JimH

I can find 80/20 here but I suspect I can get 75/25 if I ask the butcher and sometimes you can find it packed as chili meat. I use 80/20 with BBQ sauce, worcestershire sauce and a little of the vinager from the pickled sliced jalapeno pepper jar, diced onion & pickled jalapenos. I decided to try putting my favorite toppings in the burger. I cook them to well done on the grill and they are juicy. I've had 90/10 & ground sirloin and they make lousy burgers, you might as well eat a veggie burger at that point.

I wonder what the breakdown would be if they had chosen to focus on any other item one might consume. The incidence of death among respondents who ate toast for breakfast 7 days a week. Eggs were good for you then they were bad, then good and now bad again. I think this might be a case of a study in search of additional funding. This I really like: The article states that eggs are high in cholesterol, which in the medical community is associated with higher risk of heart attack and stroke. Yet, egg consumption was not a corollary to the incidence of early death. Is there a salmonella epidemic nobody's told us about? Are they just so intent on getting their daily egg that they step in front of the bus, not on to it? Perhaps they were just not taking care of themselves, which is especially deadly for diabetics. QED Oh, I almost missed it "ate more vegetables" I bet it was the brussel sprouts that did them in!

Pierogi hit it on the head. I'm not very good at getting to the point sometimes. It's not necessarily the ethnicity of the food but the flavoring. Cardamom, cinnamon, fenugreek, saffron, allspice, mint, etc. How things harmonize or dominate. I'm comfortable with typical Italian seasonings and becoming more familiar with Mexican/Latin American seasonings but I want to expand my palate. I'll second Pierogi as I'd be your second student.

MMMMMM Blackberry Summer Ale or even better a Blackberry Lambic! The closest we have down here are Dewberries but they are not invasive. The fig tree bears a light tan/pinkish fruit that I pick when it droops at the neck. I think it's an Alma but I haven't really made the effort that I should to correctly identify it. The flavor of the fresh figs is incredible a little like a peach and very sweet. Fig jam gets made when I get the time otherwise I just eat them fresh and share them with family, friends and the local wildlife of course. I sheet compost aka Lasagna Gardening, so nothing goes to waste and I don't have to bring in soil. You said you grow ginger, do you think I could grow it in a pot? Do you have pictures of your entire backyard? You said that you have a lower yard so I'm curious. Have a great weekend, Jim

As best as I can tell, I'm just past "basic" headed into intermediate. What I am investigating now (it actually led me to this forum) are the different world cuisines and the spices/herbs that differentiate them. I'm just starting to scratch the surface of each cuisine and what spices/herbs influence them, Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Latin American, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Italian etc. It's more than executing the recipe, it's what they use and how it affects the taste/perception of food.

I slobbered all over my keyboard, I have just seen the mother of all berry patches. I'd never get anything done outside once they were ripe, I'd just sit there snacking away.

Garlic, lots of it and freshly cracked black pepper. There's just something electric that happens when you bite into a piece of freshly cracked pepper. Garlic can be sweet or hot and the Italian side of me craves it.

I forgot to mention the Fig tree, I was supposed to trim it back and time got away from me: The Kumquat tree that's just starting to give me good yeilds: The Blackberry seedling with new growth: A really bad pic of the Lime tree's little fuits. It was so cloudy that at 7:30 in the morning my camera had to use it's flash. Edited to: Change pic size & capitalize Blackberry

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your purple carrots and your peas. I have had no luck with peas, just too hot here I guess. This is my first attempt at hops and apparently I live just below the lower lattitude of their preferred growing zone. I can only guess that they'll be somewhat fragrant as I think you have to crush the cones to release their oils. Hopefully they aren't as tender as peas... It's great that you had a mentor and really nice of you to plant in his memory. Corn is to easy to grow, in fact it grew in spite of me. I grew Silver Queen & Ruby Queen last year. Both were just perfect for picking and eating without cooking. They smell incredible when the tassles appear, a heavenly aroma. I tried sunflowers one year, the supposed "giant" 14 foot sunflowers grew to about 5 feet, flowered, and that was it. Fire ants are a PITA, always showing up where you least expect them. I was able to eradicate them from my yard for about three years but they are back. I hear that they have reached Tennesse and they were seen purchasing long black leather coats, scarfs and boots for the trip North.

