JTravel

A quart of Blueberry honey bought in southern New Jersey at a roadside berry farm where they produced it. Very pleasant Pine Tree honey from Turkey. Almost maple like to me.....it's thick and tan and sparkly as it comes out of its plastic sqeeze tube. The tube is a real plus for those of us who cart the sticky treat home from wherever. With the 3 oz. rule it gets kind of scary to put a jar in suitcase. Before that many times I dragged my hefty honey backpack through airports.......while DH says "don't we have honey at home?" Of course we do, western NY has lots of local honey producers.....spring flowers is a favorite type. But I think we've been hit hard (in both honey and pollination) by the dead hive problem.

What a TREAT! Someplace new, and a new look at our holiday. This will be great for relaxing in spare moments between Christmas chores. Now......off to cut the pork loin to get ready for stuffing. Snowing lightly for now in western NYS.

Re: Barbara Troop and China Moon Cookbook" -Chili-orange oil Absolutely! A friend gave me a plate of steamed pork buns she'd made, after she got the book for Christmas. I went right to mall and bought a copy. That oil was a bit of a bother, but a new concept to me......and the FLAVOR. She told you to include the "goop" from the bottom of the jar......OH SO GOOD on noodles and everything. You're right, there were a whole set of things you had to make, before you could make the main recipes.

As Hathor said: And thank you all for sharing this amazing culinary adventure with us. Tonight, in all our different time zones, we raise a glass to these wonderful, wacky women! In this case a special blue mug of gluhwein, while watching western New York get hit with MANY little flakes. A good day to stay in, make Christmas cookies, decorate a bit and of course read of the French food exploits of such great cooks, eaters and bloggers. Thanks for adding to the holidays.

Back to food. For stuff like nuts, etc., what are some good packaging options? I thought this was fascinating....talk about dedication....someone documented the folding of paper "nut/seed" cones in markets of Eastern Europe. I practiced with scrap paper and got it about right. But I'm not sure what decorative holiday paper will be strong enough for wrapping Pille's cinnamon almonds. Freezer paper would be good, but not pretty. At our market they sell the almonds in the traditional clear cellophane? cones...but they are very long and skinny....don't know how to do those. http://home.swipnet.se/roland/conefold.html I only have "after market (shrunk wook sweaters)" wool so not sure about pot holders. But in a store display I saw a tree with felted wool decorations....including a moose. Now if I can find the moose cookie cutter I'm set.

Random factoid, Mom told me they used to include a little packet of the yellow coloring with the white margarine and they had to mix it in to make the margarine yellow. Interesting huh. ← True indeed. I can remember "coloring" the "oleo" just a few times. Kids loved the job. As I understand it it was the "butter lobby" that kept the oleo white (and so, un-butter like) so people would not be confused by the new product.

I decided to share my "real"/traditional balsamic vinegar with my monthly women's "gourmet" group. I served it as we learned in Italy, a tiny drop onto a broken off piece of parmesan. They were confused by the concept....it was too strange. One woman "got it".......she just kept saying "I thought I'd had balsamic....but this stuff!". Just managed to rescue the bottle after one guest pulled out the little thingy that provides the one drop at a time. OH the loss there could have been if she'd upended the bottle! I'm sticking to cream cheese dip from now on with the group. Lovely ladies, but not ready for the great stuff.

Not cooking exactly.....but food related. My last beagle, Barney, was a rescued dog who was a real sweetheart. Didn't run away like most hounds, and didn't get into food. Till ONE DAY when he attacked a 5 pound bag of sugar which I had set down in a plastic bag by the cellar door. Do you have any idea how far and wide that much sugar can go when bag is opened and shaken. Vet asked how much did he eat? How could I tell? She said he will be throwing up soon but it won't hurt him permanently. Just then he headed for the stuffed chair, off limits usually, and started gagging. I got him out side just in time. Went back to chair, stuck hand between cushion and rest of chair.....ugh.....sugar "syrup". Do you know how hard it is to get that stuff off....it took a LOT of water. After that incident (and the time with the brownies) Barney went into his crate when we left the house. He actually liked his crate and the food was safe.

