BarbaraY

Well, yeah! But most of the places around here would never have heard of it, let alone have it on hand.

A confession. Today we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. I ordered the house special salad which was to be served with an avocado dressing. The propieter came over said they were out of avocado dressing but I could have Ranch or thousand Island. What could I do? These people are neighbors and friends. I opted for Ranch.

I'm sorry to see that you had a problem along the line. Your flowers and leaves are so gorgeous! Would love to see more.

MMmmm! Dumplings! Gyoza, Sui mai, Spaetzle, Grandma's fluffy Chicken and Dumplings, My mother-in-law's, flat Arkansas dumplings, pot stickers, German potato dumplings with the crouton in the middle, I love them all. The only dumpling I ever met that I didn't like were the ones made by a co-worker. They always had a hard core in the center. Never did figure out what she did to cause that. Editted to add, Pierogies which I tasted for the first time in PA last fall.

I couldn't load the Quicktime program but got the Windows Media vesion. It didn't appear that it got the mango seed any cleaner than I do, either. I would like to see it in reality to better judge.

I prefer a good homemade red wine or Balsamic vinaigrette but I do make up the Hidden Vally Ranch dressing because my daughter is unable to eat acid foods. I think it is especially popular with kids because of the creamy blandness. The bottled Ranch Dressing is just slimy, in my opinion, and I won't have it in the house. I think the same people that used to order Thousand Island on everything have now turned to Ranch.

Toss the Air Bake sheets in the garbage. My mom had a couple and came to the same conclusion. They don't heat from the bottom at all, so by the time the bottom is remotely done, the rest is dry. ← Great. ← I disagree. I use Air Bake pans for most cookies and have lovely results. I don't use them for shortbread, scones or biscuits where I want a well browned bottom.

I bought one of those packaged kits that one assembles and then bakes. I thought it was horrid and have not been tempted since. I do buy some packaged greens because that's the only way I can find arugula in our stores. Occasionally, while traveling, I'll buy one of the salad kits and eat it in a roadside park.

Yes fried, yes stewed with tomato, No plain boiled.

I rarely peel ginger unless I'm being particularly fussy or the skin looks bad and I don't rinse fermented black beans. I don't soak dry beans either. Once did an experiment. I cooked 3 cups of beans, one unsoaked, one soaked, and one boiled one minute, rested and then cooked. Any difference was miniscule.

Fascinating! Would love to try this but there are neither the hoja santa nor chiles chilcoztlis available around here. It looks to be very interesting and unusual.

Interesting! I just googled gai daan jai and this was the only reference found.

I have prepared these by marinating in a spicy soy marinade and then charbroiling to medium rare. They have a nice beefy flavor that I really like.

I think of a young couple that I knew some years ago. They seemed to think birth control meant keeping baby inside till they got to the hospital so they had two toddlers and one on the way. They lived on convenience foods. I pointed out to her that chickens were on a very good sale that week and they could be cut up and frozen, etc, etc. They had no interest because she didn't have a clue on cooking from scratch and didn't want to try. As for my household, we occasioanlly use some convenience foods. Tonight we're having frozen ravioli with purchased sauce. I will make a fresh salad of greens, cucumber and tomato with home made vinaigrette. Why frozen ravioli? I am elderly with a bad back and a bad shoulder, I've had a very busy day and want ravioli so this is how I get them. Do I know how to make ravioli from scratch? Of course I do. I learned when I was seventeen. This is unusual for us, my disabled daughter and myself, but nice to have good quality frozen ravioli available instead of the nasty canned things that I grew up with.

Having lived in unwedded bliss for 15 years, I learned that if I wanted to go somewhere and waited for someone else to go I would spend a lot of time at home. I long ago got over any discomfort in solo dining. Sometimes I take a book and sometimes not. Depends on my mood and the situation. I often lunch alone when I'm out and about. I did have one uncomfortable meal in a Mexico City fonda but I don't know whether it was because I was alone or because the young waitress didn't like serving a Gringa. She gave me my food, retired to the kitchen, and glared at me throughout my whole meal. The other waitress had to bring me my check.

