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Thanks Kerry! Booked my hotel! I will note that I was able to get better rates by booking through a third party travel site. Same generous cancellation policy and free parking. Your mileage may vary.

I am surprised to see Somali food in Amarillo. Looks good to me! Route 66 really is pretty interesting. On one of our trips out west we jumped on and off Route 66 a few times. Have you been to Rudy's Bar-B-Q? It is a chain based in Texas that we sought out for really good drive-through food when we were traveling out west when Covid was a larger consideration. Drive-through usually worked for the camper van but you might be a bit more constrained with your rig.

Attendees Chocolot Kerry Beal alleguede curls RanaMN Melani RobertM DianaD Lisa M citowolf - Celia D Lambrecht gourmet +1 Sue PEI (possibly with Jane) GRiker Rajala Kate Jared A Kelsey Hayley Eat.Choui Audrey Brown

It's a reverse engineering of the Gutterpunk burrito from Juan’s Flying Burrito in New Orleans. I’ve never learned why they call it that, I'd theorized that it sounds like something that could be cooked together in a pot on the streets by Gutterpunks (a willingly unhoused subculture that has a presence in the city).

Dried. I was skeptical but I trusted the recipe and it worked out well. We do always have frozen grated coconut on hand, so it might be interesting to try the same recipe with that to compare and contrast.

Re: empty freezer ... I think she was filming in a studio set. While not particularly useful for me based on how I use vanilla extract, it's nonetheless usefu to know, and I'll check its validity on my other extracts at some point. I liked using the butter wrapper to grease pans and in the microwave, and the quiche tip is very useful. I'm expecting a house guest and it'll come in handy. Like you, I liked the taco trick but probably won't use it much, or maybe I will as it helps make the process simpler for me. And the smashed taco thing was simple and will be used regularly, as will the smashed fruit pie trick.

Did they mean refreeze it first? Otherwise, yeah, that doesn't make sense.

The collection of Bánh Mì Tacos cracked me up! - particularly the Creole Chicken Bánh Mì Taco!

Criminently! When I see menus like that I wonder why I bother to cook for myself, or travel except to places like that! Such creativity! Thanks for the link. We don't still have an explanation of the source, but there's plenty of inspiration here. 🙂

I could wish that she didn't use the descriptor "hack" so much, but that might simply be because I'm jaded to the hackneyed phrase. I agree that she has a good presentation style (except for that) -- very laid-back and easy-going. I especially liked the quiche ratio: break 3 eggs into a 2-cup container, then use dairy to bring the quantity up to 1-1/2 cups no matter how big or small the eggs are. I'll definitely try that one, as the perfect egg:cheese ratio for a 9" quiche. I also liked the use of muffin tins, turned upside down, as taco holders. Some others, like the jargarita and the use of store-bought waffles to make croutons, made sense to me although I'll probably never try those tricks. I did marvel at how empty her freezer compartment was, to allow the storage of a bottle of bourbon and still have empty space! 🙃 What tricks have you especially found useful?

Is the grated coconut dried or fresh/frozen?

Tonight I spun the vanilla ice cream i mixed on Saturday. When I opened the jar after the spin was finished, I found that the result was too soft around the edges so I stuck it back in the freezer for 15 minutes. That took care of the problem. We topped it with some toffee sauce and happily ate it. Tomorrow I'll spin the frozen peach yogurt and report on that. I think I didn't apply the pressure evenly so will try to be consistent in applying the pressure tomorrow. @weinoo We were happy with sharing the one cup portion. One other comment - I used vanilla bean paste instead of extract and while it was thoroughly mixed in, after freezing and spinning it kind of clumped together. You can see it in the picture. Also, the manual says to do a re-spin if the ice cream is too soft. That doesn't make sense to me. Maybe someone can tell me if it makes sense to them.

When I searched for gutterpunk burrito, I was directed to this place, Juan’s Flying Burritos, mostly in New Orleans with an outpost in Pensacola. If you scroll down the menu, they have several “punk” burritos. I didn’t see an explanation but I might have missed it.

Have never had Somali food, nor goat for that matter - it looks delicious!

After my shopping adventure, I perused the local tourist flyer in the laundry room. Thanks to the weather I may get another day to Get My Kicks on Route 66. I learned, from looking through it, that there's a LOT more ethnic diversity than I'd have expected. It's reflected in the grocery stores I mentioned above, and in the restaurants that I didn't even know about until I started spotting them while driving. Whaddaya know. I could eat myself silly around here and never eat the same cuisine twice!

There actually were a couple of "African market" listings with Somali food. I chose the one most nearly along my route home, that said "truckers welcome" although I'm not a trucker as such. One the way there, I turned into the wrong parking lot, that had this building: The building to the left of the Asian market is a Burmese restaurant; I also passed a Thai restaurant or two, and maybe a Vietnamese restaurant. But no, I was set on Somali food. I pressed on, and found the place in question. Err... yes, really. I half expected the door to be locked but it wasn't. I went inside. Nobody there but the proprietress, who at first thought I was asking for a "restroom" instead of the "restaurant". I thought about walking back out, but decided to take a chance on the place. They offered goat and rice. I don't get many chances at that. I'm glad I did. She packaged it up, complete with salad and utensils and a banana (tomorrow's breakfast!) and sent me on my way, $20 later. Inside, there was a gracious plenty of rice, goat, and a "salad" that will serve to augment other salads. It's a lot of food. The salad has a very sharp onion that will benefit from a good vinegar soak, but I have no other complaints. The rice is fluffy and delicious, and seasoned with something I can't quite identify: garam masala, perhaps? I'm not sure what the lime is for but I tried it on everything. The goat is very moist and tender, and seasoned similarly to the rice. It's advertised as "goat" rather than "kid goat" (or "cabrito" in this area) but it has nothing of the gaminess I've been told to expect. Maybe it's kid. There's a lot. I'll be making more than one dinner from it all. And yes, with all these groceries I already had, and those I bought today, I could have been cooking. But when will I have another opportunity at Somali food? Edited to add: I forgot to mention the red stuff in the little plastic condiment container. it's a nice, spicy, pepperish sauce, most reminiscent of peri-peri. I didn't think it necessary on anything I tried, but it didn't detract either. I'll use it on something.

