Terrasanct

I noticed her on the Today Show, too. At first it seemed strange, but really, she can do other things besides cooking. She's beautiful and personable, which is more than I can say for some others who have migrated.

When we went to our county fair last week they were offering deep-fried Pepsi. I have no idea how that works. It was in addition to df Twinkies and cheesecake and snickers. I'll share an elephant ear or funnel cake, but that's my limit for greasy food. (You have to eat something bad for you, or it's not the fair!) I had a deep fried burger in New Zealand about 25 years ago, at a Greek take-away place. We watched as he put the burgers together, clamped them in some kind of thing, and submerged them in the deep fat. We were speechless. I don't remember what they tasted like, but the cheese was nice and crispy.

Like others have said, the roasted cauliflower and the onion confit. Most of the time the posts and photos just make me want to eat! If I were still in active canning mode I'm sure I would have made the tomato chutney by now, too.

That recipe sounds really good. I just bought corn on the cob the other day and froze most of it after dinner. I was thinking about making a simple creamed corn with cream, onions, and minced jalapenos. Tastes nothing like the canned stuff, fortunately.

I think we went out rather than stay in because (being exhausted) I wasn't thinking all that clearly. The same thing that ruined the whole night. I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep--I have some sleep issues and it's just been bad lately. To reply to Querty, if I know it's going to be busy, which it usually is, it's not as bad. It's like if you build a house on a busy block, you know how it will be and can deal with it, but if you are the only house in miles and someone builds right next to you...it somehow seems worse. The agorophobia is not nearly as bad as it used to be, and in fact usually only surfaces when I'm very tired. On which nights I would usually stay home anyway. When I was a teen, it was so bad that I could not eat in a public place by myself, and had a very hard time attending high school at all. I didn't think of takeout, but as a serious food-lover, I really really wanted to try this new place. My husband lets me pick where we eat most of the time, because I care more about it. And I do enjoy the decor, and the experience most of the time. But if someone is right up in my space, it's very difficult. Reminds me of the time I went to a Bob Dylan concert and a drunk guy was practically sitting on my feet. Ruined the experience for me. I'm not good with crowds...

That really is an amazing piece of food art. You put so much thought and creativity into it. It sounds delicious, too. How was it? Did you get to taste any of it? Oops, I was referring to the driftwood, but the photos right above this post are also very cool.

I wondered if there was a dream thread here. Last week I dreamed that I was baking my cookbooks. A few days later I dreamed that I was eating my clothing. Neither were technically about food, but I wonder what they meant.

I realized it was a bad idea to talk to the people...I was a bit sleep deprived and sometimes you do things that you wouldn't normally do. My husband told me later he was surprised that I'd said something. I think I also have more trouble with anxiety when I'm really tired. Normally it wouldn't have been a night we'd go out to dinner, but since we were out of town, we went out. What made it worse was that after I talked to the people, I realized they were not from this country, which I think added to the misunderstanding. I think it was possible that they didn't know quite what I was saying. It's been that kind of week, what can I say?

The perfume thing is a real problem. I've had to leave the opera at intermission because of people who don't know when to stop with the perfume. I get very ill. I feel rude when I leave, but I don't make a big deal out of it. I haven't told the whole story about last night--I'm still upset about it. I did say something very nicely (I thought) and the other couple was so offended that they stormed out of the restaurant. Well, the woman was okay, but the man decided to leave and they did. I went over to apologize to them and the man just wouldn't listen. The waitress assumed I said something terrible (I really didn't!). I was so mortified that I would have left the restaurant too, but I'd just cost them two patrons, so I stayed and ordered a lot and left a huge tip. I really didn't know what else to do. I had to go have a cry in the ladies' room before I came back to the table. I couldn't really taste my food and I just wanted to leave. It was a horrible night. I'm a nice person and I felt responsible for ruining someone else's evening. Now, if it had been me and someone unintentionally insulted me, I would accept the apology--everyone's human, I was tired, and whatever I said must not have come out the right way. But I didn't get a second chance with the couple who left. So...besides never going out to dinner ever again, which I'm considering, what could I have done differently? (I mean after screwing up, that is.)

Hey, I like that idea!

I have claustrophobia/agorophobia. Most of the time it's not a big deal; I just tend to avoid certain situations. If someone stands very close, I have to keep backing up. It's just the way I am. When I go out to dinner, if at all possible, I request a table that's not within touching distance of another table. Given that I have severe allergies as well, I hope not to have to smell someone's perfume or cigarette smoke. I'm a good diner, I'd never make a fuss about something that I couldn't help. I tip decently and am polite to waiters. I just can't stand being wedged in with other people. Went to a nice little place last night, got there right as they opened, hoping to eat early and get back to our motel room. The whole place was empty. We picked a spot in a corner, hoping that it wouldn't get crowded too soon. The next couple that came in, given the choice of where to sit, sat RIGHT NEXT TO US, in fact, since their table was up higher, it was like sitting under a vulture's scrutiny. It was very uncomfortable. I'm sure they were nice people who had no clue that their being right next to me was making me anxious. My question is--what would you do in this situation? Would you ask the waitress to move you? Would that seem rude? Would you just sit there with the people right next to you? I wasn't really sure if there was an appropriate action. Please don't tell me not to go out to eat if I can't be around people. Usually it's not so bad, and if it's crowded when we get there I deal with it. But WHY would you sit next to someone if there's room? The waitress didn't tell them where to sit. Do some people just get lonely in the dining room?

