Philanthrophobe

Yay, Sheena!! You're a goddess!! Thank you!!!!

Not much gatherable in the deserty northwest part of Las Vegas, unless anyone out there has a recipe for stewed creosote bush... When I was growing up in northern Delaware, we'd gather bags of black walnuts at Valley Forge State Park in the fall. Apple-picking was also an annual activity. I miss both.

My favorite brand comes from the Korean grocery...but of course I can't think of the name, and of course I'm out of it. But my favorite flavor is kimchi, followed by a flavor called "Asian onion vegetable." And of course I add extra kimchi to it! For fun, here's some Korean instant noodle reviews.

Sure. The flambe-ing basically cooks flavor into the meat - it works in every pan, from el cheapo tinnies to Calphalon Professional Non-Stick. Just keep your face out of your saute pan when you do it, and make sure you aren't directly under your inbuilt microwave, etc. - home kitchens don't come with the high open space of the Iron Chef studios - or any other professional kitchen (!) ← Gotcha. I'm worried, however, about the effect of the flames on the Teflon. I've heard so much on the news about how dangerous Teflon gets when it is overheated. Am I being overly paranoid here? Thanks! ← It's bad for parrots when an empty Teflon-coated pan is heated to high temps (the fumes can kill them), but didn't someone do a recent study demonstrating that, if used correctly, Teflon was safe for humans?

Holy cow....this is an AWESOME site!!

I've done risotto with portobello mushrooms; your version(s) sound great! And then there's the falafel route...[Homer Simpson] Ummmmmm....falafel.....[/Homer Simpson]

I have a 30-year-old 4qt Kitchenaid that belonged to my mother, a K/A hand mixer, a stick blender, a large K/A food processor with large and small bowls, and a Vitamix. I figure I'm completely covered should anything need to be mixed, mashed, pureed, chopped, or crushed. I might need a 12-step group.

I saw a little pink "Hello Kitty" mayonaise container on eBay a few years ago, and I guess ever since then it's been just a matter of time? Now I'm really really having a hard time restraining myself from ordering huge quantities of bento paraphenalia! THANX SB ← [Darth Vader voice] Steeeeeeeeeeeve....come over to the daaaaaaaaaark siiiiiiiide....bento boxes are waaaaaaaiting.....[/Darth Vader voice] ← Now tell me THIS ain't cute with a capital "Q"? SB (smitten with the mouthless kitten) (check out the pic in the upper right-hand corner) ← To quote the box cover, it's "Cute, Cuddly, A Bundle of Fun!" I want some of those multi-shaped hard-boiled egg molds...

Thank you!!! Excellent!!!

I saw a little pink "Hello Kitty" mayonaise container on eBay a few years ago, and I guess ever since then it's been just a matter of time? Now I'm really really having a hard time restraining myself from ordering huge quantities of bento paraphenalia! THANX SB ← [Darth Vader voice] Steeeeeeeeeeeve....come over to the daaaaaaaaaark siiiiiiiide....bento boxes are waaaaaaaiting.....[/Darth Vader voice]

I got a Zojirushi Mr. Bento insulated food jar a couple of weeks ago; two days a week finds me at school from 730am till 530pm, and the prices for meals at school are exorbitant. Here's a site dedicated to that particular style of bento: Mr. Bento Porn ...and here's a site featuring the more traditional styles: Bento Boxes

Live critters and pets top my list for reasons discussed earlier in this thread. Don't care for offal at all, particularly brains--it's primarily a texture thing. And for the same reason, I can't stand mealy, un-juicy fruit.

A Delaware-based sandwich shop called Capriotti's sells a sandwich called the Bobbie, which is turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayonnaise on a hoagie roll. The mere fact that it exists freaks me out. ACK ACK ACK ACK ACK ACK ACK ACK I'm a salad separatist too. And I love my Mr. Bento.

I second that notion. Very rarely do I have the room or the desire for the huge slabs of Mississippi Mud Pie & the like that seem to abound at otherwise decent places. Often I've wished for a nice little fruit tart & you just can't find them. One of the most memorable desserts I've had was a simple slice of cantaloupe at an Italian place near Union Square in NYC - memorable not only because it was the perfect finish to a rather large lunch, but because it was perfectly ripe, clearly from a melon chosen by soneone who really knew their fruits. That's the kind of attention to detail thar I appreciate. ← I'll third the notion! A selection of perfectly ripe fruits is the perfect way to end a meal. Plus, I don't suffer from a sugar crash three hours later.

M.F.K. Fisher, Marion Cunningham, Ludwig Bemelmens, James "Diamond Jim" Brady, and Rosa Lewis, the woman who was the inspiration for the Duchess of Duke Street series. (A book about her is here.) Of course, in this fantasy, I'm a marvelous cook and not intimidated or nervous in the least. Heh.

is the one I have and love! details here ← Ooooh, that's a pretty one. Since the whistle comes from a slit in the lid, do you need to use a hotpad once the water's boiling?

Can anyone recommend a good waffle iron that's not nonstick? I have parrots, and overheating anything with a nonstick coating can result in fumes which could be lethal to them. And I've got an electric range (blech).

I rely on a whistling tea kettle as well, as I, too, distract easily. I've used a stainless steel Chantal model for about 15 years. It's expensive, but it's easy to clean and durable. The whistle sounds like a train whistle, and it's loud enough that I can hear it from any part of the house. I love it!

I wish we could see this in the states; I've been looking around on the web to see if anyone's got an episode or two online, but without much luck. I did, however, find the main site for the production. They've also done a follow-up called "Feast Bazaar," which also looks pretty interesting.

"Cheesiest pin stripe suit" aside, the man does seem pretty dedicated to fighting hunger. If I owned a "cheesiest pin stripe hat," I'd doff it to him.

Oooooooh, that was you sobbing in the corner! I was raised in a part of the country that produces a lot of crab; I grew up gnawing my way through many a crab carapace. (I think I might have teethed on them.) But I'll abstain if I ever visit India. I'd hate to think my dining habits were capable of causing an entire roomful of people to develop post traumatic stress disorder!

I've got one: About a year ago a friend and I stopped in to a Korean restaurant for lunch. Although the menu was in English as well as Korean, the waitstaff spoke next to no English. I ordered crab soup, which was delivered to me with an entire intact crab in it. I was surprised but unphased and asked (in pantomime) if I might have something to crack the crab open. They looked at me with such consternation and horror that I quickly said, "Never mind" and ate the soup and left the crab. There were no other customers I could appeal to for help--just me, my friend, and a large language barrier. Does anyone have any idea what sort of gaffe I may have commited? Incidentally, my friend ordered fish soup and got soup with a large fish head in it, which at least made sense. And I would've happily eaten the crab had I been able to extract it from its shell....I was thoroughly baffled.

Do NOT start trashing IHOP! What's next Denny's?-stop before it's too late! ← Hey, Moons Over My Hammy don't need no stinkin help from nobody!

I'm wondering about choice of frying medium. Jeffrey Steingarten has a whole chapter about cooking frites in horse fat in one of his books; here's blogger Pim posing the question to Harold McGee. Hmmmmmm.

We have to wait till JANUARY???!!!! In the meantime, I guess I'll keep amusing myself with my TV's PIP feature. (So far, the most entertaining combo is VH1's "Flavor of Love" and Nancy Grace, but Samantha Brown goes great with the Teletubbies.)