Jinjer 40: Still Waiting for the Baby

[Dandruff]

To those who buy fractions of steers...how long would half a steer feed a family of four who eat beef regularly but not all the time?  I would guess years, but obviously have no idea.

[SapphireSlytherin]

2 minutes ago, Dandruff said:

To those who buy fractions of steers...how long would half a steer feed a family of four who eat beef regularly but not all the time?  I would guess years, but obviously have no idea.

We are a family of two, and we cook beef about 2-3 times/week. Our quarter steer will last us just about 8-9 months. We supplement during deer season with fresh venison. 

It also depends on the weight of the steer, because that's how it's "shared" among purchasers. Plus, it depends on how much beef you cook for a meal. We generally cook one pound of ground beef at a time, and that (four burgers) will give us two meals. 

 

 

 

[ShadowCat]

@LegHumperBibleThumper I pinky promise not to base my impressions on a few chain restaurants.

As I said, I'm going full tourist here and to me, that means eating in all those places, I've seen people eat at on the tv and movies. 

I LOVE good food, cooked well, but transatlantic flights aren't going to be as frequent as our annual holiday to France so, I want to try everything and that includes the chains that I've heard about, and the new ones that I'm recommended to try

[Lurky]

Re names from "other" cultures in the US:  I don't understand how British-based names and some Italian ones are seen as "normal" or acceptable as American - like Olivia, Isabella - or a Greek name like Chloe would be alright, but Violetta would be pretentious.  Or Jewish names are fine for non-Jewish families.

And how do people even begin to police if someone has an "inappropriate" name for their ethnic background?  Everyone apart from the First Nations people are immigrants in the USA, and there was a huge wave of Italian immigration, so someone calling their daughter Violetta Smith could have more Italian family than a Hannah Smith. 

But what I REALLY don't understand is how people are suggesting upthread that Spanish names would be pretentious, or inappropriate, for people without a Spanish surname.  So much of the US was colonised by the Spanish, and whole states used to be owned by Spain too.  There are so many states and huge cities with Spanish names, and there American families that can trace their ancestors' arrival from Spain/Spanish colonies in South America back to the 1700s, so Asunción, Valentina, Núria or José Maria are names that are just as "traditionally American" as the Hannah/Joseph/William etc are. 

[SapphireSlytherin]

OK - here's the list of restaurants in Claremore (and now I want to go try some of these):

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g51267-Claremore_Oklahoma.html

 

As for chains - absolutely DO try American chains. I always love going to Little Chef in the UK  - and McDonalds because it's different.

If you go to KFC here, you'll get biscuits with your chicken, and if Oklahoma is "regional" enough you'll be offered your choice of white or brown gravy with the mashed potatoes.

Our friend's nephew (from Sussex) was DYING to try Taco Bell. He did. He was underwhelmed. Then we took him to our local Mexican place (within walking distance of our house) and he got to eat REAL Mexican food. Bonus? He got to try out his Spanish with the owners.

 

[PennySycamore]

@ShadowCat,  Claremore is famous for at least two things:

1. It is the birthplace of the legendary humorist Will Rogers.  (He and I are distantly related.) 

2. It is also the setting of the musical Oklahoma!  The heroine of the play is Laurey Williams, 'the belle of Claremore".

@SapphireSlytherin,  I think it's funny that you husband thought of our biscuits as :sour scones".  I like scones, but I tended for a long time to think of scones as not very good biscuits.  Scones are fine for tea, but biscuits are good anytime.  My dad and my grandmother (his mom) made biscuits that were just out of this world.  I still have his cutter and rolling pin.  I wanted to add that we called the biscuits in a tube "whomp biscuits' as well because you whomped that tube on the edge of the Formica counter.

@feministxtian,  you need to try Grands frozen biscuits.  They're not as quick to bake as the ones in a tube, but they're as good or almost as good as made-from-scratch.

Also @ShadowCat, the website https://roadfood.com/ might be worth checking out.  Jane and Michael Stern were the road food mavens at one point and maybe still are despite not being married anymore.

 

[neurogirl]

14 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

I'm a Yank living in the UK, and even though I'm from the Northeast (CT/NYC, but they bleed into one another, to be honest), I am absolutely psyched to be making what I will call, to reduce confusion for my British guests at my 4th of July party, Actual Goddamn Biscuits. Also on the menu: giant M&M chipwich cake, popcorn chicken, a crudite plate to maintain the illusion of health, and Kraft mac-n-cheese, since I saw that in the "American imports" aisle and figure that's a sign...

