All Activity

I forgot all about this peculiar thread. For all I know I contributed something to it in a past life, but reading through the whole thing would be as bad as Starbucks coffee. Not a fan. However I went back a page just for a refresh and I do miss heidih. She's right: Starbucks is better than being in the DMV. However, I do have a recent Starbucks story. Last April we were driving back to Atlanta from Edisto Island. It was hot. I needed a bathroom and an icy drink. Signs pointed to a Starbucks off the highway. The facilities were closed but there was a drive-up window. There was a person in the window. When I asked for an espresso frappuccino she said, "Sorry, I can't make that right now. Our ice machine is broken." To my addled brain that just seemed pathetic. We drove across a parking lot and noticed a sign for a Waffle House. I've never been to a Waffle House. Now that I'm vacationing so often in the Carolinas and Atlanta I realize they come with the territory. There's even a "Waffle House Museum" near Atlanta.We never go because, well, it's more fun making jokes about it. I have no idea what their coffee is like, but the bathroom was very nice. So, next time I'm in a jam on a steamy highway I might just try Waffle House. It may be better than Starbucks, but no way more rejuvenating than that iced tea and the pacific coast breeze on the patio. RIP, Heidi.

Zucchini and "Grandpa's Chorizo" with onion, garlic, and various chiles. Sauce was roasted chile paste and fish sauce. Finished with fresh basil and a little sweet (sugar) and sour (rice vinegar). I was very happy with this.

Mine came out looking much paler than yours. How did you prepare them. I microwaved and then gave 'em a bit of time under the broiler, cooked and thickened the sauce a bit. I may try them again ... for my taste there was enough to like to offset that which was disliked. They are definitely worth trying. Results, I'm sure, will vary.

On the road: Eureka CA In the context of motel breakfasts, this one was fair. The bagel was better than expected (expectations were low), but not really a good bagel in the NY or Montreal sense. Potatoes and eggs were meh+, probably defrosted and reheated from a recent delivery. The sausage links, probably from the same truck as the 'taters, were OK, mild and inoffensive. A good belly-filler for continued travels. The less-browned links were the best ... juicier and much more flavorful. Coffee was surprisingly good for the circumstance, nice and fresh. Had a 3rd cup (small cups). Bananas, oranges, and apples provided the fresh fruit. Didn't see them before taking the pic. I apologize for any formatting or⁸ content errors. First time posting directly from the phone.

Yes, but I bought before the sale.

When Living Cookbook went dark I switched to Paprika.

INDEED!

What, do they claim, makes this pizza supreme over the others? Are the toppings buried under that thick down comforter of cheese?

Interesting. I suspect I would not like most (all?) of these pizzas (using term loosely), but somewhat appreciate the, uh, unfettered creativity.

The parking lot @ MyTJ's is ample. I do go early. it might not be so ample peak hours when Tj's is packed. It can get very busy . its the only parking lot where Ive seen people back in , sometimes several at a time. I asked some of the WineBuds I have there about that , they smiled and chuckled a bit.

Parking strategies are an interesting observation from you regulars. 😀 I just have to go on the rare occasions I have access, and worry about the parking then! But not being a morning person, I'm very unlikely to encounter the folks lined up waiting for the place to open. @blue_dolphin, I rarely buy any prepared foods these days, and as noted in an earlier post it was @JAZ who inspired/tempted/corrupted me to try some of TJ's offerings. The ingredient lists of the items I bought looked like things I'd normally eat anyway (i.e. not highly processed), so you may wish to take a peek at what they have to offer.

@blue_dolphin there are quite a few prepared foods , Fz and refrigerated , @ Tj's that are worth a glance . w simple personal tweaks , they make a fine occasional quick meal.

TJ's is a unique sort of place . the staff are very friendly , and many get to know you. the clientele is also mostly friendly , but there can be a few that view themselves as ' especially entitled ' very few. but noticeable . no idea what they are entitled to . they just don't get to My Tj's @ 8 am maybe they are entitling themselves to Starbucks , for the 8 o'clock hour. makes perfect sense this way.

This made me laugh. All the TJs by me (there are 8 TJ's in a 15 min radius) open at 8 and all have ample parking so I don’t know about 9 o'clock vs 8 o'clock parking behavior but I know the people who line up to be first in the store believe themselves to be on a vital mission and it’s best to leave them to it and arrive around 8:15 when they’ve dispersed. I rarely go for the prepared foods at TJ's but you guys are tempting me with those chile rellenos!

Dang it! I wish TJs would open nearer to me. I want chili rellenos!! Maybe I'll get some take out from the Cuban place to console myself.

@AAQuesada Oh yeah . that's the one , for sure. looks like they have a mechanism that makes it easier to change , perhaps clean the blade and Red is best !

@Smithy very nice. fortunately my Tj's is 10 minutes away . unfirtynateky , they open an hour later , @ 9 am. no big deal , you say . the 9 am crowd is much more aggressive . Many park by backing in the parking slots if you are a regular @ TJ's , you know what I mean . maybe the 8 am group is still asleep. Id never go to Tj's on a weekend @ 9 am . 8 am was bad enough. they said '' summer hours ' but Im betting its a labor cost savings , as they close an hour earlier anyway , back to the CR's : I tried the fz tomato sauce , did not care for it but Im going to try it thickened a bit w the next CR.

See above. Forgot to reply to you

Yes, happy to. there is a mobile version that works on both phones and tablets. The license at the time I bought it was 15 for lifetime. It has full functionality. Works great for browsing websites and adding them to your library. You can copy and paste from a kindle but Amazon makes it a bit of a PITA. in addition there’s a desktop version. Again, 15 bucks for life. I have a large kindle cookbook library and it occurred to me that using a desktop would make this more enjoyable so I ponied up the fifteen dollars and now I can more easily add this content for my money this was worthwhile. If you have an extensive amount of your own content that doesn’t follow the web rules of how to format a recipe I would suggest budgeting for both, but I happily used the phone version only for probably four years before I bought the desktop version

Fusili con Salsicce - sauce made with crumbled salsicce, green asparagus, scallions, serrano chili, pasta water and cream. Finished with a mix of olives, parsley, thyme, rosemary and olive oil

The texture becomes softer not unlike carrots or parsnip (if you don’t cook it too long). The flavor is not that far from raw kohlrabi but without the initial “sharp” bite at the beginning

The other chile relleno from a package I bought at Trader Joe's and discussed here. This time, I remembered to plate it properly (that is, to put the sauce beneath the chile). It would have been delicious either way.

Oh boy, I had the other Chile Relleno from the package for tonight's dinner. I'm glad I bought two packages! I'd stock these on a regular basis if I could. This time I remembered to take better cross-sections.

For enabling purposes only I'll mention they have some pretty home size slicers lol https://www.theberkelworld.com/us/home-line-250-red-us-1.html

It's coming tomorrow. Run! Run away as fast as you can, while there's still time.