I’m amazed that no-one has refuted my eating technique yet this is one of the most viewed posts. I haven’t eaten one in over a year and miss them as they’re nearing harvest. The taste is tangy and sweet and makes one crave another. And another….
If you are going to Niagara Falls please take a day-trip to Chautauqua County. There’s so much to see and taste and don’t miss Chautauqua Institution. Even in off-season it’s a place to visit.
This is for you, Rick and Ann!
Nike was purchased, runt of a Collie litter, for my brother and youngest sister and was left, of course, with Mom when they flew the coop.
One day when she was older, I was visiting parents and making breakfast for the family. I made eggs to order, toast and bacon. One of my orders was for a two-sided plastic dish for a piece of toast and poached egg on one side and two milk bones on the other. Specifically left-right.
I cooked for the family and made Nike’s egg the way she liked it and served it to her on toast with biscuits on the side. She wouldn’t eat it. My brother asked if I’d buttered the toast before mixing it with the egg.
After adding a tsp. of soft butter and stirring it around, she ate it. One of my harshest critics, Nike was!
Yet I chose to cook for my first dog (as an adult), who was abused and had problems with dried foods. So I made her lentil loaf, rice, and mixed it with high-quality dried food and homemade chicken broth.
My goodness, it sounds as if I’m a short-order cook for my animals and not just for my Jim! I’ll have to think about that overnight. McCain just accepted the nomination and ended his speech, something Jim was watching and I heard in the background.
Note: Now I’ve mixed dogs and politicians. Well, dogs are more honest than any politician, whatever party. Ladies, if your dog doesn’t like your boyfriend, ditch him. The boyfriend. Dogs are canny and know who to trust. You don’t want to marry someone your dog hates. And if he tells you to get rid of the dog, that’s a double whammy. Lose the guy!
Note: I’m thinking the music at this convention is geared to McCain’s era of the 40′s and Palin’s 1990′s focus so they ended up with disco stuff I heard in college in the 1970′s. Nice compromise.
Yes, it’s in the neighborhood, owned by celebrated chef Monica Pope of t’afia. Chef Jonathan is a new addition to our favorite neighborhood haunt.
Jim had the brisket and I had lettuce wraps that packed a spicy punch about five seconds after eating. We shared sweet potato fries and mac & cheese sides. For dessert we shared strawberry cheesecake.
Chef Jonathan and I would like to work together as he’s also on WordPress. I’ve asked to interview him on his food theories and perhaps share a recipe or two.
More info after we talk. It was a good day. Dee
Posted in Editorial
When we first moved to Texas it took us a few weeks to settle in and find a place to live. Jim’s company paid for a hotel. In the room we had a small frig and microwave.
Breakfast was “free” every morning and every day Jim made himself waffles and also ate a bowl of cereal. I kept tea bags and mugs in the room.
Five years later he cannot eat a waffle. Last October we got a hotel on Hotwire to see some friends and when the hotel was revealed, it was the same waffle hotel we stayed at for a month.
So he’s been through a Crystal Light phase, yogurt, apples, pineapple and any strange fruit he can find. He gets lost in the produce section looking for anything he hasn’t tried before. Luckily we own Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables (on my cookbook list) and I’m able to look things up and try them accordingly.
He doesn’t waffle on anything serious like work or marriage or family and friends. But I won’t be getting a waffle-maker any time soon. Dee
Posted in Uncategorized
My dad used to make pancakes every Sunday morning. I didn’t like pancakes or maple syrup as a kid. Yeah, I grew up but still like more savory things in the morning.
One year we went up to the Adirondacks to see some of Dad’s old friends and she made me a crepe and put strawberry preserves in it and powdered sugar on top. That was fantastic!
So from then on, Dad made the last pancake for me, a larger one (I would have known later to thin the batter) that I finished the same way and loved pancakes once again.
Now I’m hoarding Vermont B grade syrup for a special occasion. I don’t make pancakes or waffles (waffle story later) but usually eggs, toast and bacon/sausage for Jim.
Tonight is TX sausage, frozen fries and homemade cole slaw. I met Chef Jeff at our local specialty store with more cheeses than one can count. I mentioned that I have a seven year-old cheddar in wax from a small store in Vermont and he wants a tasting so we’ll do that. He advises a UK cheese for sharpest cheddar as well as one from Herkimer NY. Perhaps those will be included in the test.
