hummingbirdkiss

I think of food as "American" when its origin encompasses all of North America... Canadian foods ...Mexican Foods .. regions of the Caribbean ..all part of the "American" food experience ..in my mind anyway... When I think of US food I think of things that are indigenous creations from just the 50 United States ... am I wrong or right in this? I just always thought this way but am not sure what most people think now?

I must have always been an Egulleter because 21 years ago with absolutely no money, no jobs, no friends, no family (other than husband and kids) no plans or any other reason I moved me and mine to this area simply for the food!

When I read through this I get kind of sad thinking I could never have any of you over to my house for a meal! ...I can only tell you about myself honestly...and as I mentioned before when I go to someones house.. all I care about is that they invited me and how much fun I am having ..aside from one horrifying tuna casserole I mentioned in another thread..I am thrilled when anyone wants to cook for me ..and the condition of thier house or the habits they have in life to get food to the table ..well I live with me and mine not them and theirs so who am I to judge? ..I honestly never knew people looked so closely at other peoples behavior when they were visiting! maybe because I dont hear what they say when they leave? ..but folks keep coming back... while I have always considered myself a very sanitary cook as I read through here I feel kind of like a heathen here! you guys are so immaculate! ..I am sure most of you would come unglued with what I do in the kitchen I mentioned a few things above but you sparked me to add more as I have found more commonalities with the people who do the things you say annoy you... and I was oblivious to my own behavior until I read this thread! I dont think I will change anything as what works for me ..does work for me! I cook barefoot..fact is.. I do everything at home barefoot ..I like my feet and they are functional so why not? I do not wear shoes in my house so why put them on in the kitchen? .in fact most everyone I know takes their shoes off when they come into my house ..the pile of shoes at the door may make them think this is my policy but really I just was taught to take my shoes off and leave them at the door when I come in so I do it still ....and I would do it at your house as well ..with out even thinking about it ... why bring the outside stuff in? one of the best reasons for shoes off is that I like sitting on the floor! in all rooms of the house ..but especially to make food ..I am very short so the floor is most comfortable ..and it is very clean (because I dont wear shoes!) so I will spread everything out on this foot high Korean table I have and I sit cross legged down there doing my prep on my little table ..it works perfectly and is very comfortable... yes I leave my meat on the counter to thaw (but my kitchen is never hot) or in the sink ..it is just easier to take it out in the morning and have it thawed by the early afternoon ready to go...I was taught to always bring meat to room temp before cooking ..so why not? Yes my trash can is open! how is that gross when you line it with a bag and dump it out frequently and several times a week bleach it? a lid is in the way of my trash tossing and if you dont have foot thing to open it how on earth do you keep your hands clean if you keep taking a lid off ? I tend to leave water running in my sink ..while I am doing things like washing veggies or whatever...I live in a place where there is no water shortage and it is thoughtless I know so to those who do I am sorry ..when I lived in Panama and had water delivered by truck I was not so careless but now it is cheap and plentiful and yes I am wasteful so I will work on that I promise ... I use the sleeves of my shirt (I wear my husband s flannel shirts to cook he hates me doing this) or clean socks as post holders (whatever I can find that is clean actually) I never judge anyone who helps me clean up after dinner and how they wash dishes ...my God they have helped me ..why judge them the intent is more important than anything else! sometimes my dishwasher leaves crap on the dishes so if I pull a dirty feeling glass down I dont freak out I just wash it and use it .. I put everything I can fit into the dishwasher and I can fit a lot ..I CRAM it full ..wooden spoons knives whatever ...my husband sharpens my knife is a big knife person and has never said a word ..he tosses the kitchen knives in as well .. I leave dishes in the sink while I am cooking ..but not in water ..I have even when I ran out or counter space stacked big dirty pots neatly by the sink on a towel on the floor until I get to them when the floor gets dirty during cooking I just take the sprayer from the kitchen sink spray the floor toss some bleach on then I walk around on a towel to light mop the floor after I toss cleaner on it ..one towel to wash one to dry then toss them down the stairs to the laundry room (they are not bath towels mind you but they are towels) I HATE MOPPING! I also dry pans on my stove (my friend thinks something awful will happen to my stove from the water dripping there) my dog is not allowed in the kitchen but she sits at the door waiting because as I am cutting veggies I toss her pieces across the room into her mouth I am a very very messy cook! and can trash a kitchen making scrambled eggs ..so my husband who adores my food will usually clean up after me...and he does a fantastic job...he also put pocket doors on both sides of my kitchen ..so when company is here and we are ready to eat I can just close the door and be blind to it until the meal is over I do however .pull my hair back ..wear clean clothing (when I start cooking) .wash my hands cutting boards and knives while I am cooking with soap all the freaking time while I am cooking ..I also use bleach water constantly on the counters and the floor on the fridge door anywhere my hands may have carried germs gets a whipe down.. ...and over all have impeccable personal hygiene .. you are all welcome in my house anytime for food but please do not judge me harshly if you do accept my invite

maybe you could find seeds? I grew a meyer lemon tree from a seed before and it actually got 3 lemons on it before some strange blight got it ..seeds are usually no problem getting into the country ...legally.. of course it is not going to be lemons next year or the next or even the next ..but it is worth trying I think

I thought some types of cornbread was supposed to be dry to soak up the juice from your beans?

