Mabelline

The very best places in Texas toast Midnite with Champs an' hoppin'john.

NO SHIT SHERLOCK!!!It's Hell when your whole budget goes for one piece of meat,ain't it?

"Eat poor the first of the year, eat rich the rest." I have one from my folks that I don't where it's from. The first person to come through the door on New Year tosses a handful of change in before they step in. It stays there until you make some money and then you pick it up and pass it on to the poor. Anyone else EVER hear of that? All I can find out is "we've always done it".

Thank you again! I get off on so many tangents it scares me sometimes, but I meant to comment this afternoon about the original SCA link, but my heater died, and I had a heater resurrector here. ANYWAY there was the list of horse meat recipes-in particular the Kazakh-sp?-and I found that real cool because here in Montana we have been the proud hosts to the Pres. of Kasakhstan this last week. It's supposedly the first time a head of state has wanted to see Montana, or something. I wonder if he'd have known any good recipes?

Thanks... I've been following this because I have recently started reading a LOT of food histories and I am certainly going to explore the stuff I've been reading on this thread. One thing I haven't quite come to a conclusion about is the integrity of our translation of conditions. It seems as though the more archaeology,etc. exposes of a former era, the more we see remarkable parallels to our time. So I always read the conclusions drawn with a sparkplug ready to ignite the thought that what would I do? I'm thinking like don't tell me peasants rarely ate meat if there was a way in the world at all to steal some,beg some, and I thought there were always a profusion of feast days, weddings, etc. And the last idea is my suspicion that the people doing the work got some pretty good groceries by virtue of being on the scene with the goodies. All the kitchen help always made out, in my experience.

Please Adam, I am ignorant of the 'Grouse in Britain' comment. Do you mean like aging?

Also coming to mind is a real well-fed familyhaving one of their foster kids get caught at 4 a.m. in the neighbor's garbage can.

Oh, Lordy. This was the very first thread I read since an unscheduled absence. I appear to have channeled H.P. Lovecraft in my machine! Someone please assure me this is not a lingering flu effect....

Another good-ole Southernism is "That poor gal; that stuff wouldn't make good dog bait." I went to a 60th birthday party for a big time rancher,where there was a dish on the buffet line-and I kid you NOT-of cold,cut up hotdogs with a sort of chunky salsa. Cold,straight from the fridge, like I used to eat when I was younger.

The line that got me was the supermarket that claimed they never had any complaints about it! WELL DUUUUH!!! Has anyone ever been able to isolate when & where they've caught the crud ? Unless you knew damn good and well (wow-a pun) from someone. So they're sayin' "Hey, we don't get complaints, so therefore it doesn't happen." Hello!

As kids we got toasted cheese & tomato soup on Tuesdays, because my mom and us kids (grammar?) sprinkled, ironed,dried, folded and put clothes away. The sandwiches were Rainbo bread, Velvetta, butter. The soup was Campbell's, & I agree it ain't the same anymore. Fridays were my favorite, though, because that was "Skinny Noodle Soup" (Lipton's Dry Chicken Noodle) & TUNAFISH. As a kid I could have lived on tomatoes, chicken Rice-a-Roni, & tuna. I was my mother's despair.

The weirdest thing I think I've seen was the gizmo that scrambled eggs in their shell.

One of my grandpas used to put his coffee in a saucer (he was German). I used to see a lot of the older farmers where we lived do that. I never thought about it.

As soon as eating asparagus comes up, I am reminded of a story in a 1950s book I have- The World's Best Recipes, by Marvin Small. He tells of a very young girl, the daughter of a lady connected to the court, being invited to luncheon with Queen Victoria. Now it seems the little girl's governess had taught her that the only acceptable food to eat with her hands was bread, so anytime she did not do right, her governess' admonishment would be a shocked: "Oh, piggie, piggie." So this little girl was doing fine until she sees the Queen take some asparagus with her fingers. The little girl assumed her governess' resigned look and pointing her finger at Victoria said "Oh, piggie, piggie." According to this story, the Queen was "immensely amused" and laughed heartily.

After seriously studying everyone's suggestions, I think I have it. Get a humane trap: bait with some of your best fine food~something the in-laws don't even get: place it on the stove: grab the bottle and go to bed. The bottle is the necessary part. Best of wishes and much luck.

Oh My God!!! Mine sit and stare at me!!!

Okay I goofed up and put this question on the wrong thread, as usual. But I'd like to ask you if you think thawing out a large roast would benefit from thawing under a damp towel to allow some air at it, as opposed to in a bag, which seems to me to encourage that slooshy blood to rise to the surface. Whatcha think?

To me, all American food is fusion food.As a card-carrying member of the side that hosted Thanksgiving, I see American food as a whole big old pot of stew. And fusion, dang, lot's of national foods in other countries are already fusion cuz they contain major ingredients from the Americas. I was only thinking about what I'd give a visitor in my own home, where I know the results would be good . But if the visitor could request, then I do feel they'd want hamburger, hot dog, apple pie, fries and Coke. All the stuff we overlook.

Forget humane. Mice are carriers of hantavirus, and medicine has not even caught up to a treatment. If importing a nice mean tomcat is out of the question, either use warfarin-the same shit as coumadin,not painful, just causes lethally thin blood-then stock up on a LOT of incense; or set a trap on the stove top and take the whiskey to bed with you. But evict that little bastard!

Torakris, what's the difference in a Denny's in Japan from one in the U.S.?

A hamburger, fries and a Coke!

I hesitate to say fusion is a U.S. concept because I feel fusion goes back as far as two different bunches of people being exposed to one another's cuisine by migration, war, slavery, whatever. But I think the world being at everyone's fingertips has opened a veritable treasure chest of EATING.!

I think I'd still stick with my choices for the reasons that they could pretty much represent what we have been fortunate to have been able to eat for nearly as long as we've been a country, they are acceptable to nearly everyone's diet, and I can't get away from soups now. (Just one condition~the chile has to have cornbread with it).

New England Clam Chowder, a first class prime dry-aged Angus Porterhouse, and a bowl of the most tear-jerking cry your eyes out CHILI ! Not all at the same sitting maybe, but I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like one of them.

Thank you all so much. I will be getting some very shortly. At least I won't have to worry about the heat harming it. I'm also very impressed with the women's cooperative producing it. I got a website last night in German (nope, don't speak German) and the pictures reminded me of the Papagos in the desert harvesting sajauro, mesquite,and nopals.