Kouign Aman

Coming over in a couple of months. Places to eat? Is it worth the drive to Kaikoura to get mussels? Where in Dunedin? Breakfast? Lunch or dinner? Where anywhere on the island! We havent an itinerary yet, but its nice to know where the good eats are (at all price levels). It helps with the planning!

The link above talks Aukland. There's a grand big island out there, and its been a few years since this thread has been active. Which only matters to me because I'm headed NZ-ward in a few short months. :happy dance: What else and where to eat? Chish and fips, bakeries, restaurants, other... Any places to seek out as we wander along? And then there's the Hangi. Are any of them better tasting than the others? Its kind of a must do for tourists but I remember the food as almost painfully bland. (Worse than bland when accompanied by sulpher fumes from hot springs).

Any new recommendations? Is this thread limited to fine dining, or are there places worth seeking out, but suitable for a well behaved sub-teen ? We're headed out in the cold months. While most of the trip will be fueled by bakeries and picnics, there's a day or two when a good meal will be in order. thanks in advance.

I'm looking forward to having backyard chickens in the next year or so. It will be grand to read of your adventures in the meantime. We had a pair of bantums when I was a kid. Oh my, those yolks. The color of orange juice.

Angelfood Chocolate Chip cookies was how I remember these. For years, they were sold separately as well as part of the variety pack, then sadly they lost their independent existence. I love those damn things. Some weeks more than others. I havent had one for ages because I dont want the rest of the variety pack particularly. Maybe FritoLay will bring them back :fingers crossed icon: :begging icon: :praying icon:

I usually do. Unless I eat 4.

Panchos on Main, near 2nd, in El Cajon. Excellent chilaquiles. Choice of three sauces. HUGE portions. The soups looked excellent.

The guavas (thank you for the ID) are good baked in puff pastry with sugar. They are quite musky and are improved by a touch of spice. The best is coriander. Last night I ate the last bell pepper of the 2008 season. It sat on the plant slowly ripening since October, and finally was all red. YUM. Planted tomato seeds this weekend, bought some 4" plants too. Also started beans, peas, sweet peppers and okra. Fingers crossed! This year, the carrots germinated. Oranges are ripening, the plum tree is blossoming, the lime tree is hanging on to some little tiny limes.... Picked rhubarb at my dad's house and made the BEST crisp. 6 cups rhubarb, 1 apple, Sugar (to taste), "pie spice" (we used nutmeg and ginger), tangerine juice, thickener (we used corn starch). Top crust was phyllo dough sheets, spread with butter, sprinkled with sugar, rolled up individually, then placed round and round on top of the fruit to cover the entire pie. Baking temp 350 for 50 min or until crust is crispy. Cool 10 or so min before slicing.

lay a stencil on it, with teh pi symbol cut out. sprinkle with cocoa. Remove stencil.

Its not the food incompatibility thats the problem with an SO. A person can go 'fooding' with another friend, just as I shoe-shop with someone not my husband. The problem is the "that's stupid". NOT a good sign to have one's interests derided as stupid. The Mr thinks the cost of a French Laundry meal would be stupid (and for us, it would be. Sigh ), but at least he'd eat the food! Peeves.... he makes 'icky face' at some of the combinations our munchkin puts together. Just 'cause they arent common in his universe. Some of them turn out to be classics in other cultures. In fact, the munchkin is the most adventurous eater in our house. I hate the 'face making' judgement thing.

It wasn't a flavored oil. I checked very carefully. It was pressed from a single variety of olive, and I cant for the life of me remember which one. The sundried tomato flavor was clear and distinct but not strong. It kind of hit the side of the tongue. Oh well. Maybe again I'll find the little bottles and this time I'll write things down!

Several years ago I bought small bottles (?2 oz? no more than 4 oz anyway) of varietal olive oil. Unfortunately, I didnt write down the olive varieties nor the source. One of the oils had a distinct sun-dried-tomato component in the flavor. Any idea what variety of olive would produce that?

Smile sweetly at the pie-filling volunteer and say "I accept". When she gapes at you, tell her lemon meringue pie is on the menu in three months, and you're delighted she's volunteered to make the filling.

A potato being a vegetable, potato salad fits in the general paradigm. I wonder if tuna and chicken salads got their name by the parallel preparation to potato salad.

Hooray!!!!!! That is a truely awesome state of mind.

Maggie, what size eggs are you using? What temp is your fridge set to? Loved the story. Love little touches like tossed, tossed, tossed - all that attention to detail in your writing . We make one softboiled egg 5 days a week for more than a year now. I told the munchkin about my Gma making me eggs and soldiers. 2 yr old Munchkin was dubious but interactive food was a hit. From fridge, slip into boiling water, acceptable (not perfect by a long shot) egg is 4 min. The eater will accept 4 min 15 sec. Any visible yolk firming is met with criticism "Daddy does this better, Mama. You should let Daddy do it.". Daddy never boiled an egg in his life til Mama got the munchkin hooked on the e&s . I prefer the eggs closer to 4:30. Dont like unset albumin. :shudder: Eggs size Extra Large, Fridge at 35F.

Used a bottle of commercial black currant juice to make jam. Discovered it needs 100% more sugar than any other fruit I've preserved including raspberries. Thank goodness the SureGel people include a reprocessing step on their package insert. Didnt need more gel, but desperately needed more sweet! As it stands (perfect), its lovely and puckery.

Both locations of Ichiban are still going strong (Hillcrest, PB). Same menu & prices, and they swear they are not affiliated. Go figure. Hillcrest offers an early bird special M-?Th? (maybe Friday) - from 4 - ?6? sushi orders are half price, limit 4 orders per person. As you can tell from my excellent grasp of the details, a visit to their website would be wise for planning purposes. If husband is into steak, Hunter's is at the west end of the mission valley hotel circle circuit. Good baby back ribs too.

I have a small tree full of large fruit that are probably guavas (this from another thread: They kinda look more like a guava (see bottom of page) or this picture. ← )I've never seen these like this in the shops; only feijoa or "pineapple guava". I like guava paste and cream cheese, but its so easy to buy the paste ready made. What is a good thing to do with the fresh fruit? And what is the proper stage at which to pick?

They kinda look more like a guava (see bottom of page) or this picture. ← Why, yes they do. Thanks for the great links. Now to find a guava thread!

Amen.

Are these quinces ? If so, should I harvest them green or wait til they go yellow, like the largest one?

Boring but true - cornmeal : tamales polenta cheese grits. Granted, the tamales have to be a bit thin on filling to keep things cheap.

Strange winter. So warm, the tomatoes are confused . This one has been trying to ripen for nearly two months. What is this fruit?

Apple dumplings ala racheld: apple dumpling recipe Pillsbury-blessed & delicious for breakfast or dessert. I tried 'em both ways, so I know!