Kouign Aman

It is very more-ish. I can ignore it for ages, but once I get started.... What size jar have you consumed? Vegemite and Marmite are distinctly different. There are several brands of Vegemite. Some are a weak copy (in flavor) of Marmite (Kraft brand, which I think is the original Vegemite) and some are simply horrible (Sanitarium brand comes to mind). The only benefit to Vegemite, IMO, is that you can spread it a bit thicker with impunity. Marmite requires conscious restraint in application. Never cooked with it, my dad makes gravy with it, I've eaten it off the spoon. The cats like it, the munchkin liked it from first taste.

You beat me to it! Me too. Looks like the steering wheel would be on the left on that truck, eliminating a small number of places. But the claypot lentil cookery - does that fit in?

May I add to the Naughty, or is that Taboo? Forget the cereal. Pour out a large bag (Costco) of roasted peanuts in the shell. Scatter them. Stomp on them to hear the lovely crunching sound they make. Run giggling thru the house, leaving a trail ala Hansel and Gretel, then reverse course, to see how different the crunching sounds when done on carpet. Add all your food to your glass, then empty your glass on to your plate. Finger paint the contents on the table, then, just in case the nearest adult still hasnt noticed, grab his or her shirt and hair (get them both to be sure of getting their attention), and point out your accomplishment. Smile proudly.

We're headed to Aqua Blu in a couple of weeks. We were there last year, party of 10, and enjoyed it completely. Mid-range in price, portion sizes and creativity, and excellent in execution.

Hallelujah! Because New Year's week I started 3 stalks of lemon grass in a glass of water and am hoping they send out roots! Those plants look lovely! Did you bring them into or near the house during the frosty nights these past two weeks or did they survive on their own? That looks like a pretty protected little corner. Congratulations on your thumb and its new shade of culinary-green. Where did you buy your kaffir lime? Tho I think I've got a bay laurel as the next in line, before the kaffir lime. The guavas are still getting bigger, tho the tree is nearly leafless, with these handball sized green orbs on its skinny little branches.

Iced Lemon Souffle (Sunset Mag had a recipe years ago) or a lemon mousse?

Inspired by this thread, I made my first fritatta: fried potatoes and kale sauteed with garlic. It was good, especially with Tabasco. There was a little left over, so that will become a sandwich with a nice hot salty mustard tomorrow.

El Portal, near Mervin's, intersection Genessee and Balboa Ave Breakfast runs ~ $6, but will obviate the need for lunch. The salsa verde is especially good. It comes on the spinach enchiladas (tasty) and on the "divorced eggs". Both are served with beans, rice and tortillas. Divorced Eggs is two fried eggs, one topped with salsa roja and one with salsa verde.

Me neither, but I have had them stay another hour or so, saying goodbye. Rebecca, me too. If they were invited in the first place, they are welcome to stay the night, so long as they let me sleep! So very very good to "see" from you.

Me too. Thats why I had to ask. The egg-thing got removed immediately and I have no idea where it is. Besides, we buy eggs in 18-egg cartons - too many for the rack most likely. Probably. Its pretty warm & fairly sunny here in San Diego (most of the time) and I can bring it to a protected area on the rare occasions we are threatened with freezing temps. The stalks I purchased at the asian market were about 1/2 inch diameter at the base. Thank you very much. I had noted the stringy and am interested that it can be chopped finely enough not to be annoying in the finished dish. Chopping it is a delight, as it releases its scent.

:laugh: On occasion, I have tried each of these except the Hoover, without success. (The dishwasher is too darned quiet and has no effect at all). The falling asleep was entirely unintentional, but even tho both my husband and I were nodding off, our guest happily stayed and chatted. Some guests I have learned, need to be invited with a time range given. "C'mon over from 6-9, then we all need to get to sleep because the baby wakes up early". (The munchkin will be taking the blame long after reaching voting age, I suspect). This occasionally works. What works in a final resort for us is to offer to make up a bed. Having a breakfast guest is no problem for us and it only takes 2 min to make up the spare bed. After all, it could be our guest imbibed a bit too much for his/her metabolism and doesnt feel safe driving. Somehow tho, few folks want to commit to spending the night and going home in party clothes the next morning.

Oh my. You have my fridge. Your freezer is so empty and organized. Oh my. Is that the egg rack you are using to hold small jars in the door? All the food looks so good. I've got lemongrass on my nursery shopping list. I have the pot, the site, just need the plant. My one experience cooking with it suggested its like bay leaves - simmer in and then remove. You handled it quite differently from that. When you chopped it fine and cooked it, did it get tender or stay very fibrous/chewy? Do you peel many layers off the stalk before chopping?

Aint that the truth - a sleeping baby is a perfect baby! Fig newtons for the first few months. Kept em in tupperware at far end of house. Mostly ate them while feeding baby. Milk and cold cereal scarfed during naps -cereal transferred into tupperware to reduce noise of pouring etc. The swing was bloody brilliant and kept me sane. I cried when baby got too big to swing and swing even if awake, and not cry while I ran a 5 min cycle on the microwave and heated up a rice bowl from Costco. Temperature of food - oh yes - I'd eat the contents of that bowl when I got around to it. Definitely affects the texture of the green bean shreds. I got really good at saying "I'll be with you when I've counted to 20 - my hands are busy now, love" then I'd count out REALLY loud, between bites, and pretty much swallow without chewing. If I dont eat, I am not a nice person, therefore I am not even close to being a good mom. My girlfriend bought a sling, and wore her son during meals. She'd just dip her finger in everything and have him taste it. But you're talking a solid food eating toddler here.....I dunno how I'd manage that.