Oh PLEASE. I need a use for those sweaters I bought at Goodwill and shrunk (felted?) up. I have made nice thick drink coasters.....but not exciting. In Helsinki, where real felting (virgin wool) is an art I saw some wonderful pins made of colorful wool with buttons sewn on. Guess I've strayed from food, maybe I could fill the oven mitts with some mix.....brownie mix in a jar/bag.

I saw in the food section of Marshalls (my favorite spot) canning jars of "Brining Salt". One had dried lemon peel and there were other more complicated flavors. The one I thought I could duplicate contained only kosher salt, sugar, whole peppercorns and dried garlic and dried onion. It was $7.99. I'm searching the web for instructions to print up, and proportions. I have plenty of nice jars and I think this will be easy, and well received by adult sons. I'm also making Pille's candied almonds and have been practicing folding paper cones for the authentic presentation.

Since my my parents died almost 10 years ago we have only had a few "family" Thanksgivings. One son far away, and one at the in laws. But for more than 20 years we have have volunteered with international students at the local university. There is an UNENDING supply of people who love to be included in your holiday. Yesterday it was a small group.....only a Chinese couple, a new gal from Malaysia and a couple and 2 little kids from Mozambique. They pronounced turkey very good (it was nice and juicy), liked mashed potatoes, but were not sure about canned cranberry sauce, stuffing and breads.....banana and pumpkin. The green bean casserole was not a hit, guess I should go back to corn custard which was always a hit. They gave everything a try and all got a good sized meal of the parts they liked. We get out a map, talk about the different countries, get acqainted and then eat pies. They thanked us a lot for including them. Great fun, I recommend it.

We were there in June and enjoyed the city so much, and I really liked the museum. We have traveled in Central America, bought locally ground and formed disks for hot chocolate etc. It was all pulled together in that museum.....wordy yes, but well done. They offer a "Chocolate Walk" in addition to the admission to the museum. For a few dollars more you get a nice booklet with a map and write-ups of the participating chocolate shops. You get a couple of coupons with each book which entitle you to "a taste", of the shop's choice . We were forced to walk all around the city, that's a good thing, discovering where the shops were and what their speciality was. One woman spent a lot of time with us, telling how her mother still makes the candies in her kitchen. She also looked through the booklet and told us what other shops were suitable. Said she didn't want us to get less than the BEST. This in a city where the poorest would probably be way better than we usually have. One shop, The Chocolate Line, offered a sniffing pipe and a powdered chocolate to sniff. We passed on it, but read later that it was a great experince. There is a famous small square (Van Ekyk?) where a canal ends now. This was the entrance to the city for the boats loaded with cacoa nibs....great wealth on board. The square is surrounded by wonderful big houses, the local merchants wanted those arriving to know they would be dealing with people of substance. Brugge, a city not to be missed!

When I was a kid, there was nothing I liked better than drinking blue milk. My mom was indulgent. [ My mother was my kindergarten teacher (her first year of teaching after the war) and went on to teach kindergarten till 1968. One of the highlights of the week (OH, for a simpler time) was "Pink Milk Friday". At snack time she went around and put a drop of food color into each child's milk bottle. They loved it. She told about the one parent out of all the years she did it that insisted that her child not get pink milk. I suppose there would be an instant uproar if a teacher tried it today.

I remember learning from the Rochester Museum and Science Center that the local peoples (Seneca Nation of Indians is one of the six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy ) used a variety of trees for tapping. There weren't sugar maples everywhere and apparently many (most?) trees have a somewhat sweet sap that can be reduced. Black walnut is supposed to be wonderful, but of course not commercially viable.

General overview of the 'cool room', containing dairy shelves, frozen products, ice creams: I was surprised when I first came across "cool rooms" in European supermarkets. It makes sense to keep the cold making machines off by themselves. I don't know if other supermarket chains in the U.S. separate their cold things but I've never seen it anyplace. This has been a great blog, I am all set to find some local specialties thanks to all your terrific local info. Great photos too.....and amazing cafe food. I am so glad we decided to add Tallin to our trip. If you would like to meet us for lunch or something I have sent a pm.

