mongo_jones

what's wrong with cheese in a dessert? I take it you have no problem with overpriced joints. insert non sequitur here the only place i've ever wanted to be comp'd at is vegas, but i'm not enough of a high roller for that to happen. but man, i'd love to be walked all the way past the long buffet lines.

what's wrong with cheese in a dessert?

help me jeebus! no one said anything about mutant moths when i spoke of beginning to garden! it is likely that the answer to the following question is already somewhere in the depths of this thread but just in case it isn't: what would you seasoned gardeners say are the best pot-sharers (not hippies, herbs)? most compatible companions?

oh i eat everything--except eggplant, dog and spider (or did i say cockroach in my blog? hard to keep all the lies lined up straight). i'm beginning to regret having bought the 18 1/2 inch grill--the local store didn't have the one-touch silver in the 22 inch and people tell me that indirect cooking is harder in the smaller kettle. but soft, what ember in yonder ash-pan glows? a quick visit to the weber website shows that the clever bastards sell a little thingamajig to facilitate indirect cooking. who would have thought i'd be entering such a wild and sexy world of accessorizing by buying a cheap grill?! thingamajig

maybe i can get some really bored gamblers together and lay some odds down? this is all an experiment for me anyway--just to force me to finally do it. this way when next spring rolls around i'll be ready, and if anything sprouts that'll just be an extra bonus. i'm probably breaking some decency law in some state or the other by planting italian and thai basil in the same pot--ooh i'm so naughty! and silly, leave us not forget silly.

sunday, september 19?, keeping in mind that amyh and insane husband (as if we needed proof after the chilli eating display) cannot do september/october saturdays?

details please--typed very slowly, as though to an idiot

i was once comped a fancy dessert for no reason at a place i'd never visited before. the smiling owner-chef emerged from the kitchen and deposited it on the table. we had no idea why. then, just as i was about to tuck in the manager scurried over and took it away. apparently it was someone else's anniversary and the chef/owner had brought the comped dessert those regulars were getting to the wrong table. we did get a whole bunch of free apologies after that. but no dessert. now, that's classy.

tana, i blame you--why didn't you stop me before i said i was going to do it?

i'm on a m-w-f schedule this semester, as is mrs. jones. however, unlike mrs. jones i tend to not do any of my prep work for the coming week till sunday rolls around. but we'll do sunday--that's the kind of easygoing people we are. 10/3 is probably going to be bad--we'd prefer sunday, sep 26. and afoodnut, i'm not sure what the story is with the denver dim sum houses but usually dim sum is a daily affair. in los angeles weekdays are less crowded than weekends and saturdays less crowded than sundays (some sort of church correlation). however, i don't know if there is enough of a demand in denver to support daily, full-variety dimsum.

okay, so the planting is done. i will be so surprised if anything sprouts. on the basil seed packets it said to plant them at roughly 1/4 inch depth--but who has a 1/4 inch measurer handy? serious gardeners? well, sure. the thyme, it said to just cover lightly with soil. i punched holes all over the pot with a pencil and dumped in seeds fairly haphazardly and covered. then i sprinkled thyme seeds all over and spread some soil on top. then i watered. if anything sprouts they'll probably all fight and choke each other. if not, i'll have a large pot full of herby goodness. afoodnut, fred--i believe you should both supervise my activities next spring. in return i will be willing to analyze novels for you or feed you goat curry--your choice.

Insane husband running imogene pass will need lots of food to recover... "Holidays" won't interfere; Rosh Hashana starts Wednesday evening, 9/15; Thursday, Friday 9/16, 9/17; Yom Kippur starts friday evening, 9/24; Saturday 9/25. So, it looks like possible dates are Sunday, September 19; Sunday, September 26; Sunday, October 3; Sunday, October 10; you recognize the pattern. Chime in with comments. are saturdays ruled out completely? monday mornings will be rough for us starting in 2 weeks and while we would do a sunday outing if saturdays won't work for others we'd prefer dim summing on a saturday.

fred, went to mcguckin's--they of the 5000 aimless, overly-helpful staff--and purchased a 4 plant mini-pot thingy. probably paid twice what i would at the farmers' market but really who can wake up that early? i mean, other than you. so, while i see if this basil in the pot in late summer experiment will work i'll have some basil to draw upon. i'm also considering bunging some seeds for perennial winter thyme in the same pot--mistake? or amazingly smart of me? i'm already mixing seeds for italian and thai basil to begin with--perhaps this is getting to be too much like dr. moreau's herb garden thanks again, mongo

the pots will come in by sundown every evening. just so people understand though: boulder's max-min temp. range in the summer, early fall is about 50-90 degrees fahrenheit. thanks for the tips!

