spaghetttti

Here are some Gula Jawa Kawung that are available at my local supermarket. How are they shaped and packaged where you all are? Yetty

Thank you for the fun blog, Danielle. I love how you worked in the tailgate for your finale to tie everything all together.

So, how was it?

Susan, I agree with you that there are seriously delicious-looking meals here, but please don't let that stop you from posting photos of yours, even though you may consider them not photo worthy, I would be very interested in seeing them. Some of us don't actually know what "polenta-style" oatmeal looks like. Eunny, that plate would sure cheer me up as well! And, girl, those shoes!!!

Danielle, tailgating sounds like a lot of fun. So, you & others all bring & cook stuff, do you eat only what you bring, or do you tailgate crawl and eat/imbibe with others?

Oh yeah, I was right there with you all .....in spirit! Oh and another thing, I'm so glad to see that you've changed your avatar. I'd been meaning to suggest that you put up your own bowl of laksa, but you beat me to it! Looks great

Well I gotta say -- though I don't dig on swine, that was beautiful. Except for Miss Piggy all sprawled out like that in the tub! Forgive me, but please let me say that you are one handsome man, and those kids are absolutely adorable!

The best falafel I ever had was during our hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in '97. There was a cart across from the Mosque and the sandwiches were made to order. The pita was warm, soft & fluffy & the tahini sauce was tangy from lemon juice and had a mild garlicy flavor with beautiful green specks of parsley. The falafel patties were crisp on the outside and very moist inside. There was always a long line but we stopped by that cart every day. Haven't had falafel since.

I've gotta say, it's HATE-LOVE-HATE, when I have to eat alone at home. Hate that he's away even for one night. Love that I can eat anything I want, wherever in the house I want, however I want. I can break out that blue box of mac & cheese, or grill a steak or hamburger, make some ramen, bake up a tuna casserole, open up a can of Hormel tamales, have some of that Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey calling out to me from the freezer, or even order something from Pizza Hut. Anything that reminds me of home (I'm really feeling homesick these days.) Hate that I've done one or all of the above. Tonight's one of those nights.

Looks mightly tasty, Eunny Jang.

If the diner was snapping photos, even before a single bite was taken, no doubt about it, you KNOW that it 's got to be an eGulletzer! And then, just minutes/hours after the meal, those photos would be posted and found here, on our beloved eGullet. org! So, Janet -- was the guy taking pictures of the stingray?

Teeny, tiny fingerling jambu air or rose apples. The search for freaky continues, but in the meantime, a look into a market or pasar. Rujak buah, a fruit salad dressed with gula jawa, tamarind, cabai rawit (birdseye chillies) and topped with crushed peanuts.

it is, isn't it? spaghetttti, i'm curious: did you do any processing on that dragonfruit pic in the first post on this thread? the cut-open version looks so much more fluorescent than the uncut version. or is it actually that bright? Hi, mrbigjas -- the first picture was shot on my desk at the office, and the cut-open photo was taken at home a couple of hours later. Granted, the lighting and shooting modes were different, but no, I didn't make any post-processing color adjustments. The inner rind of the dragonfruit was really that psychedelic funky, fuschia color. I saved the hollowed out rinds thinking that they would be nice vessels for a mousse I was going to make with some agar-agar, but unfortunately someone unwittingly threw them out.

Fantastic! Can't wait -- blow our minds!!!

Hi Al_Dente, had any weird fruit lately?

Sue-On, please come back and tell us what you got, ok?

Oh, yes! Mr. Kaplan, please do share your recipe. I have gobs of tamarind at home just waiting to be put to good, delicious use.

