Lori in PA

We'll also get bagels, which we don't usually keep in the house (a treat for Louisianians who don't have any decent bagel options -- yes, I know, they still won't be NY bagels...). And decaf coffee. Blech. I kind of laugh at the length and specificity of my mom's list. But my parents are both in their 70s, and need their fiber. And I want them to be comfortable when they visit. On the other hand, when we visit my sister, we always have to go out for coffee because her only coffee offering is instant, since she and her hubby don't drink it, and they have no coffee pot of any kind. This drives me completely insane. IMO, coffee is such a ubiquitous staple of a gracious household, I can't imagine why one wouldn't have SOME way to make a cup. I've taken to bringing my own french press when we visit. So what do you expect when you are a houseguest? Do you ask -- or at least hope for -- certain items? What do you try to keep on hand for your guests or get especially for them? ← It depends on how well we know one another. I have an altered digestive system, so it is important for me to have the kind of food that makes me have good days. (Kind of like older folks' need for fiber. ) I'll usually just say I'd like to go to the store and pick up a few things that I need for food and then I do it. Similarly, I want our guests to feel at home enough to do that. I usually tell them what's available for eating for snacks and whatever and ask if there is anything they particularly like to have on hand. We have a little grocery quite nearby, so it is no trouble to pick up some extra things. Re coffee: before I became a coffee drinker, I had a coffee maker but often forgot to offer coffee at dinner parties, etc. I'm sure my guests were miserable. When I visit my sister, I go out and buy fresh coffee to replace the leftovers she still has in the cupboard since my last visit -- like a year ago.

Wow -- thank you! This is EXACTLY the kind of information I need. Anyone else?

Do you go to several different grocery stores? I certainly do. I go to an Amish bent and dent store an hour away from me, Sam's Club (also an hour away), a regular grocery (Giant), sometimes to my little local grocery (Jane's), to Trader Joe's when I can get to one (about two hours away), and various little produce stands/markets in season. Do you clip coupons? Rarely -- we use few prepared foods and don't regularly get the newspaper. What do you usually buy at the grocery store? I cook from scratch for our family of 4-5. We rarely eat out, so I buy pretty much all we need except the herbs and veggies I grow in season. Oh, I'm not buying any beef now because we bought 1/4 of a steer recently. Do you tend to buy more meat or more produce? At the regular grocery, I buy more produce, but that's because I buy a lot of my meat at Sam's Club. Are you too ashamed to make purchases from the "reject bin?" Our regular groceries don't really have one, but I certainly buy seconds at the produce markets if I can use them and buy discounted meat at Sam's -- I rush it home and prep it for the freezer right away. Oh, and the bent and dent store is like an enormous reject bin, I guess, and I do major shopping there. Do you make a list? Do I make a list??? I have Word documents for the three main stores I shop at, arranged by aisle, so I can just check off what I need. How many refridgerators and pantries do you have for food storage? I have a fridge with a top freezer in the kitchen and a somewhat smaller one in the basement. I also have a small chest freezer in the basement. Do you enjoy grocery shopping as much as I do? I do like to shop most of the time. I enjoy the challenge of feeding my family well on a pretty tight budget.

Oh, the kitchenware shop is wonderful! I wanted to go there when I was in Paris, but didn't fit it in. Had you been to it before? And, gorgeous sun ceiling in the rotunda...

My two boys (tween and teen) and I plan to visit Mt. Vernon this week. We don't want to eat on site at Mt. Vernon. We need: cheap tasty cheap plenty of protein cheap not OVERLY adventurous, but a little adventurous is good cheap Do we ask too much?

My American brother and his wife are moving to Perth in a few weeks. I was musing this morning about what we could possibly send them for Christmas and had a brainstorm: I want to give them a Discovery Day in their new city. My idea is to gather the information for one or two activities/places to visit/experiences in the city and for a place for lunch or dinner. I will mail them the addresses, directions, and plans for their Discovery Day, along with money to cover the meal and/or admissions. I think this will be a brilliant gift -- if some of my generous eGulleteers will help me plan the itinerary. Here are the things you need to know: --Bro and sil are in their thirties, energetic, athletic, and boundlessly curious. --My budget is about 30 US dollars. --They don't drink alcohol, so that isn't a consideration. --They love nature, history, and more. --I think they will have a car. So, please describe for me a perfect day for two people who are pretty new to the city. Where would you go? What would you eat (and where)? If you can provide addresses, web sites, approximate costs, and whatever, bless you.

