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They're for sale here, too, at our nearby supermarket. They're certified by the Hatch Chile Association, therefore grown in the Hatch Valley in New Mexico.

Over the last week or 10 days during the heat wave, I didn't do a lot of cooking in the evenings. But I did make Moe a number of dinners for breakfast. Chinese Chicken and Broccoli, Salisbury Steak, Grilled Pork chops with green beans and potato wedges all done on the grill, buttermilk fried chicken with double fried fries, Steak and eggs and this morning,I made a pot of Potato Leek soup with homemade chicken broth, that I put on to simmer over night. Baked a batch of mini baguettes Friday morning when it had cooled off enough to actually bake.

Yes that was the potato. He said that the inside was extremely creamy. He was worried it might be overcooked when he saw it, but it was actually perfect. The outside was crispy and the inside was tender. The bathroom is very nice. I will say though, that when we renovated our baths at home we put beautiful freestanding deep soaking tubs in both the primary and the guest suite bathrooms. Neither has been used once, and it’s been three years. If I was redoing it (which I am definitely not!) I would opt for an oversized multi person shower with steam jets and a heated floor and heated towel racks in the room instead. Big bathtubs seem like a good idea and look nice, but showers are just more practical. Maybe it’s just my personal preference though.

Wow - I could live in that bathroom!!! On your husband's steak/lobster - what is the cube next to the lobster - is it the potato rosti? What was the center like?

It's appreciated! And I hope the steroid works

No recent pix from me either. Like @liuzhou, I simply don't feel like eating much when it is this hot. I eat a lot of fresh tomato with cottage cheese or just a small cheese sandwich. Weather is supposed to cool down a little next week so in anticipation, I bought some baking potatoes to eat with various toppings. I did pick up my first fresh peaches of the summer yesterday (only 2) which I will likely eat with some brie, either a cold plate or a grilled cheese. And one of our oldest Italian restaurants in the area are having a take-out special on Tuesday with around 20 entrees available for $15 each. I am planning to pre-order an eggplant Parm and go early to pick it up so I can sit in their friendly dark bar with a glass of wine to wait for it.

You've reminded me of an episode of (forgive me!) Gilligan's Island, in which the castaways discover a Tarzan-ish wild man living on the island. Harvard-educated millionaire Thurston Howell III (Jim Backus) believes setting out a meal and silverware will establish whether, in childhood, this ape-man was raised by Brits or Americans. Brits, he explains to his wife, hold the fork in their left hand, Americans in their right. The wild man looks back and forth at the fork and knife, than grabs the food with both hands and chews on it savagely, grunting and growling. "Good heavens!" exclaims Howell. "A Yale man!"

Restrooms! I'm not much of a Safeway shopper, but I've lived in the area for more than fifty years, and during that time I've visited all of the local Safeways and have used their bathrooms several times. There has not been a single time that I can recall that a Safeway bathroom has been clean and pleasant to use. The TJ's rest rooms have always been clean and acceptable to use. There are any nmber of older women who, while not actually shopping in the store, come in to use the bathroom. Sweetie had done that when she was in the area of the store, although she was a TJ's regular, and several of her friends and others that I know have done likewise. Trader Joe's has cleaner and better maintained restrooms than Safeway.

I've never heard it called the Pope's nostrils, only the parson's nose. You learn something every day!

I'm not really posh, so I use the fork concave side up for peas and baked beans. If I'm in posh company I would most definitely use concave side up to stay true to my working class roots. Welcome to the British class system. The overhand grip on the knife is the generally accepted technique in the United Kingdom. The "English hold from below grip" sounds like a pen grip? It's not standard in the UK but people do use it. I would sneer at this grip, and acknowledge my horrible bourgeois programming. While continuing to use my fork upside down.

I found it weirdly frustrating. I felt like I should have 'grown into it' sort of like how my Ma would serve vile leather and onions when I was young, but once I tried a flash fried piece of liver with onions on toast I was converted forever. There are very few foods I won't or don't eat*, so it feels like a personal failure on some level. *Coriander isn't food!

TJ's does have plenty of stuff that's not often found other places and decent prices. And, at least for me, it has six or seven items that I am hooked on, so I keep coming back. I am a coffee ice cream person. I admit that O'Connell's coffee ice cream is very very good. But TJ's is delicious and it literally cost 4 times less. I am pretty much not interested in the rest of the stuff they sell, and my positive record taking recommendations here has run has not been stellar. But I do appreciate very much the ones that have been great. I realize that many agers do not live close to a TJ's. I have no idea how much those six or seven things are worth to me if determined by driving distance. I'm five minutes by car. And 15 minutes from another. And 20 minutes from a third one. The Bay Area is lousy with them. The NYT recently had an article on the TJ's carry all bag. Apparently you can make good money if you take a load of them to the UK and sell them on the street for a ridiculous sum. Aren't there enough promotional cloth bags that you acquire free? Best recommendation recently: that triple cream Delices de Bourgogne. Worst: Kringles, or whatever they are called. Chacon a son gout, as my father would say in an impeccably bad accent. It's almost midnight here in CA. Why am I writing about TJ's for gods sake. Because I'm on what appears to be a fairly strong steroid.

