Mudpuppie

I know they're foraged in Northern California and the NW. Never heard of them being available commercially, but as they can be dried I don't know why you couldn't find them. Recipes: http://www.mushroomsbymillard.net/cake.htm http://www.fungi-zette.com/mush10.htm#recipe http://www.mssf.org/recipes/FrancesWilson_2001_FF.pdf http://www.mycowest.org/books/c-98duff.htm Additional info and pics: http://www.yougrowgirl.com/journals/bonnie/000145.php http://www.rrich.com/mslactfragil.html

I think there are generally three kinds of fast food employees. The first one is the 16-year-old who's working at his/her first job. (This was me, quite a few years ago.) This person probably has not been trained well, or at all, and will require some patience and understanding. Fast food is shitty work, especially if you're a teenager and they're not nice to you. Two, surly people. They don't want to be there, but probably have to be. You can't really blame them for being pissy because who wouldn't rather work somewhere else? I think their pissiness is excusable to some degree, but not wholly. Use judgment. And finally, all the others. Yeah, you should always get good customer service, but cut them some slack. You'd probably hate your job too if you worked at one of those places.

Hmm. How do you juice an onion?

Re: can it be made with veg stock? It is if you're a vegetarian! Re: leftovers. I strain my leftovers (save the onions) and reduce the soup until it's saucy. Or I use it like stock when I'm making a stew or something. Voila -- instant sauce/stock. (edited for leftovers)

See, I'm sort of scared of my oven. It's at least 50 years old and has creepy smells. I wrap to protect the potato. Maybe next time I'll try it without, though. Too late this time. I'm having a steamed potato for dinner! Yum!

In my book, Pt. Reyes Blue can't be beat.

Foil, no foil? Pierce, no pierce? Oil, no oil? Seasonings, no seasonings? High heat/fast cooking, long/slow? Russet/other? Loaded with toppings, or buttered and S & P'd? I still haven't really found my perfect baked potato, but I'm avidly researching. Right now I'm working on a foil, no-oil, unseasoned, 375, 1-hour job. Will scrape it out, mix it all up with butter, blue cheese, spring onion chives and chopped pecans. Maybe some sour cream. You?

Yea me! I at least learned to do that part. I just never knew what to call it.

I never knew about whipping the yogurt. Thanks so much for all the suggestions. (Um, I'm sorry to ask, but what's a tarka?)

Wine is limited, but not food. Got it! Thanks, intrepid reporter.

And at Sattui, the grounds are only for paying customers. You have to be eating or drinking stuff you bought there -- I think they don't allow outside food, but could be remembering incorrectly. I don't believe that is correct. They advertise the fact that they are a picnic ground and it is obvious that many people dining there have their own baskets of goodies that weren't purchased inside. Maybe you have to buy their wine or something. I don't remember exactly, I just know there are signs all over the place and that I couldn't eat the lunch I'd brought. Too bad I can't remember what those signs said. Maybe I felt guilty (for bringing a lunch) for nothing!

And at Sattui, the grounds are only for paying customers. You have to be eating or drinking stuff you bought there -- I think they don't allow outside food, but could be remembering incorrectly.

Tempering it like you would an egg yolk? I've tried it, but it didn't work for me. I am obviously doing something waaaay wrong. Acid wouldn't curdle yogurt, would it? (Say, from tomatoes?) I mean, yogurt itself is pretty acidic.

perhaps we should begin by asking what it is you are doing now that invariably leads to curdling? what steps are you following? I use full-fat yogurt. I've taken to removing the sauce from the heat and slowly stirring in the yogurt. It still separates. I've resolved to let the sacue(s) cool off further, because the heat is the only think I can think of that makes the yogurt curdle. Maybe I'm missing a critical piece, though.

This is a particular weakness of mine. Can you give some tips for how to avoid it? Much appreciated! as our lord alton brown has said, dairy products must always be incorporated into sauces in the presence of fat. Need more specific advice. How do I manage "in the presence of fat"? Full fat yogurt? Drain the full-fat yogurt? Please explain.

Oh man, the Elkhorn Slough Safari is one of the best things I've ever done. Not food-related, but highly recommended.

This is a particular weakness of mine. Can you give some tips for how to avoid it? Much appreciated!

Thanks for teaching me a new word, MSG.

This place is good, but there's a better Mexican place in PG, IMHO -- Zocalo. For breakfast, First Awakenings can't be beat. It's right on the Monterey/PG border in, unfortunately, the outlet mall. Don't let that dissuade you, though. They make a killer breakfast and have outdoor seating.

Potatoes

Okay, so I got into this discussion at work about weird food -- food you're sort of ashamed to admit to eating, but that's comforting somehow. We got into sandwiches. Mostly, we talked about making sandwiches out of things that aren't really supposed to be sandwiched. It turned out to be mostly universal among the small sample represented (although one among us steadfastly maintained that random sandwiching is strictly a teenage boy thing). We were all slightly embarrassed. My favorite oh-so-wrong sandwich involves cold pasta and whole wheat bread. It's best consumed at around 11:30 p.m. I've also indulged in baked bean sandwiches, as well as potato salad sandwiches. And I have, on occasion, stuck leftover salad on a slice of bread. I know I'm not alone, unless the folks at work were just humoring me. Any other weird and marginally wrong sandwiches out there? Don't be ashamed.

Anything called "stinky salad" probably deserves january tomatoes.

One of the great virtues of living in CA is that around this time of year, the price of artichokes plummets. I've gotten them 4/$1. I've also gotten to the point where they're not difficult at all to prepare. Lop off the top third, rub with lemon, break off the bottom-most leaves, slice in half lengthwise, rub with lemon, and steam. The eating is, of course, laborious. But I prefer to think of it as luxurious.

Hey, we're in agreeance. I just didn't want to be too unilateral.

Hmm. Well, for clarification I visited the Potted Meat Museum. I found no such clarification, just pictures of labels. I continued googling, and then got irreversibly nauseous. I never found the answer. You may be right, hannah. Maybe vienna sausages are simply extruded potted meat? It will take a stronger stomach than mine to get to the bottom of this.