suzilightning

tommy - husband loves cream of cauliflower soup with saffron simmer 2 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth. take off the heat and add 1/4 tsp crumbled saffron threads saute 2 cups of chopped onions in a mixture of butter and olive oil till tender but not brown. add 1 1/2 pounds of cauliflower cut into 1/2-3/4" pieces and stir. brown lightly. add the broth, bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cover, simmering till the cauliflower is tender. cool. puree half the mixture in blender then add back to pan. bring to a simmer. season to taste with salt and pepper hmmmmmmm..... kinda cool still. perhaps i'll visit apple tree and experiment with some oven roasted cauliflower soup

breakfast(but that's another link) for me usually is low fat, small curd cottage cheese with fruit in season. if i'm making lasagna i also let the cottage cheese drip through a coffee filter and it becomes thicker - then mix it with minced garlic and chopped flat leaf parsley and some torn basil. use instead of ricotta course husband's grandmother (born in germany 1902) always refers to it as "college cheese"

i use a mix of spanish and sweets - maui, oso. sometimes i just slice them suckers up - other times i will make roasted garlic and onion soup and coarsely chop the onions up in the blender. since you are on soft foods you might want to go the puree route.

we're scheduled for the annual pilgrimage to the crest may 13-18 and, since i'm not getting to the pig out i want to take the husband out for a nice meal on our anniversary(15th). i will NOT go back to the lobster house except for take away - john has gotten better at eating a wide variety of things so - any suggestions? i checked that other dining forum as well as ardore's site. maybe the old top of the marq or ebbit room many thanks - as usual

gosh darn it nick- it's my wedding anniversary too but we're down the shore maybe next year - and i'd be happy to volunteer as a kitchen slave

and you say that as if it is a BAD thing chocolate - rich, cream , smooth.....

lamb - i most second that emotion. though i think for females you really don't feel really grown up till you lose your mother. a truly defining moment when you become the adult and it's funny how so many of the food traditions drop into your lap. i was 36 when i lost my mom - my mother-in-law is 69 and her mom is still around. she has yet to pick up the traditions( not that she can cook and i have most of the recipes from her mom) yet years ago i started with our traditions - oatmeal and portugese sweet bread for thanksgiving and christmas and easter. the fruitcake ( no citron) started on thanksgiving day. stuffed eggs for easter monday... i'd love to have one last meal of crispy bacon, boiled potatoes, fried flounder and lima beans for breakfast just like esther used to make.... since we don't have any kids who have survived us(a definite 20th century advance if you look at enough gravestones) - all i can hope for is to help some one to remember the past and make the future better - cousin, neice, nephew or an adopted relative

my mom - almost 13 years and i still miss her. OR sara moulton - was going to say tyler florence but he would BE dessert

funny, on our two week tour of the south/midwest i was asking my husband why, when he is on a business trip, he doesn't eat local but tends to go to chains. and his travel isn't to some no dining area - we're talking aberdeen, md, minneapolis, lansing, mi. he said : 1. ususally he is eating with other engineers and most of them think of olive garden, red loster, or tgi fridays as dining out 2. many of the hotels they stay in have one of these establishments attatched to them 3. if not attatched to the hotel they are close enough you don't have to worry about a dwi after pounding a few back at the bar 4. after work they're too tired to try to seek out local dining. course when he traveled with one of the other engineers from europe they ate at places like the Sofitel, Goodfellows, Maureens in Minneapolis -

INTRUDER!! odd - last month and this one i've started craving meat - pork, buffalo, ostrich, venison and stir fried vegetables. this morning it was a toasted ham and swiss sandwich for breakfast - hmmmmm wonder what i can scrounge up for dinner

bourdain - rerun chocolate show - don't know if i can get over him calling the piece of chocolate cloud cake "...a naughty piece of cake..." think i'll try making that for my husband when he gets home sunday

i have spent all day (at regular intervals) going out and removing the ice and snow we got yesterday- my mama always said that her daffodils had to be snowed on three times before they could bloom - my king alfreds now have been and they are up and in bud. my snow crocuses are now covered with snow with just the tips of the tallest ones poking out from the ice shelland my grape hyacints are totally buried - more ice glaze tonight cold with rain all week - now i see why they tell all the new people who move in around here don't put your pansies out till mid may at the earliest

SHOOT!! and here i was going to suggest you meet me at lou's place since my husband will be in the city at the faux genesis concert oh, well. tomorrow i work till 7 then i have a date.

is it time to play again?

