zoe b

o, tepee, you made my yogurt breakfast seem long ago and skimpy--those are some beautiful treats! just wanted to add that i make a couple loaves of bread in my bread machine for bake sales when asked --mine makes a rounded loaf that looks like pannetone--I make some sort of rich, sweet bread with friut and nuts in it, and ice or glaze it, and wrap in cellophane tied with a beautiful ribbon or two--these sell as soon as i drop them off each time--and the effort is pretty minimal!!! Zoe

what spice does that horrible Captain Morgan stuff taste like? I've never been able to make myself try it--but my stepsons and nephews love it--it would be fun to make them their own Captain for Christmas. Zoe

Melick's in Oldwick is a nice place--also have cider and delicious cider doughnuts--it's just off rt 78 if that works for you.

we like Jestine's--lovely, well cooked plain old fashioned Southern food--cute place and friendly--always neighborhood people there--also kids. Zoe

Boy, am I jealous of all these goodies--I was on a trip and could only look longingly at thrift shops and yard sales as we whizzed past them for 2 weeks. first stop upon re -entry was the thrift--lots of goodies, but nothing culinary--although i did find a vegetarian crock pot cookbook on the library sale table that's amazonable . sam iam-- I would guess that it is--what a beezarre thing!! you'll have to re-decorate around it--black walls, red velvet curtains, shadowy mirrors, guttering candles--eat everything very rare, too. Zoe

homemade mustards, bbq sauce--easy and fun to make.

so now i've been making yog all summer and have it pretty much down--so here are some things I've discovered. I make it only with whole milk--I can't get that nice texture with 2%, unfortunately. I make a gallon at a time--it's amazing how fast we go through it--I use it in so many ways now. I do the heat to 180, cool to 110 thing--and agree that a fast cool in an ice bath is important--one time i just let it cool down naturally and the yogurt was grainy rather than smooth. I add 1 cup of powdered milk--any more results in a weird color and smell--the powdered milk overtakes the fresh milk--not a good thing. I tried all the supermarket brands as starters--none were real great--so I splurged on some Fage and it was well worth it--that is delicious yogurt. I just use the end of the last batch now for a starter--probably a little over 1/2 a cup--and this last time I froze the yogurt since we were going away, and added the frozen yogurt to the warm milk--it helped cool the milk down and I was pleased to see that the starter was still active even after freezing. also, I incubate for nine hours only-- the yogurt curdles and breaks down if I did the full 12 hours--and i spoon the whey out as it develops--otherwise the yog turns into soup by the fourth day. I picked up a big green oblong tupperware container at the thrift--I think it's the celery crisper or possibly a bread keeper--but it holds the gallon of milk perfectly, and fits into my cooler with a hot pad under it--also it doesn't hog space in my crowded fridge. The syrups I've made thus far for flavoring are lavender, coffee, lemon and lime--all delicious in yogurt--I still haven't gotten the agave, but look forward to trying it. Zoe

delhigirl said-- I think what i posted earlier sounded as though I might think that everyone from a country with a haggling tradition was into extreme haggling--sorry if it seemed that I meant that --I have certainly been pressured by Americans just as severely!!! And amazingly, by Americans who clearly have plenty of dough--as my father in law always said--that's how they hold onto it!!

Having spent more than a few years at Farmers' Markets, I'd say it depends whether it's appropriate. If it's the end of the day and the items have a short shelf life, or you are buying a big quantity--it's fine to ask for something off--quite often the vendor will throw something in. I sold soap and body care products, so I didn't have a spoilage factor, but I would usually offer a quantity discount or throw in something--but if someone aggressively tried to get my prices down I wouldn't sell to them at all. And I would watch with amazement as customers from countries where haggling is an art would run the gentler farmers right into the ground to get deals--but i also know a few farmers who are a match for anybody.

we just went to the MP Minado last night, and had a ball--I thought the sushi was pretty good--the rice was fresh and delicious on the sushi which is important to me. there is a stupendous variety of things to eat--something for everyone I'm sure I didn't see and try everything this first time--I'll have a gameplan the next time we go. (bring an extra stomach) the beef tataki was delicious, also a raw red snapper sliced very thin with a sauce that had a lot of sesame oil--I loved this. I didn't see lobsters--where do you get them? where the crab legs are? also where do you get hand rolls made--want to try that next time. service was very attentive, and there were lots of Asians there--more than caucasians, actually. Zoe

Ed--I'd have preferred to be at your sister's wedding--other peoples' families are fun--your own can make you crazee!

the place we liked was near the Old Vic Theatre--on the side street--I didn't remember the name, but it's referenced in the f & C thread linked above--Masters. It's kind of a grimy neighborhood, no tables, as i remember, but we walked down to the pub, got some beer and sat outside at the tables and gobbled--then went to see a play at the Old Vic--a fun night.