I spent the day on a combination of walking, loafing, working on the trailer (chores, laundry) and shopping. I absolutely, positively had to go get fuel: the gauge was nearly on empty and although the "miles remaining" info said I had 40 miles to go, I didn't want to push it. I put 32 gallons into a 35 gallon tank. That's close enough to "empty", don't you think? Then it was on to a pickup wash, and then a Walmart. I needed trailer chemicals, the window squeegee I've mentioned before, and a few groceries for myself and the 4-footed companions. Really, I didn't need much in the way of groceries: a few odds and ends, like yogurt and sliced cheese. Then the floodgates opened. This Walmart is HUGE, even by the usual Walmart Superstore standards. I went through my "Help! Get me outta here!" phase while I tried to navigate the various auto parts, RV parts, household cleaners, and groceries while I was busy dodging the electronics, toys, sporting goods, garden goods (seeds and fertilizer for sale here already) and countless other departments. Eventually I had enough scratched off my list that I could start to take photos. The cheese section is amazing. I found proper chorizo, although I realized later I'd picked up the beef instead of the pork. Oh, well. I really just needed some sliced cheese (and of course I got more than I needed) and vegetables. But how could I resist more than two things from this section? It took a while to find the jalapenos I wanted; this immense selection of chiles didn't have them. They were elsewhere altogether. All that done, I headed back for home, anticipating a happy session of cooking...but wait! While searching the local maps I discovered an African market and restaurant!

Hotel block is at is Hotel Universal - 5000 Sherbrooke St E, Montreal, Quebec H1V 1A1 www.hoteluniversalmontreal.com Note the group code Barry (may need to add Barry Callebaut Academy) From Wednesday, May 13 to Monday, May 18, 2026 Room Classic/Comfort category equipped with 2 double beds Room Classic category equipped with 1 king bed GROUP ROOM ONLY RATES (Per room/per night) $189.00* single/double/triple and quadruple The above rate is net and does not include taxes nor breakfast. Applicable taxes are : 3.5% Municipal Lodging tax, 5% Federal tax (GST) and 9.975% Provincial tax (PST). BENEFITS : Free access to high speed wireless internet throughout entire hotel; Each room features small safe, small refrigerator, Keurig coffee maker & complimentary coffee/tea; Free access to a large parking lot for cars and motorcoaches. Free access to swimming pool and exercise room. Please find the group code for your room block: Barry (Barry Callebaut Academy). The guests can start calling the hotel right away to book their room (reservations can be made by phone : 514-253-3365 or 1 (800) 567-0223, or e-mail : info@hoteluniverselmontreal.com), making sure to mention the above code to book their rooms at the preferred rate. Reservations must be cancelled 24 hours prior the day of arrival (before 11:00 a.m.) to avoid a penalty of one night (room and tax). Coupon breakfast : $13.25 + taxes + service per person You have two options: 2 eggs, choice of meat, home-style potatoes, toast, with coffee or juice 3 pancakes with coffee or juice Our restaurant Toit Rouge is open from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., 7 days a week. The guest can add this to her reservation if necessary.

Thanks. That sounds like a good, rather classic combination except possibly for cooking it all together in a slow cooker. (I'll have to try that!) Did you make up the name? If not, do you know its derivation? It sounds like a takeoff on, oh, steampunk.

After seeing this video a couple of weeks ago, I was amazed at the simplicity and usefulness of some of the ideas. After trying a few, it was clear as Nicole, the presenter, said, no B.S. Maybe you'll find something here that works for you. Plus, Nicole is a very personable presenter ...

In loking for somewhere that we've never been, we're looking at Montenegro and Croatia -- have you been to either?

We go to a lake for a fishing derby, late June every year. The place is over-run by ground squirrel (similar to groundhogs.) Our dog will sit by a hole and wait for ours and then suddenly lunge, snap their neck and walk away. I felt so bad and embarassed until the owner told me that they were going to put him on staff as they have been trying to cull the little critters!

Dinner from Julie Sahni's 'Classic Indian Cooking', one of my first cookbooks. Velvet creamed shrimp (Jheenga malai khasa): Unsweetened grated coconut is toasted in a dry pan until caramel-brown, then blended into a paste with yogurt, garlic, ginger, and chiles. Sauce is fragrant with sauteed cinnamon stick, cloves, and green cardamom pods and brown-fried onion, and thickened with ground cashews (sub for almonds). Unusual and very good. Buttered smothered Napa cabbage: I fiddled this a bit, but began by sauteeing cumin seed, garlic, and ginger in ghee. Add sliced Napa cabbage, turmeric, and tomato sauce, then cooked down until nearly dry. Tasted salty so I added some yogurt. Pre-made mashed potatoes needed using up.

Ground meat, beans, rice, salsa, cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, shredded cheese, and sour cream, all slow cooked together and then wrapped in tortillas.

Brings up an interesting question. What is the line between a soup and a stew? I would call your chicken dish soup, due to it being in broth rather than gravy.