BarbaraY

I have seen fresh baby corn cobs stiff in husk in a Taiwanese market, so yes, the stuff does exist outside of a can or jar. ← We let the kids grow some a few years back. I don't remember where we got the seeds but it was good and sweet. I think I have seen it frozen somewhere but don't remember that either. It is a different strain of corn because if one were to try to eat "baby" corn it would have no kernels at the early stage.

I use a few canned foods. Usually specialty items that I can't buy fresh around here. Thai curry paste, coconut milk, bamboo shoots, waterchestnuts, eel, baby corn are almost always in my cupboard. The other canned non-exotic items are canned tomatoes, mandarin oranges, several kinds of beans, and pickled beets. I also have some canned soups for quick lunches. Some of the Campbells Select soups aren't really bad.

I have found it to be true that many of the Jalapeños now being sold taste like bell peppers. This has been going on for about ten years in this area. I find that, in growing my own, the stretch marks are a pretty reliable way of telling if they have any heat.

Well said, Verjuice. I'm not a vegetarian but I often serve meatless meals. I like the Madison books along with the rest of the Greens books. I like tofu dishes but prefer them cooked in the oriental style where they originated. I cooked at a restaurant where we often had vegetarian and vegan customers so most of my soups were vegan and we always had a vegan or vegetarian special. I never used fake meats or cheeses in any of the dishes and they were well received, even by non-vegetarians.

Perhaps there was a minor mishap. A minor mishap doesn't make a very good story so if it's dressed up a little (or in this case, a lot), it makes a more interesting story. If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance you can baffle' em with BS. Call it poetic license.

She was a grown woman at the time. She died several years ago.

Don't miss Unagi, broiled eel. It's one of my favorites. Mmmmm! Tobiko is sooo good, IMHO even though my kids object to the way it gets in the gums.

Good luck! The chances of expanding her food horizons is pretty slim if she has reached her late twenties and still eats like a four year old. I had a niece that said, "I won't eat anything I haven't tasted before."

I definitely agree about the rice. I use Jasmine rice for most things but short grain for Japanese meals and sushi. My daughter a got brand of Jasmine rice that isn't my usual brand and it is too soft when cooked. It isn't as fragrant as the usual one either.

You might want to see if you can find a copy of "Chinese Regional Cooking" by Kenneth Lo. It is probably out of print since My copy was published in 1979. Martin Yan has one too, "A Culinary Journey Through China". You should be able to find it more easily.

We have a similar problem sending cookies to my grandson in Guantanamo. It took two weeks last time but he didn't complain. I guess stale homemade cookies were better than none. :D This time we're going to vacuum bag them and see if that works better. He asked for peanut butter and oatmeal, raisin so let's hope that works.

My budget may be tight but I just won't skimp on some things. One has to watch the boneless chicken breasts on special because they often have 18% solution added and the texture and taste are horrid. Best Foods or Banquet brand mayo are the only ones I will buy. I agree that Safeway Select are usually good products. We buy some of the cereals, jam, and a few other products, however I go to another store for meats.

I first learned to do it by hand and have never tried any other method. May try it in the Cuisinart one day but doubt that I could get the result I want from the Kitchenaid. I love light flaky pie crust like my grandmother made and that is what I try to achive. I do it quickly so that it doesn't have a chance to get too warm.

Your bread looks beautiful. It is a wonderful bread although I haven't made any for some time.

Spaghetti are a variety of noodles, aren't they? ← Spaghetti is spaghetti and noodles are noodles.

Spaghetti noodles!

I always use a cast iron Dutch oven for pot roast. No rusty taste from it. It is very old and well seasoned so I think that is why there's no off flavor. I find an old pan that hasn't been used for a prolonged period is more likely to have the rusty taste even if it has been newly seasoned. It needs to have other things cooked in it for a while before it is OK to braise in.

A & W rootbeer used to make a sandwich that I loved. It was called a Whatnik and was made by hollowing out a small French roll and filling with hot dogs, chile, onions, and cheese. I don't know if I would still like it but I sure did 40 years ago.

Other than tomatoes when they are out of season, I buy tinned beets because the ones in the stores are huge ugly monsters. Right now the Farmer's Market has lovely baby ones so I don't have to rely on the cans.

The last shitake that I got take about 1/2 an hour to soften. Porcini took about 1 hour. I made Hot and Sour soup a couple of days ago and used the soaking water as part of the broth. I save the porcini water to use in the sauce.

I use right front because it's my high heat burner. Back right is a simmer burner and the two on the left are medium heat. I only use the back burners when the front ones are in use or to simmer the stockpot or anything, like beans, that take a long time.

I have them along with the corn shaped dishes that I assume they came with. They were here when I moved in here. They live in a small box in my utensil drawer just in case. I never use them but I do like the dishes because you can roll the corn in them and pick up plenty of butter

Beautiful Farmer's Markets! Waiting to hear more about your life in the South. Edited for typos.

Ben and Jerry's is my downfall. Denali Moose Tracks, and Dreyers's Green Tea. Ice Creamaholic. Last night was Dreyers's Butter Pecan.

That sounds easy enough. The only seeds I have found available to me are Takinogawa and Watanabe. Since the Watanabe is supposed to be shorter, I may give it a try. My soil has a layer of hardpan about 2 feet down and I'm not about to try to dig through it but it seems that the bag method would work.