Kouign Aman

Then again, the kid and his folks were already having dessert at 6:30-7 o'clock "when I arrived". This suggests there was little overlap in time between your group and his. How badly could that kid have spoiled your experience in fact, as opposed to your fear he might?

There used to be a crack about the cardboard box being more nutritious than the sugared cereal it contained...

If you want to know "the best method" for rapidly warming wine, then your experiment would be as described. But if the question is simply whether or not to nuke, then the experiment is also simpler: the only parameter to be tested is the zap. The sole reason to use another method is to generate a control glass of wine at same temp for that initial tasting. It can be a mistake to test too many parameters at once. Better data comes from more replicates. If I zap wine on 3 diff days, same amount of time, same glass, ?same result? Because the experimenter's perception is the thing most likely to vary in this experiment. However, since you and I have different power microwaves, and different glassware, we'd each need to optimize to our own systems, regardless of what the experts found.

You smoke meat in the snow, what's to be ashamed of? I'm just surprised you dont have a recipe for smokepops.

Fruit juice mixed with knox gelatin, for small kids. This reduces the drip factor. I started doing this 30 years ago when I was babysitting. The coffee pops sound delicious.

I would pay airfare to a potato chip taste-off. Heaven. I tried the Kettle Buffalo Bleu. Bummer. Very addictive, and quite tasty, but what's with the sweet stuff in there? No no no no! so close, and yet, so far. (And what's sad is: I will eat another huge bag, irresistably, and with every bite deplore the sweetness. Sigh.) Kettle still holds the Hands Down Perfection title with the salt and black pepper flavor (which contains several more ingredients than just salt and black pepper). Ruffles used to have a Cajun Spice chip I liked. And then there are the Red Hot Blues, but they are tortilla chips.

And when you have the geographical info, you can ask here if any of us have opinions on the options. Happy food!

So, where are ya and what are you called?

I hope you never have to put anything heavier than a colander full of beans on that fire escape. The degree of rust is frightening. The photographs, with greys, browns and straight lines contrasted with the cherry-pattern cherry-red colander, are lovely. <editted: thats greys not gresy!>

When my mother stayed with a Japanese family in Japan, one of the family members was a sushi chef who prepared a sushi meal for the family at home one night. The family used chopsticks, until my mom, in her fatigue, asked if it was ok to use her fingers, whereupon they said "of course", put down their utensils and ate with their fingers. We've always assumed it was consumate politeness on the part of the hosts/esses that lead them to make the switch, rather than it being a normally acceptable alternative.

Well, pork does fall into the fatty meat category anyway..... The Chinese just executed the head of their FDA. I guess they arent too happy about this stuff either.

You learn about Pocky from the foodblogs, and use them to pottytrain your toddler. And forget to tell Gramma what "Pocky!" are. She assumes its a cute word that belongs on that other thread.

In general, I dont much like sandwiches. They do a job. however... sublime: yes. There's a little place in Sacramento, which makes a grilled veggie sandwich that is eye-rolling, moan aloud, guard-the-plate good. There's a deepfried chicken sandwich I favor which is also consistently eaten in rapt silence. pre-made: the quickstop at work makes a chicken pesto sandwich each am which is perfectly delicious not only at lunch, but the next day (its a bit big for one meal.) I think their secret is the two lettuce leaves which protect the bread, and the sparing hand with whatever it is that binds the chicken salad together. (but not stinting on the basil etc). Its a very good sandwich.

Yup. I'm glad I'm not the only person who's seen that movie.

I'd go in, worry about the restaurants survival, and enjoy myself. And then tell lots of people how good it was, to improve its chances of being around for me to visit again. My dad wouldnt open the door.

The week-long visit to the bees worked. That plant has a couple dozen tomatoes, all the same size and stage. Mr Stripey has only 4, but they are starting to ripen. MortgageLifter has a whopping two medium sized fruits. I'll look me up some 'Whopper' plants next year. The munchkin is asking for tomatoes for a snack, and wolfing them down. :happy dance: Bacon/Tomato sandwiches are back in the rotation - summer is really here! And there are 3 budstalks on the over-wintering tuberrose!

Personal experience does play a role. It can be someone's unpleasant personal experience that inspires further scientific study. Which can identify the small subgroup of people with previously unidentified ill effects from a substance. The fun part is that identifying these small groups greatly increases scientific knowledge of physiological mechanisms, because its just too fascinating to figure out why that group is affected and most folks are not. Sugar, which is a natural substance, is very very bad for a small group of people. Shall we discount the 'personal experiences' of diabetics? Shall we believe in the experiences of those who are troubled from infancy, but not in those who are affected later in life? (Type I vs Type II) How about discounting those folks who are only affected by one form of sugar (lactose)? [tongue in cheek]After all, milk didn't bother them as babies. Doesn't bother me as an adult. Must not be real. [/tongue in cheek] I'm interested that there is a group showing up on this board that show consistent issues with aspartame. It would be less interesting if it were blamed for every symptom under the sun (as seems to be the case for MSG). (And yes, I understand that those with a negative experience are more likely to post it than the many who have no negative effects). <editted to repair grammar>

Au contraire - the open trash can has free flow of air leting trash dry up. Putting a lid on it just creates a warmer more humid environment for rot to happen. Plus everytime one touches the lid of the trashcan, one contaminates one's hand. Yuck. :tongue in cheek:

The cooking with clutter isnt a hygiene thing - its a personal quirk. I like to start any kind of project with plenty of clean horizontal space. Which makes my desk a constant source of amazement to others (because no one has ever seen the surface of it). Cat-scoop wins hands down. Shudder. Amazing - friends who cook, well, without recipes, with small kids popping in and out of the kitchen. I'm pretty sure there's some violation of handwashing guidelines etc, but I dont notice. Im too busy being amazed at their ability to multi-task and feed us all well with no injuries, fires or food-flops.

AnnaN nailed it. I think I had blocked the memories. also, food prepped on the same counter the cat is fed on. Without cleaning the counter in between. Urk. 47 trips to the fridge. For some reason, opening and closing the fridge repeatedly bugs me; I start to flinch at the sound.

I know one vegetarian who lives on cheese pizza, fruit, and cigarettes. Her refusal to eat meat has not been balanced with a desire to eat vegetables or legumes. So, what I'm trying to say is: I think it would work, and the message would have to be VERY carefully crafted to be that eating veggies is cool. Of course, that wont eliminate the ranch dressing and cheese sauces! I was a geek (?was?). There's outdoor opportunities for geeks too. Just takes more parental effort to figure 'em out. Treehouses equipped with entry via climbing rope, etc. I dont know that there's a "right" answer. I suspect weight control is as individual as everything else. Why does my kid stop eating cake and icecream just because she's full, but I will eat rice'nbeans til I hurt? But it is nice to know someone is checking the efficacy of tax-funded programs so they can be changed or eliminated if not working as desired.

I dont do it, but it seems a reasonable way to burn a few calories mindlessly. Also a way to claim the entire kitchen space, thus repelling 'invaders' who might try to 'help'.

Thank you!

The peapod serving set - what a perfect maternity gift! Although Im not pregnant and I want one. I also really like the "fitted" mortar and pestle. Cool stuff! Thanks for blogging!

hangaburger opatus For a longtime, cowjuice was 'nilk' and mango juice was 'mangle juice'. I wish I'd written more of them down.