Rebecca263

I swear that I'm not a peppercorn fiend, but I've tried all of these combos and do adore them: Baked apple with cracked black peppercorns Apple tart with whole black peppercorns Pear tart with whole black peppercorns Baked pear with cracked pink peppercorns and drizzles of caramel Small squares of caramel with a few crystals of kosher salt and a tiny few bits of cracked black peppercorn atop each piece. Somehow, it was better with the addition of the salt grains than with just the peppercorns alone. And for a savory salad dressing I like the combination of balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil and a bit of adobe seasoning... it's so much better than a plain vinaigrette, especially when you add some sliced strawberries to the greens! OK, now add some blue cheese! Aaah, heaven!

I just looked in my kitchen. I own one amethyst colored glass plate, 6"x6". I think I got it for a dollar at Home Goods. I buy a lot of one offs to serve with. Am I trendy now?

Ya' know, I'm on a weird diet this month. All liquids, but high caloric intake (2500k a day) and loads of sodium. I wonder... if I heat butter it IS a liquid... do I have to count it as a dairy item?

Ybor City is such fun! And now all of you boys AND my favorite kinds of libation will be there, too! Oh, have fun, I wish I could be there!

I buy Country Choice Steel cut oatmeal. It comjes in a 30 ounce paper canister, and it's not dear at all! Much less expensive than McCann's. Here's a link to their website: Oh My Holy Oats! I get the oats at Foodtown, so they shouldn't be so very rare, or hard to find. They're organic and delicious!

Me too. And my daughter as well, who had me search all of NJ for a genuine buttercream when I was too tired to make her birthday cake for 40 dear teenagers. Somethings tste OK with olive oil, otherwise we use butter. In baked goods, we use fruits sometimes instead of butter. But that's NOT margarine!

We eat savory oats all of the time. I add steel cut oats to soups, as if they're barley, too. I think that you really want to only use steel cut oats for savory dishes. Otherwise you will probably end up with a block of mush! When I'm really feeling low and need some comfort food, I make a pilaf of oats with some browned butter, salt and toasted pine nuts. I serve it with steamed spinach. Yum. I think that you can use oats just like any other grain, if you feel like it. We use them inplace of rice sometimes, or in place of pasta. Why not?

Megan, dear, do you have enough diet Coke in the apartment? I've never eaten sweetbreads, and honestly, they seem so exotic to me that I don't think I would ever attempt to prepare them (gushy?! )! Well, unless someone actually asked for them, anyway! What brand of pasta do you prefer? We rarely get to eat spaghetti, because I don't have a machine to cut my pasta into strands. I DO like Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat varieties. I notice that your pasta was a durum flour, do tell!

I hope to be on solid food again by the time you guys reopen. Speedy repairs, and best wishes!

Megan, we're shoe twins!

Shabbat Shalom everyone! I'm having miso broth, a bit of a challah, and a sip of wine. And, maybe, juice, later. If I'm a good girl.

I don't see how, as Bacardi IS generally one of the worst rums! However, anyone's political posit IS off post, so let's all stay friendly and talk about the important stuff, the rum!

I think that a drink with apricot flavors would do well with the addition of tamarhindi. One of the most popular yebra (stuffed grape leaf) recipes that I know of has dried apricots and tamarhindi in the sauce.

Well, Kristian, your theory could work, except that my friend Marta's grandfather drank Cuba Libres in the 1960's and 1970's, and he told me the story back then, and said that his first alcoholic drink as a young Cuban in the 1920's was a Cuba Libre. I think you're referencing the actual story of Bacardi's litigation to trademark the name Cuba Libre, wherein they gave their version of the invention of the drink. They did not prevail. Of course, many Cubans do not drink Bacardi, because it not made in Cuba any longer, but in Puerto Rico. They'll drink other rums that are not from Cuba, so I don't pretend to understand why.

My future kids are going to steal your future kids' lunches.

Oh, Chocolate Bar! I love their Key Lime Bar, and a few months ago when I was there we had chocolates with port in them, heavenly! I wonder, is it OK if I DRINK chocolate... if I make my chocolate sans milk tonight? I better not tempt the fates. *sigh*

I freeze my excess hummous often, it comes back fine.

