Hi Dave,


 DD> It would be nice if the award were not posthumous. Les is 87 and his
 DD> old ticker is getting shaky on him. His son nis a retired cardiac
 DD> nurse and is thinking about re-locating to Springfield to take care
 DD> of his dad.

 RH> That would be nice for both of them. Steve's younger sister is a nurse
 RH> but Mom is in an assisted living place, better for both of them.
 RH> Neither of our daughters went into nursing sowe don't have any "next
 RH> generation help" lined up.

 DD> He keeps Les informed on what his doctors are really talking about.
 DD> And advises him on what he can and can't "get away with" in his
 DD> activities. Sadly Les has had to give up on cooking chilli for chill
 DD> suppers. He still can supervise, though.

Sad that he had to give up the cooking but good to know his recipe is
still going strong in the community. Does the town have a "home of Les's
(last name) famous chili" sign at the town limits along each highway
entrance? If not, why not?

 DD> At the end of the month the local college is putting on a "Chilli
 DD> Event" using Les' recipe. He was a volunteer instructor there for
 DD> several years The event will be held in the "Culinary Arts Center"
 DD> where they train DD> profeeionals in the culinary field.

Trained anybody famous so far?

 DD> And some have morphed into something different from what made them a
 DD> regular stop on my agenda. One of the few remaining, Ritz's L'il
 DD> Fryer, is going to our Sunday Breakfast Bunch stop this week.

 RH> Most all the places morphed into something else. One place was still
 RH> going as a restaurant last time we were there. Used to be one of our
 RH> favorite "go to" places so we went there and were disappointed. It had
 RH> changed hands, quality and quantity of the food had gone down hill.

 DD> Of copurse you guys haven'r changed a bit.  Bv)=

Not a bit! (G)


 RH> RV/radio net rally in Pigeon Forge, TN. Got to make sure we have enough
 RH> room to bring back some new cast iron pieces. (G)

 DD> Are you visiting a foundry in Pigeon Forge? Or stopping at the Lodge
 DD> factory outlet store in South Pittsburgh?. After Dollywood, of course.

There's an outlet store in Pigeon Forge, stopped there today and got an
8 compartment scone pan, a 6 cup muffin pan and several small
accessories--with a military discount spent less than $90.

 RH> Stopping at a Lodge outlet store, not planning on going to Dollywood.
 RH> Had thought about the Biltmore on our way out but base level entry fee
 RH> was $90. per person, a bit too rich for us.

 DD> I'm not big on theme parks, fairs and similar expositions. Part of
 DD> that is the amount of walking involved. And another (big) part is the
 DD> "Been
 DD> there. Done that" syndrome of many older folks.  Bv)=

And a lot it (rides, honky tonk shows, etc) is stuff we have absolutly
no interest in. The main street/road/whatever you call it in this area
(Pigeon Forge runs into Sevierville) is full of "Adventure Land parks",
dinner and show theaters, souvenier shops of all sorts....I.O.W.,
anything to separate the tourist from their $$$.


 DD> Still, though, I'm a fan of Ms. Parton. Not only is she easy on the
 DD> eyes, she can sing. And better yet, she can cook.

 DD>       Title: Dolly Parton's "Stone Soup"
 DD>  Categories: Poultry, Potatoes, Vegetables, Pork
 DD>       Yield: 8 servings

 DD>       2 qt Chicken broth
 DD>       1 lb Russet potatoes; scrubbed,
 DD>            - peeled, diced
 DD>  14 1/2 oz Can diced tomatoes
 DD>       1 sm Head cabbage; coarse
 DD>            - chopped
 DD>       1 lb Turnips; peeled, diced
 DD>       2 lg Carrots; peeled. diced
 DD>       1 sm Onion; chopped
 DD>       4 cl Garlic; minced
 DD>       1    Smoked ham hock
 DD>       1    Very clean stone
 DD>            Salt & pepper

 DD>   Pour the chicken broth into a large stockpot. Add in the
 DD>   diced potatoes, diced tomatoes and their liquid, chopped
 DD>   cabbage, diced turnips, diced carrot, diced onions,
 DD>   minced garlic and ham hock.

 DD>   Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce
 DD>   the heat to low and simmer it uncovered for about 2
 DD>   hours. Stir the soup occasionally during simmering.

 DD>   Scoop the ham hock from the soup and place it on a
 DD>   cutting board. Remove the skin and discard. Remove the
 DD>   meat and use a sharp knife to dice it. Add the diced
 DD>   meat back into the soup, discarding the bone or giving
 DD>   it to the dog.

 DD>   Taste the soup; it will have some saltiness from the
 DD>   stock and ham hock, but you can add more if it needs
 DD>   some, along with black pepper to taste. Remove the stone
 DD>   from the soup. (You can wash the stone and save it for
 DD>   the next batch.) Serve the soup while it's hot. Serve
 DD>   your soup along with this pecan chicken salad.

Nothing in the directions about when to add the stone.


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


... Get shopping while the gettin' is good!!!

--- PPoint 3.01