Garden Tips and Nips

Gardeners like this are hard to find.

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So They Loaded up the Truck and Moved to . . .

Far, far away in a never-never land of swimming pools and movie stars sits a fabled mansion long celebrated in song and story, which every American over fifty, say, will instantly recognize - and indeed, feel intimately acquainted with, despite never having set foot in it.  The name of the house - most incongruously to our British friends, I'm sure - is Chartwell, and it rises atop a bluff in Bel Air, commanding a breathtaking view from the mountains to the city to the sea.

And now this home of dreams, so well remembered, so fondly admired, can be yours - for only $245 million.  With 11 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, and a 5-bedroom guest house, the property can easily accommodate you, your whole dadburn family, a passel of country cousins, and all the critters you can stand.  And rest assured that no element of comfort or convenience has been overlooked:  it comes complete with a 40-car garage, a 12,000-bottle wine cellar, a cement pond in the back yard, and a terrace big enough for hanging out your laundry and cooking up all the rhumatiz' medicine you require.

Unfortunately, there are no photographs of the interior in this presentation video, so you just might have to bring your own pot passers for the fancy eatin' room.




But the presentation is just not complete without the theme song, which starts at the :30 mark below:




If any of you peckerwoods do buy this place, you be sure and drop ol' Russ a postcard, and tell me all about it.

The Gay Sally Lunn

Sally Lunn's eating house in Bath, Somerset

The rollicking bun, and the gay Sally Lunn! The rollicking, rollicking bun!

--Gilbert and Sullivan, The Sorcerer

Here's a treat for all my truckbuddies who like to bake, or just like to eat:  last weekend I somehow stumbled upon this Southern Living recipe for Sally Lunn bread - and OMG fellas, it's just the Best.Thing.Ever.  This old English recipe has been around for maybe 300 years or so - and I can't believe I've never had any of this fabulously good eating until now.

M.P. and I made it in a bundt pan, and we can't stop eating it - it's got a texture sort of like pound cake, only not nearly that sweet, and tastes yeasty like bread, with a heavenly aroma.  Best of all, there's no kneading involved:  just mix it up, pour it in your baking pan, wait an hour for it to rise, then pop it in the oven.  No fuss, no muss, and sooooo damn good.  Try it - today! - you'll like it.




Southern Living foolproof recipe here.


Just for fun, some historic recipes from Colonial Williamsburg and other sources here.

The Pork Boys Do a Bunch of Goodies

Your Head Trucker's part-time job.

So last night I braved the wind and the rain to haul myself down to M.P.'s place to be guinea pig for a bunch of new recipes he wanted to try out and get feedback on, with a view to the catering business he wants to start in a couple of years when he retires.  And oh my there were a LOT of goodies, not sure I can remember them all right now but they included:

Egg-knot pastry with icing and slivered almonds

Maple-and-bacon muffins (two kinds, sweet and savory)

Apple-and-cheddar muffins

Spinach chausson - creamed spinach baked in a roll of puff pastry.

Miniature cordon bleus - individual fried roll-ups of chicken, turkey, ham, and cheese, I think, deep fried.

Chicken strips - very thinly sliced breast meat rolled in breadcrumbs and fried, served with honey-mustard sauce and barbecue sauce

Disco fries - homemade french fries covered with chicken gravy and shredded cheese

Pilon de poulet etouffe - chicken drumsticks baked in gravy and served over rice

Strawberry turnovers - Sugared strawberries with honey and cottage cheese baked in a triangle of puff pastry - he's gotten awfully good at making that from scratch - with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

And maybe more but that's all I can recall at the moment.  Oh my was it good, a delightful, delectable evening.  Of course, we ate only a small serving of each thing, and even so I came home quite stuffed but with a load of scrumptious leftovers that I can't wait to try again.

OMG: Government Funding for Pride?

For a couple of years there, after I lost my husband, I was daydreaming about moving to gay-friendly Canada. It was just a pipedream, though; and I got over it last year with the rush of Hope and the expectation of Change.

I might be reconsidering that attitude now. (Canadian readers, let the Blue Truck know your requirements and needs, I'll get back to ya.)

You grow up in the U.S. and you hear it drummed into your head so many times "This is the GREATEST country in the world." Yeah, yeah, yada yada yada. As if this is the ONLY country worth living in, ever.

But while I love my country, it ain't necessarily so that it can't be greater and better. For all its citizens. We don't have a lock on every good thing here.

Lookit this news from our neighbor to the North - can you imagine the U.S. government funding Pride in, say, New York City? With a major press conference to boot?

Pride Toronto got a financial boost of nearly $400,000 one week ahead of the event's kickoff.

"I'm pleased to announce a new recipient of the Marquee Events Program," said Minister of State Diane Ablonzcy Monday during a news conference at the Gladstone Hotel.

The money is to go towards improving infrastructure and services for people with disabilities during the 10-day festival, along with improving marketing and programming efforts.

Toronto Pride is, far from being something beneath the notice of the government, is a major tourist attraction - worth more than $90 million to the economy of Canada's largest city. They're loving it up there. Can you imagine Pride being covered in depth by a major national network? What a country!

Click here for the video of today's announcement. And oh, don't miss the clip of Dykes on Trikes.