Dear Megan, Cheery Girl of NYC, and Blogger of The Week, Please eat lots of solid food for me, as I am on a liquid diet this week(yum, broth ), and am living vicariously through my eGullet friends . Yours in cheer, Rebecca

Well, I'd adore to see them in tighty whiteys emblazoned with a picture of a wood-y-pecker, but they'll probably be in those shiny skimpy running shorts with tight white ribbed tanks, emblazoned with a wood-y-pecker.

Home made Valentines, now that's great! And, you spent time together, and used some creativity, just like baking. I really like that idea. We make home made stickers sometimes, but they're not good for school.... cut shapes and pictures out of paper (just no really thin paper, and nothing with a rough texture, it absorbs too much of the slurry), dissolve some kojel or other flavored gelatin in just enough hot water to make a thin paste, paint the cut outs with the slurry on one side, let dry... Voila! Sweet colored tongues when you decide to stick the stickers! It's the only decent use for gelatin in my book, other than Rachel Perlow inspired art works!

I personally wouldn't have a problem with this. My daughter brought a box of oranges to school for her birthday too, this year, along with a few dozen favors, to pass out around her classes. And, I've invested heavily in holiday pencils, erasers, joke booklets, stickers, toys and such for her to pass around during holidays. I LOVE food, but I don't think it's a great idea to center every single memory around the edible stuff. For one thing, some of the kids have allergies or other restrictions, and they don't want to advertise it, so they lose out, either way. hjshorter mentioned that her kiddles can't have chocolate, well, why should they be sidelined if some kid brings in chocolates or chocolate cupcakes? Childhood is a time for inclusion, not exclusion or worse, seclusion, respecially related to a snack. Besides, you send sweets, and the kids fly, crash and burn out, and schooling goes all to heckaroni for the rest of the day. Kids get a lot MORE fun time mileage out of nonfood related items, than a bit of snack gives. edited by me: respecially, sounds like Scooby when you say it! I see you all trying it out at your keyboards!

I'm not a big Cuba Libre/La Mentira fan, but you can bet that I'm all over that Passover Coca Cola!

In Cuba rum has historically been the drink of choice, and Coca Cola was a very popular drink, as well, many years ago. Here's a very basic rundown, because I'm a very basic girl. A Cuba Libre, rum and Coca Cola, is called such because, hey, they WEREN'T free and we were the big kid next door who was supposed to help them get free. During the Spanish-American War in the late 1800's American soldiers took Coca-Cola, with them when they went to fight for Cuban independence. The soldiers invented a new drink, the Cuba Libre, which which was Coca-Cola, rum (supposedly Bacardi, as stated in court proceedings to trademark the name, by the Bacardi family, but I'm guessing that's not exactly true), and a lime wedge. Now, if it WAS Bacardi, you can bet it NEEDED liberal amounts of Coca Cola to cut the taste, but lots of Cubans say that's just a marketing tactic by the Bacardi family, and that it was just any Cuban rum used. I once had a Cuba Libre that the bartender put bitters in- at a bar in Atlanta Georgia. I didn't really like it, and I never figured out why, either. Remember, this was over a hundred years ago, Coca Cola was not the high fructose/corn syrup loving creation that it is now, it was still being made with coca leaves, and it was considered very special. edited by me to add: Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you, some of my friends call this La Mentira now, because it's not true, and Cuba is not free, in their eyes.

Why would you use low quality rum in a mixed drink? That kind of thinking confuses me. Do you think that you can't taste the rum any longer? Someone dissed me for a similar bit, I feel so sorry for him, his taste buds can only discern good rum when he drinks it neat, so he can't enjoy a decent mixed drink. Now, see, when it comes to the Coca Cola, THEN I'm fussy! I can't stand the corn syrup stuff, and I only have Coca Cola when I can find it bottled in a sugar formulation! Rebecca263, who drinks plenty of rum, neat and otherwise....

... ← I do realize that I AM pretty lucky in the boy department, but I don't think you'd like my type of boy, all those aging punk rockers and artists, avant garde composers and such, they've all been at least as colorful as me, and that's saying something! Still, most of them can cook, and look pretty cute while they're in the kitchen, too! Oh, and jsolomon, you wanted to know how big my television was? That's REALLY funny to me, because of the photo session I did with the artist Stawieray~on top of a television! That's food related, because he and I were foodie soul mates together on many a trip.