Kouign Aman

I've never seen or thought of a savory meringue before, but now I'm wondering about a basil flavored floating island on a cold fresh tomato soup (like a very simplified gazpacho). Or a curry flavored one (I'm concerned that the herb would be too oily to make a basil one).

That aisle blocking thing... I went thru several months of taking the cart dead-center down the aisle. The munchkin was old enough to reach and grab and not yet fully trained. I was shocked at just how long that reach was! I apologized to all who had to wait while I moved to one side, but I was not willing to have aisles completely blocked by tumbling stacks of cans. And occasionally, despite having a munchkin, I needed a moment to study the selections and choose. This was particularly the case in produce. I bought a dozen bruised apples the day I learned the awesome reach of a cart-ensconced smallbody. I didnt want to buy the entire nectarine display. I'm in no way trying to say it wasnt irritating as hell to those who were inconvenienced. Just saying, its not always thoughtless. Sometimes we do irritating things on purpose.

Its sounds wonderful! Toliver, if you get a chance, would you please have your mom set aside one of those currant tomatoes for me (all shriveled and dry is fine.) I'd like to plant it next year, for the same reason your mom's neighbor likes it. Thanks. <edited to fix spelling. Those little toms may be excellent, but they are not electric (current))>

Last year we had Beefsteak and loved it, but didnt plant it this year. Right now, flowering are ~7 BigBeefs. I hope they'll have time to set and ripen fruit. This is the first time I've tried planting tomatoes from seed and I started very very late (mid May). tapping out but still covered with ripe & near ripe fruit = 2 Early Girls. Very sweet and tasty. Skin tougher than we'd like. Almost ripe: 1 "I forget", I MortgageLifter and 1 Mr Stripey. The "I forget" had one fruit ripen so far, and I liked it. The fruits are getting that soft spot on the bottom tho. The M-L has been unhappy for a while, and I think it may be in too shady a spot. Next year, I think I shall try to find room for a Cherokee Purple, and to get some more Beefsteak plants.

Andie, thats some picture! Sharlyn. Is there a second place?

A better definition of comfort food there never was. It so nice to see it said clearly. What a lucky E! ideas: Lamb stew - similar to the beef stew but opening the possibility of different seasons on reprise Rice pilaf / biryani Potroast sandwiches (w gravy) I had a beef heart soup in Spain that was delicious, tho I couldnt tell you how to make it. Chicken 'n dumplings (aka chicken stew) HotPot (or whatever that dutch infinitely variable dish of smooshed spuds and veggies is called) Bubble&Squeak (cabbage and spuds, cooked separately then smooshed and panfried) (non-stick pans can crisp this with remarkably little added fat.) Clam/fish chowder You already have 10 "he loved it" listed there. I think he might appreciate repeat meals more often than you might. If so, having 21 dinners, to rotate among every two weeks, would be a solid basis. It might get dull for you but it would have the benefit of being "mindless" (thats not the right word, but habit is easier than doing something new all the time.). And if there is a basic repetoire of 'old favorites' for most nights, you might have room to take the menu further afield in search of adventure, one night a week.

I saw all this in one place and had to leave it behind (no space at home): 2 corncob corn bread pans 2 pyrex covered cassaroles a abelskiver pan (it was so amazingly heavy) an assortment of whisks to rival andiesenji's

This morning was pure decadence. Two slices whole wheat bread, one entire tomato from the garden, Duke's mayo (shipped out here by a friend), and a boatload of bacon cooked crisp. A perfect sandwich and a perfect breakfast.

I saw the Mimi and read "Sheraton" - I didnt realize you'd typed anything different. How funny! The bakery I purchased it at baked the cake in a round springform. But it would be so much easier to serve in squares. I'm so excited! Now I have to actually find the time and make something baked. I shant hold my breath. Im hoping to do this before Xmas. (Along with the kouign aman's I promised FrogPrincesse a little more than a year ago. Ay yi yi yi.) Thanks tons. Do you have any pix?

Boullion cubes dont go wormy or worse. The salt content sees to that. Held long enough in the wrong environment, they can liquesce. (Not that I have first hand knowledge of that or anything. No, uh uh, not me, no 20 year old chicken boullion cubes in my cupboard, no way...)

