Monthly Archives: June 2014

Mmm… Pie Season yet?

Posted on June 11, 2014 by megan

It’s always pie season, right? Maybe it’s a tad early for fresh-from-the-garden pie, but the rhubarb and a few starter strawberries are coming on in my neck of the woods. I’m thinking it’s time for pie.

susan dahlem

Of course, there is the age-old issue of making a proper crust. I was lucky enough to learn how to make a crust before I learned that a pie crust involves a fair amount of confidence. A child rarely lacks confidence. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been making the exact same crust as featured in my mom’s Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook. Her cherry filling is also a regular at my house.

But if you aren’t confident about your confidence when it comes to making a crust, I know a secret and so does our very own Susan Dahlem (Sister #15). In her Not Quite June Cleaver Bakes a Pie book, she shares the beauties of getting it right with … gasp, shortening.

I’m not a proponent of shortening, so as soon as you get more comfortable with your pie crust skills, I would absolutely replace the shortening with butter … better for you and much tastier! But to get started, try it. Spectrum does make an organic version for the better-for-you part. The difference between butter and shortening is that shortening doesn’t get too soft about the time you’re ready to roll your crust out, so you don’t have the same time crunch—less stress for the beginner.

To help with the worries of getting the crust right, Susan has some delicious recipes for fillings, too. And once you get past the beginner stage, she also has a variety of crusts to try. I’m looking forward to trying my hand at an entirely new crust and filling.

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Posted on June 10, 2014 by maryjane

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Posted on June 9, 2014 by maryjane

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Self-sufficiency Merit Badge, Expert Level, Part I

Posted on June 9, 2014 by mbajane

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,892 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—8,416 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

For this week’s Farm Kitchen/Self-Sufficiency Expert Level Merit Badge, I rummaged in the back of one of my least used kitchen cupboards. I was looking for something very specific … something underutilized … something I bought at a yard sale and then promptly forgot about …

It was right next to the yogurt maker, behind the wok, and next to the As Seen On TV! pasta machine. I saw it as soon as I set aside the vacuum sealer, the tortilla warmer, the Winnie the Pooh-shaped cake pan, and the Mr. Coffee maker with the missing pot. I resolved to stop appliance hoarding immediately. Then I reached for it:

My food dehydrator.

I blew off the dust *embarrassed blush* and repented of my past sins of never having dried anything in my life.

Other than my hair.

Or last year’s Thanksgiving turkey, but that was kinda an accident. Helpful hint from me to you: Celsius temperature is NOT the same and/or interchangeable with Fahrenheit. Learned that the hard way; can I get an Amen?

Anyway, to earn my Expert Level Merit Badge in Self-Sufficiency, I needed to learn to use this puppy. I cracked my knuckles, figuratively speaking, and put the pieces together (the dehydrator, not my knuckles). Luckily, it seemed rather easy to use, and I even had the original directions (thank you to the nice yard sale lady who was quite organized, and who also let me pay with the loose change from my glove compartment, if I recall correctly).

First up:

Beef jerky.

Photo by Severein via Wikimedia Commons

I hadn’t necessarily planned on starting with something so advanced sounding, but I had two freezer-burnt steaks staring at me with a reproving glare. I didn’t blame them. I hadn’t wrapped them properly, and now they were inedible. Normally, I am quite carnivorous, but I had my dinner menus all planned that day I bought them, and into the freezer they went for another time, and then I put several loaves of homemade bread over top of them and kind of forgot they were there, and … well, you get the point. It was a crime, but it is what it is, and I knew how to redeem myself.

Thanks to the existence of my food dehydrator, yes ma’am.

I patted my steaks in a reassuring fashion, and got to marinating. Here’s what I used:

Jerky Marinade (for two steaks):
several dashes of Worcestershire sauce
a couple shakes of tomato sauce or organic ketchup
2 t minced garlic
2 t brown sugar
2 t instant coffee granules
spices and herbs (whatever you have—I used salt and pepper, thyme, and tarragon)

I marinated my steaks for several hours in the refrigerator. Then I sliced them as thinly as could be, across the grain. Then I set my fan for 155 degrees and laid them all out on the trays. Your food dehydrator might be different, so follow the directions. In about 7 hours, I had the most delicious snack ever! I’m already soooo excited to try it again, this time with different seasonings. Honey maybe, or rosemary and garlic, how about a spicy one with chili flakes or a siracha marinade? Or a pork jerky that’s been taking a bath in apple cider? Yum. Don’t even get me started with turkey or salmon. Or actually, get me started! I’m all in with this stuff.

Next, since I was feeling so very confident and pleased with myself, I tackled some non-meat items. The best thing I think about drying fruits, veggies, and meats is how you can enjoy off-season foods all year round! I’ve even put dried fruit in my freezer so I can savor strawberries in the winter. My favorites so far? Well, I’m so glad you asked. Tune in next time, my little chickadees.

