Hi Michael,

 ML> >  ML> it's the adulterated cooking stuff that one has
 ML> >  ML> to avoid, for any number of reasons.
 ML> > As we have. Our "starter" wine, years ago, was something like Mogan
 ML> > David.

 ML> Which has a number of purposes, one of which
 ML> is to put people off wine.

We drank it, in very small quantities, off and on, for a few years, then
gave it up when we joined the first (of many, over the years) Southern
Bapist church we've affiliated with. Our independent Baptist church had
no restrictions about its use prior to that.


 ML> >  ML> low in salt. Experience with the latest package
 ML> >  ML> shows why it's cheap - no quality control; it
 ML> >  ML> was about the saltiest I can imagine. Along
 ML> > Sigh! Guess you will be looking at the higher priced stuff now.

 ML> Or get comfortable with rinsing off the
 ML> bacon, which might be a good idea anyway.

I've not noticed any extra saltiness to bacon; our problem is trying to
find some that's not 99% fat.


 ML> >  ML> with the brined shrimp, I'm blowing up like a
 ML> >  ML> zeppelin again, which usually corrects with a
 ML> > Not fun!

 ML> Well, the unfun part is the fear of a
 ML> slow ballooning demise.

That could be a major concern. AFAIK, salt doesn't affect either Steve
or me; we just chose to keep our intake at a lower level.


 ML> >  ML> day or two of Lasix, but it pays to be careful
 ML> >  ML> these days, as there isn't a hospital in the
 ML> >  ML> county that would take me if it came to that.
 ML> > All full up with Covid patients?

 ML> Seems to be the usual run of heart and
 ML> other operation patients. There's mostly
 ML> no need or reason for S2 patients to be
 ML> clogging up the ICUs, and from my one
 ML> quick look inside, they're not doing that.

IOW, the news media are making worse of a situation than actually
exsists for that area?


 ML> >  ML> You will naturally remember to reduce the
 ML> >  ML> alcohol out of the wine, especially
 ML> >  ML> important in cold dishes.
 ML> > I do reduce it out, to the point we don't even know it was there.

 ML> The alcohol, I presume you're talking about,
 ML> not the wine in general. Which makes me think,
 ML> why don't cooks prereduce their wine. One of
 ML> the objections people have is that in a lot of
 ML> cooking, alcohol sort of hides in the nooks and
 ML> crannies, especially in starch, because of the
 ML> insufficient use of heat and general lack of
 ML> expertise. This might be relevant to you as
 ML> teetotal and would certainly be noticeable to
 ML> me. An easy way to finesse the problem would be
 ML> to boil down added wine by maybe a third to a
 ML> half before adding it to a dish.

So far, I seem to be doing it right. (G)


 ML> >  ML> Only recently have I quit eating all I can
 ML> >  ML> get whenever I can get it.
 ML> > We're cutting back too. Had a few years of eating a goodsized
 ML> portion, > then the appetite as a whole decreased.

 ML> These things happen, don't they,

Yes, I usually plan to eat only half or less of my entree. Today was a
bit different; we went over to Texas Roadhouse for dinner after church.
I had a 10 oz rib eye, baked potato, tossed salad and roll--ate it all.
But, I'd had an early (light) breakfast and we just had a light supper
so it all balanced out.


 ML> >  ML> > If she's the only one eating from that jar, not a problem.
 ML> Just get >  ML> > yourself another jar.
 ML> >  ML> I wouldn't care if she would eat it straight
 ML> >  ML> from the jar, I'm not silly enough to think
 ML> >  ML> that she could infect me with anything awful
 ML> >  ML> from that. My point was that she eats jelly
 ML> >  ML> only that comes from Smucker's or worse.
 ML> >  ML> Anyhow, I don't generally eat jelly at all.
 ML> > Most of our jelly/jam (more of the latter than the former) is home
 ML> made > (by me). We've got a few commercial ones, of flavors like
 ML> huckleberry > and ginger preserves, but home made strawberry,
 ML> blueberry, and peach.

 ML> At Bonnie's I'd make preserves, because she
 ML> got a lot of fruit and then couldn't eat it

Does she buy the fruit or grow it herself?


 ML> all. Lilli sometimes buys berries but bangs
 ML> them into the freezer where they just get
 ML> frosty and dried out, but at least I don't
 ML> have to deal with them.

Until you go to get something out of the freezer. (G)


 ML> >  ML> >  ML> So not at all easy, though the original
 ML> >  ML> >  ML> poster of the recipe wrote that she had a
 ML> >  ML> >  ML> hankering for the stuff and used fruit
 ML> >  ML> >  ML> from the supermarket.
 ML> >  ML> > Gotta do what you can with what's available sometimes.
 ML> >  ML> Well, exactly.
 ML> > If it satisfied her craving

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


...  It works!  Now, if only I could remember what I did.

--- PPoint 3.01