Terrasanct

I finally made it to Seattle for dim sum--we ate at the Jade Garden. I'd never had dim sum and was prepared to be intimidated, but it was all easy. Well, after I found the place, going up and down a lot of hills. We found parking a few blocks away, and since it was afternoon, there were no lines. I have to say I have no idea what we ate, but we enjoyed it all. The egg rolls were good, as was the pork char siu hombow, but those are the only things I have names for. We mostly just pointed. We all liked the custard in a layered shell at the end, too. Lunch for three was just $24.00, a pleasant surprise for the amount of food we got. The waitress brought my mom a spoon when she saw that she was having trouble with the chopsticks, which my mom really appreciated.

It could be something like that last one, since it probably did have both potatoes and noodles. I still haven't remembered the name though, which hasn't come up yet. Don't you hate it when you're trying to remember something and you just can't?

This is a timely resurrection of this thread, since I'm going to Seattle next week and STILL haven't tried dim sum. I'll have to report back where I end up going.

I don't recall if there was meat, just that there were at least two or three types of starch, not something you'd usually see. The noodles could have been rivels or spaetzle, but there were potatoes and flour, I think.

No, I don't think so. There was a German name I'm trying to remember. I'm not positive it's just Amish--it could just be German. They added flour to whatever it was to make it thicker and more filling.

I ate at an Amish restaurant in PA years ago and had a casserole with noodles, flour (I think) and maybe potatoes. Very starchy and filling. I know I've read about this particular dish before--it was made specifically to be filling. I think the name has something to do with the word "filling" if I remember right. I'm sure someone here can help me remember what it's called. Thanks.

My husband and I both work at home, so I sometimes make the main meal at lunchtime and we just snack later on. Or I do the major meal prep early and put it together at dinner time. I live in a nice 101-year-old house, but when the previous owners renovated they thought it would be a good idea to add a garden window to the kitchen. It looks pretty, but in the summer, the sun comes into the kitchen starting about 4:30 and turns it into a furnace. Makes cooking in the evening unpleasant to impossible. Canning in August is no fun, either.

No AC here in Montana, over 90 and up to 100+ for at least the past two weeks. At least we have a basement, but we don't cook or eat there. One night we had bread, cheese and wine. I made peach milkshakes the other night for dessert. Last night I put the ingredients for beef Burgundy in the crockpot and cooked it overnight, finishing at dinner. Not exactly traditional, but it was good. I have tomatoes and peppers in the garden but it's so hot I can't seem to keep them hydrated.

I would try almost everything on the above lists. I'm fairly adventurous when it comes to food. And I was raised in the country, so organ meats are nothing strange. My mom even made head cheese once, for my dad. I wouldn't dream of making it, but it tasted fine. These days, I'd draw the line at brains, what with mad cow and all. But I don't know what I'd like until I try it. I've had Marmite and Vegemite--in fact, I have some in the fridge right now because I forgot what it tasted like. Not great, but it wouldn't make me sick or anything. I've eaten tongue, sweetbreads, and other various offal. I'd try haggis, no problem. With an ex from Philly, I've had scrapple and thought it was great. I'm sure I'd try durian, given the chance. I just wouldn't be able to have it in the house--my husband gets sick when I make lard or onion confit. I don't think I'd try eyeballs, and most of the rotted stuff doesn't sound very appetizing, although I love cheese and tofu and yogurt type stuff. Natto doesn't sound great....but I'd try a bite or two. Love grits and okra, and I'm from Seattle. Really, the only line I'm firm on, is no primates, no living animals, and no blowfish. Everything else is negotiable. Oh yeah, and no black licorice, even though I like the flavor, because it makes me ill.

Is that made with sweet cherries? Can we have the recipe?

I've met Julia Child and I've been in the maternity ward several times giving birth, so I think I'd watch the show. I love Alton Brown. And I'm getting the Food Network for the first time in two weeks, yay!

Personally, I'd just use them for something decorative. I don't like taking chances with things like that. About the vinegar question asked up-thread, I'm pretty sure that vinegar needs to be 5% acidity to be safe for canning/pickling. Also, I've never seen a watermelon preserve, but watermelon rind pickles are good.

I think I was permanently warped as a child by all the mentions of food in the Little House series. I thought nothing could be better than to have all that food in the attic and cellar and to be snowed in for the winter! I also remember the Turkish Delight from Narnia books. It especially intrigued me since I didn't know what it was. Green Eggs and Ham--I always wanted to try green eggs. And who was the little girl who ate too many jam tarts and got a stomach ache? Then there was Francis with her bread and jam. The Little Red Hen made bread. Oh yeah, Pecos Bill with his griddle so large that the cook had to skate on it with fatback strapped to his feet to grease it. And of course Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the best book ever for a kid foodie.

I knew I had that book in my inventory; just ran across it. Is the recipe you want the avocado and mushroom salad? I didn't see anything else that looked close. It's marinated in wine.

I posted somewhere back in the thread, but I'm up to around 700-800 now. I think I was around 200 before. I'm also reading Nasty Bits but that's not really a cookbook. I've also been reading Chocolate : A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum and Growing up on the Chocolate Diet by Lora Brody. I'm about to start What Einstein told his Cook. I found a 1943 Joy of Cooking at a yard sale this weekend and a few other nice ones. I forgot that I also have 200+ cookbooks listed on Amazon, which aren't included in that number. I'm going to be specializing in cookbooks as soon as I get enough of them.

