Smithy

Soy sauce? A mild mustard? Grapes or grape juice or another fruit juice, to compare with the mandarin?

I keep checking back for more photos, comments on the celebrations, comparisons of the traditions in Mexico and Ecuador....and we've passed through the dark of the moon and celebrated our ancestors, with no further posts that I can see. Did I miss some announcement?

The reviews look great. Think I might have to get one of these. My wife bought one. It is a PITA to get clean. I won't use it. I've not found it to be at all difficult to clean ... just some hot, soapy water and a good faucet stream, and Bob's your uncle. Well, I've ordered it. I love onions but hate chopping them, so I'm looking forward to getting it. As for cleaning, I'm hopeful I can just stick it in the dishwasher. My parents gave me one as a stocking stuffer one year, and I use it fairly often. Yes, it goes into the dishwasher and comes out clean. I suspect that the dishwasher isn't doing the cutting blades any favors - any more than it would any sharp knife - but that hasn't stopped me. On the other hand, if I'm handwashing other items I'll just handwash it - my experience is the same as Shel's with regard to easy cleaning. The one drawback I've seen is that I have to cut the onions into quarters or eights to get them to fit the grid, and for me to get enough leverage. It's still less knife work, and a fairly even dice, and it controls the pieces and tear-inducing juices.

My mother had a Pur system on her faucet, and we all thought it was fine. The one funky thing about it was that the "filter life" light seemed to be intermittent. As a rule my sister or I just changed it on a regular basis, and everyone was happy. What have been the issues, either from reading or from experience?

Good for you, Vlcatko! Do keep at it, and keep us posted! You may help some of us other impulse-buyers to work our way down through the stock. I had a good start at it late this summer: after my sister and I spent weeks emptying our mother's apartment and throwing away or giving away (as appropriate) food, I came home inspired to do the same at my house. It worked for a while. I had the small chest freezer about half-empty, with the goal of emptying it before the year was out... ... then I went to the local farmer's market and realized I was running out of chances to buy the good locally-grown chickens, since they'd all been slaughtered and were soon to be sold out. There are now 6 large chickens occupying that newly-made space!

I am terribly sorry to hear the news. I thoroughly enjoyed Dave's voice, wit and thoughtful posts on eGullet. His last food blog gave a glimpse of an interesting life, very well-lived, with good family and friends. I know that he'll be keenly missed in our virtual world, and I know that the loss will be even keener for those in his real world. Linda, it was very gracious of you to tell us what happened. Thank you for taking the time to think of us. I take a lot of comfort in knowing that he lived a full life, right up to the end, and died peacefully without pain. Godspeed and comfort to Dave. Condolences and comfort and blessings to Linda, Rupert, and your extended circle of friends and family.

I generally buy my wild rice from one of the local stands (and I'm sorry I'm not in a position to just bundle and ship some to those of you looking!) but I don't know which of the bands harvests it. I do see, however, that some of the listings in rotuts' link provide hand-parched wild rice. I'd select that over the not-parched rice; in my experience it cooks up a bit more quickly and comes out more fluffy.

Sylvia's onto something. I'd add lamb: kebabs, stew, roast. Oregano and mint both go well with that meat.

I assume the photos you provided of making the colada morada were from this year. When do people start drinking this? Is it rather like a Tom and Jerry, or possibly eggnog, in the USA where people start drinking it whenever the holiday spirit moves them? Or is it more of a ritual drink that is consumed only during the festival days? If the latter, how long does this drink keep? You're making it well in advance. Thanks for the information about the naranjilla. (Now my mind is moving along tomatillo lines.) I appreciate greatly your including botanical names for your ingredients along with uses, tastes, and so forth.

Thank you!

More even cooking. Also I perceive a bit quicker.Perhaps because the convection dries the veggies' surface more quickly than in a non-fan oven?

This is lovely stuff. What's the charge for shipping some of those guaguas to Minnesota? I've gone back through your glossary to no avail, and haven't gone to Google with regard to ingredients. (1) Which are the naranjillas? That name tells me they should be orange, or look like oranges somehow. I've struck out. (2) Something there looks a lot like persimmons. Are they? By what name are they known there?

Y'all are making me think I need to check out the garage sales and thrift stores more often!

I love those comments: the oversized pretty but flavorless strawberries have no soul, and if you're using imported blueberries you're cheating your ancestors. Good for Fidelina. That colada looks like quite a drink. I love the color. What's in the plastic wrap in the next photo down? Sorry if you said and I missed it.

I haven't thought about baking stuffed mushrooms for quite a while. Most summers I do a few grilled portabellas. Brush with olive oil, grill gill-side down briefly to start them cooking; remove from grill. Stuff with a mixture of herbs, bread crumbs, maybe some crumbled sausage; sprinkle with grated cheese (usually something fairly dry like parmesan), and grill until mushroom is soft and cheese has melted. It's been a while. I like the sound of the flavor combinations y'all have posted upthread. Hidden back in some cupboard is one of those impulse buys I do from time to time, and then wonder what to do with it: in this case, peeled chestnuts. Mjx, you've given me an idea. Thanks!

Wow. Wow! Maybe I'm going to have to get one of these. Please, keep the stories and photos coming!

What a wonderful idea! Do you do anything extra to the moussaka - for instance, chop it finely, or separate the layers - or do you just spoon it as-is onto the focaccia?

