The Press-Dispatch
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Sweet's Column By Barb Sweet My So Called Millennial Life By Stephanie Hayes FUNERAL POTATOES By Jennifer Vallee When I was just starting to cook, I religiously read ev- ery recipe to make sure I did everything just right. At the same time I was doing that, my mother was haphazard- ly tossing ingredients in with abandon. She could peel about ten potatoes to my one, and was significantly bet- ter in every aspect of the kitchen than I was. My adoles- cent brain had not reached the conclusion yet that all of her mastery came from feeding four children and a hus- band daily for over a decade. I couldn't imagine ever be- ing as good in the kitchen as she was. Although, I do not believe I will ever be as good a cook as my mother, I can hold my own in the kitchen now. I have gotten significantly better in all my core cooking skills and find myself forging my own way, even on some recipes that I have never cooked before based on my taste and/or my family's taste. For today's recipe, I am offer- ing up Funeral Potatoes, a delicious dish with a horrible name. I believe it had to have been originally thought up by someone who lives in the Midwest, as the first thing you do in a situation like that is send a casserole. I hope you will enjoy this one as much as we do! INGREDIENTS • 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup • 1 pint sour cream • 1 ½ cups grated Cheddar cheese • ½ cup dehydrated onion flakes • 1 (30 ounce) package frozen shredded hash browns, thawed (I prefer to use southern style for my family) • 1 cup crushed potato chips DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. Combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream, Ched- dar cheese (can be anything from mild to super sharp depending on your taste), and onions in a large bowl. 3. Mix in hash browns. 4. Pour into a 9x13-inch casserole dish. 5. Sprinkle with crushed potato chips. 6. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and top is crisp, about 45 minutes. Source: AllRecipes.com Congratulations, Tom Brady, on re- tiring from football and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past week after a few days of will-he-won't-he speculation. It was a sexy Sam and Diane thing, ex- cept you were Diane and the rest of the football world was Sam, and I guess that makes Gronk Frasier? Anyway, we're not here to talk "Cheers," although booze is a factor. We're here to talk food. The joy of terri- ble, processed nothings. The freedom of ordering the most disgusting menu item. The gift of simple carbs in this wicked morass. It seems you biohacked your way to at least some of those seven Super Bowl wins, sticking to a diet that eschews in- stead of es-CHEWS. Get it? Your TB12 regimen is plant-based and avoids sug- ar, alcohol, corn and, as we say when the list gets too long, "more." Your almond consumption is legendary. Electrolytes, unmatched. Fans around the country are thank- ful for your commitment to peak phys- ical condition. And while it is possible you — shudder — truly like to eat bone broth and birdseed, perhaps the moder- ation scale can tip now. Your halcyon av- ocado tequila days were a tease for the culinary journey ahead. You'll need help. Thomas Q. Brady, please report to the freezer section for training! Look, Tompa Bay, you've missed some food trends. Ever had a French toast ba- gel? It's like eating four slic- es of bread covered in sug- ar bricks. How about a cro- nut? A hot chocolate bomb? Pizza cone? Oh, wow, have you even tried the Popeye's chicken sandwich? Speaking of the drive-th- ru, Tomothy: The other day, as I left the gym and went through McDonald's — that's a thing you can do now! — I no- ticed they're publicizing a hack menu. Ask for the "Land, Air and Sea," which combines two burger patties, a Mc- Chicken patty and the Filet-O-Fish in one sandwich. This will be a harrowing page in your memoirs. You speak so kindly of your wife, Gisele Bundchen, and your union no one would dare put asunder. I'm just say- ing, a lady named Little Debbie asked for your number. Her friends Takis Blue Heat and Fritos Flamin' Hot Bar-B-Q are an acquired taste, but you'll get used to them. Have you ever eaten popcorn from a gas station? Well, well, well. Here's what I'm going to need you to do, Tom-o-ra- ma. Go to the nearest Speedway. It has to be a Speedway. Now, find the chip zone. Select the Speedy Choice Fire Roasted Sweet Corn flavor. It cannot be any oth- er flavor. Just do it. Now, get me two ex- tra bags. When you're in New York on the talk show circuit, stop at Milk Bar. Get a cereal milk shake, a red velvet cheese- cake, a 12-pack of corn cook- ies, some truffles, six pies and a whimsical T-shirt. And speaking of cream cheese, Thomas Aquinas, you may order off any section of the Cheesecake Factory menu, not just the insert