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misstenacity

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  1. misstenacity

    Dinner! 2004

    Soba with soy, scallions, scallops, sesame oil, sesame seeds. :-) (this was the good me, before going on a crunchy snacking binge later in the evening... that was the bad me.)
  2. I have recently added 10 (or so), including (titles from memory): Simple Cuisine (?) - Jean-Georges V Italian Cookery (?) - M Hazan Uncommon Grounds - Mark Pendergrast Chez Panisse Vegetables - Alice Waters Ethiopian Cooking - unknown author (cool book with dual english-ethiopian language sections for both American and Ethiopian "home" cooking) ...and a few more that I can't remember. Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net
  3. I only subscribe to one food mag at the moment: Food & Wine. I have found many recipes in there are doable and tasty; I've used at least a half-dozen for a few catering jobs with big success. They also appeal to me because I am getting a little more into wine as I go along, and I appreciate that they take it for granted that eating and wine belong together. That philosophy makes me reluctant to let my subscription slide, even if the 'articles' are sometimes shallow. Other selling points: the Quick section, as mentioned; the index at the front of the mag of all recipes, which also indicates which are 'quick', 'healthy', 'staff pick', or 'make ahead' (VERY useful for parties or catering); and the Pairing section which introduces you to a food/wine pairing that you might not have discovered before. I would LIKE to read Gastronomica, as it seems to be The Atlantic of food porn. But $10 per quarterly issue.... yikes. I'm reading one of their free online articles right now to see if I can still be wooed. :-) Oh, and I usually buy the "100 Best" Saveur issue when its out. Miss Tenacity Cedar Crest, NM
  4. Tommy's got it. One of the flogs I read a bit mentioned that their idea of having 'made it' was that they could buy red bell peppers when they had the urge at any time without looking at the market price. They had lived so long where all food purchases had to be carefully weighed, and red bells were often $5+ a pound, and therefore unjustifiable. Once they didn't have to worry about that cost, they felt wealthy. I was trying to think of a food item in my own habits that is the same way, and it would probably be cheese (possibly avocados). I don't buy tons of the stuff, but also I've not needed to *gasp* when confronted with that 250g wheel of Epoisses. Yum. Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net
  5. I've been moving along this trajectory as well - used to be heavy sugar, heavy cream(er), even adding truly nasty and yummy things like hot chocolate and General Foods International Coffees to my cuppa. My current place on the spectrum is "add white stuff, but no sweets". So l like "plain" lattes, Americanos with just half and half, and my regular coffee with either milk or half n half. But I don't add just a smidgen - my typical dose of half&half is 1oz in a 10oz mug of coffee. And today I just ruined myself for the really-not-so-bad office coffee, which flows free and plentiful here. Seattle's Best brand, a Bunn coffeemaker, but thankfully directly into vaccum pots, not those glass decanters. So its not bad stuff. But today I finally brought in my Bodum single cup drip maker (Filter Belgique) and made some freshly roasted Kenyan AA. Damn. No more Seattle's Best for this corporate slave.... Andrea Cedar Crest, NM FoodBlog at http://tenacity.net
  6. Thank you for this amazing tutorial. Read it a while back, finally got my Spyderco tri-angle thingy this week and sharpened one of my 3 good kitchen knives last night. I KNOW they need sharpening (its been *gasp* two years since I bought them...), but the difference that a good edge makes still was shocking to me. Going to do the other 2 tonight, and then move on to some fine-edged kitchen work. Hooray! Andrea
  7. I noticed in a F&W a few months ago that Thomas Keller's partner was interviewed and she mentioned Progresso Lentil soup favorably for when the two of them don't want to cook. It actually made me think about purchasing some to try, since what higher compliment could you give to a soup!?.... I wonder if their opinions will be changing soon.... On the industrial-strength carrots - I've noticed when nuking Progresso soups that the carrot pieces explode rather messily while heating. Is this normal for carrots in general? Normally I wouldn't be nuking carrots except when they're in soup.... so just curious. Andrea Cedar Crest, NM http://tenacity.net
  8. Now that Jason has outed we GFIC fans (I actually call the stuff 'crack' because of my seeming inability to stop)..... I will add some more items (things that are 'bad' for various reasons, at least in my mind; and I'm one of those "sugar=bad" people.) BAD BECAUSE OF SUGAR: Crystallized ginger. Whatever amount of this I buy in bulk from Whole Foods at a time is eaten before I get home. Mmmmm, sweet sweet burn. Dates (!) Who woulda thunk that these puppies have a glycemic index to rival white bread? Boba tea. A new discovery. Haagen Daz. When I get my ice cream maker I'll be putting Splenda in there, thank you very much. BAD BECAUSE OF CHEMICALS: Diet Coke / Vanilla Diet Coke. BAD BECAUSE I CAN'T SEEM TO EAT A NORMAL PORTION: Grapes (1-2lbs seems to be usual) Tostitos Hint of Lime chips. Are my weaknesses just..... weak? I hope the GFIC entry helps in the gross-out factor. Andrea Cedar Crest, NM
  9. I love those. Yep. I'd have to say that Jason is on the right track with the "I can't stop eating this thing that I KNOW is horrible for me, because it tastes so damn good!" I used to go through a French Vanilla Cafe tin about every 3 or 4 days, now I've cut back significantly and instead add maple syrup and imitation vanilla flavor to my half-n-half. Works pretty well, and at least half-n-half is real food. Don't even get me started on when CostCo started selling "tins" that were 40oz of the stuff!!!
  10. misstenacity

