emilyr

This farm is near my hometown and owned by the family that also owns the first radio station I ever worked for, so I'm a bit biased, but th're pecans are really very good. I think they're better than the Texas pecans I've had. The website says they have a higher oil content, so maybe that's why. They don't have an online order form, but they give their phone number and take orders that way. Plus you could buy buffalo meat if you were so inclined, too!

I did a low carb and gluten free tea for a Red Hat Society event that my mom was hosting and the biggest hit were little savory silver dollar pancakes with creme fraiche, chives and smoked salmon. I think I used this brand of gluten free pancake mix. I had bought the mix for my mom, but we didn't like the flavor enough for full on pancakes - we wouldn't want to make them a whole meal, but they worked well enough for these appetizers. I did something to make them more savory, and now I can't quite recall what it was . I think I either added chives and cheese to the mix or an extra egg to make them a bit denser and less sugary (the mix has a bit of turbinado sugar in it). Maybe it was a bunch of black pepper? This is why I should start writing things down!

In the summer I do this on the grill with Nutella and strawberries between poundcake. Wrap in foil and press like crazy with a spatula til flat and gooey! yum!

Inspired by this thread, I made sweet potato soup this weekend, and found a much easier way to do it, too! I roasted sweet potatoes, apples, and onions in the oven with just a bit of olive oil and some spices (nutmeg, pepper, thyme, and a pinch of cinnamon). When that was done, I whirred it up in the cuisinart in batches with some simmered broth and cream. This was SO yummy and perfect for the beginning of fall - even though it was in the upper 80s on Sunday!

I've never seen them blended and I don't think they've got blenders behind the counters, so I'm going to go with no, though I'm not positive. I'm also not positive on the decaf. I think you can get the regular coffee decaffed, but I don't know how they make the flavored coffee - with a syrup or if it's infused coffee.

ditto to this. i get the hazelnut iced coffee, and it's pretty good. not too sweet, which is a boon to me. plus at $1.69 for a medium (12 oz i think), it's a MUCH better deal than from other coffe shops. but to be fair, i really only get them when i'm really needing caffeine and i'm already getting food at McD's. i don't think i've ever stopped just to get a coffee.

Isn't it funny how things just seem to pop up when you need them? When suzilightning mentioned spiedies in her blog the other week, I recieved the invitiation to my friend's rehearsal dinner the same night, and she promised us mid-westerners a specialty of spiedies. When I called her and told her about the coincidence, she was a bit preturbed (only not really ) that she hadn't picked something I'd never heard of! I'm heading off to Syracuse for the wedding next week (actually Syracuse, Ithaca and Lodi), so this thread comes at exactly the right time! I hate going to new cities without research, so i'll consider this background material. One quick question: is the Ithaca Farmers Market only open on Saturday? I'm flying in Tuesday morning, and the bachelorette party is on Thursday. We don't have firm plans and thought about cooking together before we went out dancing, and a Wednesday trip to the market might be perfect for this. So I guess a follow up question is: if it's not, where would you send a bunch of post-college age girls (and law/grad/med school students) out for dinner in the greater-Syracuse area? Looking forward to the week! Keep up the good work!

I second Coquette. It was our "go-to" place in college for special occasions, but we at their for casual lunches and dinners as well when we could.

According to this article, the Beigjing Tourism Bureau is going to get rid of some of the "Chinglish" translations around the city in an effort to help foreigners better understand Chinese culutre through food. Would you be afraid of "burnt lion's head" or "virgin chicken?"

I'll bet the sauce is on the sweet side. ← I don't think I've ever had sweet shrimp with lobster sauce, unless it's different from what I get around here. That's a garlicky eggy sauce. It also has lots of white pepper in it though, so it might be different. ETA: I wanted to say I think you're doing a great thing! Way to go!

I'm so glad that you're blogging this week! Yours was the very first foodblog I read and one of the reasons I joined eG!

I like a salad with cucmbers, melons (whatever's ripe), mint, cilantro, chili flakes, and lime juice. ETA: Sometimes I mix this with couscous and red onions for a more substantial dish. Also, cucumber is the veggie we use most in curries (very Americanized curries). They are just a bit sweet, and pick up a nice spice from the curry powder. Plus, cucumber and tomato sandwiches, on a soft white bread, thinly spread with butter and mayo, sprinkled with lots of kosher salt and pepper is my idea of summer on a plate!

This concept is a bit different than what I have in mind because I won't be doing catering and I won't have breads and similar items. It won't be a bakery of any sorts. It will be plated desserts only and quite a bit more upscale. Imagine a small fine dining restaurant that only serves dessert, wine, coffee, etc. ← Just to clarify... Encore is a stand alone business. Upper Crust closes at 3 pm and Encore opens at 7. I don't think the pastry chef works as part of the bakery. They're owned by the same guy and he decided not to pay rent on a separate building for this venture. So it just serves plated desserts, beer, wines, etc.

