Total Lunar Eclipse

  Early this morning was the Total "Blood Moon" Lunar Eclipse, the last we'll have for three years. While I didn't want to get up for it (it bottomed out at 41° here and was partly cloudy), I did set up my Wyze V3 to do a time lapse from 3 AM to 7 AM.

 The eclipse began at 3:02 AM, reached maximum (totality) at 5:59 AM and ended as the moon set at  7:21 AM.

 I set the camera up behind the garden and aimed it high (the moon would be at an altitude of 44° as the eclipse began). The results are not good, mostly because the sky wasn't clear and partly because the full moon is too bright for the camera. But as the moon moved west and became more covered by the earth's shadow, the sky began to show more detail. In the final seconds Orion  can be gliding westward with the moon.

I shot for four hours and set the time-lapse for 20 seconds. That produced 720 frames (60x4x3) and when played back at 30 fps, it nets a 24 second video. The original MP4 is much better than the WMV I converted it for a smaller file size.  

It's not good even at  60.3M .... but here it is:

 The converted file with considerable quality loss is just 7.42M and even less interesting.

 But I didn't want to miss have something to show for the event. And that's what I got: almost nothing.

Apple Dumplings again

  With five pounds of Granny Smith apples in a bag I thought I'd better get to using them. The last blog was  apple crisp so now I felt it was time for apple dumplings.

 I used Mom's Mennonite recipe which was the one Bob and I loved as kids. I used it the last time I made them, too. That blog and a link to the recipe is here.

I made one notable shortcut by buying pre-made dough. Actually Tom found pie dough as Aldi's when we were in there a few days ago.

 Of course the trouble with that is that it comes in two rounds (one each for the top and bottom of the pie).  I decided I could make it work anyway by dividing each circle into three equal sections.

 I never  end up with homemade dough that wraps  around an apple very  well anyway so I figured  this wouldn't be any worse. It wasn't. I did let the dough sit out of the  refrigerator prior to use until it was almost room temperature to make it more pliable and more easily worked.

 I cored and peeled six beautiful apples. I sat each apple on one section of dough  and poured a mixture of cinnamon and sugar into the center (nearly filling it).

 This is what they looked like getting ready for the oven. I poured the sauce over them at the last minute and had Tom carry them to the oven, With my tremor I don't trust carrying anything liquid.

 And here's the finished product. They were large apples and I could barely fit six in an 8x8" glass pan. I left them in to bake the full 40 minutes.

Note: I figured that the two cups of water for the sauce would be too much. Even after baking there seemed to be a lot of liquid around the dumplings. But after refrigerating overnight, it's just perfect. Enough needs to be left in the dish to spoon over each  dumpling when served.
 Also,  the last time I made this recipe I  added a little red food coloring to the sauce. Not so this time. The brown color of the sauce is just perfect as is.

Apple Crisp time

 Every fall I make something with apples. I prefer the apple dumplings but they're harder to make and certainly take more time. A few days ago I bought a five pound bag of Granny Smith apples and I had four apples left from an earlier purchase. Late in the day I thought I'd put together a pan of apple crisp.

I used the Mennonite recipe this time and that's clearly the one Tom prefers. You can find the recipe here.

I think the addition of half a cup of water is a little too much. A  quarter cup makes more sense but it may depend on the moisture content of the apples. This makes an almost-caramel syrup but it's a little wet for me.

 The  dry ingredients after the butter has been cut in will be crumbly.

 The Granny Smith's I bought at Kroger were perfect. I prefer a tart apple for this recipe.

  The shot above is before baking. Pecans are not a part of the recipe but I added what I had. Cracker Barrel makes an apple dumpling that includes pecans and I've always thought the combination with apples was wonderful.

 After baking the "dry" mixture melts into a caramel-like sauce. My oven might  be running a bit hot; some of the pecans are a bit over-toasted. I've known for some time that  the back of my oven  runs hotter than the front.

 I've blogged  about other versions of apple crisp, too. You might want to check on of them out by clicking here, here or here.

Arroz con Leche

 I love rice pudding and I love  Pati Jinich and her Pati's Mexican Table on PBS. I'm a real fan of Create and I watch many of the cooking shows. I rank Pati tops for her enthusiasm and the wealth of easy recipes. She does a great job of explaining what she's doing, too.

 I make rice pudding now and then but I've never managed a creamy version and her Arroz con Leche looked to fit the bill. I'm apparently doing something wrong because again the pudding is not creamy.

 Even so, the flavor is good. The recipe is here.

 What am I doing wrong? I suppose part of the problem is the rice I'm using. She uses a Mahatma white rice. I picked up a bag of long grain rice at the grocery (not the cheapest, either) and we've been eating it in various dishes and like it quite well.

 Otherwise I followed the directions  fairly closely. I used ground cinnamon rather than a cinnamon stick and I used grated orange peel instead of the actual rind of  an orange. I can't imagine either makes a difference in the consistency.

I cooked the rice with two cups of water as the recipe (and the bag of rice) calls for. I added every drop of the four cups of water and also the full 4 ounces of sweetened condensed milk. That's a lot of liquid!

 In fact when the cooking was done, the pudding looked exactly the way I wanted it to. But as it sat and cooled - and especially after refrigeration - it seriously thickened. There's nothing creamy about it. It's thick enough to hold on to a spoon.

 I've made it three times before and I've always had similar results: Try#1   Try#2   Try#3

 Give me credit for traying, at least. I'll get it but I'm not there yet.

