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I thoroughly enjoyed that discussion (maybe there's more to come?) about tunas and the varying meanings of the term! Thanks, folks! That sort of discussion really helps liven this foodblog and adds interesting information. Especially on days like today. It's almost 8 pm, the sun has been set for nearly an hour, and it's still 94F outside. I broke down and turned on the air conditioning at 5 pm, after a day away from the trailer. I'd left windows open and fans on, but my thermometers said it was 105F outside and 99F inside. A/C it was. The upshot is that my dinner plans fell apart. At lunch I'd had more of that endless salad I've prepared. It's endless, or perhaps more properly what restaurants would call "bottomless", because I get the level of chopped lettuce and vegetables down in the container, then augment it with more lettuce, tomatoes, chopped celery, croutons, and so on. After I'd had 2 bowlsful like this the container was still more full than when I'd started! That was at noon, before it got so flaming hot. When I got home, turned on the A/C, and unpacked groceries (more greens, kefir, half-and-half, coffee, kitchen sponges and pet supplies) I decided I was peckish. That potato salad I made yesterday hit the spot. What's strange is that when I'd gotten home I'd had the aroma of fast food in my memory thanks to the shopping center, and I'd decided to cook a Superburger. Nope. No Way. Not In This Heat. Not That Hungry. The potato salad was plenty. And water. Lots of water. I'll probably have a glass or two of wine and call it a night. Gratuitous photo of sand tracery from this morning's walk, when it was only 78F.

Pinconning cheese from Pinconning, MI, is the one cheese that has left a lifelong memory for me. I believe it's cheddar made in the colby fashion, or vice versa. I recall the curds just wanting to crumble off the wheel, but when melted in a sandwich would give a cheese pull that could span a room.

For the record, Velveeta is shelf stable. I have seen it in the shape of bricks in shelves not refrigerated at Walmart a few times. Probably the "singles" ain't, and need to be cooled, but the bricks are ok.

East-West Buffalo wings: Marinade and sauce was garlic, ginger, and scallion whites sauteed in lots of butter, then simmered with Sriracha, black pepper, and lime juice. Marinade was boiled to kill the nasties and tossed with half of the wings (Mrs. C prefers dry, I prefer sauced). Gorgonzola sauce for the wings (barely visible in back): Gorgonzola forced through a fine mesh and mixed with minced onion, black pepper, sour cream, and mayo. Peas makhani: Sizzle cumin and black mustard seeds, add the peas, and then simmer with coconut milk, tomato paste, lemon juice, minced jalapeno, and cilantro. High flavor to effort ratio.

Yall are lifesavers! I'll try to update once I start testing

B: sell with a closer best buy date.

You might want to puree the cherries and add that to frosting.... If you decide to reduce the cherry juice, do it in a large glass measuring cup or batter bowl and microwave it. This will allow it to reduce without caramelizing the sugars and getting a cooked taste. Rub a little oil around the top to help contain it if it starts to climb to the top and threatens to bubble over.

Thank you for the Asheville report, @Katie Meadow. We had planned a trip there in fall 2024 to see the Chihuly fused glass exhibit at the Biltmore, but obviously that didn't happen (and sadly, the exhibit has ended). I am interested to hear more. We still want to get down there, preferably after the disc ("Frisbee") golf courses have recovered . . .

I make a buttercream that has the same texture as Swiss buttercream, but doesn’t use eggs. You could give it a try. I haven’t added a lot of liquid to it though. You could try reducing the juice some before maybe. AMERICAN BUTTERCREAM INGREDIENTS X1 X2 X3 UNSALTED BUTTER, ROOM TEMP 904 G WHOLE MILK 250 ML VANILLA BEAN PASTE 4 TSP SALT 1/2 TSP ICING SUGAR, SIFTED 660 G MERINGUE POWDER (OPTIONAL) 2 TBS BEAT BUTTER WITH PADDLE ON MED-HI SPEED FOR 5 MINS TILL LIGHT AND FLUFFY, SCRAPING BOWL. COMBINE MILK, VBP AND SALT IN A MEASURING CUP. MICROWAVE UNTIL HOT. SIFT ICING SUGAR INTO A BOWL. POUR HOT MILK OVER SUGAR AND MIX UNTIL SUGAR IS DISSOLVED. LET COOL TO ROOM TEMP. ONCE COOLED, ADD SLOWLY TO BUTTER WHILE MIXING ON MED SPEED. ONCE ADDED, SCRAPE BOWL, THEN BEAT ON MED FOR ABOUT 10 MINS. PADDLE ON LOWEST SPEED ABOUT 5 MINS TO REMOVE AIR BUBBLES.

