garlic
> > Heat oil hot, adding aromatics. Hold your
> > breath.
> Which aromatic causes one to hold one's nose?  Sure not garlic or ginger.. I
> live for those scents :)

Chili paste with garlic. A good one will be
quite sinus-clearing.

Butterbeer
categories: fictional, beverage, tastealike
Servings: 4

1 c light or dark brown sugar
2 Tb water
6 Tb butter
1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts cider vinegar
3/4 c heavy cream, divided
1/2 ts rum extract
Cream soda

In a small saucepan on medium, combine the 
brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle 
boil and cook, stirring often, until the 
mixture reads 240F on a candy thermometer.

Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 
1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room 
temperature. Once the mixture has cooled, 
stir in the rum extract.

In a medium bowl, combine 2 Tb of the 
brown sugar mixture and the remaining 
1/2 c of heavy cream. Use an electric 
mixer to beat until just thickened, but 
not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 min.

To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture 
among 4 tall glasses. Add 1/4 c of cream 
soda to each glass, then stir to combine. 
Fill each glass nearly to the top with 
additional cream soda, then spoon the 
whipped topping over each.

shelbyxbabble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ie_Xu1pS3s