misstenacity

Wow, I've got some nominees from the last several months. Braised eel. (Shanghai) Intestine tacos. (Juarez) Breyer's No Sugar Added ice cream. (Home) Yum on the 1st two, ick on the 3rd, so I guess that's the "wackiest" in terms of where it lies on the spectrum from food to non-food. Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net

Tried out my new Panasonic cheapo maker today, spinning up some Fig Honey ice cream. Hmph. Not sure if it was the machine, the mix, or what but it was both icy and even a little bitterness was evident (bad figs?). I will withhold judgement until I tried one of my other "tried and true" flavors - Banana Walnut. :-) Results will be posted when available.... Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net

Cornmeal crusted pan-fried beef liver, cooled slightly, sliced then placed on top of: Mixed Spring Green salad with slivered almonds and dressing made from: TJ's Caramelized Onion, Fig & Balsamic Spread Red wine vinegar Dried Aleppo pepper Mmmmm, liver.... :-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

Cereals I haven't seen mentioned yet that I used to have a fondness for: Basic 4 Raisin Squares (?) - it was bite sized shredded wheat with a raisin in the middle of each. Corn Bran Kix Raisin Nut Bran (had almond slivers and nut-coated raisins) Quaker Oat Squares ....and, (it was mentioned), but LIFE! Awesome cereal! Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net

I love Starkist tuna "meal kits", when I can get them at Target for a buck each.... They are preferable to a protein bar, if that's my only other option for a snack. (I've found that Target doesn't have a lot of food items, but if they have it, its damn cheap - like cereal and energy bars in particular) Andrea ....who ate her fair share of boxed mac & cheese, hamburger helper, and 'noodles & sauce' in her college days.... http://tenacity.net

Yes, Hachez rules! Very smooth for the cocoa content and not hugely expensive, either. My first brand that I loved (before Hachez) was Chocolove - started with the 55% varieties and now I love their "gold label" 85%. If I remember correctly, anyway. Its the highest cocoa content they sell. Yum! Andrea http://tenacity.net

I submit to you The World's Smallest Caprese Salad: That's: 1 - 1/2" thick 2" diameter piece of fresh mozz, surrounded by: 2 - 1/2" thick slices of 2" diameter tomato, topped with: 4 - drops aged balsamic vinegar, encased in: 2 - basil leaves ....it adds up a a mouthful of summer! :-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

Anyone lamenting the touristification ("dumbing down") of chile heat in NM should make a stop at Horseman's Haven for green chile so hot even I can't eat it: the "level 2", which you have to order specially off the menu as a side dish. Their regular green is almost always flaming hot, enough to give my jaded and fiery palate an endorphin rush as I'm leaving to go home. :-) For red, its trickier, but I have had really hot red at Chilepeno's, which is in Sandia Park (about 45 min S of Santa Fe, on Highway 14). The heat varies, but they do helpfully post a "chilemeter" graph which shows the relative heat of the current batches of their green, red, and salsa. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Might be a little late, but in Taos there is Xocoatl. I just saw some of their chocolate for sale today at a cafe in Albuquerque, some 73% Venezuelan. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Thanks andiesenji and daves - I'll keep tweaking and hopefully I'll master the smooth smoothie. :-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

Today, as every day for the last few weeks (kind of a new experiment): Homemade muesli out of rolled oats, spelt, barley, triticale, and quinoa with dates, soynuts, and pepitas. 1/2c of this soaked overnight in soy milk, then topped up with water in the morning and warmed in the nuker. Mmmm, comfort carbs.... Andrea http://tenacity.net

I just posted this tip to chowhound, actually, but it might help here, as well. :-) I've found that in making ice cream that has ANY kind of protein in it, including: milk half & half eggs powdered milk cream cheese (?) yogurt ....that the final texture of the ice cream is only acceptable if you denature the proteins. And that means heat. Either scalding the dairy to 180 degrees (even if no eggs are going to be used), or making your custard base with the eggs. THEN chill overnight. The next day.... a non full-fat ice cream that doesn't taste like crap! Andrea http://tenacity.net

Got a possible issue to be troubleshot with my 4500.... (can ya tell I work in tech support???) I've made several smoothies lately with a generous milk base, and added protein powder, possibly some fruit, and lots of ice. I blend for about 30 seconds, and when I pour out the result, I get a creamy liquid studded with flaky ice clumps - not the smooth smoothie texture I was expecting at all. Am I just not going long enough? FYI, my ice is starting out as "crushed" from the ice maker in my freezer, not whole cubes. Andrea http://tenacity.net

I've called female hippies "earth muffins", which then led me to coin a term for the male counterparts: MANOLA. ;-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

