HI Michael,

 ML> > Guess you'll just have to wait for another cold(er) snap to check it
 ML> > out.

 ML> I looked it up, and the all-time record low
 ML> down valley was 16F, which on a sunny day

We've had lower than that here, but so far, not this winter. We're due
for our first snow (an inch or so) tomorrow.


 ML> could be fixed up in a matter of hours (I've
 ML> noted that the low on the knoll can be 10F
 ML> higher than there) - so a sufficiently cold
 ML> snap here in my lifetime is kind of unlikely.

It appears that you would rather it stayed warm-ish, not hot, tho,
rather than cold.

 ML> > AZ winters were usually mild enough that a medium weight jacket was
 ML> ok > during the day most of the time. We did have spells, tho, when
 ML> the heavy > winter coat was appreciated.

 ML> Up in the mountains, of course, it can get
 ML> mighty cold, there as here. The coldest
 ML> recorded in this county, so far as I can
 ML> tell, is -4F, -20 to you outlanders, I
 ML> think, on Mount Palomar about 25 mi
 ML> straight north of here (mostly uphill).

We were at my parents for Christmas 40 years ago; woke up to -25F. I've
been in colder, from time to time but this was Steve's first experience
with temps that low. Good weather to stay inside, but not by a fire
place in their house. When they built the house, Mom and Dad had the
thermostat put on the wall opposite the fire place. Whenever they built
a fire, the thermostat would read the ambient room temp as warm enough
not to kick on the furnace--resulting in rooms away from the fire place
being much colder.

 ML> >  ML> Hot dish can be good, and Jell-O salad
 ML> >  ML> can be amusing.
 ML> > I tend to think of a tuna noodle casserole as "hot dish" and some
 ML> sort > of red jello with fruit cocktail in it for the jello salad.

 ML> Well, those are a worst-case scenario. Okay, maybe a
 ML> Spam dish could be even worse.

They would be fine dining to some people. (G)

 ML> >  ML> See, I wouldn't even think of that, because I'm
 ML> >  ML> a cook; on the other hand, Dr. Brothers wouldn't
 ML> >  ML> even think of that, because she's not one.
 ML> > Just depends on how the mind is oriented.
 ML> >  ML> > "prepare fabric for sewing" when I mean lay out the pattern,
 ML> cut the >  ML> > pieces, etc.
 ML> >  ML> See, I wouldn't even think of that, because I'm
 ML> >  ML> not a sewing person.
 ML> > OTOH, you would "prepare the violin for concert" by tuning, laying
 ML> out > music, resining the bow, etc.

 ML> I wouldn't think about any of that, because I'm a
 ML> musician. Ormandy used to tell a story of conducting

IOW, something you do as a matter of routine, without a lot of thought
to it. Same as me, getting a piece of fabric ready to be made into, say
a shirt. The steps I take are ingrained in my mind so I don't need to
stop and think of what has to be done.

 ML> Fritz Kreisler in a concert with the Philadelphia
 ML> Orchestra, and shortly after scheduled starting time,
 ML> the soloist barged into the green room and anxiously
 ML> inspected his violin. Ormandy (a violinist as well by
 ML> training) asked if there was anything the matter, and
 ML> Kreisler assured him, oh, no, I just wanted to make
 ML> sure there were still four strings on the instrument.


A rather laid back attitude there.


 ML> >  ML> Sounds like a campfire meal.
 ML> > My dad did a similar campfire meal when he and my brothers were
 ML> active > in Boy Scouts. He'd make meat balls, wrap the whole thing in
 ML> foil
 ML> > packets and cook them in a campfire. He tried that for the family
 ML> the > first year we went camping--after a long day's drive and setting
 ML> up the > camp, we had to wait even longer for supper. I don't recall
 ML> it on the > menu for any subsequent trips.

 ML> It's in the timing: you want to cook the
 ML> stuff for at least 45 minutes, as I recall,
 ML> so it should get started as one set up
 ML> camp, not after.

I know, but he had this routine to setting things up and getting the
kitchen set up was always one of the last things to be done. Mom
couldn't work on getting a meal ready if she didn't have her kitchen
area set up. (G)

 ML> >  ML> >  ML> around before they solidify. I don't mind
 ML> >  ML> >  ML> either of these things.
 ML> >  ML> > Doesn't really bother either of us.
 ML> >  ML> I'd tend to prefer a browner ooze, Dr.
 ML> >  ML> Maillard being as he is.
 ML> > I go with a fairly lean grind, usually 90/10, so there's not a lot
 ML> of > fat to ooze out to begin with.

 ML> I was referring to protein ooze, which
 ML> happens when one puts egg in the mix.

OK, I don't get much of that but I only put one egg into meat loaf.

 ML> >  ML> >  ML> The Chinese actually like steamed meatloaf,
 ML> >  ML> >  ML> perhaps for just those reasons.
 ML> >  ML> > Possibly so, tho I never thought of meatloaf as particularly
 ML> a >  ML> Chinese > dish.
 ML> >  ML> It's just meatballs in disguise and
 ML> >  ML> cookable at a lower temperature. Might
 ML> > True.

 ML> Remember, we don't like to throw away
 ML> food, and every little scrap finds some
 ML> use in the kitchen, result being lots
 ML> of meatloaf, meatball and such dishes.
 ML> You don't think of them as Chinese
 ML> because they're likely not found on
 ML> restaurant menus, but believe me, they
 ML> are mainstays in real life.

I'll take your word for it; you've been around Chinese kitchens a lot
more than I have. (G)


 ML> Also, bakkwa, one of the most popular
 ML> new year's dishes, is made out of minced
 ML> dried pork, though it's better made with
 ML> whole cuts (see first message in this
 ML> packet).

I did, interesting.


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


... Gone crazy, be back later. leave a message at the Beep!

--- PPoint 3.01