Katie Meadow

Wonton wrappers make for pretty decent apple fritter-like things.

It's hard to grasp how many ways that is impossible food. Sausage flavored sausage. Chicken processed to taste not like chicken. On purpose.

But apparently you missed the corn as well. Glad to hear you're okay. If only you could get eG to pay you to keep this thread alive. Oh wait, that would be a really bad idea.

A first aid kit and an airbnb cancel each other out. It would be hard to hurt yourself on any knife you find in that kitchen. You only ned the first aid kit if you bring your own knives. So I bring neither and feel totally justified in going out instead of cooking in. The only time I remember wishing I had a real kitchen on vacation was in the south of France. Those markets just about killed me.

What is this thread about, really? It appears to be useful for talking oneself into or out of certain appliances. Or trying to justify not needing something or justifying your love of something. I've been reading about the CSO on eG for years, and I now feel very happy knowing that I will never get one. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really want anything that's multipurpose at this point in my life. I like all my single-purpose appliances. We have purchased two new appliances in forever. My husband upgraded his ice cream maker to a much better model and we gave the old one to my nephew. I got us a top of the line Zojirushi rice cooker that looks like a white space capsule and that I make short grain rice in several times a week. I can still make excellent rice on the stove but this is the closest thing to magic in my kitchen. I admit that I am getting lazy in my old age. Things I most likely will never own: 1) a sous vide rig. We don't eat a lot of meat any more and what else is it good for? 2)a pressure cooker or slow cooker. I'm not in a hurry and love my cast iron enamel pots. 3) a stand mixer, even though they are very handsome and come in fabulous colors. My husband makes great bread and he seems to like kneading. I don't bake much and make do with a hand mixer.

And then, @Ann_T , after you shelled the peas, roasted the beef and baked the Yorkie, it was 8 a.m. and Moe woke up and requested eggs and biscuits for breakfast. I'm coming back as Moe in my next life.

They do in fact look like day lilies. Very pretty. What are you going to do with them? I've only used dried, and only when making hot and sour soup.

In Mexico many years ago we became enamored of the small limes available at all the markets for cocktails and limeade, and those colorful squeezers were everywhere. I still love mine, but it really isn't big enough for anything but a small lime. If I were to measure, I believe my wooden citrus reamer is the most productive way to juice a lemon or a lime in my kitchen. And for some reason I find it satisfying. Yes, you do have to strain the juice or spoon out the seeds afterwards, but that is an easy chore.

A flat surface seems to be the most reliable and consistent way to make a sharp, effective crack in the center of the egg--helpful if you are separating the white from the yolk. But it seems to me that using the same surface every time you break an egg means that you know exactly how much force to use. And my counter is always available.

In case anyone is interested, I've managed to answer my own question about keeping down the python population in the Everglades. Apparently they taste fine, but are full of mercury and people are warned not to eat them.

Okay, so which snakes are the best tasting? Which are not so good? Supposedly American rattlesnakes are tasty; is there a Chinese rattler? I don't know why these questions never occurred to me before. I''m reminded of a wonderful section of John McPhee's "Rising from the plains," which recalls the childhood of geologist David Love. At one occasion the infamous murderer Bill Grace stops by the ranch and David's mother serves rattlesnake on toast. Too late they learn he's not a fan, but David's mother, the coolest of cool, convinces him it's chicken. it's quite funny.

I'll take your word for it. And if anyone offers me grilled snake I will try it. Maybe the pythons in Florida don't taste as good as Chinese snakes. When you've eaten snake does the waiter tell you what kind it was?

So funny. On road trips I too carry a serrated tomato knife that's about that size. At some town in the south of France we bought that knife and some wonderful bright colored plastic plates--I couldn't resist--and stuffed them in my luggage. That was pretty much my only personal shopping in France, so very restrained, right?

I too travel with my own tea bags / loose tea / filters. Many of the packets of tea that are provided on planes or at air bnb's or whatever are not what I would choose. It's a small thing and avoids grouchiness. I also always have a little container of flaky salt in my purse, and sometimes, if I remember when I'm traveling, I bring along a small adorable bamboo spork so I can avoid asking for plastic. All these are minimal and take up no real space. Unless we are on a car-trip and plan to stop at rest-stops or picnic areas, I don't travel with any utensils and don't plan on doing much cooking. As a rule, trips with hotel stays or rental lodgings are my big opportunity to NOT cook. There's a story behind the salt stash. One day several years ago my nephew's wife and I went out for local artisan ice cream. If it's summer, and it's being offered, I rarely resist fresh corn ice cream. This time it was obvious after one lick that this ice cream was crying out for a little sprinkle of salt. I noticed on the board that salt, along with several other add-ons, was 50 cents. Really? About 10 grains would have been enough. So ever after I have carried a little container of good salt wherever I go. I don't really need it often, but when I do, it's makes me happy.

I've pretty much stopped eating beef and lamb. That's out of a combined sense that they are the worst offenders environmentally, but also because I just don't have a taste for either any more. I might eat a green chile burger if tempted, but it would be a very rare occurrence. I don't eat octopus for reasons stated above. Chicken and pork are still on the menu, but in modest amounts. I eat just about any seafood that is sustainably fished and non-toxic, which, sadly, doesn't leave tons of options. With the exception of American or Canadian trout I won't eat farmed fish. Plant based protein doesn't appeal. Tofu is okay but I don't seek it out. Raw oysters are a favorite, but anything that can move on its own is off the table. Really. Lost in the wilderness or post apocalypse? I don't speculate. I might eat snake if it tastes like chicken. I assume it's white meat. But it must not taste very good, because otherwise wouldn't we be able to keep down the python population in the Florida swamps?

