blue_dolphin

Ok. I'll play, but on the interesting scale, I think my haul is only a notch above toilet paper and soap! Trader Joes: 4 lbs organic yellow onions (presently roasting in the oven with sage, olive oil, balsamic vinegar) 2 red onions Heirloom cherry tomatoes Red bell pepper Bagged organic broccoli Blueberries TJ's Triscuit alternative: Reduced Guilt Woven Wheats Raisin rosemary crackers Speculoos cookies Manzanilla olives, pimento stuffed (already incorporated into egg salad for lunch) 2-year old New Zealand cheddar (August's "spotlight" cheese @ TJs) Applewood bacon (so I can make a BLT with the the CSA Pineapple Pie tomato) Greek yogurt Flax seed ciabatta Petit pain pascal (for the BLT) 12 bottles of sparkling mineral water Cranberry juice Underwood Family Farms CSA box (from earlier this week): Galia Melon (eaten with cottage cheese for lunches) Pineapple Pie Tomato (soon to appear in a BLT) Purple Bell Pepper Hungarian Bell Pepper Orange Carrots Green Leaf Lettuce (half gone into salads, some left for BLT) Bok Choy Yellow Bell Pepper Bi-color Corn (used in Chipotle Sweet Corn Fettuccini from Pinch of Yum) Yellow Zucchini (added some to the above Fettuccini, still a few left) Still need some sausage to cook up with those peppers

That's not "grocery shopping" - it's a foodie tour!

The local paper informs me that today is National Tequila Day. While the flavors seem more appropriate to cooler autumn weather, my sage is growing by leaps and bounds so the other day, I warmed up for the event with a Tequila and Sage Smash and enjoyed it very much. The "spanked sage bouquet" garnish cracks me up but I spanked it well indeed. This evening, I am enjoying the Margara version posted by tanstaafl2 subbing Bittermans Xocolatl mole bitters for Angostura orange bitters. Very nice.

Has anyone had much experience with infusing herbs in their 'cellos? I saw Abra's effort upthread to perk up a Meyer 'cello with bay or lavender. I love the combination of citrus and rosemary and have been wanting to try something like that. I found Thinking-Drinking's recipe for Grapefruit and Rosemary 'Cello and am going to give it a go. In my experience, herbs usually need only hours to days to infuse full flavor vs. the weeks I usually give to limoncello so I thought I'd infuse the citrus until it's done and then add the rosemary for a shorter time at the end. I'll also use rosemary infused simple to sweeten the 'cello. I want the rosemary flavor to be fresh and piney, but not too woody if that makes any sense. It may be better to just add some rosemary right before serving but I want to bottle some for Christmas gifts so I thought I'd give this a try. Anyone have any advice to share? And just to add to the collected 'cello experience here: Since moving to a home with several citrus trees, I've been making what I thought was limoncello. I knew the yellow fruits weren't the standard Eureka lemons as the pulp was slightly greenish but assumed they were just another variety of lemon. Turns out I've been making Bearss lime 'cello, using the fully ripe yellow limes! It's a very nice 'cello and my favorite way to serve it is poured over a small scoop of lemon sorbet and one of vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmm!

I'm with Chris. I love sipping a Manhattan after dinner and nibbling on walnuts and some dried tart cherries. And maybe some sort of caramel or dark chocolate confection....

Drinks I tried last week: On the weekend, I wanted a G&T but had no tonic so I tried this quick, cool and refresher from the kitchn and found it a pretty good substitute. Limoncello gin cocktail 1 ounce Limoncello ( "faux cello" made with Persian limes from my tree) 1 ounce gin (Plymouth) Over ice in a tall glass and topwith sparkling water Following the tall-cool protocol but using the recent MxMo cherry theme, I tried and enjoyed: Rosemary Cherry Crush Muddle: 2 heaping tsps cherry preserves rosemary leaves from one 3-4 inch stem Add: ½ oz fresh squeezed lime juice 1¾ oz reposado tequila Shake, strain into a tall glass over ice and top with ginger beer I like this and found it more interesting than most tall drinks. I really liked EvergreenDan's Wedderburn or Bite cocktail originally posted without a name over in the Daiquri thread. Truly more than the sum of its parts. Using my newly purchased Amaro CioCiaro as an Amer Picon/Torani Amer substitute, I went with a Hoskins cocktail and very much enjoyed it. From the same source, I tried: Footloose No. 2 2 ounces Nolet’s Silver Gin 3/4 ounce Cointreau 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters It's a very pretty pink drink, floral and fruity, without being sweet. I like it.

I regularly make double or triple batches of the Roasted Onions with Sage from Deborah Madison's Savory Way cookbook. That would cook them down to something easily stored in the freezer for future use.

10-12% = 10-12 grams in 100 milliliters of water or 100-120 grams per liter

Since we've veered a bit, I'll share what I use instead of a box grater: I use that old Mouli rotary grater a lot - I think it's time to pick up a back-up from ebay. And like some other posters I use the Microplane paddle graters and prefer the all metal versions like the one pictured.

I buy the Trader Joe's Greek Feta that comes in a tub of brine. I'd never thought of changing the brine. Usually use it up in a couple of weeks, maybe up to a month at the longest. I'm careful to use a clean utensil to break off what I need and never return cheese to the brine, any leftovers get bagged up separately.

You got me worried for a second. The flowers are edible. It's the woody parts of the plants that are highly toxic, and the stems. Hank Shaw in Northern California blogged about making fritters and cordial with them. In Santa Cruz, Pim Te uses them in jams (paired with blueberry). Thank you, FrogPrincesse, for that bit of research. I see elderflowers blooming along trails in my area (in Ventura County) in April. I'd wrongly assumed the toxicity extended to the whole plant so this is good news to me, at least for next year!

