Jensen

Just discovered that. I can access the German site without being registered but need to register for the French and the Swiss (Schweiz) site. Haven't checked out the Suisse site yet. Did you see the Austrian site? Just a phone number ... I guess there's no hope of finding a points-friendly recipe for Sacher torte Me too. Just talking about food and seeing what other people are cooking gives me loads of inspiration. I am just tickled that there are eGulleteers who are interested in this too. Just tickled

Apparently, the programme is changing later this month. There have been some leaks about the new options; if it's correct, they have a core group of foods (fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, etc.,) that are 0 points *if everything on the plate is from the core group*. So, if you make a sandwich with whole grain/high-fiber bread, lean meat, fresh tomatoes, and fat-free mayonnaise, then it's 0 points. If you use real mayonnaise or put a slice of real cheese on it, then you must count the points value and apply them against your Flex Points. I got the impression that, with this "Core" programme, all you get are Flex Points. The debut date for this new programme is August 22nd...

No kidding! When we were shopping yesterday, the Spouse (bandwagon jumper supreme) is trying to convince me that we need to buy fat-free cottage cheese. My response? "Let's not get carried away here." I steered him towards the partly-skim ricotta and I can't taste the difference (especially when it's all mixed up with squash and veal). He also dragged his heels over the browned butter last night. I dispensed it rather frugally but there was enough that I could taste it in every bite. It was great! I've only been at it for 3.5 weeks but, from what little I've gleaned from the WW boards, these are some things to look at: * are you drinking all your water? * are you eating all your points? flex points? APs? Apparently, if you don't eat all your points, you can put yourself into starvation mode.

I've never done it before so, if I don't go to the meetings, then I don't know how to do it. I don't really get a lot of support from the meetings but it's an excuse to get out of the house. I go with a friend (she joined about 16 weeks ago). We have different goals. She's really interested in focusing on portion control and I'm interested in re-learning better eating habits (and portion control). So far, I've been having fun with the food but I like to share my adventures and there just aren't many foodies on the WW boards. I'll have to look into this... I've got a WW cookbook from a few years back that a friend gave the Spouse but the food in it looks kind of blah.

The only ones of those that I think might be "stuffable" were the two kind of "convoluted" ones in the upper left of the photo. They were the firmest; the others were relatively soft and I'm not sure they would stand up to being stuffed. I'll have to try that though. When I saw the variety at the market, I just wanted a tomato salad. (It was wonderful too, btw. I think the lime juice really enhanced the flavour experience.)

<ARNOLD HORSCHACK>Oooooooh! Ooooooh! Mr. Hamaker! Mr. Hamaker!</ARNOLD> Can I get a copy of those? I was just talking to friends last night about having a pig roast and then came home to find this thread. I emailed them a link immediately, suggesting that we could build one of these microwaves. And now your offer of dimensions! It's kismet!!!!

To clarify, I'm definitely not talking about eating WW-packaged food. This is *exactly* what I was after. Thank you for phrasing it so much better than I did. I've tried to get something going on the WW boards but there just doesn't seem to be many foodie-types there. Friends from home (Vancouver) are arriving today so we will be having Chinese hot pot for dinner tonight. If no one starts before that, I'll use that to start a WW foodie thread.

Okay, I've finally got up the nerve to post this... Is there anyone else out there on Weight Watchers and cooking (and eating) good food? I've gained 50 lbs since moving to the States five years ago. (Now that might be saying something about the American lifestyle!) I used to joke that it was part of our visa requirements...we had to gain all that weight to fit in. Well, I finally realised that all this weight wasn't going to go away on its own and so I signed up. I know some here are doing low-carb and the Spouse had been doing it for about a month when I joined WW (and he lost 30 lbs). Now, to make life easier, we're all eating "Weight Watchers" food. (BTW, if anyone wants to switch from low-carb to WW, it can be done easily. The Spouse continues to lose, just not at the rate as he did on low-carb.) I read the forums on the Weight Watchers site and I can't believe how some people eat. Blech! I've been posting some of my cooking adventures on my food blog. Please tell me that there are others out there like me...people who like good food and are trying to do Weight Watchers. And wherever you are, talk about what you're cooking. I need more ideas!

I had a great avocado salad in Glasgow (of all places). Butter lettuce, sliced avocado, and bacon. It was dressed with hot bacon fat. Unbelievably yummy...

I'm with John...you need to read John Thorne's "Serious Pig". Hell, it should be required reading for anyone with a kitchen!

Ahhhhh...Widmer. There's nothing better than a tall hefeweizen and a wedge from a lemon picked right off the tree.

I have a digital Salter and it's good enough for how I use it. It only weighs in 2 gram increments but, hey, what's a gram or two between friends...

I think this week is going to be exciting! I can't even think about the picture of that soup without salivating.

I made this the week I did my foodblog. Don't know how to link to a specific entry in the blog but the days describing the pork start on this page: just scroll down a bit when you get there It wasn't crispy like carnitas but it wasn't like stew at all.

I put the bits from my grinder in the dishwasher all the time. No problem! I'm not sure about grinding yourself though, Tryska...is that anything like self-trepanation?

Yum! Recipe? Yes please! I have a partially used bag of Dead Sea salts and a lemon tree...

I've had roast kid (not nearly as big as you'll be doing) and it is wonderful. Because you have a kid and not an adult goat, you probably don't need to worry too much about the toughness. The difference between kid and goat is similar to the difference between lamb and mutton.

I agree! I still remember going out to lunch with a coworker of my mum's (who just happened to be my kindergarten teacher and a nun to boot!) when I was five. I bet Leah will remember this day and going to her mum's office and then to lunch! Going out for lunch is a very grown-up thing to do.

I went and checked the weather forecast for Brooklyn and I said to myself "Self, if I were in Brooklyn, I wouldn't want to put the oven on for the next few days." So, I vote for cioppino for that lovely pot. In my house, we call cioppino "Ken's clam soup" after a friend's husband's recipe for it. Mmmmmmm. I can just taste it with some of that bread! Great blog so far! NB: I think that previous bloggers should go back in the blogger fodder pool after a certain amount of time. (I'm feeling fairly safe since I blogged less than two months ago.)

Mary, thank you for a wonderful blog. It's been a stressful time at my house for the past few weeks and it's really lovely to escape to your world for a few minutes. Jen

This is probably a silly question but here goes anyway... How does one get from "3 3-inch marrow bones" to "seasoned marrow cubes"? Thanks!

Sounds good! When I added "salad" to my google search terms, I did find a detailed description on Saute Wednesday. Thanks!

How would one prepare marrow bones? I have to confess that, whenever I hear "marrow", I think of the vegetable...

I will confess that I didn't even make it through both of them! I was stuffed by the time I had just dented the last half (I halved mine before steaming them) so I ended up skipping right to the heart and leaving some of the leaves. Aioli would be nice too. Or melted butter with lemon.

I bought two artichokes at the market not long ago. I'd never cooked artichokes before but I decided it was time to try them. I cooked them on a night when the Guy and the Spawn were going to be out for dinner without me. I planned them as a side dish type thing. Ha! I ended up eating nothing but steamed artichokes for dinner. All I did was dip them in mayonnaise (as directed by my friend and neighbour, who is also a native Californian). Yum!!!!