Kouign Aman

HRH asked for salsa at dinner last week (19 months), and enjoyed it. It was pretty mild but had a definite chili bite. My kid always loved garlic and onions (cooked). I used to put curry powder in carrots or mango/chicken meals pretty regularly. Right now marmite is a new treat - right up there with 72% Valrhona chocolate. Food reactions are weird. HRH loves broccoli & cauliflower & brussel sprouts, ate steamed cabbage willingly, and got bigtime skin reactions to red cabbage. Go figure. I like beans / lentils because are loaded with protein, they mashed easily early on, were great finger food as HRH learned to pincher grip, and now are easily pierceable as well as amusing/frustrating as they slide away from a searching fork.

My thoughts: Go for it. There's a great little grinder (manual, small volumes) for just this: Food Mill You might want to introduce new seasonings one at a time as well, so you might have to set aside bits of a meal for baby before finishing for the family. It might help to make a small amount of baby food and freeze it. His fav food might help with the transition from ultrapureed texture to the coarser texture of home made, and its great to have on hand for times when your regular meal is running late but your son needs to eat NOW. And of course jars are great for times out of the house. I prefered to give HRH jarred commercial food instead of a groundup Costco hotdog, for instance. There is some concern about nitrate levels in carrots and spinach. Apparently babyfood mfgers test for these. So we kept these infrequent (home made). Have fun, and please keep us posted on how it works.

We tried Rudford's on Saturday. The biscuits and gravy was a huge portion. The gravy would have been good on chicken fried steak. I prefer a lot of sausage flavor in the gravy on biscuits, so it wasnt to my taste. Brian's is now on the to-do list. Wheeeee!

Thanks for the pix of your handsome lads! I find the same. I'll have to try them Animal style next time.The kid/food book - thank you. I'll send a copy to my very good friend who's child is only eating white food. (And then I'll borrow it back when mine becomes a picky eater). Why is it we live with irritations for so long, only to fix things up in order to sell? We did the same thing. We swore we'd keep this place in "ready to sell" condition, because 'we're worth it', but we havent kept our vow. (Tho we're trying...) TongoRad, without diminishing the issues you relate, that's hilarious!

Now if they would just start carrying really good hot chocolate......

I have to second Dana and johnnyd: Joe's Crab Shack bad Joe's Stone Crab good! And then there's Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck in Kahuku, Oahu, Hawaii. Yum, yum, yum.

Eggs are stable non-refridgerated for a surprisingly long time, especially if stuffed down into a barrel of wet sand or isinglass. The large qty of eggs described does make me wonder if poor Cookie was driving a mobile chicken-coop, however. Ye gods, what a smelly job! Why would outlaws eat beef, and ranch hands eat mutton?

I am very much looking forward to this blog, Kathy. I thoroughly enjoyed your last one. Good luck with the sprucing etc. Will there be updated shots of the boys (or must I refer to them as pets, in order to get them included in the blog?)?

Considering the profit margin on wine and booze, and that the waiter's tip is calculated as a % of the total tab, its completely mind-boggling that you werent offered the chance to spend more of your hard-earned money. Write that letter, and best of luck to you. BTW, in the letter, name names if you can. Names to praise (the waiter who helped even tho not 'your' waiter) and names to point a finger at (the bad waiter). editted for posting before proofing...

Chris, are you talking cheep eetz or high-end fine dining or in-between? What kind of food are you interested in? The Fish Market does well. Nice view, good food. Stay downstairs. Top of the Market has similar menu for significant mark-up. Can go inexpensive (chowder and the free bread) or not.

Have to add to this list: Chicken Pie Shop of San Diego 2633 El Cajon Boulevard, North Park, 619-295-0156. Fast service, good mains, frozen veg, whipped potatoes, low-budget pies for dessert. Very cheep eetz. The classic is the chicken pie dinner (pie, veg, potatoes, biscuit, dessert for <$7), but I like the chicken livers a lot too. And they serve buttermilk.

BBQ - beef ribs, Fat Ivor's in Valley Center. Worth the schlep. They do pork ribs too, also good. Very refined, good baby backs: Hunters in Mission Valley. Biscuits and gravy: Troy's in Clairemont Square shopping center. Better = in Pine Valley - again, a schlep. (Pine Valley Cafe? ) Dim Sum - I'll toss out the names usually given to me, and wait to see what the reaction is: Emerald (seafood) and Jasmine - both on Convoy, a couple miles apart. Both very popular and crowded. Jasmine at least will bring items by request, as well as the carts tracking round. We'd be happy to join you at any of these. We be three - me, he and the littley. And we'd be happy to check out any new sources. Meantime, we practice making biscuits. How about Korean? What stands out, locally?