Ok I'm in the US but can I still come to your 4th of July party? You had me at giant M&M  chipwich cake. And mac-n-cheese. 

[ShadowCat]

@SapphireSlytherin Thank you! You are a star

@PennySycamore Thank you! Now I feel as if I know all I need to know about Claremore. I shall cancel our flights and go on the lash instead

I'm very appreciative for all the recommendations, thanks everyone. If nothing else happens, at least I know we'll be eating well.

[feministxtian]

9 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

@feministxtian,  you need to try Grands frozen biscuits.  They're not as quick to bake as the ones in a tube, but they're as good or almost as good as made-from-scratch.

We have virtually no freezer space right now. IF we get the townhouse we want, we'll have a garage and I plan on buying a chest freezer. 

[adidas]

I’m sticking with Isabella or Grace as my guess for baby Vuolo. I saw a recent pic of Jinger in another thread and she is looking absolutely amazing. 

[melon]

2 hours ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Where in OK?

Fair warning - although I was raised on biscuits and gravy, my Brit hubby finds both to be vile. He thinks biscuits are "sour scones" and gravy tastes like paste.  Oh - and the gravy is white (milk-based), not brown. lol

My oldest son LOVES gravy,but it has to be brown gravy.He does not like white gravy,at all.We laugh at how much he likes gravy.I found it ironic,when I was pregnant with him.I craved gravy,and salty foods.He loves both.But when he goes to Cracker Barrel,he insists on brown gravy with his lunch/dinner.

[BernRul]

10 hours ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Oh, Bob Evans. Tried it once and found it not-so-good, so we haven't been back.

When traveling, we do try to find cool local places (TripAdvisor is a great resource for that!), but occasionally a Cracker Barrel next to the interstate exit ramp is a life-saver. Consistently good food, good service, etc.

I'm sorry that I didn't make myself clear. I think it's more the combination of names - Italian first name + Polish or German or Irish last name that makes it sound like the parents are trying to be something they're not (even if they have Italian heritage not evidenced by a surname).

For instance:  Gianna Sienkiewicz. Anastasia White. Violetta Heinrich.  I hope this helps? Maybe?

That's the meat we eat. Our steer (THANK YOU, @Kaylo) was raised by a family we know, which is why we get a good deal on it - we also only pay for butchering. My husband hunts, so we have venison in the freezer too. We occasionally get a whole chicken from the guy who supplies our eggs - they get "retired" when they quit laying. 

 

So am I not supposed to give my half Irish kid an Irish first name because s/he will have an Asian last name? Does that make me pretentious?

[Shadoewolf]

We have ribs, burgers, Hebrew National hot dogs, deviled eggs, corn, macaroni and potato salad, and a red/white/blue bundt cake with sprinkles for today. Plus a good couple hundred $$$ worth of explosives for nighttime. (Which we do inform the neighbors about in the event somebody or their pet has an issue)

[MamaJunebug]

7 minutes ago, BernRul said:

So am I not supposed to give my half Irish kid an Irish first name because s/he will have an Asian last name? Does that make me pretentious?

Ciming in late to a discussion I last heard about 15 years ago, elsewhere. To quote the authir’s cinclysion, @BernRul, it means you kept a family name and liked an Irish name. Make sure they go well together and don’t worry about what anybody else thinks. 

And - if little Kathleen Yeoh doesnt like her name, it doesn’t cost a lot to change it when she’s old enough  !!!!

In other news, The Exact Minute I went to let the Junedogs out, the neighbor lit a string. 

Four trembling terriers nearly messing in my floor! I can pass on this holiday, honestly. 

[BernRul]

11 minutes ago, MamaJunebug said:

Ciming in late to a discussion I last heard about 15 years ago, elsewhere. To quote the authir’s cinclysion, @BernRul, it means you kept a family name and liked an Irish name. Make sure they go well together and don’t worry about what anybody else thinks. 

And - if little Kathleen Yeoh doesnt like her name, it doesn’t cost a lot to change it when she’s old enough  !!!!

In other news, The Exact Minute I went to let the Junedogs out, the neighbor lit a string. 

