Kouign Aman

And . . . There it is! My eGulley laugh for the day. That is priceless. I shall probably steal it with no taint of shame in my heart. ← fifi beat me to it. Here's a hearty "Goose Cavorts" to all! :snicker: :chortle:

Original loves (20+ yrs ago): vanilla coffee strawberry. Eaten from the container, shaving off thin slices with the edge of my spoon. For about 2 years, I ate a pint of vanilla every saturday morning after workout. Usually sitting in the sun in my driveway. It was the only food I could think about without feeling nauseous after 4+ hours of heavy-duty training. Rum raisin for special occasions (yes, I can get a mild buzz off it). New(ish) love Dulce de Leche. They dont seem to freeze HD as rock-hard as they used to. I still love the 4 listed above also. With icecream flavors as good as HDs, I dont like all the add-in bits, and I dont like their chocolate flavors as they taste too 'cocoa-y' to me. The first flavor I tasted was honey vanilla. I thought the honey and the vanilla competed with each other, but the texture won me completely.

I think you guys are doing really well. I'm impressed. When you stumble, and start the self-beatings, have you stopped to consider how many cigarrettes you haven't smoked this week? Every one skipped is a victory. Please remember to celebrate the victories! Wishing you all luck for Monday.

That little slice of char sui, with the pickled pepper on it... that is so beautiful. What a photo... And damn its making my mouth water! Which TJ's do you use, mizducky? Hillcrest, La Jolla Village Square, or Pacific Beach (Garnet Ave)? LJVS store is in a pretty new bldg, might have friendlier floors.

I didnt read all thru (yet), so this may be redundant. We cook ours with thyme and add a white wine reduction at the end. We plop it all onto a brie thats been skinned on the top, and bake til the brie is bubbly. This is served with sliced baguette. Last year we 'confited' a 12lb bag of onions, and froze small containers. Had to open every window & outside door in the house and run the fans during the early stages.

Susan, I think that veg was bok choy. Dave, I second (?third?). That glass is delectable. <the much-missed envy icon> A friend of mine used this analogy to get thru quitting. He watched children learn to walk. They stood, they took a step, they fell. They did not then announce that it was too hard and they couldnt do it. Instead, they stood, and tried again. When he 'stumbled' by having a smoke, he reminded himself that he'd learned how to walk. It seems to me that things like the patch are like using the edge of the couch to help with balancing. Nothing wrong with a little help! Nicotine is such a small part of the damage cigarettes do to a body. I hope you will give yourself permission to do whatever it takes to keep quitting, for as long as it takes. Three cheers to everyone who is taking on the challenge! And you guys are making all that good-looking food to boot! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Oh my. I want one! Yes please, right now, thank-you-very-much St Valentine, Easter Rabbit, Mother's Day Fairy, Santa Claus.... whoever can pull it off. It looks like I'll be scouring garage sales unless fifi is successful.

Whats wrong with napping? If you're napping, you're not smoking.

To all four of 'quitters', best wishes for your success. (Interesting that 'quitter' is usually an insult, but is the highest of compliments in this circumstance.) I was going to suggest green beans prepared much as Jason did, except with toasted pine nuts instead of bacon, and a good squeeze of the lemon. But now I'm considering adding that stock-cube step to my recipe. It sounds very good. There's a thought. Perhaps dishes involving lots of chopping and stirring? I've read your previous blogs and enjoyed them thoroughly (and copied recipes from them). Im very much looking forward to this. Thank you. <editted to correct grammar and add thanks.>

Darcie, thank you for blogging. Its been a pleasure to read and I've enjoyed learning from you. The image of that beautiful coconut cake in the glass dish will stay with me a long time. And thank you for inspiring me to make Ling's cookies last night. Simple and delicious.

Darcy, foraging. Envy icon indeed! So cool! Please elaborate. What kind of salad is enhanced by violets, and how do you candy them? Have you tried nasturtium blossoms? Does color make a difference? What about pickling the seeds as capers? This is so fab, to get guidance on flowers-as-food. Molto grazie!

I had a visceral reaction to that photo of the coconut cake slice - I can practically smell that cake. Nice photo of a beautiful cake. Now I MUST bake a cake! Wow. Havent felt that way in .....um, never mind..... Thank you for the inspiration. I second the opinion on Trader Joe's canned morello cherries. I'm also going to have to try sweet potato hashbrowns. More veggies for breaky.

