HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1959-12-17, Page 2Prion Nut Crap
Starts. Fun Fest.
Throughout the area of north-
ern New Mexico, from the land
of the Navajos to the hills
around Santa Fe, miles of pin•
on forests have been scatter-
ing a bonanza of minute mahog-
any-eolored nuts. There hes not
been such a crop for years. It
has upset the calm of this an-
elent land more than did the ex-
plosion of the first atomic bomb
or the discovery of uranium.
Along the highways, along dirt
roads in all directions, cars are
parked in long lines. Los Alamos
auto plates indicate that resid-
ents of the atomic city have fall-
en under the lure of the min-
ute nut, about the size and shape
of a girl's smallest fingernail
Laborers, businessmen, artists,
and writers with their families;
joined Martinez, Gonzales, and
Garcia delegations shoulder to
shoulder, Some cane in Cadil-
Iees, seine in ancient pickup
trucks. Some rode in on horse-
back and some walked.
It did not make any differ.
ence whether the bonanza fell
on public or private land. Why
should it? The sky was solid tur-
quoise. Aspen gold dripped over
the nearby mountains. Pickers
crawled over barbed-wire fences,
they slid between gaps in the
wire. They carried immense
picking sacks over one shoulder
and copious bags of lunch oyez
the other.
It was a hilarious invasion
sparked with laughter, greetings,
and children's delighted squeals.
No one complained, until after
a couple of weeks when property
owners found their pinon acres
Uttered with lunch wrappings
and many of their fences flat on
the ground.
Some of the harvesters hunt-
ed for pack rats' nests where it
was rumored as many as a doz-
en pounds of the minute nuts
could be found hidden for win-
ter eating by the industrious
little animals. It also was ru-
mored that there was an ancient
law in the state which decreed
that whoever robbed the nest
of a pack rat must replace his
find with a like amount of corn
or wheat. The statutes were
searched, and the local press
announced that no such law had
been uncovered, writes Dorothy
L. Pillsbury in The Christian
Science Monitor,
But the Martinez, Gonzales,
Garcia contingent smiled know-
ingly. Fair replacement was not
a law of the land, but a law of
the heart as their ancestors had
taught them. That was because
the Spanish settlers in the re-
gion esteemed the nutritious
little nuts asa welcome embel-
lishment to their monotonous
diet of beans, corn, and chili. In
the adobes of the richer ones,
erne special servant was set apart
to crack the little nuts with a
stone rolling pin and to extract
the toothsome kernel
Indians valued the little nut
likewise. It is said that Indian
tribes waging war on one an -
ether forgot their differences
during a good pinon harvest and
picked the nuts one another's
territory. Once the harvest was
gathered, wars were resumed.
So much had pinon nuts be-
come a part of Indian eating
that during World War II Indian
boys in the A r'm y scattered
throughout the world, al k e d;
but one remembrance at Christ -
etas. "Send us piilon nuts," they
answered the inquiring agencies,
But pinon nuts have .caused
some complications in the re-
gion, There was the case of the
irate professor in the University
of New Mexico who, some years
ago, in desperation scrawled in
chalk letters on his blackboard,'
"If you must eat pinon nuts in
class, kindly put shells in your
pocket, not on the floor!"
And the teachers with Navajo
children in their classrooms in
autumn often found their classes
deserted for weeks during pinon-
picking time, Picking and selling
pinon nuts was a solid plank
in Navajo economy in the days
of their poverty — before ;ura-
nium.. Navajo pickerscan pick
with both hands, which, few.
others can do,
Cameras Explore
Sunken City
Exploration of the sunken
pirate city of Port Royal, Ja-
maica, has gotten under way in
Kingston Harbor.
Luis Marden, writer -photog-
rapher of the National Geo-
graphic Society, and Mendel L,
Peterson, curator of naval his-
tory of the Smithsonian • Institu-
tion, have joined the expedition,
Led by Edwin A. Link, deep-
sea explorer and inventor of the
Link trainer for fliers, the ex-
pedition will attempt to recover
and date relics from the 17th
century Caribbean port, It was
reputed to be the wickedest city
•hi the world when its loot -laden
warehouses, shops, and two ships
were swallowed up by earth-
quake and sea in one great gulp
in 1692.
