hummingbirdkiss

my dog is not allowed in the kitchen she is way too big and it is way too easy for me to trip over her and kill myself ..I do that allready in other rooms so we have a no kitchen rule for my beast..or I am sure my floor would be clean and my dog would be fat from all the stuff I tend to drop this tip may sound strange but I love a clean floor too and I like it clean at the time the meal is served..however cooking is way more important to me than cleaning ..while I too love a shiny floor I will toss a damp ratty towel (I cook barefoot ..another reason I like my floor spotless is my feet...so this works fine for me) and then just walk aroound on iit if something spills ..and it does not interrupt the momentum of my cooking ... ..when it gets gross just toss it in the laundry ..if too many big things get caught up in it shake it outside for the birds and wash your hands and get a fresh one ... my friends used to tease me and now several of them picked up on it ...I noticed when they start the kitchen prep also toss an old damp towel down ..it is the floor towel instead of a bar towel and your feet do all the work!

easy ..after you are done cooking go around and just spritz fresh water up into the air .. I add some lavendar or rosewater to my spritzer but you dont have to ..plain fresh water sprayed high cleans the air of smells especially if you do it right after a meal when you are cleaning ..if you have a ceiling fan going that increases the effect

Thanks for the good wishes Rooberu this is pretty much the worst period I have ever had in my life so best wishes help! I will try the croquettes if you say they are good why not give them another shot ..I was just so disapointed in the expensive and disapointing dishes (my folks lived in the Caribbean for 20 years and I am honestly a brat when it comes to that type of food so maybe I was harsher than I should have been ..but how do you blow a Mojito drink in a place called Mojito Bay???) anyway I will try those ..I love Cuban food and croquettes are such a classic ..my folks live near Miami now so I always have to have some when I go there... The Lemon Grass was so good I agree we used to order from there for work (I work in Oly live north just a short way in Steilacoom) ...now the few times I went they were completely slammed and that could have been the excuse (not a reason imho) for the bad food bad service and lack of cleaning of the tables ...so maybe I need to try them again and be fair ... ..My Sweet Oasis was on one end of downtown kind of behind the parking lot of the formerly good Saigon Rondevous (OMG that became lousy when the orig owner left years ago!!!) then it moved right next to the park ..it was there a year ago I stopped for a Turkish coffee and pastry ...but I have not been back in a year so I dont now ...I wish I could remember the name of the new Mexican market it is so nice they have a wonderful butcher in there as well ... there is a fish Market near Hong Phat on it is not on College but actually on Marvin way in a brand new strip mall there ....you can almost see it from the Hong Phat plaza ..they sell a nice and reasonable variety of fresh fish there .. What about the Thai Place on Columbia and State..the name elludes me now? They used to be fresh, reasonable, friendly and good ... again my brian is not working I have not been there in a few years but used to love it ..my kids always ordered "The Screamer" there ... The best eggs on the planet are still at the Oly Farmers Market and they are open a little bit more Wagners Bakery is nice .they are at the Market and downtown ...and have some very uniqute pastry and the best cinnamon bread ..it sticks to your teeth in a good way! I think for Oly Bakeries and coffee are the best things food wise ..but that is just me thinking oh Darbys for breakfast!!! lunch too!!! how could I forget they are really a good funky typically Oly little local spot ..right across from the Capital Theater..serve consitantly good breakfasts and decent lunches as well

