Monthly Archives: February 2022

winter cooking & what’s cooking in my kitchen…read and discover

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It’s a cold, crisp winter day, and we even had snow flurries this morning. So it’s time for some winter cooking.

My vegetable box this week had some really nice potatoes, mushrooms, and carrots. I had four good size slices of beef shin in my freezer that I had been thawing this week. So that’s basically what dinner is tonight: beef shins in red wine, garlic, beef broth, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, and some herbs and spices.

The spices are used in addition to garlic, salt and pepper are Herbes de Provence and an Ethiopian spice mix called Berbere. I also added a few sprigs of rosemary from my greenhouse. My greenhouse isn’t heated so I am thrilled it’s still alive.

I started with searing the beef shins in my big Dutch oven. Before I added the meat I had put into the pan some olive oil, a couple of dashes of teriyaki sauce, Berbere, and garlic powder. The beef shins had been drenched in flour and salted a little bit. I added a little red wine and let that cook off as I was searing.

After the beef shins were seared I moved them to a big metal bowl and deglazed my pan with some more red wine. I then added my chopped carrots, onion, celery, and mushrooms. I seasoned them just a smidge added a little bit of Herbes de Provence. I let the vegetables cook down a bit and then it was time for the final step before putting them in the oven. The oven had been preheating at 300°F.

Before I added the beef shins back to the Dutch oven I added two small cans of tomatoes. The tomatoes were chopped and 14 ounce cans. The brand is Mutti. I also had a can of Campbell’s beef consommé sitting in my cupboard and then I added two more cups of beef broth.

I added back the beef shins and I actually had to pull out 2 cups of liquid for the time being and put it in a measuring cup because the Dutch oven was just so full. I added the two sprigs of rosemary. Everything is now covered and doing the low and slow dance for a few hours in my 300° preheated oven.

I will serve with smashed red bliss potatoes.

People always ask what cookware I use besides my vintage Dansk. I use cookware from a really awesome female owned company called Great Jones. I saw them a few years ago on a segment on cooking by the Today Show, tried them and have been using them ever since. I really like them. The Dutch oven is 6.75 quarts and solid cast iron and it’s called the Duchess. I will warn you the one thing I don’t like about it is how heavy it is but it’s great to cook with especially for a recipe like this.

Please note I am not compensated by Great Jones to write about their cookware. I just happened to own it and love it.

This isn’t a recipe that I have written down anywhere. It just sort of came together in my head this morning when I was thinking about what I was going to do with the beef shins. The mushrooms I like to use are the baby Bella. I am just not a white mushroom person unless it’s a salad. And seriously it’s so easy to throw things together. You don’t always need a set in stone recipe, just wing it.

What’s cooking in your kitchen on this winter’s day?

is cancel culture just good old-fashioned mob mentality?

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I found “cancel culture” defined as follows:

Cancel culture or call-out culture is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – whether it be online, on social media, or in person. … The expression “cancel culture” has mostly negative connotations and is used in debates on free speech and censorship.

~definition of cancel culture

As a blogger, I suppose you can say cancel culture is nothing new. After all isn’t cancel culture good old-fashioned mob mentality? Sheesh, I have been experiencing that for daring to have an opinion since early 2000s when blogging was in it’s infancy. I was originally part of something called PhillyFuture.org which no longer exists. It was this amazing group blog/blogging community that gave people a voice from neighborhoods all over Philadelphia and elsewhere. Some of us joined it to fight eminent domain…in Ardmore, parts of Philadelphia, Camden, NJ.

Blogging = bad mostly because people didn’t understand it. And it was giving issues local governments and others wanted to sweep under the carpet air-time. It was like what broadsides were to the American Revolution.

“Well-behaved women seldom make history” ~Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

For my opinions on Lower Merion Township and eminent domain for private gain especially, people were constantly on the attack. Especially because I thought eminent domain sucked as a concept. You don’t know from ad hominem attacks until you disagree with cheerleaders for Lower Merion Township. One of the early attempts on cancelling me came from two then Ardmore business owners who thought they would benefit from eminent domain. They actually wrote a nasty editorial about me that Main Line Times published. Sometimes it was attempted at public meetings during public privilege to the floor (public comment out here.) That was always amusing, because I wasn’t an elected or appointed official. They just didn’t like my opinion.