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Posted on June 8, 2014 by maryjane

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Art-o-mat

Posted on June 8, 2014 by maryjane

Remember these?

Photo by Ben Schumin via Wikipedia

Not so long ago, cigarette vending machines were commonly found in restaurants, hotels, and countless other dimly lit corners of civilization. But, as the fad fell from favor (cheer!), the machines quietly slipped out of sight and out of mind, lost in the smoky haze of a bygone era.

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Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire by American artist Russell Patterson (1893-1977) via Wikimedia Commons

But, as trends tend to do, these vintage vendors are coming back en vogue, although not in the manner you might expect …

Instead of vending cigarettes, they’re now selling original art!

Photo by Nate Steiner via Flickr

Introducing the Art-o-mat.

This cleaned-up and kitschy-creative concept is the brainchild of North Carolina artist Clark Whittington, who says that the “Pavlovian” inspiration for Art-o-mat came to him while watching a friend unwrap the crinkly cellophane from a snack. The sound triggered an immediate craving—Clark was overcome with the urge to have a snack too!

Fueled by the force of his involuntary reaction, Clark sensed that he could create a similar impulse to “snack” on art.

Gotta have it!

One urge led to another, and he ended up converting an old cigarette machine into the first Art-o-mat, which sold his own black and white photos, mounted on blocks, for $1 each.

As he had predicted, the idea was catching. He and a group of local Winston-Salem artists forged the Artists in Cellophane (AIC) group with the mission “to encourage art consumption by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form.” AIC states that art should be progressive, yet personal and approachable. “Art-o-mat has created an opportunity to purchase original artwork while providing exposure and promotional support for artists,” says that group.

Photo by Alan Levine via Flickr

“The experience of pulling the knob alone is quite a thrill,” says the AIC, “But you also walk away with an original work of art. What an easy way to become an art collector.”

Art-o-mat Sedona Abstract Painting by Gene Garrison (Photo by Alan Levine via Flickr)

There are now more than 50 Art-o-mat locations across the nation. Check out this map to find one near you, or peruse the online gallery of machines—they’re almost as cute as retro camp trailers!

Photo by Seth Anderson via Flickr

Want to get in on the art?

Art-o-mat welcomes submissions from artists to feed its ongoing supply of small wonders, so if you’re interested in trying your hand at a playing-card-sized masterpiece, learn how to get it into a machine with these guidelines.

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Posted on June 7, 2014 by maryjane

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Honeybee Navigation

Posted on June 7, 2014 by maryjane

Trick question: Who first discovered that the world is round?

Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society via Wikimedia Commons

No, contrary to outdated grade-school history books, it wasn’t Columbus. It wasn’t even one of those brainy philosophers of ancient Greece.

Photo by Matt Neale via Wikimedia Commons

In fact, you might say that it wasn’t a “who” at all …

Stumped?

Well, hold onto your honey jars, because the answer might surprise you …

Photo by Björn Appel via Wikimedia Commons

That’s right, honeybees can be credited with the first system of global circumnavigation! And you don’t hear them bragging about it, do you?

Using the sun as a reference point—even when it’s on the other side of the planet—honeybees are able to communicate the location of food to one another through a deceptively simple dance.

“The dance language, which bees use to communicate, is based on the location of the sun,” explain researchers at Ohio State University. “When bees return from a food source, they perform a ‘waggle dance’ on the vertical comb nearest the entrance to the hive. The dancing bee makes a short, straight run while waggling its abdomen, then circles back and repeats the action several times. The bee orients its dance so that the angle between the direction of the straight run and the ray opposite gravity is the same as the angle between the food source and the position of the sun. Given this angle, other bees can orient themselves to the sun and locate the food source.”

Need I mention that bees have a minute fraction of the brain cells we possess?

Photo by Ken Thomas via Wikimedia Commons

Of course, I’m sure the bees’ sense of direction is boosted by the fact that bees are more sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field than any other creature. Not only do they incorporate this magnetic pull into their solar calculations, they use it to accomplish the perfectly precise hexagonal design of their combs.

Photo by Merdal via Wikimedia Commons

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Posted on June 6, 2014 by maryjane

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D-day Commemoration

Posted on June 6, 2014 by maryjane

Hi MaryJane ~ The Bee Nation book (gosh I loved that book!) talks about the Women’s Land Army of America movement in WWII. Intrigued, I began reading up on the Internet to learn more. The women were known as farmerettes, which got me to thinking about how the MJF sisterhood is a sort of continuation of this great American legacy. Women were offered classes on how to be a farmer before being shipped off to their assignments … The MJF parallel is the farm-related badges we all enjoy doing with great pride. The program was mirrored from the one in Great Britain and launched in WWI here to accomplish the same goals of feeding the nation at war. Here is a poster of a training session during WWI that takes place in Charlottesville, VA, at the University of Virginia, which is where I grew up! It was a two-month program.

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Monthly Archives: June 2014

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