Shel_B

Lunch at the Owl Cafe, Cloverdale, CA I've been stopping at the Owl Cafe in Cloverdale for 59 years. Whenever coming or going on Highway 101, the Owl has been a stop. Here I had carnitas, rice and beans, a little guac', flour tortillas, and a Diet Coke.

And there's my dilema, such as it is. I appreciate the Victorinox - and have several of their knives - but I'm also a tactile person and the way something feels is also important.

You might try de-germing the garlic. Flavor is milder, ergo, you can use more if that's your inclination, and the upset that some people experience from garlic, is reduced or eliminated.

Like you, I'm not a heavy salt user, and I find that the TJs items that I regularly purchase are not at all salt offensive. The usual YMMV disclaimer applies.

As good and.as convenient the TJs item is, if you've got a nearby place to get good "CRs", that would be a better choice, IMO. I

I imagine the Breville could provide a.similar result. I'll give it a try when I get back home. Thanks.

Mine came out looking much paler than yours. How did you prepare them. I microwaved and then gave 'em a bit of time under the broiler, cooked and thickened the sauce a bit. I may try them again ... for my taste there was enough to like to offset that which was disliked. They are definitely worth trying. Results, I'm sure, will vary.

On the road: Eureka CA In the context of motel breakfasts, this one was fair. The bagel was better than expected (expectations were low), but not really a good bagel in the NY or Montreal sense. Potatoes and eggs were meh+, probably defrosted and reheated from a recent delivery. The sausage links, probably from the same truck as the 'taters, were OK, mild and inoffensive. A good belly-filler for continued travels. The less-browned links were the best ... juicier and much more flavorful. Coffee was surprisingly good for the circumstance, nice and fresh. Had a 3rd cup (small cups). Bananas, oranges, and apples provided the fresh fruit. Didn't see them before taking the pic. I apologize for any formatting or⁸ content errors. First time posting directly from the phone.

Ahh ... local issue. 😔

There are some very nice Argentinean Dulce de Leches available. The local Latino markets carry several that are excellent (and there is some junk out there as well).

I was surprised by that information, so I searched: From B&J, and from other sources as well, neither Cherry Garcia nor Chunky Monkey has been discontinued.

A really good vanilla, made with real vanlla beans and chocolate shavings woud top my list. It's a hard-to-come-by combination, and I find myself settling for something close most times. Cat Cora, when she worked at Bistro Don Giovani in Napa, made a vanilla ice cream with fresh ground black pepper that blew us away. While unavailable commercially (AFAIK), it remains today my most memorable ice cream eating experience. Another remarkable ice cream was Giuliano Bugialli's Sorbetto di Parmigiano. When I had it the first time, made by Judy Gruhen back in NYC some 30+ years ago, I was amazed by how "innovative" it was. I've long since come to learn that the idea, if not the precise recipe, goes back at least to the late 1700's, and since my first taste of Judy's creation, I've had several versions over the years.

Quite a few times over the past decade, Sweetie and I (mostly Sweetie) have made stock from leftover rotisserie chicken. The result has always been too salty for me, but Sweetie found it acceptable for her taste. I'd make the stock for her when I had a rotisserie chicken (always from Costco) ... Now, with the Instant Pot, I tried making "carcass stock" a few times, and saltiness was still a problem. I stopped adding the skin, started adding fresh chicken, and cooked it longer in larger quantities of water. That helped tone down the saltiness to an acceptable level, but it still minimized the choices for which I'd use the stock. So, how have you dealt with the saltiness, or has it even been an issue for you? How do you prepare and cook the bones? I'd like to get more use from the bones.

Had this for lunch a couple-three days ago. It was pretty good, although there are some other TJs entrées I like better. I added some of TJ's canned Hatch chilies to punch things up a bit ... I'm giving it a mild endorsement. I think it may have been the cheddar that lowered its desireability for me. Not punchy enough for a chile-type dish.

I grew up surrounded by Fritos. In the early 50s, my dad and a couple of his friends had the Frito distributorships in the NYC area. If you bought a Frito in NYC in the early - late 50s, you bought it from us. A couple of years after my dad died, Fritos bought out all the distributorships, we cashed out, and Fritos was no longer a part of my life. My mom ran the business for a while after dad died and then sold to Fritos. When I was 8, 9 years old, I started going to work with my dad. I counted stales, organized the inventory, made sure we had enough "cardboard" (boxes and packaging material), he showed me how to do the books, I'd go out with the drivers and make deliveries, and so on. I loved making deliveries. I'd ride in the truck, usually with Howard driving, and stand in what would be considered the passenger area (there was no passenger seat), often with the door open. Howard would go into the stores to take the orders, and I'd get to deliver the order to the store, often using the hand truck that was a little too big for my small stature. After a while, I'd go into the stores, get the order, make the physical delivery, and fill out the paperwork. By the time I was 10 - 11 years old, one of my minor responsibilities was dealing with the local cops when they came by looking for chips for their summer BBQs. After a while, they wouldn't even ask for my dad. They'd see me, put in their request, I'd fill it, and log the expenditure to keep track of inventory. In return for that accomodation, my Dad's trucks were immune from hassle as they'd often have to double-park or park in red zones to make efficient deliveries. His trucks and drivers were never ticketed. I learned a valuable business lesson and about quid pro quo at an early age. We always had Fritos in our home, and they were frequently part of our meals. Instead of croutons we'd put Fritos in our tomato and split pea soups, they'd be around the house as snacks, there was usually a case or two in the basement ... my dad would give 'em away as little thank you gifts. Fritos was very good to us, but after my dad died I wanted - needed - distance from some of the things that reminded me of him, and so I put Fritos out of my life. Had he lived, he'd have been offered an executive position with the company, as were his friends, and I'd have been part of the "Frito Family."