misstenacity

I've gone back and forth on cereal.... my parents would only buy the "healthy" kind, and usually that was generic brands anyway. So we had knock-off "oat rings", raisin bran, corn flakes, rice crunchies, etc. Oh, how we lusted after the really expensive cereals - cookie crisp, fruity pebbles, all that stuff. And now of course we know that corn flakes will send your blood sugar into the same tizzy that fruity pebbles will. In college I ate far more cereal than at any other point in my life. After working a factory job in the summer I would typically come home and eat a whole box of something (dry) while sitting on the recliner and reading a magazine. Wowza. Now I'm more "normal" in my tastes - I like Kashi Go Lean, all kinds of muesli, and other boring fare like that. I usually eat them with yogurt or kefir instead of milk. Milk is for mixing with protein powder, nowadays. Hehe. But once in a while, I'll see Cracklin Oat Bran, or Basic 4, or the 'filled' bite sized shredded wheat, or other premium cereals (where the tiny boxes always seem to be $5), and feel lustful again. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Unfortunately I don't have the stats to back this up, but I've heard that many of the places that are offering free wifi are doing so because its EASIER. That stat that I heard was that the overall cost of having free wifi is just a few pennies more per hour than actually charging for it. Why? Well, if people pay for a service, they expect support. So you have to have someone handy to troubleshoot their connection, deal with billing issues, etc etc. When its free.... well, from the wifi user's perspective, there is much less expectation. The connection will probably work fine, but hey, if it doesn't.... no biggie since they aren't paying for it anyway. So many places are not going to free wifi out of the goodness of their hearts; really its that it is far less of a headache to administer that way. And not that that isn't a good thing - it usually works out quite well for both sides. Viva la wifi! :-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

Previously, I've made truffles, caramels, and flavored hot chocolates (mocha, chile, cinnamon). This year I'm thinking about making individual sized Jamaican black cakes (need to get the fruits in the rum NOW!); and possibly some other things.... chocolate sparkle cookies, shortbreads, maybe granola. I bet I could make some killer ginger granola. Yum. Thanks for the links to the bottle and label websites - those are great! Oh, previously I've made small batches of red chile sauce to give to people, but one of those times by the time the person opened the jar the contents had fermented and nearly exploded. Perhaps I need to actually "can" them, meaning sterilize everything? Ooops. Andrea http://tenacity.net

They are mostly good, some bad, but not evil. GOOD: Starbucks has raised the bar of expectation for your average coffee drinker, who previously was getting morning joe at the gas station or something like it. GOOD: The corporate policy of pushing fair-trade coffee and the issues behind it to the forefront of people's minds (or at least into their sphere of awareness). BAD: Awful prices. I can go to a real coffee shop and get a proper small latte, with a correct 2:1 ratio of milk to espresso, for $2 or slightly more. At starbucks, I'll be paying $2.60 for the 'tall' size, then have to add $.55 for each additional shot, ideally 2 of which are required for the proper ratios for their 12oz size. BAD: Their espresso is consistantly "passable" quality, no more, no less. So in general, I guess I like the existence of Starbucks much more than I like actually going there and buying their products. Andrea in Albuquerque

Despite the appearance of the breakfast plate, at least small kudos must be given to the restaurant for providing what appears to be real butter in the small bowl in the background.... a sad rarity nowadays. Andrea

I have to concur with the very first post - Tofu 2 Go! Ick, ick, ick! My penance is re-reading the Tofu eCGI class over again. :-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

Oooh boy, a topic I am actually qualified to post on! *grin* Mary & Tito's - 4th Street near Menaul. Outstanding red. Very homey. Chilepeno's - Sandia Park, on the left just before the ski area (Crest Road) turnoff. Hopefully the *location* isn't a turn-off, as the food is excellent. Owned by the same family as: Perea's Tijuana Bar & Grill: North Valley, not positive on the exact location. Garcia's, downtown (Central & 10th or thereabouts) Mariachi - NE Heights, Juan Tabo near Candelaria. Little dive of a place, the owner/mistress/waitress can be a bit tepid in her attitude but the food is very down home. All of the above are inexpensive (less than $10). ....and in Santa Fe, Horseman's Haven. On Cerillos near the autopark, next door to a new Phillips gas station. Hot hot hot green, but very flavorful. Need more? I'll think of some.... Andrea http://tenacity.net