I agree with some of the above..especially the rec for Italian ..but Ricardos on Martin in Lacy is good if you talk to them they will put out some great food for you .....I have had four meals there and loved three ...they try hard ... but I completely disagree with Mojito Bay and Lemon Grass imho are absolutely awful!!! the prices, service and food ...all bad ....I have been a few times to Lemon Grass hoping they would improve but no luck on that one! only one trip to the Mojito Bay and I was done ...even the Mojito was bad there!!! specifically Mojito bay does not resemble any Caribbean food I have ever eaten the "Jamaican wings" were teriyaki for crying out loud! ...all the food was cold when we got it and the prices were awful for the quality ..besides it being located in the mall ..the parking is awful and the atmosphere is more like Red Robin than a dining room ..I was horrified when I took friends there for a retirement party ... Lemon grass ...even the YUM salad ..a no brainer ..was soggy wet ...tasteless and the lettuce was brown ...the service was awful and the condiment containers were sticking to the table they were so grubby shopping there are some wonderful little markets ..I can not remember exactly hot to tell you get to the new Mexican Market but it is behind Wenchell donuts over by Fred Myers...argh I will look when I go back to work and post the address later... great Asian shops on Martin just drive down and see they are mostly Korean at that end of town and have nice fresh produce and all kinds of kimchee.. ..then on College there is a small very friendly Vietnamese Mkt called Hong Phat that has great prices and most SE Asian ingredients you may need... there is a nice (or used to be I have not been there lately) Lebonese bakery "My Sweet Oasis" it was quite good years ago ... then there is the San Francisco street bakery that is very good and has the best Marionberry pie (my sister wanted to know why we named a pie after Marion Barry ) I like the taco truck too!!! it is our best Mexican in the Oly area... for a greasy cheese burger shake fries and goop there is always Big Toms or Normas Ace BBQ is not bad ..not southern but the brisket sandwich is pretty darn good ...and the woman that runs it is so funny be prepared she will give you shit!!! I love going just to banter with her!!! we have lots of good bread iand great coffee n the Oly area that is for sure!! Batdorf and Bronson is still my favorite coffee ...you can go to the tasting room and buy there after you taste to see what you like I agree about Anthonys anything they are really bad now and yes all the food tastes the same ... I love Pho on Martin makes duck pho that is not too bad ..the rest of the Pho is not very exciting but the duck one is good if you dont see it posted ask they make it all the time for me as far as just a good grocer I dont shop in Oly much but Top Foods at both ends of town seem pretty inclusive and there is always the Oly Food Coop (I have shopped there for over 20 years!) COOP I am kind of scattered right now due to a recent tragedy so if this does not seem clear it is because I am not very clear but really welcome and I hope it helps!

every year for Thanksgiving we have Enchiladas (our two daughters were born in Santa Fe) not traditional I guess but they go great with turkey! green chile cheese enchiladas are perfect for your veggie guests as well as every one else .. I make two pans and there are never leftovers

I do care packages surrounding a purchased gift for my family ..so I know they are all eating right... so far I have vanilla going (from the thread on this board thank you all so much that was the easiest project on the planet and ready to bottle (I just tested it in a cake and it is out of this world) home dried veggies/spice mix and boullion to be part of a soup and pilaf mix in a bag or a jar .. (I need some cool bags from some place I think the bags are easier to ship...any ideas?) home made beef jerky (again I need bags) dried fruits like apples with all the stuff for a pie in a bag as well . dried garden herbs dried lavendar gallore blackberry cordial (this is the best batch ever I used some local fireweed honey in it and the berries just popped with flavor) cookies..candy I know fudge has been done to death but my dad loves it and his mom used to make a cocoa power fudge with canned milk this would be a highlight for my father so if you have a recipe and share it with me I would be so grateful more to come ...

Ok I had my doubts but Patris thanks for sharing the pumpkin marshmallows are insane!!! I went nuts with spices and tossed in some allspice as well ..(I love that berry!) ... the smell of the kitchen was fantastic!!! tossed them in fresh toasted walnuts tossed in a bit of sugar and the left over ground spices and rough ground ... these are almost like eating a pastry...I still think a drizzle of really dark chocolate would NOT be overkill ..but would give it that one thing!!! thank you so much!!!