DR Takes Me for a Ride in the Harvester

 

 The sun is just rising when I'm out starting my laps just after 8 AM. DR Coffman started harvesting his corn a few days ago and yesterday he did the entire field east of Pinehaven. Today I found the Case sitting at the edge of the field to our west.

 It's a cool 39° and the dew has collected on the corn debris which is lying in the field. I know he'll wait a while for the sun to dry things off a bit before beginning any work today. But it's a sunny forecast so he'll  be harvesting before some rain  arrives Wednesday late.

 I posted these two pictures on Facebook and got a number of suggestions that I ask  DR if I might join him for a pass. It's certainly something I've always wanted to do. But I know he's a busy man, especially now, and I hate to bother him with such a request.

 And yet most tell me he won't mind. So after lunch, when I see him threading the rows of corn, I send him a text message: If you ever have room to take me along for a swipe while you're harvesting corn, let me know! I'd love to see it close up.

 It isn't long before he answers: Come on out.

 And so as he ends a row near Pinehaven I walk over to the grain bins and wait a few minutes for him to  arrive and start unloading corn. He opens the door  and unfolds a ladder and motions me aboard.

 Oh, boy.

 I'm now in the cab protected from the dust as he slides back to the driver's seat and continues unloading  the corn. He moves the harvester back and forth to evenly distribute the load.  And then we turn and head back the field.

 The  Case 2166 is a behemoth to me - though perhaps small by today's standards -  and it looks complicated. But he drives with his left hand on the steering wheel  and his right on a small controller that does heavens-knows-what.

 And so we start west (Pinehaven is on the right). This row of corn is about a third of a mile long and two passes - just once in  each direction - fills the hamper and requires the  corn be unloaded. While it is noisy, it is less noisy on the inside. The stalks of corn slips between the metal guides and disappear at our feet. Kernels of corn are collected behind us; chopped corn stalks and cobs fall to the ground in a never-ending mechanical dance.

 A look  at the controls for the harvester. He steers with his left hand and uses a small controller for various functions of the harvester.

DR Coffman - Farmersville Ohio

 A sincere Thank You to DR for an informative ride and one thing I can now cross off my bucket list. After 35 years of  watching from my window,  I've finally seen a corn harvest from ground zero.

Pinehaven Rice Patties

 

 Mom used to make a rice patty that we both loved. I remember she got the recipe from Kettering Memorial Hospital. They were Seventh Day Adventist and served meatless meals. This one immediately got our attention. Trouble is, I have no idea what happened to the recipe. In fact  Mom only made it a few times. I remember it was a lot of work.

 What to do? I figured I could recreate the recipe if I had some basic guidelines to  follow. So I looked at several recipes on the internet for rice patties. I modified quantities and added (and deleted) ingredients and think it's fair that I call this recipe mine.

Pinehaven Rice Patties

1 cup long grain rice - upon cooking you'll end up with a few cups to work with
    [Note:  Use a nice long grain rice. Do not use a quick rice!]
1/2 small onion
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese [or whatever]
1/2  cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes [optional]
1 cup chopped pecans

 Just follow the directions to cook the rice and then allow it to cool somewhat before continuing (so you don't scramble the eggs).
 I mixed the onions, cheeses, salt, pepper and and red pepper flakes in a large bowl.
 I whisked the eggs.
 Add the rice to the bowl with the onions, etc. and mix thoroughly.
 Add the egg mixture and mix again.
 Finally add the chopped pecans and stir everything together.

 Refrigerate this mixture for half  an hour or so until it's easier to handle.

 Heat s skillet with some vegetable oil. I started on high and backed off to just above halfway to finish them off. It's best to cover them while frying to heat them thoroughly through the middle.
 Use a tablespoon  to gather fistfuls of the mixture and press into a  ball. Mine were an inch to 1.5" thick. Then can be pressed down a bit while frying.
 Add them to a skillet and fry about 7 minutes per side (I like them fairly crispy on the top and bottom)

 This recipe makes an even dozen rice patties.

 Too dark for you? Back off the heat or fry them less time.

Before frying - this is an 8" non-stick skillet

After about 14 minutes

 Tom has to limit his salt intake but I added more salt to mine on  the plate. If this isn't a concern, more salt could be added to the mixture before frying.

 When Tom first saw them he said, "These look just like crab cakes".

 Tom ate three; I ate four (I'm a pig). I have the rest in a container in the refrigerator for later this week. They're an absolute hit as a meat substitute.

Gnomon Experiment

  This is an experiment I try to remember to do every October 8. I’m walking in the neighbor’s lane every morning (weather permitting)  and on that date – if the sun is shining about 8 AM – my shadow exactly hits the middle of the last large tree nearby. The left image is 10/08/13 at 7:51 AM and the right image is 10/09/22 at 8:10 AM. Near enough. Yesterday, when I was set to do the experiment, it was cloudy at sunrise and we also went out for our Saturday morning  breakfast. It means that the Earth is in the same spot in its orbit and the tilt is exactly the same for this line-up to occur. I think it’s a good demonstration of how precise celestial mechanics is.

 I am effectively making myself a gnomon, the vertical piece that stands up in the middle of a sundial that casts its shadow to the time. I suppose I'm demonstrating both time  and date because if neither are the same, standing in the lane my shadow will not shine on this tree but at about 8 AM.

 Click on  the image to enlarge. See my original post here.