Though murky water and the
silt -covered floor of Kingston
Harbor snake exploration diffi-
cult, the expedition has the best
in electronic equipment, metal
detectors, diving and salvage
gear, and camera accessories.
To aid photography, Mr. Mar-
den will use a special"turbidity
eliminator." The 300 - pound,
four -foot -long device is attached
to a camera to provide a sealed
funnel of crystal-clear, distilled,
filtered water between the lens
and the object to be photo-
graphed,
Mr. Link is joined by his wife,
Marion, author of the recent
book on undersea adventure en-
titled "Sea Diver." Expedition
headquarters is aboard their
new, powerful, 91 -foot research
yacht, Sea Diver II. It is the
first vessel designed and espe-
cially built for underwater arc-
haeological work,
The Links are veteran explor-
ers of waters off southern Florida
and islands of the West Indies.
In her book, Mrs. Link tells how
they became interested in Port
Royal—the lair of pirates, buc-
caneers, adventurers, and vil-
lains of the Spanish Main. Be-
fore the city's abrupt end, sea-
farers in pilfered silks. swagger-
ed about the' streets, noisily
spending their ill-gotten pieces
of eight.
"From all we could gather,no
real attempt had even been made
to salvage it," Mrs. Link said.
"Eventually we. were to feel
compelled to explore those long -
lost ruins. The urge was irresist-
ible."
Three years ago the Links and
Mr. Peterson made a preliminary
investigation of the drowned
city. This was followed by ex-
tensive research that led as far
afield as London.
SPACE COMMUTERS EXPRESS — How tomorrow's spaceman may
get up in — and out of — the world Is told in drawing, It shows
the operation of a space ferry which could be used as a s•huOtle
between earth and a space etatian, With its arrow -shaped
wings, folded, the vehicle would be lifted into orbit by a three -
stage rocket (1) (2), There, 300 to 500 miles high, the pilot
w nuld open the. huge 1,000•square-foot wings (3) and navi-
gate to o rendezvous with the station (4), After transferring
pus-engers and cargo, the ship would then be guided back
to earth (5) to prepare for another trip, The "commuter ex-
p ,ss" would be able to carry four men and some 14,000
pounrie of cargo into orbit.
FEATHERED FRIENDS — A covey of macaws finds a living
roost with Mrs. George Trabant. The birds make their nests
in Tampa.
;FA BL E TAL
Ready -To -Cook
Weight
(pounds)
8 to 12
12 to 16
16 to 20
20 to 24
Ingredients
Fat
Flour
Liquid — broth,
' milk•or water
TURKEY TIMETABLE
Oven
Temperature
325°F,
325°F,
325°F.
325°F.
Total •
Cooking Time
(hours)
4 to 4%
4% to 5
5% to
7 to 81/i
TURKEY GRAVY
amount: 2 cups gravy
3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons
2 cups
4 cups gravy
6 tablespoons
6 tablespoons
4 cups
or,4Mr,i.`wS:.: tatta",i."'ka".'eMWest m'."., teem, :,r,6`,'Ana Azifaatze' E' ..iS'Meilsta'M"c. r:,'eil
A basic stuffing for a 10 -12 -
pound turkey follows:
SAVORY STUFFING
1/4 cup butter
2 cups chopped celery
% cup chopped parsley
1 small onion, chopped
2-2% quarts bread crumbs
1-2 teaspoons savory seasoning
or sage
1-2 teaspoons salt
Pepper to taste
Cook celery,parsley, and Onion
for a few minutes in the melt-
ed fat. Add to bread crumbs
and dry seasonings and stir all
together lightly. You may add
nuts if you desire.
A timetable for cooking tur-
key will be found at the top of
- this article. Here are a few points
to remember after your turkey
is done: Allow turkey to stand in
roasting pan 15-30 minutes so
that juices may be •absorbed.
Remove all trussing equipment,
such -as skewers and cord. Place
bird on• a warm large platter.
Use a simple garnish — don't
overdo it.