Good point. The muffins on the last one I had (LAX, terminal 5, last week) seemed not to have been toasted at all! Edited to add: I have a general complaint about pale toast in most restaurants but with english muffins, it's even worse.

From the very, very tasty (sampled a splash of that Angel's Envy Rye and it's a treat) to the completely tastless ($14.99 handle of 100 proof vodka for limoncello making) and a few in between.

Thanks for this query. In my deep dark past, I must have made hundreds - nay thousands - of Egg McMuffins while toiling under the Golden Arches and always meant to try a home version. I ordered these egg rings and found them perfectly functional. I need to work on the cooking time to get it the way I like but I'm looking forward to that research . Sorry for the blurry phone pix. Shel_B, what is it that you don't like about the McDonald's execution? For me, it's the hard cooked yolk. I worked there before salmonella in eggs was a common concern and we always cooked them to have an oozy but not totally runny yolk so that's what I'm going for. And maybe some other variations - a layer of sauteed, chopped spinach perhaps? What's your goal?

My CSA is also year round. This Tuesday's box: Easter Radishes White Carrots Mizuna Green Leaf Lettuce Fennel Gold Beets Red Chard Pickling Cucumbers Strawberries Valencia Oranges

Along the lines of Darienne's experience, UCLA has long had a "Dinner for 12 Strangers" program. Guests include students, faculty, alumni. Generally hosted by alumni. I attended and also helped host and thought it was fun. No fees involved.

It's embarrassing. No matter how large the bag, I treat all crispy, salty snack packages as single servings. That's why they are rarely allowed.

How large is "large-ish"? I'd be daunted by a big honking jack-o-lantern, too, and concerned that it would be stringy, watery and bland. If yours in leaning in that direction, you may find some help in this thread on improving a bland winter squash. But assuming they're nice cooking pumpkins, I can highly recommend the Winter Squash Soup with Chili and Mint from Deborah Madison's Greens cookbook. Pierogi posted the recipe here in the 2011 Recipes that Rock thread. I think I've made it a dozen times since. It freezes well. For a party last year, I made a roasted pumpkin salad with warm apple cider vinaigrette that was a big hit and I've made a lot of variations on that theme since. If I'm roasting squash for another recipe, I try to do up some extra, in bite-sized cubes, to add to salads. That kabocha I got today is almost 6 lbs so some is sure to make its way into salads. I've been wanting to make Dorie Greenspan's Pumpkin Stuffed with Everything Good from her Around My French Table cookbook. She calls for a 3 lb pumpkin for that.

Today's box: Mizuna Kobacha Squash French Radishes Cauliflower Romaine Lettuce Candy Beets Round Carrots Black Kale Satsuma Tangerines Broccoli Bok Choy Japanese Turnips Lots of greens for me, with radish, turnip and beet greens along with the black kale, mizuna, romaine and bok choy. And I still have last week's bok choy and tatsoi so I had best get to work. Looking forward to trying the recipe for farro with kabocha squash and cavolo nero from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. Summer veggies have been lingering (got tomatoes last week) but the Satsumas are a sure sign of the season (already ate 3 that didn't make it into the photo ). Anyone else still getting regular CSA boxes (or fresh market hauls)?

I thought the same thing when I read the article. But perhaps I travel in the wrong circles as I know many who expect a BIG drink of ...well....whatever. The glassware pictured in the article is lovely and made me want to go and mix something up even though I read it on Friday AM before work! Edited to add that I tried the Neon yesterday, despite lacking the so-named Waterford crystal coupes. I think it would have tasted better from the fancy glass

If it tastes unbearably sweet, I think I'd toss it. Otherwise, some spicy muffins or bar cookies with that ginger would be nice. Peanut butter and pumpkin soup from Serious Eats. Pumpkin Pie-Criossant Pudding from Food and Wine

I've made half a dozen or so batches and all have looked like yours. Some have been more bright and yellow, others more golden. I've used lemons from the farmer's market, from the grocery store and, most recently, from my own tree. Never a cloudy batch yet but they have all been very tasty!

After a very looooooong drought, Rittenhouse Rye has been back in stock at my local Total Wine & More @ 22.99, at least for the last month or two. That doesn't help you, FrogPrincesse, as I don't think they have any SD locations but maybe a re-check of your local sources could turn something up even if they've been out of stock for some some. Or maybe not...just my 2 cents!

Bruce Cost's Asian Ingredients is some years old now but that book, he highly recommends Ma Ling and recommends Koon Chun and Wei-Chuan.

FrogPrincesse mentioned quiche, my most customary pot-luck contribution. They're suitable for any meal, can be substantially prepped in advance (cook filling, grate cheese, make pie crust) the day before or even earlier and they stay warm for an amazingly long time when insulated in some combination of towels, newspaper and grocery bags so no fridge or microwaving required. I've baked quiche in the early AM here in So Cal and brought it to a pot-luck in Seattle - TSA only asked what smelled so good. Much like the your previous experience, I've found a salad with bagged baby spinach, dried cranberries or cherries, etc., candied walnuts or pecans, feta and some sort of balsamic vinaigrette is usually very well received and just requires grabbing a big bowl and serving utensils before a pit stop at the market. Of course, I usually do more prep at home and package everything up (red onion, orange segments, homemade spiced nuts and dressing, etc.) separately but it can be done straight from the grocery. My third option is a cold noodle dish with a spicy peanut sauce (Yank Sing chili pepper sauce being the secret ingredient), julienned carrot, cucumber, egg and green onion. Everything can be packed up separately and tossed just before serving. I love my work pot-lucks. There are always a few people who buy KFC or something but most people really put some effort into it. Maybe a bunch of scientists are accustomed to perfecting their own protocols but everything is usually very good.