I hadn't noticed that when I was there, but I was not alone. There were many servers, but the overall thing that I noticed was how seamless the attention was - you might glance down at your empty salad plate, then look up and continue your conversation, then glance down again and the salad plate is GONE... yet no one was even noticed approaching the table, let alone whisking away your dinnerware. Amazing. Later my dining companion said that he could see one designated person simply hovering just out of sight of our room, carefully watching for any signs that anyone might need service, then dispatching it. That's all that person did - just scan the room. I may have noticed what you did - not really being able to ask questions, but if you just look around in a "needy" way for a few seconds, someone would probably be at your side to answer anything (although they may be a completely new person to you). Our food was wonderful, the service fantastic, and the bill matched both. All in all a great birthday dinner. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Absolutely! :-) My favorite from trick or treating was the red & yellow (or was it orange & yellow? orange & white?) paper wrapped BANANA TAFFY. Very soft, not sticky. About 1/2" wide and 2 or 3 inches long. Yummy. Andrea http://tenacity.net

In defense of Nigella - she has never been on the FN, but rather Style Network. That says a lot, even if I absolutely love her *attitude* towards food. That is what comes out in the show, and what makes her appealing to watch and read. Her cookbooks read like true gastro porn: a particular example is of eating a grilled portobello sandwich, describing the brown juices running down her arm - it made my mushroom-averse boyfriend say, "Yum!". Andrea http://tenacity.net

Cooked for the SO's parents last night, so the 5 (the 4 of us plus daughter) at the table had: Mixed greens salad Chicken breasts stuffed with ham and 2 cheeses Sauteed veggies w/ lemon Garlic mashed potatoes Nigella's gooey chocolate puddings Some notes: I KILLED the dressing for the salad. Didn't taste it before mixing, then realized it was far too salty. Ooops. Also, the puddings were underdone, but being puddings rather than cake no one noticed except me. :-) Everything else was tasty if unadventurous. *shrug* Then, after feeling suitably gorged on pudding, I made bran muffins before going to bed. Andrea, in ABQ http://tenacity.net

I noticed the article called Monica Greene the "energizer bunny" of the local biz. I had the great opportunity to meet her and spend several hours talking about food and restaurants when I was in Dallas last winter. I ate half the items on the Pegaso menu, which prompted her to come out and talk with me (thinking I was a reviewer, perhaps?). We hit it off and talked for an hour before meeting up later for more gossiping. As it happened, this was the same week that the local rag had the big spread on her and her 'revival' in the local industry, so perhaps she was just wanting to hide out with a stranger who didn't already know everything about her. :-) Truly a great person - I haven't been back to Dallas since then but think about the food I had there often - at Lola and at Pegaso. Andrea, in ABQ http://tenacity.net

Pho. Andrea, in ABQ http://tenacity.net

Thumbs up (leaving out the obvious coffee): - deglazing w/ wine - parmesan being grated - fruit crisp baking - shallots roasting - za'tar (spice blend, not single herb) - hot cocoa - green chile sauce Thumbs down (leaving out the obvious like things burnt, etc): - the smell in the house the next morning after making something aromatic the night before - especially if it involved bitter greens or cruciferous veg. - office coffee - "fridge smell" ...guess I don't have too much in the negative category. I tend to revel in stinky food, so generally the stronger the scent, the better. Sometimes when running in forests, I can smell mistletoe draped over the trees, and it smells like stinky cheese. Very interesting. Andrea in Albuquerque http://tenacity.net

I am very much impressed with some of the weird combinations thus far, so mine will be rather tame by comparison. I don't so much do this when "no one" is looking, but anything that is outside of its normal preparation/consumption parameters (note, I've never liked cold pizza - that's just wrong! :grin:): -thick-rolled slow cooking oats (dry) -frozen peanuts And then of course, vastly huge quantities of crystallized ginger. Yum. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Thanks, Naomi. I did just that and they have told me to get some bloodwork done right when it starts up again. There was some condition they were going to check for that I've now forgotten, but it had to do with insulin resistance. Last night I had to have pho, so I went and did just that, accompanied by luscious steamed buns. Oh, and after I made that last post I had some cheap "death by chocolate" ice cream. It hit the spot with some cold strong coffee poured over it. :-) Andrea http://tenacity.net

