Lone Star

My mother has made that cake for every birthday for years, and I have been called upon to make it a time or two myself. The trick is pouring the icing on while the cake is hot. I am sure there are as many versions of the cake as there are chili recipes, but they are all similar. Very rich and moist cake, but to tell you the truth, I cannot eat it anymore. Enough is enough! My great-aunt made the cinnamon version and added some coffee. She called it "Nameless Cake".

Dehydrated miced onion is the worst.

I have been craving a Bloody Mary for about a month. Where that craving came from, I don't know! I will get the craving for a fried Spam sandwich about once a year too! The worst craving I get is the one I think is genetically inherent in Texans - a plate of tacky Tex-Mex. Just gotta have it!

Yes! Thank you so much, I am anxious to try the dish.

Monica, could you please tell me about the amount of the freshly ground coriander powder, turmeric and salt you use in your okra dish?

I made a lunch time run to Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy of "No Fear Shakespeare - Julius Caeser" for my son. (wish they would have had them back in my day!) Immediately upon entering the store I was assaulted with hundreds of images of RR. An elaborate display table and tower of all of her cook and tip books. There was even a cartoon RR book for kids. I believe she has reached her saturation point.

Buy some of the three for a dollar avocados and put the 1015's in for a big batch of guacamole.

Monica, I am really enjoying your blog. Who knew about curry leaves? I also loved "Mistress of Spices" by Chitra Banarjee Divakrun. I was led to the book after reading her short-story "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter". I have never read a short-story where the character was so alive. Food is an element in that story too.

Her pan has always got to be "Screaming Hot!" And then there is Yummo and Yum-O!

Paula Deen was here in Houston last week for a book signing and my mother and aunt wanted me to get books signed so I went. It was in the Highland Village Williams Sonoma store (very high-end Houston shopping area). The scene was amazing. It looked like the people lining up to see the pope. Moms with strollers, grandmas with umbrellas for shade, hundreds of people lined up. I said forget about it and left! Over the weekend as I was shopping for household goods at Wally World, I heard her voice over the PA system telling me how to cook an egg in the middle of a piece of bread in a skillet.... . I have to tell you though, everything I have made from her cookbooks is delicious. I really don't know why the above posts make it seem like her cooking is all about fried lard etc... her vegetable beef soup is the best I have ever had. Her baked spaghetti recipe is fabulous. Rachel Ray - I like some of the ideas on her 30 minute show, but like some of you Northerners who complain about "hillbilly" Paula (when actually, she is cannot be a hillbilly as she is from the coastal plains of Georgia) Rachel's voice and honking accent hurts my ears. I cannot watch her in any of the other shows as she makes me tired. Emeril - I like a little Emeril every now and then. He comes on at 7 in my area and I am usually cooking and have him on in the background. Have gotten some great music from seeing bands on his show. Ina - love, love, love her show and her cooking style. I made her spanokopita for a party this weekend and they were delicious. Everyday Italian - can take or leave. How to Boil Water - have never made it through an entire show. My husband asked me "Is that blond lady the Vanna?" Sandra Lee - how did she even get on TV? I hate her worse than Martha Stewart. I like Good Eats if it is something I am interested in.

Beautiful! I admire your talent and patience. I swear, I could almost smell cake! I loved the little chocolate boxes too. What was inside?

Our menu planning usually involves a several email exchange between me and husband along the lines of what sounds good? Do we have that? Whats in the freezer? We both love to cook and most nights cook together. I was taught to cook at my grandmothers knee and she did not even own any measuring spoons. My philosophy is that we spend so much of lives regimented by work, traffic, societal constraints etc... that I am sure as hell not going to place further restrictions by ruling I "HAVE" to prepare a certain way in one of the most enjoyable and relaxing activities in my daily life.

I just think it is sad that there are people like that who truly "don't get" or miss out on the joy, creativity and art of cooking. That does not mean they are bad people, just different and incomprehensible to me. There are just some people like that. For example, I used to work with a man that ate nothing but tuna, out of a can. For every meal. He had no interest in food other than as fuel. I truly feel that if I was told I could never cook again and had to eat every meal in a restaurant, I would feel as if a whole dimension to myself and my life would be gone.

I am a jumper Just get in there and start cooking! If I want to try a new recipe, I will either make a mental note or a written note of the special ingredients and pick it up next time I am grocery shopping. Being the working mother of three busy teenagers, my everday cooking style is "as fast as I can". Hurry, Hot and a Helluva lot Sometimes on the weekends I will take a notion to try something new, and the pace is much more leisurely and planned.

