Jensen

I opted to forego the gravy (still doing Weight Watchers!) and used caramelised onions instead. The potatoes were red (peel left on for a little colour) and the greens were a combination of kale and cabbage. Thanks, Chufi!

Chufi, I'm inspired! What a perfect fall dish... I do have one question for you though. Where in your photo might one see the "onion gravy"? Is it hidden under the bacon? I wanted to see if it was really just like an English-style onion sauce. (I'm hoping so because that's what I know how to make. )

I haven't had any jook since moving here (well, except what I've made myself) and, believe me, I miss it! Thanks for the heads up! I think I see a trip to South Sac in my future...

For a tasty tuna casserole, alfredo sauce makes a good substitute for the evil tinned soup. (Of course, I've made "tuna casserole" and substituted zucchini for the tuna so this might not be to everyone's tastes. )

Not quite in Roseville but Masque in El Dorado Hills is very nice. Their website is horrendous but La Provence is in Roseville and has tasty food.

Tuna melts were on the table at lunch today:

And it worked. That's it...we're moving back! Actually, we are moving back but not until 2007 when the Spawn graduates from high school. Thank you for a wonderful blog. It's been like a trip home.

Marcia, You might like to check out Cougar Gold, produced by the WSU Creamery. They're not shipping right now due to weather conditions but, when they are, their cheese usually has the lactic acid in it.

Me too...especially the picture of the ramen from Ezogiku. I did manage to come close to the same flavour in some homemade ramen last year but that still doesn't provide the atmosphere. *Sigh*

Chips are "chipped potatoes" (as in "fish and chips"). They're not really "French fries" but it might help to think of them as such.

I see your chip butty and raise you a bacon butty...ahhhh, the food of my youth! ← what is it?? i'm ashamed to say i have NO idea ← In our house, we liked toast for the butties/buttys (what is the correct plural for butty???) so a bacon butty was toasted bread, bacon, and ketchup. Heaven... Edited to add that it just occurred to me that the foreign term might be "butty"...it's a sandwich.

I see your chip butty and raise you a bacon butty...ahhhh, the food of my youth!

I have a set of three nesting Pyrex bowls (a very pretty green) that I truly love. I bought them when first married so that would be 17 years ago. They still look brand new. They're flat-bottomed but the bottom is small enough in relationship to the top diameter to seem almost rounded. (Well, round enough that they can stand in for a pudding bowl!)

What if you were to make the mashed potatoes in advance and, when you get home, take the chill off in the microwave. Then scoop them out into blobs (I'm sure there's a fancier-sounding word than that but blobs works too), brush them with a little melted butter or olive oil, and then run them under the broiler. It'd be a little more time-consuming than just nuking the mash but still not too bad. (You could even mix in some chopped green onions and grated cheese before broiling, if you wanted.)

I'd be afraid that they'd turn to mush.

This Canadian says barbecue too. Hmmm. The English say barbecue. The Canucks say barbecue. The Aussies say barbecue. Could it be that the Americans are the ones saying it wrong?

I'll also own up to the pre-washed spinach and greens. Sometimes I've even bought a salad-in-a-bag (complete with candied almonds, cranberries, and dressing). There is a vendor at my local farmer's market who sells salad mix (tiny pieces of different greens and often flowers). There's always a line-up for his produce and I'm usually standing in that line. It does require a rinse though so perhaps it doesn't count?

I went non-traditional and just winged it...Asian-style chicken salad (composed of broccoli with water chestnuts, vinegared rice, steamed bok choy, chicken breasts marinated in soy and sambal olek):

Caffeine for a migraine is supposed to be consumed during the aura phase, not when you're in the midst of a full-blown headache. Classic migraines are preceded by a constriction of the blood vessels in the brain; this constriction causes the aura. The pain starts when those same blood vessels magically dilate. So, if you consume caffeine during the aura phase, the theory is that it will either stave off or at least lessen the degree to which the blood vessels then dilate. This is the same principle behind those migraine meds containing ergotamines (Cafergot, for example). If you consume the caffeine too late (or, if you don't notice or suffer the aura stage), then it will do nothing for you. I've known two people in my lifetime who used the hot water on feet and hands trick. Their theory was that it increased the blood flow to their extremeties and reduced the blood flow to their brain. I never had any success with it though. As for me, I like magic melt-in-your-mouth migraine mints.

yes, the sister said that they thought the name bamboo would be a more upscale way of branching out, but i'm not surprised they went back to old name, their pho is very, very good! ← When they first opened as Bamboo, the menu was different. It was smaller than the standard menu (although quite possibly everything on it is also on the one found on all the others). I remember the Spouse ordering something called "Crystal Shrimp" (or something like that) which I've never seen in the other restaurants. Of course, I only ever order pho and the Spouse and Spawn usually order bun so perhaps we're just not looking at the right part of the menu. There is another pho place on Greenback (around Dewey or Van Maren) called Noodle 88. Their pho is as good as Pho Bac Hoa Viet's (and their AC works, unlike the AC at the Madison PBHV!).

I saw that same article and ate some organic carrot tops twice in the week following. First, trennette tossed with fava beans, asparagus lengths, leeks, young garlic, seasoned with chopped carrot tops, and topped with shaved asiago cheese. Second was pesto made with carrot tops instead of basil. It was also very good.

We alternate between the Pho Bac Hoa Viet on Bradshaw and the one on Madison (formerly "Bamboo", also owned by the same family). In fact, we were there twice last week...

Well, hell! That's right around the corner from me! It's not scary from the outside...just your typical Sacramento strip mall. (The really scary looking ones are in South Sac.) These guys are a great source; they even have banana leaves in the back. Where did you go for pho?

I like Gerolsteiner but also recently had some Apollinaris and liked that. I tried some Calistoga mineral water but found it far too salty. I will buy mineral water but won't buy plain water to drink at home. If I'm going to be out all day or for a weekend (such as out dog racing), then I will drink bottled water. Also, after suffering the ill effects of ghiardia thanks to some icky rest area water in Arizona, I now buy cases of water to take on road trips with me. At home, the water is either straight out of the tap or run through the fridge filter.

Just a minor quibble...only cows get BSE. People get vCJD from eating BSE-infected beef. And yes, I agree that there is a possibility that Alzheimers or like conditions may be ultimately attributable to vCJD.