could you share your recipe? I've been trying to duplicate this with wakame, and I don't mind the texture being different, but I haven't gotten the taste right, either. I think there are also cellophane noodles in the purchased seaweed salad--I/ve seen bean threads on the ingredients list. Zoe

First off--I read the old threads that you posted, Andrew--thanks!--lots of info there--all duly noted and appreciated .Andrew, this sounds tempting--I hadn't thought of Savannnah, but it looks like there are tons of great places to eat there from that thread--we were thinking of a shorter day, but why stay on an interstate motel when we could be having an experience instead? should have mentioned, we've been going to Ocracoke for 20 some years--and I agree--not much in the way of good eating out there--we mostly buy seafood and cook it--but I do like --I forget whether it's The Back or the Front Porch--it's a big screened in room with overhead fans, nothing fancy, but the catch of the day cooked nicely, with rice and a salad--more like home cooking than anything--but done with integrity. And for fun we like The Jolly Roger--a big outdoor deck restaurant on the water--you can watch the boats come in, and the sunset, drink pitchers of beer and have decent fish and chips. Haven't been to Wilmington--that's another thought--have been wanting to check it out--it looks charming. suzilightening said-- I forgot about this place!--it is good--my brother lives in St Simons and we always hit the Ga. Pig either coming or going. chantilly bob said-- Sweatmans is a definite stop--and the Blue Boy in Jax --gotta try it now thanks for all the tips--oh, I can't ewait to be eating all this great food--and a personal goal of banana pudding at every meal must be met.

We are making an unexpected road trip next week--my sister is getting married--so would love to hear from you all about fav spots to eat along the road. We have consulted Holly Eats with great success, also chowhound, and I have an old copy of Real Barbecue--a have a few favs of our own--but they happen to fit into a quick 2 day run--this time we'll take a little more time so we can maybe try a few different places. Lately we have enjoyed Moore's, Ralph's and Allman's --BBQ places--what do you love? On the way back we'll be camping --would like to stop in St Augustine for a few days, then to Beaufort SC, then on to Ocracoke for the previously scheduled vacation time. Zoe

Marketstel--you are my total hero--I'm going to hunt this down immediately--I adore Gates' sauce--my daughter lived in KS briefly and I became hooked on it at that time--my stash of this sauce is depleted and I have not been able to duplicate it. Zoe

funny, yet true--can't you picture Julia telling MFK to put a plug in it, in the nicest possible way? I don't have the Art of Eating here--which book has the famous orange section on the radiator and the cooking of the peas in Switzerland? If they are in one book, pick that one.

can't wait to see the Lebanon show--will be on the road so will have to find an accomodating bar to watch it. we are new to NR, so are enjoying the reruns for the first time--did anyone think the Puerto Rico show was a bit--well-- cheesy? the mythos shtick--come on now--it looked like the producers thought it was maybe clever, and AB was doing everything to ruin it. But loved seeing Mofungo--my favorite food in PR--want to have that giant ball of stArch and lard again sometime. Zoe

also, I think it's Dr. Pickle, at the Highland Park FM--he does great business--at least he was there 2 years ago, the last year I had a stand there. Zoe

the Aug/Sept issue just arrived--and your article, Phil, about the opportunity to drink some princely wines--wow. that was a fascinating piece--and a fascinating experience--I wish the article was longer so you could go into more detail about the individual wines! Zoe

that sounds delish--I wish I had one right now! Blue Moon? I'm horrible at naming things

the Hub had to make dessert the other night--it was hot and watermelon was as elaborate as I was willing to get--had the B & SIL over so no need to impress! But he put together a great dessert--he marinated strawberries in limoncello--added some sugar at my suggestion as our limoncello is powerful--made with grain alcohol. served with cake (Entemann's Louisiana Crunch which is very good--I would eat it again) and vanilla ice cream, it was pretty delish. And a nice side effest is that even though the strawberries are eaten, the limoncello left over turned a pretty rose color and tastes deliciously of strawberries--is good as is on ice cream.

not a grocery store--but check out Larry's Subs--my brother owns a bunch of these stores around there--Brunswick and St Simons, definitely, maybe one on Jekyll--a beautiful place, by the way.

although I haven't had one in years--fried baloney sandwiches--my mom made this--on white bread with yellow mustard and pickles. also--and I guess this isn't too weird--Ants on a Log--celery stuffed with peanut butter with raisins on top=--combines crunch, salty unctuousness and sweet bitiness.

yeah, I just did this for the first time at A&P--I panicked because I somehow missed that the big bags of 8 O'Clock coffee were on sale until the last day! The checker lady told me it was fine to go through 2x--so i got my four bags--whew!