So great being back in Asheville! Here for just a couple of days. Crossed the bridge over the French Broad River for breakfast. It's raining so we decided against checking out the River Arts District, but the view from the bridge gives you a sense of disturbance, but you can't see the details of the damage to that area up close. Yesterday afternoon was brilliantly sunny and chilly, but warm enough to stop for an afternoon refresher on an outdoor patio. They had High Rise Soda, which has 5mg THC; I had a can of blood orange, and yes, an hour later I was marveling at how well I had packed, gawking at the beautiful white tile walk in shower all lit up from the south-facing windows. High up on the third floor, and high. Downtown seems relatively the same, but quiet, which wasn't the case two years ago in late April. We had an early nostalgia dinner of soup dumplings. Oh, about breakfast this morning at Sunny Point Cafe in West Asheville. This was a recommendation of the server who brought me the High Rise Soda. I don't love eating breakfast out, but this place was fabulous. It was packed and adorable. I will never go out for breakfast anywhere else in Asheville ever again. Fried green tomatoes, excellent, which isn't always the case. Smoked salmon on crispy hash browns on arugula with some kind of amazing. cream-cheesy drizzle. Shrimp and Grits fantastic: spicy, creamy, served with some kind of grilled slab bacon. Biscuit good, but not as good as my husband makes. In-house blueberry jam to make up for it though, so win win. We sat next to a very nice calm black dog, who did not appear to be a service dog. If you find yourself in Asheville, go. Of course If you are lucky enough to have two breakfasts in Asheville the other one should be Hole Doughnuts, which is where we are going tomorrow morning before driving to Atlanta. Dinner tonight is also a recommendation from the High Rise guy, who, after our breakfast this morning, has risen way up in my admiration. Later, that.

Update: We discovered there is a 2 ingredient version of this dessert. Just the pumpkin and chocolate, no butter. Yesterday mi esposo made each recipe. I blitzed each mixture with my stick blender for better consistency. When they were set I prepped a blind taste test for him. While the 3 ingredient version was smoother in texture, the 2 ingredient recipe tasted the same. I concurred even though my tasting wasn't blind. He topped each with a quick ganache....he uses half-and-half instead of heavy cream because we always have the 1/2 n 1/2 in house for our coffee. They are great on their own, but add a spoonful of sieved raspberry coulis and it's a substitute for a high-end restaurant flourless chocolate cake (let the piece sit on counter 5 minutes to soften).

Sorry, I have no idea of the answer. However I would like to welcome you to a fabulous group of people!

I'm being making this dish for about 50 years but it has slowly evolved and become slightly Sinicized in the process. Chicken with black olives, black garlic, regular garlic, chopped coriander leaf and white wine. With rice.

That I did know, but when I looked into it more, I found that, in fact, that was the first meaning. It came from the Haitian language and entered English via Spanish as early as 1555. The fish name tuna didn't arrive for another 326 years, being previously known as tunny, The tuna as a fish was also preceded by it being the name of two freshwater eels. Tuna was also an early 19th century term for an officer of a Zulu king!

I was curious and looked it up. I found a few different possibilities, here is the Wiki attempt at explanation. The name tuna may come from French roi de Thunes,[1] [king of Tunis], a title used by leaders of vagabonds. But there is also a legend of a real King of Tunis, known for his love to music and party that usually liked to walk around the streets at night playing and singing. That explains why the term roi de Thunes was applied.

@Steve Irby, your post is most interesting (and delicious-looking). I went back over your posts on sous vide + poultry, including using chicken thighs and drumsticks to mimic chicken wings. You say "A little height reduction surgery. For the deboned leg I remove the bone. For the bone in leg I removed a bone section and cartilage\bone from the joint" I'm wondering how you removed the bone and cartilage. What tool(s) do you use? Thank you for the pictures. If anyone wants to see the process of the turkey tenderloin: https://forums.egullet.org/p2407293 https://forums.egullet.org/p2408686 https://forums.egullet.org/p2100204 https://forums.egullet.org/p1960918

(Host's note: this was split from the Stupid Questions topic in the Cooking forum.) Having trouble with icing! So I agreed to baking my brothers birthday cupcakes, I do this often and this year he wants maraschino cherry flavored icing. No problem, except my go to for frosting flavored with any high moisture ingredient is French buttercream. And I just can't afford the eggs this year (The stores in my area don't even sell whole cartons anymore) So the question is twofold. Does anyone have a frosting they like that holds up to something as watery as maraschino cherry jar juice; while using less eggs then french OR does anyone know a powdered or dry flavor additive that I could use in American buttercream? Thanks

A curious fact--the young university students (mostly men) who dress in medieval costumes (tights, doublets, etc.) wander around Guanajuato at night, playing music on instruments that Shakespeare would have recognized, asking for tips and flirting shamelessly--are also called "tunas." Don't ask me why.

