Kouign Aman

T'were lovely, and lots of fun. Thank you! (I really enjoy the way you work flowers into most of your photos).

Flower-shaking will commence immediately I arrive home. Thank you!, from me and from my soon-to-be Happy Hula Tomatoes.

Why shouldnt one compost tomato plants ? (this was mentioned earlier on this thread) Does anyone know how to manually pollinate tomato flowers? We have lots of lovely yellow flowers, and the bees seem to have left town. They arent visiting the citrus and they arent visiting the rosemary. Usually I can just plop the tomato pots next to the rosemary for a day or two and the bees do their little magic powder transfer, and baby tomatoes happen. I looked at the tomato flowers closely and it looks like microsurgery might be necessary to use the paintbrush method of pollination. Anyone tried this? I wonder if orchard mason bees are allowed in CA. (also mentioned upthread). Must google.

blackberry bramble work?

The last round was chevre spread on Lay's potato chips. Salt and Fat. Yum. Chocolate milk to finish.

I dont know if lumpia rolling is a social activity or not, but it ought to be. Its a heck of a lot of work!

What was the outcome? ← We werent around long enough to find out. It was a whistle-stop.

If you use the pH indicator strips, please dont dip them in your working stock. They arent made with good eatin' in mind. Remove a bit of stock and drip it on the indicator strip instead. If you get really into this, Fisher Scientific sells reasonably priced pH meters. Just what every well-stocked kitchen needs!

In Sidney, Oz, we were in severe withdrawal from our daily at home diet of taco-stand mexican food, and we made the mistake of ordering nachos. We got Doritos with spaghetti sauce on them, the cheese melted on top of the sauce. My sister wrote a page-long letter to the cXhXeXf cook, explaining the how's and why's of proper nacho preparation. editted to fix a technical term

Where were his previous locations? editted to add: Next up - Fat Ivor's in Valley Center.

Dinner at Vincent’s Sorino’s, Escondido Fine dining. Website Vincent's on Grand The menu changes. A fine meal. We don’t get off the leash often, so we ordered a bit more than was comfortable, to try as much as possible of what sounded good. Quail (special of the day) with couscous and a warm rich sauce flavored with rosemary. Accented with house-made basil oil of a brilliant green. Served with toasted bread and cheese. Delicious. The quail was tender and rich. I’d have preferred the skin at least slightly crispy but enjoyed it thoroughly anyway. The sauce was a highlight of a very good meal. It was tempting to scour the plate. (Oh why did my mama teach me manners? They didn’t take, but I keep remembering I ought to pretend to have some.) Foie gras terrine – served with sweet preserved fruits (fruit chutney), raisin toasts (sweet crumbly bread, like toasted panetone), balsamic reduction. I ate terrine on the plainer rolls from the bread basket, which lets me focus more on both the melting texture and the salty aspect of the flavor as well as the richness. The fruit is a lovely counterpoint to it – very rich and tangy sweet. After we demolished the contents of both plates, Chef & owner Vincent Grumel came out to say hello and josh us a bit about our poor appetites. French Onion soup – lovely. Full flavor, not strongly salty. Mr KA says that Chef Grumel's soup de jour are always delicious. Salad with Confit of Duck ...– I didn’t write down the name. Confit of duck (leg) sitting atop fresh spinach with dried pears, sliced mushrooms, slivered onion, and bleu d’avergne. I ordered this because of the duck and the cheese. The duck was a highlight of the meal. The cheese was also featured in a simpler salad. This smelled so good I absorbed the aroma for several minutes before starting. First time to taste this cheese – oh my. I like all bleu cheeses. This one is worth seeking out. The dressing was mild and peppery – a well-designed foil and complement to the other flavors. It never stood out on its own. The duck was excellent –moist with very crispy skin. Even with my limited knife fork skills I was able to get every scrap off the bone. The duck went well with each individual component of the salad, and all the other components were very good together, but the whole didn’t work. It overpowered the duck. Mostly I put this to the spinach. A sharper less ‘absorbing’ green, or even wilting the spinach (with duck fat perhaps) would have helped the salad cohere. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it thoroughly and ate far more of it than I should have, in light of what else was on order. Dover sole special of the day– with abalone, asparagus and black truffle shavings. A light sauce – tomato and ? This was good. Tournedos Rossini – more foie gras . This is a standard on Vincent’s menu. Mr KA once asked about it at lunch although it was not on the lunch menu at the time, and they offered to prepare it for him. I had mine rare. Another thoroughly delicious sauce (Madeira). Asparagus, lovely skinny green beans (?haricots verts?) and carrots. Black truffle shavings. Very aromatic. Another dish to breathe in before eating. Foie was nicely seared on the outside and rare and tender inside, just as the beef was. Together, a delight. I could eat this every time, it’s so superbly prepared. Desert was a shared bavaroise with semi-sweet chocolate sauce, accented with four sour cherries. The pudding is rich and light and creamy. The sauce has a dark bitter edge that contrasts nicely. I stole three of the four cherries. The room is attractive. I didn’t notice it much as the food and company were excellent, The fresh flowers on table reminded me I want to grow orange ranunculus next year. Although the restaurant is formally set, they are accepting of the very casually dressed (this is So.Cal after all) and of children of any age. The tableware in different shades of white is somewhat interesting; square plate for tournedos & foie gras terrine, a long wavy plate for the sole, a long narrow plate for the quail. Food was attractively plated and (except for the previously discussed salad), all the components worked together both for taste and visual appeal. Our waiter was all one could ask; unobtrusive, timely, accommodating of individual style, knowledgeable of the restaurants offerings. His skill definitely added to the overall pleasure of the evening. A couple tables over there was a celebration, and dessert arrived with a sparkler set in it. Much ‘splashier’ than a birthday candle!