Just curious. Does the recent infatuation with kale represent perceived health benefits or the "discovery" of an underused green? If you look at the vitamin and mineral content of kale versus other dark leafy greens it rates average. It doesn't have distinct advantages over spinach or chard. They are all good for you, with some variations. To me kale is inedible when presented raw in a salad. I've never long-cooked it the way collards are often done, but then I prefer baby collards cooked in a saute pan and finished with a modest amount of ham stock rather than simmered for an hour in the more traditional way. I used to see baby Russian Kale at the farmers' markets but it seemed like a different plant from the thick curly stuff that is more common. I suspect that kale became popular on menus as a salad because you could call it "Kale Caesar," which was funny the first few times I saw it. Pickled mustard greens can be great, but you never hear about pickled kale. I assume someone tried it and decided it didn't measure up. And anyway, how did kale sneak into this hospital thread? You have to admit, it's hard to kill it.

What could possibly be overdone about whipped cream, ice cream and chocolate sauce for breakfast? As an appetizer, it appears!

I've had many crowns. Only one permanent one failed. I get whatever the common local anaesthetic is (I believe it is more often lidocaine now and not novocaine), like most of us do for the first part of the crown work and it takes me a while to get numb as well. But you might try to find out why there is swelling and bruising; that doesn't seem right. As for those Swedish fish, well my dentist used to do a hilarious thing to remove the temporary crown. The patient bit down hard on one of those adorable confectionary jujubes, then snapped open his or her jaw. Worked like a charm. She doesn't do that any more, but I haven't asked why. Maybe the idea of using candy as a normal dental tool struck some people as weird.

Giving Batali any time on eG makes me uneasy, but if we have to talk about him I'm in favor of keeping our priorities straight. The crocs, the bun and the shorts are not relevant. For too long women have been judged by their looks and their clothes and their weight, so maybe to focus on anything but his reprehensible behavior is to weaken any argument against him and his ilk. The fact that so many men have escaped the justice they deserve is really unfortunate, but it helps if the high profile perpetrators get at least a fraction of what's due. You think he's aged? Look what happened to Paul Manafort and Jeffrey Epstein after a couple of weeks in prison. Right now I'm just hitting a low point. The Guatemala story above the fold on today's front page of the NYT made me sick.

My best guess: SW is Sandwich. WW is whole wheat. Salmon salad, although that's troubling given the caveat below indicates a seafood allergy. Best to you @Anna N May your stay be as short as humanly possible. Not that the hospital is helping much.

Mostly I'm partial to the simplest thing: good butter and sea salt. But I also like Mexican street style, with some combo of crema, mayo, chile, lime, cilantro and cotija cheese. But recently I tried a new slather called Buffalo Corn. It involved melting butter to barely brown it, adding a dash of hot sauce, and then stirring in a bit of blue cheese until it melts, brushed on the corn and sprinkled with a little sea salt. I've now seen several recipes for "Buffalo style" and most of them are heavy handed, with an absurd amount of Frank's hot sauce and too much blue cheese as well. I prefer it very subtle, so I can taste my fresh corn. I used Crystal hot sauce and a small crumble of Stilton, both of which were on hand. More than one recipe called for equal amounts of butter and hot sauce--like a cup of each! Okay if you are feeding a small town that has blown out their taste buds because they have nothing better to do than put on chile-eating contests.

@David Ross I love your dad. That photo is a reminder that no one can multitask when eating great corn on the cob. It takes all your attention and its reward is a price above rubies.

If I read the OP correctly, you are talking about a sauce that either the wontons sit in or one that is used for dipping. That sauce, to my knowledge, would be more complex than a simple chile oil, which would often be too hot on its own. Typical sauces would include chile oil or hot oil mixture with some of the following: various types of soy and vinegar, garlic and ginger along with some sichuan pepper. Fuchsia Dunlop has a dipping sauce for wontons which consists of: 100 ml dark soy, 200 ml water, 6 T brown sugar, crushed ginger,1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 a star anise, 1/2 tsp of sichuan pepper and a third of a stick of cinnamon. All ingredients simmered on low heat for 20 minutes. It seems on the sweet side to me, and not something I would have guessed at, which maybe is what you are looking for. Strangely she doesn't suggest adding any red oil, which seems a little unusual for a wonton sauce, but the variations of regional cuisines are her forte, not mine, that's for sure. I agree that contacting the restaurant might yield some tips.

If anyone is a big fan (like me) of the TJ's Thomcord Grapes we just nabbed some early season ones a few days ago. No idea if all the stores get them. This seems a bit early in the year, but they were really delicious. Somewhat later in the season they tend not to be as crisp. And if you don't know what they are, they are a cross between Concord grapes and a Thompson seedless grape of some type, making them a bit less intense than regular Concords, less jelly-like inside and almost totally without seeds. I love grapes, but I'm fussy about them; I don't like huge ones, I don't really care for plain Thompson seedless, and I don't like them soft and squishy or too sweet. These are on the tart side and with good pop. Short season!

@Shelby, surely that's an easy fix for you, what with teal coming out of your ears.