Genny

Fresser: I believe that as an outsider, you must take the pledge to be allowed to remain. Please to repeat: "I Fresser, being 'just a man' solemny swear to uphold the honor of the sisterhood. I will be kind and consoling and above all I promise to never share the true eating habits of women with other men. I promise to provide chocolate, chips, salty treats and sweet treats as needed without judgement. If I should break this sacred covenant, I will remove myself from the sisterhood, never to speak of it again." Do we have our menfolk cater to our cravings? Generally not. This is a secret society, you know. Men generally look at us like our head spinning is something that shouldn't happen and, well, we just can't help ourselves sometimes. I think most women do their PMS eating in private and don't generally disclose the entirety of their eating to others (men, especially). You know, "Just a snickers bar and a diet coke" really means "I ate a snickers bar, diet coke, bag of chips, plate of ribs until what I realized I needed was Mom's potato salad so I got some at the store and added salt to it, it didn't totally satisfy but I was too full to eat anything further by then and had to stop." Oh, and Tyson Beckford should be clad in the torque and an apron...only. Did I forget anything girls??

The cheese shoppe!!! How I wish I had something so wonderful here...:sigh:: And your boy is absolutely precious. Traditions are an interesting subject. It is a thread that ties us all together in our ablility to understand that others hold their personal history in fond rememberance yet our experiences can still be completely different. I'm not Canadian/Saskatuan or from any kind of Prairy land but I can recall standing in a quiet field enjoying a kind of quiet that pushes itself into my being that one cannot find in an urban or suburban setting. My own Christmas traditions growing up are not still held today but still are remembered fondly. They are from a child's perspective and of a family that seems to not exist any longer due to age, divorce, circumstances and distance. Growing up we always rotated Christmas and Thanksgiving between my aunt's or grandmother's and my parent's home. There were 9 of us kids: 5 boys and 4 girls. We often all played together and got into trouble together . Funnily enough, the holidays weren't about the food to me. We always an ample spread of veggies, salami, olives deviled eggs, etc. before the main meal and then a big meal that was fairly simple: turkey, stuffing (plain and oyster), green beans with bacon, dinner rolls and often sweet potato casserole w/marshmallows. The adults sat at the table and the kids lined the hallway with plates on their laps. We preferred being able to eat separately! My favorite part was trying to hang out while the adults chatted while playing cards and playing with my cousins and the big "sleep-over". Back in the day we did not stay at the local hotel. The entire family would sleep in one house. Every bed and couch was slept in and the kids all slept in sleeping bags either in the bedroom (depending on the house) or by the Christmas tree in the living room. Snug as a bug in a rug! My most memorable Christmas was when I was about 8 years old and I was just beginning to think there was no Santa Clause. My parents were hosting so my female cousins got to sleep in the bedroom that my sister and I shared. The kids were all sent to bed around 9:30 and I was just antsy with anticipation of opening gifts on Christmas morning. (We always tried - with varying amounts of success- to get to open just one gift on Christmas Eve.) I must have been flopping trying to get morning to hurry up and arrive when I heard the jingle bells. Oh!!! Then I heard footsteps on the roof! I screwed my eyes closed as hard as possible and was renewed in my faith that Santa really did exist and I'd better sleep so that he would leave me gifts The next morning we had our wrapped presents from our parents but Santa's gifts were unwrapped and I had a chalkboard easle set up with my name on it and a doll under it too! I was a believer for sure!! My parents never 'fessed up to being Santa that year. It was just as well, everyone needs to believe in a bit of Santa to keep the magic alive. Merry Christmas and Happy Returns Everyone! Genny

I generally find Top Ramen...uh...that's what I grew up on!!!! I guess I'll have to venture out and find Ichiban::hmmmm:::

Oh Aileen, I hear you! I totally itch to pitch in when someone is cooking something (especially if I will be expected to consume it) and they are just butchering it! It is so damn hard to not say anything. My DH knows the look though and will shake his head know, ever so imperceptively, or give my leg a squeeze to give me the strenght and courage to shut up and enjoy!

