The former Brockton fire engine may be retrofitted as a food truck

Erik Levy, owner of the recycling company Save That Stuff, has taken repurposing to a new level — buying a surplus Brockton fire truck that he may retrofit with a pizza oven and grill to provide snacks for his employees, clients, and neighbors.

“I’ve never bought a fire truck before; my life is now complete,” Levy said. “We are not exactly sure how we will use the vehicle, but we’ve talked about a pizza oven and grill. I like the idea of ​​an emergency vehicle in a non-emergency situation.”

Levy bought the 1981 pumper truck in late November for $7,400 in an online auction.

“It was a little bit of an impulse buy,” Levy said. “But it relates to what we do and is kind of a three-dimensional business card.”

Levy said the truck probably will stay in Brockton — where his company has a storage yard on Oak Hill Way — after getting modified at the headquarters located under the Tobin Bridge in Charlestown.

Save That Stuff started in 1990 with a single 1971 Volkswagen Double Cab — a half bus, half pickup truck — that Levy used to pick up cardboard in Boston. The company now has 35 trucks collecting waste from about 3,500 businesses in the Boston area, with an emphasis on hard-to-recycle materials, Levy said.

For example, Save That Stuff picks up coat hangers from the Gap, shredding and granulating the plastic parts to be made into new plastic products, he said.

Johanna Seltz can be

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What is pilk? Pepsi and Lindsay Lohan want you to drink soda mixed with milk this holiday season

‘Tis the season to mix milk into your soda. According to Pepsi, however.

Pepsi launched a Thursday campaign encouraging customers to try the combination and use the hashtag #PilkandCookies (as in Pepsi plus milk) to showcase their Santa-friendly concoctions. Those who participate in the online challenge running through Christmas Day will have the chance to win cash, CNN reported.

“Combining Pepsi and milk has long been a secret hack among Pepsi fans,” said Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s chief marketing officer, in a statement about the campaign.

Pepsi is now publicizing the mix as its spin on “dirty soda,” a popular TikTok trend that combines soda with syrup and cream. Companies like PepsiCo pay attention to what’s happening on TikTok, and often look for ways to get in on trends as a way to stay relevant to young consumers.

“With the rise of the ‘dirty soda’ trend on TikTok and throughout the country, we thought Pilk and Cookies would be a great way to unapologetically celebrate the holidays,” said Kaplan.

To make the campaign even trendier, Pepsi tapped Lindsay Lohan, star of the Netflix Christmas movie “Falling for Christmas,” to promote the combination.

Pepsi is recommending a number of recipes for those who want to go beyond just Pepsi and milk, perhaps hoping to launch their own viral combination.

A handful of those recipes include the Naughty & Ice, which is Pepsi with one cup of whole milk, one tablespoon of heavy cream and one tablespoon of vanilla cream, plus Pepsi; the

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How a chef cooks the deer he hunts, from pot roast sliders to venison koobideh [Q&A, recipes] | Food

With experience in fine dining kitchens as well as kitchens like the family-owned Greenfield Restaurant in Lancaster, the executive chef of events at TFB Catering in Lititz has made cooking his life.

However, Rafe Hottenstein also loves the outdoors. In the corner of his work kitchen in Lititz, you can usually find his camo Crocs and a First Lite camo “Bear Grease” ball cap. As a new father, he prioritizes time with his young family. But he still carves out time to pursue pheasants, wild turkey and, of course, deer.

So, what does a trained chef like Hottenstein, who makes inspired dishes for work, make when he’s not working? Turns out he cooks dishes just as elevated at home, too. If you’ve got the desire to step up your venison game for the dinner table, here is how Hottenstein prepares deer from his hunts, including a few of his favorite recipes — and what keeps him going back for seconds.

Want to learn more about preparing veison? See our guide to different types of cuts here.

What do you like about wild venison as an ingredient?

It’s obviously fun to hunt, be outdoors and enjoy nature, but I especially like killing and processing my own deer. I like to provide for my family and have readily available meat throughout the year. When you cook venison or game meat that you killed yourself, you have a story to tell every time you eat meat that makes a meal 100 times tastier.

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