The place you suggested looks very good. So do yours--I'll have to check out your shop when I'm in Portland next month.

If you can find one, I'd get an older KA, as they are made a lot better, and you can get one for a lot less. I've had mine for 30 years and not a single problem with it.

My sister-in-law is having a major birthday, and my husband forgot that it is tomorrow. I'm hoping to find her some very nice chocolates that I can buy online and send overnight to California. Any ideas?

I visit Sur La Table whenever I go to Seattle--it's part of the Pike Place experience. I don't often buy anything expensive there (I'll allergic to wasting money!) but have found many small things I just can't get here. And sometimes larger ones too. If I feel that I really need it and can't get it for less, I'll definitely shop there. I've always found the people who work there to be knowledgeable about what they sell. I've never bought anything at Williams-Sonoma, but it's fun to look. I know a fair bit about cooking, and I can't stand to go to stores with snobbish sales people. If they can't be friendly, I can shop elsewhere.

I'd go for the KitchenAid mixer. Even if you don't like pastries, you'll find many uses for it besides bread. And it will last a lot longer than the bread machine. Besides, a bread machine only makes bread, a stand mixer does all kinds of things. What I'd do is buy a new mixer and find a good used bread machine--they're everywhere.

You people are killing me! I'm not growing a garden this year, and the tomatoes weren't quite ready at the farmers market last week. It's late, I know, but that's Montana. I just read the tomato sandwich thread, and I have to go make myself a sandwich with a supermarket tomato.

Good photos upthread with the bacon, but the bread there isn't perfect--it needs to be homemade or at least GOOD bread. I love a good BLT, and sometimes I'll have a slice of Walla Walla onion with my tomato, but the best sandwich is the simplest. You just have to have excellent bread. Years ago I sold homemade breads at a farmers market in Silverdale, WA. I made several varieties. When lunchtime rolled around I'd get a big heirloom tomato from one of the other vendors and make a tomato sandwich with my own herb-garlic sourdough bread. Made with fresh herbs from my garden. The sandwich would be made without mayo, but eaten outdoors on the waterfront. Nothing better in the world, ever.

I put mayo on both sides, salt, and pepper. If you love your tomato sandwich enough, you won't let the innards slip out.

...And today I found just the piece I've been looking for, an oval, 5-quart, dark blue Le Creuset pot. $25 at an estate sale. Billings, Montana may not have much to recommend it, but we do have some great garage sales!

I saw the episode, and felt bad that there were so many people around that it looked like they were having a hard time shooting the show. Of course, if I had been there, I would have been watching, too.

I think that sometimes we forget, in the fervor to eat "correctly," whatever that means, how much we've benefitted from canned goods and mass-produced things. They may not be in style now for various reasons, but people are getting fed. Sure, it's nice to grow a garden, given time, space, and energy. It's also nice to buy local things where they are available. But many of these solutions aren't feasible for some people. There are a LOT of people who work all day at a job just to try to provide for their families, and the last thing they want to do when they get home is work in a garden, or even have to think about what to make for dinner. For the vast majority of people in this country, the ability to buy good food for little money, quickly, is a godsend.

My Cuisinart usually takes less than a half hour. If the ice cream isn't freezing hard, maybe the container wasn't left in the freezer long enough. Most ice creams can be scooped out of the container and let harden in the freezer for a while, but I don't like to do that with sugar-free varieties because they get very hard. The cheesecake ice cream has very similar ingredients to actual cheesecake--cream cheese, sour cream, cream, lemon zest; no eggs though. I wonder if making a custard base and then adding the other ingredients would make it taste more like New York cheesecake?

Another possible factor not mentioned here is the amount of waste found in a typical American supermarket. They don't just throw out produce that is starting to go bad, they throw out the good stuff too if they get a new shipment and don't have room. I can't see that happening at an Asian store, or at any smaller store where they are trying to make a profit. It's not just produce, either--if a case of jelly has one broken jar and it spills on the other 11 jars, instead of washing up the unbroken jars they toss the whole thing in the dumpster. So maybe the question isn't why are Asian markets so cheap, but why are the other ones so expensive?

I'd have to count; I know I tossed a lot last year that were old. I still have far too many, though. Some of the ones I use most often are in test tubes by the stove, but it's hard to find a good, small test tube rack. I picked up a few at yard sales, or have used a toothbrush holder for some. I know I wouldn't beat anyone here, but I have enough spices that most people who know me consider me a bit crazy.