The West Gray Cafe in the shadow of downtown Houston is a good place to get a great meat and three. The daily selections vary, but I would expect to see and respectable meat and three place offer in the rotation: Chicken and dumplings Hamburger steak Smothered chicken (or pork chops) Fried chicken Chicken fried steak This Is It! Soul Food place, also on West Gray is a cafeteria style meat and three place that is also very good.

Soba - mix a jar of grape jelly and a jar of Heinz chili sauce for the secret ingredient and I'll bet it will be just like you remembered. That recipe is one of my mothers old standbys. Worst recent dinner disaster involved my daughter. She is 15, a good student and able to understand the complexities of softball, football and all of the social drama that swirls around teenaged girls, so I felt certain she could follow some simple directions to get dinner started for me . 1. Turn oven on to 325 2. Place ham in pan and cover with foil I get home around six, peek in the oven and see the ham cooking away under the foil. I merrily go about the rest of the meal and sip some wine, mash potatoes etc.. I take the ham out of the oven at dinner time and lift off the foil. There it sat, completely wrapped in its plastic casing, including the webbing with the charred price tag dangling off the end. The smell of hammy melted plastic stayed in my kitchen for days. I just don't know anymore.

takomabaker - our mothers must be cut from the same cloth! I can almost hear the lecture! Just like the English have the reputation for using cups of tea as a panacea, my mother had her favorite - lipstick. I could be lying prostrate in bed after a week of the flu, or perhaps catching my breath after a delivery and she would say "you know, you would feel better if you would put a little lipstick on." I too, reserve the right to go in what I call "hag mode" on a weekend day if I am not going out, but if my mother calls to tell me she is stopping by, I am up at the vanity in no time to spare the disapproving looks or queries into my state of health! I think I have shown remarkable restraint with my teenaged daughter so as not to pass this on to her. I have slips at time, but we agreed the one thing I can nag her about is the state of the eyebrows. I am sorry, but I can't help myself.

My husband and I cook just about every night. With three teenagers and almost nightly drop-ins, we have to! Let's see. Last three meals? Friday night - cracked pepper shrimp with baked potatoes Saturday lunch - Stouffers French bread pizza Saturday night - left overs (kids all bugged out so just hubby and me) Sunday morning - tamales (bought from our Friday tamale lady) topped with chili, cheese and eggs. Sunday night - red beans and rice with basmati rice

Gorgeous kitchen!

You could pack a little mini-cooler (lunch box size) with her favorite sandwiches, just to have on hand. The nurses would probably let you keep them in the fridge in the lounge if you ask them.

Clear liquids (which includes broth, jello and popsicles) are usually permissible in labor, it just depends on each institutions policies. Some inductions, especially V-bacs are not permitted anything but ice chips due to the need to be ready for a possible c-section. Most hospitals will require IV access, so some liquids and electrolytes are provided there depending on the solution. I think the best thing I have ever eaten in my life was the grilled ham and cheese sandwich my husband scurried to the hospital grill to get me after the birth of my first. I was still in the delivery room. It is funny how our bodies, after doing all the work of labor, seem to flip a switch that screams "FEED ME NOW!" I almost ate the paper doilies off the tray. I had to stay for a couple of days after the twins, and the WORST thing was they brought supper at 4 pm! Who eats at 4 O'clock in the afternoons? Of course, I ate every bit of it and was then hungry an hour later. If you have to stay a while, keep some things in your room you enjoy snacking on.

Oh, please, please don't do the castor oil or ingest vast quantities of anything unusual or spicy! Take it from an experienced L&D nurse - even if it you did happen to go into labor after the ingestion (which is not likely, labor is induced by hormones, namely Oxytocin from the posterior pituitary) the results of the ingestion will come back to haunt you one way or the other, if you get my drift, cause it is coming out one way or another. Gentle walking or stretching can't hurt. Time and patience! edited to ask - how does one "fake" ruptured membranes? Like we would not be able to tell???

You could get some inspiration from checking out the corn dog ball and festival: http://www.corndogfestival.com All sorts of corn dog craziness

I second the cornbread salad idea - serve it with something you would ususally have potato salad with. Make sure to use lots of hard boiled eggs! You could could roast a chicken the next day and make up some delicious cornbread dressing too, or just make the dressing and freeze it for another day.

How about: Spicy minced roasted chicken with almonds or Salmon with asparagus