ness

So what's the death toll on the bees? Are they going to bounce back?

Welp, compost bins and raised beds are still frozen....

Pot stickers tonight. Frozen kind. Not too shabby.

I tie/make most of the flies I use for pan fish. Hard styrofoam popper bodies, foam spiders, ants, hoppers, whatever -- they're not picky. I'll tie a nymph dropper to the surface stuff sometimes. Fishing for gills from a float tube is a lot of fun.

I've got seeds started, but I'm pretty far behind from when I usually do it. Some tomatoes, peppers, onions and ground cherry are growing. Just started more peppers, onions and tomatoes, and the first round of lettuce. I've done some cleanup in the yard this morning, including cleaning out the asparagus bed and pruning the black raspberry canes. Taking a break right now, but will be transferring some compost into the beds and planting peas and spinach this afternoon. I've got some black raspberry canes that have rooted in the ground -- maybe a half dozen. I'm pulling them up but will save them in some dirt. If anybody's interested, PM me your address in the next day or two and I'll mail some to you.

One of my dad's longtime friends was the son of Ray Caffrey, one of the agents killed in the massacre. Wild times back then, for sure. I posted this a while back, but Michael Sams -- the football player From MU -- well, his boyfriend is the grandson of Willie 'the Rat' Cammisano. He was boss for a while after the Civellas were dead or in jail. He was a bad, bad guy.

Reading 'Mobsters in our Midst' by William Ousley, a retired FBI guy who was in the organized crime unit in KC. I've always kinda liked mafia stuff. I grew up in KC in the 70s, when there was a lot of mob activity. Bombings, shootings, arson, whatever. My brother went to high school with the son of a guy that was gunned down in a pretty famous mob shooting. Not saying we were in the thick of things, but we were in the proximity. KC was a bigger deal in the national crime scene than its small size and Midwest location would lead you to believe. KC's boss (Nick Civella) was at the famous national mafia confab in Apalachin, NY in 1957 that was raided by police. That bust was a turning point in that it proved there was a national crime syndicate run by Italian-Americans--something that was up for debate at the time. Also, the KC family was deeply involved in the corruption of the Teamsters, and Civella was instrumental in steering their pension fund money into Las Vegas casinos that were mob controlled. That set them up for the skimming that was making the KC guys rich. The FBI 'Strawman' operation cracked it and became the basis of the movie 'Casino'. Anyhow, it's a really interesting and detailed account of those days.

So true FS.

Getting hooked on fishing for trout with your kids is a good thing! But, put down the Power Bait and just walk away. Don't look back. Now, grab that fly rod and read up on how to use it. Trust me.

That March thing has messed me up more than a few times. I always get licensed up for KS around the first of the year, then I mentally check that off the list. Head to MO in April or May and I'm not thinking about it. But now I am -- thanks.

Good thoughts, BH. It can happen in the blink of an eye. There's a family somewhere in the KC area without a 16 year old son today -- died in a car wreck yesterday around 3:30. Probably a new driver on his way home from school. Don't take anything for granted.

Better call Saul!

Here's the étouffée recipe. It looks way harder than it is. Most of the ingredients are the spices. It's my twist on this one: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chef-johns-shrimp-etouffee/ Shrimp Étouffée Ingredients Spice Blend: 3/4 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper The Rest: 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined with shells retained 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 Cups water 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 3 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 poblano pepper, quartered and ribs removed 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 cups water 2 teaspoons chicken base 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 dash hot sauce, or more to taste salt to taste 2 cups cooked rice Directions 1. Whisk ingredients for spice blend together in a small bowl. Dry shrimp thoroughly and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon of the spice blend. Toss to coat shrimp with spice blend. 2. Place shells in 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Simmer for five minutes and strain shells, retaining the stock. 3. Add oil and butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, and pepper in hot butter until softened, about 5 minutes. 4. Sprinkle flour and remaining spice blend into mixture and saute until well combined and slightly browned, approximately 3 minutes. 5. Stir in tomato paste and cook until tomato paste begins to brown on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes. 6. Whisk stock into vegetable mixture, add chicken base and stir until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to a gravy consistency, about 10 minutes. 7. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Season with salt to taste. 8. Stir shrimp into sauce; let simmer until shrimp are cooked all the way through. The roux is just half flour half vegetable oil baked in a 9x13 pan for 2 hours at 350. Stir it a few times while it cooks. I did one cup each which made enough for 2 plus batches of gumbo. It'll store ok in the fridge for a while.

