Have you folks done a whole lamb over hot coals? Need I say more? My nephew baptized his two daughters (in Utah) in '00, so I suggested we do one. I'd never done one before, but have the fondest of memories of my youth, when my folks and their friends would gather in one of the canyons maybe once each year and do one. I must have learned a great deal from watching, because it turned out "to die for". Hours of turning, basting with lemon, butter, salt and pepper. We fed a large crowd and got endless compliments on the meal. Susan made pilafi, again, one of my favorites.
It's always puzzled me to hear folks say they don't like mutton. Truth is, most of the Greeks don't, either. Nothing like a spring lamb for good eating. Pan fried, oregano, salt, pepper and lemon. Now how's your mouth doing?
Let us know so we'll have the right things on hand!
Seriously, the door is always open. Don't hesitate if you find yourself in Washington.
Reminds me of the day that I went to the Holladay Gun Club in Utah----to find a smallish man, maybe 5'4", shooting two different revolvers, each of which were .454 Casull specials. He was having the time of his life, bloody hand and all. They were made from old Colt revolvers, and would wind around so hard they were tearing up his hand.
As did I, right up close and personal. It wasn't one of my better days. I was a member of the 625th MP Company, Utah National Guard, '56/'62. We had the M1, which we fired once yearly to qualify. If you've never had the experience, as you say, consider yourself lucky.
I'll bet you got endless compliments! I have never done the whole lamb on coals, but I remember seeing it done every Easter when I was a kid. Some relative or other would do one. Now that you say that, i really ought to try that one day. Might be a something cool to plan for next spring. Hmmmm....
One thing we do love here is just the basic baked lamb, with garlic and oregano. After baking the lamb, my wife takes the meat out, adds some water and a small can of tomato paste to the lamb drippings, dumps in a couple of pounds of orzo or spagetti and puts it back into the oven to absorb and cook in the lamb juice. I'm not even sure what it is actually called, but it is something my mom always used to cook and my wife picked up from her. It is hands down the favorite meal around here. One of those foods that is even great reheated the next day. But with 8 of us here, it is pretty uncommon for leftovers to survive the night!
Like I said, you're killing me!
I most certainly will. I Likewise, should you ever find yourself in Mass, consider yourself invited. I love that expression "The door is always open", I say that all the time. It is funny, because when you extend that sort of invitatation, I know that you mean it (as do I) in all seriousness. What is strange to me is how many people think you are just tossing out some sort of casual nicety when you say that. As if they don't believe you REALLY mean it. On several occasions I have had friends say that they "drove by" my house, but did not stop because they saw we where eating dinner, and did not want to "interrupt". Then they don't understand why I yell at them for not stopping!
I heard one of my uncles, years ago, say that "a friend CANNOT interrupt a meal. They can only join in!" I like that. I had not thought of his saying that in years.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. And thanks for the invite!
Harold Why would it puzzle you that people don't like mutton? I'm sure that you know the difference between mutton and lamb .Mutton is just foul smelling when trying to cook it. Now we just had some mutton made into sausage that is very good and some pepper sticks also. Now for me give me a good leg or rolled shoulder of lamb roasted with just a bit of seasoned pepper in the Weber and it is the best, Why do you want to hide the natural flavor with all those heavy spices? All the best to you lg no neat sig line
Let the record show that Christopher Tidy wrote back on Mon, 31 Oct 2005 18:17:37 +0000 (UTC) in rec.crafts.metalworking :
And there is a great deal of difference between cold rolled steel, and "armor" plate. Even the old fashioned "steel" armor of Pre-WW2 vintage.
And tanks did have steel armor more than an inch thick and still managed to move. Not quickly, I'll admit, but adequate for the job. (Although the Krauts tended to build behemoths which had their own problems.)
And that's the operative phrase "did the job". Could have been better, could have been worse. As Division commander once said "the better is too often the enemy of the good." As in "I need tanks now, not better ones in five years."
That's a misconception. Most German tanks (by quantity produced) were of relatively lousy, obsolete nature. Much is talked about their better tanks, but they were not always, if not never, the majority of tank force. That was especially true about the beginning of the war, but, IIRC, remained true throughout.
Yes, I would take a working solution that does not break too often, over a pipe dream, any time.
I think this pretty well sums up the spirit of the "Pig". Somewhere I have an article or two about them. The Army built them in a hurry as they needed armoured trucks immediately, but because of their simplicity the Pigs outlived many of their intended successors.
I've noticed a number of digs in my front and back yard (10 acres) - most is covered with chain link edge fences - except where that B. of a lady Rita blew down neighbor trees and mine across the metal fence. Normally it bends the top bar and lays over a section - breaking top castings or pulling them off. The latest tree - broke the top bar. That was a big tree - well branch really - around 14". Nice oak firewood.
Back to the beaste - the back of the lot is forest so entry can be there also - Rita made more open sky there. Hope to get some good Turning wood - time will tell - lots of fire wood.
I think it is a feral pig of some type - or an armadillo. Time will tell. Drives our dog nuts the next day -
Dug up a 4 bladed metal shaft arrow while cleaning up some fence line - suspect prior owners had target practice at something.
Martin
Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
Ah, my 1911 (not one of the A1's) has the full spur, and I was trying a new grip technique which involved (I noticed almost immediately...) a fold of skin being over the top of the safety...
Ow. Ow ow ow ow ow. Ow. Ow. So that big hunk of metal flying into your thumb didn't break anything?!?! Did you at least have a circular hole from the gas tube?
