Susan G

Hot cross buns (consumed, not made); coffee, antibiotics. Happy Easter!

Lime relish medium hot (over a bowl of palak paneer).

Thanks culinary bear! I'm going to try this one on Sunday, with *lamb* drippings!

Thanks for the thought, Steven, but I don't need a free copy. I'm happy to *buy* your book and support the efforts of an eGullet writer! Yay to you! Congratulations! Edited for spelling and punctuation problems

Tonight: Indian-style chicken (heavy on the cardamom) in a tomato-based sauce over basmati rice with peas. Yogurt with cucumbers and black pepper. Last night: Keilbasa, and sauerkraut with caraway seeds and garlic slivers. Spinach salad with blue cheese and walnuts. Night Before Last: Mother-in-law's spinach lasagne. I made a cream of mushroom soup, heavy on the sherry.

Not only would I begin eating dinner at agreed-upon restaurant, I would have staff remove the extra seats and table settings! "Oh! I thought you weren't coming, you were so late!" Shame the shameless. I've walked this talk........two years ago, I was to meet my fiance and his parents at a restaurant in a city midway between our houses. My fiance was chronically late, and I had earlier told him in our dating life I would wait 20 minutes for him, no more. I show up at the restaurant early. Wait twenty minutes past the reservation. Leave. I was clear that after 20 minutes of fuming, and hunger pangs (*delicious* food smells from the kitchen!), and a dropping blood sugar, I was doing them a favor by leaving: My ability to be sociable with THESE INCONSIDERATE ASSHOLES had quite left me. We're family now, anyway. My best to you in dealing with your family.

I saw it used alot on Beijing noodle soups: la mein tang. hated it then. Like it now. I think my tastebuds are growing dimmer.

......and then there's the, "I know next to nothing about wine palates, and I'm reading to catch up" factor.

Butter. Bacon. Freshly-grated nutmeg.

Just got back from two weeks of vacation in Chile and Argentina, and I saw something truly shocking. While the Mendoza region of Argentina is promoting itself as the future Napa Valley of Argentina, and while its current exports are listed as two billion dollars annually, the land itself is not under good stewardship. Horizon to horizon of beautiful plants, good friable soil, and nearby rivers from the Andes snowpack. But upwind of the vineyards? Not one, but *two* coal-burning production plants. Smog all over the valley. Carbon sulfides up the wazoo. The only pollution I saw in the countryside. It permanently put me off Mendozan wine. Has anyone else seen vineyards compromised by industry? How much does it affect your judgement of the quality of the wine?

Havin' a bad day, Jason? Sounds like you've got a repeat offender in your household! Leaving me half a bagel doesn't upset nearly as much as taking the last one without telling me, or purloining the last of the yummy leftovers in the fridge.

My cheap favorites are the International Cowgirl Hall of Fame (as much for the ambiance as for the food); the Zia Diner, and Pranzo's. Incidently, this topic has been covered a few times in the past year; you might want to check the archives. Happy travelling!

I had to *leave* marinated rib eye steaks, a hot grill, garlic mashed potatos, steamed broccoli - because my work suddenly called me to a CPR in progress 25 minutes away - and none of my best efforts changed the outcome. I cooked, but didn't eat. My salad is wilting in the fridge, waiting for tomorrows lunch. How pathetic is this?

Yup, I had the same thoughts about the sweetness level while I tried my first Chantico a few days ago...........cut the sugar in half, and you've got something. Fer cryin' out loud, though, why did they have to go and name it something so effete? Just *love* having barristas correct my pronounciation of a beverage that's not European!

You're a foodie if you have a mandoline, a zester, a small blowtorch, and more than 20 cookbooks. You use these things, but not because you're paid to do so. You own more than nine different vinegars - right now. You mark the seasons by the first sighting of: California strawberries, New Zealand lamb, local peaches, cranberries. Conversely: shad roe, salmon, ama ebi.......

Ooh, ejebud, that looks gorgeous! How did it taste? Best friend and I were doing comfort food: Gruyere-based fondue with sourdough bread, steamed broccoli with butter; sliced cantalope with blueberries; vanilla ice cream with frangelico and crushed amaretti biscuits.

I've had fish killed and cleaned on the sidewalks of China and didn't bat an eye..........but put a piece of fish on the scales where god-knows-how-many-other pieces have been, and god knows how long since they've disinfected it? Yup, I'd have walked out too. I think in this case, even when you *know* that you would be cooking it long enough and hot enough to kill pathogens, this is a case of protective, instinctual nausea. With some things, our guts speak to us to prevent us from getting into trouble. Just like morning sickness is meant to to keep the maternal body free of toxins that might harm the fetus, revulsion at food practices also protects us. Me, I won't eat a runny egg if I don't know the farm it came from!

Lemon pound cake with confectioners sugar icing. Angle food cakes. Freezer cakes. Bundt cakes. (I'm noticing a trend here!) Stuffed peppers, stuffed cabbage, oysters Rockefeller. Beef stroganoff. I'm saying these foods are out of style, just that perhaps they've slipped below the collective radar. And I miss them.

Thanks Glossyp for the "Exceptional Rice Pudding" recipe! I'll try it tomorrow! (And I'm making the rice now!)

Slightly warm (I *hate* hot raisins!) with cinnamon and grated nutmeg. What I especially love, and have never been able to find a recipe for, is the kind of rice pudding which is creamy - the kind delicatessens sell. Can someone help me with this?

Baby bok choy I'd leave whole and not cut.........the adult stuff I'd cut crosswise into three or more sections. I've always either parboiled, stir-fried or steamed.........and occasionally I'll put the chopped leaves into chicken soup with a few Chinese dumplings. And then there's finely chopping them for spring roll/potsticker filling.

My dinners occasionaly have elements from scratch (say: hot and sour soup, sweet and hot pickles, tapioca pudding), combined with freezer bits: say, pork potstickers. It doesn't make me crazy not to have *everything* done myself. Outsource to reliable businesses, I say! Whole Foods and Albertsons carry a brand of frozen Asian dinners called "Ethnic Gourmet" that hits it out of the park.........cheap, ($3.60 each), reasonably sized, vegetarian, low fat, low sodium.......and rockin' flavors. Combine their palak paneer with a little lime pickle from the condiment rack and call yourself happy.........

..........De gustibus non disputandem.

Remember, as you are voting "no" you are only showing how ignorant you really are. Pretty much you are showing that you are completely unadventurous and have no working taste buds in your mouth. ←

Couldn't have said it better myself. (Transplanted Yankee).