Caroline, you've made it? Oh cool. I shall ask the library to find the book for me. Merci! (before I get myself carried away, how long did it take, with cake, filling, assembly and all?)

It could well be the same. The bakery used u with an umlaut, and the pronounciation is much the same. The bakery could easily have been guessing at the correct spelling. Google does have a few hits for bienenstuck which are good descriptions. I'd like to be able to make it at home, and given that I dont have a lot of experiment and optimization time*, I'm hoping someone has experience with this and can recommend a tried and true recipe. *oh so much more time than I did have tho! I went a-googling (again) and it seems that its "stich". I found this link: Bienenstich link (the coffee cake)

PM next time you're in town and if we still have abundance, we'll share. The bushes are ripening in waves, so its abundance today and dearth tomorrow. Waiting to ripen - thats funny! Ah well, green tomatoes would look nice at Christmas! (Im a bit worrit about that with the striped ones. Im going by touch. Fingers crossed).

That's an attitude to emulate, Jamie. I wish you luck in beating the cancer, and in keeping your pleasure in food, and your focus on eating what you want, and not just what's there. That would be a great way to live. Malawry, I wish you also luck in beating the cancer. I found this previous thread, which addresses some of the food-related challenges (mostly second hand, and therefore perhaps a bit blunt). Chemotherapy, Experiences cooking for a patient

I used to get a bienenstuck (or 2) every year for my birthday. I'd get them from the Viking Bakery in Clairemont Square. The bakery closed some time ago , and I havent found another source. I'm addicted to the pastry, cream, caramel and general sticky gooey decadence. Has anyone made one of these? Do you have a recipe you favor? Helpful hints? Or even better, another source, located within a 30 mile radius of San Diego?

A co-worker once ordered "cucarachas" instead of "chicharones". The restaurant took pity and guessed correctly at his intended order.

Hey, we all agree!

Formulae tend to be ratios/proportions, that can be extended beyond the basic ingredients. But that's talking from a laboratory, not a foodie, pov.

The basil is finally large enough. We gorged on Caprese this weekend. :)My husband's boss loves tomatoes. We've been currying favor with the extras. Its so hard to declare a tomato 'extra'! Now for the sage to grow... that stuff is slooooow and I'm craving brown butter and sage on pasta. Someone sent us a gift of Duke's mayo. Tangier than our standbyes for Bacon/Tomato sarnies. (I like BestFoods, he likes MiracleWhip). We tried Duke's last night, and for this application, we have a Winnah! The salt of the bacon, and extra tang from Duke's seriously underscored the sweetness of the Early Girls. Next up = a nearly ripe Mr Stripey, and one from Mortgage Buster. I'm looking forward to the taste comparision. The BigBeefs are flowering. I hope they have time to ripen fruit.

There's a belief that leaving the pits in will prevent discoloration/oxidation of guacamole.

When I lived in So Florida, the packaged produce drove me nuts. Now it shows up more and more in So Cal and still drives me nuts. I dont WANT 6 apples. I want 3. and I dont want those three.

I'm thinking the inevitable bacteria in your slurry went hogwildhappy when you added sugar to their protein soup. They grew, gassed, and the protein from the soy made the whole mess rather firm. Oh my. Um, .... will you try again?

I used to eat them too. (ummm. how long ago is "used to"?) I've picked up interesting flavors a time or two but not thought to make a pattern of it. Cool idea.

We had a bit of a problem getting our apple pies heated up in New Zealand. The bakery was perfectly happy to heat the mince and steak pies, but the idea of heating a fruit pie was a hard sell. Trying to buy milk in a resort town in Mexico (we'd brought a box of cereal with us for my bf's afraid-of-the-food brother). Every day we were assured we had just missed the delivery. After 5 days, we realized there probably was no delivery.

You were chopping something up smaller and hydrating it, and it swelled rather more than you expected. I'd guess some kind of grain, but since you've shown palm sugar and talked about soy, I'm wondering if you were trying to make soy milk.