Carve at table so everyone can
enjoy the full glamour of the
activity. Carve with a very
sharp, thin -bladed knife and a
fork with a guard. Carve enough
meat at one time to serve all
guests.
There is a standard way of
carving turkey which is, briefly,
to remove leg, slice drumstick
meat on a side plate, slice thigh
meat, cut into white meat paral-
lel to wing, slice White meat.
Serve each person portions of
both white and dark meat, and
serve stuffing from turkey.
• * * b
Turkey pie is a favorite for
after -holiday dinners and may
be topped with, crust, with mash-
ed potatoes, 'or with plain .or
seasoned biscuits. Here is one
topped with caraway -cheese bis-
cuits. It serves 6-8.
TURKEY POT PIE
3 cups cooked turkey
1 cup cooked, sliced carrots
12 cooked small onions
12 cooked small potato balls
1/2 cup cooked button
mushrooms
21/2 cups turkey grasy
1y/ cups sifted flour
_ 1 teaspoon baking powder
14 teaspoon socia
1 teaspoon salt
1,4 cup whole bran cereal
1/l cup grated sharp cheese
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
lh .cup shortening
1/ cup buttermilk or sour milk
Arrange pieces of turkey and
the vegetables in greased ,2 -qt,
shallow casserole, Heat turkey
gravy and pour over turkey and
vegetables.
Sift together flour, baking
powder, soda and salt; combine
with bran, cheese and caraway
seed. Cut in shortening until
mixture resembles coarse corn
meal, Add buttermilk, stirring
only until combined, Turn dough.
out on lightly floured board and
knead gently a few times. Roll
out to 1/i inch in thickness, Cut
with fleured 13/4 -inch biscuit cut-
ter. Place on top of turkey mix-
ture: Bake at 450°F, , about. 20
ininutes or until biscuits are
%olden brown, Serve at once,
Serve this curried turkey over
hot rice; it is a real company
dish,
CURRIED TURKEY
3 cups coarsely cut cooked
turkey
1 small onion, cut fine
1 tart apple, chopped
1/ cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1-2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
% teaspoon powdered ginger
1 cup turkey broth or canned
consomme
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cups cooked rice
4 slices orange or 1 cup Tokay
grapes, seeded
Cook the onion and apple tri
butter in a skillet until onion
is transparent but not brown.
Sprinkle blended flour, curry
powder, salt and ginger over
onion and apple. Stir in turkey
broth and milk. Stir and heat
slowly; do not burn. Let this
simmer 5 minutes. Add turkey.
and lemon juice. Taste for sea-
soning. Cover and keep hot 5
minutes, Serve on hot rice. Gar-
nish with orange slices or grapes.
Serves 4.
* M N
If you did not have turkey for
Christmas or if you prefer to
freeze what you had left for fu-
ture use, you may waszt a beef
casserole for a change. This one
is topped with corn chips and
then baked.
OVEN BEEF STEW
1 pound chuck or other learn
beef cut in 2" . cubes
3 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons cooking oil
% teaspoon monosodium
glutamate
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons horse -radish
2 cups canned tomatoes
2 medium onions, quartered
2 medium potatoes, -cubed
2 medium carrots, cubed
1 cup lightly crushed corn
chips (measured after
crushing)
Salt beef, dredge in flour and
brown in cooking oil in skillet.
Add seasonings, tomatoes, onions,
potatoes, and carrots. Place syr
cup crushed corn chips in a cas-
serole, then add beef mixture.
Top with remaining corn chips,
Cover. Bake at 350°2', for 1 hour,
Serves 5.
N p e
CREAMY LAMB STEW
?. pounds lamb from neck,
shoulder -or breast _
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons shortening
3 cups water
4 small onions
2 carrots, diced
1 cup peas
•Js cup thin cream (evaporated
milk may be used)
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons flour
Cut lamb into serving portions.
Dip lamb in flour and brown to
hot shortening, Cover with water
and let simmer 1 hour, Add the
vegetables and ,slowly cook 'un-
til vegetables are done (if can-
ned peas are. used, add when
other vegetables are tender).