In a nutshell: NO. If you are a dinner guest or a restaurant patron, let your allergies be known upfront. If you are a dinner party host, asking if any guests have allergies is a kind thing to do. If you are a restauranteur, the responsibility lies solely with the diner. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Theobroma. Friendly proprietor, outstanding chocolate, 2 locations. And, for audacity, its gotta be The Candy Lady! I couldn't find links, but she has been cited and fined for obscenity several times by the city for her "Adult Only" room. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Another linguistic sin is the use of the word "off" in cooking action sentences. A hilarious rant about it on Fire and Knives.... (scroll down to Frying "off") Andrea http://tenacity.net

I worked in a Taco Bell for about 6 months, the "drunk shift" (5pm-3am). We were one of the few places open after the bars would close in town, and the Taco Bell also was on the way from downtown back to campus. The bad: because of residential neighbors, our drive-thru closed at midnight and it was the dining room we had to keep open until close. Yeesh. The good: it was a "manager training" location, meaning those moving their way up the chain would get temporarily moved to our store and hone their Taco skills. What this meant is that every food safety practice was followed to the letter. Time consuming, yes, but getting food poisoning was a near impossibility. The rest: it wasn't bad. I would still eat there (though I don't just out of lack of time due to going to more interesting restaurants). I have always had a soft spot for the cutely named Chilito (chili cheese burrito) and the meximelts. When they had fajitas I liked those, and the bean burritos and quesadillas are not bad. The guilty pleasure menu item for me was mexican pizza. VERY greasy. I used to like the 7 layer burrito but I doubt I would anymore. I worked pre-gordita and chalupa. The fanciest item were the double-decker tacos. Our beans were dehydrated, the meats in bags, and yes we had the caulking guns. When I started the transition was underway to stop chopping lettuce and tomatoes by hand and instead get them all pre-prepped. The cinnamon twist things look like rotini pasta before they are fried. In fact, they probably are rotini pasta. Not a horrific place overall, you could certainly do worse things to your GI tract. Andrea http://tenacity.net

BUMP! Has anyone noticed when taking flax oil in amounts around 1T per day or higher, that you can smell the oil on your skin? It doesn't smell bad.... just flaxxy. Its going right THROUGH me! Hehe. HumanBean, thanks for your comments on the weightlifters. I'm becoming more fascinated by that culture as of late, especially the nutrition-control aspects of it. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Especially when the dressing comes out of a large container with the word "Sysco" on it, as a waitress admitted to me when I questioned her about the salad at a local bar whose food has sadly gone downhill.... Andrea http://tenacity.net

My guess was Ramsay decided that Blondie was too pussyfooted to vote for Ralph so he punished her by getting rid of Mary Ellen, obviously a better qualified person to stay than Andrew. Ha ha! Yes, despite the 20 minutes of recapping during every show, it does actually seem to get more entertaining as it goes.... Andrea http://tenacity.net

Bumping thread due to my frustrations with my Donvier.... So, I've got a Donvier hand-crank, pre-freeze bowl model. I have had totally mixed results with it - great, creamy, luscious ice cream, as well as crystalline, rock-hard icy crap. The problem is, I can't draw any big conclusions since I vary my recipes so much in their stabilizer content that its either just the stabilizers messing with me, or my freezer's temp is too variable. Or possibly too cold - the batter starts freezing solid at the edges the second I pour it in and I have to crank like crazy to get it going. By stabilizer I mean: fat, protein, alcohol, or actual "stabilizer" like gums, powdered milk, gelatin, etc. THE BIG QUESTION: When making a lower fat concoction, am I going to get a better result with a motorized machine (however cheap), than with a hand-cranker? Thank you! :-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

I think I've finally been tipped over into getting a copy of this book... :-) Today's breakfast is a repeat of the last 4 days running, trying out something new! I used to have coffee and naked fruit in the first few hours of the morning, then some type of porridge/oats in the mid-late AM hours. I've decided to try out something a little different and start the day with grains instead of fruit. I'll see how it affects my energy (and digestion). Have to also make a point now of having fruit, as before I would never eat it except for first thing in the morning. 1. (7:30am) Overnight soaked muesli w/ soy milk 2. (8am) Huge mug of fantastic coffee with half & half 3. (10am) Bowl of irish oats w/ egg scrambled in. Yum! Andrea http://tenacity.net

This is in complete disgregard for which part of town you will be in, but here goes: I had my first tasting menu at Lola a couple of years ago and it was excellent and a bargain at $55 for ten courses. Also, I love anything coming from a Monica Greene kitchen. She has (at least?) 3 restaurants in town: Aca y Alla Pegaso Ciudad Enjoy your trip! Andrea http://tenacity.net

Awww, crikey. Had a luscious and satisfying muesli for brekkie, goat cheese and chive omelet for lunch, some freaking KITCHAREE for a snack, and this for dinner: Andrea http://tenacity.net ....but now I'm on an incredible sugar and chocolate high, its quite fabulous, really.