Malawry

Sorbet at CSC is like the BK Veggie at Burger King: It's offered so the dairy-intolerant/dieting/vegan person in the group doesn't make everybody go someplace else instead.

Sugar, I would not lie about something so important. Go getcherself one and eat it in the Channel 2 room.

I've decided it's quite difficult to avoid eating meat and remain serious about food. I also have found I like meat quite a bit and don't really want to eliminate it from my diet. I still maintain a mostly-vegetarian household (we eat fish but no meat or fowl at home). Last night was the first time I cooked meat outside of school/work since I stopped being a vegetarian, and I cooked it at a friend's apartment. I order it when dining out occasionally, but don't eat it at home and therefore don't prepare it. BTW, the lamb came out nicely braised, and had a good color from the browning I gave it before adding all the liquids, but I have concluded that I don't like braised meats all that much. I never liked the braises we did at school, with the exception of the osso buco. I know how to execute them properly but that melting texture is just not as appealing as a caramelized crust surrounding pink flesh, a medium-rare steak or chop or rack. We had a lot of discussions at school about how braises show more skill than food that is quickly sauteed or grilled, but I guess skill does not translate to preference for me. My friend requested the lamb dish (it was her birthday dinner) which was why I made a braised meat, but I wondered if my palate had grown to like braises more since I've been eating meat for well over a year now. I didn't. It wasn't bad or anything, just not my taste.

Tzatziki with crispbreads, Moroccan oil-cured olives Syrian braised lamb with tomatoes, green beans and oregano Rice pilaf with kalamatas and basil Mango-coconut trifle with rum cream and pound cake

Pimento cheese burger? The Varsity is in Atlanta, pal. Not the mountains of NC. Sounds like a great time. Your post made me remember the wild blueberries I picked up around Boone during those college summers.

Back home in Takoma Park, MD today: French fingerling potatoes 2doz eggs Green beans Slim zucchini and summer squash 2 bunches very dirty, very small carrots Salad mix with nasturtiums Fresh oregano and basil White freestone peaches Nectarines Tiny, sweet apricots Burpless cucumbers

Duck egg French toast, warm maple syrup. I've hit my duck egg limit. These were TOO rich.

We stopped in tonight. I had a raspberry sorbet with chocolate chips. Sorbet clearly had real raspberry in it, but it was too sweet and sloppy otherwise. They had a special promotion with Make-A-Wish foundation where they donated all tips for the night to M-A-W and there was a M-A-W flavor combination which they were giving away free. This flavor combination was invented by a M-A-W kid: cake batter flavored ice cream with M&Ms and something else, I think a fudge ripple. My aunt selected this flavor and tipped extra to offset it. She gave me a taste. The ice cream really did taste like cake batter, which is somewhere between cool and really nasty.

Congratulations Sam!

Holly, it's been a while. Are you strung out on sugar? I got very happy when I saw your image. There's a scene in one of the episodes of Red Dwarf in which a character orders a milkshake from a space-age vending machine. The machine asks, "what flavor?" After a pause, the character responds, "Beer."

You may be right about the market. I'm up to no good since my externship. Seriously, trying to write and see what I can sell for now. obColdStone: I am heading there tomorrow night with my 12-year-old first cousin, who is a big fan of their ice cream and mix-ins. There's a store around the corner from my parents' place, where I am visiting for now. I'll report back.

From the NC Dept of Agriculture's Piedmont Triad Farm Market (a permanent facility open 7 days a week): Double-yolk brown eggs. The guy at the stand reports that young chickens are more likely to produce double-yolkers, and he says they're always infertile. (I'd always assumed you could get twin chicks from them.) Zucchini Silver queen corn Squash A red onion Red and green bell peppers Garlic, three picture-perfect bulbs Blueberries Porno-perfect blackberries Farm butter, from Hillsboro, NC Old Guilford Mill Southern-style unbleached white grits

Klink gets almost as excited when talking about bacon candy as he does when talking about smoking. (nod) I can't decide if it sounds detestable or delectable. Isn't it awfully easy to burn?

Life Savers. I theorize sucking on hard candy helps my throat feel better. I have no evidence of this but it's comforting if nothing else.

