BarbaraY

Those are great looking lunches. How old is your child? Looks like a lot of food for one. Would have been wonderful if this idea had been around 50 years ago. My youngest always took the same lunch until she was in sixth grade. 1/2 peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cookie, and a piece of fruit. Wouldn't eat anything else.

I have the Martin book and have used it but not recently. The oldest of my 16 Japanese cook books is the "Pleasures of Japanese Cooking" by Heihachi Tanaka and Betty A. Nicholas, a more authentic book than the Martins'. It was the first book that I found the recipe for pickled Kombu which I had in a Japanese restaurant. It was an instant love affair for me and I was glad to be able to make it myself. Now will someone tell me the correct name for this please.

In our house it's shells with cheddar. My grown daughter all time favorite comfort food. Have never tried the new one.

We tried this last summer along with our regular 6-8 mixed tomatoes. The thing was a disaster and a waste of time and money. Our other plants did very well. This year all are in the ground. Even Early Girl is late this year and we have had only two so far and absolutely delicious. My neighbor tried to build his own hanging planter but it became so heavy that it fell so if anyone decides to try building one, I suggest you make it and hang it well.

First time that I had eaten at a Popeye's was yesterday. My sis and I noticed it as we drove down the street in a nearby town so we decided to give it a try. Spicy chicken strips for both of us. I had red beans and rice for a side and she had slaw. We didn't have the Sweet Tea as neither of us can stand sweet teas but had it plain.The whole thing was tasty and not greasy. Not gourmet cuisine but we agreed we would eat it again.

The only thing I can think of that's better is canned tomatoes for some sauce and garbanzos for hummus or salad.. Most canned vegetables make me want to gag although I can eat some; beets, and corn.

When I was young I was fascinated by "gourmet cuisine". I decided to make a recipe for Gigot en Crout that I had found in a cookbook. It was boned leg of lamb filled with forcemeat, partly cooked, and finished in a crust. It was good but not worth the effort in my opinion. Never again and that was more than 45 yeqrs ago.

The only time I use it is to make my dad's BBQ sauce because that's what he used and to make a faux smoked chicken breast. The smoke is mixed with water in a lidded pan and the breasts are placed on a rack over the water and covered. Then steamed for a short time. Works pretty well.

Without getting up and going to the cupboard. I have 1/2 box orzo, 1/2 bag elbow macaroni, 1/2 bag egg noodles, 1/4 bag of little lasagna strips that I had never encountered but my daughter found them and brought them home. Half a bag of cartwheel pasta, 1/2 pint jar of ditalini, 3/4 jar of acini di pepe and a fullbag of bucattini and another of farfalle. I would have a bag of gemelli but the store here has stopped carrying it. As you can see we love pasta and the only one that I wouldn't use is a decorative jar of tri-colored rotini that has been sitting on the fridge for at least five years.

I love the Rose Berenbaum book.I've never had a problem with any of the recipes although I did over bake on once. She warns about this.

I have a number of old items in the kitchen. Not sure which is the oldest, though. I have my grandmother's butter churn from the early 40s. I know that because I can just remember her getting it to replace a worn out one that had wooden paddles. This one has metal paddles, aluminum I believe. I also have a number of her depression glass pieces including the cookie jar that still has the lid. Seems like lids were easily broken. Another thing is a tea tray, obviously Japanese but made for the American market as it has abalone inlay but the pattern is a western style flower basket. I don't know how old but the person I got it from had traced it back to the 40s. It has to be pre-WWII. Unfortunately one of my daughters fell with grandma's iron skillet and broke it but it had been there all my life. I have a couple of battered cook books from 1914. The best thing to me is a set of silver demi-tasse spoons, also grandma's.

I confess to eating an occasional frozen Banquet Beef Pot Pie. Swanson's won't do nor even Marie Callander's. It's gotta be Banquet. Many years ago when they were four for a dollar I bought four. There was not a bit of beef in any of them.

With all the rain in CA this winter we have an abundant crop of Miner's Lettuce in the back yard. I like it mixed with other greens. Waiting to see what happens with the blackberries that grow along the fence line.

Thanks for the reminder. I saw chestnuts in the store last week. I love the Tsuji book. I consider it the most authentic of my books.

Two of us in this household. I have spent about $260 in the grocery store this month. My daughter has spent around $150 at Trader Joe's and Costco. This includes wine and other "adult" beverages. We haven't dined out in some time as both of us are on Social Security, I'm a senior and she has serious health problems. We don't get a cost of living increase this year. I buy most pet products, paper products, and cleaning supplies at Wal Mart. I refuse to buy food there. We usually cook things from scratch so don't use many canned or frozen items. Yesterday I did buy Kleenex on my grocery trip because it was too out of the way to go to WM for just one item.

I think it's all of the things mentioned that make the difference. The freshness of every food is so amazing, the attention to quality is wonderful, and the whole atmosphere enhances it.

Hands down its gotta be pancakes. When I was a kid I would have sworn I would never eat pancakes again because Mom made them three or four times a week. They were one of the few things she would cook from scratch. I would have been wrong. I need my pancakes several times a month. Sometimes Buttermilk and sometimes Buckwheat. Buckwheat slathered with Apple Butter is to die for.

How did I miss this thread? I have been cooking with Julia since I got Mastering the Art about 35 years ago. Weather has turned cold here (that's California cold.) so I made her French Onion Soup today. For some unknown reason I never got How to Cook but have Mastering the Art of French Cooking, The French Chef Cookbook, From Julia Child's Kitchen, and Baking with Julia. A couple of weeks ago I made Chicken Kiev. I have even made her Salad Niçoise for 90 people. That was two buses of Bay Area tourists and I had no complaints. Thanks, Julia.

I have a lovely Victorian olive dish that was my grandmother's. It is fine china with painted flowers. It's about 2 1/2 inches wide and about 10 inches long. A pretty, delicate thing that I have never used for it's intended purpose. We have a lot of Klutz in our family.

I have lived in So Cal all my life and have never seen the 1000 Island as a "standard". I thought it was just an approximation of McD's "secret sauce". ← I have lived in Northen CA all my life and have never considered 1000 Island to be California style either.

Thanks Kevin. I love anything artichoke but Ms. Mayes didn't give a description, just mentioned how good it was. I haven't tried making it yet but plan to get some artichokes when I shop today. I didn't really care for the idea of Bechemal in it myself. I found one site yesterday that showed the artichokes just cut into quarters. It looked very good but I couldn't find it again. Almost all the recipes on-line are in Italian and I know very little Italian (except food) so even with dictionary in hand I have a hard time figuring things out. On-line translations are beyond ridiculous.

This answers my question that brought me here. In reading Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, I found mention of Sformato di Carciofi. Seemed like something I would like but am not sure how it would be made. I did do some searches but was still confused. Beware Babelfish translations. They are really weird.

BTDT I have brought home Thai chicken salad, broccoli salad (Eeeew Broccoli), Swedish meatballs on different occasions. The KFC was eaten as were the deviled eggs that one guy always brought. At least he brought something. Almost all single guys brought nothing but it didn't keep them from eating. One guy was a former baker who brought good desserts. We were asked to bring enough to serve eight and one woman always brought a tiny noodle casserole that might serve three people but only if they weren't very hungry.

You don't really need the mozzarella. Just tomatoes, basil and olive oil are delicious.

When I read the first post my reaction was, " Everybody knows that this is Bulls Eye Eggs". Imagine my surprise that only one other calls it that. It was a camping thing for us. Always flipped since I find few kids like eggs up.