I've been guilty of not leaving (more than once. :embarrassed:). Mostly because the conversation was good and we were therefore oblivious to the world about us. All it would take was a polite request that the table was needed, or that the restaurant was closing. We'd have been up and out and gone, with no hard feelings, profuse but brief apologies for the inconvenience, and a little extra tip if it were closing time we were interfering with. Maybe for some folks its a power play? Not for us.

Ding ding ding - we have a winner! I wondered who would notice the plates first. Mrs. Crab is a nurse, so she gets the surgery plate. I had the "grilling on the moon" plate, for obvious reasons. ← Love the dinner ware! Thanks for naming it, Maggie. Wondrous stuff, that, for eating off.

Fun blog. Its good to see the planning process in action. & to see kids in the kitchen. Two spatulas for dual sandwiching - love it. Sounds like coffee (cafe' / ca phe) brought a little French into the language. I'd have to have a glass mug, to see the beautiful layers while the coffee drips.

Its wonderful how the fruit & the custart picks up the colors on your plate and plays off them. That layered brownie/custard/fruit-tart is so pretty, and the stamps and shapes of the shortbread are fun. How does the mango taste with the chocolate? How does your halo halo taste? What's in it?

Anyone up to start the game again?

Hooray! It went well! You succeeded! And the salad, with the most controversial ingredients (feta, raw onion, olives), was a resounding success. And a compliment from "the boss". Rockin' good work! My fear was that basmati rice would seem 'undercooked' to people used to minute rice. So maybe mushiness was a blessing in disguise? And you used fresh carrots, avoiding the horrors of frozen carrots. (I'm all for frozen veg, except for frozen carrots). After you catch your breath, it would be great to hear what you plan for next time. Did you end up getting those pork shoulders that were on sale for the next meal? Meant to add re the veg: one of the things that happens to us as we age (on average) is that we become more literal. My dear friend used to have pills "to be taken with food". It didnt matter if she'd eaten a 3-omelet then walked to the car. When she got to the car, she'd eat a cracker, because "the Dr said to take these with food". Her husband used to understand how funny this was, then about 5 years later, he acted the same way. Of course we dont all get this way, but "2 veg" may well mean two separate piles on the plate to some of your clientele, regardless of the green and red things in their rice.

No hurry, figure it out anytime after the challenge is complete. Any ideas on the layering portion yet?

Anchovies, anchovy paste.

Whatever happens to the final product, please post the green-pea shortbread recipe in RecipeGullet. I think I know what I'm making for St Paddy's day A recipe that's sure to pease (sic). Is it green ? If not, I'm not to proud to dye.

Ah me, Carrot Top, that is hilarious. Particularly as the Chexmix will creep up on you for days to come, hiddden as it will be in the nooks and crannies of quilt and couch. Re your musings above, often we define ourselves by our externals- the cars, the address, the clothes, the restaurants, the meals. We dont have to, but we do. "I'm worth it" or "Im not worthy". Im not sure men are immune, otherwise why "Real Men Dont Eat Quiche"? Its been shown that by acting as we want to feel, we can fool our bodies into feeling that way (the act of smiling induces hormonal responses associated with feeling happy, and vice versa). This makes sense then, that if we act as if we are healthy appreciators of good food, then we will to some degree be motivated to eat healthy and delicious food. Besides, one can only "act" so, by doing so, at least in presence of witnesses. <editted to clarify>

If you are not going to use the pan anymore anyway, it cant hurt to return it. And you might be happy with the outcome.

Cardamom custard Serves 3 as Dessert. 1 c heavy cream 2 eggs 3 whole cardamom pods 1/2 c sugar 1/2 tsp pistachios Peel cardamom seeds from pods, discard pods and crush seeds. Infuse cream with crushed seeds over low heat. Strain out seeds carefully. Allow cream to cool (ok to store in 'fridge overnight) Beat eggs, mix in 1/2 c sugar until dissolved, then add cream and mix well. Add more sugar if desired. (If you only infuse a portion of the cream, you can adjust the proportion of infused and non-infused to get intensity desired). Bake in custard cups (~ 1/3-1/2 c each) in a water bath, in a 350F oven until done (40 min for me). Chill before serving. Top with pistachios. If desired, melt sugar in small pan, and use a spoon to drip it decoratively on a foil surface. Dip pistachios in the melted sugar, and create petal patterns, etc, on the drip pattern. Peel off the foil when cool, and place on top of the custard immediately before serving. This tastes best if the sugar doesnt caramelize, but its not a great problem if it does. If the sugar decoration sits on the custard, it will dissolve within a couple hours. Keywords: Dessert, Intermediate, Pudding ( RG1916 )