annecros

I use running water. When the water gets under the membrane, it has much the same result - though his was especially neat.

Oh man, Chicken Fried Bacon. That has to be awesome. Does it come with gravy? ← It is, and it does. Click here for Bacon Porn I haven't made it since then, hmmm, I bet it would be great with some sliced tomato on the side...

Seconded, on both of your points! It is sometimes sold as fish emulsion. It's just chum. Works for everything, blossoms and root development.

A good book to have would be Smith & Hawken: 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden by Carolyn J. Male who is active among all things internet and tomatoey. I think it is the definitive guide.

Looks like a great recipe! I think I would coat in AP flour before hitting the eggwash though. The flour makes the eggwash stick, that makes the cornmeal stick. You should have sort of a Shnitzel like finish on the outside when done. That is, you have a solid coating that you can separate with the point of a knife between that cooked tomato and the coating. Pickled green tomatoes are pretty good as well. Just another option. Also, great in an omelette.

I've seen the trailer, and it looks absolutely adorable! Sigh, no grandkids yet (my kids are slackers) but maybe I can steal a neice or nephew to smuggle me into the theatre. The trailer can be found here I love Peter O'Toole.

Hey hon, They had some blue crab, and a big bunch of spiny lobster. A lot of crawfish too, but didn't get a snap. The oysters were a little smallish, but good. I steered clear of the sushi, because well, I don't do sushi, and I don't do it on the beach, but it was beautiful and a lot of people were busy chowing on it.

Oh don't worry. Most varieties of tomatoes are self-pollinated, and are actually pollinating themselves before they even bloom. The only time to worry about tomatoes and bees would be if you wish to save seed and have several varieties growing close together, or if you are growing a first generation hybrid type tomato that you wish to save seed from. If you are a seed saver of an open pollenated or heirloom variety, then you have to bag the blossom so that the seed will be true to the parent. Hybrids won't be true to the parent no matter. Your open pollenated toms should be just fine and set fruit without the bees doing the heavy lifting. There are one or two varieties of tomatoes that I have heard of that have a long stamen. Those almost have to be manually pollenated to get a prolific harvest Spring is wonderful!

I even entered my Meatloaf #400 and Tickle Me Cake in their Recipe Contest! ← Okay, so maybe it's not the $1 million Pillsbury Bake-Off, or even, so far as the level of competion is concerned, the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off, but it was kind of fun, and my grandson, Zack, will be thrilled! Congratulations, Steve! Your meat loaf recipe is one of our winning entries. Please send me your full address so I can send your aprons out to you and your grandson. Wear them proudly in the kitchen! Stay tuned to see your recipe posted on the site with the other winning recipes. Thanks for your participation! ~Mama SB (supposes he'll have to buy a Nintendo Wii now? ) ← Hay, there is nothing wrong with that meatloaf recipe! A real accomplishment. Now Wii users all over the world will be virtually preparing your meatloaf.

There's always the low oven method. It depends upon the quantity of the food you want to dehydrate.

An excellent idea, but my house is an urban area with a tiny yard. I'm going to have to keep my fires safely within a grill. ← Is there perhaps a public park or recreation area that has shared outdoor grills? In my area, the State recreation areas have almost a fire pit setup anyway. Might be a good excuse to get out on the weekend and enjoy the Spring weather, but the logistics would be elaborate. I think I am going stove top, and am only preparing for hubby and myself so it should be OK. I do have a very large bullet type smoker though, that just might do the trick. It already has a place to suspend the pan, and a side loader. Hmm, that should work if I can find the right sized pan...

I agree wholeheartedly, and one of my constant pleasures is making American dishes for French friends. I've introduced people to okra (found in African markets and called "gombos"), gumbo, blackened shrimp, cornbread, peanut butter cookies, New England clam chowder, enchiladas, cheesecake, carrot cake, and many other regional dishes, as well as used associations or tactics that are often used in America (some types of fusion food, etc.). But I still do think that despite a wide range of real American dishes, there isn't a "tradition" of food, so it's far too easy to get uprooted. My mother is a great cook, but she never taught me a thing, and my brother can't make anything more than a tuna fish sandwich. So I agree with your last comment, which is that our modern life has gotten the upper hand over something that just wasn't maybe a priority, or because of the melting-pot, wasn't the same for us all? There must be a Puritan element to it, too; it's not seemly to be so invested in food. Often at dinners, French people laugh about the fact that while eating, they're often talking about other foods, meals, etc. But they don't have a sense of shame. ← It is interesting that although we produce some great food, we feel guilty about enjoying it, and must minimalize what is a very diverse and interesting cuisine. It's ours, so it must not be good. Funny. Sad funny, but funny nonetheless.

