Susan G

Raw chocolate chip cookie dough. I say the risk of salmonella is worth it!

I like to bring a baked spiral ham: It's easy, appropriate for large numbers of people, (depending upon religion), and can be eaten warm or cold.

Heh heh. Spending long days, in the South, in the middle of summer, in the kitchen. No reward but the sheer pleasure of cooking. You're obsessed. Congratulations on your vacation-of-my-dreams!

Yay, Marlene! So how does it feel, learning a new kitchen technique? ("Grow your own food").

Two days ago, on first reading this topic heading, I thought, "I don't do that" and read elsewhere. I found myself adding sherry, chives, extra cream and grated nutmeg to my mushroom soup. My scrambled eggs got hit with *three* kinds of hot sauce. My dinner salad had pecans, goat cheese, five kinds of veggies, and dressing I made myself. .........and the I realized I use a tablespoon or so of some sort of alcohol in most of my desserts. And I have five finds of nuts in my freezer. Nine types of herbs growing in my kitchen garden. Three kinds of butter in the fridge. I guess *all* my lillies are guilded!

Leftover cherry clafouti (Julia Child's recipe, the one with kirsh), covered with a little half-and-half. Spiced tea. Watched the hummingbirds come to my feeders, and the cats playing in the grass, and considered myself in heaven.

My best wishes to you and to your wife for a full and quick recovery. I'm hoping insurance covers this, as it's a sequellae of received treatment? Speaking of long-term side effects of this surgery, how is the clotting factor in her blood? Vitamin K, essential in the cascade when a blood clot is needed (after a fall, say, with bruising), is made by the body only in the large intestine. Doesn't gastric bypass remove much of the large intestine? What comfort food are you making yourself?

Fannie Farmer has good, basic reipes for both. I doctor my mushroom soup with sherry, nutmeg, lots of black pepper, and chives as garnish.

Cherry, blueberry soups.......with a garnish of mint leaves. I'd let it sit four days, maximum. Cream of mushroom, cream of almond, cream of asparagus......with chive garnishes. Good luck keeping cool!

Since I was born, I've been in the long process of dying..........and the diminishment of my quality of life will be enormous if I stop eating peaches, strawberries and grapes. I'm confident I will live longer than my ancestors did - so why be greedy for an X amount of time which may or may not be due to me?

At 12 I started having cravings: This sliced ham, from that delicatessen, with this mustard and bread. I'd bicycle all morning to gather the ingredients (this was how I spent my allowance), and make a sandwich for lunch that made me sigh with happiness. At 16 I began craving the more exotic: Blutwurst sandwiches, kreplach, matzoh ball soup, sushi. (I'm a WASP). Again, it was my own allowance and babysitting monies that paid for these excursions.

I leave large tips because I used to be a waitress. I spent 80-plus hours a week on my feet.........I've never had such a hard job. So much of the environment is out of one's control: Surly chefs, sexually harassing patrons, disengaged waiters, managers who created more chaos than calming it; tables who leave no tip. 25%? I can afford it, and sweetie, you earned it.

Oh, nooo! Andiesenji, I'm so sorry that happened to you! How awful! (It's enough to make one want to defend the garden perimeter with punji sticks, isn't it??) Is there a repair or an addition you can do during this devastation period? Something that will add to the garden - like an earth-level fountain surrounded by stones (the top of my personal wish list). My thinking is that if one returns to the level one had before, imperfections are more obvious, as well as lengthening the grieving for the what-should-have-been but never was. If there is an improvement, then the devastation sets the stage for something new and better. I hope this doesn't sound pollyanna............I am so very sorry your sanctum was violated! How are you doing today?

Not a Friday night or Saturday night. A vegetarian meal (say, baked manicotti) is going to be easiest on everyone who is concerned about mixing meat and dairy, or the bona fides of kosher meat. Buying a new (disposable) aluminum pan for a baking/serving dish would be a nice touch: Something that has *absolutely* never had meat in it. There are kosher wines, but I don't know of any good ones. Can anybody chime in on this one? I hired someone who kept stricly kosher, even during 24 hour shifts away from home.......it was his theory that part of the historical reason for the numerous dietary restrictions was to keep Jews from socializing too much with the gentiles. Nice you're going through all this concern to keep your guests comfortable!

My attitude towards gas station pizza is the same as as that line from The Simpsons. The Hindu convenience store owner (Apu?) is explaining the hotdog display, rotating on small rollers: "They are there for strictly ornamental purposes".

My wax beans and pickling cucumbers and radishes have broken through the soil! I now have rows and rows of seedlings!

I'm thinking this device is marketed towards the parents of latch-key kids, who want their young'uns to be able to cook a snack without burning down the house! (Or maybe it's for college freshmen? For dormitory restrictions?) Food gifts that made me laugh...........hmmm. I'm recently married, but I don't thinkI was given any of those!

I've got a small bottle of Lakshmi rose water - each time I buy it, I tell myself *this* time I'll make marzipan. But no. I end up using the whole thing on mango lassis.......my favorite summertime beverage!

Could your leaves have been horseradish? How icky was that flavor? Want to look for a thick white root? (And a horrible taste - raw - doesn't rule out rhubarb. *Nobody* is posting recipes for raw rhubarb for a darned good reason!) Were the stalks pinkish?

By all means! Stick to the Canada side of the Falls when looking for food options..........not only are the gardens there prettier, but there are more mom-and-pop restaurants in that downtown. As I recall, the northern side of the falls has numerous Asian restaurants: My favorite was a Korean-Japanese place with astounding kimchi. Sadly, the name escapes me.

My best friend and I usually negotiate dinner orders so as not to duplicate; my husband and I order to please ourselves, with an eye towards also sharing. But when my exteded family eats out, everyone's on their own.

My freshly baked bread with butter. Anybody's apple pie. Rare steak with demi-glace and mushrooms.

A cup of miso and a single roll of sushi is my favorite afternoon snack. Protein, starch, and veggie, with hot liquid to fill in the cracks!

Umm, sorry - was that nutella on you or in you?

This past weekend my best friend and I were putting seedlings into the garden we share. After we'd put in four rows of vegetables: Tomatoes, zucchini, eggplants and wax beans, I turned and said, "So you realize we're planting our own ratatouille?" We've also got garlic, dill and pickling cucumbers; nasturiums and pansies for salad garnishes; radishes, lettuces and bok choi for the best chefs salads.........late July onwards will be a very happy time! So what are you planting, and what are you planning to make?