Jaymes

In January, 2003, the LA Times did an exploration of the big "bean cooking" conundrum. Regarding salting: "Salting: Conventional wisdom dictates that dried beans should only be salted toward the end of cooking, because the salt draws moisture from the bean, producing an unpleasantly dry texture. But exhaustive tests done by Times columnist Russ Parsons showed that beans cooked with a teaspoon of salt per pound compared to beans cooked without salt cooked to exactly the same degree of softness in almost exactly the same time. Moreover, the beans salted during cooking required half as much salt." My personal preferences: Usually pintos which I don't soak (learned my "bean techniques" from Mexicans that never soak and find it silly because "no reason & no time"); do cook them in chicken or beef boullion, which does have salt; fry up tomatoes & "seasonings" (chiles, onions, garlic, pork, etc., in the Mexican manner) and add them for the last half-hour, after the beans are soft.

I for one would very much appreciate it if you'd put it in the EG Recipe Archives.... And thanks!

Yeah, that's my story, too.

RE - the planting of tomatoes in those white styrofoam beer coolers. I got that idea because the only space I have for my "garden" is on my condo deck. And I'd plant tomatoes in those black plastic pots, but every June, they'd just burn up. A friend, who is a master gardener, told me that the problem is that tomatoes stop setting when their ROOTS get hot -- whatever it is -- 92 or something -- NOT when the ambient temperature gets hot. He said that in order to keep your tomatoes setting longer into the summer, water deeply and less often, in order to encourage deep roots, and mulch heavily. I said that my tomatoes aren't in the ground, and he said, well, he was sorry, but he didn't think there was much I could do. But suddenly I realized that those black plastic pots were just soaking up sunshine and cooking the roots. That's when I figured out I could buy some of those big white coolers, poke holes in the bottoms with a screwdriver, turn the lid upside down to make a drain saucer, and plant my tomatoes in those. It absolutely worked like a charm. I had wonderful tomatoes for most of the summer.

Actually, I don't think it matters what other sort of fruit you stick into the paper bag with the avocados. I often have peaches or pears or something else I'm ripening, and they all work just as well.

My family always enjoyed "vitamin C tea." You crush some vitamin C tablets and dissolve them in hot water. You can just drink it that way, or add a little sugar or honey. It's very soothing.

However, a stern word of warning here. You'd better understand that if you try growing okra here in Texas, you are in serious danger of actually winding up with some.

There are quite a few Jews in Mexico. The nation, although obviously overwhelmingly Catholic, is said to treat its Jewish community well. The Jewish community in Mexico owes much of its existance to Jews fleeing persecution elsewhere. Diego Rivera was Jewish, and said that much of the inspiration for his art was rooted in his religion. Unfortunately, should your sister wish to marry in a temple, the majority of Mexico's Jews are in Mexico City, and Puebla, neither of which have a beach. There is also an active Jewish congregation in Cancun. I don't know whether or not they have a synagogue there, though, but there are several tour companies that specialize in Jewish travel, and would be happy to tell your sister about wedding facilities, kosher hotels & caterers, etc. I didn't specifically check for that information, but lovetripper.com seems very comprehensive and may well have some information, too.

Boy, I'll say. And, Thea, I've hardcopied your list and put it into my travel folder "wish list" of places I want to visit sometime really soon. Thanks.

I totally agree. Sometimes this "avoid the tourist areas" bit goes waaaaay too far. For example. I used to live in Panama. I actually had a friend come to visit that told me she wanted to "skip the canal because it's so touristy." The first time I went to Italy, I went with this friend. We spent about a month. On my first visit, I always want to find the biggest tourist attractions and set my butt right down in the big middle of it. I want to know what all the fuss is about. But my friend? No. No "tourist attractions" for her. So finally I told her, okay, you go see what you want, but I'm going to all the famous places. And when we get back and someone asks you, "Did you see the Leaning Tower?", you can say, "No, but I did tour an amazing cement factory just outside of Turin."