That burger looks like a praying mantis head, scaled up for a '50s horror flick. Oh my. The Kid's Plate Special, anyone?

Congratulations, and much joy to all three of you. And many hours of sleep, snatched from the realms of improbability. <editted to get in an OT: I hope he enjoys a varied 2nd hand diet, since his mama is such an accomplished cook. My baby did not like it when mama had legumes. Much gas and crying. Horseradish however was a big hit. Go figure.>

Along with the very good advice above (edit for focus, grammar, spelling, coherence and emotion), it helps to take a positive tone in your letter and to use specific examples of the changes you want to see. It also helps to praise what is already good (its a good idea to start with praise, to make folks want to keep reading in a receptive frame of mind). By this I mean present the beneficial aspects of the changes you are proposing, rather than slamming the environment that exists. Remember that you and the administration are BOTH thinking "what's in it for me?" and address that in your letter. Its got to be to the benefit of the admin for them to bother to even think about changing. Hypothetical example of positive tone (details made up entirely): CIA offers its Baking and Pastry (B&P) students many beneficial experiences, and has the opportunity to offer them yet more. By encouraging the B&P students to take on responsibility for desserts and breads at daily service, not only will these students gain valuable experience but the school will also benefit in several ways. Culinary students will have more time to focus on the culinary skills that are the main feature of their program, students and chefs will enjoy a higher quality and creativity of dessert at lunch and .... This sells much better than attacking whats wrong. I wish you success in your endeavor. <Note - I didnt spell or grammar check this example. Feel free to notice any and all errors >

I made my best-ever mac 'n cheese this week. Bechamel, Colemans dry prepared mustard, chopped extra sharp white cheddar (bought at Costco, 'black wax', need to double check brand), elbow macaroni, black pepper and steamed peas stirred in at the end. The bright green peas nestled cozily in the white curvy creamy elbows. The sharpness and strength of this particular cheese and the bite of the pasta was perfectly accented by the sweet pop of the peas. It went well with translucent red slices of dry salami. When I was a kid, I'd make this from the Kraft blue box for my sister (who loved peas. I hated em), and serve it with fried spam. The meal grew up nicely.

Would anyone care to proffer a recipe for eggs poached in truffle oil / duck fat or other ? I can probably figure out the cling-wrap poaching part, but helpful hints would be gratefully accepted. This might have to happen in my kitchen this weekend.

That's my favorite part of the cutting instructions! An entire day sanctioned by the government to be devoted to homemade snacks & garage sales..... OMG. I would think I'd died and gone to heaven. Above, I refered to a hypothetical future trip to the Netherlands. Now I know that said trip would HAVE to bracket QueensDay! Klary, you are creating a wonderful experience in this blog. Thank you.

Duh - its a 'tuberrose' - that would make it a tuber. Still above ground tho. Glad to hear about your mom's tomatoes. Mine are flowering but the bees seem to be on vacation. None in the orange or lime tree, none on the rosemary. One Early Girl is succombing to nasty black spots caused by I dont know what. Soap-spray and quarantine are the order of the day for her. The cilantro sprouted - hooray!!!!!! Now I'm reading it doesnt like as much sun as I've provided for it. Time to scout a new location. Basil still alive, sage actually increasing. The peppers (orange mini's) finally sprouted too. Are scarlet runner beans only eated dried, or are they decent as fresh beans? Anyone have experience? (I'm headed off to google). The potatos are goners. I planted them too deep in the pot I think, so they arent getting enough sunlight. Will try again this weekend. Must have purple mashed potatoes again this fall. (makes an interesting gratin as well). Mr KA is battling the dandelions. I'm looking for the courage to harvest and eat them. I am not brave when it comes to foraging. There are too many different things that I called dandelions growing up.

I usually choose to eat pie, because I usually have to make the choice when I'm already pretty full. A nice tangy pie (or a pecan pie) can slide into the spaces (like jello, thank you Mr Cosby). But I dont remember many pies after the fact (except this one pecan pie ). I have very vivid memories of a number of delicious cakes. So, if it were a matter of equal quality, and sufficient appetite, I would choose cake. And yes, that's my final answer. (unless, she waffled, pecan pie was one of the choices.....)

I've been pondering all yesterday evening and today, the skill it takes to reproducibly slice one of those skinny little waffles in half, horizontally. If ever I make it to the Netherlands, I shall probably spend an hour parked in front of a stroopwaffel maker, watching in fascination and awe.

Oh goody! I am so looking forward to the rest of this blog. I love the way you arrange your photos (they are beautiful) and the spirit of fun you put into your posts. Hippo Birdy to ewe, and many hippo returns.

Nicely near Hillcrest. Both northpark and vineripe produce are also reasonably accessible. Actually, 92108 is pretty central to everything. You may want to check out MizDucky's foodblog too.

Ooooh, its been fun! Thank you.

Headed to dinner at Vincent's Sirino's in Escondido tonight.

I love that coffee. happy sigh. Its fun, sight seeing with you. Good grub too. Thanks for blogging.