munchymom

Put the chickpeas in a bowl of water, and rub them gently with your fingers to take off the skins. The skins float up to the top. It's much quicker than peeling them one at a time.

Mr Holloway, your doctor gave you that?! Mine just keeps telling me that I need to lose twenty-five pounds.

Roast turkey breast, cranberries, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans:

Double-yolkers are the best! I get them at the farmers' market when I can. Omelette with mushrooms and Saint-Andre cheese, accompanied by a screwdriver made with freshly squeezed juice:

I take pictures in restaurants because I have a food blog (mostly for my own entertainment, as I don't think anybody besides my mom reads it). But you'd have to be watching me really closely to see it - small hand-held camera, no flash, and only one or two shots. (I want to eat the food while it's still hot!) Anyone who is watching closely enough to be bothered by me taking pictures ought to be minding his or her own business.

Cheesecake Factory has introduced a menu of lower-calorie dishes which they call "Skinnylicious". I suppose it's a step in the right direction, but it's embarassing to order from it. Like, I'm over 40 and have a certain amount of dignity. Do I really have to say the word "skinnylicious"? It's like ordering the "Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n' Fruity" with a side of self-loathing.

Liuzhou, that Kungpo chicken looks uncannily similar to the kind I can get at my local (southern US) Chinese restaurant. I have a feeling that yours tastes much better though!

Yes, dividend, I use a 10 inch springform! I've tried cake pans and pie pans, and springform works the best.

New Year's Eve dinner: Cauliflower soup with truffle oil Beet salad with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, goat cheese, and pecans Filet mignon with baked potato, braised carrots, and sauteed mushrooms

This is one I've taken years of trial and error to perfect: Chicago-style deep dish pizza with artichoke hearts, mushrooms and black olives.

See, and I gave this gal the benefit of the doubt and a full 20 percent - yet somehow I'm intolerant for not wanting to be preached to?

Passport to Flavortown: A random Guy Fieri Menu Item Generator http://rvcc2.raritanval.edu/~tmcc3535/guy.html# Some examples: Crispy McNuggies Sensibly shot McNuggies with live octopus Guy-Talian Fillet Mignon Lovingly burned fillet mignon with poblano peppers Morgan's McNuggies Rapidly sad McNuggies with scooby snacks (pot brownie) Chipotle Dog-corners Apathetically baked Dog-corners with tofu

It's not a question of being secure. This person was not telling me to "have a blessed day". She was instructing me to be faithful in prayer, which since I have no faith and do not pray is hardly relevant to my situation. Would you be all mellow and hackle-free if a restaurant server had, in early November, scrawled on the top of your check "Vote Obama!" I mean, it's just someone sharing their beliefs, something they think is important, how could that be inappropriate?

So you'd be hunky dory with a restaurant server writing on your check, "There is no God but God and Muhammad is His Prophet"? That wouldn't make you raise an eyebrow? I don't care to be preached to in any venue, and I certainly don't think it's appropriate to write religious messages on a restaurant check. I'm not one of those folks who holds it against people when they wish me a Merry Christmas, but particularly at this time of year being part of a religious minority is... well, kind of tiring.

dcarch - that duck has me drooling, and the "carats" are adorable! Chicken pot pie:

Can't get behind you on that one - I LOVE salted chocolate. Chocolate covered pretzels FTW!

Tenderloin is spectacular for kebabs. Marinate in olive oil, lemon juice, and minced onions, and grill. Serve with pita bread, tomato sauce and yogurt.

My concern with food irradiation is that it would lead to even more carelessness in food processing than there already is. If you know the meat is going to be irradiated, why bother to keep the poop out of it? Much more efficient to ignore hygiene, run the processing lines ever faster, in pursuit of higher profits - and the consumer gets to eat irradiated poop. (We already get to eat ammonia-soaked poop - see "pink slime".) My concern with GMO is similar to the concern with over-use of antibiotics - in the long term, by spraying everything in sight with pesticides, we are breeding pesticide-resistant weeds, requiring ever-higher doses of pesticide to continue farming. Also, what happens when the Roundup Ready Corn Blight shows up, and the entire country's crop is lost because every farmer has planted the same variety? Fears of GMO and food irradiation are not solely based on '50s science-fiction hysteria. There are real reasons to be skeptical of "advances" in the food system that benefit big agribusiness in the short term, but could endanger food supply in the long run.

Turkey in mole sauce with refried beans, rice, pineapple, and avocado:

My blood pressure did rise a bit when I saw it, but I ended up coming down on the side of "mild annoyance" rather than taking real offense. The girl was very young - maybe it was her first job. And the restaurant is one where I've been a regular for years, and nothing like that has ever happened before. I ended up writing an email to the management, suggesting that they mention to her that preaching via cash register slip is inappropriate.

Yes, she's free to write it, and I'm free to roll my eyes. I just thought it was so bizarre because the only thing I've ever seen scrawled on the top of the check before is "Thanks!" or "Have a nice day!" The service was otherwise fine, and I didn't take off anything from her tip, or anything like that, but ... weird.

Here's a new one: when our server brought the check, written on it was "Romans 12:12" with a little smiley face next to it. She was a nice enough kid, but really? On what planet is that appropriate? (Romans 12:12 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Not an unpleasant sentiment, but I don't ordinarily take religious counsel from restaurant servers.)

Homemade pizza with olive oil, garlic, fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, olives, and prosciutto:

Dal makhani and mutter paneer, with brown rice:

The filling was half low-fat cheddar and half queso fresco. You can see the whole recipe here: http://goodformeblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/baked-chiles-rellenos.html