I have been gifted with limited psychosomatic TOM symptoms - my mood barely changes (I might get a wee bit more cranky); I have only mild cravings for chocolatey sweets; I rarely cry at Hallmark commercials. That's the good. The bad was years and years of insane cramps. The take-a-day-off-from-school/work-and-whimper variety. I dosed them heavily with Vitamin I, but in my mid-20's they started easing up. Not sure why, but I was eating better and exercising more consistently. Now I can not use any painkillers at all with mere mild discomfort to get through. However, as the cramps went down, the other half went up. Now I do get crankier, moody, and crave-y. Good thing I've discovered dark dark dark chocolate in the interim. And Haagen-Dazs. *grin* So have any of you tried PMS and/or Pennyroyal tea to 'induce' yourself? I'm curious how well that would really work. I'm in the middle of some stress-induced amenorrea, going on 4 months now, and thinking its time to end it one way or another. Off to find some cold chocolate while you mull it over. :-) Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net

They make BIG Fig Newtons??? Is the fig-to-cake ratio higher? Yum! Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net

Originals - NOT fat free. One of my most favorite running/hiking snacks. (Although now I'm clued in to the trans-fat problem situation with the non-FF variety, I'll have to investigate further. Its just that I have an instinctual "reject" response to products labeled FF - how can they possibly taste as good?) Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net

"Best" meal, in terms of new experiences and chef talent: Lola, in Dallas, on a business trip. Used up 2 days' worth of per diem for that 10 course tasting menu; it was my first time having such a thing. First oyster on the half, and generally a great experience. I even took a cab to/from the location so I could drink more than 1 glass of wine with dinner and be safe. :-) The one drawback: I was alone. I did not receive inferior service, but definitely something is missing when you cannot share the experience. "Best" meal(s), in terms of overall enjoyment, have always been with friends, whether at restaurants or at homes. In no particular order: - Cooking demonstration classes at Graze - 3 Parties I've catered for friends, spending all day cooking for them and basking in that "mission accomplished" glow during the festivities. - Several dinners with friends and with family, again at Graze. - Breakfast early in the AM with my brothers at The Frontier. - Breakfasts that I've cooked for my household on lazy Sunday mornings, from bacon & eggs to slow-cooked Irish oats. - Dinner get togethers with friends, at their houses or mine. Yum. Miss Tenacity Tenacious Flog

Alright! Another proud lager-phobe... :-) Many people say its an acquired taste, to them I say, "why should I?". Love sweetbreads, love wine, (learned to) love sashimi and rare tuna and mussels, but still not quite there on: - foie gras (currently neutral, and the "meat flavored butter" description hasn't worked yet) - truffle flavor (generally like it but not so much as to pay what's its worth) - black coffee (but have migrated from crappy sweetened additives to just half&half, so I'm almost there) Andrea http://tenacity.net

Cream of Celery-Walnut Soup Serves 6 as Appetizeror 3 as Soup. I've made this soup more than any other kind; it is excellent for work lunches, freezes well, and is also pretty darn healthy for you (especially if you reduce the amount of cream used to make the primary fat sources the walnuts and olive oil). 1 T olive oil 3 c vegetable stock 1 head celery 2 shallots 1/4 c walnuts 1/4 c heavy cream salt and pepper Slice or dice the shallots and sweat them in the oil, in a medium saucepan. De-string the celery if its old or somewhat tough. Slice or roughly chop, then add to the shallots. Saute for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Heat the veg (or mushroom) stock nearly to boiling, then add it to the pot. Cover and simmer on low until everything is nice and soft, or about 20 minutes. While this is simmering, toast your walnuts (med-low heat in a dry pan, tossing until slightly browned and fragrant). Then combine the soup and walnuts in a blender and whiz to a puree. Stir in up to 1/4 cup of cream, add salt & pepper to taste, and serve immediately. If the soup will go right into the fridge or freezer, no need to put it back into the pan after blending, just season to taste, add the cream, and package it. Nutrition (for whole recipe, you can serve in whatever size portion you want): Calories: 605 Fat(g): 55 Carb(g): 28 Fiber(g): 10 Protein(g): 12 Keywords: Soup, Vegetarian, Easy, Vegetables, Blender, Healthy Choices ( RG1141 )

