lovebenton0

The diet wars have been going on for many years -- Atkins is simply the current campaign winner. If we followed all the paranoid suggestions by the diet industry we would be living mostly on water -- bottled water. I suppose herb-flavored bottled water. No carbs, no fat, no cholesterol, no sugar, no salt, no gluten, no dairy, no fish or seafood . . . . The list goes on and on. And the diet industry and the medical community constantly change their minds over the current "dangerous" foods. (Remember the OMG! eggs and cholesterol, then the "incredible edible egg?" ) No wonder so many people in the US are confused and guilt-ridden over what they do eat, or want to eat. Conversely, as others have mentioned, those same guilt-ridden people will shovel down enough food at one meal to feed a small family then feel bad about it. I'm certainly not saying that everyone should abandon health considerations as there are valid concerns based on an individual's health -- I definitely have dietary restrictions of my own. However, once I decide to indulge in a certain food I have no guilt over it. I eat for pleasure as well as fuel. But what anywhere says we have to abandon the pleasure because food is obviously fuel? The paranoia mongers pushing their own diet industry theories/products.

Carolyn, my condolences at the loss of your mother. Your tribute to her is very moving and visual. I can see you and your dad now; all the sisters in the kitchen building some love for dad to be able to hold onto. No matter how well we think we are prepared for the passing of a loved one, somehow we are never prepared for the moment. My grandmother was nearly 100 years old and I knew that the time was close for her. I thought I had accepted all of that. But the moment I learned of her passing I was still unable to process the feelings overwhelming me. I too treasure the memories and the gifts she gave to me: Working in her terraced vegetable garden behind the house, her pleasure and skill in the kitchen, her biscuit cutter and griddle . . . her joy in teaching me the little things she had spent a lifetime learning. Thank you for vividly sharing with us. Congratulations on your recent successes. I'm sure that your mother was already very proud of you. Although it is never the same, she will always be there for you, Carolyn.

All right, Linda! Populate the balcony. For some basics -- basil (one plant per gallon pot) can be fairly easily maintained. I often pot one specialty basil -- like Genovese -- that I keep on the back deck as opposed to putting it in with the other basil varieties. Have had good success with that. And yes, the rosemary will be forgiving. If you're careful not to over-water them both oregano and thyme will do well potted. Cilantro is a candidate too. Haven't been personally lucky with potted tarragon -- does better in the earth. I mix a rich potting soil -- or compost, potting soil and sandy loam 1:3:1 with a good handful of perlite for my herbs. I also wet-mulch the soil in pots after plants have had a day or two to settle in. Chives are also good in pots -- no problem there as they will grow for years, and you can split and transplant them later into other pots -- and into beds when you're dream garden materializes.

Yes! Next visit to Dallas DoughMonkey is a must! Salivating now, the pastries are gorgeous.

BBQ? Tex-Mex? Mexican? Vegetarian? Influx of other ethnic/regional restaurants? What trends have you observed? How do you think our restaurant history reflects how we’ve evolved in our dining out preferences? Or not?

Fifi, we must have been posting at the same time.

Check out this link for some good info and pics of the wild plum. I'm thinking that it would be a great pairing with my wild persimmons. This info is from Iowa particularly, but the wild plum appears to grow nearly all over the US, Canada, and much of Europe. Texas has a good range of the local variety, Prunus texana. This wild plum winemaking site has more cool info and interesting recipes. edited to correct a mistake: no pics on winemaking site, I meant recipes. This post tooth extraction pain is affecting my brain.

And perhaps a course in good business practices.

Definitely looks like the banana pepper to me. We grow both the hot and sweet varieties every year. And the hots can absolutely be fiery enough to make a hot salsa, or damage tender mucous membranes and tissues. Just a couple of notes -- if you've never had any problem with oil heat from a jalapeno perhaps they haven't been very hot. Wide range of heat in those also. And Serranos register higher on the heat scale than jalapenos.

Phaelon, the coffee house look warm and rich with the marble counters, terazzo floors and wood furniture. Makes me wish I had a reason to visit Syracuse again -- soon. Keep us posted on the availability of coffee.

Jess, the Ichiban can be picked at baby size (about 3-4 inches long), or on up to several inches long for full maturity. You want to pick them while they are still glossy. But don't despair if you catch them just as they are losing their gloss; still very good, you just do not want want them to go dull, as they pith out. If the weather holds you too should have Ichis through mid-December.

I know that in central TX it's a mixed bag -- portion control packs --some real butter, some mixed in with the other stuff, or just the margarine. We grew up with the other stuff -- it was all called "butter" -- go figure that? But Butter was called "real butter" and I hate to admit the same habit myself. When I buy real butter it's a treat -- usually a holiday or special dinner event. And i make bread, biscuits, rolls, cornbread, etc., all the time. It is a health issue -- can't add the cholesterol and the fat on a regular basis. I buy non-transfat stuff for me, and the real butter is a treat. Of course I'd rather eat the real thing. But as far as acceptance goes, just look at the grocery store and see all the different brands of butter-like margarine available compared to the few brands of real butter. I think people accept it in the restaurants because so many eat it at home.

