The Grinder

Turkey Tracks: July 14, 2022

The Grinder

These guys went on a quick trip to visit the grinder last Tuesday morning.

They make that visit about every 6 to 9 months—and this time the scissors with the blue handles triggered the trip—which isn’t far at all, only about 15 minutes or so to the south. The small scissors were dull to the tip, and they are the ones I keep by my sewing machine so they need to be sharp. If you have scissors with some serrated edges on one side (some of the Karen Kay Buckley scissors), ask the grinder NOT to sharpen on those edges.

The knife on the far right came, via a Japanese neighbor back in Falls Church, VA, many years ago. When sharpened it is…dead sharp. And very thin and light, too. I use these wider knives like paddles, too, to carry chopped bits to a pan.

Once sharpened, I can keep the knives pretty sharp for many months with frequent passes on the metal sharpening tool (a honing steel) that came with my good knife set.

Local peeps: the grinder is on Route 90 going south, on the left, just beyond Kelsey’s. Call before stopping by to make sure that the grinder is in and can sharpen what you have (594-7007). The business, Acute Grinding, is now owned by Food Prep Solutions, so here is the sign for which you will be looking. The grinder charged me $20 for these 6 pieces.

Some of the raspberries are ripening now. I got this many yesterday. Delicious!

On the last night Bryan’s family was here I made a big “fried rice” dish with what was left of the leg of lamb we roasted, some eggs I fried first (beef tallow) and added back in at the end, and tons of veggies—some leftovers already cooked and some cut for the dish and pan sautéed after removing the fried eggs—and the leftover rice. (Bryan and Corinne had lobsters that night, and the granddaughters had some hot dogs with their fried rice.)

I had LOTS left over, so I packaged it up in two large silicon bags and froze them. The other day I pulled out of the freezer some frozen broth, a package of ground lamb, and one of the packages of fried rice.

Instant soup—after I sautéed the ground lamb. I also added more herbs, salt, and more water.

It was delicious and provided two days of dinner and supper meals—AND time for me to do other things than cooking.