I hesitate to post this. I mean, the flavor was actually good. But this experience was definitely a "WTF-over" kind of thing. I love-love-love my in-law. She only moved into our area about a year ago and we are getting to know her. She invited us over for brunch a couple week-ends ago. She's preparing omelettes for brunch for everyone and asks if anyone wants vegetarian or "the works". Well, we opted for "the works" so she takes this tupperware bowl out of the refrigerator. I offer to help but she has everything under control. I ask what is in the bowl. "Well, we went to the pizza place and they had a 2-4-1 special. We ate one and brought the other one home. I scraped the toppings off and put it in the freezer to use later." Um- that was the filling for the omelette, plus some extra chopped up meats. OK- so this really did taste quite good. But is is so off-putting to hear that they saved left-overs for this occassion. Honestly, we were dubious about the results and cautiosly poked in initially to make sure it tasted OK.

Top Ramen is a great receptical for small bits of this and that. Any left over meat: (chicken, pork, beef) diced 1/4 inch. Frozen peas, broccoli, Sriracha, green onions, carrots, celery. Soy sauce. Eggs: either dolloped in and let to cook without stirring so that I get broth and egg, or if I feel like having a thicker, hearier soup I will stir the egg in and emulsify it into the soup. My cousin used to put parmesan cheese in it. Oh, and I do use the flavor package. I know, I know sodium, etc. But its one of those hold overs from childhood!

Zuke- I wanted to add a quick comment on how captivating your blog is. The way you use words gives a real texture and pastosity to everything you describe. I feel like I can touch, smell and feel what you are talking about. You trigger my sense memory woman...wow! I've gotta feed myself now, I'll post some of my thoughts and holiday memories that you triggered for me later... Thanks for the effort! Genny

Wow, what great plans everyone seems to have! Suzi- I especially love the tradition of going out birding on NYD. It seems a lovely quiet juxtaposition after the traditional loud celebrations of the night before. Peaceful. Ling- Are you waiting for him to ask you out?? Ktepi- What a wonderful reunion. Good luck in converting the tastebuds Happy Holidays everyone...and a joyful New Year! Genny

I'm curious what everyone is planning for the New Year's celebration. Our own tradition is to share New Year's with my parents. I've made a conscious effort to do this every year for the past 15 or so years, since I was in college. We've only missed one or two when we lived in Colorado and then we were on the phone at midnight wishing each other a Happy New Year. Going out or staying in has varied year to year. This year my father's official first day of RETIREMENT is on 12/31/05 so we let hime choose what he wants to do for the occassion. We are going out to a lovely festive dinner at the Capital Grill in Phoenix and we will consume fine fresh seafood and properly melt-in-your-mouth dry-aged beef along with a couple bottles of delicious wine. Since dinner reservations are going to be late I think I will put together a filling brunch buffet for the four of us to enjoy through the morning and afternoon. One prevailing thought for me is that I think that whatever my New Year's celebration embrases, so will the coming year reflect that. I intend to smile and laugh and have a great time enjoying my three most favorite people on the planet in hopes that the coming year will be filled with the same. So, what are your plans? Do you have any special traditions?

What a great idea, I was just thinking about the goals I have for the coming year. This will be fun to revisit throughout the year to indicate when something is accomplished and at the end of the year to see how we did! In 2006, I will eat because I am hungry, not because I am bored/stressed I will make my friends and family know they are cherished via time spent and food lovingly prepared. I will find a use for all those interesting pantry items that were purchased many moons ago. I will learn how to bake a beautiful cake, how to make bread and candies I will teach my cat to make my morning coffee I will read. I always read, this one is easy. I'll not use reading so much as a procrastination tool. This is the year I will try to learn to enjoy the process of cleaning my kitchen as I enjoy the process of cooking. I will taste foods at the restaurants I'm dying to go to. I will use my leftovers in creative ways instead of using my refrigerator as a holding bay until garbage day. I will give myself a break every now and again. I am absolutely blessed with the best husband and family. I will be more thankful every day for the wonderful life I have to live. We are going to lose some damn weight by moving more. Period. End of story! My kids are my neices and nephew and I will try to be more involved with their lives. Whew, I did it! I didn't think I was going to fill them all out! eta: brevity