I've never before grasped the idea of what a good bouillabaise could be. Thank you for that insight! I'm struggling with the image of peeling and deveining shrimp one-handed, never mind the implements in question. The mind, she boggles. My best French dining experience was the evening my friends had gone to bed already, exhausted by travel and jet lag. It was our first and only night in Paris. I had traveled more time zones than they, and should have been more tired; on the other hand, they were traveling with their 18-month old son. They had all retired. It was July, and though it was late the sun was still up, and I was single and in Paris. I went for a stroll. Some blocks away I found a sidewalk cafe in the Montmartre district, or arrondisemont, or whatever it's properly called. I chose a table and chair from which I could enjoy the passersby. In short order, a nice-looking waiter came to welcome me. My French was, and still is, quite limited, but I used my best to say, "I'm sorry, my French is very poor." "Oh no," he said with typical Gallic courtesy, "your French is very good!" At that point, what could I do but order coffee? The coffee came, and it was excellent. I sipped, and enjoyed, and marveled as the light faded and the colors drained from the day. I had known, from sitting out in the woods after dusk, that there's an imperceptible transition from the colors of day to the greys of the evening. One moment there's color; the next moment, the light is flat and the color has gone. I had seen it in the woods, but never in a city. I will always remember Paris.

Thank you for that glossary. It would be nice to "pin" it to the top of the topic (Heidi?) but barrin that, I'll just remember to keep referring back to it. Guagua = "wahwah" = baby: onomatopoeia, perhaps?

I remember loving it back in my California childhood. Although it never measured up to my mother's fried chicken, it was a good sight better than the Kentucky Fried alternative. This summer I was "treated" to "the best fried chicken in Fresno!" per my cousin. It reminded me a lot of broasted chicken, but I was underwhelmed. A couple of the Duluth grocery delis do a much better job. When Broasted Chicken first hit the stage in our central California town, our family decided that the name came from a combination of 'broil' and 'roast'. Now it seems that linguistics would be the only reason to think so. Edited for spelling, although "good sigh" instead of "good sight" wasn't bad in its own right.

Oh, so would I have. It's a software issue. There's a bit more info on the Moderation discussion topic. Meanwhile, all I can do is laugh, or say "wow", without posting it. Sylvia Lovegren, you've given me my first laugh of the day. So...this is my father's and mother's story, not mine, but it was one of their favorites. World War II had broken out. She, a South Florida girl, he a California country boy, trying to impress her. He took her to some fancy restaurant, nice atmosphere, great reputation, with the prices to show for it. He ordered a steak done medium. It arrived barely warm. The waiter came to check on them. Dad, in an attempt to make a point with humor, said, "you know, if I slapped on bandage on this thing it would moo and walk away." The waiter huffed a bit and took the plate back to the kitchen. It came back as near-charcoal. I doubt he laughed then, but they certainly laughed about it for many years after. Edited to add: the "like" button is back! Yay!

We stopped in Owen Sound at KW Surplus - a store with a huge collection of strange and wonderful items - picked up a few things and tried to add them to the well-packed car. You recall the 'wafer thin mint'?Please explain the "wafer thin mint" to me, because I don't get the reference...although I can probably guess the implication!As a veteran of the "clear out the condo after lots of fun" schtick I can believe those pictures, but I also appreciate what goes into the process. I'm very glad that you're collectively so good at having fun and, er, leaving no traces...except possibly at the waistlines of Kerry's co-workers!

This will be wonderful, I'm sure. I look forward to learning about the ways other cultures honor and incorporate the memories of the people gone ahead. This summer my sister and I participated in a Japanese ceremony honoring the spirits of our departed family members; that ceremony was in August. I'm more attuned to the idea of ceremonies in tune with All Souls' Day, and with All Hallows Eve. It feels like the turn of a new year to me, Panaderia Canadiense, you refer to "the setting of the stone fruits" in connection with this time. To me that would signify the blossom time - as in, spring in the Central Valley of California. What does your phrase mean? Also (another question for PC): what are the coladas to which you refer? Nancy in Mexico: so glad to see you're stepping forward! I look forward to hearing your take on the Mexican aspects. Finally: my "like" button has disappeared, too! Quick...where's the "unlike" button?

Andie, you're always a great resource. Does this sink stopper allow a good seal over an in-drain strainer? I don't have a garbage disposal and I really don't want bits of greenery or rice going down the drain to clog the plumbing when I'm draining the wash water.

I don't have a garbage disposal, but I have been plagued with the stopper problem. My stoppers have drain baskets with stoppers built into them. In theory you turn and drop the stopper into position, or you do...something that isn't clear to me...so that the stopper stays up when desired to allow water to drain out via the basket, or sits tightly in the hole when you want it to be a stopper. So far it seems to work the opposite way: when I want the sink to hold water I made 2 or 3 or 5 attempts, then finally get the stopper to hold. That's fine until it's time to drain the water; then I have to stand and hold the stopper up or else let the water bypass the drain basket. Very frustrating. I have one strainer/stopper that came with my new sink, and one off-the-shelf model. Can't say one works better than the other. I hadn't thought of Grainger either. I'll go see if they have something that would expand the stopper properly but has a built-in strainer basket. Anyone else?