Kouign Aman

Pour polenta into those corncob shaped cornbread molds, let set & remove (this could be very difficult...) Fry the flat part in butter, then pour maple syrup over the whole. Plate with "whisps" of hominy or other corn coming out top like corn silk. I love the idea of fresh corn icecream, is it seasonal? Do you care? Pumpkin or squash or bean or yam pie could be cut into corn kernal shape easily enough. Perhaps use yellow and orange yams to make a color pattern like a kernel or like Candy corn?

I hate sweet tea. In spite of that, I reallllly want to taste those beads! Thats how good you make them look. And the idea of combining them in one bite with a cake icecube! AND a pecan tart. My sweet tooth just died and went to your house.

I asked a friend (& Stilton/Roquefort lover) about Blue Wensleydale, and whether it was worth seeking out, to which he replied: So I guess I shall keep an eye peeled!

Thank you for this week. I muchly enjoyed it. If you do remember the name of the place you dined, please share. You've moved Budapest up on the 'must see' list. Thank you!

Oh yay! More time abroad, and no need to clear customs. Molto Grazie for blogging.

I love your entire post (#37) - the glee, the discovery, the happiness and excitement shining thru. The vivid imagery of the cordoned chemicals after their hurry-up-&-wait.

The English seem to consider corn a sandwich ingredient.

A candlelight dinner - very romantic. What's not to like?

Carbs (sugar, starches) help tame the fire. Serve on rice, or with cornbread. Add sugar. Sour cream and cheese just taste sooooo good on chili, add those too!

Stick it right in the middle of the top---I usually cut them lengthwise, but you're the boss of this team. Let the knife go in pretty deep, THEN rock it a bit, slicing toward the end the blade faces. Lots of times, the melons will give a great, surrendering sound, a deep, rich, satisfying noise between a "crack" and a "thud" and split of their own accord, too eager to give up their ripe redness. ← Oh shoot! I wanted to include Shalmanese's comment too. As I said mid-watermelon, "Damn, I have finally found a use for a cleaver!" racheld, etal, thanks so much. My melon failed to 'surrender', and hugged the knife tightly, making it very difficult to complete that first bisecting downward slice. Once opened, it looked like a good candidate for watermelon rind pickles. Perhaps my friends should have left it a week longer on the vine, tho it was sweet enough (I did not personally taste it. Thank you for your kind invitation, but I cant be in G.R.I.T.S: I hate sweet tea and I hate watermelon). I love the way you write, rachel. Its evocative enough to save me needing to cut another watermelon.

"One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesnt belong.." excerpted from a children's song Im not too worried about my food touching tho some things are annoying (syrup on eggs, salad dressing on most things, etc). But I compose what my SIL calls "perfect bites" on my fork. At thanksgiving, the fork will have a bit of turkey, dressing or potato, relish or gravy. If a dish has multiple components (salads, stews etc), the forkful will contain a portion of each component. I didnt realize I did this, nor that it wasnt universal, til she shouted it out, and then started copying me.

The great space cake project. oatmeal might mask any texture issues, or finely chopped nuts in the mix. Re tastes... perhaps a heavily spiced cake would go well with/to mask the natural flavor? Maryjane goes well in red sauce due to its oregano-ish flavor. its awful with chocolate (IMO). PS you are very pretty. Lucky farm boy!

I dont know about Southern Sweet Tea, but rum or brandy are fairly common companions in a cuppa hot tea, and play well off both tea flavor and sweetness, and compliment lemon. I see your point about the british cuppa, but may have to get a tea creampuff from somewhere now that you've planted the idea! (Dang, i may have to start baking again.) I can see them... not the creampuff swans, but little creampuff tea cups - tiny handles on the side.

Most of those dinners sound like they'd make terrific lunches. I'm none to fond of the same meal 2x in a row, but monday's dinner leftovers do well for wednesday's lunch, etc. The freezer is a cost=saving friend. Leftovers go bad in the fridge. They live to be eaten if frozen asap. That said, I think we spend more than you and eat less well. We've got the theory down, but are still not too smooth in practice with leftover conservation, 'repurposing' etc. I think if we tracked costs like you are now set up to do, it would be very motivating in forming new habits.

I keep thinking of Tea Cake (literally), and Tres Leches, but how to soak a cake in tea without it getting gross-soggy is completely beyond me.

