suzilightning

what kay said... though i only have the smaller pot i inherited from my mom. it's perfect for just the two of us

last night (and tonight) : leftover readington farms roasted chicken(dark meat) carrots, onions, leeks, fresh tarragon and oregano, garlic, vegetable stock and chicken stock, whole wheat noodles, chopped kale and VOILA chicken noodle soup that was served with sundried tomato bread perfect after a full day outside

i alsways talk about food(unless it is september - november when i also talk about hawk migration) to anyone and everyone. at work with staff members and patrons, in the grocery store, with friends ... with everyone but my husband's family. remember my mother-in-law was raised by a diplomad german cook though she would rather hang out with her boyfriend than actually cook. she never taught my sister-in-law how to cook - wouldn't even let her turn the stove on to make a cup of tea when she was 13 years old. had her mother's funeral lunch catered by subway - then took all the lettuce and tomatoes out of the subs. i could go on and probably will when i find out of which boxes christmas dinner will be cooked(i insist on bringing fruit and fresh vegetables). thank goodness my husband indulges me and my friends here are adventurous in trying new recipes or a new restaurant. actually i went to a new restaurant last week for lunch with my dangerous dining companion(friend 'chelle) and started exchanging recipes with the owner/chef.

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert for 2 year olds or so... the cat gets out into the garden and, try as he might, he can't catch anything but How my Parents Learned to Eat by Ira Friedman what happens when an american sailor in japan falls in love with a beautiful japanese girl... and how he learns to use chopsticks while she has her grandfather teach her how to use knife, fork and spoon in hte english way. Thundercake by Patricia Polacco a grandmother teaches her young granddaughter how to conquer her fear of thunderstorms

tuesday it was raining so a day off. after the gym took myself out to lunch at a newly reopened place. new owner/chef - new menu. best bargain i've seen in a while. entree was two pieces of stuffed cabbage, side was pan fried vegetables ( and believe me he isn't shy with the garlic!!). the veg were wonderfully crispy soft and the sauce for the cabbage was sweet and sour. total cost - 8.48 plus tip.

my rule is unless i ask for something specifically give me either food or wine. that said i usually ask for recipe cards and champagne flutes. in the past i have asked for whole nutmegs and mixed peppercorns things that are inexpensive enough for those on a limited budget to afford. johnnybird, being the smart man he is, went to Gary's Wine and Marketplace last year and picked up a mixed case of champagne. each holiday i get one or two of the bottles. he timed it out so he will have to restock after valentine's day 2006. in the past i have given mother-in-law #1 "dinner with paul newman" - an autographed picture of paul newman, spaghetti, a jar of his sauce, a bottle of his salad dressing and a nice sized bowl to eat the pasta from while looking at his picture. mother-in-law #3 wanted one of lydia's books so i got her that and picked out several of the recipes and purchased one or two ingredients for them. since i also know she rarely cooks at home i also bought her a jar of rao's and patsy's sauces. for johnnybird's friends i make fudgy bourbon brownies or tea cakes - cranberry orange, banana, toast dope streusel - or last year was crumb cake. this year i am considering some home concocted spice rubs for my brother-in-law(along with his Bad Kitty calendar), individual frozen soups for my mother-in-law #1's freezer and a copy of the Joslin recipe book along with one or two of the dessert type thingies for mother-in-law #3 since she has developed type-2 diabetes recently. haven't figured out what to do for the guys, yet.

I have cooling on the counter, a Krispy Kreme Donut Bread Pudding. with Butter Rum Sauce.. Wish me luck ←

wow- can't wait for the dim sum and your anniversary dinner(20 more than you coming up ) happy and healthy new year for your life together. your precious baby is beautiful and wonderful, sleek baby and i love the picture of what most cats do all the time oh, gosh. i remember when i was a kid(in the stone age) having our milk delivered by the milkman(mr. price). didn't have to leave the cooler out since we had a "milk box" on the porch though i was lucky since i was a sick kid he always saved our house for last so i could hear the bell on the milk truck and, though i couldn't run out to get the milk, i could stand at the door and mr. price in his white pants and shirt, black bow tie and white cap would bring the milk nana needed into the house. the arancici look wonderful , especially since i'm not a sweets for breakfast person. am looking forward to the rest of the blog.... thanks

