Terrasanct

I keep veggies in my freezer because I run out of fresh ones too quickly. I suppose that's a convenience food, but I was thinking more of the things that are prepared or partially so. But then, frozen veggies are often more fresh than what you get in the supermarket. Most prepackaged foods are high in sodium and other things that I don't really want. I always wonder when I eat a can of soup--does anyone really like this much salt? I have to drain out most of the broth and replace it with water just to make it somewhat palatable.

Today I made a different kind of chocolate gelato, peach/spice gelato, and pear sorbet. I served the sorbet tonight for dessert. I wanted it to taste something like old fashioned pear crisp. In ramekins I melted a small amount of Dilletante caramel sauce, and sprinkled over it some granola. Scooped the pear sorbet over that and topped with lightly whipped cream. It was very good. The chocolate gelato turned out a little insipid. Is it possible to soften/melt gelato or ice cream and refreeze it? I was trying to make something with less cream, but it has too many ice crystals. Any ideas?

I don't think frozen stuff is convenience food. People can't go to the market every day.

I remember reading the Joy of Cooking as a child and trying to figure out why anyone would peel a perfectly good tomato. Still don't know why.

There are some varieties of Valrhona available at Cost Plus World Market if you have one nearby. I ordered a large amount of the unsweetened Valrhona and Callebaut online at Chocosphere.com. They have a good selection.

I almost never buy any kind of convenience foods. But then, I work from home. I can understand why people do it. I don't like the way most of them taste. I have never understood things like Hamburger Helper, which are expensive and not any easier than making a similar dinner from scratch. When I'm too tired to cook, we'll just eat soup or get pizza.

I've had a challenge with both my husband and my best friend. I'm not a food snob by any stretch of the imagination; I just think food should be fresh and taste good or why bother? They are both the type that think if they are full when they're done, it was a good meal. I convinced my friend to go with me to an Indian restaurant. She proclaimed that she didn't like Indian food. I had grown up with her, so I knew she'd never even tried it. She enjoyed the meal and was very vocal about it. I think everyone in the place knew how much she was enjoying it. Always a hazard when I go out with her. But she was openminded enough to admit that it was good. My husband said much the same about Thai food (that he'd never tried). He doesn't like things that strike him as scary--i.e., anything new. He was surprised at how much he enjoyed the dinner. It's frustrating at times to deal with people who just want to eat the same food all the time when there is so much out there to try. I was telling my friend about some of the great restaurants I'd like to dine at, and she said, oh, let me eat at Olive Garden and I'll be happy. And she would. It just makes it that much more of an incentive to get both of them to try new things. It's rewarding to get someone like that to try something new. That's why I keep trying.

I just counted, and I have 228 cookbooks in the house. But to be fair, only 51 of those are my personal collection. 103 I have for sale on Amazon, and 74 more is the start of collecting for my own website, where I'll be selling used cookbooks. I want to get at least 1000 before I start it up. I'm scouring the yard sales and used book stores, and hope to have enough by December. Some of my personal cookbooks are in really bad shape from having been used so hard. Most of them are in my kitchen. Then there are others that I just look through for inspiration. Joy of Cooking, the two most recent editions, live in the kitchen, although I don't actually use the latest one very much. I find that I get most of my actual recipes online now.

Flax seeds help with digestion (fiber) and the oil seems to make my skin and hair healthier. For carsickness, peanut butter, even those awful cheese crackers with peanut butter sold in convenience stores. Another vote for ginger-lemon tea for colds, but I put sprigs of rosemary in it, too. I don't think the hot water trick would work for my migraines, and I never want to eat when I have one either. Strangely enough, I haven't gotten a serious migraine since starting on Atkins. Hmmm. So there must be a food connection there somewhere. Water isn't exactly a food, but I drink a LOT of water and it helps me feel better, think better, and function better. I think the real reason a lot of teas and other beverages make us feel better is that we're dehydrated.

That looks good.

Alinka, is it the Dagoba organic? They make a really good chocolate with peppers. Also one with candied ginger that I really like.

