Best tomato conditions- where to live?

[bizzarbazzar]

Yes, We got out here in time for St Patricks Day, but stayed home. We have a 4 year old and no babysitter and never get to go anywhere at all. I heard it was a blast. We took him to Evel Kneival Days, but it was too mature for him. I was told it was entertaining for families and was WAY WRONG. So we went home after about 20 minutes.
Tell me about the noodle parlor on the hill with enclosed seating, that sounds really really different...

[spyfferoni]

I havent tried pasties, but I heard they are great..but since I dont eat beef or pork, I probably will never try one.

You could always make your own. It is basically pastry dough with a filling of sliced potatoes, onions, sliced or ground beef and salt and pepper. You could leave out the beef and it would still be good with the onions or potaotes, or you could subtitute the beef for something else. I found a recipe on line a couple of years ago when I was craving them and nowhere near Montana. There is some interesting history that goes along with them. They were brought by the Cornish miners from England. I guess they were a pretty handy meal to take into the mines. I have traced some of my ancestors back to England, but most of my lines I have only traced back to Canada. Many of my ancestors went to Monanta as miners.

Pasty recipe

2 lb. stew meat, cut in bite-size chunks
4 large potatoes, cut into 1/4" thick slices
2 large onions, diced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt & 1/4 teaspoon pepper
butter

prepared pastry for four 8" crusts
(makes four pasties)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll out pastry into four 8" rounds on a floured surface.

In a large bowl, combine meat, potatoes, onions, chopped
parsley, onion, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients well.

Place about a quarter of the mixed ingredients on a rolled
crust at about one inch from one side of the pastry.

Place 1or 2 tablespoons of butter --- sectioned into small
dallops --- on top of the pile of filling evenly.

Bring the remaining portion of the pastry round over the top
of the filling to form a large turnover.

Be careful no sharp edges of potato or onion puncture the
folded side of the pastry dough.

The folded-over pastry should meet the bottom part of the
pastry just within the outside edge.

Crimp the lower pastry up around edge of the top to form
the turnover making a tight envelope for the filling.

Make three or four small slits in the top of the pasty to allow
the steam to escape during cooking.

Carefully transfer the pasties to a very lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake at 425 degrees for ten minutes. Then turn oven down to
325 degrees and bake 50 minutes to an hour.
Remove pasties from baking sheet onto the plate with a long spatula.

[Ruth_10]

Pasties are also popular in Michigan's Upper Pennisula. The miners could carry them in their pockets and they would stay warm. Seems they would have had to be fairly sturdy (the pasties, that is :wink: ).

We lived in southwest (lower) Michigan for many years and it was good for growing tomatoes, though it was overcast (Lake Michigan effect) more than I'd like. The cold winters helped in the bug department. Here in Missouri it's pretty good for tomatoes, though high heat in July and August can be a problem. I'm still learning. The winters are pretty mild (it gets above freezing most every day and very little snow) and the bugs thrive.

I'm thinking the southern half of Ohio might be about right for gardening.

[bizzarbazzar]

I have finally tried the pasty recipe for the boys and they love em....Thanks spyfferoni

I bet the reason Butte is known for the pasties is the same reason as Michigan, since in its day Butte was a big mining town. I learned that There was 100,000 (or 130,000) people here, and most of them left when many mines closed, we are supposed to have 33,000 population now....

[spyfferoni]

My Grandfather worked in the copper smeleter in Anaconda. When that closed down the town really suffered.
It is a beautiful area though. It is nice just to drive up past Silver Lake and Georgetown Lake, although so much of it is private property now and being developed. The Pintler scenic route is a nice drive if you haven't gone that way yet, you ought to sometime. I haven't been up there since my Grandma died last Spring. My Dad still lives there though so I suppose I should go for a visit, it just isn't the same anymore.

Tyffanie

[bizzarbazzar]

We do love it up in Anaconda but tend to frequent the Helena area weekly... Minus the last few weeks since My step dad moved up here we have been very busy...
I understand when someone you love dies how it changes things about everything around you, especially when much of it was done with them. My Mom just died February 28th and often the things I did with her, are difficult to do alone or even with DH and the kidlet.