Grind it...

A year or so ago, I bought a used meat grinder at an antique store. It cost $20, and it's like one we had when I was a kid. It's aluminum, and only has one plate. It clamps on the side of a counter or table.
It was almost out of sight on the top of one of the kitchen cabinets, but I saw it while fetching the last quart of canned pears next to it.
Today, I got a piece of beef roast out of the freezer, thinking I might make stew. However, I was in the mood for something else, and decided to try grinding meat for meatloaf. I put the chunk of beef and two chicken breast tenderloins in the microwave on a low setting for a couple of minutes to take the edge off. Then I cut them into chunks and clamped the grinder to the edge of the kitchen table with two layers of kitchen towel to protect it. The towel was a good idea --- the only other time I used the grinder I had a mess on the floor below. I still soaked two paper towels and put an aluminum pie plate on the floor to catch the drips.
Also, the meat had more tendon tissue than I realized and I had to clear out the grinder holes a couple of times. It was harder work than I had thought to grind meat, I must admit.
I put one-third of a large onion in the grinder with a whole wheat bread heel to kind of clean it out, then put the ground meat into a covered casserole dish --- a rectangular bread pan was too small. I added another crumbled piece of whole wheat bread, garlic powder, Eggbeaters to total the equivalent of one or two eggs, a tsp. of good mustard, 1 tsp. of smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire, and some dried chives.
To cover the top I concocted a mixture of ketchup, leftover cranberry sauce, a little mustard, more smoked paprika and garlic powder and spread it around, then baked it at 325 for about 45 minutes.
With roasted butternut squash and parsnip, it was a very comforting Sunday dinner. However, I must confess the rest --- I placed half the butternut in a Pyrex pie pan and halfway through the baking process, thought it needed a little moisture so added some(cold) broth. The Pyrex cracked along one side, and in the process of rescuing the squash, I burned the top of my hand in the oven. After numerous cold compresses and a bandage with triple antibiotic cream, I think I will mend, but my tears while hearing a repeat of the OPB concert of Tony Bennett duets were genuine. Aretha and Tony did me in, not to mention residual burn pain. Fortunately, I missed the Amy Winehouse duet --- perhaps they left it out --- which is probably a good thing, or I would have been a puddle on the floor.

Zooming

Our neighbor helped remove the snow load from our roof, which took a good hour. The roof has a slight pitch and he had to work while sitting down. We paid him $40 and a fresh loaf from the oven of sourdough rye bread, which he said that he and his sister enjoyed.
Several days later, we still had a berm left from the snowplow and snow imprisoning Mom's van. I had shoveled out my four-wheel drive pickup and was able to get out of the driveway in granny gear to get to the post office and local store on a couple of forays, but Mom gets nervous if her van is encased is ice and snow too many days.
When Steve came back offering to help shovel out the front of Mom's van, I put on my Sorel boots and joined him. I broke off a long-handled scraper with brush on the first attempt to free the roof of Mom's van. I continued with the more truncated version as Steve used his snow shovel to dig our the front of the van (I had cracked the handle of our snow shovel on the first attempt to clear the walk).
He would not take additional cash for helping free the van, although he has been unemployed for months. I guess he thought $40 was enough to cover both jobs. Since he said he and his sister had enjoyed the rye bread, I asked if he would like some more homemade bread.
A nod and a smile told me I needed to set to work.
I got out my two batches of sourdough (the longstanding version plus the French batch my sister contributed), and decided to make a more traditional loaf of whole wheat bread.
After replenishing the starters, I added some spelt and twice as much whole wheat flour, as well as about 1/3 cup of gluten flour and another cup or so of unbleached white.
Spelt is an ancient grain that can be used like wheat. It is a good source of manganese, protein, copper, and zinc. Although some say that it can be used by people with celiac disease, my sister, a physican assistant and the mother of a celiac sufferer, begs to differ. For those without gluten intolerance, however, it is an excellent grain with good nutrition.
Triticum aestivum var. spelta. was originally grown around 5000 to 6000 B.C. It has been grown in Europe for over 300 years, and in North America for just over 100 years. It is prized for its nutty flavor and high protein content. I buy spelt flour in bulk, which is less expensive than it is in those packages sold in the health food stores.
This batch of bread also included about 2 T. of honey, and the same amount of agave syrup. I used 1 tsp. of quick-rising yeast in the initial batter before adding more flour. I have been guilty of not adding enough salt to bread dough, and made sure I put in 3/4 tsp. of sea salt after the initial rise as I worked in more flour.
This time, I decided to try something else in the bread dough, and it proved to be a winner. You could say I "Zoomed" it. As a kid, we often ate Zoom hot cereal, and I often cook it for Mom as an excellent source of fiber.
Originally called Power Cereal when it was first introduced by Fisher Baking Company, Zoom Cereal is distributed by Krusteaz, the pancake mix company that is based in Seattle.
I put in about 1/2 cup of the 100% whole wheat flakes, which are quick-cooking. I figured it would be less "leadening" than using cooked whole grain cereal, which I have used in other batches of bread and bagels.
I did not over-handle the resulting dough, and let it rise twice. Steve's loaf was deposited into a traditional loaf pan, slit in three quick motions along the top and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I formed the rest of the dough into a round loaf and placed it on the pizza stone, which I prepared with cooking spray and a little polenta.
Both loaves were periodically sprayed with water while in the oven at 400-425 degrees, and I also had a pan of water in the oven to keep things hydrated.
The resulting bread was moist, had spring and texture and was not overly leaden. Mom expecially enjoyed it because she doesn't like peasant loaves and their crackling crusts, which are hard for her to chew.
Zoom --- I will be back.