Amen, hallelujah and pass the butter! Well said. I've got houseguests who say "nothing special" and mean it. Bless them. I've got houseguests who tell me they are on a restricted diet / have particular habits, etc. Bless them. I dont mind buying them what they want, in order to enjoy their company. In fact, it makes me feel happy, like Im being a good hostess. I've had older houseguests who refused to tell me what they wanted, then asked to be taken to the grocery store first thing the next am, when I was on the way to work. Grrrrrrr*. I memorized their shopping list and had it all in place for their next visit. End of that issue. And we scheduled a mutually convenient time to hit the stores, as they loved to grocery shop as do I. (*in their defense, they thought they could catch a cab home. They've never been suburban.) My mom is the worst . She was recently diagnosed with diabetes. She has very strong likes and dislikes. I still cant get her to tell me what she wants for breakfast. I'd really like her to be able to walk to the cupboard for a meal or snack at any time during a visit, but no. So whenever we visit her, we memorize what she ate, and we buy that to have at the house when she visits us. I'd dearly love to get a list from her along the lines of the one that started this thread. When we travel, we request the presence of coffee and milk, if we are asked. We are still doing well in the "eat anything" phase of life. We take at least one almost-sure-fire meal for the munchkin, and only bring it out if its needed. If we are not asked, we pack a little coffee and a one cup filter, and buy milk as soon as possible. It makes no difference to us in the quality of our visit which way the coffee and milk arrive. And in case of a real pinch, I always pack NoDoz. Two pills = enough caffeine for my eyes to open and for me to get myself dressed. From there, I can wing it.

Past & future Present (lifestyle change dictated by presence of a munchkin) Do you go to several different grocery stores? Oh my YES. Trader Joes, and the farmer's market(s), and the grocery, and Costco, and anything else interesting seen in my path Grocery & Costco weekly, regularly but infrequently Trader J's Do you clip coupons? No. No. What do you usually buy at the grocery store? Baking supplies mostly, milk & cookies Baking supplies, produce Do you tend to buy more meat or more produce? Produce.- both categories Are you too ashamed to make purchases from the "reject bin?" Heavens no. Im more likely to brag about it. But now, I rarely do, as I rarely have time to both shop and rescue "use right now" produce on the same day. Do you make a list? No -in the past. I foresee lists for the next 16+ years at least. Yes, and add to it freely during transit of the shop. How many refridgerators and pantries do you have for food storage? One small Two large Do you enjoy grocery shopping as much as I do? I did. I used grocery shopping as a way to unwind after a tough day at work. One of the first things I do when traveling is to locate a grocery or market. Most of my souvenirs come from there. Now, not really because it is always on the munchkin's schedule. The munchkin is both being trained and growing toward school age, so I foresee enjoying it again in the not too distant future.

I have never, prior to yesterday, cut a watermelon. I had a small round one, about 8" in diameter, and it was hells hard to cut. What is the "proper" (ie functional) way to cut one of these beasts? What sort of knife works best? This one was grown by a friend. I tried the butcher's knife, I tried the bread knife... I was getting ready to use chisel and hammer. Yes, the fruit was ripe, if not superbly so.

Wheee! Im looking forward to this! (one of these goes, it would be interesting to see someone use onions in a dessert,..... not with sweet tea tho.)

The Hobbit!!! Fond memories. Does it still take 6 months leadtime for a weekend reservation and 2 months for a weeknight? Five Crowns - still classic, dressy and going strong, so I'm told. I do believe all the other three are defunct (I got to 4 of them in my yout'). The Fish Market is a small chain, does a good casual job with fish. The sushi bar in the downtown San Diego location is good and always packed. I noticed the Irvine Spectrum (a shopping mall) now has a location. Dont know if it includes a sushi bar.

I'd love to taste that dessert! oh my! There are so many ways to plate that fascinating combination. You could serve it a dozen other beautiful ways and not repeat.

Eden's recent food blog describes Grains of Paradise. I cant find it to link to it.

Hi and thanks for blogging!

I so enjoyed this thread. It's inspired creativity. I would very much like to have vertical storage for platters, baking sheets, etc, and havent been able to figure where to shoe-horn it in. For some reason, chatting with the Tenor about the current ?fad? for "boxing in" refrigerators lead us to brainstorm the solution for our kitchen. Ta!

Dunno what to do about fruitflies, but the moldy citrus can be prevented by soaking the fruit in 10% bleach for 10 min, then rinsing and drying thoroughly. I do this whenever I'm faced with a case of fruit, otherwise we dont get thru it before it gets nasty.