totes made the NYTimes : https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/business/trader-joes-tote-bags.html if behind a paywall : '''' For the second year in a row, Trader Joe’s has brought a Black Friday-like frenzy to its stores. But instead of lining up for a new video game console or Taylor Swift vinyl, customers are waiting their turn to buy miniature tote bags bearing the grocery chain’s logo for $2.99. Some people camped out in front of stores hours before they opened, while others sent friends to grab the exclusive item for them. On a few occasions, people appeared to wrestle or get into physical altercations over the 11-by-13-inch canvas bags, videos on social media showed. Kevin Burgoon, an employee at a Trader Joe’s in Sacramento, said the first customer lined up at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. By the time the store opened three hours later, he estimated that more than 150 people were waiting. The bags, offered in four pastel color schemes, sold out within 15 minutes. Image Some people lined up outside the stores hours before they opened.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times Image “In today’s day and age we need bright colors,” said Kaitlyn Marer, 24, of Manhattan.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times “I just thought it was crazy,” Mr. Burgoon said, adding that people called the store “nonstop” that morning to see if the bags were still in stock. The scramble began a year ago when, without much notice, Trader Joe’s released its first series of limited-edition totes, essentially smaller versions of the reusable canvas bags that the chain has sold for years. The totes became a trendy accessory, and a rush to get them ensued. This year, there was a bit more warning and stores were prepared for the chaos. At Trader Joe’s stores in Brooklyn and Manhattan, extra security was present, and a few stores placed the bags behind the registers. Almost every store restricted shoppers to a certain number of bags, though the limit varied by location. These smaller bags aren’t big enough to carry groceries, but some use them as purses or lunch bags. A few fans said they added personal touches — applying patches to the totes, for example, or Bedazzling them. One X user used the bag to transport a bowling ball. Last year, the demand for the bags led people to resell them at steep prices. On Wednesday, a few of the new bags were already listed for up to $70 on eBay. Natasha Fischer, who runs the Instagram account @traderjoeslist, said she has used her mini tote to carry wine and snacks to a friend’s place or to the beach. But, because Ms. Fischer bought several tote bags last year, she said she might skip out on the new series. “I have so many tote bags right now,” Ms. Fischer said, adding that she had noticed the hype might not be as big this year. “Maybe people are in the same camp as me, you know — how many mini tote bags do you need?” In a few New York stores, the bags weren’t selling out as swiftly as they did last year. In one Brooklyn store on Tuesday, the shelves had been picked clean of eggs by the afternoon, while tote bags were still hanging near the cash registers. Barbara Kahn, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, said that decreased consumer spending in the midst of economic uncertainty could be one reason for the more lukewarm response to the totes. But also, she said, “There’s a lot going on in the world.” “There’s so much of this scarcity kind of mind set and fear and things setting in,” Dr. Kahn said. (Some have been stockpiling items such as coffee and canned food.) Image Despite the scramble, the bags did not appear to be selling out as swiftly as they did last year at some stores in New York City.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times A mix of excited, worried and confused shoppers waited in a line that stretched down the block outside the Union Square Trader Joe’s in Manhattan before it opened on Wednesday morning. But they were waiting for different things. “You’re here for eggs?” one shopper said to another. “Everyone’s here for the tote bags.” “I thought people were here because of the tariffs,” said a different customer who had come to stock up on foreign goods like olive oil. Plenty were still thrilled to get their hands on the totes. “I got the bags, all four!” one woman shouted as she left the checkout counter, stomping and chanting with her new totes in hand. Kaitlyn Marer, 24, of Manhattan, decided at the last minute to grab a spot in line for the bags while waiting out a subway delay. Ms. Marer wasn’t able to get one of the bags last year, so she called this her “redemption arc.” Plus, she’s a big fan of the color palette. “They’re just really bright,” she said, “and honestly, in today’s day and age, we need bright colors.” '''' for review purposes.

Today I can choose something like Black label triple cram blue from King Island creamery, Queso Mestizo tres valles pasiegos, Vacherin Mont D'or, and Humbolt fog by Cypress grove. Tomorrow's list would have been a bit different.

Moi aussi.

The three sheet cakes @ TJ's my area : thhe chocolate 😜 sliced : nice and chocolatey on the denser ( a good thing ) side . needs ice cream . will pick up next trip.

odd. 20 bags ? x several people ? those ' in tune ' w current media , please report their arrival e-bay "

Somehow I suspect for many, the little bags are just something to brag on social media that they were able to get. I have to wonder how many of these bags are just going to get stuffed into storage closets.

I'm also not a fan of sweet potato salads. And we must be on the same wavelength. I just bought a box of Triscuits and I couldn't tell you the last time I did. And, I had no idea prickly pear fruit were called tunas!!