12 Year Old Nuts

Why We Rotate

I spent the day helping my dad and his business partners clean out the attic over the turn-of-the-20th century carriage house behind their office building as they prepare to sell it next month.  We filled a 40 yard dumpster to the brim.  It's amazing the stuff that had been put up there over the past 37 years.

Anyway, we found a case of 12 cans of Hubs Virginia peanuts that for some reason got stashed almost 12 years ago instead of being given as client gifts.  Naturally we popped one open.  After the lit was pried off and the foil membrane pierced, there was the definite sound of a vacuum being broken.  The peanuts looked fine.  They still had a crunch to them, and the flavor was not "off" at all, but not as flavorful as they would be when fresher.  Not bad at all, and still completely edible if you needed them.  One partner's son took them home to put "under the stairs" in his hurricane kit. 

I have a number of cans of nuts in my pantry, and rotate them as I use them.  They are much tastier that way, but it's good to know that the rotation is not absolutely necessary.


Grocery Store Storage Food Item

At the local grocery store last night, I found a can of Deb El Scramblettes.  It cost $6.99, so the Amazon deal is slightly better.  For that price, I got a "dried omelet & scrambled egg mix" equivalent to 10 eggs.  They had an egg whites mix of 21 eggs for the same price, as well as in a larger size.  The expiration date is April of 2014, so about 3 years.  Not bad for off the regular grocery store shelf.  This version calls for 2 tbsp of mix and 1/4 cup of water for each egg.  They also have French toast recipe on the can.  I'll whip up a couple scrambled eggs with this in the morning and provide a full report tomorrow.


Old BB Gun

Today my brother gave me what looked like an old Colt .25 automatic pistol, thinking it was an old pistol lighter.  At home, I took the grip panels off and saw that it was an air pistol.  The panels are marked "Slavia" and "Made in Czechoslovokia."  From a brief bit of research on Google, it seems that Slavia is a well known manufacturer of airguns, and might have some relationship to the CZ manufacturer of fine quality pistols and rifles.  The interesting thing is that all the Slavia pistols I found were of a more traditional airgun style.  I can find nothing that looks like the Colt.  I'll continue the research as well as try and get this thing cleaned up and back to working condition.


'Maters & Peppers

Two of my tomatoes have started turning red.  I ought to be eating a fresh, organic tomato by Sunday afternoon.  I also have a jalapeno that is ready to eat and will be enjoyed this weekend.