The Firday Link for 5/2/25

Howdy all!

This week, we go back to Tasting History with Max Miller for the old hobo classic, Mulligan Stew, a cheap meal from the Great Depression. Not only do I love historic cooking, but if the economy turns as bad as it looks like it will, then this might be a helpful how-to! 

Two things about his recipe.  Max points out that the ketchup of today is probably a lot sweeter than the ketchup of the time of the Great Depression. Ketchup (and there are actually a lot of versions of ketchup, some made with other fruits and vegetables, like mushrooms) was a way to preserve the vegetables/fruits that had really gone past their prime. I think that is a spot-on analysis! I almost wonder if a can of tomato sauce with a teaspoon of vinegar would be a better option. 

Also, and this is just me, I imagine a can of Spam would be better than the canned corned beef.  I've had plenty of the corned beef in my life, but I am more partial to the Spam.

Also this week, the movie Thunderbolts* is out in theaters, and between this one, Captain America: Brave New World, and the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, we are leading up to the future Avengers' story lines, Doomsday and Secret Wars.

If you are wondering what these stories are, they are not a reference to the classic storyline from the 80s, Secret Wars, but more from a run of comics from about 10 years ago, and they were VERY good! If you want to understand what is coming, The Den of Nerds has a very good breakdown. 

Finally tonight, the finals of some of the Jelle's Marble Runs Elimination Race for this season.  

Once again, I know there are just marbles, but you do end up cheering for certain ones to win. 

There will be no 'The Worst Thing Trump Did' for the weekend.  More on Monday or Tuesday.

Have a great weekend, and please make sure to stay up to date on your vaccinations!