Cream of Celery-Walnut Soup Serves 6 as Appetizeror 3 as Soup. I've made this soup more than any other kind; it is excellent for work lunches, freezes well, and is also pretty darn healthy for you (especially if you reduce the amount of cream used to make the primary fat sources the walnuts and olive oil). 1 T olive oil 3 c vegetable stock 1 head celery 2 shallots 1/4 c walnuts 1/4 c heavy cream salt and pepper Slice or dice the shallots and sweat them in the oil, in a medium saucepan. De-string the celery if its old or somewhat tough. Slice or roughly chop, then add to the shallots. Saute for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Heat the veg (or mushroom) stock nearly to boiling, then add it to the pot. Cover and simmer on low until everything is nice and soft, or about 20 minutes. While this is simmering, toast your walnuts (med-low heat in a dry pan, tossing until slightly browned and fragrant). Then combine the soup and walnuts in a blender and whiz to a puree. Stir in up to 1/4 cup of cream, add salt & pepper to taste, and serve immediately. If the soup will go right into the fridge or freezer, no need to put it back into the pan after blending, just season to taste, add the cream, and package it. Nutrition (for whole recipe, you can serve in whatever size portion you want): Calories: 605 Fat(g): 55 Carb(g): 28 Fiber(g): 10 Protein(g): 12 Keywords: Soup, Vegetarian, Easy, Vegetables, Blender, Healthy Choices ( RG1141 )

Corny Bread Serves 6 as Side. I made this corn bread when I was in the middle of making the "Bacon Chipotle Cornbread" from here on RecipeGullet and discovered that I was out of cornmeal. Eeek! However, it turned out great and fantastically moist, like savory corn cake. 1 T butter, salted 1 10oz can of corn 5 chipotle peppers (canned) 1 egg 3 strips bacon, cooked 1 c flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1-1/4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/2 c buttermilk Preheat an 8" iron skillet in the oven at 350 degrees. Add the butter to the skillet and leave it in the oven. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Take the can of corn & its juice and blitz it in the blender with the buttermilk and egg. Add this to the dry ingredients and just barely combine. Then add the bacon and chipotle, and pour the whole thing into the skillet on top of the nicely browned butter. Check after 20 minutes, but mine took about 25. It will be extremely moist and cake-like, nothing like the corn bread you've made from those blue Jiffy boxes. The salted butter seems to produce a nice crispy outer texture to the bread, so I specify salted butter rather than unsalted. You will be transformed into a corn bread eating machine. Keywords: Side, Vegetables, Easy, Pork, Hot and Spicy, Tex-Mex ( RG1140 )

Corny Bread Serves 6 as Side. I made this corn bread when I was in the middle of making the "Bacon Chipotle Cornbread" from here on RecipeGullet and discovered that I was out of cornmeal. Eeek! However, it turned out great and fantastically moist, like savory corn cake. 1 T butter, salted 1 10oz can of corn 5 chipotle peppers (canned) 1 egg 3 strips bacon, cooked 1 c flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1-1/4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/2 c buttermilk Preheat an 8" iron skillet in the oven at 350 degrees. Add the butter to the skillet and leave it in the oven. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Take the can of corn & its juice and blitz it in the blender with the buttermilk and egg. Add this to the dry ingredients and just barely combine. Then add the bacon and chipotle, and pour the whole thing into the skillet on top of the nicely browned butter. Check after 20 minutes, but mine took about 25. It will be extremely moist and cake-like, nothing like the corn bread you've made from those blue Jiffy boxes. The salted butter seems to produce a nice crispy outer texture to the bread, so I specify salted butter rather than unsalted. You will be transformed into a corn bread eating machine. Keywords: Side, Vegetables, Easy, Pork, Hot and Spicy, Tex-Mex ( RG1140 )