Missed this thread -- we love the Britts. Our last two have been liver and white. Crummy pic, but here's one I've got handy:

Nicely done.

We're not getting the snow you guys are. Got maybe 2 inches over the weekend and it's just about all gone. I'm way, way behind on starting seeds and haven't touched the beds. I'm a slug.

Yeah -- I should do that. I don't see it around as much, but haven't really looked for it either.

Welcome. Good to have a husker here -- helps dilute the overpopulation of tigers

Good point. They need to be executed too. It occurs to me that with this new express lane for executions, the bodies are gonna start stacking up pretty quick. I guess we could bury them in mass graves, but that's gonna stink pretty bad. Maybe ovens? We've got a justice system, boys. It isn't perfect. It's too slow, too expensive, too political and a bunch of other stuff. No room for even one mistaken execution. Not one. So, chill and let the system do its thing, as maddening as it may be.

Although I like to try to do things 'authentically', I don't get too hung up on it. It's gotta taste good, take a reasonable amount of time and not break the bank. Rice with a spicy, savory sauce/gravy and some meat, fish or fowl is a great combination. I've got a pretty easy étouffée recipe that's much less of a production. Probably more like your gumbolaya. Disclaimer: autocorrect added them fancy accents to étouffée. Look, it did it again!

Yeah, gumbo is like chili--no real rules. I've done it without sausage a lot of times. I've done it with file, okra, fish, scallops, I'm sure some other things I'm forgetting. I would think it would be a good match for duck, goose, rabbit, venison, whatever game.

More gumbo, and a couple sourdough loaves. SBS on the gumbo: Ingredients -- Andouille, chicken thighs, frozen raw shrimp with shells. The veggies -- I like a poblano instead of a green bell Spices, etc. The Worcestershire sauce was late for the photo shoot. A hunk of the roux I made last week (50-50 flour and oil, baked in the oven at 350 for 2 hours). Heat that up until it melts and dice up the veggies. Then add them to the roux: Cook about ten minutes to get the veggies started -- be careful not to scorch the roux or it's gonna be chicken, shrimp and andouille on a plate for dinner. Add the spices (½ teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 tablespoon parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, 4 bay leaves, all approximate), diced tomatoes with juice, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 4 cups chicken broth (water and cubes). Simmer 30 minutes. While the soup is simmering, remove skin and excess fat from chicken thighs and season with a dash of salt, pepper and cayenne. After 30 minutes, add them to the soup and cook for 30 minutes. While that's going on, peel the shrimp and retain the shells. Place the shells in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them. Turn heat on high, bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. The shells will change to a pinkish color. Then strain the shells from the stock and add it to the soup. Remove the thighs, let them cool and shred the meat. I try to get rid of all the fat. Add the chicken back and simmer about another 10 minutes to get everything working together. I skim the oil from the chicken and/or roux off the top. Add a few more shakes of Worcestershire sauce, adjust seasoning, then turn off the heat. Add the diced andouille (assuming it's cooked, if not, better cook it) and shrimp. Let the carryover heat warm the sausage and cook the shrimp for 5-10 minutes. I like to add the sausage at the end because I don't want the fat to render out. Shrimp only need a few minutes or they curl into a ring and get chewy. Important disclosure: this pic is a retread from last week, actual results today may have varied slightly. So don't be calling me out for falsifying stuff. You know who you are Almost forgot the bread. No yeast, just sourdough. I gotta say the flavor is outstanding! The crumb was much better than my last try too -- I let it rise longer.

Lookin good rps. And, I agree beans and cornbread is good eating

Dayum! What a great bunch of chow you all have going! I've got the sourdough starter working tonight. Not sure what I'll make tomorrow. The smell is phenomenal though! Nice!! Been thinking about mushrooms ...

Quick and easy vegetable soup tonight. Veggies in a broth that's 50-50 chicken stock and tomato juice. Onion, celery, carrot to start; a little red pepper for some spice; some thyme, marjoram and parsley for herb-iness. Frozen peas, corn to finish. One pot, easy prep, sruff that's on hand. Nice!