You're cordially invited to the wedding of Ms. Sally Salak & Mr. Monty Monstera Bridal party: Maid of Honor: Miss "Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride" Daphne Dragonfruit Best Man : Mr. Thomas Tamarind Ring Bearer : Master Barry Balimbing Performing the Marriage Ceremony: The Most Honorable Frederick Fingered Citron (He may look creepy, but he sure smells good!) heheh

When I was in high school (Woodrow Wilson on Nebraska Ave.), I had a boyfriend who lived on Grubb Road and we used to hang out at Parkway Deli. At that time they had a really great meat knish, I'd only had potato and kasha ones before, but that meat knish still remains in my memory. Do they still make them? The irrational emotional attachment our family has must be Hope Key in Clarendon. We have lived away from the States since the early '90s, but we manage to come home every year. Our tradition is upon landing at Dulles, we'd all head over to Hope Key for the salt & pepper squid and scallops, and beef chow fun. Mind you, the food is not the greatest, but that's always our first stop. Then after that, it's down the street to Mario's Pizza. It's just not the same as it was decades ago, but for whatever reason, nostalgia, we make that trek every single time we're home. Now I've read that Hope Key is gone. It looks like it's time for a new tradition.

(from Zingerman's Bakehouse) with a scoop of Zingerman's Dulce de Leche gelato. Both were incredibly sweet, but wonderful. I'm stuffed... Oh my, how decadent is that!?! Really, it sounds like my kind of dessert. I've never had purple potatoes, is there any taste difference compared to the other varieties?

Gosh, thanks for the compliments, you all are very kind. I really hope everyone is enjoying the thread and photos. Although, quite frankly I don't know whether I'm channeling Georgia O'Keefe or Ron Jeremy; most of my photos have taken on a rather erotic, ummm, exotic spin . I've been very careful to post the G-rated ones, or else there would be mass cold showers running out there! (I'm still fanning myself over Laksa's provocative peach.) Anyhow, before I go further... everyone, all together now, please repeat after me: Dragonfruit is bland Ok, well then...moving right along. Now here's something I'm very fond of -- sawo. Not freaky at all, but is rather (if you'll pardon the expression) plain Jane. It looks similar to fifi's sapote, but it was described as having sweetish avocado qualities. When I think of avocados, the texture I tend to think of is creamy. This seasonal sawo is very honey-sweet, but has a bit of a grainy texture to it, not creamy at all. I believe that this may actually be a sapote. Adam Balic, I can just imagine how good the black sapote must be, is it smooth and creamy? Where did you have it? OnlyTheBest, you have me stumped on that ice cream bean, I wonder what that is? I want to try it. Rhea_S, Kumusta po kayo? It's wonderful to hear that some of these fruits are grown in Florida, are they available year round? Michael, we use the term sayuran for vegetables and the all-encompassing term sayur for vegetables that have been prepared as a stew or in a broth -- like Sayur Asem, a sweet & sour vegetable soup. We quite often have a clear Sayur Bayam with kernels of corn, and I do believe bayam is a great substitute for spinach. David, you were asking about that dark background on some (most) of my photos. Here's my "studio" at work. You're right, my desktop is covered in a black leather-like material. As you can see, that window provides some good lighting, although some may say glare, I think of it as "subtle highlighting"! Aaah, durian! I do love it, but it seems that I'm the only one in my family or at work who appreciates it. So I don't have anyone to eat and enjoy it with. I've seen naked durian packaged in plastic & styrofoam, but where's the fun in that? It's not yet the season for the local ones from Kalimantan & Sumatera, and it's been said that the best durians come out of Thailand. Here in Bandung, the Monthong variety from Bangkok is popular and highly sought after. It is quite expensive though, IDR 20,000/kilo (US$1 = IDR 9,000) and the Monthong durian averages about 4 kilos. I'd be very interested to know how much durians sell for abroad, for example, how're the prices in the US?

Wow, watch out for incoming! It's a good thing no one got hurt.

Let's take a brief interlude from the frightful ---- to the delightful: The starfruit (belimbing) is truly lovely. Elegant dancing stars. But wait, they.......have......... eyes!!!! and it looks like they're trying to get away!!! (into the freak pool?)

Thanks for the link, gingerly. How very interesting! I certainly have never seen it, however, I am now on a mission and will be wringing my hands wondering whether or not I will find them .

gingerly --- Eeeewww, ahem I mean ... oooh, what in tarnation is that?