ambra

My SIL swears that since she switched to Daily shopping she saves loads of money and wastes less. Does anyone agree? I cannot for the life of me fathom going to the supermarket every day as it would turn an otherwise fun event into a chore. I think it might be different if I were a retiree and had plenty of free time, but alas, I am not and I do not. I also think it would be fun to plan out my meals according to freshness and cravings, but still, time is an issue. I have a toddler and I work at home. I need to have a few reserves in the fridge/freezer. I also like to take advantage of sales as well as stock up on heavy things like water and detergents when my son is not with me! I don't really have a problem with waste as I take extra care, but I would like to save. I also might have some extra time since my son will be going to school in September. And finally, I've also recently moved to a place with a smaller freezer and fridge and am wondering if I should re-visit my SILs theory.... What do you do?

I've got one meal in New york City to gamble....and I was thinking of going to this place! Would you? If it was your one meal in NYC?

I tend to think that going Vegan for a week will be a much more difficult task.

I don't even really like bagels unless they are toasted! I LOVE them when they are toasted though.

and p.s. that video is hysterical!

I think Egg salad HAS to be made from hot or warm eggs too.

We keep a couple of Huge plastic bowls above the sink that are used for the sole purpose of washing, soaking and rinsing vegetables. I don't have a double sink, and my single sink usually has a dirty coffee mug in it. heehee.

Zabaglione?

Monza and Siena are two totally, totally different animals and it honestly really depends on what you're looking for. Siena in winter is pretty dismal, but once Spring comes around you could have a lot of fun going to sagre, feste, open air markets etc. Honestly, the most exciting thing in winter might be the fritelle di riso in Piazza del Campo. The food in the area is excellent at all times of the year. Especially wonderful in the second half of the year when wine and oil is harvested.There is also very little to do in the Siena area for young (toddlers) children. Playgrounds consist of um...a slide and maybe a little tiny cabin. This is only my opinion after living here for four years with a toddler. Keep in mind there are tons of other pluses, clean air, kilometro 0 eating, no traffic, amazing historic center, access to Chianti and Montalcino and tons of others. It's like 4th on the list for best quality of life if I remember correctly! Monza is your basic laaaaaaaaarge suburb. It's got an amazing park and access to lots of nice day trips towards the North. Lots more shopping and centro commerciale too. Food can be great, but oddly, just today, a fellow expat who lives in that area was telling me how wonderfully tasty and fresh our lettuce is compared to hers in the monza area. If you are looking for variety in your cuisine, Siena would not be the right place. If you are looking for "La Bella Vita," Monza would probably not be the right place either. Know nothing about Parma except that lots of people say it's fantastic.

Hmmm, I would assume the absorbtion of extra cooking liquid would turn the rice to mush.

I always have at least 5 liters. My son is a huge milk drinker and fresh milk doesn't last as long where I live. I keep it on hand for emergencies. In Italy, they have a whole section and a million different brands. They also have long life cream, long life soy milk, and long life bechamel- which I have never and will never try. Because, why? I can tell the difference in taste though. Or maybe I just think I can.

I'm very curious as to what happens to cooked spaghetti when it cooks for another hour. Does it turn to mush?

I like many expats, hoard ethnic ingredients. It's gotten kind of ridiculous as I am afraid to use it as I dread the day I "run out" and therefore bring almost everything to the brink of expiration. I only recently started to stop that! Right now, my fridgerator has 5 packs of cheddar cheese that I miraculously found. I've got a shelf full of Asian ingredients too. The problem is no matter how hard I try, my Chinese food always SUCKS.

Beware of walking into just "any pub." Do your research. It's hard to tell who is going to be serving the frozen stuff vs who is serving delicious food because they are all so darn cute. (Advice from a British Friend. ) I second St. Johns.I really enjoyed the food at Tom's Kitchen, But I hear it's not as good as it used to be. It was good to me! For pubs, I enjoyed my steak sandwich at The Cadogan Arms (I know it's part of a group, but it was good anyway.) I was told that there is a good gastro pub called the Pig's Ear also in that neighborhood which is Chelsea. are you going to be interested in Hereford Rd or that other famous Gastropub? I didn't make it to either but really wanted to try them. They both have threads at egullet from what I recall. I had wanted to try that pub up near Notting hill that is famous for Thai food: the one that is COVERED in flowers. But it didn't seem so toddler friendly so I didn't go. Is it called the Churchill Arms? I really like the food in Chinatown as well and I really loved a very upscale Chinese/Dimsum restaurant in Soho called Yauatcha. It was fantastic. In my opinion, British Chinese food is MUCH less greasy/oily than NYC Chinese. I even loved the Pork buns you can get off the street. Edit: add pub name.

St Paul's is in the City no? If you are there on a Friday or a Saturday, I would definitely hit up Borough Market. It's wonderful. Lots of yummy things to eat. Lots of fun.there are also a couple of good seafood restaurants there. what kind of food will you be looking to have?