I believe they are different from Cruellers Canadianbaken but I will look for a recipe and see ..Sarensho the recipe from this link you posted http://www.hawaii.edu/recipes/dessert/malasada.html looks almost exactly like what I do except more eggs so might as well try it! thanks so much

you are most welcome Cheryl!!! it works like a dream!!! I have also heard of folks doing it in mason jars on a heating pad one that you use for back pain but that made me nervous as a possible fire hazzard and it does not sound like even heat... so I never tried it however a bread proofing box would work perfectly I bet!!! I have one I made from instructions here on the board it is a foam cooler with a lightbulb inside keeps the interior very warm for proofing bread and would work well I bet for keeping yogurt warm I bet!

I dont like that many (not all) grocers do not have meat cutters any more and all the meat and seafood comes into the store prepackaged and not cut to order ..so if you want something special you have to go to another store I usually hand choose and weigh my own produce so I did not ever notice this until one time my girlfriend told me to weigh a prepackaged bag of potatoes...the 5lb bag of potatoes only ways 4.5!!!!! There were bags that went over 5lbs as well ... then I put a package of 1 lb of garlic up there and sure enough it weighed 3/4 lb! I put some quart berry baskets up and each one weighed a differing weight while they all looked good it made perfect sense to by the heavier ones! eggs are supposed to be standard but for the heck of it I weighed eggs and the prepackaged cheese ..extra large eggs were pretty close but there were some variances in the weight ...cheese was mostly right on but some were off by a good few oz...a lb of butter does not always weigh a lb!!! I did not find any meat that was off on the weight until I went to the chickens ..and go figure they were not correct either ..( fyi I put a plastic bag over the meat and one on the scales to avoid cross contamination) I had to stop because I was getting obsessed and silly with the whole thing wanting to weigh cereal boxes and coffee ..(I did btw try to take into act the wt of the containers and still saw that there was a difference) ..while I not at all a person who obsesses over the cost of things or money in general ...when I realized this it was disconcerting to know how much we pay for that we do not actually get in life ..thinking about people who are on fixed incomes who have to watch every single dime ....a huge cart of food can add up to quite a few dollars of unexpected loss over time... kind of sad to me because I thought things were standardized

it is a a very light very eggy Portuguese donut ...not at all like anything I have had in the way of fried dough tossed in plain white granulated sugar they are kind of like doughboys (if you have ever had those?) but more eggy the lighter they are the more they melt in your mouth the better!!! they are very deliscious and we have been through the wringer at work lately so I thought it would be a nice surprise for breakfast Sunday I am going to as mentioned above go with what I know and try the way to fry mentioned and yes I happily will take a picture and show you the results! I thought they were more popular ..I guess they are not really

Hans gets a lot of their bread from Hess Deli in Lakewood one of the places I wanted to share above if you wnat to come this far south but Hans is nice I like it ..just the bakery at Hess is on sight so it is so much fresher and next door is another coffee shop bakery with real German cakes and pastries to complete your meal

well I can not find any recipes on google that do not look like what I do already so maybe it will help just to do what you guys mentioned with frying ..thanks anyway! I wil let you know how things go on Sunday I am going to make my dough tomorrow ..and get up early for the second rise on Sunday then use the parchment method to carefully dump them in to the oil ...and transport them quickly to work 20 min away... thanks so much!

if you want to come to the Tacoma area I will tell you about three places I know that would be a real treat for a deli meat/cheese/bickles/mustards/bread lover!!! ps the prices, real ethnicity and the variety are worth the trip! one is a German deli with a bakery and the other 2 are Eastern European markets One I have not visited in a while and will this week in case you want to come this way... the truth is ..any excuse to visit these markets they all have great cheese, meat and bread!!! along with stuff you find no where else at such good prices!!! let me know and I will post where they are ..one I can not give you the name of because I can not read it ..I think it is in Ukranain

I watched it last night was torn between drooling over the food he served (I love his manic style and taste is is very similar to my own cooking frenzies.. but I wash everything!!!) .. the instinctual creativity of this man is amazing and nausea about the filth in that place and that man! ..back and forth loving him and wanting to taste the dishes and wanting to throw up at the hygiene issues...through the whole thing ..I love how he related cooking to sexuality and passion ..I feel the same way! it is all intertwined in life for me .......I have known people and restaurants just like this ..the food was so freaking good but the place was a nightmare of filth ..I had to set it in my brain that the food moved so fast the germs could not land and stick to it.....and drinking a lot of prior to eating at these places helped me over come my aversion to the environment ..(honestly I never did get sick) ..my aversion to people touching the rim of my glass kept me from drinking anything in these joints however and I always took my silverware and wiped it well under the table with wipes I keep in my bag (I am neurotic but private about it) I really liked this documentary because I honestly felt like I had met these folks before ...many times!!!! I loved the family dynamics! My dad used to tell me to "stop being so nice to people!!!" just like he did in the film... so funny to hear him say that to his kids!!! anyway I loved it and thought it was wayyyy too short ..so sad his wife died ....she was just so sweet and oblivious