Hey single guys and gals. A healthy place to meet is in a supermarket. Produce or butchery. Or cheese. Trust me. Just strike up a conversation with the guy/gal of your dreams. It helps if you know the staff, and they know you. Then you’re the novice or expert.
No, I don’t get paid for cooking or matchmaking, but I should! Dee
Posted in Editorial
I’ve been concerned at the recent lack of talent at Food Network, for good reason. If I want inspiration to cook something (not by recipe) or seek regional cuisines I’ll check out Bourdain, Batali et al on other networks.
Lately Food TV has focused on personality, not talent or ability to do the job.
Unfortunately politics has gone the same way, swayed by the television lights and may the best personality win.
I don’t want a chef with the best personality to win in his/her restaurant kitchen. The best food and service should win, and hold the personalities in check.
Same with our soon-to-be President and Vice-President of either party. We should demand more than a pretty face and good on-camera personality. Where is the meat? The substance? The veg and starch? We need to know about our economy, the environment, global wars and much more.
We have questioned Food Network’s choices for how to run the network (money vs. quality shows) so why don’t we question our presidential choices and their run with a Food Network mentality?
Is Barack Obama Sandra Lee, Dems Lite? Is John McCain Guy Fieri? Who knows. I know you want the Veeps so I’ll wait until you ask before the others are revealed. Let’s hope they’re not the party boys or Paula’s sons.
But in serious cooking and politics, it comes down to what you can deliver. And that’s not just a pretty face.
No, that’s not when your entree arrives ten minutes later than everyone else’s at the table. It’s a good thing.
I really thought we’d be living in San Francisco for the latest US event, but that was not to be.
The USA has been and is late to the table for what I learned in Italy in 1999 from Peggy Markel and everything we cooked or tasted in Tuscany at La Cucina al Focolare.
Biodiversity. If you care look up slow food movement and check out their international and US websites. Yeah, you’ll have to do about thirty seconds of work to check out slow food. Less time than it’ll take for your fast food burger to arrive.
So be it. You don’t need to write haiku or opine on country music, just an exercise to take the time to do it, look up the Slow Food movement.
Local, fresh ingredients that are responsibly grown/raised. Skip the fast food today and look to tomorrow.
It is so important that everyone sit down at table at least once per day as a family and share food and what happened today, dear, and memories. When my athletic practices intruded into family dinner that was a no-no. We always had solid, healthy meals and it was a must to be at dinner and stay until one was properly excused. As in, “I have two hours of homework left, may I please be excused.”
Don’t get me started on computers. Families, put them where the family spends the most time, monitor activity and keep it to a minimum for kids as they need time outdoors… but this is about slow food and family time. And I’m on my computer before-hours. Dee
Hurricane season
Have your kit ready always
Contraflow is late
* * *
Jim wants 4mm plastic to seal windows (we can’t board up from outside because we’re in a 4th floor loft). But he says we really need a generator in case we lose power. Where to put that? The closet?
He spent some time last weekend pre-Gustav perusing hurricane preparedness lists and after setting up a kit two years ago after Rita it’s “shocking” what we’re missing!
A lot of people in Texas are not very welcoming of Louisianans after our experience during Katrina. I say take the people in, in reasonable numbers, and help them get on their feet again. After all, we may be the evacuees next time and I, for one, would like people in other states to welcome us.
Let’s hope the federal, state and local governments start to plan and coordinate better for disaster prevention (get those levees up to snuff, please). I believe we have two months more of hurricane season so let’s all be prepared yet hope for the best.
OK this is a food blog so I’ll tell you that we have dried camper’s meals from REI that actually look appetizing! We have a propane grill, ice chests to keep food from perishing, canned goods et al. But if a hurricane hits the South in summer weather and the power goes out, having no A/C is literally a killer.
We must be prepared for our pets, too. Food, consider the pet(s) when you account for potable water needs and leash or crate. I think of this whenever there’s a thunderstorm and my neighbor is not home. Her dog is a Katrina rescue and terrified of thunder. One can only imagine what he and his owners went through as he ended up hundreds of miles away. So I go and get him, put him on our bed and he burrows under my pillows for the duration. Don’t worry, we’ll save Zoe too!
Good thoughts.
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