Valhrona, mostly the really dark kind. I like it for cooking, too. I also like Callebaut and Scharffenberger.

There are rules?!?

I'm still on the gelato kick. I made a very simple lemon gelato tonight. The only ingredients were cream, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. It didn't require cooking. I subbed Splenda for the sugar since I'm not really supposed to have sugar, and left out the zest because I didn't have any. It was very good, light and delicate.

Is it rambutan? http://www.donellis.com/images-copywriting...butan-large.jpg Or salak? http://islamic-world.net/children/fruit/tr...c/salak-pic.gif I think these are both fruit, though. Maybe one of these? http://www.switcheroo.com/Sweetpotatoes.html

The first time I got married, I was given a set of flame Le Creuset cookware. I thought they were the ugliest things I'd ever seen and packed them away in a box somewhere. Years later I discovered what they were and have been using them ever since. The little saute pan cracked when it was left on the heat once (oops) before I learned how to take care of them. I use the medium dutch oven (french oven?) all the time, and I also have a huge one that I can barely lift when it's empty, and a smaller saucepan with wooden handle. I'm lusting after a dark blue oval one. I don't care what size, I must have it. I'm keeping my eyes open for sales. No matter that I have more cookware than I know what to do with...it's an aesthetic thing.

Presumably, no prurient interest, either.

Speaking of names, I realized the other day that croque monsieur must mean something like Mr. Crispy. That's about how good my French is. I suppose it sounds more classy if you call it by its French name.

Cheryl, I really wasn't trying to be negative. But I'm probably one of the few here who has raised five kids, and I know how hard it is to do, even without doing anything else! Of course we follow our dreams, no matter what the outcome. That's what makes people happy, and it's how we learn. But it's never easy, or it wouldn't be a dream. You mentioned being a novice in your first post, but not the fact that your mother is in the business. That makes a difference, too. And financial backing. And I'm assuming you're married. My own experience was being single and poor with five children. I did make the catering business work for me by keeping overhead low, but there was a day I realized I should be doing something different. It was exhausting. When you make a post asking questions, it's reasonable to expect people to be honest about the pitfalls instead of glossing over them. How else can you learn from the experience of others?

Fascinating, and another reminder of the importance of learning about a culture before traveling. I'd be lost. What is the garnish lying on top of the fish, that looks like a red onion?

I had a good New York steak for dinner tonight, but the best thing I ate must have been the new peas in cream sauce. The Krispy Kreme doughnut I had for dessert wasn't even close. Not sure WHY I had it except my husband has a thing for them.

I miss the blackberries! My kids all live near Seattle and the blackberry bushes are everywhere. I went to the Billings, Montana farmers market today. It doesn't have an exciting variety of produce, but I do like buying locally when I can. There are a lot of Hutterite farmers here; they're the ones who sell the most. They offer free range chickens and eggs, pork products, and a lot of produce. I bought some green beans, peas, and white radishes. I was hoping to get some of the first corn of the season, but the line was long and they ran out before I got there. I made peas and cauliflower in cream sauce for dinner. Nothing too exotic, but there's not much better than the new peas. If only I'd had corn on the cob to go with it.

I don't know how many cookbooks I have right now. Hundreds, anyway, and adding more each weekend when I go to yard sales. I'll have to go back and read the rest of the thread now.

I like to scramble them (with cream or cheese), and roll in a whole-wheat tortilla with labna or really good sour yogurt. With cilantro or cilantro chutney, maybe some roasted red peppers. I used to make "farmer's breakfast" for my kids--slice and fry potatoes; when they're almost done add chopped onion, then eggs and cheese. The kids called it "slop." Looked awful, tasted good.

Oh, they had warned me because people can get sick eating the wrong thing in Egypt. At dinner one night I ate one brussels sprout that was a tad undercooked and got seriously ill. Driving across the desert into Israel, there are certain illnesses that are not pleasant... (Okay, that sentence made it sound like the illness was driving across the desert, but I'm too tired to correct it.) It wasn't rose water. I'm guessing some sort of liquor or liqueur, but can't imagine what would taste so horrendous.