Sebastian, so lecithin will thicken it if too much is added?? Wow, good to know. We are still trying to fine tune a good formula for our chocolate fountains. I was thinking about adding some lecithin so this little nugget of information is very valuable. I only thought to add it because it is on the ingredient list of chocolate fountain stuff you buy. Thanks! ← Kate, I use canola oil to thin my chocolate and it doesn't seem to affect the chocolaty-ness of the fountain at all. Hope this helps! Genny

Hi Eje- If your parents like Thai then the flavors at Cyclo will be just fine. There is nothing there that is so exotic as to be unpalatable. Other good places in Chandler (the south-west end of the valley) NYPD Pizza: great thin crusts, there are a few locations. Shimogamo A low-key neighborhood japanese restaurant. The sushi is very good but for those less daring, they have some of the best Pork Katsu I've ever tasted. Riga Tony's is a local favorite Italian place. The house salad is fantastic, there is a huge menu and portions are good. 98 South is a wine bar/restaurant. They have a great wine list and the menu is inventive but not terribly expensive. Hope you enjoy your visit! PM me if you have any questions about other to-dos and destination info. Genny

Me=small hands=santoku. I do use my 10 inch chef's knife for large pieces of raw meat, cubing sweet potatoes, etc., otherwise I've had my santoku for a couple years now and it is my main workhorse even on shallots, I can get a lovely mince with no problem.

Sam, I see winter drinks as those that warm you to your toes and make you feel all cozy inside. For that I would drink a "white russian in coffee" I don't know if it has a more appropriate name: 1 cup of coffee with cream and sugar, spike with 1 part kahlua and 1 part vodka. Just a note: This is a fantastic nightcap, at the bar of the ski lodge or at home in front of the fire. I had an occasion where we closed down the bar but the attendant was nice enough to make a whole pot of this for me and put it in a thermos to enjoy at my leisure. I was toasty-toasty! The only problem was when I went to retire, I couldn't keep my eyes open or my body still! I would definitely be sure to specify DECAF if you are sensitive to it and drinking this before beddy-bye.

It's HERE ← Ahh, a blessing! Thanks so much! I'm making Triple Ginger Cookies from www.howthecookiecrumbles.com and thought these would be good to. The ginger & spice has been my flavor of the season These sound delicious!

Hmmm, I sometimes have difficulty with this type of thing. I feel like a brute eating the shells and all. Tasty? Is it crunchy like eggshells or crunchy like lifesavers?

KatieM (or somebody) can you save me from having to search 13 pages.... how much gelatin did you put with the 1 cup of water? Thanks ever so much!

Please forgive my ignorance, but how do you eat those really little crabs? Shell and all?

That is the one Ling. It is gorgeous! I salivate over the damn thing whenever we go to the local Great Indoors, they have a model there. Let us know when you take it for a test drive! "kind of" seeing?

Ha! Ray Ray put turkey soup over stuffing? We did that this year (without her help ) and the soup was made using left over carrots, peppers, green onions & celery from the crudite plate. I added a pat of butter to my soup to richen it up...wowza! I ate that for 3 days! Overall I'm not much of a left over person. Reading this thread reminded me of my first Thanksgiving with my honey. We were not married yet, I was still in college but stayed with him over the long weekend writing papers and hanging out. I didn't cook much back then. He made the whole meal: Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and canned cranberry sauce. I have no recollection of a green veggie . Anyway, we ate that on Thursday... and then again on Friday... and then he tried to serve it to me again for lunch on Saturday too! I rolled my eyes and asked about redoing the leftovers into something else like turkey soup, turkey enchiladas (my aunt's famous for these!), ANYTHING but the same damn dinner plate for the third day in a row. From then on (and still to this day, 15 years later) he makes comments such as: "Genny doesn't eat leftovers" or feigns surprise if I've eaten them. So, yes, I eat leftovers, I just generally prefer a revision of the original meal. My mom used to make "Refrigerator Soup" or "Goulash" which was pretty much anything left in the fridge: meats, veggies, potatoes, rice, etc. She would add a big can of V8 Juice and cook the hell out of it. Not my favorite meal but we'd eat it...I've mentioned she wasn't the greatest cook when I was a kid. My dad will put anything in a tortilla. He doesn't cook (ok, grills some) but any leftover is fair game for a burrito, just add cheese! Another trick is leftover meat into your favorite ramen noodle soup, add egg, some siracha, peas or other veggie and it makes a pretty good quick meal. Other tricks you all have up your sleeve to dress up left overs?