Mortality

I've had two back-to-back reminders that life is fleeting. The usual joke: You start the morning by checking the obituaries and if your name isn't there, it's a good day.
My brother sent an emailed photo of a day lily with the same name as a rock group I sang with in the late 1960's. The name was a coincidence, but in the last couple of years I have exchanged infrequent emails and CD's with the former leader of the band in Maine. I forwarded the photo, but the email was returned. I knew his email was associated with his business; that was a bit worrying, so I Googled his name and located his obituary and a tribute page posted by his brother.
The next morning I had a call from my second cousin, who lives about 40 miles from here. I spent some time as a teen on her family's farm on the Kitsap Peninsula, and had enjoyed staying in contact with her mother, who was an author and amateur historian.
My second cousin had two brothers, both jokers and larger than life characters. I still remember riding in her brother's tiny 'clown car' to a lake near the farm to go swimming, singing along with Herman's Hermits at the top of our lungs.
Later, the older of her two brothers had a business selling Christmas trees in California and used a house I was sharing in Portland as a way station for his north-south trips. Several times, he showed up without notice, arms laden with groceries including steaks and bottles of wine. We cooked him dinner, and he enjoyed our company until leaving early the next morning. I knew about his disastrous engagement to a woman in California that had ended badly, devastating him and leaving him curled up into a ball, resulting in the first of several hospitalizations for depression. I only saw him a few times in the years following, once at a family reunion at the farmhouse. I still have photos of everyone lined up on the back stairs. Now his two sisters, who were estranged, are reconciling as their family has been reduced to two.
About five years ago, his younger brother was found dead of a heart attack at the bottom of the stairs. This death was deja vu all over again.
In spite of it being mid-December, the power was off. He was found crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, and although there was evidence of hard drug usage, his heart was definitely involved.
I have learned recently that several former lovers from my New York days have passed, but at least their music is still with us.
Will I leave a musical legacy? That seems less likely now.
Every day is a gift, as I have just been reminded again.

Going Crackers

With the New Year came enforced respite in the form of a raging cold that isn't letting go. It's likely the result of all that frantic activity --- two sets of house guests, holiday meals and several vocal outings, as well as being out in raw weather.
Actually, we've been lucky. Other parts of the country have had major snow and freezing temperatures. My sister in Alaska has snow to the rafters. It was 21 the other morning in Atlanta, where Mom will be going for a couple of weeks in February. Here, we've only had two little dustings of snow. Ski areas on Mt. Hood have slush. We've had several sunny days and average temperatures in the 40's.
Due to a drippy nose, hacking cough and general malaise, I've been staying in and haven't gotten into town to replenish some of my usual pantry staples, including my favorite midnight snack, crackers.
There is a box of whole grain soda crackers on the shelf, but they don't count. I have my Laughing Cow (garlic and herb and blue cheese wedges) plus a chunk of Monterey jack, the other necessary snack components.
It's been years since I attempted homemade crackers. This is not the definitive batch --- there are a few things still to be ironed out --- but I have some satisfactory and reasonable facsimiles.
I started with about 2/3 a cup of cooked 8-grain cereal (Bob's Red Mill). Into the bowl went 3 T. of softened butter, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup unbleached flour, 1/4 tsp. soda, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 2 T. poppy seeds, 3 T. sesame seeds, 1 tsp. dill seed, 1/2 tsp. celery seed, 1/2 tsp. mustard powder, 1 tsp. Spanish smoked paprika, 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 tsp. Tony's Cajun seasoning, 1/3 cup grated parmesan, and fresh ground pepper. Add just enough buttermilk to barely moisten and gather ingredients into a ball. Cover and put in the refrigerator at least 1/2 hour.
Roll dough into 1" balls and flatten by hand, using more whole wheat flour if it is sticking. Place each flattened ball on parchment paper on a large sheet pan and flatten more. Place in a 300 degree oven at least 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes, and lower the temperature to 275 if they seem to be browning ahead of schedule. Turn off the oven and let them stay there 10 minutes or so, then remove to a cooking rack. If they are still bendable and not that cracker-like, place in the oven at 275 for another 10-15 minutes. This is a "play it by ear" thing. If you don't flatten them enough, they will be a little doughy. They just need a little less moisture. You can also flatten out one sheet of dough and break it into pieces after it bakes.
I will be perfecting this process, but these are quite tasty.