When in junior high school my parents built a house out in the country near Binghamton NY. The property came with a couple of HUGE old shagbark (we used the bark that fell off for kindling)hickory trees. One tree got an old swing attached to it. Some years were very good nut years. Some had none. My father harvested them whenever they appeared. He had to shoo off people who drove by, saw trees beside the road, and decided to help themselves. I had an old photo of the drying trays he set up in the basement the year of the "really big" crop. I think that is the secret. Spread them out to dry, keep moving them and they become "easier" to crack as they age. I "think" they hold quite well in the shell. We always froze them, or at least kept them cool, in jars, after they were picked. I don't think there is a secret. It is tough, slow work. My parents filled a big bag, drove to Florida, and while Dad sat in the sun he picked them. A jar of nuts was a treasure and my mother had a special hickory nut cake recipe. You really appreciated the cake if you had had to pick them.

Bananas are still one of the few good-quality fruits in my supermarket. I just tossed out a whole cantaloupe this morning because it had no flavor. ← That is the problem I have with the "eat locally" movement. Do we have to give up bananas , pineapples, chocolate etc. because it is shipped a long distance? When we go to tropical places, Central America, or especially Thailand we discover whole worlds of tasty and delicious (and unknown to us) fruits. Seems we should be eating a bigger variety, not more limited. Though the beauty of ban, pine and choc are that they ship very well.

Where else but eGullet would there be so many people interested in Estonia, and its food. A month ago it was only a place across from Helsinki to me. Then we booked a boat trip on the Russian Waterways, with a couple of days in Tallin at the end. The more I read about it the more charming and interesting Tallin sounds. I already know I want to go to Olde Hansa (maybe from your other blog?) and I always like a city with lots of cafes. When you are a packaged tour tourist you usually get one day of included touring to the highlights. Then you have either an optional (extra cost) tour , or a free day. It is tough to find the neat places with so little time to plan and to get your bearings. BUT I will know WAY MORE after this week. What great luck! Thanks, Judy

Heading for Moscow, Tallin and Helsinki next week......so hoping it is one of those. Enjoyed the upstate NY one, even the hour or so from Rochester to Syracuse makes a difference in some available foods. BUT the international ones are FABULOUS!

Owen, I've never thought of frying Halloumi cheese I just tried this with a Mexican Frying cheese (Frier?) that I found in Super Wal-mart. It was sort of squeeky between the teeth....like cheese curds. It gets a crispy litttle crust on it and gets soft through the slice. Kids and grandkids ate every bit of it. Seems it would be great with that salad. Hate to see the end of real tomatoes.

Imagine, there is someone else who knows the Syracuse Canal Museum.....I've been married to a "canal" person for a long time which makes that almost holy ground. Western NY at last! Maybe unknown to those from elsewhere.....but despite Buffalo's reputation it is Syracuse that frequently gets the most snow. We personally just hope to spend February in someplace farther south. J in Rochester

Oh YES, I love that stuff. Remember when we used to spread it on white bread and toast it over the campfire? Supposed to taste like angel food cake.....and it did! Also, for chocolate the Mexican disks that you use for making cocoa.....already sugared and with a bit of cinnamon.

That looks like an Adirondack chair to me. So I'm thinking REALLY upstate NY.

When I was pregnant one August, many years ago, my mother came to "look after" me. After several days of grilled Velveeta , bacon and fresh tomato sandwiches she said "they're good....but enough". This thread "forced" me to buy a box of Velveeta at the local Wegmans......several choices in size and flavor. I bought the new 2% milk type.....like that's going to help. The unit price "forced" me to buy the 2 pound box.....a bargain at $4.49. I had a perfect melty sandwich, but still have plenty left for the dip. When the kids were small and we camped our Friday night arrival food was what was then called "chili con queso"......Velveeta, fried ground beef, and salsa. Carried in ice chest and reheated on the Coleman stove, served with Fritos while we set up camp it was loved by all.

Is there anyone in Belgium? Has it been done? Wish it would be.