Smithy

I'm no artist, but I'll play along. To me, black and white with maybe a pop of red sounds like an ice cream parlor, and also a bit clashy with the green and yellow of the BP station. Depending on how the 'pop' is done, what about doing a pop of yellow with that black and white, instead of the red? (I am NOT suggesting red and yellow together; that's been done.) Another idea: if it were to take on the feel of a 50's diner with the decor, would that appeal to the crowd you have in mind? Yet another idea: you need something for people to look at while they're waiting (you hope not too long). What about historic photos of your area, things that would appeal to the type of work done around there?

Kerry, what about with chocolate chips instead of, or in addition to, the pecans? (Can you tell I'm a chocolate junkie? :-))

Are you referring to the bar cookies that are like brownies in shape and texture, but not predominantly chocolate? (American and British terms sometimes differ.) If so, a lot of people over here think they're great. I've always preferred brownies. Edit: Kerry's answer is much better than mine. :-)

Franci, that is gob-smacking gorgeous. There are rare times when I regret moving away from Big City life. Your post and photos bring me such a pang. What did you eat that with? Freshly toasted slices of some toothsome bread? Crackers? Slices of the best vegetables available? Or merely the very best, most ethereal wine? ;-)

Mousses, souffles and brandades brings me to gelatin, the simplest of all. Have you explored the possibilities of making your own, using unflavored gelatin packets? I've made it with a wide variety of fruit juices, as well as broths. Gee...if you were looking for an excuse to get into the Modernist Cuisine movement, this would be your excuse to get a rotovap and whipper, to make your own foams. :-)

What about eggs, softly scrambled (barely set) or devilled and then blended into a paste? Liverwurst and cream cheese, possibly thinned with a compatible broth? Guacamole? You mention needing to restrict the fiber, but I have to think you're missing out on nutrients if you cut out all the vegetables. Some ideas here: those scrambled eggs with cooked spinach and feta cheese, all blended to a paste if need be; cooked, pureed squash done like mashed potatoes; same idea with carrots or other root vegetables? What about vegetable-based pastas in small quantities? I can't answer about those ultra-powerful blenders, but you might also consider a wand blender, which works well chasing stuff around in a pan or else in small containers; some come with their own container.

Pecans and peanuts aren't related, so I don't know that the peanut allergy is a concern. Are you thinking pecans in the wild rice pilaf, or with the brussels sprouts? Either sounds pretty good to me. As for wild rice, it's a low-glycemic-index seed, so it should be fine.

I'd save the gas, and turn it off.

I've made a mint 'sauce' of pulverized mint, garlic, oil, a little salt, maybe some parsley...along the lines of chermoula. It goes very well with lamb, and might do well with other savory meats. If that sounds interesting to you I'll scrounge around and find the proportions.

If not choke cherries, could they be pin cherries? I never can keep them straight.

This is interesting reading, gfron1. Thanks for taking the time to keep us posted. $600 for a single font? Who knew?

Those are beautiful, Matthew. I wish I were closer so I could buy them too!

Glad to have you here!

That all looks tasty and award-worthy, a nice mix of innovation and familiar comfort food. How nice that the weather behaved itself!

Welcome, tcamp. It's nice to know your reading here has inspired you to participate. Maybe you'll post about some of your weekend cooking projects? If you have any questions about how things work on these forums, don't be shy about asking a host.

Is it that you prefer the tartness of most green (cured before ripe) olives? I ask because there are also green ripe olives that to me have a wonderful, buttery flavor that's nothing like the green Spanish-style (what you'd put in a martini) olives or the garlicky hot Tuscan olives we can get in our grocery stores. Similarly, there's a huge difference in flavor between salt-cured Moroccan black olives, kalamata olives and standard black ripe olives. So when you say you prefer green olives, it would help to know whether it's something about the flavor, or you just don't like black. ;-) I've had some very nice purplish olives that, as I recall, had a nice mellow flavor. If I can find a jar I'll tell you their variety; I think Paula Wolfert recommended them for Moroccan tagines.

I have to start looking for duck wings at our grocery stores! Shelby, that food looked glorious.

I can handle deciliters fine, thanks, and the instructions are clear. I do have a couple of questions: Is 'golden syrup' what we would call light corn syrup, or light (sugar) molasses, or something else? By 'cold water' do you mean 'tap water cold' or 'ice cold' or somewhere between? I'm used to using lukewarm water - around 40C - with dried yeast to get it going.

CatPoet, those look lovely also. Is that recipe from childhood something you care to share? I've only used coarse barley flour, in flatbreads, but I like the flavor. I'd like to try something like your bread.

Rotuts, if you can find them I recommend you give Lindsay Naturals a try. Olives, salt, water: that's it in the can. http://www.lindsayolives.com/our-products/naturals/black-ripe-california.html I confess I like the Lindsay Naturals green ripe olives (not to be confused with Spanish-style green olives, which have an entirely different flavor) even better than the black ripe olives, but they're harder to find in the places I frequent. The main thing is that the black olives in the 'Naturals' line don't have as pronounced a metallic taste as the regular black canned olives. Our Duluth stores were carrying them for a while, then dropped all Lindsay products (woe is me) in favor of another brand. Disclosure: I have no financial interest in this product, but our long-standing family friends do. It was thanks to a gift from them that I discovered the Lindsay Naturals line.

How nice to have such a charming waiter that a comment on 2 deep-fried dishes wasn't an issue. Did the same person get to see how much you were taking home for later? I'd have made a point of letting him see. :-D

Very nice photos, Nicolai. Thanks for posting them; it looks like a wonderful place. In Image #2, lower left corner: is that a giant paella? In Image #5, upper right corner: what is that man holding on the skewer?

Hmm. "Less mess" sounds promising, but not as good as 'no mess'. I was thinking this might be a good alternative to the french press for cleaning: with a drip cone I remove the filter paper, grounds and all, and the cleanup is done except for a quick rinse maybe of the cone. Is this (or any) immersion dripper prone to tipping? Please describe the mess factor in more detail. You may save me from a quick shopping trip. ;-)

That's a good analogy, Norm Matthews. So now when arafalov stops reeling from all the advice he's getting ;-) he can tell us whether he just wants the cooking equivalent of a good "point and shoot" camera. It sounds like that may be his objective. When my DH found himself on his own for the first time in his life with no clue how to cook, he took a lot of shortcuts to feed himself well without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. By the time we met he had a number of favorite, easy meals that took minimal kitchen time, for example: - pork roast and potatoes left in the crockpot all day on low - chili cooked in one large pot from burger, several types of canned beans, tomato paste and chili powder - spaghetti made by having a ready stock of jarred pasta sauce and chunks of fried hot Italian sausage (previously cooked, chunked, frozen on a cookie sheet, then bagged and put into the freezer so that the required handful could be pulled out); when the mood hit him he'd start the pot of pasta water, set the entire jar of sauce into a pan of water to simmer, and microwave the sausage balls until warm; the whole operation took the time it made to boil the water and cook the pasta. He also ate a lot of salads, and most of his cooked vegetables were microwaved from packages of the frozen stuff. To this day he isn't a complicated cook, but he's good enough for his purposes, and he's become more interested in the science of cookery because of our time together. Using your analogy, I'm more of a SLR/learn and work and get it right cook; he's more of a point-and-shoot cook. The meals we eat and how much time it takes depends on who's cooking.

Sounds like a great trip, gfron1. Thanks for posting all those photos. The new knives are gorgeous!