It didn’t cancel me.

Obviously I still blog, and this blog is now 10 years old. Periodically someone wants to cancel me. Sometimes several times a week. If I was a mommy blogger talking about Disney trips, diapers scented like Febreeze, which mani-pedi was the best, or various pyramid schemes it would be o.k. But if they can’t put you in a convenient box from Crate & Barrell, they short circuit.

The past few days it has been insane, and it is everything swirling around the Benjamin Pennypacker House in Exton, West Whiteland. (see THIS post and this OTHER post.) I have decided that a bunch of rabid realtors sent by the realtor I criticized are even more ridiculous that the anti-maskers/anti vaxxers or the Stepford Wives for Totalitarianism who periodically put out a jihad on me. (You know they do and there was the one who posted photos of me in a hospital gown from some where in between surgery and treatment during Breast Cancer Awareness month and wondered why people found them tone deaf?)

Pro Tip: Don’t say the word HOOEY. It really unhinges them.

The past few days have even surpassed the hubub when I made fun of Ladies Hat Day at Nouveau Devon quite a few years back and commented on the coup at Devon also a few years back which speaking of is it just me or are those people just driving Devon straight into the ground? Who will be making book on when someone down the road will say Devon is archaic let’s build apartments or something?

The Nouveau at Devon didn’t cancel me either….

Now today and yesterday some have given it their best shot. One girl (says she is a college student) was so gleeful that I had forgotten the hyphen in low-class attack rat. She needs to get out more. And there have been two today people calling my writing drivel!! Usually it’s just this one woman who needs to lay off the teeth whitening or whatever because after a while it gives that Mr. Ed appearance, but she was joined by a self-described “Renaissance Man.” Also funny because true renaissance men don’t have to self-describe as such because everyone knows they are.

These people love to leave comments. Then they get outraged if I delete their comments but preserve screen shots. They don’t get that everywhere they post on social media they are guests until they wear out their welcome. They get all up in arms about people removing their comments. And blocking them. What is it they don’t get? No one is holding a gun to their heads they can choose not to read what I right? But hey don’t forget those “ladies” who talk about “packing heat” and then me. So are we supposed to conclude they are threatening to shoot me? Then they call me “ugly”, a “progressive liberal” or a “communist” or “vile” and then they want to pray for those THEY deem to be lacking in judgement and character.

Bless their hearts . They fear for my immortal soul too because of my writing. Then of course there is the back and forth from people who speak emojis about whether I can write or not. Lucky for them, I can or what would they have to talk about?

And all of these people “don’t get hate” as they tear people down whom they don’t have the intellectual capacity to understand? Then it’s I have a skewed perception of freedom and I must be crazy? Yay!!! Pretzel logic, and don’t let the acrylic nails get in the way as you type furiously.

Truly, I find these people fascinating. You see all these slogans out there like “Dare to be Different” but if you are, you must be bad.

One of my readers said today:

Isn’t it weird how the people that scream and cry about cancel culture are exactly the same people that want to take away your opinion? 

Exactly. And it is weird.

Vox said in 2021:

“Cancel culture,” as a concept, feels inescapable. The phrase is all over the news, tossed around in casual social media conversation; it’s been linked to everything from free speech debates to Mr. Potato Head….As the logic behind wanting to “cancel” specific messages and behaviors caught on, many members of the public, as well as the media, conflated it with adjacent trends involving public shaming, callouts, and other forms of public backlash. (The media sometimes refers to all of these ideas collectively as “outrage culture.”)

There was a great op-ed in the Courier Journal a year ago:

Political correctness on steroids: What cancel culture is and why it matters
D. Eric Schansberg Opinion contributor

Who died and made them boss?

Seriously, it’s kind of an interesting topic. I guess we could all be canceled? But what does it really mean if the people doing the canceling don’t matter in the first place? Then is it just acidic pabulum being regurgitated to make them feel better? Would they like a binkie too?

To me it boils down to if you put them out of their comfort level, you are bad, so you should be canceled. You don’t write about or speak about or converse about what they are comfortable with, so you should be canceled. They said the moon is made of green cheese and you asked as of when, so you should be canceled. If you are the least bit different from them, you should be canceled.

