Monday 05 September

[damar]

Happy Monday Everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend.
Yes, we are finally getting some rain. We are less than 2.5" behind now.

I have been working on my quilt projects, hoping to finish up one int he next week or so.

Today, I'll be canning home made chili. It's so nice to have it on hand for quick meals.
I can it in pint jars which is just enough for lunch.

I don't have anything new so this is from the grist mill visit a few weekends ago.
We wanted to go back up this weekend, but they had heavy rains and flash flood warnings and the mill of course, is right on the river.

   

[Don]

Good morning Patty, thanks for starting the week for us. Where is that mill? I usually stop at the mill in Cade's Cove when we go up in November and get corn meal. Looks like the mill is in good condition from your photo.

Even though it was foggy and wet this morning, I fired up the bike and rode up to FDR state park and went through the twisties. Getting used to the new tires as well as getting them "broken in". Kind of slick when they are new. I have almost 100 miles on them now so getting close. I like them a lot.

I stopped at Dowdel's Knob, a favorite spot of president FDR. You can see the statue of him in one of the photos.

[Dave]

Thanks for starting the Daily, damar. That's an interesting, and of course well-shot photo. How old is the mill?

Looks like it was a good day for a ride. Don. Although I wonder if you had concerns about visibility (more about being seen than about what you could see) and slippery roads.

All I have is another shot of yesterday's sunrise. I wanted a portrait orientation to emphasize how tall these palms are. I positioned myself so all the palms appeared in a row, then took a step or two to the right to separate them.

   

[damar]

Thanks Don and Dave!
You are brave to venture out in that mist!
But your bike looks great in the "weather"!

This is the grist mill

Its right on the banks of the 'Hooch
We bought their whole grain buckwheat/pancake/waffle mix and it was incredibly good.
That mill is operational.
We need to go back and get more Buckwheat flour and I'll keep it in the freezer.
At the time we were there, I already had cornmeal so we didn't pick any up.
They also had sorghum syrup from a farm we like in TN.

There is also a mill that used to run at Hamburg State Park. Not sure if it still does, but it's a beautiful old mill.
We camped there back in the late 70s...(there were gators) and then it went "unmanned" for a few years when GA was 
considering some park closures. But I think they are back up as a full Camping ST Park now.

Nothing like buckwheat pancakes with sorghum syrup!

Dave you have a beautiful post-card photo there!
Very nice composition with the line of palm trees.

Almost time to shut the heat off under the pressure canner.
6 pints, which is good for just the 2 of us.

[Dave]

Thanks damar.

I forgot to comment on your chili canning. I'm not into canning, but about every three weeks or so I make a big batch of home made chili. It's never the same: sometimes I use ground beef; other times ground chicken or hot sausage. Sometimes I throw in some soy chorizo. And I always add a variety of veggies: diced bell peppers, diced onion, usually diced jalapenos, often corn. Of course there are beans: usually great northern and/or black beans (I'm not a fan of pinto beans). Diced tomatoes of some sort (fire roasted, Italian, spicy) and other spices - cumin of course, Mexican oregano, red pepper flakes, and whatever else I have around that sounds interesting. I save 2 or 3 servings in the fridge and freeze the rest. When I prepare a meal from the chili I usually add sour cream or Mexican Crema, sliced scallions, some variety of shredded cheese, maybe some minced garlic if I hadn't added it earlier.

What's your favorite chili recipe?

[damar]

Dave your chili sounds excellent! Mine is never the same batch twice either!
I did put home brown green pepper in this batch with onion and crush tomatoes.
I soaked and cooked the pinto beans (which I prefer over red kidney beans).
I haven’t tried it with navy or great northern but I love both of those too.
I kept this recipe minimal as I can customize it when. Open a jar.
I used a brand chili powder this time that I realize I don’t like and won’t buy again.
I think it had salt in it..and too much.
In the south, it’s common to have chili on top of rice.
I just put the chili in a bowl and eat it with crackers…fork or spoon not needed!
Yeah, carb fest!
Thanks for sharing your culinary ideas with us! Addition of corn sounds great too!

[Quint]

Good morning Patty, Don, and Dave.
Patty, nice mill shot. I, too, am a big fan of buckwheat pancakes. Hard to find at breakfast spots here but homemade are best.
Don, that bike shot make me want to ride along. Reading another motorcycle adventure book here.
Dave, it's getting to be chili making season for me soon. My peppers are doing quite well. I should have some to dry. I've pickled some Aleppos and the Joelene Rustic Italian are one of the best sweet non bells I've grown.

Trying to keep up with garden harvests here. Even small gardens like mine can produce plenty.

[damar]

Hi Quint!
Glad to hear you are enjoying a good pepper crop. Mine did not do well.
Possibly poor pollination. The flower and nothing happens. They drop leaves too.
I’m about to pull everything out and cover the raised bed with black plastic to discourage the Bermuda grass from jumping over the sides. Just in case we don’t get a chance to relocate the raised bed.
My San Marzanos did not do great either. Most of them split before they got fully ripe.
Better luck next year.

[Don]

Good afternoon all.

Dave, very nice composition on your sunrise photo. For the most part, visibility was OK at the lower elevations. Up on the hill where the photo was taken it was a little foggy. Roads overall weren't too bad and I was taking it easy because of the new tires.

Patty, we got 0.80 inches here last night. It has threatened rain several afternoons but nothing happened until last night.

I do like buckwheat pancakes. Reminds me of a week long Boy Scout camp when I was young, and we had them a couple of mornings. I don't eat pancakes much these days, unfortunately.

DW has a favorite chili recipe but I don't know much about it. I know she uses Chilli-O seasoning. When I was stationed in Sicily, the Enlisted Men's club was right across the street from the barracks, and a buddy and I would often order a bowl of chili with a topping of chopped onion. Yum. And of course a 25 cent beer to wash it down. Now we either eat the chili plain or make nachos with it. I usually add jalapenos to mine.

Quint, I am going to search back and write down the names of those motorcycle travel books you mentioned. I looked them up at the time but foolishly did not make a note of the titles. I might have mentioned that I purchased the latest copy of Road Runner magazine and have been reading that. Lots of good travel stories.  Edit: Found them. Jack Lyndon Thomas and Lois Pryce. And I'll check out "Got2Go" books as well (I enjoy her YT videos) as well as Itchy Boots.

[Quint]

Don,
good you found them. Another I really enjoyed is Chis Donaldson's "Going the Wrong Way"