    Dinner! 2004

    "Moroccan" salad, for dinner 3/18/2004: 4 cups mixed greens (like the bulk kind from Wild Oats, etc) 1 tangelo handful golden & regular raisins 4oz crumbled feta just a couple of kalamata olives, chopped handful of toasted walnuts pinch ground cardamom glug olive oil salt pepper Put everything in a bowl, except the tangelo. Peel & section the tangelo over the bowl, then squeeze the rest of the juice over the salad. Toss, then eat in one gluttonous sitting. Mmmmmm.... Miss Tenacity, in Cedar Crest, NM
  11. On a slightly off-kilter tangent.... (good fats): Has anyone read/digested/thought much about Udo Erasmus? (hope I spelled that right) In particular, I would like to hear from anyone who has done his 1-2 week "test" period - sort of like his own induction phase - where you supplement 2-5 tablespoons of omega3/6-rich oil per day. This is supposed to make your skin look lovely (since some of the fat will be used to promote suppleness, I imagine), your bowels to loosen up, and your sugar cravings to be reduced. However, at $30-50 for a two-week supply of said good oils, it is a slightly daunting task. That and flax oil is no cod liver oil, but it ain't that tasty, either. Comments? Andrea in Cedar Crest, NM
  12. Perhaps it would be interesting (amusing?) if they had 2 levels of translation: English to Japanese and then the translated Japanese to English for the final broadcast. And please, gawd, no William Shatner. Maybe David Hasselhof, then the translate path could be English-German-Japanese-English. Hee! Andrea Cedar Crest, NM
  13. The ultimate kitchen "accessory": a backyard garden full of all manner of veg & fruit, tended to by - definitely not me - a lovely to look at wonderful gardener. Clothing optional, of course, but I won't be picky when they are minding the raspberry patch. Andrea, salivating in Cedar Crest, NM
  14. Ah - I think you may have hit on the issue. I like good writers, but don't have any qualifications to determine if someone is a good restaurant reviewer. All I know is that all of the reviews he did for Albuquerque's Alibi made me salivate and want to rush on over to each and every place to try them out. So, for me, he was a good reviewer. Andrea
  15. The reviewer is Jason Sheehan (already mentioned in this thread), and I love his writing style. He used to write for the Alibi here in ABQ, and I doubted his credentials at one time, too: he mentioned in his bio his "thousands of nights" of accumulated kitchen experience. When I questioned him on that (because of his young-ish age of around 30), he did the math for me: 12-14 hour shifts, 6 or 7 days a week, since the age of 15. He estimated nearly 3900 kitchen days in total. I was humiliated, but to his credit he remains a very friendly correspondent. :-) Miss Tenacity in ABQ
  16. I was traveling on business and went to a medium-high level restaurant to have dinner. I had an entree, wine, and dessert. When I went back to bed a few hours later in the hotel I felt a little "rumbly", but attributed it to pre-client jitters. However, when I woke up 3 hours later vomiting, I attributed it to the meal I had. I went back to sleep and got up the next morning feeling a little shaken but not too bad. I called the restaurant and told them what happened, and they apologized profusely for my symptoms (specifically avoiding taking blame, which was smart, since I had no companions to back up my complaints). They also asked me exactly what I ate, what time I came in, and if I was OK now. I told them I was fine and the food *tasted* good, so I wasn't very angry, just wanted them to be aware of any contamination problems. They offered to comp my meal (a refund, not a gift certificate), and I declined. To this day, I actually don't know why I declined (probably because the memory of being sick was already almost gone), but in any case the restaurant did everything right - they were sympathetic, detail oriented, and wanted to make things right. I would go back there without a second thought. Miss Tenacity
  17. misstenacity