How about all of you do you, and the rest of us will do us? Oh no wait…we might get canceled?

Thanks for stopping by.

a follow-up to benjamin pennypacker house post, and how a keller williams realtor sent some friends to visit a blogger virtually, and what will church farm school think of their behavior?

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So the Realtor is listing this property for Church Farm School,
yet records still reflect West Whiteland? How does that work?

People are funny. Especially when they are realtors and they act like an unprofessional gaggle of low class attack rats. And yes, this is all about the Benjamin Pennypacker House listing which I blogged about yesterday because I was and am concerned.

Below are screen shots of how this Realtor went live with the listing. How it was in Malvern, that it was a Colonial, etc etc. I said calling a house in Exton Malvern is just as bad as calling a house in Downingtown, Chester Springs. None of these places are bad, so just market truthfully, right?

Yesterday’s version of the Keller Williams Listing on The Benjamin Pennypacker House

Well I noticed today that the listing had ummm changed. Still not particularly well written but at least it reflected the correct town and that it wasn’t “colonial” in style or architectural classification. I mean come on, if you take two minutes to read historic resource survey forms on the property (in yesterday’s post) they tell you all about the style, etc.

But I digress. Now it’s better, but now some I know remarked was it historically hysterical or hysterically historical?

You decide:

Today’s hysterically historical historically hysterical revision.

So now I have to ask if Church Farm School condones the behavior of the screen shots I am going to share at the end of this post? Because this Realtor is representing them and this property correct? So whomever provided the introduction to Church Farm, they would also have some culpability perhaps?

Church Farm School is an institution I believe in. But this behavior runs contrary to who they are. Church Farm didn’t send the “enlightened” to troll my blog’s Facebook page but because now a smudge and swirl surrounds this property and the listing, well do those of us who support this fine school in small ways need to re-think said support? I don’t think so, but it gives me pause.

Now the next things is this, Chesco Views still shows the property in possession of West Whiteland (screen shot at top of page) so did someone jump the proverbial gun here? I mean I know West Whiteland voted on it around the 26th I guess it was? But if the property still shows one thing can you list a property until that dust has settled and it reflects current ownership? (I don’t know which is why I am asking.)

So this is a curious tale, now getting more curious and there is probably much more attention on this now than Church Farm School wants. But when they are teaching their wonderful boys to be upstanding young men, and buddies of their realtor, egged on by said realtor behave oddly and unfortunately, well it gives one pause, doesn’t it?

And to have one of these buddies essentially imply I am anti-U.S. military and anti- Marine Corps because I don’t think much of this whole Pennypacker listing etc so far, well that is a step too far, isn’t it? I am not commenting on someone’s military service record (it has absolutely ZERO to do with the topic at hand and to imply that is rather offensive), I was and am commenting on that listing and issues I see, and now these other “professionals”, and they seem to be in part from Keller Williams , so how does their behavior reflect on that brand? Would you choose them to represent you?

Apparently this whole topic of the Benjamin Pennypacker house is now a hot local topic. Maybe it will keep the wrecking ball from the door? One can only hope. But Realtor and pal realtor types who left comments? Bad tactic and people will remember this, and you all did this to yourselves. Your comments were public on social media and were removed, but screenshots were retained. And they are below, as is my right.

This is my favorite of the nasty comments. This woman has trolled me on social media for years to the extent that I try to block her everywhere. Last time was in a breast cancer group because she just does breast cancer better than everyone. She still can’t spell IRE properly. And she essentially uses the same nasty comment at me every time and every time misspells IRE as EYRE and is actually using the wrong word. And it’s always drivel I write, yet she is like a human gaper delay and always has to read and comment.

This is all turning out to be quite curious. Especially since I don’t object to the property being sold, I just find things strange and really am hoping a preservation buyer finds this place.

Apparently it’s keep your friends close, and some Realtors closer? Have a good night.

benjamin pennypacker house, exton: future unknown

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Big, deep breath. That moment when you see a historic asset go up for sale with mistakes in the listing, surprisingly undervalued, and you feel like it has the same weight as listing a fast food restaurant and pad…only it wouldn’t be only $450,000. Is this being marketed as a RESTORE or a TEAR DOWN? Hard to tell.

