Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Victorian Homes, Books, Weather,

We have just been watching an incredible programme about the lack of safety in Victorian homes and detailing all the hazards. Foods, such as bread, were adulterated with harmful products to make them appear better. Milk was made to appear fresh with an addition which made it appear more palatable but which disguised the tuberculosis in the raw milk and cause thousands of deaths in children. Then there were baths heated by gas which could literally boil you to death. Servant's stairs you could easily fall down and break your neck. Many did. I just discovered I could get the programme online so if you are interested here it is. It really is fascinating to watch.


Next week the programme will be about Edwardian homes. I shall make sure to watch that.

I had a problem earlier with my email. I couldn't send anything although I could receive emails. Worked for a while with a technician from my ISP and eventually we found that one of the Port numbers had somehow got change. He said it had happened to him once (I thought it was my fault) but he assured me that it wasn't. Took a lot of time to sort out though. Whilst we were waiting I was telling him about books I read because of my email address which is the name of a dragon in Anne McCaffery's Pern books. I finally steered him to Goodreads. He apparently liked sci fi so he should find lots there for him to enjoy.

Because the weather couldn't seem to make up its mind, it was snowing hard one minute and stopped the next, we decided to go shopping early, just in case. As it turned out the roads were fine and we wouldn't have had any problem in the afternoon because the snow more or less stopped. However, better to get it done. Like many others, I do so wish we could have some spring weather.

I thought these looked absolutely delightful. They said serves 16, I thought that was ridiculous, obviously one would eat more than one.

Taco Salad Bites

These bite-size appetizers have all the flavors of your favorite taco salad -- zesty ground beef, smooth sour cream and, of course, a crunchy tortilla shell. Taco seasoning varies greatly depending on the
brand, so make sure to taste yours before you add it to the meat and adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly.

Nonstick cooking spray, for spraying the wire rack
1 lb(s) ground beef (90/10)
2 Tbs taco seasoning
Kosher salt
16 cup-shaped corn tortilla chips
4 oz Pepper Jack cheese, cut into 16 cubes
3 Tbs sour cream
1 cup thinly sliced Romaine lettuce
1 small plum tomato, diced
Hot sauce, for serving

1. Position an oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 425ºF. Set a wire rack over a baking sheet and spray generously with cooking spray.

2. Use your hands to mix the ground beef, taco seasoning and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until just combined. Drop heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture onto the rack (about 16 total), then use your hands to roll the portioned meat into balls. Press a tortilla chip into the top of each meatball, making sure that the meat goes mostly up the sides of the chip (be careful not to break the chips). Put 1 cheese cube in the middle of each chip.

3. Bake, rotating the baking sheet once halfway, until the meat is just cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 8 minutes. Transfer the bites to a large platter, top with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with the lettuce and tomato. Serve with hot sauce.

Yield: 16 Taco Bites

Source: Food Network

Have a great day
 

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for the video link. I'll watch it later.

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    1. Do Denise, I found it both horrifying and fascinating.

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  2. Hi Jo - I'm sure it was a very enlightening programme - as too the Edwardian one will be ... cheers Hilary

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    1. It was Hilary. Have you watched it? I couldn't believe some of it. Victorian England isn't a place/time in which I would like to have lived.

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  3. When I think of all the things I survived as a child, it makes me feel grateful to be alive. Though both of my parents were EMTs and they were very proactive about safety. I was never allowed to ride in the bed of trucks or without a seat belt. And my dad, as a chemist, was all about avoiding margarine, etc. before it was popular.

    I love the taco idea. I'm going to tweak it a bit, but make some for when Caleb gets home from China. He loves tacos and this will be a nice surprise.

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    1. Very true Liz, but thank your lucky stars you didn't live in Victorian England. Mind you similar things were probably done on this side of the pond. I was forbidden to ride on the back of a motorbike!!

      I should plan to visit when he does get back. Save me making them LOL

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  4. Wow, on the milk and the bread and just the overall dumbness of such things. Not that we're any better today, we still screw with food to make it look safe. Good golly.

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    1. Well you could call it dumbness Ivy, but they had no idea that some of these things could cause illness or even death. We know more these days.

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  5. Dang! I should have watched that program but 8 thought it was about old homes we now own and didn’t want to be manipulated through fear...now I understand and will watch this when I get the chance

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    1. Turns out that what I have linked is only the first part which I didn't see. I have linked part two, which I did see, on tomorrow' blog. It really was incredible how dangerous their homes and food was Birgit.

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  6. Hi Jo. I've seen that program awhile ago. It might be a different one, but it does sound the same. It is very scary how even that early in civilized life, people were already being put at risk in many ways, often by greedy capitalists.

    Seems ages since I've come by. Glad to see you're still going strong and sharing beautiful recipes.

    Denise

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    1. It seems there are two parts to the programme Denise, I have linked to the other half today.

      Thanks, just pottering along.

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  7. I am always extremely grateful that I live nowadays. I can't imagine living in the conditions others did before, including in the Victorian houses. One definitely did take their lives in their own hands by doing so, of course, often one didn't have any other choice. Those taco bites are interesting. They don't seem like they would be a lot of calories either if just using one tortilla chip and a bit of cheese along with the ground beef. Might have to try them down the line.

    betty

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    1. It was amazing the death traps of which nobody was aware in those days. As you say, Betty, they didn't have any choice.

      They do look rather interesting don't they. Unusual too.

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  8. I will have to bookmark that video. I'd love to see it. Never really thought about it before! I have been inside Victorians that were turned into flats in San Francisco and they are really neat houses with all kind of little rooms, beautiful fireplaces, etc.

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    1. They are really interesting videos if somewhat horrifying to us these days JoJo. These are British Victorian homes.

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