klary- what ever you do it will be wonderful... i only know a lot of dutch or frisian food from(ok go ahead and laugh all) romance novels from betty neels who died earlier this year. she was a nurse married to a "dutchman" (don't know if he was dutch or frisian) and all of her books included food like crazy whether in england or the netherlands - pankoken, dutch babies, erwentoensoep, etc.(please pardon the mispellings). growing up in new york we knew of ollie bollen(early dutch doughnuts) and what about the ristaffel(rice table)? love any information you have on any foods, especially the "plain food". with the cooler weather coming are there any endings that are special? fruit pies or something of the sort? thanks for your incredible input... suzi

i grew up with my mom's sweet chili - ground beef, sugar, tomatoes, a bit of chili powder, kidney beans then i went to TEXAS and learned what a BOWL OF RED is (at least in texarkana) - beef chuck cut into small pieces and cooked in a cast iron pan on one side only, dusted with ancho chile powder then doused with beer and served in a bowl. sides were cheese and onion. came north then had some cincinnati chili served five way by a coworker - ground beef, tomato, and a spice sachet then served over spaghetti with beans, onion, oyster crackers and cheese. now i do all kinds depending on who is around and what i want to do... chopped venion, ground buffalo, organic beef, onions, beans, cheese, pork and tomatillo, hmmmmm the next time it is raining and i can clean out the freezer i will have to play

since my mother-in-law buys her desserts (did you know Mrs. Smith uses milk in her apple pie? about the 4th ingredient down and we can't forget the Sara Lee raspberry cheesecake - neither which johnnybird can eat) since john goes up for thanksgiving weekend i always send up a dessert that he can enjoy. it has to be able to make the 90 mile one way trip up to poughkeepsie so ususally it is black forest mousse pie. this year i'm thinking about doing a spice cake or a pineapple upside down cake. what i really wish i could find is a recipe for the cranberry chiffon pie i had at American Bounty during their soft opening. it was one of the most wonderful things... er pieces of food i have ever put in my mouth. flaky, rich pastry with a tart cranberry filling and just the right amount of sweetness....

two hours at the hawkwatch and not a single bird stopped at my local apple tree for veg and saw my favorite butcher - picked up two porkchops, center cut and boneless about 1"-1 1/2" thick each. slit a pocket into the side then stuffed with a dressing of pumpernickel bread, onion, thyme and apples. johnnybird couldn't wait for dinner when he got home so made some prosciutto and provolone toasts for him and served with garlic stuffed green olives. cooked the chops, made a pan sauce with shallots, white wine and veg stock. served with whole wheat noodles, peas and applesauce. dessert was a stout spice cake with lemon glaze though i added some more applesauce to mine. tonight we're having a friend over and i'm planning a roast chicken stuffed with garlic and lemon, roasted cauliflower, potatoes au gratin and green beans and carrots. more stout cake for dessert - probably with some poached pears and some whipped cream.

she published a companion cookbook called, i believe, Lydia's Family Table. try checking with your library or in amazon.

tracey- so funny. looks good - wouldn't eat it for anything. got home about 630 pm edt - had made gumbo but not interested in eating. used some leftover whole wheat noodles, johnnybird's supersweet tomatoes, some olive oil and some butoni pesto( hey, it was on sale with triple coupons and i've never made pesto). local redleaf lettuce with some dressing i'd made yesterday and voila - johnnybird's dinner i had some 100 and 150 grand marnier. i am happy <where is the sleepy smilie?> will suck something good down for breakfast, though since i have to be on the watch by 0730 bird time(0830 human).

rain and cool weather here so... for tomorrow night chicken and sausage gumbo. no andouille but i had some of emeril's kicked up sausages so i skinned them and chucked them into the pot. when we get home tomorrow just heat up the gumbo, make some rice and chop up some green onions.