Let’s start with WEST WHITELAND AND EXTON aren’t MALVERN.

Details matter.

This realtor is an unknown, doesn’t seem to to have the chops for this property. I am sure he will be offended by this, but that is my opinion, and allowed.

This is a historic asset. Whom would he know at Church Farm? Maybe it would be that person who was the former finance director at Easttown Township and now Director of Finance and Operations, perhaps? And did they get to know each other at Caln Township? (Also see this link and isn’t that interesting?)

800-e-swedesford-2006Download

This listing says “Malvern”. To me that screams Realtor FAUX marketing…you know like saying Downingtown listings are “Chester Springs”? This property is in EXTON.

The listing describes this house as a “COLONIAL”. It is not. And ALL you would have to do is look up the Pennsylvania Historic Resource Form which is publicly available in the Internet with a super quick search and embedded here. The style of this FARMHOUSE, which is neither COLONIAL nor a FRONT HALL COLONIAL it is FEDERAL or FEDERAL TRANSITONAL. Also referred to as RURAL FEDERAL STYLE.

I adore Church Farm School, but I am concerned at WHO the Realtor is for the property and the fire sale price for a historic asset on 2 acres. I mean $450,000 is like tear down pricing isn’t it? Is this really being marketed as such? And let’s talk it’s February, this is a house in need of serious work, and the snow and ice aren’t really 100% removed to make it safe to go see? That would now be a potential liability on this wonderful school, since it flipped back fairly recently from West Whiteland, wouldn’t it? (I mean even ChescoViews still has West Whiteland as owner as of today, right?)

Historic-Resources-of-West-Whiteland-Township-1986Download

And let’s talk West Whiteland for a moment. This farmhouse sits on a property that was supposed to be a park years ago, correct? Yet only recently began that transformation truly, correct? Now former Manager of West Whiteland Mimi Gleason was manager from 2014 until recently correct? West Whiteland got this property when? 2006? It was totally before her tenure, Michael Cotter preceded her, and then Michael Cotter next went where? West Chester Borough or something until he resigned in 2017? Who was the West Whiteland Township Manager prior to Cotter? It was a woman maybe named Christine Smeltzer (she shows up in Foote Mineral stuff)? Before that Steve Ross maybe?

So this house was in West Whiteland’s custody FOR YEARS, so why did it literally sit and rot? Why did it take so long for the park to actually happen? Why did this property essentially go from Church Farm to West Whiteland and now ALL THESE YEARS LATER goes back to Church Farm? Just so weird, huh? I mean why didn’t West Whiteland use the farmhouse for something? Even having to do with the park? Why now send it back to Church Farm?

Property was originally acquired around 1918 by Church Farm School. Originally they used it as the farm manger’s residents. So when did West Whiteland take custody of this property? 1990s maybe? I found reference to the Church Farm Property in a little book about Exton called “Little Bobby Reese Growing Up in Exton” – I found a copy of that book and will be writing about it soon.

And in this “History of West Whiteland”, you find reference to the Benjamin Pennypacker House:

So the description describes an eat in kitchen. OK it would have to be fit for habitation to have that, right? Is it? Look at the listing photos – doesn’t it scream demolition by neglect as a structure? Why didn’t West Whiteland maintain it better while they had custody?

Sign me very concerned about the future of this property. I wish it had a Realtor who did these kinds of listings more regularly, and umm, given the condition of the house and the weather, why not list it in the SPRING? Church Farm is a school, so they aren’t real estate magnates. But this property should have more experienced Realtors and at least an attempt a listing more appropriate to preserving this house and property. And who decided this was the listing price?

Pennypacker-house-survey-1981Download

Chester County is losing too many historic assets and open space. Please let anyone you know looking for a historic property. If this gets torn down, it will literally be criminal to historic preservation.

I don’t give a rat’s ass if this is sold, but I am questioning if it is being sold as land and a tear down, or as a rough gem to restore? I am also questioning why West Whiteland seemed to practice demolition by neglect while they had this property?

Curious and curiouser.