"Looks like you almost got the name correct. Cool pot! edited to remove link that doesn't seem to work. From what I've seen, you appear to have a product manufactured by a Swedish company Husqvarna. There's a couple butter-melters on ebay that match your pot perfectly!" thank you so much! butter melters huh? I will have to go and see! I love this little pot ..it is spotless inside btw

I would not do that at home if I was the only one eating out of the pot saliva is where the digestion starts ..dont put that in my food please that settles it I am not watching this show..thanks!!!!

fuzzy pic sorry I found this little (a quart) pot at my favorite thrift store and have no idea about it ..can anyone help me? it was so cute and $3 ..enamel on cast iron and the bottom is so worn I tried to make out the stamps but all I got was HUSOVARNA maybe???? there are two other stamps and later I am going to grave stone etch it if my husband has charcoal and tracing paper..it is making me nuts I can not read it!!! and it is so fun trying to figure out where things came from! anyway it is cute ...I love it and am glad I found it ..even better if I knew where it came from thank you so much in advance for your help! (I am a tried and true thrift store/yard sale whore ..my heart pounds...I get so excited ... rarely leave empty handed and always with a smile )

funny I was reading this then I noticed this thread... http://foodnetworkaddict.blogspot.com/2007...ng-tonight.html have not seen it but it is not sounding very tempting!

yes they freeze beautifully I am not the owner of that recipe and have not tried it but I plan on it after reading it!! I make empanadas, samosas and patties often in big batches (with potatoes inside) and just put them on a clean baking sheet when they are completely cool and freeze them individually ...then wrap them either individually or toss them all into a big freezer bag and just take out what you need when you need them ..I reheat them on a baking sheet but you can nuke them as well I guess... potatoes and all these kind of pastries freeze like a dream I think! the way I make patties is very similar to the above recipe except the pastry is made with lard and curry powder in it (just a teaspoon) and my filling is similar as well but has curry spices and my "secret" ingredient is a spoon full of Grace's Jerk in the filling...

I took some friends to dinner as my guests and had really built up this place to be wonderful...the service was awful and the food was not up to the usual standards..filled out the card discretely leaving it with a note on the bottom saying "if you want to talk about this further please call me" and then my number then I was headed off as I tried to leave by the owner ...it was really embarassing to stand there trying to get out the door him in front of me blocking the exit..the owner was aggitated ....and wanted to pick the comments apart one at a time ... I was torn do I stand and talk to this guy and tell him what I really felt? or just say "I left my number please call me" either way my guests were all kind of hovering ..it was uncomfortable..and we were trying to go ...I had not made a big deal at the table about the service or the food ..to my guests and was trying to keep this private......my company seemed to enjoy the evening ..so just a short appology about the food and service not being the usual and we just carried on... Well ...I chose the wrong option and began to defend my comments on the card...never will I do that again!!!...finally I was upset and said "look I am trying to get out of here to salvage my evening and you are not helping make this place look any better by doing this now...if you want to you can call me to talk tomorrow... but for now I want to just leave" and pushed past him while he grumbled at me ...argh!!! it was kind of awful ... I never heard a word and never went back

I realized that after I posted and wanted to stipulate that my friend has Celiac and we do mostly Vietnamese and Korean ..finding it easy because soy sauce is not heavily used in either and you can really just ask not to put it in ..then rice noodles are a great option ... I wonder that too and would love to know..if it is someplace new I can take my friend!

Ok maybe on Ov glove would be nice if I can not have the kitchen

I just wanted to let Santa know I would still be very happy to have this..I have been very good (well as good as the limits of my personality allow) ..I took all the junk out the room is clean as can be... all he has to do is just make it happen