corpus christi - take-out lunches from Vietnamese Restaurant. ok -- not highly spiced which made husband quite happy. spring rolls, summer rolls, stir fried rice with chinese sausage, vegetables, eggs and shrimps, chicken with vegetables, and shrimps with vegetables, extra jasmine rice. about 20 each day with leftovers for the next day's breakfast. the one night out we went to landry's on the water. 1/2 dozen shrimp appetizer - and no they don't get any of their seafood from the local fishermen but from a wholesaler in galveston. our waiter said the locals couldn't keep up with the demand - salad bowl, broiled platter for me, redfish with the victoria topping for john, two margaritas for him, glass of wine for me - 90 including tip and tax. ok but not remarkable.

well, jaymes - stayed at new braunfels - german dinner at oma's. fairly good and we found some good beers. we were thinking of going to greune but by the time we made it down from near tulsa we just wanted to settle in to the hotel and get some food. still haven't had any bbq yet since husband thinks the object is to bird as late as possible. i see another trip to the valley will be in order - probably for two months or so.

oh, yeah and check out the beard action he has going... but on topic the tarte tatin did look interesting

taking a break since prep is done and waiting for husband to come home with a glass of 1998 Chateau Souverain Cabernet. last night was beef in Guinness and champ - Laura's organic beef browned then cooked with carrots, onions, Guinness some fresh tarragon and parsley then baby peas added at the last minute. champ over the top. tonight sofrito clams with prosciutto and a whole grain baugette for starters with a Fredrich 3M wine - also used in the dish. then oven "fried"(baked) fish fingers made with haddock and a coleslaw with carrots, savoy cabbage and red cabbage. just trying to use up all those things in the fridge before we leave for texas!!

we are driving but want to spend most of our time birding in the valley. we will be hitting dfw around the 23rd or 24th of this month and have to be in corpus the 26th. after the confreence is overweleave the 30th to drive north and visit beautiful hooks,tx and see if the trailer we spent our first year of marriage in is still there any suggestions are welcome and there is this pit in texarkana i can't wait to get to. i am also under strick instructions to go to bryans near houston by one of the ladies i work with who grew up near there. the alsatian sounds intriguing - up near new braunfels, maybe? i also want some good mexican if i can find it. as always - thanks for any ideas and suggestions

jaymes - thanks for the tips. our time during the stay in corpus is pretty well planned out - field trips two days from 7am - 12:30 then papers till 5 pm, third day papers all day with a conference banquet that night. we're hoping to get from dfw to laredo on monday, bird our way down to brownsville then up to corpus. course john wants seafood since we're near the coast - i just want 'cue - good 'cue.

we will be heading for a conference in corpus (by way of west virginia, kansas and oklahoma - but don't ask). we are on our own for two dinners, one of which has to be sandwiched between two presentations. we will be staying down on the water so are kind of limited to that area that night. i came up with some places that sounded interesting and if any of you have an opinion on them i'd appreciate hearing it. thanks Grandview Restaurant and Bar Tokyo Den Wahooz Cajun Cave Yarkarm Restaurant Christian Katz 21

I ask Nick that all the time!! I think we are going to have to join the country club!! or maybe lou will let him borrow the kitchen at american grill and to think i got to sit next to him and eat steak sannies great words about your work nick - and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy

just as i saw the tips of my daffodils - another 3 inches. and forget my crocuses - they are under a 2 1/2 foot mound of snow i did just buy some morning glory, moonflower and dill seeds to start when we get back from texas in early april - maybe by june we will be able to put them outside both john and i have been looking at catalogs in our spare time trying to decide what new thing to try down near the lake that would be perennial and maybe give us a bit of privacy when we are in the hammock. my mom and her grandmother before her used to grow grapes - concords not wine grapes but while my greatgran's flourished mom's didn't. i don't know why. snowangel - i am soooo jealous. to be able to open all the windows and air out the house- ooooohhhhhhh. can't wait.

if you want a hamburger and fries with a beer but aren't ravenous- the service tends to be a bit slow- try o, sullivans! on rt 181 in jefferson when the weather gets nice - IF it ever gets nice. can't recommend any other places on lake hopatcong because after 19 years up here i have found the food is mediocre and the service is slowwwwww. if and when seneca lake fills in zoe's could become a great place to hang out.

lb - once hubby is back tdy casseroles, soups - probably something light since it's getting warm down in belvoir like a spring pea soup, since she is right next door one of the extra loaves of bread you're making for the kids. hooh-ha!