However. The last time I checked, it's extremely unlikely that you can be married in a Mexican church, almost all of which are Catholic, unless you are Catholic. In which case, you have to have paperwork from your own parish priest documenting that you are a Catholic in good standing, haven't been married before, had the sacraments (baptism, confirmation), counseling, etc. Things may have changed, but I doubt it. Obviously if you and your fiance are Catholics in good standing, that won't present much of a roadblock -- just a little more paperwork to deal with. But if you're not, I'd forget about the quaint, beautiful, old Mexican church option. Just won't work.

I did. Thought it was delightful. There was an official "tasting" going on. Ten bucks got you a "souvenir glass" and samples (about 1/4 cup each) of three ports, a cab and a reisling. The Noble Companion Tawny port was my fave. I bought a bottle. $45. I recommend it as well. Also recommend a quick zip through Copia, and lunch at Julia's Kitchen.

Northwest of Austin. On the lake. We're down between the lakes, just off 620. Do you get that split around you effect with the rain, too? Nope. I'm in Lago, up high on a cliff overlooking the lake. When the rain comes, it comes directly across the lake towards me, in a huffy, blustering, flashing fury. It's absolutely gorgeous.

I had one that I babied along for a couple of years. In the summer, it died back and looked really scraggly; in the fall, it bounced back and gave me a few artichokes. But it was such a struggle and the 'chokes were so puny that I gave up.

Northwest of Austin. On the lake.

Yep. But apparently the fellow that's doing it is a fusion himself -- the product of a Japanese mother and American soldier. He's lived in Korea, the Philippines, US, etc., and it sounds like in this case, the cuisine is the natural outcome of his heritage.

I do. But I, too, have it potted. I haul it inside, then out, then back in, according to the weather. Friends have tried to grow them outside here, but it seems that in the summer, they burn up in the heat. Probably the variety, as fifi says. And Jess, loved your description of putzing around in your garden. All I have is the deck on my condo, but I did have quite a container garden there. We do have a great farmer's market up here, though, with Angel Valley Organic Farms coming every Saturday morning to sell their wares. When I'm in town, which is not often these days, I am one of their best customers.

Boy does that sum it up.

I've been told that there is a new restaurant (spring of 2004) named "Budo" in Napa, with celebrity chefs coming from Scottsdale, Arizona. Anyone heard of it? Or of the chefs? "Budo" -- new restaurant in Napa

I agree that you're probably better off searching the east coast of Mexico rather than the west, for logistics purposes. Although as other posters have mentioned, Zihuatanejo & PV both are lovely and romantic. There's information on all of these places at that lovetripper.com I mentioned earlier. But have they considered Belize? There are gorgeous mountain lodges up in the high jungles. Francis Ford Coppola's Blancaneaux in the Cayo District is absolutely fabulous. Francis Ford Coppola's Blancaneaux Lodge, Belize

Lasagna

Getting married in a foreign country is not so easy as it sounds. There is a fairly daunting pile of paperwork, legal documentation, etc., to wade through. I'd suggest that you or your sister peruse this website lovetripper.com for information. For one thing, they maintain a very comprehensive and updated list of wedding planners. I emailed the one for Cozumel and heard right back. That's where I think I'd start, if I were you.

Thanks again to all my cyber-buddies for your good thoughts. Now I'm busy trying to plan a June wedding. The Lord giveth and the Lord (and caterers) taketh away.

If I recall correctly.... Barilla, Classico, Five Brothers and Aunt Millie's are all made without added sweeteners. Neither do Mom's or Timpone's. Nutin but the good stuff in them.

When I was young, we lived for a time in Germany. We had a live-in cook. The cook made a warm, mashed-potato salad that I recall as being quite good. She first boiled the potatoes, mashed them and, while they were still hot, added to them some chopped sour pickles, onions, hard-cooked eggs, and her special home-made mayo. Seems like maybe there was some bacon in it as well. I don't recall exactly, other than that it was really good. But my mom wasn't much of a cook. So when we got back to the US, she made a "quicky" version: instant mashed potatoes, pickle relish, Hellman's, onions, and the chopped eggs. Although I can't say I was ever really FOND of it, it was kind of one of those things that you get used to and kinda like on some level. Hadn't had it in decades but one night several years ago, I was in a hurry and tried to replicate it. I don't know if I didn't get it "together" exactly as Mom did, or if my taste buds have changed, but boy was it awful.