lemniscate

Not to sidetrack cuisine, but one of my bucket list items is to touch feet onto some portion of the the Hahnenkamm. What an iconic area.

Childhood recollection is a kamikaze which is mixing all the soda at the dispenser in the convenience store together. Predates dirty soda. Also known by other slang that the algorithm won't like. There's dirty soda places all over the east side of the Phx Metro now, came down from Utah. I don't drink sweetened drinks, never was a fan of soft drinks. But these do a brisk business mostly drivethru.

It's roadtrip season for us. I usually make a big batch of beef jerky, and I wanted to make a "sweet" for the road. I gave an AI a list of stuff I had on hand, with my dessert preferences and parameters. I ended up greenlighting a recipe it offered. Black Walnut & Toffee Blondie Recipe with Cake Flour sprinkled with Maldon Sea Salt. I had an old box of cake flour, some leftover black walnut bits and an elderly Walker's Traditional Nonsuch English Toffee slab as the main "want to use" items. I also had it scale the recipe to a 10"x10" pan. I found I didn't have brown sugar on hand, but had blackstrap molasses powder. It helped use that to make brown sugar. It suggested browning the butter also. However, I had to bake it much longer than the AI thought, it said 18-23 min at 350F, it was 35 min in my oven at that temp. It's got that fudgy texture that I prefer in my blondies. Nice experiment with the Skynet chef, no Terminator in sight yet.

I know I've posted about this before, but when I roadtrip, the A4 comes with. It's light, fairly easy to keep clean, fits on most hotel countertops. I use it on the patio during pleasant weather for al fresco cooking. I do have all the accessory pans, I paid full price when the A4 was first offered. @JoNorvelleWalker makes a good point about the takoyaki pan, it does a good job for meatballs and egg bites. I am more than satisfied with the device and accessories. I did order the deal for a second one as a backup or possibly a gift. That being said, there are very similar appliances like this one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) that exist. I don't think it's an unusual cooker appliance in Asia, but in North America, it's a bit of an anomaly.

I find if I'm looking at random stuff in the fridge and I have that "I dunno what I want", I think of what could go in a ramen bowl or a quesadilla and most times it works out. I have the plain instant noodle packs (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) on hand and frozen tortillas.

I like Harney & Sons fruit flavors, Fruit d'Alsace, Black currant, and Capri blends are some I purchase repeatedly, they are available in bags, I use loose tea for my iced tea. I don't drink these hot. They do have "iced tea" blends on their site, but I've not ordered those specifically.

A couple of TJ "misses" for me, the Parsley crackers and the whipped feta. The crackers have a chalky texture to them, not crispy, but not tender either. Not a strong herb flavor either. Just a green color. A weird mouthfeel. The whipped feta was bland, I expected FETA flavor, but it's feta flavor. I like the texture, I think I'll try making a home version with a stronger feta, like the ones @blue_dolphin highlighted. I saw an X post that stated the TJ's is mostly an adult snack store. I gotta say, that made me stop and think a bit about what I buy there. In every jest there is truth.

Okonomiyaki . I liked it, I had been wanting to try one, but they aren't widely made in sushi/teppanyaki places here. I have heard of a sushi place not too far from me that has them on the "secret" menu. But it's just not in my normal territory so I have missed out on trying it. Comes with the sweet tangy sauce and the bonito flakes. There's microwave and stovetop instructions. I bet an airfryer could work too. I used the microwave, it of course wouldn't be crispy but I like the taste and texture and I will buy more of these for the quick eats cache.

The Ironwood is so enigmatic. It's my favorite desert tree. 99% of the year it looks like a charred remain of a tree or something that has just plum given up on existing. Then, it blooms. It's a ghostly color, you can't quite catch it with your eyes, is it lavender, is it gray, it there white in there? And yes, they are all there, mixed in the blossoms. I've tried for years to mix a paint color that matches it, but I feel it's impossible due to the dilution of colors and lighting. I will leave this color to nature. For some reason, this is a stellar year for Ironwood blooms, best I've ever seen. Very showy. Yellow everywhere is the overwhelming desert spring bloom color. But these last 2 seasons, there have been precious little normal colors.

Frozen mushrooms are suspect usually but I heartily enjoy the newish frozen sliced shitake mushrooms that TJ's offers now. I've used in scrambled eggs, for bison burger topping and in ramen noodles. Really good, very intense flavor from just a few slices. Easy to keep in the freezer a bit here or there use. I used to buy their frozen mushroom medley, but it declined in quality to me over the last few years, I think it's been discontinued anyway.

I've had woodruff syrup added in beer in the past, but I cannot recall the actual flavor profile. We had breaded veal cutlets (I had a D'artagnan veal roast I sliced and pounded into thin cutlets), sauteed mushrooms, steamed green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, sliced fresh tomatioes and carrot cake (Trader Joe's mini sheet cake, so good!). Before lunch we did the "egg war" or "egg tapping". Mom won (again).

The food photos are Oh My! But this photo caught me, so poignant. Especially during Holy Week.

This situation is too good to not ask AI for advice I was genuinely curious about the fix. If your Juusto (Finnish squeaky cheese) gets tough, try these fixes: Soften with Heat: Warm it gently in a pan or microwave for a few seconds to restore its soft, squeaky texture. Avoid overheating to prevent melting. Soak in Warm Water: Submerge it in warm (not hot) water for a few minutes to rehydrate and soften. Store Properly: To prevent further toughening, keep Juusto wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or an airtight container in the fridge to retain moisture. Use in Cooking: If it’s too tough to eat as is, grate or cube it for dishes like casseroles or salads, where texture matters less. Toughness often comes from drying out, so moisture and gentle heat are key.

Apple Blossoms. May have been mentioned in this thread earlier, but these are so nice. A muffin shaped pie, I find the ratio to crust and apple filling just right, but I like the crust on pies if they are quality. You can bake or microwave. I like my pie room temp, so I just leave one out on the counter for a while and it's delicious. If I can't get the apple tarte seanonally, this will more than do. I also bought a jar of TJ's unsweetened apple sauce, probably eat that with my TJ's cottage cheese.

Why is this tiny bag thing giving me Beanie Baby vibes?