Katie Meadow

No, I wouldn't second guess anything at this point. So far no metallic taste symptoms but I do use wooden chopsticks often. In my case it isn't the fork that tastes bad, it's just that what's on the end of it often tastes like cardboard. But I have my reliables that work for me. Until they don't, of course.. And then I take another tack.

Crass but good: salmon roe in sour cream or creme fraiche with potato chips for dipping. Upscale version: oven-toasted or fried wonton skins. Love the pop pop. The edible equivalent of popping bubble wrap.

\Of course that's an excellent suggestion and no doubt what my doctor would say. But, simply put, I just don't want to. Go figure. As a chemo patient I'm honor bound to be relatively stupid. Orneriness is one of the few toolsI have left and I'm stickin' to it.

Yum. Do I see a garnish of salmon roe? Potatoes, jammy eggs, smoked trout, what's not to like?

Question about the Rice Factory. It appears they have two locations, one in NY and the other in LA I assume you order from the NY location, but the jasmine rice you ordered says it comes from CA. Any idea how their operation works? Are both locations distribution houses for all products?

These days, due to chemo, my tastes are limited. Japanese food is appealing, but restaurant dining is problematic. Many vegetables don't taste right, but ohitashi, the japanese spinach appetizer is perfect, no idea why, except it's that sesame dressing. The only protein that seems to taste right is shrimp. Also tempura veg with dip taste pretty good. I figure I'm lucky I can eat at all. I eat a lot of white rice. The challenge is getting fiber and vegetables. The other thing that always seems to work is fresh tomatoes on pasta, with burrata. I simply take the best heirlooms I can find (right now purple cherokees and yellow varieties) and chop them up and put them in a bowl. If they aren't ripe and juicy don't even bother. Salt with your favorite salt generously, stir, and let sit for an hour or as long as you can wait, so there's plenty of juice in the mix. Cook pasta such as linguini fine or whatever. Meanwhile throw a few knobs of butter into the tomatoes and just warm the bowl in the microwave. No cooking. Or you can forget about warming and assume that when you dump it over the pasta it will be hot enough. Have the burrata ready to go, halved or not, depending on size and appetite. I like to sauce the pasta individually from the tomato bowl. Once sauced .simply add your portion of burrata to the dish. Yes, it's incredibly plain, but that's what I like; just pasta, tomato and butter and salt. My husband adds shredded basil to his, along with grated hard cheese. The burrata melts a little, but not totally, which is just perfect. I like the contrast of the cold burrata. In the end you are left with a few spoonfuls of creamy tomato soup.

@Shel_B Did you get it at Tokyo Market? I'm sure they won't have a problem with the return. And someone there might know what kind of mold it is.

I can be happy with sweet or savory as mood dictates, or availability allows. French toast, certainly. Leftover pizza, why not. Wontons in broth or out, if only. But there's a major caveat: someone has to put iit in front of me. I can barely push down my own toast in the morning.

Happy Birthday, @Steve Irby. I'm 77. My last few birthdays have been similar. I think about going out, but often end up staying home. There's a local bakery that has a chocolate cake I really like. My husband often buys a couple of slices and that's my party. The last time I actually celebrated was for my 70th. We had a party at the family beach house. Of note was great October weather, a lovely apple pie my SIL baked that had a "77" formed in crust. People stayed overnight and breakfast was leftover oysters and key lime pie. My nephew had never had oysters and he was over the moon, which was hilarious. But the real moment of awe came when a red fox was spotted across the street during breakfast. We're talking about a funky little beach town and a funky beach house with a view of the ocean. In all my nearly fifty years of marrying into this beach house this fox was a one-time only event. Deer always. Wild turkeys wandering about the streets, especially the day after Thanksgiving, just to prove they are still alive. But a fox? I'm guessing never again. This year my birthday will be singularly weird. I will be on the tail end of chemo. All bets are off whether or not a slice of chocolate cake will look good.

What, you don't like their geezer stockings?

I'll take one of those sandwiches. Just hold the broccoli, and anything fetal. And maybe the lychees, although I might trust your zeal on that one. Most all your breakfasts seem fascinating and appealing, or things I might make at a decent hour, like for dinner. As I'm sure I've repeated (geezer time!) I can barely push down the lever on the toaster anymore in the morning, so my husband makes my toast for me. It may be under or over toasted, but I'm learning to shut my mouth.

You had me at steamers sticking their necks out of the sand. Your crowd never seems to order them, Doesn't anyone like them? Of all the things I miss from the east coast that's almost at the top of my list. I just love them. And of course there are none here on the west coast. It's mostly a clam desert except for manilla clams, which are okay but tiny and can't match the little quahogs.

Carpano Antica is a favorite. I love it in summer just over ice. I also like the Cocchi di Torino but can't remember the last time I had it or how. I love the amaro bitters, but surprisingly I don't like compari / or a negroni. My mother always had a bottle of Punt e Mes around in her dotage. Needless to say she didn't have a drop of Italian blood, but she did have an Italian boyfriend.

I thought you were on the road to Montana. But yoi are still shopping at TJ's apparently.

I forgot all about this peculiar thread. For all I know I contributed something to it in a past life, but reading through the whole thing would be as bad as Starbucks coffee. Not a fan. However I went back a page just for a refresh and I do miss heidih. She's right: Starbucks is better than being in the DMV. However, I do have a recent Starbucks story. Last April we were driving back to Atlanta from Edisto Island. It was hot. I needed a bathroom and an icy drink. Signs pointed to a Starbucks off the highway. The facilities were closed but there was a drive-up window. There was a person in the window. When I asked for an espresso frappuccino she said, "Sorry, I can't make that right now. Our ice machine is broken." To my addled brain that just seemed pathetic. We drove across a parking lot and noticed a sign for a Waffle House. I've never been to a Waffle House. Now that I'm vacationing so often in the Carolinas and Atlanta I realize they come with the territory. There's even a "Waffle House Museum" near Atlanta.We never go because, well, it's more fun making jokes about it. I have no idea what their coffee is like, but the bathroom was very nice. So, next time I'm in a jam on a steamy highway I might just try Waffle House. It may be better than Starbucks, but no way more rejuvenating than that iced tea and the pacific coast breeze on the patio. RIP, Heidi.