I baked a cake to get a badge in Girl Scouts with the cardboard box/aluminum foil/cast iron pot contraption. I think I started around 10 am and the cake wasn't done until 5 pm, and the girls who did chicken tooke ven longer, but then again we camped in late May, so it wasn't nearly as hot as it is now. And I seem to remember one girl's dad building a rig that utilized 2 or 3 pizza boxes. Here's the Solar Cooking Archives site. And here's a site that shows how to cook hotdogs in repurposed Pringles cans.

This concept is being explored in nearby Columbia, MO. The Upper Crust Bakery with their dessert bark Encore. (This website doesn't have Encore info on it yet.) Here's a newspaper article about it. I haven't been to Encore yet, but I love the Upper Crust desserts, and am looking forward to trying out what pastry chef Brandon Kelley is going to bring. I plan on using it for birthdays or bachelorette parties. Seems great to me, but they've only been open a week, so I'll keep you posted. I don't know if the size difference of the cities will be a big deal, but I'm happy to help.

I asked the secret to the grocery store rotisserie chicken once and they swore all they did was mist it during cooking with a mixture of 7Up, salt and pepper. I think the subtle sweetness kick starts something primitive in my brain.

The produce manager at the grocery store where I work part time gave me an assignment this week; he got in a case of chayote, and as this is a "weird" food around here, he asked me to look up info about it and find out how to cook it in case customers asked. I ended up preparing it three ways. First I sauteed it in some butter with salt and pepper then simmered it in cream and tossed in some chives. Very yummy, but with butter and cream how could it not be. Then I sliced some thinly and cooked it in the microwave wtih just a little bit of water and a few red pepper flakes. After 3 mins in the micro it was just tender. I tossed in some apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper. This was really great when I came from work at 1 a.m. Tonight I made a chayote and apple slaw. I thought that when it was raw it had kind of a jicama-y taste, but more "green," so I matchsticked it and some apples and tossed it with a dressing made of spicy brown mustard, rice vinegar, honey and a little mayo. This was an excellent side dish with the girlled pork steaks and corn we had. And even my "weird food" averse brother liked it! I'm really glad I found this veg. I hope I can convince the produce guy to keep some in stock. I've read in a few places that it's a good substitute for zucchini, and I think I'll use it like that in the future (I hate zucchini and it's everywhere in the summer). I want to try a Mexican application and maybe an Asian-inspired soup, but I will wait til my kitchen isn't so damn hot for those recipes.

I just read that you could use them in smoking on the grill. I think I'm going to try that.

Yep - chocolate cookies with super sweet choclatey icing!

Kent - I'm loving this blog. I, too, hold a soft spot in my heart for Galveston. It was the first place I realized you could get all-you-can-eat seafood that actually tastes good in places that are next to the ocean! Duh! I have family in Waco and Beaumont and we have visited a couple of times. Very much looking forward to more of this blog!

What are you talking about - 'not so photogenic'?! It's beautiful!

I should probably add this in the PMS thread, but those Lofthouse cookes are super for certain weeks of the month when you really need something too sugary to actually consider in real-life. The chocolate ones are fantastic and occassionally make it into my non-menstrual shopping lists! Very soft and cake-like

wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds. check and repeat til warm enough for you.

The only time I ever worked at a restaurant was one summer I worked at McDonald's. One particularly crazy lunch day, the lines were actually out the door. I don't remember why, but I think there was a carnival or soccer tournament in town. And this was only my second week there. Anyway, I was working one front register and every couple of customers, I'd go over and re-fill drinks for people who stood down by the soda machine. I thought I felt something hitting me on 2 of these trips, but wasn't sure, but on the 3rd trip a big chunk of soda covered ice hit my face! I turned around and finally saw this woman and her friend and they both just had the most pissed off faces I've ever seen. I said "EXCUSE ME?!" in my most I-have-to-respect-the-customer-but-that-doesn't-mean-I-have-to-like-them voice and she proceded to cuss me out in some of the most vulgar language I've ever heard (and I went to Catholic school ). It seems she'd waited in the regular line to get refills on her drink. I looked over at my manager to see what I should do, and she just looked away. When I took the cup, the woman said, "and you better f***ing replace the ice since I had to stick my hand in it." I just refilled the drink and told her that she didn't need to stand in line when she wanted her next refill. She started to walk out, but decided she needed to tell everyone in line that I was slow, to skip my line, and better yet just don't eat at this restaurant at all. A few people did leave. To make matters worse she came back a few weeks later, and to get her refill, she did just go over to the area by the machine, but she threw ice at me again, "just to get my attention." Neither time did my manager say anything - even after. One of the many reasons I quit and didn't eat there for another 5 years.

Farm raised versus wild might have something to do with it. The diets would probably have something to do with what's in their digestive tract. Opr maybe some shrimp were caught and held alive longer, so had more time to digest. Or do you mean different kinds of shrimp, like tiger shrimp versus prawns?