Tsquare maybe the heat then the sudden rain made them drop because they got so heavy from the water? i dont know I am guessing

LaLaLa thanks for the offer you live close enough I may have to take you up on it!!! I HAVE TOMATOES YOU GUYS!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOO!!!!! I never thought it would happen but all the plants in the containers have some on and I actually ate one yesterday it was very yummy that $!32 tomato was!!!! thanks for the fig tips after I thought about it I realized I should not try to weep it with those huge leaves it would look stupid ..the tree looks silly enough as it is with the branches all splayed out now!!! I will just cut it back this fall and hope it turns out ok! I am afraid this recent rain we have had will make the figs burst! I am beside myself I finally have tomatoes ..now if they do not fall off and get all the way to ripe I will be beyond happy!!! I have so many flowers all over !!! and the baby hummingbirds are bouncing off the walls and my red hair!!! they are hysterical! the baby bunnies are on my nerves now that they are not babies anymore and all over the place ... time for them to go now before I consider currying them!!!! this is such a wonderful year in the garden ..I am going to walk the neighborhood later today and see what seeds and cuttings I can snip ... I am notorious for plant snipping everywhere I go ..if it hangs over the side walk it is fair game for me to take a pinch !!!

no recipes? ok I am being forced to google!

all of the above I love zucchini in any curries! Thai green curry with chicken and other veggies would be great indian curry you can just stir fry it alone then curry it and eat it with toasted tortillas!!! very good!!!

well I feel completely stupid! yes we have H mart and a Paldo world we have TONS of wonderful Korean food malls and markets between Tacoma and Federal Way I will make a trip on Thursday to see ...I have gotten pepper plants at the family markets but never thought to ask about the sesame as again I thought they grow from sesame seeds ... I can not believe I did not know that the leaves and the seeds were not the same family!!! I just assumed and am glad I asked ..I love both kinds of leaves thanks for the ideas and help I hope I can just find a plant to grow that would be wonderful ..or seeds are fine there is something very satisfying about growing stuff from seeds!

In school I learned a great way to do the transfer. We did it with french cruellers but I imagine it would work with other doughnut-like items. You put your doughnuts or whatever on a piece of parchment that has been greased with shortening. Only put on each sheet as many as you can get in your fryer at one time. Let them bench proof and then you just flip the whole thing over into the fryer. The shortening will melt and release the doughnuts. It's a bit scary the first time but it worked great. ← ok that is a flipping awesome idea thanks!!!

I'm not Sheena, but you should be able to keep a pot going over winter provided you have a sunny window, although my experience is with shiso and not sesame leaves (same family, perilla). ← ok one more question do I just put fresh not toasted of course sesame seeds in dirt I wonder? I have done that with mustard greens and grown them from mustard seeds I had in the spice cabinet and cilantro from coriander I wonder if I use fresh sesame seeds they are no hulled I imagine? anyone know?

I have a huge head too! thank you!!! I am excited to try!

almost all my favorite food celebs like my favorite rock stars are dead guess I should be grateful to have had them at all !!!

this is really my favorite thread! I want to plant raspberries ..next year!!! and I really want to plant some sesame leaves..anyone do this ever? any hints? I have never tried fava beans I grow scarlet runners (mainly for the bunnies but I do get some) and they are kind of like a fava in size and shape ...they do fairly well ...I have even put them in pots and had them trail down over the deck and they got several pods per plant to maturity I will add fava beans to my list for next year I am freaking over the fig tree the branches after today's rain they are all bending down ..like now it is a weeping fig ok if anyone knows about figs I wonder if I can add weights in the fall and make it weep like a plum or cherry?? anyone know this? or again anyone know how and when to prune this... guess I could google it ..but I like info from folks first if I can get it thanks

please will you tell me how your mother grows sesame leaves? this is such a good blog thanks Sheena ..sorry about your mouth OUCH!!! stop stressing and they will go away ..they are stress related I know that first hand

Me too!!! this is absolutely the best way to enjoy the flavor of these very nice ..yes perfect way to say it they are totally "refreshing" tasting leaves!!! I am going to grow these I have just decided! ..how big do they get? I wonder does anyone know if I can start them in pots now this late in the summer? then if they do well would I be able to winter them as a house plant? or just wait and try seeding them in the early spring? Sheena how does your mom grown them? I should check your blog!!! maybe you mentioned how to grow them and I missed it if not would you? please our climate is pretty temporate here... I have a new diversion ..I just love this board!