Andy, thanks I'll check an HEB next time I go by one.

Thaks, I'll try that.

Spring is an interesting time of year for redheads, I get "attention" from curious bees and wasps too. The hops will serve two functions, provide me with aroma hops and shade the Western side of my house. Defenitely an arbor, perhaps even two as I have 4 rhizomes. I probably won't get much growth this year but it will give me time to get an arbor ready for next year. I feel for you, it rained almost every day last Summer and everything just went to seed. You've inspired me to keep at it, thanks!

I bought the Nesco on your recommendation. It arrived yesterday and it's a well built fryer. I cleaned it and will be frying onion rings tonight and maybe some mushroom caps or zucchini strips. Everything is better fried.

WooHoo! My hop rhizomes arrived, 2 Cacade & 2 Hallertau. I was late getting the corn planted, still have to find the containers for the taters. I potted the Blackberry plant a couple of weeks ago and it's starting to show new growth. When it's grown a little more I'll plant it in the ground. I'll also be harvesting my first limes this year. No hummingbirds here yet, I get buzzed every year until the Lantana bloom, a hazard of having red hair. Summer looms just around the corner.

Jeff, thanks for the tip, I checked Kroger's last night. They didn't have it but I didn't leave empty handed, they stock Jarritos. I'll check the Randall's down the street.

The reason is that the bags are thin and any sharp edge will poke right through. The sackers are probably being told not to load them too heavily. I usually try to sack my own groceries since it was one of my first jobs and I was taught how to do it with paper bags. When someone does it for me I just re-arrange it when I get to the car. The spare bags get re-purposed. UV light breaks them down quickly so they are not as harmful as other plastics.

I'll check the Spec's near me, thanks.

Interesting. I pass right by the soda section at Sam's without looking since their prices are easy to beat elsewhere. Coca Cola de Mexico is widely available here year round at taquerias and even taco trucks and at numerous supermarket chains including Food Town, Fiesta, and even SuperWalmart. I've seen it from $.79 to .83 per 12 oz at the latter. I'm not that fond of it, though. Now the Dublin Dr. Pepper with real cane sugar, that's great. ← I just buy water there. I buy the occassional Mexican Coke or a Jarritos at my corner store. Ill have to try the Dublin DP, where do you get it?

Ouch, I know that hurt! On that note, I will never again run my finger through the roux left on the wooden spoon to see how it tastes when it's closed to being done.

Tastykakes taste as good now as they did when I was young. It took about 20 years for them to get here but it was worth the wait. Mmmmmm butterscotch Krimpets... <insert Homer drooling here>

The walnut crescents ( Hornchen ) looked good, are they a popular snack food?

Sam's Club here has them by the case.

I make chorizo when I get the time. I use the ingredients you listed but also have apple cider vinegar, fresh garlic & chili powder. Store bought chorizo includes delectable morsels such as pork salivary glands so you will have a different texture with ground pork. It also seems to have more liquid than most sausage. I’d agree with your suggestion of adding more fat as my version cooks up drier than commercial chorizo. The flavor on the other hand is very good and is really good with scrambled eggs in a hot flour tortilla. Edited: to change flout to flour

See, I was right you are organized, wooden forms, grids etc. Shame prevents me from taking anything other than close-ups of my garden. I direct seeded some basil without thinking, it's hard to tell now what is sprouting weed or herb. I have to redo two beds this weekend, they went wild last summer with all the rain.

I made ketchup a couple of times but no one "got" it. I sometimes mix in a little hot sauce to give it some zip. Commercial ketchup doesn't compare well to other condiments because there is not much in the way of variety. I have one bottle of ketchup but at least 6 differnt types of mustard and 5 types of hot sauce.