The advantage of the Pig was that it wasn't built, it was converted from existing trucks (the Humber FV1600) which had already been rejected as too fragile and too expensive to keep in general service. It was a political boondoggle that provided a bad vehicle and cost as much as the new-build alternatives offered at the time.
There was nothing simple about a Pig. The suspension and drivetrain complexity is a nightmare. The only way they survived as Pigs was because they only ever travelled slowly and very rarely went off road. Braking was marginal on the original Humber and was far underpowered for the weight of an armoured Pig.
I meant that the braking was underpowered. Many Pigs found themselves bouncing off walls in Belfast. Out of town a sensible driver just wouldn't take them up to any speed.
The web of my hand is pretty caloused..and doesnt flap much..not much extra skin.
Nope..but it did take of the end of the nail and the first couple layers of skin...enough to draw blood and screw up my fingerprint for a month until it grew back. It was the luck of the draw and my experience with Garands/M-14s that prevented me from screwing the pooch too badly. Fuck me running though they have a fast bolt travel.
Gunner
"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.
Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner
You have that right. I do. Folks that don't eat lamb generally don't have, and don't make any distinctions. To them, lamb is mutton. I pity them. They have no idea about that which they have missed out. In today's market, it's unlikely to buy mutton, anyway. Young lamb is generally what's available, unless folks raise their own.
Did you read my comments in my post above? This part: "Chuckle! Only those that know, know!"
As I've alluded, my heritage is Greek (although US born). My people have cooked lamb for centuries, and have developed recipes that enhance the flavor of lamb to deliver a taste that can come from nothing else. Do not judge unless you have tasted, and even then, if it doesn't meet your expectation, understand that there are folks that prefer flavor in their food. Personally, I can't imagine a lamb chop that isn't fried with oregano, lemon, salt and pepper. Truth is, it just may be illegal to prepare it by other means.
Mind you, I enjoy the flavor of lamb. When a whole one is roasted, it rarely has any flavoring inside, unless it has been pierced with bits of garlic inserted.
Given the opportunity, you really need to experience lamb cooked by those that are in the know------from a culture far different from yours. It may be foreign to you, but I guarantee you'll enjoy it---perhaps even better than your own method.
Now, on the other hand, if you're a 'taters and gravy kind of guy, that may not be true.
Best answer I can provide is it's my culture, Larry. One I cherish. Can
10 million Greeks be wrong? :-) I'll take lamb, prepared as I like it, over a New York cut steak any time.
Sorry for the delayed response. We are just now back on after having lost our power for 39 hours----hurricane force wind that knocked out a lot of Lewis County.
It was truly one of the most pleasant of experiences in my life. Now that I'm the "old folks", it gave me hours of pleasure, recalling all those that went before me, and the incredible camaraderie they used to enjoy. Having lived in Utah, where we were a definite religious minority, the Greek community was quite close knit, so it was always a pleasure to attend these large gatherings, where I had things in common with folks. I delighted in observing my father and his peers as they busied themselves with the lamb, imbibing in a drink of their pleasure and sharing stores from the "Old Country". A wonderful chance for me to learn more about my heritage. If you don't know, there's a huge Greek population in Utah, due in part to mining. Immigrants could find employment even when they couldn't speak English, and many couldn't.
Unbelievable. I came so close to mentioning that recipe that I don't know how I left it out. The only difference is we don't use oregano, and we do use garlic, piercing the meat and inserting slivers in various locations. Otherwise, it's about the same, and, like in your instance, it's my favorite meal------so much so that we do it as a routine for Greek Easter, even though I am not religious. Susan has seen to it that I don't lose my heritage, although in this instance I'm not convinced she's doing it for my benefit. I can't help but think it has become her favorite of all the Greek recipes. It's hard to understand how such a wonderful flavor can come from such simple cooking.
Regards what it's called, I was raised with it called simply lamb and manestra. I recall it being made with hilopitis, too. Your family likely recalls making them if you have any from the old country. Tiny squares of home made pasta, cooked the same way as the orzo, or manestra.
It is my pleasure, Al. Yes, I am sincere. I fully enjoy spending time with folks that share my culture. It's amazing how we are programmed by our genes. There's almost no other Greeks in our area, so I never get a chance to speak what little language I know. It's going away rapidly as a result.
Should I find myself in the East, you can bet I'd enjoy meeting you and yours.
My folks came mostly from Megara, although my maternal grandmother did not. Father immigrated back in '17, at age 15, but my mother was born here after her folks immigrated. We are the only Vordos family in the US.
You? (feel free to respond privately if you desire)
I'm not sure this is a fair picture, but I can check some books I have or ask a guy who owns a Pig if anyone is interested. My recollection is that the Pig was built because the Army needed armoured trucks quickly, but vehicles like the Saracen and Saladin were taking 5 to 10 years to get from the idea to finished vehicles. The political part came later when the Army chose to use Pigs on the streets because they looked less like machines of war than Saracens.
The Humber FV1600 is a monster of a 1-ton truck - not something I would describe as fragile. The independent suspension system is more complex that the live axles used on many other trucks, and it did give some problems with leaking seals and broken half shafts, but overall I'd say that the Pig is much less complex than a Saracen. It doesn't have a preselector gearbox, it has four wheels instead of six, and it doesn't even have power steering. Yes, they were by all accounts underpowered, but I don't think you can call a vehicle which was in service for 30-odd years "bad". They were well suited to the job.
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