This, and the coconutshell-hooves (Ni!) have brought a good laugh to my day. Thanks! Those cakes (actually,all the food) look gorgeous! Delish, and well-shot. Thank you for the vicarious pleasure. I have to bake cookies for a coworker tomorrow, and am looking to your blog for inspiration. Ling's lime cookies are tempting. Best wishes to your new kitty for a good prognosis.

Happy Birthday (belated. :embarrassed:) Pepper bacon <pause to mop chin>........ yummmmmmmmmm! What's that on the other half of your bagel? And the suspense is killing - what is the birthday baking extravaganza going to feature?

After this experience, how important do you think the 'float' test is? You make bagel-making look fun, but I cant imagine hanging out for hours waiting for them to pass their water-safety tests. editted to add: I'm laughing with pleasure at the name of your foodie-cat.

DarcieB, Oh my, thats a nice kitchen. The organized fridge also knocked me back on my heels. Do you give lessons? And you did all that woodwork and tile? Kudos! WonderCup - how does it work with sticky stuff like molasses? It looks like it might become a new 'need'. And that covered the price of admission! Birthday cake - how about almond cake with rasperry filling and dark chocolate icing? Soba, thats obscene. Its too early for lunch & now I'm starving. Thanks for sharing. <editted for typos>

Another vote for buffet. (Self interest disclosure - its close to where I work) And thank you for your blog. Its been a treat to experience San Diego thru your unique way with words.

I can tell you are just gonna hate doing those experiments! (and their side effect of heating the apt). That's a fascinating salad. Was it as good as it looked?

MizDucky, what fun it was, to follow your day yesterday. I really enjoy your use of language as well as your POV. I hope your pork belly crisped nicely and your knee is calling a truce. I like those IKEA meatballs too. Panda Country, exactly, except for the House Special Shrimp. That recipe may be americanized, but its fabulous. It is head and shoulders above the rest of their food. Mildly spicy and crispy. Three farmer's markets I know of: - Pacific Beach, at that foodcourt/mall on Mission, between Grand and Pacific Beach Drive. Havent been in years. Used to have good flowers and herbs. One day a week, not sure if Sat or Sun - Poway, on Midland, adjacent to Old Poway Park. A bit of a schlep from Clairemont, but a straight shot up 15 from AG area. It runs from 8- ? (after 11 anyway) on Saturdays Both of these are very small and are set up in a parking lot. - down town San Diego, in a huge warehouse bld. Cant begin to describe where. :embarrassed: Those public-access scooters really do take a beating from all the inexperienced drivers/riders. I wonder how hard it is to transport them by car? New digs - if you head up Zion past the Vons, at the top of the hill is a whole new assortment of places to eat. Never got that far. Maybe on your next blog you will tell me all the wonders I missed. Khyber Pass, not cheap. Absolutely delish. Parking is a major pain. Food Court at Sorrento Towers (805, Miramesa Blvd exit, first left and first left again) has a decent Afghani "stand" which is quite inexpensive. Lots of inexpensive Ethiopian places around now, most not too far away (south of the 8). Ok, I'll shut up now. Probably should have half a post ago . Ciao, cant wait to hear how dinner worked out. <is there a lip-licking icon?>

Thank you, Toliver and racheld. In the absence of mizducky herself, I shall hie me to her thread.

Hot Dog! I cant quite believe it. I've been working my way thru the food blogs the past two months, and am halfway thru 2005, when I decide to check realtime. MizDucky, I lived 12 years behind the 7-11 east of the stadium - a flyball from Allied Gardens. Now I'm back in Clairemont Mesa (where I also lived for 7 years, some 15 years ago). Its such a hoot hearing about infinitely familiar things from your perspective. In fact, you inspired me to register meself with the eGullet powers-that-be. I routinely bought my produce and fun stuff at the produce market. Is Frank's Happy Chef still operating in the same mall as the Soup Plantation on Mission Gorge? That's cheap eats. I'm a cheap-sushi glutton, and Osaka (on Camino Del Rio North, at the Mission Gorge intersection behind Body Beautiful and next to Chili's) is competent. I like that it is run by Vietnamese immigrants who decided there was insufficient market for their food, but a strong market for Japanese. (Of course, Mira Mesa is full of successful Vietnamese joints which proved them partially wrong). In Clairemont Mesa: Sorrentinos, World Sushi, Panda Country, and Troys (for breakfast. Biscuits with goooooooood gravy.) Oh me oh my, I am so damned excited by your unique perspective on 'old hat', that I cant quite believe this is cynical me! Thank you for the fun. <editted for speedbumps>