When I post the old photos from the Life Magazine Archives my secret hope is to hear from real people who either recognize a person, a place or an episode shown in the picture. For the most part the photos are not that old, so finding an eyewitness is not that far-fetched.
I was excited to hear from the grandson of Max Jaben, one of the people photographed for the Kansas City Crime series.
Making up Civella’s inner circle were; brother Cork, nephew “Tony Ripe”, gambler Max Jaben, and enforcer Carl “Tuffy” DeLuna. On the fringes was a powerful Capo named William “Willy the Rat” Cammisano, who headed a semi-autonomous crew in the vein of the Riccobene faction in Philly or the Licatas in Cleveland. Nick and Cork and Max Jaben became charter members of the first edition of Nevada’s “Black Book” in 1960.
Finish the following phrases: mashed potatoes and …?; peanut butter and …?; buckwheat and …? Oh, that’s right, you don’t eat buckwheat by itself or with anything else.
Recently while browsing the Russian store with Dave and explaining what some of the foods are, I realized that many of the items are just not well-known or undeservedly forgotten in this country and the American people are missing out on a huge list of tasty and nutritious products. So I decided to feature and item or two and hopefully get some people interested in trying it out.
Buckwheat was apparently very popular in the United States in the 18th and 19th century but since then its consumption went down to nothing while Americans switched to TV dinners and hamburger helper. Considering that buckwheat is easy to cook, tastes great, and contains pretty much every nutrient in the book it’s a shame that this ancient food is not in every pantry in this country.
Sometimes buckwheat is not easy to find on the store shelves; Wolff’s Kasha may show up in the kosher aisle at the grocery store, other brands may be located where the grains and flours are sold, or at the Russian store where they sell buckwheat actually grown in Russia and Ukraine. Technically buckwheat is the grain itself and kasha is a cooked product similar to porridge. Not all kasha is buckwheat and not all buckwheat is cooked into kasha. When buying buckwheat I prefer whole grain, roasted or not is your personal preference.
Making kasha is fast and easy and there are multiple ways to do it. This is how my now-famous Mom does it.
The ratio of grain to water is 1:2. Place one cup of buckwheat and a pretty good amount of kosher salt into a heavy-bottomed pan, cast iron pot or a skillet. Don’t worry about it being over-salted. Set heat to medium or little higher.
Let roast, mixing occasionally. I usually go by smell, when it starts smelling like it’s beginning to burn you need to stop. It takes 5 minutes or so.
While the buckwheat is roasting, boil a full kettle or pot of water. Pour enough water to cover buckwheat when it’s done roasting. I cover it with a lid immediately because it starts boiling and splattering violently. When the boiling, steaming and noise subsides, move the lid off just enough to drain water and proceed to drain as much water as you can without dumping the buckwheat. The water will be slightly brownish and this is the reason why you have to drain it. Repeat adding water and draining it one more time. Now add about 2 cups of boiling water and a chunk of butter; the amount of butter depends on your taste but consider an old Russian proverb that goes like “You can’t spoil kasha with butter”. Adjust salt to taste, since most of the salt used during the roasting was probably washed off.
Now reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes without mixing. Turn the heat off and let rest. Fluff with fork before serving.
There are tons of variations and recipes with sauteed onions and/or mushrooms, buckwheat soup, buckwheat with milk, etc.; it goes good with meat stew, can be used in place of rice or macaroni products and whatever else you can imagine. Buckwheat is also gluten-free and is safe for people who are intolerant to gluten.
Next time you want something simple and delicious, think buckwheat.
So I was driving around yesterday, getting some bugs embedded in my windshield on the rural highways of Kansas. Now is a time to do it: it’s not too hot to roll the windows down and let the smell of prairie spring fill the stuffy cabin of your car, turn the radio full-blast and hit full speed hoping that the local Barney Fife is relaxing after the church on Sunday. The sheer size of Kansas is hard to comprehend, several hours of driving is still a local trip and although it’s mostly endless farmland, there are many points of interest along the way.
But first things first – a Lawrence strip-club now features an Ed Hardy room. Gentlemen, start your engines!
Little further down the road there is an establishment called “Tee Pee”:
One of the “tee pees” is marked with flood marks from various years on the nearby Kansas River.
Turning North on Hwy 59 it’s a short drive to Oskaloosa, KS – home of the Old Jefferson Town – a collection of old buildings and structures moved to one place from all over Jefferson County.
There is a school and a church, a lonely bandstand replica…
…a rusty bridge…
…and a jail where a local Otis Campbell could’ve spent a night or two.
Today Sam Peppard would’ve been able to sail right to the next fence. Kansas ain’t what it used to be…
Oskaloosa City Square is not very different from other small Kansas towns like Burlingame or Ottawa.
People in the 19th century believed in stability so much that they didn’t hesitate to chisel the word “Bank” on the building. Bank wasn’t moving anywhere.
They would be surprised to see a “Chunkie Dunker’s” diving pig occupying one of the windows.
Although “lending with a heart” is still residing in the building.
An old water tower dominates every view.
Masons built this building in 1886.
HWY 92 is being guarded by the local post of the American Legion (brought to you by Coors).
Overlooking the shores of the Perry Lake , the city of Ozawkie,KS is mostly famous for its sign.
Nearby you can grab a monster burger…
… and get a New Kids on The Block -styled haircut from the stylist/owner Gail Dillenbeck.
Is it me or is it really the State of Texas hanging over the cowboy on the right?
Valley Falls turned out to be a neat little town, with its own downtown…
…where “Buy American!” turned into local “Shop Valley Falls 1st”.
No New Kids on The Block here, Punk cuts hair in this town.
Valley Falls has its share of historic buildings…
…but many are no longer in use…
…and wrenches are not clanging anymore behind the friendly window signs.
Here is a piece of unsolicited advice to the KC Star: you want people to buy your paper? Name it “The Vindicator”. You can’t not subscribe to “The Vindicator”.
Cows are peacefully grazing where the Battle of Hickory Point once raged.
Nowadays there is no time for battle, Kansas Farmers are busy feeding “128 people + you”, or did “Kansas Agri Women” figure this out when we were all still skinny?
And why fight if this is what you see out of your window every morning.
One weekend last year I was looking for something to do (for free) and noticed an announcement about the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships which coincidentally will be conducted this year on August 23-24 in Lawrence, KS. My appreciation of music is limited, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate someone’s superior skill and I have to say that the performers at last year’s championships were amazing. And I did like the music. The atmosphere was picnic-like, several stages, bring-your-own-chair-or-blanket-type seating, food vendors and souvenirs – the usual. Plus a good reason for a nice day trip to Lawrence. There are many various instruments fiddle, guitar, banjo, pretty much anything with the strings. Weather permitting, I will be driving there on Sunday the 24th around 10-11 AM. Oh and did I say it was FREE?
Here are some videos I took last year:
I also took plenty of pictures (click to see the set):
But even if there was no picking or fiddling, or food, or people, my trip would have been fulfilling anyway because I saw this guy with a railroad tattoo on his face and a matching hat (click to see detail) :
It was like seeing Jesus on a common household item but much, much better.
Over the years I posted some easy recipes and now, when the City Market is brimming with fresh produce, is a good time to revisit a few of them. Some of the posts may look miss-formatted and Flickr stopped showing some of the photos when they took away their free photo hosting that used to come with the my internet service. If something is missing please let me know.
As always, these recipes may or may not be authentic, but that’s how I cook them so deal with it. I know of at least one person who tried a few of these and survived, and hope so will you.
