Kouign Aman

One more thing to be grateful for this year.... Rachel is blogging! Lucky lucky me! Good food and beautiful thinking / writing. I had 2 "Nan"s, 1 "Nanna", and 2 "Grandad"s. When referring to the Nans or Grandads in 3rd person, their last name was appended. Nanna was appended with her first name. I have no idea if Nanna K could or did cook. Nan W made big English fried breakfasts. I feel guilty for loving fried sliced bread, but there it is. Also bread & drippings. She introduced me to sharp cheddar and to green grapes, and made us "milky coffee": instant coffee, sugar and hot milk, even tho we were very young. Nan C taught me to make jelly and jam the summer I was 5, when I picked clean the giant blackberry bramble in their backyard. The grandparents all lived an ocean and a continent away, so visits were few and far between. I saw each Nan maybe 5x in my life that I can remember. Funny how food forms such strong memories. In addition to Gramma and Grampa etc, the munchkin has a Granty B (Great Aunt B, that would be, to normal folk). Soon we will know how the paternal Aunties & Uncles will be termed. As for that thankyou card thing.... its a compulsion. I cant rest til I send the darn things out either. But special STAMPS????? Woman, have you no pity? You do realize that I now have a mission at the post office.

The bleach idea is a good one. Its ok to dilute it to 10% bleach (I'll check the hypochlorite conc later, in case the bleach you can get is a diff conc than we get here). I use it when I get gift packs of vast quantities of fruit. It kills most of the microbes on the skin and gets me much longer shelf life, no effect on flavor. I wouldnt think twice about using bleach as a weapon against Bali Belly. Bleach breaks down to water and salt over time, so even if you dont wipe off every drop, no harm done.

/* more geek comments */ if (GadgetOnTopOfMonitor == WebCAM) { myReaction = "Cool!"; } else { eriksBlog.PostQuestion("What is it?); } /* end more geek comments */ ← :rofl: :rofl: Lots of beverage containers parked on that there geek-table. How many hot drinks do you nurse at a time?

I can taste the sulpher in the aftertaste sometimes. Especially with the yuumy soft & sweet Turkish apricots. Less so with US produced fruit. Are candied apricots made from fresh or from dried apricots? The texture reminds me of dried. Answered my own Q, thank you Google.

This thread is too useful to get lost in the pantry.

I love candied apricots. So rich and decadent and tangy. They could substitute for the shocking chemical-cherries, to add flavor, color and that wonderful candied texture.

Recipe? Pretty please? "Fall in a bowl", chock full of vitamins and goodness, flavor and texture. It sounds completely wonderful.

Dining in La Jolla Village, Walking Distance After much back and forth, it was agreed this refers to the village of La Jolla ( Girard, Pearl etc), rather than the La Jolla Village Square area. Which leads to the question - is there dining in the La Jolla Village Square area? Anyone been to Japengo recently? Donovans strike anyone's fancy? I heartily recommend Aesops' Tables for greek food. Kid friendly, medium priced. Outdoor seating area has lovely view of the parking lot, but good conversation should take care of that problem.

Guavas take forEVER to ripen! and the little orange peppers keep showing up all ripe and lovely in the dark green leaves. One last lone tomato is nearly ready to be devoured. The aphids are doing their best to eat all the brussels sprouts, and something white and fuzzy is working on the orange tree. Its time for Better Living Through Chemistry! (soap for the sprouts. God-knows-what for the citrus).

No one has found any new gems lately?

There are lots of folks who feed the younger children early, and eat while the child plays after dinner. Its more a convenience than snob thing. I think the "my child eats..." is a snob thing in part (I cook these expensive exotic things....), but its also that hiding from judgement. As noted. the judgement can easily be found on this thread. It takes time to learn to like some unfamiliar flavors, so we offer them repeatedly to the munchkin. Sometimes one takes hold, sometimes an old favorite falls off the rotation. I figure it took me a year to learn to enjoy strawberries, and several years to enjoy tomatoes on a sandwich. Why should the munchkin not also have a learning curve? Even Jeffery Steingarten,in some of his writing, discusses having to learn to like certain things. Why would children be different? In fact, it took about 20 tries to get the infant munchkin to eat that baby staple, bananas! I wont force someone to eat an entire serving, but I will set a rule that says you must try (chew, swallow) one bite of each thing we serve. (I've two friends who upchucked the entire meal after being forced to eat a full serving of something they didnt like. Im not that fond of getting my own way, nor of cleaning.)

