Majra

Another vote for cheese straws/cheese sticks. I used to frequent a bakery that made them as long as a baguette, but very narrow, and twisty, chock full with cheese . My kids loved those things, mostly because of the long dramatic shape. And I loved them, because I could take my kids for a bakery treat without having to give them sugar!

Thanks for the advice Patrick. The cakes popped right out of the pans once I cut around the edges and peeled away the overflow bits. I wrapped and froze the layers. Unfortunately, due to the size of my pans, the finished cake won't be as tall and gorgeous as I had hoped, unless I make 2 more layers and build up with all of them. Alternatively, my husband has been suggesting all night that I start over, and let him have the first batch. Isn't it just so kind of him to offer to put my cake out of its misery.

I think I figured out the cause of the disaster. My pans are 9" in diameter, but only 1.5" deep. Live and learn. These cakes weren't just spilling over, they were *pouring* over the sides of the pans. I did persist in finishing the baking, and now am left wondering if the cakes are salvageable. The edges are crunchy where they were spilling, and then there's the matter of them having cooked in a cloud of smoke. Is there any hope at all for me to grasp???

This cake is in the oven, making a huge MESS. I used 2 nine-inch pans, and made a late-binding bad decision to *not* bake a couple of cupcakes with the last bit of batter. I have tasted this cake and loved it, but this is my first time baking it. I hope the results are worth the houseful of smoke I've got on my hands, not to mention the night of oven cleaning ahead.

Sandwiches dressed with arugula, cucumbers, and dijon mustard. Those three toppings are so much more than the sum of their parts, at least these days. My whole family has been eating so much cantaloupe lately. We've had so many really truly delicious ones. When I crack open a new one, the kids ask if it's a "magic melon," meaning one that is so sweet that it tastes like bubblegum. We've also been on a hard-boiled egg kick for a long while.

When my son was 4, I volunteered at his preschool. One day they had a simple bread baking activity: each child was given a portion of Bridgford dough to play with for a while, then rise, bake, and eat for snack. As the teacher was giving the children their pieces of dough, she lovingly explained "that you can make your bread into anything at all! You can make a snake, or a snail, or any shape that you want!" My son shouted, "I'm making mine into focaccia!" Another favorite: When he was about 5, and I offered him some vegetables at dinnertime, he replied, "No thank you, that's much too green for me."

After the pringles and pound cake, I had a bowl of cereal. Then another bowl of cereal. Then some ham and cheese melted in a pita pocket. The soft, warm, saltiness of the sandwich hit the spot, but I AM STILL STARVING. I could eat the entire world right now.

Pringles and pound cake.

Another vote for rye bread, melted with swiss or gruyere. Just the thought has me salivating... If you put apples in your tuna salad, I'd make the sandwich with sharp cheddar on wheat bread or raisin bread.

I wouldn't call myself an expert, but my Mexican friends taught me to boil the corn. Using a pastry brush, coat the ears with mayonnaise, then roll in freshly grated cotija cheese. Sprinkle with hot sauce and a squeeze of lime. Devour. Lately I've been mixing the mayonnaise and hot sauce together; gives a more even distribution of hot sauce.

Congratulations on your crop of beets. My favorite borscht recipe is based on this one from epicurious, although I double the cabbage and beets, and add a big handful of chopped fresh dill. My husband and I eat mass quantities of it, sometimes making back-to-back batches. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/5109

Hot Dog Heaven

It's been almost a year and half since I moved away from mine, but I still miss Trader Joe's A LOT. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we had great fresh produce at TJs. Things like bags of nice organic salad mixes for $1.89. And fresh beets that were peeled and chopped! I haven't made borscht since! I also loved the nuts, cheeses, frozen fruits for smoothies, cereals (I'll never see big boxes of Puffins for $2.99 again!), chips, organic raw almond butter, apple butter, artichoke hearts, dairy products, teas, crackers, frozen fish, etc etc etc. Never cared much for the frozen entrees (sodium counts always seemed quite high). My kids (and ok, me too) loved their cornbread mix more than homemade. It is very sweet, the way we northerners like it, and has whole corn kernels in it. Bottom line is that we eat less organic foods since losing access to Trader Joe's. We do have Wholier-Than-Thou Foods here in town, but I also have a budget to keep, and those two things are for the most part, mutually exclusive.