I have had black beans dry out in the cupboard so I now keep them in a plastic container in my freezer. I love ribs with black beans and garlic, shrimp in black bean sauce, and I put them in my beef and broccoli. Use them in several other dishes that don't come to mind right now. I just wing it. If I think thay would go good in whatever I'm making they get added with the garlic and/or ginger. Rarely rinse them because the ones I have aren't overly salty. Can't remember the brand.

My dad fancied himself a great cook. Now we do have to consider that this was the creation of a half blind 88 year old man who was always about 1/2 blitzed by evening. He made me "pizza", a Boboli crust, topped it with some of Mom's home made spaghetti sauce, slices of salami, and some Mexican queso fresco that had been in the fridge way too long. Then drizzled the whole thing with about a cup of olive oil. Put it into a very hot oven and scorched it nicely. Oil dribbled into the oven and added a nice smoky accent. I did manage to eat some. This was from the man who believed everything that he read if it agreed with his preconceived notions. He once read about marinating a duck in red wine for a week so nothing would do but he try it. We were invited to Christmas dinner to have the duck. I don't know what wine he used nor what seasonings but that duck that had soaked in the wine for a good week was one of the nastiest things I have ever put in my mouth. No excuse for age and blindness this time. He was only in his 50's when he did that one. I think this may have something to do with the fact that my kids won't eat duck to this day.

On reading this my first thought was "jiggly"? Did you move the cake while it was jiggly? Opening the oven or moving a baking cake can make it fall. I remember my Mom yelling at us for running in the house if she had a cake in the oven.

I don't want a straw in my ice water or iced tea. If I'm having a soft drink in a restaurant I use the straw. Why do they put salt on the rim of a Margarita and then put straws in it? I want a bit of salt with each sip. When I was a teen, word was that you would get drunk faster if you drank beer through a straw.

Ah! Dinner guests! I have rarely had troublesome dinner guests until I moved in with my SO. Neither of us being kids our own kids were well grown. His eldest daughter called to tell us that she would be coming for New Years since they hadn't been able to see us at Christmas. They arrived; daughter and her husband; granddaughter, about 10 months pregnant; great granddaughter, spoiled rotten; and grandaughter's fiance. Trying to give them something homey and nice for a New years feast, I baked a real ham, cooked yams (without marshmallows!), several vegetables and a salad. Well, it turned out that fiance didn't eat ham, daughter didn't eat sweet potatoes, husband didn't eat vegetables but guzzled beer all day. Pregnant granddaughter didn't eat anything and made the fiance take her to Burger King. This young woman was so spoiled that she always asked for toast when she came here and then couldn't eat it because it was sour dough or whole grain. Aaargh! Told Dick that here after all they would get was beef roast and potatoes.

Dionne Lucas in her Book of French cooking says the best way to learn to make an omelette is to just jump in and do it. What works for one may not work for the next person. IMHO the pan and controlling the heat are the two most important factors. An overbeaten egg is full of air and hence more likely to crack as the omelette is gently rolled out of the pan and onto the plate. I prefer to beat them just until white and yolk are blended. I love omelettes and all this discussion has made me hungry for one for my lunch.

Great photo essay. I have seen a whole beef broken down but have never been in an operation like this. Fascinating!

I cannot quite understand how my crockpot can magically make different foods taste a whole lot the same. But I have managed to make chicken taste like beef with ease and convenience. ← This is one reason that I almost never use my crock pot - it seemed that, no matter the recipe, one dish tasted pretty much the same as another. ← My reasoning, too. I bought a crockpot when they first became popular in the 70's. Found that everything I cooked had a nasty off taste that was unidentifiable. I gave the thing away.

This is my favorite way to use leftover roast beef.

I don't have any suggestions on reconfiguring your kitchen. Mine needs something done but don't have any idea how to fix it either. I just answered to tell you how much I love the photos that you posted. It appears to be in great shape for a house that old.