Hey, Rachel, I'd eat off that plate anyday. Roast chicken is a favorite for us. Obviously not for this time, but perhaps another time -- After prepping with s&p I rub my chicken with some EVOO. A little all over and a bit more under the skin (remember EVOO is good fat -- which is essential for me), then often tuck a chunk of onion, a few cloves of garlic and a sprig of rosemary (or lemon or regular thyme, or lemon or sweet basil) in the cavity. The aroma of the herbs cooking in the chicken flavor the bird delicaterly and the EVOO keeps it moist. You can used your dried herbs if you have some left from the garden. I dry a lot each season and store in ziplock baggies.

I am also a stay-at-home, but with the additional difficulty of not being able to drive. Frequently it is my mr who ends up doing the shopping (sometimes by necessity for me, but often to my disappointment -- as I would just love to get out!). Yes, most of my pleasure trips are to the grocery. TG I'm such a foodie! This has also cut my ability to get to specialty markets that are many miles out of the way, and nowhere near regular routes for the mr. So I have a running list of basics -- produce, dairy, bread/tortillas, cooking/baking aisle ingredients, extras like crackers and condiments (that empty box up in the pantry will get me nearly every time, as well as that -- why did you keep the mayo/mustard jar when it was empty?!!!), meats (what's good or what's on sale), juices. Then I try to make a specific short list off of that for mr to shop. I only need a few notes on specific ingredients for meals if I'm able to prompt a ride to the store for myself. I used to stop at the store (directly on my path home from work) whenever, and shop for produce, and special items, etc., on an as need/want basis. Now I have to think of what I want to do over the coming week or two -- with quickie stops by mr for milk etc., -- usually some kind of coffee creamer for me -- about once a week. Not driving has cramped my style.

While a typical Mexican chorizo will be quite oily it is not dense but a tube-packed (gut) sausage easily crumbled. I think you had another of the various Spanish chorizos. I likes 'em all!

This has been such a great blog! I can't drink alcohol either, due to seizure and vestibular problems, but love to cook with it! It is very forgiving -- I don't cook with the best stuff -- unless there's just a bit leftover. Now that makes a good leftover! The soup was luscious looking. And sorry, I said Jason up there in the germ post when I meant Daniel. He's a cutie!

Yeah, we like to eek all the ergs out of the fire we can. Bo-dacious butts!

Does anyone remember Jamail's (Jamal's?) Restaurant? Very nice place, set on a woodsy lot. It's been so long ago -- 31 years since I was there -- that I don't even remember what we ate! But it was one of the places to go at the time for a upper-cut evening out.

OK. I know this is OT, but I can't resist saying good on you for the dog transport, Rachel. (They can be stinky coming out of a kennel. Yuck! But Febreeze really works. ) Also -- is Jason talking about something he heard at school maybe? Germ = German? You know how kids can "hear" things sometimes and relate them to something else. It will be interesting to see how the andouille goes in your soup recipe, as it is really not that close to the dried Spanish chorizo. So it's an experiment. That's how all recipes start anyway! Alternative would be to see if you could find a recipe to use the andouille with current ingredients on hand.

I'm not a big breakfaster either but love it when I have it. This morning I was starving. Two sm'eggs (what I call that real egg stuff in the cartons), scrambled with red onion, a bit of leftover braised pork steak and potato. Stuffed in flour tortilla quarters and topped with salsa verde. Coffee. Mango/lime juice.

Thank you, andiesenji! I've been looking for one of these for a very long time! It looks good, but they are running low . . . I hope it's still around when they take my order.

Follow those instincts! You're doing great. For ingredients like s&p it is seldom essential to the recipe to go with what was written. In baking that would be a different concern, as in salt or sugar for activation. So let your taste bugs be your guide. As I have strict sodium restrictions I seldom add salt during cooking, waiting until later in the process, going by taste, in order to keep from building up too many layers of salt in the dish. I thought the pork pic was very nice. You could stretch that sauce with some stock to dilute the salt content if you kept it. In our house leftovers are makeovers and I like to create something different for the second time around anyway. That sauce might make a good base for some soup.

I add equal liquid to the flour also for the sponge -- forgot to add that in post. It appears I can use far less of my starter than I have been, according to your formula. Although perhaps not as little as yours, as I did not use a starter pack to build it. I need to go back to look at your course. Which has been helpful, adding to my sourdough experience from previous . . . mumble mumble . . . many years. I like baking from cold also after overnight retard in fridge. But, I do have two questions, jackal. How do you maintain the 85 degrees for the sponge? How do you prep the cloth for banneton so the dough does not stick to it, but "turn out" smoothly?

I keep my starter in the fridge. When I want to bake I remove about 1.5 to 2 cups starter, add one cup flour, cover, and let work to form sponge for several hours in a warm cupboard under the oven. Six to eight hours is good. Then proceed. I add flour and liquid 1:1 (milk or water -- depending on how you feed) to the remaining starter, allow it to ferment, stir down, and return to fridge for the storage. Remember not to put anything in your starter to feed it you didn't build it with it. In other words, fresh dough to starter is fine, but not with any additions such as sugar, oil, egg, etc., or you'll kill it. I also keep a bag of dough hunks from one baking to the next to add to fresh dough. Opening the bag can give you quite a whiff but the rewards in sour flavoring are worth the nose wince.

In addition to my own recipes I also keep a doc file on "recipes from" -- recipes I have been given by friends and family, or found around. When I do the (inevitable) variations I add those also.