How nice to "meet" you, Mei. It will be lovely to spend a week with you, I'm sure. Your charge is adorable in the picture, but I'll bet he's not always smiling so sweetly. Be sure to tell us about your favorite and not-so-favorite food discoveries in your temporary hometown.

Hoagies, hoagies, HOAGIES! (Please.)

And suddenly you find yourself homesick for a place that is not your home...

About the flat cookie club: Chocolate chip cookies (and their ilk) are the worst for me, too, and I actually know at least part of the reason. Our budget is pretty tight and I often reduce the number of chocolate chips/nuts/other additions by about half to cut costs. The cookies are appreciatively flatter when I do this because there is less stuff to make lumpiness. Other things that have "pumped up" my cookies: --when I use eggs from a friend's farm, I have all sizes to deal with. The jumbo eggs give a little more leavening to the cookies. --a quarter cup or so of extra flour makes them stand taller, but of course they are also drier. (That's another big key for me -- I like my choc chip cookies nice and gooey and slightly underbaking them to go for the goo factor will give flattened cookies.) --A thing I learned on this particular thread (think I already knew it but never "obeyed" it before) is the cooling the pans between batches thing. That really made a difference with the pecan-brown sugar shortbread I made for the second time -- much sharper edges on the squares. The reality is that I'm usually in a hurry when baking cookies (so I don't cool the pans) and my budget is tight (so I skimp on the add-ins) and I'll probably keep turning out flat cookies, but I don't really mind that much, so for me, Dorie, don't keep scratching your head and trying to figure out solutions.

You probably have several -- they are also called drinking glasses and cleaned, empty cans. Seriously, an actual biscuit cutter may give you a somewhat sharper cut and therefore somewhat higher-risen sides after baking, but thousands of grandmas turned out thousands of perfectly delicious biscuits cut with an old tomato can or whatever, so don't let that stop you.

We need to form a club, Maggie -- Otherwise Good Cooks Who Bake Flat Cookies. OGCWBFC, for "short".

Nice!

Thank you very much for the follow-up report -- this is so valuable because, while it's nice to hear about your choices as you are making them, it's more helpful to know how they are playing out in day to day use.

Re cellar rats: they looked basically the same as the "courting candles" of the PA Dutch. The story is that the father of the young lady being courted exerted some measure of control over the length of the suitor's call with this candlestick. The custom was for the young man to stay until the candle burned down level with the stick, so if the day liked the guy he would push the candle high up in the candlestick. If not, he could push it down low so the visit would be over sooner rather than later.

Oh, Megan, this is an appealing city! The Husband would love it -- France, germanified.

So today I was following a vehicle with a Widener University license plate and I thought, "Now where to I know that from?" Is it you? Do you work there?

If possible, have one at the diner first, because they will heat it on the grill for you and you'll taste it as it is meant to be consumed. Then buy some from a local grocery like Wegman's before you leave town, take them home, and "grill" them yourself in your own non-stick skillet with a little butter (directions on package). DON'T buy a package and just open them and eat them as is -- in that case they're just another sticky bun.

Megan, now I've lost sleep twice in two days over you. I went to bed last night later than usual but was up at 4:15 this morning, so I promised myself a nap between lunch and taking one of my children to an appt, but just kept sitting here at the 'puter reading... Great job, though. I love how writing about my travels cements the whole experience in my mind and turns it into a firm memory.

"it's considered terribly cool and rebellious to go there." I've never thought of KFC is such a light.

What she said. Wow, I didn't know I could have had one with ice cream!!!

Good idea, and welcome, Vilasman!

Oh, Megan, I gotta go to bed! I CANNOT stay up to read the undoubtedly wonderful posts you are writing even as I type this. In the morning, friend, I expect to read more about Prague. SOOO glad you are back and are telling your tales...

Happy Birthday, Sandy. I think of you of PA's most enthusiastic representative here in Eg-land, so I'm glad to see you blogging.

Sorry! I was posting in a huge hurry, with the family urging me, "C'mon, we've gotta go now!" (Must remember to hit that rotate key...)