Fresh Cider Pressing in Sterling, IL

Cathy2 wrote:A few weeks ago, I met Erik on a Cider production run in the vicinity of Sterling, Illinois. Sterling is west of Dixon and the twin city to Rock Falls. The exit on I-88 for Sterling/Rock Falls is the same for the Ronald Reagan birthplace, just in case you need a memory jog! I left my house after morning rush hour and made it to Sterling two hours later.

We rendezvoused at the local Maid Rite diner, a small Iowa franchise home to loose meat sandwiches. Erik ordered his favorite cheese Maid Rite with minced onion and yellow mustard. He also partook of a white bean and ham soup that he commented was quite good, for diner. I had had a Maid Rite in Minnesota recently. I was ready for another Maid Rite sandwich, until I read a handwritten special: creamed chicken on biscuits. It was delicious in the way all comfort food is delicious. Additionally, it fed a wee frustration I have had for a while. Not far from Dixon is the town Amboy. In an old Dairy Queen, some women of the community have developed their own fast food. A seasonal offering is creamed chicken on biscuits. In my perfect timing, I either come just before

Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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In the fall of 1996, dozens of people caught E. coli poisoning from a batch of apple juice pressed by the California company. A 16-month-old Colorado girl died. The bacteria may have gotten into the juice because Odwalla used apples that had fallen in a cow pasture. But it wasn't just a sanitation problem. Scientists had never seen E. coli that could survive the acidity of apples. This was a robust strain. The Food and Drug Administration determined to keep it away from children.