I think Maggie Moo's is better than Cold Stone Creamery. Not by a huge margin or anything, but it is better. I like that the price includes a waffle cone. Their sorbets taste like they include real fruit although they are way too sweet. And all their ice creams are made in-store too. I've eaten at the one in Shirlington, VA a couple times. I have never heard of this Farrell's place, and I've lived in the DC area for over 5 years.

Last night: Roasted tomato soup. (I need a chinois.) Corn pudding a la Edna Lewis. (It split.) Seared salmon. (A bit overdone.) Blueberry-cherry cobbler. (Perfect.) This is why I shouldn't cook while I am sick.

We went home, and I'm pretty sure we ordered a pizza. We left the next day for our honeymoon and preferred to spend the night at home rather than splurging on a hotel. There was also tons of leftover food from the rehearsal dinner (your standard Jewish dairy deli food) so we may have had some of that. We invited some of our closer friends to join us at home for dinner and rehashing the day together. We thought that would be the most fun way to spend our wedding night. We actually did eat on our wedding day. One of our attendants brought bagels and fruit, and I brewed some coffee and had some juice for us while we got ready in the morning. After the ceremony, my partner and I did the Orthodox-style thing of 15 minutes of seclusion. I arranged for the caterer to bring a tray of the hors d'ouevres, diet coke (for him) and grapefruit juice (for me) while we were in seclusion. And then the caterer arranged for us to eat first when they opened the buffet. We didn't eat much but we managed to get down a taste of most of the goodies before we couldn't stand it anymore and got up to circulate. (We both love parties and wanted to spend all our time with people we never get to see, not at the table feeding ourselves.) I do remember a server being assigned to just the two of us while we were being served and eating, and the guy refilled my wine glass between each sip. I think I only drank about a half a glass of wine.

I noted this while visiting Rehoboth last weekend for my annual summertime beach vacation. They didn't look too busy. Compared to, say, the Frog Pond around the corner with its lines out the door. Maybe they'll open in Washington's Dupont Circle next.

Tonight, vegetarian sausage sandwiches with sauteed onions and tomato sauce Seared tiny zucchini with garlic and basil oil Many, many ears of silver corn Peanut brittle (purchased)

Heather, your dinner sounds lovely. Friday night: Grilled squash, zukes and red onion, rubbed with olive oil, s, p, Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning Grilled sweet white corn with butter and sea salt NY strip steak, rubbed with olive oil, chili powder, s, p All cooked outside on my mini-hibachi and my housemate's camp stove, while camping. Mmm hmm. I was planning to grill some peaches and apples for dessert but it started to rain.

I've never been to a Hooters. I also have never been to a Dick's Last Resort, but I wonder if therein lies another comparison. My understanding of both Dick's and Hooters is that the staff give you a hard time in good fun and try to embarrass you. And they do this as though they are fond of you, which helps them sell you burgers and beer. Hooters just adds sex appeal. Am I correct? Heather, you and I can go on a DC tour to mimic Tommy and Elyse if you like. I have been to strip clubs, both ones with female dancers and ones with male dancers, but never to Hooters.

Stopped at a farm stand on the way to the beach Friday and bought: Sweet white corn Peaches Two small zukes A yellow squash A red onion And hot fresh donuts. (DOOOOOONUTS!) Stopped at a different stand on the way home this afternoon and bought: Sweet white corn Tomatoes, the first good red ones I've seen this year Bing cherries A cucumber A Vidalia onion (obviously not grown anywhere near the stand, but worth buying anyway!) Peanut brittle

A toasted everything bagel, half generously buttered, half with cream cheese and sliced olives Two carrots Watermelon Leftover blueberry cobbler for dessert

Pecan-crusted catfish, marinated in mustard and bourbon reduction Fennel-tomato compote Steamed farm market haricots verts Corn souffle, with duck egg base. (They whip up well!) Blueberry cobbler. Biscuit style.

Nightscotsman, I remember making ice cream like that at camp as a child. The shaking-ziplocs method. Brings back fond memories. I also remember making butter in a similar way, and eating it on Ritz crackers.