Barbequed Bunnies

At our first reenactment of the year, we’ve begun a tradition of toasting left-over Easter Peeps. Sticks can be used, but a bayonet is preferable.

Give the bunny a bayonet clyster!

Carefully toast the bunny while marshmallow gets puffy, golden brown, and the sugar caramelizes. Cool, and enjoy. The cooling part is very, very important. Don’t even try to remove it from the bayonet until it cools. Trust me on this. The spring of 2002 saw a new member toasting a bunny when it caught on fire. Instead of simply blowing out the flames, he waved the stick back and forth. The bunny flew off the end as though it had been launched from a trebuchet. We dubbed that one "Bunny bin Laden". Or maybe it was just a Peep Zombie. Fire definitely killed it dead.

This year we decided to kick it up a notch. All the cool kids are doing stuff with bacon, so I thought to myself, “Self? How about some inside-out pig candy?”

I had packed some left-over bacon in the cooler. Out it came, and half a slice was wrapped around the bunny and skewered with a toothpick. Down over the brazier it went. Sizzle, sizzle, POP!

“OW! OwowowowowowowowowowowowowowowowOW! What the hell was that??”

That was grease spattering molten sugar onto my hand where it clung like melted polyester. And then the bunny had the audacity to turn to goo and slide off the bayonet.

Okay – on to Round 2. Double wrap the bunny around the x and y axes.

This time we got sizzling, and dripping of grease into the fire, but no spatter. Score! The bunny turned out uber gooey, and the bacon not as crisp as I would have liked, but dang it was surprisingly good. One guy described it as "an amazing confluence of flavors". Inside-out pig candy. Hassenschinkenspeck.

Next time I’ll use a stick – I think the bayonet conducted too much heat, and instead of thick cut bacon, I’ll use the thinnest I can find.

And of course the camera batteries crapped out before the final photo, so no pictures until next time. And there will be a next time ...

Hey soldier, can I buy you a drink?

We just got back this evening from a lovely Rev War event at Battersea Plantation in Petersburg, VA. We unloaded and set up most of the canvas on Friday night, shared a bottle of claret, shot the breeze, and turned in for the night. We woke up to an unexpected but light (and thankfully brief) rainfall on Saturday morning. As we scrambled to get a fly up so we’d have a dry area to prepare breakfast, a half dozen AIT students came running over to help. I looked up and they were everywhere. Ft. Lee is a stone’s throw away, and it’s where the Quartermaster Schools are located. There were at least 30 there for the weekend providing support. This was a first – I’d never seen them at this site before, but it was great to have there. Some were Parachute Riggers, there were a couple of Dental Techs, and a slew that were training for Mortuary Services. Apparently the tools of the trade haven’t changed much in 225 years.


On Saturday afternoon I went to one of the concession stands to buy some root beer, and saw three AIT students standing around deciding who was going to get what. I saw one guy digging in the pocket on his sleeve and overheard him saying to his buddy, “I don’t have any cash.” As nonchalantly as possible, I offered to buy all three of them a root beer. They thanked me profusely, but declined. Shorter Half, was more direct. “I know what your paycheck is. Can we please buy you a root beer?” Seeing as how he had identified himself as a former Drill Sergeant to them earlier, I was hoping they’d be intimidated into accepting. They were polite as hell, but still no dice. I walked up to the Root Beer Guy and handed him the money instead and said “The next three trainees that show up to buy root beer – they’re on me.” And I walked off. I enjoyed it so much, I went back with two more cash infusions over the weekend to keep the tab going. It was not one bit altruistic of me as I got way more enjoyment out of it than I would have spending it any other way. It’s PB&J for lunch for me all week as a result, but at least it’s not an MRE, and I’m not complaining.

I was talking to the class Platoon Sergeant (or equivalent) this morning and commented that it was so good to see them back again today. She looked at me a little funny and said they don’t often hear that. We talked a bit, and she made an off-hand comment about well-behaved women not making history. We chatted a bit more, and she mentioned that she had enlisted at age 40. I looked at her and said “God bless you, ma’am. You’re a better man than I, Gunga Din.” Another woman in our unit pointed out that I’d had Sweet Daughter at age 40. I corrected her and said “42.” The Platoon Sergeant’s eyes got big, and said “You’re CRAZY! I can get out in four years!”

Hmm. Hadn’t thought of it that way.

Virginia restaurant carry signed into law!

As of July 1st, concealed handgun permit holders will be able to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense in restaurants, providing they do not consume alcohol.

More here.

More uses for the 4 rules

The four rules work for power tools, tool, especially when you’ve got a 4-year-old helping you. Besides wearing eye and hearing protection, remember:

1. All power tools are always plugged in. (I found myself unplugging my circular saw if I wasn’t actually using it that very minute.)

2. Never hold your (although I suppose it still holds true) the tool near something you don’t want sliced, pierced, ground, spindled or otherwise mutilated to bits.

3. Keep your booger-hooks off the buzz-switch(es) until everything is lined up, and the 4-year-old is in a safe spot.

4. Be sure of what you are cutting/drilling/slicing/dicing and what is under/behind/next to/around it.

I emerged reasonably unscathed (only a couple of splinters, and a blister on my thumb. “We gotta install microwave ovens. Custom kitchen deliveries. We gotta move these refrigerators...” Sorry. Got carried away.) and with a pile of sticks approximately the correct size. Good rules to follow, even off the range.

Oh, and  I saw a bald eagle on my way in to work this morning. I love living where I that is not an uncommon occurrence.

Worms

My driveway was covered with worms last Monday morning. Tuesday, too. It hadn't rained in the night, or for a few days previous, for that matter. I don't know why hundreds of worms decided to throw themselves on this particular grenade on a beautiful, warm spring morning (some sources indicate they might have been mating), but at least I don't feel guilty about it.

Smells of Spring

Sweet Daughter and I got home today and did some work in the yard. She dug holes, and I transplanted a bunch of stuff. I am not a gardener by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a pretty good herb garden going, and I’m working on getting more 18th century appropriate plants put in. A coworker gave me two big pots of lemon balm, I moved a volunteer Redbud tree, a Rose of Sharon, and a bunch of Tansy to more appropriate locations.

Here is what I learned today.

1. A pair of leather gardening gloves is in order. I don’t know what that shrubbery is with the reddish leaves growing by the shed (Japanese Barberry – thanks Google!), but some thorns are the diameter of my darning needles and got caught in my hair and clothes, and some are microscopic and the scratches felt like I’d been bitten by hundreds of tiny wasps. I was not amused.

2. Don’t trust church ladies. The nice one at garden club fundraiser two years ago told me that tansy wouldn’t spread and take over my garden. She lied was mistaken. I bet if there was a grudge match between the tansy and kudzu, the tansy might actually win. Or at least would end up with a “both mangled and killed” result.

3. The yard is lovely when the azaleas, dogwood, camellias AND lilacs are all blooming. It’s lovely enough that I can even ignore all the zombie dandelions ("Laaaawn … we want laaaawn …"). The scent of lilac is like springtime distilled.

4. Bacon and eggs makes a great dinner when you’ve been outside too long, you’re all starving, and have to get dinner on the table fast.

5. While bacon and lilacs each have a wonderful aroma, they don’t go together so well. Frying bacon with the jug of lilacs sitting next to them was a bit… interesting. Sort of like burning plastic, actually.

In case you missed it.

Just in case you were one of the 5 people who missed this last year, I bring you the literal version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart". And if you saw it, watch it again and laugh. Especially if you're of a "certain age". I'm still trying to figure out why my driveway was covered with worms this morning. Maybe I'll have photos tomorrow.