Recipezaar actually has a category of vegetarian tropical foods. Maybe this will help: http://www.recipezaar.com/r/169/366

Well, that's important, too, but when you live in Montana you make sure you have what you need in the car. Some drives take us past nothing but fields, mountains, and cows. And they don't like sharing.

I'm not a big fan of storebought cookies, or really any cookies anymore, but some I have liked: A few of the Pepperidge Farm ones, including Milano and the ones with chocolate chips and macadamias. Girl Scout thin mints, or Mystic Mint cookies. And I don't remember the brand, but really thin, really spicy ginger cookies that go well with ice cream. Oh, and the shortbread ones with a circle of raspberry jam in the middle and almost anything by Cadbury.

I used to carry more when I had kids at home. I keep everything in my car since I'm in it so often, including change of clothing, toiletries, duct tape, matches, picnic supplies, etc. I always keep a very sharp paring knife (in a case) in my glove compartment. I take water with me everywhere, and some packets of Splenda, like a few other people mentioned. If I want some dessert I can buy plain yogurt and unsweetened berries, and the Splenda is nice to have. Always have a can of nuts in the car because they stay good. On a Sunday drive, Zone bars for the hubby and South Beach peanut butter bars for me. Sometimes jerky, too. The only problem is that he can't eat a Zone bar without coffee, so I suspect he'd starve rather than have it with water.

The yard sales in my town are very good; this past weekend I found a few more things--a Calphalon One 7 quart sauteuse pan, huge and wide, for two bucks; it's going to my daughter. A cast iron chicken fryer, which I didn't know what it was until I looked it up. I have a nice set of cast iron, all bought very cheaply from yard sales and re-seasoned. Within the past few weeks I've also found a flame Descoware pot that matches my Le Crueset, a 3-piece oval cake pan set, and several really nice Pyrex pieces. I also bought my daughter a set of vintage Fiestaware for $20 for her birthday. I had to clean out my cupboards to find room for all the new stuff! I'll probably end up giving most of it away to my kids. I don't remember if I posted about it before, but I also found a Bosch mixer for a few bucks and it works great.

My first husband loved the deep fried stuff that could be had at one of our local gas stations. He called it Greaseworld, and it included things like poppers, fried chicken, potato logs, burritos, and apple fritters. I could never see the appeal, but he loved it. I'm sure that had nothing to do with the fact that he had his first heart attack at 38. My husband now makes a lot of trips to the closest convenience store, which is, unfortunately, right out our back gate. Ciggies, donuts, beer--it's a virtual man paradise. I rarely stop there, because there's just nothing there that I want except for gas.

When I was strictly on Atkins, I wasn't able to lose much weight but I felt a lot better. But then, I have a really hard time losing weight. And not just because I love food so much! After adding in more fruits I started losing weight a bit faster. Unfortunately, if I just eat a "normal, healthy" diet I gain weight. I've learned that our bodies are all different--I can eat very low calorie, low fat, whatever, and my very efficient system figures out how to hold onto every ounce. Because of a disability, exercise isn't an option for me. It's too bad, because I know that's what would help take the weight off if I could do it. I agree about the protein at every meal--I think it does help. I have a small snack with protein right before bed and it helps keep insulin spikes away during the night.

There is a lot of misinformation out there about Atkins and similar diets. It's not a no carb diet--it has a LOT of vegetables. That's the biggest component of the diet. An Atkins meal should contain three to five ounces of meat, preferably lean meat, and the rest is made up in veggies. Veggies are carbohydrates. Maybe when people say no carbs, they mean no noodles, rice and potatoes. And even some of those can be added in later on in the diet, along with fruits. Just because there are people out there who think they are on Atkins who consume ten bunless bacon cheeseburgers for dinner, that doesn't mean that's how the diet really works. I'm not sure if you're saying that Atkins is a starvation type diet, but it isn't. The appeal of low carb diets is that you aren't constantly hungry, as you might be on a higher carb diet. Fat provides satiety, whereas excess carbs make blood sugar levels unstable, leading to hunger. And not everyone loses weight quickly, either. It took me two years to lose 45 pounds. BUT it was the only diet I've ever lost weight on, and I felt a lot better, too. My cholesterol levels got much better, and my blood sugar went from borderline diabetic to very healthy. I wouldn't advise anyone to lose weight quickly. How long did it take to gain the weight? Why such a big hurry?

I think part of it is because other people aren't as polite as they could be. I really don't want to sit next to a table of loud, obnoxious types. I don't mind babies or children, as long as they're taken out if they become disruptive. As someone else mentioned, it's expensive to eat in a good restaurant, and I'd like it to be a nice occasion. I don't care to sit right next to anyone if it can be helped. If the restaurant is crowded, I just live with it. But I'm somewhat claustrophobic and it makes me really uncomfortable to be packed in. I only eat at a really good place four or five times a year, and if I can enjoy myself without making life hard for my waiter, I should be able to.

My husband often buys tuna sandwiches. I just don't get it. It's so easy to make at home...well, for most people. One day when I wasn't home he went over to the convenience store to buy one when we had all the ingredients at home. The same goes for spaghetti or anything else cheap and easy to make at home. Most restaurant spaghetti tastes odd to me anyway. I'd rather eat ribs at home than in a restaurant because it's hard to enjoy them when you can't get messy.