Uncle DT's Random Image Thread

[Kruger]

Oh, there is nothing that beats a fresh tomato sandwich when that tomato is warm from the sun and perfectly ripe.  I 100% agree with you on that one.  But when you have a ton of cherries, too many to go in the salads that you are eating, you cook them down and mix it all into some pasta with fresh basil...

[Blaze]

There's still something about the texture of cooked tomatoes (cherry or not) that I just can't get past. Now, there's no rule to say you can't just have an entire bowl of cherry tomatoes...

[Kruger]

Swap out the parsley for fresh basil and add fresh mozzarella along with a healthy sprinkling of salt and fresh cracked pepper and I would agree that a bowl of cherry tomatoes can be an option...

[Blaze]

Oh yeah! Nothing like a mini caprese salad. We had some really top tier balsamic vinegar and for a while I was getting caprese salads a few times a month...

[Kruger]

There are a few things that I really do miss about working for Doxee, one of which is the food.  One of my colleagues there has a balsamic acetaia that's been in the family for generations.  Walking through the barrel rooms has just an amazing aroma and of course I used to bring bottles back every time I would go over there.  I still have a bottle of the "good stuff" that I have been nursing.  But that stuff is so damn good.  I have never had anything here that's even as good as their cheap one year bottle, that in itself has so much depth of flavor.  Damn, now I'm missing it, I need to go buy some...

(Video of Paolo pouring some of the aged vinegar for tasting...)

[Blaze]

That's awesome. I recall you sharing that aged vinegar before. That looks like some good stuff and it reminded me of something... syrup. If I was going to be a snob about anything, it would have to be maple syrup. This is Nancy's cousin's sugar shack and you better believe all those barrels in back are 100% pure Vermont maple syrup. Rumor around the family is that he's thinking of selling it. I'm tempted...

[Kruger]

If all of those barrels are syrup, what kind of ROI would that sugar house have?  I totally picture in my head a Scrooge McDuck swimming in his pool of money, but it's syrup instead...

[Blaze]

The ROI would depend on how you plan on selling, when you sell, and what the season offers. I'm thinking that he does at least 50 barrels a season (could be more, but not less). The peak time to sell is March, with April being next best. I'm going to use April 2026 numbers with 50 barrels.

Bulk business to business: $78,650 @ $2.60/lb
Wholesale (restaurants, grocers, bakery): $136,125 @ $4.50/lb
Retail (straight to consumers): $253,000 @ $92.00/gallon

The major part of the equation is wondering how much he's going to sell the business for. But if I won the lottery, I'd buy it just so I could fill up a swimming pool with the stuff and swim around in it...

[Kruger]

So with the cost considerations, I'm sure the sales are a combination of all three, more immediate revue streams from the B2B and wholesale with extended revenue and higher costs related to regular retail.  The stuff we get here, when you can find it, is always a blend from multiple sources.  But at least it's real and not the high fructose corn syrup that Aunt Jemima labels as "table syrup" and made to look like real.  And it's crazy here, that's what everyone grew up on and what they always prefer when given the option between real and that "other" stuff.  Caroline's family always used that Aunt Jemima and once I brought in some real syrup that I brought down after visiting home once, it was a mixed bag.  A few still preferred the HFCS stuff, but Caroline and her mom preferred real syrup.

You know that if you went this route, you would have a customer here, and potential additional sales with some local distribution.

One thing that I do really miss here are the additional maple products, like candy, sugar, and cream.  One of our company kick offs was at Lake Louise in Banff in March and one of the evenings had some outdoor gatherings.  They were doing maple taffy, where they heated up maple cream, poured it on fresh snow and added a popsicle stick so you could pick it up and snack on it.  Damn that was some amazing treat!

[Blaze]

That's something I never thought of, that maple syrup would be a blend of various sources. It's always been either 100% Vermont or Canadian syrup. The Canadian syrup is no joke either. Whenever we see an opportunity to get a can, that's our go-to syrup. We're pretty bad. One time we were up in New Hampshire and getting breakfast, they asked if we wanted any syrup and Nancy opens up her purse and says no thanks, we've brought our own (can't trust what they have). I couldn't dare go back to any of the HFCS slop. But I do admit when I was little and instead of getting the Vermont Maid syrup and we splurged and got the Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Butterworth in that heavy glass bottle, I really did enjoy them.

When we would spend a week in the summer up north, West Stewartstown NH would have their West Stewartstown day and one of the most popular "attractions" was the sugar on snow. You just don't expect that in the middle of summer.

And all my friends would have a lifetime supply of free maple syrup if I did go that route...

[Kruger]

I don't think I have ever truly experienced cold.  So summer in NH and there is snow, is cold.  A few downhill runs where our boogers froze, was cold.  But I have a couple of colleagues that live in the Yukon and I really don't think my experiences truly qualify anymore...

[Blaze]

Oh no, it can be hot and miserable up there at times in the summer, it's just that they'll bust out the stored snow and put it on a table. And I'm pretty sure you experienced more than booger freezing temps when we hit Stratton that day with downhill windchill temps around -60° (even that was pretty cold for me - although when I stopped at the half-way lodge and it was packed tighter than the front row at an Anthrax concert - choosing between the stifling heat and body rubbing in the lodge, I opted to be in the cold with an entire mountain practically to myself)...

[Kruger]

Yeah, that one Stratton trip was an experience, and there were others that were cold.  But not like that one time at Stratton..  But the cold is far more comfortable than the temps that Timmo wanted to keep the condo at on our trips...

[Blaze]

I still liked that time at Sunday River with the battle between the heat and opening the balcony slider until it got to the point that the heat melted the snow in the tracks, but the arctic blast of night air happened to freeze it leaving that slider forced open. Nothing like waking up to 50 degree temps walking around in shorts and Timmo wrapped in 16 layers of blankets...