I guess I am part of the exception too. My home life was pretty much based around the kitchen. My Italian father was a short order cook in his pre-family life. He had seven brothers and each brother had a "chore" in the house. My father's was to help cook the family meals. My mother came from a long line of women that didn't cook, but what they did cook, they cooked well. I think they just didn't like to experiment to be honest. The latkes, the chicken soup, the noodle pudding, the roasts with the paprika potatoes, the chopped liver ....the best (in my eyes.) As the years went by, they became more and more interested in food and would constantly try to vary or perfect recipes and try new things. Many nights we were all in the kitchen making some sort of contribution. My father cooked mostly Italian and everything he made came out well. They were also food snobs. We'd ask for "Chef Boyardee" or whatever else the neighbor kid was eating and they'd make it for us from scratch using the best ingredients. (Not all my neighbors were eating Chef Boyardee, mind you. I learned amazing American food recipes from my best friend's mother.) We also didn't eat out because "our food was better than what you could get in a restaurant." I am sure that was partly an excuse, but if we did go out, we'd only go out for things that we didn't eat at home like Good Chinese, Jewish deli meats and smoked fish, Japanese and Gyros (heehee). We were also very lucky to be exposed to very few processed foods. Although there is one recipe that my mother used to use a can of soup and it is delicious. My parents were also very welcoming so there would always be guests. My grandmothers were also very good cooks and it was really fun learning with them. Making their recipes always makes me happy. They also made sure we could cook from a very young age. They worked day and night and wanted us to be self-sufficient. The first thing we learned was how to cook eggs. I remember the first full meal I cooked on my own (under supervision) was a family recipe that isn't the best recipe we make, but is certainly delicious: Roast beef with little red potatoes along with sauteed mushrooms and sauteed broccoli. I am very, very thankful for what they raised me to think about food. We took the recipes -and the values- with us. My table is always full. I love to try new things. And I love to make family recipes that make me recall those moments. I am not the best cook at all. But I don't think that really matters. I'm just going to go ahead and apologize in advance for the typos. I always miss them.

Something about being treated like the "help" by a kid is pretty atrocious. I once had a child speak to me in such a way that his mother couldn't look me in the eyes. I am not at all saying that the kid had the ability to make me feel less than, but it was gross that he attempted it. I also really hate to see kids with no manners when they are old enough to have them..."I want my food!" type bahavior. Glad I'm not a waitress anymore.

With no dispresct to DCarch, as his creations are amazing, but everyone's creations/recipes look/sound delicious. Can't wait to make all of them! I must be needing my vegetables because I can't wait to get out to the store!

Still going with Singapore chicken and rice. Ribollita, Pappa al Pomodoro, Pasta e Fagioli, Pizza, Lentils etc as well.

I totally forgot about this until you reminded me with this comment but I was once working in an UES establishment and a couple got into a heated argument at the table. The man got up and HIT the woman. She started screaming and the waiters physically removed the man. He waited on the corner for her though. After, the waiters tried to help the girl get home, call a friend, call the police whatever and allllllllllll she wanted to do, was chase the dude down the street. Which she did. Then there was the another time when the patron threw plates across the room and the owner threw him out and decked him on the street when he tried to get back in the place. Sorry for the tangent. Just reminded me! P.S. I HATE music that is sooooo loud that you can't hear the people at the table. I HATE it when the staff is seen doing something totally normal like sneeze or cough in their hands but they then handle your plates. And from the service side, I hate rude children waaaaaay more than rude adults.

Does Singapore Chicken and Rice count? Or does the making of the sauce take the simplicity out of it? I LOVE that dish even in it's most simplest form: boil a chicken with ginger, spring onion and salt. Saute chopped garlic and ginger add rice and cook using broth from chicken. But then there's the sauce. It's really just a combination of a bunch of ingredients though so it's still pretty simple. I forgot the exact recipe, but it's the broth, red chili sauce, spring onion, for sure. Can't remember the rest off hand. I also love potatoes, peppers and onions. Delicious and simple. Pasta with Cime di rapa, anchovy, garlic and red hot pepper another fave. Maybe too many ingredients too.

I hate seeing people touch my money and my food. It makes me wonder where else they put their hands. The odd thing about where I live is, they require you to where a plastic glove to choose and bag your unwashed often filthy fruits and vegetables. Yet, when the employees unload them, they don't where any gloves at all. Yes, I know the chances of 1000s of people transferring their sick germs is higher than the one vegetable guy, but consdering how often people come to work sick........

I'm with Holly, It's not just the food: I don't think my Grandmother was really the best cook, but I would give anything to eat her Ball roast and crunchy paprika potatoes, or her potato pancakes or her dairy night menu, or her fruit salad. I've got her recipes, but they never come out the same.

What about guinea Hen. I guess it's a bit tougher and dryer for that matter, but if cooked right, it's delicious. There is a recipe I love that has it marinating in vin Santo that is to die for.

I had one on every corner in Austria. So good. They also do them with cheese. Also delicious. I have no recipe for you