thanks to all those who responded to my feeble basil related queries. i am fully prepared for failure this time around. i am doing it so that the seeds, pot and soil are here when next spring rolls around--otherwise inertia will mean i'll be thinking about this again at the end of next summer. that being said, our sun-room gets plenty of direct sun, so it should not be so hard also to fool the plant about the season--plus boulder will remain warm for almost another 2 months (we're in colorado but it isn't all blizzards and wolves all year long). so other than season, are the rest of my steps correct? just add water once a day?

yeah--what's all this december business amy? or do you only go for dim sum once evey 4 months? actually if it wasn't for the fact that we went to dalat for the 2nd outing i'd suggest going for pho for the third. cheap, multifarious, ideal for conviviality (is that even a word?). but it would be a quick meal--however, we could follow it up with ice-cream. much as i love dimsum i'm not sure about the feasibility of 12-16 people eating it together at the same table. by the way, while at the far east center yesterday i realized that i haven't actually been to mee yee lin; the place i was confusing it with is china jade. shows you how forgettable our first two dim sum experiences in denver were--couldn't even remember the names of the restaurants.

perhaps wrap the halibut in some bacon? or would that be too rash for this neophyte? my cardiologist must never hear about tonight--i followed the steak with a thick slice of rich dark chocolate cake. now i'm going to go dunk my head in some lard.

Close the top and bottom vents and save what's left for next time. too late! but good to know for next time.

okay, now that i've got the envy out of the way allow me to follow the sublime with a little bit of ridiculous. tired of always forgetting to try and grow basil at the start of the summer, i've decided to try and grow some instead at the end of the summer. went to market, bought big terracotta pot, bought potting soil, and basil seeds. tomorrow i will do the following (please tell me if i am going wrong anywhere): fill the pot 3/4 full with soil--water, pat down, fill back up to 3/4 full, re-water. dump in seeds at reasonable intervals--i'm guessing it wont be good percentages to just plant 3 seeds. putting the pot in a sunny spot on the deck. so far, so good? now, how often will i need to water? the guy at the store i bought all this from waxed rhapsodic about the intensity of the sun at 5400 feet above sea-level in beautiful boulder and the damage it can do to plants in pots. he advised trying to find a spot where the plant can be in sun but not the pot (he warned against the pot "cooking" the plant). is this correct? our townhouse has a very nice sunroom by the deck where i'm thinking this baby (if it ever sprouts) may just be able to make it a little longer into the winter than if it were planted outside. say it, say it, i am a fool. i know i am starting late in the season--but all this means is that i'll get to enjoy the basil for only a month or so before frost hits, right? 6 weeks to harvesting? and now let's go back and re-read ggmora's post.

*shaking fist* damn you ggmora!

ah life is good... thanks for the advice ronnie--the first time was a resounding success. we'd purchased this weber chimney rapid-fire starter thingy with the grill and it got the coals white hot pretty fast <30 minutes. turned it over, spread the coals around and put the steaks on. steaks had been rubbed with a mixture of oil and balsamic vinegar and then rubbed with salt, pepper and some crushed dried oregano. did as you suggested and browned the outsides on high heat and then cooked to somewhere between medium-rare and medium. let 'em rest and then we ate them alongside a mixed green salad, grilled onions, and some mashed potatoes. i'm beginning to understand why people make a fuss about this charcoal grilling business...now, how long is it going to take for these coals to burn themselves out?

people, people, don't send me to sites! just tell me what to do. dammit. i do have a woman, and she usually grills--she is korean-american after all--but if she finds out that i have used sentence constructions such as "i have a woman" she'll grill me. edit to add: american machismo categories don't apply to us indians

all, i have just bought a new weber one-touch grill (my first ever grill of any kind). i have also bought two new york strips (this will be my first time preparing steaks of any kind). these two things must be made to meet each other very soon en route to mah belly. please tell me how this can be best achieved--keep it simple and quick (i am hungry now and am a total novice at grilling). cheers, mongo

oh i wasn't making anything of the name--just wondering. are there any regional thai places anywhere in the u.s though? now that the chinese are fairly diversified, and the indians are beginning to follow suit, i wonder how long it'll be before thai restaurants do as well. and not that i ever find "the chef's special sauce" tempting anywhere, i certainly wouldn't ever get anything featuring it at the golden tommy.

do they actually serve the food of the province(s) the kwai river flows through or is the name merely for recognition?