    Dinner! 2004

    Now that I've got the 'gist' of homeade pizza down, last night: One (1) basic, simple, pepperoni pizza. Fired at 525 degrees for 6 minutes, awesome crust. Next time I try 'hawaiian' style. Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net ....in ABQ, NM
  18. Soba, I've been using my "turbo smoothie" after long workouts for several months and I love it. It is more in line with Zone proportions than technically a high protein / low carb beverage, but it tastes pretty good, which is more than I can say for those super-protein products. (Note, I give you my product brand names so the nutrition breakdown is correct) Makes one huge smoothie (about 20-24oz). 1.5 c soy milk (Vanilla Silk) 1 c frozen fruit 1 scoop fortified whey protein (Wild Oats' Show Me The Whey) 1 T flax seed oil with particulates (I use Barlean's brand) Blend! (add more liquid if necessary to render the fruit) Nutrition: 440 calories, (16/30-7-2/28g fat/sugar-carb-fiber/protein), 35% fat, 38% carb, 27% pro. RDA - Vit D, 45%; B12, 75%; Ribo, 45%; Calcium, 55%. All others less than 25%. The good stuff: Omega-3: 6200mg Omega-6: 1800mg Omega-9: 2040mg Aminos: Lots of all of them. I don't have the label in front of me, but it is "fortified" with: free-form L-glutamine, free-form branch chain amino acids (L-leucine, L-valine, L-isoleucine), in addition to the aminos naturally present in the whey protein. It is very yummy and great for recovery when you've trashed your muscles. Miss Tenacity Albuquerque, NM
  19. When I first counted them about a week ago for the purposes of this list: 64. Today: 72. Miss Tenacity ....in Albuquerque
  20. Thank you everyone, and especially bhoward, for recommending Lola. I had the 10 course menu Wednesday night, and it was the best meal that this neophyte has ever had. My first experience with both a tasting menu AND oyster.... and it was all fabulous. I expected that at least one item on the list would be, well, weird. But when the very first course of "Wellfleet oyster with champagne mignonette and horseradish" went down easily and with all the great flavor of salty ocean-ness, I felt much better. After all, everything else on the list was *cooked*. ;-) I did not have the wine pairings - that would have been 5 full glasses of wine in about 2 hours. My tolerance ain't that good. Forget trying to drive - I wouldn't have been able to make it out the front door to the CAB! So, I ordered 2 glasses separately, one of which was on the pairings 'menu' anyway, and one that was not. (What is currently listed on the website is not correct - it has been outdated for at least a week - I hear they change the menu every month or so: http://www.lola4dinner.com/tastingmenu.htm) Here is what I had: *no amuse bouche Wellfleet oyster with champagne mignonette and horseradish - being a virgin, I couldn't quite shoot it. I used the fork. Still, a delightful texture and flavor. Beets with boquerones and cress - I love beets. These were baby white and red. Vegetables in bagna cauda - actually cooked veg! Yay for non al dente. Poached monkfish with savoy cabbage Leek soup with smoked haddock - one of my favorites. the salty haddock played nice with the completely obliterated leeks. Seared terrine of pork trotter and agilot - I finally just put the pieces together on this one. It was perfectly squared off and rectangular - what meat is cut that way? But then I remembered the whole terrine thing, and then later on, the whole trotter thing. Anyway, it was a tiny bit too salty, but despite that incredibly delicious - crispy on the top, and the meat nicely done inside. Onglet and braised short rib with mousserons and watercress - The onglet was rare, the short rib not, and both were tender and flavorful. Grapefruit sorbet - I know its a palate cleanser, but I could have done with more than 3 bites of it. Yum. Three American farmstead cheeses with quince and almonds - no idea what kinds of cheeses they were, but one was soft, one was blue, and one was semisoft. All were excellent. Apricot mousse with a pistachio croquant - very nice as well. *assortment of petit fours, cookies, and fruit jellies - this was brought out before I received the check, not part of the 10 courses. I only mention the lack of the amuse because this is the first time I have been to a restaurant of this stature that I did not receive one. For a tasting menu, is that normal? Bill with wine (not tax & tip) was $70. A great meal for the money. Fantastic. Miss Tenacity ...in Albuquerque
  21. Leftover cold soba noodles (is that redundant?) with soy sauce and slivered almonds. I had run out of sesame seeds, and the almonds at least added the necessary crunch component. Miss Tenacity
  22. FYI, I just visited the z-carb website and they do now have dark chocolate varieties.... www.zcarbbar.com ...I recall some of you were interested in that. Miss Tenacity
  23. Hmm, what happens when the amount he owes for lunch exceeds the $20?(!) Hehe - I first heard the joke during a time frame in my life when paying $20 for *dinner* would have been over the top. I always pictured 4 guys at a corporate deli all having $6.99 soup/sandwich combos. Miss Tenacity http://tenacity.net
  24. The tipping issue reminds me of a gender-stereotype joke: Q: How are a table of men and a table of women different when eating lunch at a restaurant? A: When the men's bill arrives, each of them will toss down a $20 bill and refuse to take change. When the women's bill arrives..... the purses open up, and out come the calculators. [disclaimer.... I have known *some* guys like this, but the women's example fits my female relatives to a T.] *grin* Miss Tenacity
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