Marathon seafood. here

This is a great topic of discussion. The interesting thing is the assumption that "American" food is all mass produced loaded with sugar, salt and fat. When I think of "American" food, I think of more traditional fare that is not mass produced. Sounthern, New England, Cajun, Southwestern, etc and so on. Brats, beer and mustard never really left the Great Lakes area. Some very nice cheeses and butter. Apple pie made traditionally is a very complex sweet, sour, savory thing going on, with a hunk of cheddar on top an entirely different thing. Maple syrup. Bacon in all its various permutations. So were we evolved in our palates, then de-evolved due to our circumstances and lifestyles? Right now, the mustard section in my local grocery is larger than the mayo and ketchup sections. I think I was fortunate, in that I had an opportunity to live and be exposed to the earlier generations (homemade cured meats, fresh vegetables, pickles, preserves, relishes, etc.) "this generation", and am seeing a very demanding consumer out there right now that wants to eat like Grandma, or Great Grandma, as the case may be. It's funny when you think of the "generation" that is being held accountable for the dead American palate, are the very people driving the market for more new and interesting challenges to the palate. Schizo, certainly. Constantly dissatisfied? Yep. Better, faster and cheaper. We want it cheap and easy, but we also want it great. Edit to add: Now that I think about it, a hamburger with mustard, ketchup, pickle, a slice of tomato, some nice cheddar, fresh onion, toasted bun, and that smoky grilled beef patty, is a pretty complex combination on the palate. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Then all the combinations on a hot dog! Chili dog, relish dog, etc.

Bar food used to be really good once upon a time... Food is simply a loss leader for them. Naw, some of them really don't care, and buy whatever falls off the back of the SYSCO truck.

Hey Mystwalker, I guess we have to give her points for presentation, do we not? She managed to disguise something that doesn't work as convincing enchiladas, and suckered intelligent adults into sampling her wares. That takes skill. Hot (and probably by the time you guys got to the end of the table, warm) tartar sauce doesn't do it for me. But, I am not a tartar sauce fan. I think LJS also does a "grilled" fish filet, that you may suggest to her to "tweak" her recipe, as you will be seeing this time and again at every potluck you and she attends. Great first post, by the way.

Florida is famous for its food festivals, and April 29 we attended the 23rd annual Pompano Beach Seafood Festival. Main entrance was at Atlantic and A1A and the festival itself was on the beach. Ten dollars to park, and $10 per person. We took the scenic route up A1A, and hubby had his heart set on oyster shooters on the ride up. Fresh shucked oyster, ice cold vodka, a dab of horseradish and a dash of tobasco. He wasn't dissappointed, and found one at the first food stand inside the gate: If more than 20 people gather in South Florida, the Arepa guys are there: Decisions, decisions. I had the seafood wrap. Hubby had grilled octopus: The sushi booth was very busy, and considering the 87 degree sunny weather, it gave a cold alternative to some of the festival goers: More seafood: Huge crab cakes: Quarter pound cookies: These were just beautiful chocolate dipped bananas, marshmallows and cadied apples: We had a blast. Great day on the beach, lot's of music and arts and crafts booths, and some really good and really fresh seafood. We only burned through $80 and left satisfied. The Guess Who played live that night, and there was live music by local bands all day during the day. A real hoot!

Absolutely. Get Mom buzzed, but good. Everything just looks shiny and brighter. Unfortunately, my Mother is a teetotaler. I had to wash dishes, step, and fetch to make up for my sins. It is always worth it. You only have one mother.

Yeah, well I may have to pick up a roll and see. But I have personal issues with Bounty because it is a Procter and Gamble product. That's just me though, and should in no way influence anyone else's purchase decisions. I can say that I don't care for the Bounty standard issue paper towel. Scott's? For many years I was a Scott's toilet paper fan and would allow nothing else in my home. I got cheap in a convenience store and bought Cottonelle one day. Haven't looked back since. Coronet is just a tease. A mean tease. So are we consumers. And the lumberjack rules.

Oh wow! I am enamoured, in love. I have to cook this, and am clueless. Nothing wrong with this food. Thanks Rogelio. That helped, a lot. Will report back.

But do you have a lumberjack looking all lumberjacky at you every time you peer into the cabinet? I do towels and rags for a lot of stuff, but when I had kids at home we went through a lot of papertowels. Nature of the little beasties. The laundry load issue was an issue back then. I only do two loads a week now, but there was a time when his, hers and ours made for two loads a day.

Absolutely - the pick-a-size is the most ingenious paper towel ever invented. Saves a ton of paper and absorption isn't too bad either. ← Agreed. You and I should rule the world PaniniGuy. I can do one, two or three sections depending upon my needs. I have even torn off four sections when I wanted to. Brilliant.

Will do. I don't think it will kill me, but I think I have hubby ready to try first! Have him all softened up, and think I have turned the corner to "excited to do it" with him. I love him. I need to do this. Sheesh, life is short, right?

Brawny Pick-A-Size. Only paper towel out there. I am always dissappointed with Bounty anymore. Too soft actually. Dana, I did absolutely the same thing with VIVA. Many years ago, but they worked very well. I had only two children, but only 14 months apart. I was all about VIVA then, but you may want to give the big lumberjack a spin. He is kind of interesting. Outdoorsy and all that.

OH so cool. I love it when you can buy from somebody that know's what they are selling. Pleased to see Sungold an Cherokee Purple. Nothing wrong with either, but you never know what a plant will do in a climate different from the one you are familiar with and have grown in. Now, having said that, I really want to hear about Sioux. It is sort of obscure, but there are positive rumblings around and about. I am not familiar with Marmande. Do tell. Herbs! Much fun. I can grow a gazillin varieties of basil, but not one dill makes it. Have to buy, and guess what kind of pickles I like? Glad you had a good day.