with the salads. Tex- Mex Eggrolls, stat! Dearest Thomas' English Muffin, the time has come to consume confit. That means something cooked slowly in fat, preferably its own. Once you finish your meal, simply pour the grease into Mason jars. Then you can use it to make fries! That's what we call a game-winning play. One word, Romantic Tomedy: Becha- mel. Of course you will stay healthy, Tom- my Bahama. That's your whole thing, and you've got supplements to sell. But we love to see your wild side, so please. Just post one Instagram of yourself eat- ing hot dog-laden Jolly Spaghetti and peach pies at Jollibee. The fans are ready. Stephanie Hayes is a columnist at the Tampa Bay Times in Florida. Fol- low her at @ stephhayes on Twitter or @ stephrhayes on Instagram. As we make notes at winter meetings, learning all we can about the year behind and the one to come, corn fungal diseas- es usually do not get the most airplay. Yes, they exist. Yes, fungicide applica- tions can be made to help prevent sever- ity. However, 2022 has the potential to be a year where one particular disease begins to show up in greater prevalence. That disease is not necessarily South- ern Rust. Southern Rust has been rela- tively destructive in southern Indiana in the recent past. A bad year is evident when crop scouts leave the field colored in an orange hue. Southern Rust is usu- ally present in corn fields near the end of the growing season. Unfortunately, the disease has been showing up closer to Ju- ly in a few past years, and that has made this disease the most yield limiting fun- gal disease in southwestern Indiana corn at least two of the last five years. South- ern Rust is bad, but it is not the disease picking up steam. Tar spot, when it first arrived in Indi- ana in 2015, stuck around to the north- ern half of the state. The disease seemed to start fresh each year in the north, but has worked its way into southern Indi- ana the last three years or so. Finds of tar spot in this neck of the woods have usu- ally been restricted to very late season scouting ef- forts, until this past year. Tar spot in Gibson County was confirmed in mid-July, early enough in the season to throw some red flags. Add to that occurrence the new revelation that over- wintering is entirely possi- ble of the disease on the infected resi- due of harvested corn, and 2022 may very well be the year where we no longer think of tar spot as a northern Indiana disease. Luckily, management options exist, and we can do familiar things with this disease as with other diseases. First, scout fields. Although the humidity and temperature situation in this area is usu- ally conducive to a V T/R1, or tasseling to just post-pollination, fungicide appli- cation, fields should be scouted prior to application to assess any current dis- ease incidence, and fields definitely need a follow-up scouting approxi- mately three weeks following application to ensure disease presence is still minimal. In limited occurrences, a sec- ondary fungicide application could be warranted based on conditions in the area. A great resource for more information on tar spot, south- ern rust, and other field crop diseases is the Crop Protec- tion Network, at cropprotectionnetwork. org. The site brings together university extension and private resources for an unbiased and comprehensive look at the current state of many diseases and how to successfully control or prevent them. For more information, please contact Purdue Extension office in Posey Coun- ty via hschmitz@purdue.edu or 812-838 - 1331. C-2 Wednesday, Feburar y 16, 2022 The Press-Dispatch Junk food Tom Brady should eat in retirement Two corn fungi to keep in mind Down on the Farm By Hans Schmitz, Purdue Extension Educator To enter the Birthday Club, fill out the form at www. pressdispatch.net/birthday. Only the person's name, town and birthday will appear in the paper. As an added bonus, one lucky person each month will receive a free six month Press-Dispatch subscription. THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS Shannon Conder ...................... Oakland City ......... 2/17 Hava Eversoll .................. Weiden in der Oberpfalz . 2/18 Emery Eversoll ................ Weiden in der Oberpfalz . 2/19 Irma Burch ................................Evansville ...........2/21 James Evans ................................ Otwell ..............2/21 Terra May .................................. Petersburg ...........2/22 THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR The Press Dispatch PIKE COUNTY'S NEWS NETWORK 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg 812-354-8500 • www.pressdispatch.net Hi stars, and welcome to the big stage, all lit up in colorful bright lights and dec- orated to help celebrate with all our stars who will have a birthday or anniversary in the week of February 17 to 23. Come up onto this stage and take a bow. BIRTHDAYS Feb. 18: Travis Atkins turns 38 years, Eugnia Rose Smelte Kup turns 14 , Zoe Russel turns 13. Feb. 18: Georgia Sharp Quick. Ken- neth and Hope Hall will celebrate 6their 61st anniversary. Feb. 19: Brenda Riley turns 62, Heath- er Rolens turns 49, Nathan DeWeese turns 41. Feb. 20 : Adam Bolin turns 18, Jeff and Joy Cassity will celebrate their 32nd an- niversary. Feb. 21: Curtiss Genco turns 64, Kyle Newkirk turns 23, Zoe Anne Redford turns 5, Irma June Capehart Burch turns 94. Feb. 22: Cody Cannon. Feb. 23: Billy Wildt turns 41. Tony (George) Faith and Bill Melvin are also celebrating birthdays. May all our stars have a really great day and may all your wishes come true. Keep in your heart and in your prayers all our stars who are going through sur- geries, treatments, tests of all kinds, those with allergies, and the aches and pains of everyday life. Katy, Mick, An- nabel, Benny, Tim, Sue Ellen and Angie. EVENTS Feb. 20 : Daytona 500 race. Feb. 21: Presidents' Day. Feb. 28: Winslow Town Council at 6 p.m. Winslow senior citizens are meeting on Monday and Tuesday at the Commu- nity Center. Petersburg seniors meet in the courthouse basement. Postcards are of great interest. Mail them to Sweets Column, Winslow, IN 47598. Winslow Patoka River is up to the rim, but with the snow and ice that is melting, it may overflow. .I don't think it will be too bad unless we get more of that win- try mix again. The rain began early Wednes- day, Feb. 2 and the sleet began at 9 p.m. into Thursday where it changed to snow. Our rain- fall was about 1-1/2 inches, sleet was less than 1/3 inch and the snowfall was 3 inches. I looked outside and the grass, streets, vehicles and trees were all glis- tening when the sun came out. It all looked great, but when you got outside was slippery even for the vehicles. Norm got outside, but only to shovel a path and clear the area at the street near the driveway and mailbox. We didn't trav- el until Tuesday, Feb. 8. Laura stayed at her work one day when the roads were not yet cleared. Ice is difficult to melt so sand helps, but you still need to drive carefully. In our area, we had a mishap when a ve- hicle came out of the drive and got hung- up in the yard. They had to warm up an- other truck and soon he was out and on his way. Laura also had a mishap when her car slid on the ice , while parked, and slid al- most into the street. It was on a small incline. The temps that week were in the 40's and dropped into the teens with some nighttime temperatures below 0. On that night our furnace ran all night and I'm sure most of you had the same ex- perience. I almost don't want to see this month's gas bill, but it will be OK. Our log cabin had a leak so Norm patched the nail holes and that helped. Our Pike County Schools were closed with the students learning from home and they didn't go back until Wednes- day, Feb. 9. Most streets had begun to melt, but there were some streets with ice still lingering. Wednesday, Feb. 9, I ventured out, but had to have help from Norm to walk on the ice that just won't chip or melt. We left to pick up Laura then off to find my- self a new phone since mine was too old to update. I found one, but the system was slow and it took several hours to activate. Now I need to have Laura set things up and get used to this new one. I like my other phone, but I'll get used to it. It was also a really nice day to get out and see the piles of snow and how much it had melted. Oh, I got to keep my old phone number. Again on Thursday it was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining bright as we left to file our taxes for 2021 and it ended up to be a better refund this year. Our tax agent and everyone in the office were helpful and freindly and they had to raise their fees this year. Since we were out we decided to go on a road trip for the rest of the afternoon as we saw the Wabash River up to the rim, fields with snow and parts of fields clear, white birds on the snowy fields and sit- ting in the water. The day was chill, but before the sun set and we got home it started to get colder when the wind blew. Did I mention the new sled in our ar- ea? Our neighbor with his truck had a big sled he was pulling with two children having a great time. The sled happens to be a rowboat. Girl Scout cookies are out for deliv- ery or you can buy some if not ordered, so contact your Girl Scouts in your area. There are new cookies this year. We hope your Valentine's Day was the best you've ever had and the Super Bowl was the team you rooted for. I'm really grateful to have Norm in my life, he is always there for me and me for him. Time to dim the lights for this week. Keep an eye on family and friends. Slow down and see all the wonders in your ar- ea. Wear your mask and social distance, especially inside. As always, smile, wave and say "hi" to everyone you see this week.