Yeah. I get that. I have friends here who will refuse to walk down certain streets because they contain fruit shops selling durian. I have no problem with coriander or asparagus pee, either. But other smells drive me mad.

I found it really difficult to separate the smell from the taste once my brain knew it was going into my mouth. I've tried it a few times hoping to get over it, but no joy. Maybe it's another coriander for me 😄

I suppose it doesn't smell SO bad, but I don't find the smell SO bad in the first place. I think it's one of those things that some people are more sensitive to than others. I'll eat it fresh or frozen.

TJs is in 43 states, has more than 600 locations.

Thank you all, it makes more sense now. Is it a nationwide chain? It seems to be mostly around California and the South/South-west from what I can tell (my phone hates their website, I promise I'm not being lazy)

Does it smell as bad when frozen?

I haven't been posting many of my meals recently. The weather has been so hot I have no appetite. Also, when I have eaten something more substantial, it's been a dish I've posted here a hundred times before, so not so interesting. Such was the case with dinner last night, but I did finish off the meal with some of my favourite ice cream. Durian ice cream. Food of the gods!

And let's not forget their tasting kiosks, and the Fearless Flyer newsletter ... informative, funny, and a worthwhile read.

Very much so! You can always purchase just one can or bottle from a six-pack or any multi-pack of drinks (alcoholic or non) and, as you said, return anything without question.

Then there's this book.

Service and a stong motivation to have happy and satisfied customers. In no particular order, you can return anyhing at any time, no questions asked. Tangentially, I was at the dairy case one day looking at something and unsure if I wanted it. One of the staff saw me, said that I should go ahead and try it, and if I didnt like it, it would be no problem. I didn't even have to pay for the item first. I was told thatTJ's wants people to try new-to-them items. They have some unique items, things you'll not see anywhere else. And their prices are lower than nearby markets, like Safeway. I can sometimes buy at Costco prices without having to buy Costco quantities. The staff is always happy to help and offer suggestions. I've never encountered a grumpy staff member. TJ's is a pleasant place to shop.

I love to watch when people are dexterous and elegant eating with fingers. I never learned that, so I don't try. I'm just a white Jewish old lady and did not grow up with South Asian or Ethiopian parents. Without untensils I eat the following: tacos, sandwiches, chicken wings and pizza if it usually pizza. Also I have a bad habit of grabbing the pope's nostrils off a hot roasted chicken. Nothing to brag about there.

We are back on the Cape for a few days, this time in Chatham. My husband booked a long weekend at Chatham Bars Inn because he has been wanting to stay here again for years and I have been dragging my feet. I used to have to come here every year for a multi day conference when I was working, and it was not fun. Being here as a tourist is a completely different experience, and much more enjoyable. Our room is in the spa building rather than the main inn. This part of the resort that is child free, so it is very quiet. The rooms are nice. The massive bathroom has a steam shower, a sauna, and a whirlpool tub that fills from the ceiling. There is a pool area just for the spa suites guests outside our room, but we probably won’t get there. Why sit by a pool when you can walk by the ocean? The resort is at peak capacity. My work events were always in early June, so I have never experienced crowds like there are here now. It’s crazy. We are afraid to move our car because we might never get another parking spot 😂. There are multiple weddings here this weekend, and the amount of flowers I have seen trucked in here for them defies belief. Last night we walked into town for dinner at Viera on Main. Drinks. Husband’s dirty martini and my phony negroni We shared some garlic clams and then husband had striped bass and I had a seafood pasta with clams, mussels, cod, and shrimp We skipped dessert at the restaurant in favor of hunting down some ice cream We chose coconut caramel swirl (way too rich, went uneaten) and heath bar peanut butter Friday nights are band concerts on the town green, so we stopped by for a bit. It’s a popular event! This morning we had breakfast on the veranda of the main inn. Scrambled eggs with avocado and asparagus on a smashed croissant and poached eggs with stracciatella cheese, speck, tomato, and greens After breakfast we took the resort boat shuttle over to North Beach Island, directly offshore from CBI. It was fairly uncrowded. Heading away from the CBI beach Lots of lobster and fishing boats doing their thing We ended up walking over six miles just while exploring the part of the island we got to. We are going back tomorrow to explore some more. Dinner was at Stars, the fine dining restaurant at Chatham Bars Inn. Menu Drinks. I had a non alcoholic amarena spritz, and husband had a cocktail with mezcal and strawberries. I forget the name of it. Amuse bouche of duck rillettes with cherries. I don’t like duck but husband said they were tasty. We shared some appetizers. Oysters. They were delicious, but very small! tuna and the peach burrata salad. These were both delicious I had the scallops and husband had the waygu with a lobster tail added Dessert menu I knew I wanted the berries and cream. It was really lovely. Husband got the coffee torte and regretted it after he tasted mine. Torte berries There was a complimentary parting dessert as well, but we had our server box it up for us to take to the room for tomorrow since we were both too full to eat anything else!