I feel badly I missed this let me know if you are still looking for someplace to eat in Oly or Tacoma Mercado's is decent by the market and they have things there that are gluten free but you have to look closely ... Ricardo's in Lacy will modify anything if you ask gluten free is not as hard as it sounds here ..anything Asian ...some of the Italian places have a decent bowl of ciopino ....Oly has a few foody treasures ... if you are still interested ? Mexican is a good option in both Oly and Tacoma ... High end Low end? Seafood? there are many very good and very reasonable Korean and Vietnamese options in Tacoma a couple of good Indian places

lots of thoughts ..but it is too late to reply sorry I did not notice this!!! gluten free is not a problem there are tons of great places to eat between Tacoma and Olympia ... I just need more details, price range, type of food you want ect ... if you are still interested in advice I am happy to try to direct you ..

thanks I like to think I was a bit of a prodigy in the kitchen from early on LOL kidding... but I do love chocolate and bananas still they are a perfect match...

my dad has some kind of banana phobia... and will not eat them for some unknown bloody reason that drives the family nuts!!! he will go to the grave I bet with that reason..this man eats ANYTHING!!! but will not touch a banana..it is such a mystery to all of us and we have been guessing the reasons for years...we all love and eat bananas all the freaking time!!! that said ..my first attempt to cook anything all on my own ...was at 5 years old... I made a chocolate cake for him from scratch ...I rarely saw him and this was my chance to shine I was stubborn would not let anyone help ...eggs milk flour salt ...cocoa powder ..I had a kindergarten recipe for a cake we all made at school ..it was probably a dump cake of some kind because I remember putting a spoon of vinegar in it.....I had memorized it and made every go away while I put the stuff together in my giant bowl! it was of course put into the oven for me as I could not even reach it at that time! the cake came out good I can still taste the crumbs I picked off the side .....I sprinkled powdered sugar on it...threatend everyone not to touch it... and when my dad came home I was beside myself to serve it to him!!! he came in sat down with a big glass of milk and a huge hunk of cake ... started to eat it while I chatted away about how l did it .... including the fact I used banana extract ..instead of vanilla that was it he put his fork down and said "Heidi I am sorry I can not eat it" I was crushed..I kept saying "but dad it is not a REAL banana" he would not budge my tears were shooting everywhere... I sobbed and stormed off tossing the cake into the sink... he tried to hug me ..talk to me... but I was so mad at him I just would not even speak to him for days!!! to this day he will eat everything I make with relish trying to make up for that moment! that was a hard thing for a five year old!!! It still drives me nuts he will not give a reason for not eating bananas ...he is not allergic and says "I love them" when you ask if it is a dislike ..my aunt said she thought it had to do with a bet he made in collage... who knows.... silly man that he is!!!

only the guest of honor gets to choose..or stipulate... other than that I just let folks know what I am serving if they ask .. thank goodness...people around me love food! ...I really do not have any "picky" eaters in my life ..all four of my kids are out for any adventure and look forward to them! ...most folks who do gravitate in my direction or visa versa ... love to cook. love to eat or both

I love watching the whites of eggs cook

Cooking for me is better than any medication on the planet! no matter how tired I am when the knife comes out and I start slicing dicing and putting food together .....I loose track of time...become extremely happy and calm and just feel better over all I have friends that do all kinds of stuff after work to decompress from our draining careers!!! with me it is cooking! My husband knows that when I am really insane..I make curry!!! ..it is my megatherapy and he knows when I have my megatherapy going he gets not only a fantastic curry but ..... we are so Pavlovian in this house ..I cook he responds

Last time I went up to Vancouver ..while my husband was off working ...I scored a fresh durian for so cheap I had to have it!!!...came back to the hotel ..cracked it open ...ate some of this wonderful fruit ..then went and took a shower ...leaving the rest of it on the table ..my husband came in and when I came out of the shower and it was triple wrapped in plastic bags and on the balcony.. his comment "way to seduce a man Heidi!!!" he says it smells like methane I think it smells like durian!!!

well we have this Click here for fried chicken goodness so I have not that I can remember eaten either KFC or Popeye's in at least 20 years!!! My husband says Popeye's is better however he has had both in the past year and does not like KFC says it is still horrible in his opinion ... Ezell's hands down the best fast food fried chicken around here I think