This information is from "The Japanese Kitchen" by Hiroko Shimbo: Ponzu (Rice Vinegar and Yuzu Dressing) Ponzu is made with the juice of a kind of citron, yuzu. This fruit has its own unique refreshing citrus aroma and flavor that might best be described as a mixture of lemon,lime and grapefruit. When yuzu is unavailable, it may be best to replace it in this recipe with additional good quality komezu. 3 tb komezu (rice vinegar) 2 1/2 tb mirin (sweet cooking wine) 2 tb yuzu (citron juice) 5 tb shoyu (soy sauce) 6 tb dashi (fish stock) Good luck, hope this helps! Genny

Hi guppymo! I've not started yet but will likely start playing with this soon. I recently got an All-Clad non-stick double burner griddle that I thought may work for this. (it does fabulous pancakes!) When we remodel our kitchen I'm hoping to get a double sized griddle (24x24?) on my new cooktop. I can't recall if it is made by Wolfe or someone else at the moment but that one really gets my enthusiasm up! Are you making teppanyaki at home yet? Any favorites?

Kathleen, that is hysterical! "Pecan piiiieeee" is one of my favorites of all time and we chant it every Thanksgiving I obviously didn't drink nearly enough booze this year! Most memorable moments this year: My DH ordering his grandmother to put the damn camera down during dinner... she just kept clicking away at everyone with full mouths!!! The food was PERFECT (takes a bow) and my in-laws who notoriously only eat canned cranberry sauce totally macked up my homemade cranberry chutney! Yippee!!! Oh, I did get a really good laugh when my SIL asked for the recipe for my cranberry chutney (she had insisted on buying 2 cans of the canned stuff ) and I started to rattle off ingredients because I just put it together and kept adjusting until it tasted right. She holds up her hand and says: "Um, remember who you are talking to, I cook maybe 3 things, do you have an actual recipe?" Bwahhahahahaha...good luck sistah! This same SIL offered advise on how to carve the turkey... Oh and she also had some real cajones to try to abscond with my glass of wine! I'm the one working all day in the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. She walks up and says, "Is that for me?" My reply? "Nope! But if you get yourself a glass I'll leave the bottle out!" Haha, I did have a laugh at that one too .

Hello Chardgirl! I'm really looking forward to your blog, I grew up in the south Bay Area and lived in Watsonville near Martinelli's for a couple years. I miss the smell of candy in the air in late summer from all the strawberries and other fruits ripening althought I don't miss the rank smell the ocean brings at times though! I didn't realize goats were slaughtered so young. Do the kids have any attachment issues? Is it difficult to realize you are eating something so cute??? I imagine with the kids growing up on the farm that it is just a fact of life and normal in their experience. I'm curious, you are in Watsonville and Rancho_Gordo shows his location as Napa, those are quite a drive apart...what farmer's market do you both go to? Where is it located? Another question (sorry if this is too many!) have you always been in farming? If not, how long have you been in the farming way and what did you do in your prior life?

Abra, that dinner looked fabulous! I'll have to make some time to go look at Chufi's thread for sure. What are some of your "usual suspects" for dinners when you are not recipe testing or blogging? I must say I have a pantry much like yours. I have all kinds of things in there that I have no idea how to use but they looked so interesting I couldn't pass them up! A recent aquisition is 'salt noir' from an Indian market. It is somewhat pinkish, very finely ground and has almost an eggy or sulfuric smell. Hmmmm. I think the thread of "what do do with this" is a good idea!