I so want one of those, but wont pay the prices I see in new catalogs. Must e-bay! Giant salt, pepper, chili and OREGANO grinders, pre loaded. Fun for outdoor parties. Decorative bottles of vinegar and oil. The chili oil is great for popping popcorn. The vinegars are usually very salty. But if anyone has good ideas for using them, I'd be happy to learn! I also dislike those fancy figurine wine corks.

"Games Tester" = clever marketing. Other places its called "software verification & validation" which gives a clue as to how tedious it can be! Of course, most other sw doesnt come with the need to play it thru at least once, 'to become familiar', or the cool graphics. The leftovers look delish. Are those hooks which are making the fab star patterns on the cupboards above the sinks?

There's always the [?infamous?] option of deconstruction. Fruitcake batters are delicious. Perhaps a small piped ring, or other shape, cooked to a soft cakey cookie, and served as a side to the beautiful stained glass fruits of your choice. ?put a bottom on it and fill it with almond pudding of some rich and decadent nature? I'm not so fond of dried grape to look at, but yellow raisins could be very pretty next to thin round slices taken across a pineapple, candied and translucent.

What a lovely plate you created! It all looks delish. Are those leaves "a breeze" for you? Because they are sooo pretty.

Right o. I was apparently stuck back in this conversation, concerning taste. Re bragging and the burden on moms, i question whether the exotic food lying is as prevalent as the article suggests, because as prev noted, "highpoints" in this burb go to the mom who's kid eats the least variety. Probably ties into the class thing. Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly a lot of pressure on moms to "be it all". ciao.

I didnt mean demonized on this thread, but by "the world in general" , as a nutritionally sound meal.

All good points for discussion. I know no one who brags about what their young child eats, in a positive way. Mostly it seems competetive to have the kid with the most limited palate. "My kid will only eat 4 things!" wins in this neighborhood. Some days, my kid will only eat one. Cheerios for three squares a day, anyone? Other days, we discover miso soup with seaweed is a hit. If a kid plays, grows, learns, laughs and is alert & attentive - the kid's diet cant be all bad! What's the demonization of pizza all about? Its bread, cheese and veggie all in one. If you served tomato & cheese sandwiches, there'd be less tomato (& yet, less snark). With pizza, meat, fruit or additional veggies often join the fun. Canned spaghetti: you can have my can, Carrot Top. I bought it, neither of us liked it. I was disappointed as I could use another "go to" meal. My emergency food for the munchkin is Italian Wedding soup (campbells). The little meatballs are fun, it seems. White food phase... I think kids undergo a for real physiological change in the way they perceive taste as they grow. I wonder if the bland/white food phase is due to that? I remember loving cantaloupe for years, then one day when I was ~ 6 it tasted simply awful, and did so for a couple more years, before it regained its deliciousness. I remember being sad that it didnt taste good anymore (and I remember my parent's frustration at my overnight switch). <fixed spelling error>

Is that a three-generation family class you are teaching?

Shouldnt you have completed that post with "Bwah hah hah hah hah!" ? (Sounds yummy).

Bingo. I eat green veggies, my kid eats em. My sister eats tons of fruit, her kid eats tons of fruit. The broccoli is a special one for me because I dont much like it, but I ate it in abundance starting the day I learned I was knocked up. Munchkin's dad likes it, munchkin likes it. Munchkin's dad also likes chocolate cake. Strangely enough, so does munchkin. Go figure. Same with those "sophisticated" foods. Every kid I know eats at least one thing none of the others will touch, but which is a standard in their home. "But really, s/he usually LOVES his prickly pear..."

That particular recipe sounds like a game-show stunt, but the idea of spicy-picante ice cream sounds worthwhile. Perhaps a person would prefer it for a starter rather than dessert? I'd like to serve a picante icecream atop to-die-for fudgie brownies. How far away is July 4th? Or a cayenne & turmeric (plus supporting flavors) icecream on ripe fresh melon. The "hot" icecream thing (methylcellulose thread) however, doesnt appeal.

oh my. oh my. oh my. This, I pray, is on your website? If not, how much is a course in your school and when do you have openings? (job? who needs a job when they can learn non-stir risotto?)

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when the munchkin (just turned 2) woke up from nap, went straight to fridge, and demanded "brokli!". I sure wish I had that on video to balance all the times the request is for Pocky. I personally prefer 4-legged stools to the 3-legged kind, and absolutely categorically refuse to entertain the possibility you might have some other kind in mind.....

Of all the gadgets you give a home to, which amuses you most when you see it now? (because its cute, useless, over-designed, whatever) And, is it possible to have too many and too varied a collection of baking pans?