HeatherM

Chunks of fresh pineapple cooked with maple syrup. Mmmmmmmmmm!

Along the lines of PB & banana, PB and sliced apple is really good too, especially on a whole grain bread.

Blue food. Blue candies (I pick out the blue ones - even M&M's / Smarties), blue icing, even blue cheese & blueberries most of the time. I don't know why, but there's something wrong with food that's blue. I think that I might even eat bugs before blue candies, but it would be a fine line.

When I was in university, I lived in residence for two years. The first year roommate I won't even get started on... The roommate I had in second year was a bit flighty, and didn't think anything of leaving dirty dishes all over our *tiny* dorm room until they were science experiments. I quickly got sick of picking up after her, but didn't think of dumping the dishes in her bed (wish I had). I bought a few HUGE plastic cockroaches (very realistic, very big) and carefully placed them under the lips of plates that were around the room. One afternoon after my careful cockroach placement, she was on the phone with daddy (she was daddy's little girl...), when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the bugs, and then another. I don't think I have ever heard someone scream that loud since. She started screeching, cursing like a longshoreman, and jumping up on the furniture, all while on the phone with daddy... Needless to say, I was rolling on my bed laughing myself silly. She got much better about putting her dishes away after that...

Although I haven't tried that particular product, a friend of mine was given some moonshine that had grapes in it last summer. We both tried it, and decided that it was very good tasting, very smooth (kind of like port), and the best part was no hangover the next morning!

Pickle them! Pickled turnip is a common garnish at the middle eastern restaurants that I go to in the Dearborn MI area, and it's very good. The pickle also has beets in it, so the turnip turns a very nice pink colour. Sample Recipe Here

A variety of truffles & cookies. My standard contribution to the family Christmas.

The vodka flavored with bison grass is called Zubrovka. It is very popular in eastern and western Europe. It was illegal for some time in the US, due to a carcinogen in the bison grass. A Russian and a Polish version have been allowed to be imported again in the last couple of years.......sans the grass, but with the same flavor. I used to get the bison grass at a natural foods store in Berkeley before the ban and made my own version using a moderate priced vodka. Remember the Zubrovka scene in Maugham's "The Razor's Edge" (book and movie)?? Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka is available in Ontario through the LCBO. They carry bison grass vodka by two different producers - Bak's and Fabryka Wodek Gdanskich. If I remember correctly, the bottles do have a couple of blades of grass in them, but I've never tried it, so I can't say for sure. Here's what the LCBO website has to say about it... "... absolute purity; the opening nosing presents a delightfully sweet and, well, grassy aroma that's more candy-like than fresh mown lawn-like -- with aeration, the aroma turns into a full-blown bouquet that's delicate yet assertive, nuanced yet perfumey in a floral way ... an intensely aromatic bouquet that's sweet in a floral manner, then the flavour expands in mid-palate to include atypical vodka tastes of cocoa, dark caramel and nougat. Score -- **** (out of 5). (F. Paul Pacult, Spirit Journal, June 1999)"

I tried some making some habanero truffles - split 2 habaneros, and threw them in the cream as I heated it. The truffles didn't have much of flavour (other than the dark chocolate I used) until the heat kicked in at the very end. Unfortunately there was also an aftertaste that I can only describe as green - a very "vegetable" flavour. I fed them to a few friends who are hot food freaks, and only one liked them. Most were just disturbed by the idea of combining chocolate with something hot. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Hi! I've been lurking here for a couple of days, but this is too close to my heart. I love grilled cheese. I stick with the traditionalists (cheddar on white), but I always put mustard on the bread before I assemble the sandwich, and never any ketchup. OK, weird I know, but it's sooooo good. I've also had (years ago) a grilled cheese that was brie & apple on a grain bread (don't remember the specific type). It was very good too.