Mix cream and egg yolk with
flour anti add to liquid,' Let cook
slowly '.lath mixture becomes
thick rnd cper my; Serve hot,
, .Sm vc.4 5.
Christmas Isn't
For The Kids!
By Richard Gershinan
NEA Staff Correspondent
It is the consensus of those
who know—child psychologists,
toy buyers, Santa costumers and
Santas themselves—that Christ-
mas today is for the grown-ups.
The kiddies are .too smart.
Point one, they say, is that
it's a moot . question whether
daddy comes into the toy de-
partment to buy something for
the youngsters, or because he
loves to see and toy with the
toys himself.
The fact of the matter is, says.
Bill McDuffy, the toy buyer for
Gimbels in New York, during
the four-week buying spree be.
fore Christmas,' some 30,000 par-
ents a day traipse through the
department (including papa who
is supposed to be working), look-
ing, fingering or all-out playing.
at the counters. Only 5,000 of
them actually buy anything.
The kiddies, of course, conte
in on Saturdays, but, 'by then
the folks are worn out and al-
ready armed with an idea of
what they (the old folks) want
to play with on Christmas
morning,
And to whom are their toy
catalogues sent, McDuffy fur-
ther lays on. To whoa, indeed,
but adults.
And who will dispute the
.Christmas morning 'Pact that it
is dear old dad on his hands and
knees playing with the new,
electric train he bought, while
Junior plays with the crate in
which it came?
In point of further fact, a
noted child -parent counseling
team says, it's natural for Junior
to prefer playing with the toy
crates than the toys.
The team, -Willard and Mar-
guerite Beeeher, authors of.
"Parents on the Run"—say that
to children nowadays, Christ-
mas means only more and high-
er -priced presents than they re-
ceive during the rest of the year.
The original meaning and
spirit of Christmas is fast fading
to the younger folk, the Beeeh-
ers maintain, along with the old
family "togetherness and t h e
original do-it-yourself Christ-
mas."
Mrs. Beecher recalls—as will
other sympathetic. grown-ups —
that as a girl the Yule season
was a high point of the year.
The entire family had a hand
In the preparations. They all
went out to chop down -the tree.
They all decorated it, they all
helpsd whip the house into
shape, and the festive spirit pre-
vailed,
Now, the Beechers say, Christ-
mas is no treat for the kids, iust
a chore. The parties are weleozn-
ed as are the special Christmas
TV programs and dates • to the
holiday dances, but as for foot -
Mg around with "that Santa bit,
that's for the kids" (meaning
parents).
And the parents love it. Even
with the morning after's mess,
and the bills, they stop at noth-
ing to recapture the Yuletide
spirit and their youth,
The further proof is tli'd esti-
mated 14 billion dollars the
adults will, spend from the be.
ginning of December on, That
figure was arrived at by sub-
tracting November's estimated
retail . figure from December's;
the, only means anybody has of
really figuring out the vast ex-
penditure tnade by adult Ameri-
cans at Christmas. r
Of course, storesare moving
up the buying season to middle
August and sometimes even
July, Decorations are brought
out after Labour Day. Christmas
cards have always enjoyed buy -
it -cheaper -now summer sales.
An association of retail mer-
chants says that as far as 'he
stores are concerned, "the Christ -
season really starts on December
26." And a brief thumb -through
of the Classified Book in your
city gives any number of avail-
able costumers whose whale
business is concerned with rent-
ing or selling Santa Claus cos-
tumes — at any time of the year.
Further support for the Christ-
mas - is - far - the - folks theory
comes from Santa himself -- at
least the chief Santa of a major
department store. (He's really
only a helper, Dad,)
The ropes around his throne,
Santa, says, are -there to keep
the parents back, not. the kids.
And for every child on his knee,
there are three adults in line,
"The poor children just don't
have a chance," Santa says, "The
, parents that bring him to me
are the real kids; just a little•
bigger,"
COLD TURKEY
Jefferson, Iowa, residents, their
minds apparently on Christmas
Day, cheerfully, joined in
picking up a cargo spilled when
a trailer truck- crashed. The
truck was loaded with turkeys.
ISSUE 50 —. 1959
FASHION HINT
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