Any opinions on a (Sears) Kenmore stand mixer? My mom is looking to buy her first stand mixer, and saw a KA advertised on sale at Sears. I think the KA motor is approx 325 w. Next to it was a Kenmore model, cheaper price, with approx 600 w motor. She came away empty handed but full of questions. I'd love to pass on any eGullet advice to her.

We went to one in Florida for a holiday meal with relatives. Found it underwhelming and incredibly overpriced. Wouldn't go back. We prefer to make fondue at home. Still, the chain seems to be fairly successful so my opinion may be in the minority.

I love this simple soup. My method is: slightly render a few ounces of diced pancetta in a generous splash of good olive oil. Add a chopped onion, saute gently a few more minutes, add diced celery and carrots, and a LOT of chopped or sliced garlic, sautee and stir until vegetables get a bit soft. Add 4 cups broth plus 4 cups water, and a box of pomi chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for an hour. Add 2 cans of cannellini beans (I like to drain and rinse, you may prefer otherwise), season with s&p, simmer another while. Cook ditalini separately, spoon some of the cooked pasta into bowls, ladle soup over. Top with a sprinkle with grated parmesan reggiano, and a drizzle of olive oil. Like most soups, this one improves with age. Very satisfying!

If you are also interested in low-brow joints, try Taqueria La Granja on 436 (Semoran Blvd) at Aloma in Winter Park. They sell the best $2.99 lunch special-- 1/4 chicken with rice & beans. Dine in and sample all of the salsas and onion salads. They also have a $5 special which includes plantains and a soda, or a $6 special which includes the same but with a half chicken. My family is hooked on this place.

I'm hooked on Mario Batali's basic tomato sauce. It is seasoned with thyme. I used to buy it jarred at Trader Joe's until I moved away; now I make it with Pomi tomatoes (1 box chopped + 1 box strained). The recipe is easily found on the web. Fwiw, the jarred version and my homemade version both taste the same!

I've been in the Orlando area for one year now, and agree that the food scene is quite disappointing. So far the best meal that I've had has been at Blue Bistro, 815 N. Mills Ave, Orlando. Check it out and report back. Chef Jephanie Foster seems really inspired. website is here: http://www.bluebistroandgrill.com/Home_NEW.html

A handful of arugula thrown in with a cesar salad is so crazy good.

Speaking of food snobbery, this thread inspired me as well to buy tater tots. Howevere, my post-inspiration shopping trip happened to be to Whole Foods, so I bought their 365 version. My kids were with me, and it was fun to be the tater tot hero. Anyway...now that I have them here, let's compare ingredient lists. WF brand lists: potatoes, palm oil, salt, apple juice concentrate, citric acid (to retain natural color). They were quite delicious. We served them with beer-boiled-then-grilled bratwurst and a greekish salad.

Carrots and turnips (1:1 ratio) mashed together with butter, s&p. So delicious.

Peanut butter, cream cheese, and iceberg lettuce on light rye.

Peanut butter for beer breath, and we actually thought we were getting away with it. How dense. For smoking-type offenses, cigarette and other, we would spray our hair like crazy with AquaNet hairspray. That stinky stuff probably actually worked at masking the smoke odors.

I agree that the term "flexitarian" is annoying, but it is not difficult to understand the idea that the word is trying to represent. The hysteria over the word, however, really creates a no-win situation for vegetarians--either they are a pain in the ass when they won't eat meat, or they are a pain in the ass when they will. I am decidedly omnivorous, but I spent many years of my young adulthood in a vegetarian state. I had various semi-ethical reasons for eating a meatless diet, but for the most part I kept to myself and tried not to inflict myself upon others. One way that I tried to remain sensitive to others was to occasionally eat meat if it was served to me. If a real meat-and-potatoes cook, like my mom for instance, went out of her way to prepare fish for her vegetarian daugher, I would eat it. Ethically, it just seemed like the right thing to do, even if fish was not part of my regular diet. At times like this, being flexible about my diet was definitely a positive thing, both for my own heart and for the well-meaning cooks who sincerely tried to accomodate me. I bet there are many good reasons why people make the food choices they make. And it's definitely easier to give each other the benefit of the doubt, than it is to chastise. (edited for spellink)