IowaDee

No sweets in the morning for me either. The very thought of pancakes dripping with syrup is just repulsive . Now, at night, it tastes just delightful. Like Shelby, I not only eat leftover dinner for breakfast, I make sure there are leftovers. Family knows better than to snack on what will become MY breakfast.

I enjoyed that a lot. It also made me want to kick myself in the ass yet again for getting rid of all the Descoware I once had. What a fool I was and what was I thinking?

What beautiful photos! I could frame them and hang them on my kitchen wall!

Probably not the answer you're looking for me but marrying a man who was more at home in a kitchen than I was has proven to be the best investment I have every made. He gave me the confidence to spread my wings and gain the confidence to cook. Many years, and many failures later, I am a good cook who loves everything about the job. Best of all, my former teacher now asks my advice when it comes to recipes. Cooking together has become a joy and we have the extra weight to prove how much we practice it The best appliances, knives etc. can't compete with having a partner who shares the joy of producing a shared meal. Invest wisely and it will last a lifetime.

Shelby, if you head east and turn north at St. Louis, you will almost be at my door after you arrive in Iowa. Pick me up and I can hold the ball of yarn while you knit.

Beautiful, Had I been able, I would have grabbed them out form under you! My everyday Corelle Wear dishes has a band of chilies running around the edge. I am always looking for cool things to go with them Recently I did find four pretty neat soup mugs featuring a Tabasco Sauce label on them Your neat find would fit right in. Congrats on a great score.

Sitting on the front porch and drinking in an Iowan's defense against the constant stream of politicians and pundits going by. Even more effective is wearing patched bib overalls while swilling that PBR. And a shotgun propped against the step makes a fine accessory as well. As an Iowan, ya gotta do what you gotta do to keep your sanity at election time. One of our favorite pass times is convincing wan-a-bes how important it is to have their picture taken while eating a corndog at the fair! They always fall for it too!

We were at a general store run by our local Mennonites yesterday They had locally grown tomatoes and apparently way too many of them! They were selling bags of 10 for 25 cents! That's per bag, not per tomato. They were ripe and should be used fresh within a very few days. I'm sure there were a lot of people firing up their canning kettles and washing those jars! We had monster blts for lunch and made fresh salsa. Still four tomatoes left but a big salad is on the menu. They also were selling limes, 10 for a buck. And beautiful shallots for $2.45 a pound. That's a lot of shallots. Always an adventure to shop there especially since we only went to buy 100 pounds of sunflower seeds to feed the birds. The store is called Dutchman's and they do have a website. Fun place to shop.

You are a true artist and so deserving of the awards! Thanks for sharing your many talents.

Polly wants a magnum

Sounds like what we call a Bloody Beer,made with dos Equis lager.

This is exactly the type of place we delight in when we find one. We have a dinky little Mexican place that is amazing. Family run and with love and pride. I love the fact that each table has a small potted plant no matter the season. The bright red pots and greenery some how capture the spirit of the place. There are some really bad murals on the walls showing life in rural Mexico. I suspect a family member did them and because of that, they are unique and beautiful. It is always an adventure ordering. Sometimes you get salsa and chips and sometimes not. Every so often they bring a bowl of extra queso fresco to the table but not always. No matter, we always leave with full tummies and full hearts, happy that places like that can survive and thrive in today's fast food culture. And, come to think of it, they never bring water to the table. They have a big cooler and customers just walk up and help themselves to whatever they want to drink as long as it is Mexican pop.

I too have many old pieces of it, all in the cornflower design. Most are marked on the bottom as how to use them. For example, my 8 in. square pan says it is for oven, range or microwave use. I could find no pieces that mentioned using them in the broiler, but I would feel comfortable doing just that. The new stuff, maybe not Best coffee I ever had was made in a Corning Ware electric pot. It was a sad day in our kitchen when the pot was recalled. In return for sending in the lid, I got credit or coupons for all types of their products. Don't tell anyone but I found another lid at a yard sale,a couple of years later and sent it in as well. If you were lucky enough to be on my Christmas list that year, there was a piece of Corning Ware with your name on it!

A trip like this has been a dream of mine for a long, long time. I am so happy that you will get to experience it and, hopefully share your visit. The cooking lessons sound amazing and I am envious but again, looking forward to your memories of them I so hope that the family troubles were a mere bump in the road for you..

And that makes it perfect for a "sit down" dinner. I think it looks pretty cool!

She is just one amazing woman! I would delight in having even one quarter of her energy.

I love picadillo but I'm curious about something. Several recipes call for beef and an equal number call for pork. I have always used beef simply because that is what I tend to have on hand when the picadillo craving hits me. Also I have used pecans in a pinch and they worked out just fine. What is the authentic meat to use?

Last time I checked it was for sale on Amazon. How's your supply of Mexican oregano? Gotta have plenty of that.

Used to be a small Mexican restaurant near here that had what I guess you would call a table top pastor spit. You could set it up about anywhere there was electricity. The place went out of business and I tried and tried to find that cool little cooker. I suspect that some tacos trucks have them too. "Our" defunct place never failed to have the chunk of fresh pineapple on top of the meat to the juice would run down and carmelize on it. Damn, make me stop, I might cry at the loss.

I had it in my head that this method of spit cooking was what made tacos al-pastor unique. Are they the same thing or just kissing cousins? Little hole in the wall iln Mazatlan made the best al pastor tacos I've ever had. By day it was a scooter rental and by night it had transformed into a taco place complete with a wonderful lady making tortillas by hand. What amazing food. If I had to live on just one cusine, it would be Mexican hands down!

Almost all of my cookware is Vision Ware. I have eveything from loaf pans to large casseroles. Some of it has the non-stick coating in the bottom but the majority is plain. When it first came out, my local grocery store had a deal where you could get one piece per week with a minimum store purchase. I have picked up additional pieces at thrift shops over the years. Use it all the time on the stove, in the oven and in the microwave. I don't use it in the broiler. Also have many pieces of Corning Ware with the blue cornflower on them. Again, I use it everywhere except in the broiler. Hardly ever run across pieces in thrift shops People must realize what treasures they have! Sometimes older really is better and vintage, best of all.

I too am so sorry to hear this.

I think I know her husband, Fullla. Nice couple.

If you do a search for Civillan Conservation Corps, you will find the info. We have several beautiful buildings in local parks thanks to it.

I will give WH props for having the first olive bar I've ever seen. Who knew olives came in all those shapes and sizes not to mention flavors. And the cheese selection blew my mind. Here in one place were all those exotic cheeses that I had only read about before. Now amazing seletions of olives and cheeses abound but don't you always remember your first time?