We’re all made of star stuff. While it makes interesting SciFi reading it’s hardly surprising.

What else would we be made of? In effect, the big stuff blows up, matter reorganizes, and makes up different stuff. What we do with the stuff that we’re made of is an all-together different topic.

It’s Friday.

The holiday weekend is upon us.

Escape the banality of life and do something fun. Make the most of what you are. Life only offers two things – time and the choice of how you will spend it.

Ducati Diavel, the She Devil

I looked at fandango.com for movies playing in my area in the hopes of finding something that would work. It turns out that the feature films were negro movies (and I’m not one), slasher films (which I typically avoid), cartoons, or I’d seen it (Bourne and Hell or High Water). So much for that big plan. I’ll just have to default to riding the She-Devil along the coast, stopping somewhere for lunch and then more riding.

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18 COMMENTS

  2. Have you ever considered slowing down and smelling the roses, LL? Blasting by those roses on your Diavel has its upside, but rumbling by on a 1939 Harley Davidson knucklehead would certainly give you an entirely different perspective.

    Not that I am a big HD guy, I'm not. They leak, all of the bolts shake loose and you have to stay on top of them like a teenager during the school week, but still…..

  3. I love the old rigid frame knuckleheads. Frankly, they wouldn't do for a long trip because they are so uncomfortable, but they are works of art, chain oiler and all.

  5. Have fun — it's raining here in Texas which may or may not completely disrupt plans to shoot dove and catch fish.

  6. I don't ride my devil in the rain unless I'm caught in it. There is too much chance of a slide and crash. Call me old if you wish. (Like pilots, there are old motorcycle riders and there are bold ones, but there aren't many old, bold ones.

    I'm glad to see that as soon as it heats up in TX, Barack and the military cool things down for you.

  7. It's raining here (Yay!)

    I'm whipping up a few meatloaves for the freezer and one for dinner. This afternoon I'll be canning chicken and finally clearing out my laundry room which looks like a bomb exploded in there what with all the painting and deck staining going on.

    It will be reward enough to see many jars of canned chicken lined up on the counter.

    Have fun today, LL, and be safe.

  8. Do you cook it and then can it? I don't think that I've ever eaten canned/bottled chicken. Is it like Chicken Morengo (Napoleon's famous campaigning meal – the first "bottled food" to be used on a military operation)? Details might be useful.

  9. At 60+ years of age, a long trip on one of those hard tails will put you in the intensive care unit. I rode a 750 Triumph Bonneville across the US at age 26, and thought nothing of it. Now that trip would probably do me in. And the 1979 Triumph had rear shocks, imagine those not being there….shudder.

  10. Canning chicken is super simple. Cut up chicken breasts into chunks. Cram raw chunks into hot jars. I add a 1/2 tsp of Better Than Bullion and a pinch of canning salt. Put lids on and process in pressure canner for 75 minutes pints, 90 minutes quarts. It makes it's own broth while processing.

    Canned chicken is absolutely delicious and moist. You can use it for chicken salad, enchiladas, soup, casseroles, or just about anything that calls for chicken. You could certainly use it to make Chicken Marengo by adjusting for the fact the chicken is already cooked. You could even add a bit of red wine before canning to infuse the chicken chunks with the Morengo flavor.

    I started to can meat when I realized that in a power outage you would lose all your frozen meat unless it was winter and you could put the freezer stuff in a snow bank.

    Some people slightly pre-cook their chicken before canning. In my opinion it's a waste of time and overcooks the chicken. Trust me, raw chicken pressured canned at 15 lbs pressure for 75-90 minutes is cooked.

    I can low fat beef, too. Unfortunately, you can't can high fat meats like chuck roast. It's too easy for the fat to get under the lid which would prevent a good seal.

    Here's the post I did on canning chicken.

    adriennescatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2014/08/adventures-in-canning-raw-vs-hot-pack.html

  13. I have never even heard of "pressure canning" – so you put the whole jar with the lid and the ring band into the pressurized vessel – essentially to bring the temperature up to the point where the bacteria is killed. The pressure allows for even heat?

  16. Now a days the pressure canners and cookers are so good there are rarely blow ups (thank goodness.) I remember growing up with my mom speaking in all caps saying, "STAY AWAY FROM THE PRESSURE CANNER." She even had a blow up once and redecorated the ceiling.

  17. Here's a simple explanation of how a pressure canner works.

    simplycanning.com/pressure-canning.html

    Also, people need to understand that not all pressure canners are the same as pressure cookers. I have a pressure canner now that will also operate as a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers do not substitute for pressure canners.

    I used to have a wildly expensive All American canner, but it was so heavy I sold it on ebay. Now I have a
    Presto 23Qt aluminum pressure canner that will do either 7 quart jars, 20 pint jars, or 24 half-pint jars at a time. I got it from Walmart online since they don't carry the bigger on in the store.

    LL – I see a pressure canner in your future.

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