best wishes to your dad for a good recovery. really good bread is a must. we make both portugese sweet bread(don't know if it is in your dad's food profile) and oatmeal bread so we can eat the turkey sandwiches - we don't eat the turkey for dinner - that's for the sandwiches later!! cranberry orange relish and ( i know but i grew up with it) miracle whip. how about some brussel sprouts with bacon and a vinagrette for a side? my favorite thing though are white sweets that are baked then scooped out, and the innerds mashed and mixed with some maple syrup and white pepper then restuffed and baked. some butternut squash soup? with bacon?

had a mess of wax beans from the farmers market on sunday so i cooked them all. some i sauteed with some garlic the rest blanced so i can freeze in appropriate amounts. the sauteed ones went with some fettucini, onions,garlic, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, parsley and black olives. also served a yellow tomato with aged asiago shaved over the tomato and evoo and balsamic vinegar. served a pinot grigio with the dinner. leftovers will be dinner/lunch for the next two days.

yes, please, chris!! my stepdad was portugese from new bedford. he used to make portugese toast but never shared the recipe with me - any ideas? love kale and white beans, chorize, etc. if you can do some ( and of course crosspost to the soup thread if you do ) would love it and of course what andrea and peanut eat....

we ate garden salad almost every day during growing season. with 1/4 acre garden we shared with the maiden lady across the street we had lettuces, tomatoes, cukes, onions (a few reds that my grandfather loved and regularly made an appearance in the salad and on his burgers). we did grow iceberg but also had red leaf and frise as well as pulling cress from one or two secret locations. dressings were usually store bought and i have told of my love for my birthday dinner of a salad of sliced tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese and that red french dressing <holds head up high since ya gotta have some trailer trash in ya to be interesting >

wow - that meat looks absolutely, positively .... words fail me last night was a quickly thrown together quiche with some asparagus tips and asiago along with a salad that had some of johnnybird's one(and only so far) heirloom brandywine tomato on it. dessert for him was a piece of blueberry crumb pie from the farmer's market - loaded with vanilla toffuti and cool whip tonight was five-spice duck breasts with caramelized quince from Cooking Light. the breasts had been marinating for two days in some of the quince poaching liquid, ginger and garlic. seared and finished in the oven then set to rest while sauteeing some cubed quinces in some reserved pan drippings. added some sliced green onions and plated with some romaine lettuce, roasted asparagus and garlic and a dressing of sherry vinegarette. Helena Ranch cabernet with it. johnnybird won't touch the skin so i removed it and will make lardons with some of the duck fat later . he don't know what he's missing

just noticed a new title published that might go on hurricane prone gulleters lists: The Storm Gourmet: A Guide to Creating Extraordinary Meals Without Electricity by Daphne Nikolopoulos. seems she is the managing editor of Palm Beach Illustrated and during last years season noticed the lack of recipes for meals that could be prepared without cooking appliances.

poor tracey- some of us have been mistaken for being in their 30's ( though just turned 51). pm me after 1 december and we will get together just before that time for some bbq or thai or home cookig.... i can cook for someone with ibs since i do it all the time

noooooooooooo 4:1 please and hendricks now( i have outgrown bombay sapphire)

beautiful stuff, all rain today so i am free to cook and cook i did with a vengence - poached quinces. if y'all can do these they are a relevation. part apple part pear - wonderful texture and i can think of several ways they can be used - including just over some vanilla soy ice cream. will use some of these for tomorrow or sunday's dinner of duck breast with quinces. the breasts are now marinating in 1/2 cup of the poaching liquid, some 5 spice powder, garlic, lemongrass and salt and pepper. i found some lovely thin green asparagus i think i'll roast and serve along with some red leaf lettuce salad with some radiccio? tonight was a recipe try from cuisine at home: french onion salisbury steak - and johnnybird loved it. served it as a soup-ish thing with whole wheat noodles and roasted broccoli instead of cheese toasts. another keeper. i'm sure maytag blue with pear and either noilly prat vermouth(me) or port(the birdie) for dessert in a bit.

for washing a TRIPLE sink (rinse, wash, rinse) maybe a second prep sink - in an ideal world. make those trips deep enough you can't bitch