Category: Hobbies

Scariest thing I’ve read this week:

‘The world desperately needs serious garden seed savers, because the knowledge of how to grow our own vegetable seeds in the backyard garden is almost lost from the world. Very few people know how to do it successfully over years. Very few people indeed have deep experience. Yet without backyard seed savers and heirloom-only seed companies like mine, our entire seed supply will be corporate-owned and corporate-controlled for the first time in the history of the world. Read that twice.’

—Caleb Warnock, “Seed Saving”

Garden ideas

Now I have an idea of what to do with the area behind the machine shed.
 
Do not waste time dreaming about creating this food forest someday. Get to work and plant your foundation trees right away. You can add the chickens and other plants later. Trees take many years to become established and provide the maximum benefit. Worry about the chicken coop and the fence and everything else later. Get those trees planted as soon as you possibly can. This is an important investment in the future.

Vincent Price’s Supper Casserole, from 1977!

Back in 1977, Vincent Price shared this wonderfully weird recipe on behalf of Creamettes Macaroni. Price never shied away from paid endorsements, but since he was a noted gourmand with his own cookbooks, this one wasn’t exactly out of left field.
Vincent’s Supper Casserole
• 7-oz package Creamettes macaroni
• 12-oz can luncheon meat (Spam)
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp dry mustard
• 2 cups milk
• ½ pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• Parsley or green pepper

Prepare Creamettes macaroni according to package directions. Slice and cut luncheon meat into squares, reserving a few slices. Arrange macaroni and squares in 2-quart casserole; pour on cheese sauce. (For sauce: melt butter, blend in flour, salt, dry mustard; stir in milk; cook over medium heat, stirring until thick; add cheese, shredded; stir.) Top with slices of luncheon meat. Add parsley or green pepper for color. Bake in 350º oven 20 to 25 min. Microwave: “Cook” cycle, uncovered for 8 min.

Shown above is the finished product. Guys, no matter what you think about those photos, Vincent Price’s Supper Casserole is UNBELIEVABLY good. It shocked the hell out of me. It’s basically jacked-up mac-and-cheese, mixed with Spam and then covered with more Spam. It tasted like yesteryear and I couldn’t stop eating it.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by its deliciousness, as it was, after all, a pile of pasta, meat, more meat, butter and cheese. I have no idea how Vincent stayed so trim.

Source: Vincent Price’s Supper Casserole, from 1977!

3 Characteristics of an Educated Person | The Art of Manliness

The reason that children are perennially bored is not that there aren’t entertainment options available—they’re often surrounded by toys and games—but that they have such short attention spans. They play with one thing for a little bit and then another, and then don’t know what else to do. The educated man is able to lose himself in a task, a hobby, a conversation, or a book because he has developed his powers of focus and concentration.

I remember one summer when a teenager was going door-to-door soliciting funds for some program (that I’d never heard of) so he wouldn’t be bored and turn to a life of crime. His words. I started listing all the stuff I already paid taxes for to ensure he’s not bored: libraries, parks, museums, summer classes at the parks like golf. I listed some local church summer activities I knew of. How he could have been bored escaped me. I asked about his hobbies (he had none). Pitiful.

Later I looked up this program… it was under investigation by the state attorney general for fraud.

Source: 3 Characteristics of an Educated Person | The Art of Manliness