Four trembling terriers nearly messing in my floor! I can pass on this holiday, honestly. 

Thanks for that, though when I replied to the previous post, I mostly had a problem with the implication that a biracial child/multi-ethnic child has to choose ONE heritage/race, and that the mother's heritage (since most surnames come from the father) is less important than the father's.

[SapphireSlytherin]

14 minutes ago, BernRul said:

I mostly had a problem with the implication that a biracial child/multi-ethnic child has to choose ONE heritage/race, and that the mother's heritage (since most surnames come from the father) is less important than the father's.

I'm sorry. I in no way intended to imply that. I clearly fumbled what I was trying to explain.

[WiseGirl]

6 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

Woah, woah, woah... slow your roll Hobbit. The only part of my state that bleeds into New York is Fairfield County. They don’t count as real New England.

(And before anyone gets offended, I spent the first 25 years of my life in Fairfield County and I still live in CT. So, like Seth McFarland, I’m allowed to make fun of it.  )

Hey! No including Northern Fairfield into Fairfield County generalizations.  We can't help it those New Yorkers come here to do their shopping. 

[Iamtheway]

We chose a Swedish name (with a german background), that is easy to pronounce in English, for our half Swedish, half Australian child. My family is all Swedish (all pretty much the same region in Sweden) for many generations back. Mr Ways grandparents were all born in Australia but the family comes from different parts of the UK. 

We also both changed our last name to a Swedish one, that had been in my family earlier, when we got married. Mr Ways last name had a meaning in Swedish that we didn’t want our children to be burdened with and my last name had a Swedish letter that’s not in the English alphabet. 

So I guess if we ever move down under Miniway will have the weird name. But it at least says something about where he came from. 

[Greendoor]

2 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

 

@SapphireSlytherin,  I think it's funny that you husband thought of our biscuits as :sour scones".  I like scones, but I tended for a long time to think of scones as not very good biscuits.  Scones are fine for tea, but biscuits are good anytime.  My dad and my grandmother (his mom) made biscuits that were just out of this world.  I still have his cutter and rolling pin.  I wanted to add that we called the biscuits in a tube "whomp biscuits' as well because you whomped that tube on the edge of the Formica counter.

 

 

My grandmother lived in the same town as us when I was 12 to 13.  On Sundays, I always went to her place for lunch and very often she would make scones in the frypan and we would eat them with lobster.  Best memory childhood almost. 

[BernRul]

14 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

I'm sorry. I in no way intended to imply that. I clearly fumbled what I was trying to explain.

It's okay. I'm sure you didn't mean it that way. I only reacted strongly because there are a lot of assumptions made about biracial people and mixed race couples and it can be frustrating to deal with in real life.

[Bad Wolf]

While Jinjer waits, we amuse ourselves with chain restaurants and meat. Go thread drift.

[Daisy0322]

2 hours ago, Dandruff said:

To those who buy fractions of steers...how long would half a steer feed a family of four who eat beef regularly but not all the time?  I would guess years, but obviously have no idea.

1/2 lasts is 6-9 months and we pretty much eat mainly beef. I don't like all the cuts either so we give some  away 

[SamiKatz]

My family had a house in Florida which we used to drive to and back from every summer ('cause Canadians go to Florida in the summer, not enough humidity at home).  Every time we stopped at Cracker Barrel I ate exactly the same thing:  Chicken Fried Steak, green beans and corn with a side of biscuits.  Every single time.  I love Cracker Barrel man.

[Kaylo]

1/2 lasts is 6-9 months and we pretty much eat mainly beef. I don't like all the cuts either so we give some  away 

I agree, steaks are gone first but I have ground beef and other cuts for more than six months. The great thing is that you get a cut list and if there is stuff you know you just won’t eat you can often just have it ground into more hamburger.

[VelociRapture]

2 hours ago, WiseGirl said:

Hey! No including Northern Fairfield into Fairfield County generalizations.  We can't help it those New Yorkers come here to do their shopping. 

I’m originally from Northern Fairfield County actually. I still maintain it’s not like the rest of New England though. I can’t explain it, but the entire county just has a unique feel to it - not quite New England, but not quite New York either. It’s a really nice part of the state though. We seriously thought about moving back, but it would have cost more than we were comfortable spending on one income.