Month: September 2023

NOTE TO READERS:  WE HAVE BEEN SUPER BUSY LATELY..

SORRY IF OUR ABSENCE HAS MEANT YOU HAVE NO BED TIME STORY.

alan skeoch

SEPTEBER 13, 2032

“ALAN, LOOK WHAT I FOUND.”

“ GIANT   PUFF BALL…WHERE WAS IT?

“IN THE DITCH…DO YOU THINK IT ’S EDIBLE?”

WE ATE AFEW SKICES IF THIS PUFF BALL

Puff ball mushrooms are very strange.  They appear suddenly almost anywhere and

grow immense in short time.   And they are edilble but be careful.  They are only

edible when very young,,,,when all white.  Totally white inside and spongy.

OLD PUFF BALLS LOOK LIKE UGLY VOMIT

No one in their right mind would eve eat an old puffball because they look sick…ugly

internal contents become sickly green … the colour of fresh vomit.   Even a 

complete fool would not touch  a mature puffball.   If it is kicked like  football 

a cloud of spores burst forth.   Old puff balls are ghastly.

But young puff balls are as pretty as fresh bread.   And look like fresh bread.

They can be sliced like fresh bread using a good sharp bread knife.  Use a gentle saw like action.  

Peel the thin rubber like crust and the puff ball is ready for the frying pan..

Easiest way to eat a puff ball is to put some butter in the frying pan, then add the slices

of the puff ball.  Sprinkle with salt nd pepper.   Garlic salt is best…gives best flavour.

Fry until both sides are golden brown or even darker brown.  

Then eat the slices like you would French Toast or pan cakes.

What do they taste like?  Rather bland.  Very bland.   

Today Marjorie’s puff ball tased like garlic salt.

alan

Note:  Mushroom hunting is tricky..  Some mushrooms are good.  Some are bad…very bad.

Fresh puff balls are really good.  Old puff balls are disgusting.  It’s easy to tell the difference.

SOME OTHER PUFF BALL RECIPES.

You can also cook up large slices of puffball and freeze them to use as the base for wonderful gluten-free pizzas (see below). Or try the convenience of breading the raw puffball with the parmigiana breading below and freeze them. Pull them out later, fry them and bake them for a quick pre-prepared dinner. Puffball Fries freeze up equally well. Pull them out of the freezer and in 15 minutes you’ll have crispy fries to dip in your favourite sauce – a great appetizer or snack.

Cooked puffball has a texture kind of like tofu, but more soft and melting (a bit like a sugarless marshmallow). You can use puffball just like you would tofu and most other mushrooms in recipes. I still have so many ways I’d like to try it, so I hope I find some puffballs again next year.

Try puffball some of these ways:

• diced, sauteed, and added to any pasta sauce
• raw, cubed in salads
• diced, sauteed, then tossed in with chives and beaten eggs as you scramble them
• cut slices, dip them in a mixture of equal parts soy sauce and water, plus a dash of sriracha or hot sauce, then pan-fry them in butter or oil until brown
• cubes, strips, or slices, breaded and fried
• grill or fry thick slabs and use them as a meatless burger on a bun with toppings
• toss them in with stir fries
• sauté cubes of puffball with onions, peppers, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning
• use thin slices of sauteed puffball instead of pasta in lasagna

alan skeoch

sept.. 4, 2023

I ws 23 years  old  when my Uncle Frank freeman asked if I wanted to go

to the first Steam Era gathering on a local farm.  Summer Of 1962.  I do not think the show even had  a name back then.

Uncle Frank knew I was fascinated by the people and  machines of the 19th and early 20th century. FANNING MIILLS

in particular .

“Alan, a bunch of local farmers are having farm sow nearby, would you lie to join me

ands what the show is all about.  Not really sure myself.”

“OK:,”, I Answered without  much enthusiasm..   

And so began my lifelong association with Steam era,,  By 1980 I even wrote a  300 page manuscript on the

sjubject as an M.A. thesis titled “technology and Change in 19th Ontario agriculture” copies of which 

are held in Cooperstown , New Yorik, Black Ceek Museum (Toronto).  .

In short I became an enthusiast.  Lasted most of my lifetime.  All because of a seed planted in my brain by Uncle Frank Freeman.,

my mother’s brother, who spent his life trying to make a living on stoney farm in Erin Township ,  Wellington c/ounty.

These pictures were taken on /sept, 2m 2923, at Steam Era on the Hume Farm on 4th line of Halton County, Ontario

(My not episode will feature Robert downy and his corn asking machine…)

PICTURES TAKEN AT STEM ERA 2023 (HUME FARM)

alan skeoch

august 3, 2023

Next episode will feature Robert Downey of Caledonia and his helper …  and a wondrous machine he rescued from

the scrap pile of te past.   Hold your breath, the story is coming.  Meanwhile pack up and head for Steam Era…4th line

just a bit North West of Milton.  

THERE IS STILL TIME, BROTHER …TODAY AUGUST 3 AND TOMORROW AUGUST 4….STEAM ERA ON  4TH LINE,.

NORTH OF  STEELES AVENUE, NORTH SIDE OF HWY 401,  NEAR MILTON

This iis a short episode aimed at my readers who often use my stories as a guide to explore  Ontario 

SEAM ERA is a chance for you and family to spend a few hours in the past…..seeing machines that no longer

exist… like those below.

Later episodes will tell the stories of Steam Era.  Incuding the thrill I felt when I met Robert Downey of Caledonia.

 This episode will be pictures I took yesterday as

“Iwandered lonely as a cloud’