Yum, yum. Potato Latkes fresh off the griddle. In fact, you can see the steam rising off the last couple I threw on the plate. When I went to all of the Christmas markets while in Europe, I was hoping to have some potato pancakes. The Christkindlmarket in Chicago has them and they're just the thing when it's cold outside, along with a mug of mulled wine, of course. Since I didn't have any over there, I decided to make them myself. I found a recipe in my old Laurel's Kitchen cookbook.
It's a vegetarian cookbook and is full of great recipes as well as good advice for healthy eating. Since it was published in 1986, some of the statistics and studies she cites are outdated but the last 100 pages or so contain some excellent information on all things diet and nutrition. Had I taken this info a little more to heart, maybe my heart would have stayed in better shape. Anyway, the pancakes were easy to make and kick-ass tasty. Just the thing for a beautiful winter day with a high of about 5 degrees.
Need plenty of calories when you're out shoveling. That pile behind the light pole is about five feet high, by the way. We haven't had this much snow in a long time, or as much cold weather either as far as that goes. Maybe some more snow tomorrow but only an inch or two.
The new bench grinder showed up earlier this week. I went out to the shop and unpacked it and plugged it in to make sure it worked. It's 3/4 horse but I think Chinese horses must be a little smaller than American horses - more like ponies I'd say. The tool rests are about as cheap as you can make them and have them still be serviceable but I knew what I was getting when I ordered the grinder. I'm planning on very little usage and the fixture for the lathe tools doesn't require the tool rest at all. So for fifty bucks and change, shipped to the door, it should be OK for what I want.
In spite of what the ground hog said, I'm thinking it should start warming up in about a week. Not toasty warm or anything but at least close to the seasonal average. That'll be warm enough to start getting a few things done. In the meantime, let's try and keep safe and warm. Potato pancakes help.
3 comments:
My daughters got me a Skil brand 6" bench grinder for father's day a couple years ago. It was on sale at Lowes for $29, and although it has its limitations, it works surprisingly well. Has bright LED lights and magnifying glass guards.
I have an older Craftsman bench grinder for heavier-duty work, like sharpening my riding mower blades (sad to say, but having to mow 5 acres, I tend to let them go beyond the hope of hand-filing). The rests on the Craftsman are ok, but need to find/make a jig of some sort that will put an accurate edge on my mulching blades, which I usually sharpen twice, sometimes three times a season.
I've got a good one out in my other shop for metal working but since this one will be in the woodshop, I didn't want to go too deep into my pocket - still need to buy the fixture. It should work fine for the lathe tools and a quick touch-up on a drill bit. I might make up a decent tool rest for one side to sharpen chisels, etc. Make it adjustable for angles, as well as stronger. Something besides a flimsy stamping.
I sharpen my mower blades with a hand/side grinder, by the way. Put the blades in the vise, grind the edge, cool & repeat until they're sharp, touch up the burr with a file and away you go. Like you, I have quite a bit to mow and it's all sandy ground - really eats the blades and the deck up. Hard to get more than a year out of a set of blades. Might be nice to mow a little grass instead of shoveling snow, actually.
Yep, can't wait to get the opportunity to dull some mower blades! Even here in Kentucky it's been been more like Northern Ohio or Michigan this Winter.
Used to hand grind my blades, but my hands are not as steady as they used to be. Hey, maybe a jig/armrest for my forearms instead of the blade! :-)
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