I'm coming late to this thread, so here are resolutions and results together (T = 2 months) I will make... a family dinner (simple weeknight meals) at least 3 nights a week, including dishes other than spaghetti, roasts or fried rice as the main courses. Up to an average of 1.5, but no new dishes. Sigh. Lots of great e-gullet ideas tho. I will find... a good & accessible source of interesting produce Poway Farmer’s market not especially interesting or accessible. Will have to try 99 Ranch, local mex marcado I will learn... something about using herbs and spices for other than baking. no progress to date. I will teach... the angelmonster to wait calmly while mama cooks, and to “steal” food from the garden (HRH is already hell on tomatoes! ) uhmmm…. Not yet I will read.... the Time-Life cookbook Foods of the World series again (after I unearth them from the moving boxes from lo those many years ago….) Will garage dive again soon, searching, searching…. This is the year I will try... pan-frying meats I bought skinny little steaks…:rolleyes. I will taste.... at least one new type of ethnic food I’m gonna need help from the Cheap Eatz in San Diego thread for this. Am thinking Korean. I will use... my wok again. Its been years. Stirfry meat marinating. Veggies in fridge. See “I will teach” above I will give... more parties, especially dinner parties When the season is over and Mr KA is home evenings I... will continue to rejoice in the wonder of life, and share as many adventures with friend and family as I can. I will also eat more veggies (this is a perennial. Slowly, slowly, it works), and I will plant herbs. !!! a success!!! Went to Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner last night. Made me think of Megan Blocker's blog re Gilmore Girls. Lots of laughter about pancakes for dinner. Eating more veggies at breakfast: breakfast burritos w peppers, onions, mushrooms & salsa cruda and sautéed kale with fried eggs. Too early to plant, even here. We... will eat at at least one fine restaurant this year (sans HRH) Targeting April My kids... is singular, and will (continue to) be exposed to as wide a variety of foods as I can manage / stomach 72% Valhrona chocolate count? Salsa. Black pepper. Gotta find more kinds of veggies.

We also grew up with breakfast for dinner. Ours usually was fried eggs, toast and baked beans (English parents, can you tell? ) Now I'm having cravings. Your blog is DANGEROUS, Megan! Thank you! And your photography is much more than the quality of your bread. Its your choice of angles, lighting and cropping and ..........

Thanks for the mayo update.

In Dublin, several of the pubs and bars had UV (blacklight) lights in the stalls. In some places, that was the only light. Perhaps it was to help the cleaning staff?

almond with raspberry - especially good accompanied by coffee orange peel & rosemary - great in bread saffron and raisins dried figs and cheese - pick your fig, pick your cheese.

Fun thread! Yes Ma'am! I love that corning teapot. :drool: Illogical habit - the canister of wooden and plastic spoons etc that eats up our counter but that we never use. We use the ones from the drawer next to the stove. The bottles of spiced etc vinegars and oils rec'd as gifts. We leave them on the counter in hopes that seeing them will inspire us to use them. Hasnt worked in 5 years..... The kettle lives on the stove because a) it doesnt store anywhere else well (especially full of water) and b) we use the kettle to cover a burner that's just been turned off, in case the cat decides to jump up onto the stove.

I pretty much only worry about things like macaroni salad and deviled eggs... things highly probable to contain mayonnaise. If the eggs look a little 'crusty', I avoid, as that suggests they've been a roomtemp a considerable while. Otherwise, I gamble because I really like deviled eggs. And on one memorable occasion in Florida, I lost the gamble. Ugh!

I really like the way you frame your photographs. This bread & jam looks more like bread&jam than it would on my plate! Its like a photo of the Ur-B&J.

Megan, Im very much looking forward to your description of your neighborhood's little treasures. Thanks for blogging!

"Snickers Roll" - a foreign entry. I was voting for tempura-battered eggs as the weirdest, but deepfried scrambled eggs seem even weirder, and utterly pointless!

Pralines from The Southern Candymaker. Some years ago I tasted every praline I could find in New Orleans. This little shop was newly opened in time for Mardi Gras. Orders of magnitude better than anything else I tried. And they ship!

See's used to use Peter's Chocolate

I will smuggle in a bottle of water, and cherries. One bag full of freshly washed cherries, and another for the pits. Much better than popcorn for watching movies. Shame they arent available year round!