Marlene

You know, ther are days when I wished I lived in New York

We'll be in town by Thursday noon or so. We'd be up for it!

...and you married her anyway?! =R= (another lefty married to a righty) Same here. I'm a lefty, hubby's right handed. He's always complaining about my left handed scissors

Where does one pick up a keg of beer near your place? We'll get one if you direct us to the spot!

Thanks for letting us know you're ok Varmint! They've closed the schools here for tomorrow. No one can figure out why.

Yes, we'll need something to keep us awake How's it going with the weather there Dean?

Yes, fifi, my mom does the same thing. She's 73, lives alone, and has a pantry, freezer and refrigerator all overflowing with food. Sadly, I've seemed to have inherited this overstocking tendency and I live alone, as well. It would be interesting to see how many eGulleters have experienced someone like this in their lives. We do. My mom is 88 and hubby's mom is 92. My hubby is always convinced the big one is going to hit and we need to be prepared. We have enough food in the house to feed the National Guard should they come through here.

You might as well hire her/him on the spot. They may not be able to get out again, and then they could start work right away

You've got your priorities right Heather Ryan had a doughnut for breakfast. So sue me for being a rotten mother The best and the worst things about kids is that they are unpredictable. Keeping my fingers crossed for you during the wild weather to come

And here I thought we were going to dance

Good grief! That took some serious work! You win

Here in Ontario, they are predicting we will see some fall out from Isabel on Friday. They are suggesting 50 - 75 millimetres of rain , and winds up to 75 km per hour. They are suggesting driving visibility will be poor to none at times. No where near the problems the States are going to have though! We'll be watching and praying for all of you, especially for Varmint's pig pickin to be saved

Shopping with children = shopping for groceries online instead!

Gee Rob. Really I'm working on getting my MAC knives shortly.

I'm not even going to tell you how long that took me. Back atcha Dark Lady edited to add: yeah, it was fun.

It was a dark and stormy night. I picked listlessly at my Black Angus steak, not quite al dente fettuccine, and sighed. I was bored. There was just no other word for it. Cooking had lost its luster for me. No one appreciated agoodcook these days. Especially not the varmints in my family. I needed a new diversion. “Ahem”. I turned, startled at the noise. It was the Dark Lady, Maggiethecat, with her familiar, Pouncy, at her side. “I have heard your plea and I have just the thing for you”. I stared at her. Knowing the Dark Lady, I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever she had up her sleeve. Oh this is really nice!, I thought to myself. Just what I need. More of Maggie’s half baked capers. However, I minded my manners and offered her a drink. “GotChiani?” She rasped, as she draped herself over my sofa. “I’d rather give you a six-pack-to-go” I muttered to myself, as I poured her wine. Pouncy stared at me with unblinking catseyes as I seated myself opposite the crazy one. S’kat I hissed at the cat as I handed Maggie her wine. The cat blinked, and did not move. “Ah, ambrosia” she declaimed as she sipped. “Our Fearless leader, Fat Guy has decreed another contest” she declared breathlessly, her bosom heaving enthusiastically. She stared at me expectantly, no doubt waiting for my swoon of delight. “So?” I snapped. “Let me clarify” Maggie began. “Clarifythis” I returned, making the appropriate gesture, turning to watch the Ironchef on TV. “Don’t be such a nervousnelli”, the Dark Lady commanded me. Besides, she whined, changing tactics, I need your help. You’re Canadian-eh, and we Canucks have got to stick together. Whosrbud anyway? Besides, I have it on very good authority that jhurlie's entering this contest and he swears he’ll aniliate anyone who enters. And you know what a deviousdude he can be. The news that John was entering made me pause. Well, well, I mused. It certainly is a smallworld. I recalled our last encounter and grimaced. I had not done well. In fact, I had seriously sucked, although I still considered him a flash in the pan. “Why Maggie, why?” I pleaded. “How do you get mixed up in these things anyway?” “Well, it ain’t easy being cheesy and all that JAZ, you know. I have my public to think of after all” she shrugged. “Here’s food4thought. A couple of paragraphs, a few names, and thereuare!” “Ok, ok” I surrendered. “It takes 22tango and John and I haven’t done our Danceswithpossums for a long time. I hope he’s ready for this”. Actually I hoped I was ready for this. I always, always regretted agreeing to anything the Dark Lady got me into. Maggiethecat purred contentedly. She hadn’t even had to resort to her famous quivering lower lip to get Marlene to cave in. “Creampuff” she thought. She swept the room with a glance as she rose majestically to her feet. The Dark Lady contemptuously looked at my half eaten dinner. “You know, you eat2much. I’ll just take the rest of that for my finicky friend here and relieve you of the burden of eating it. Let your family know you won’t have time to cook for them my dear. Send out for some pastromionrye for them and get thee to thy typewriter”. With that parting shot, she swept grandly out of the room, plucking a biscotti off the table as she went by. I sighed. Once again, I’d been snookered by the Literacy Lady. “Smoothmove Mags,” I thought as I settled down a my computer. Ok, John, time to dance. Slowly, I began to type…

When our son was younger, meals were either geared to things I knew he would eat, or I'd make two separate meals, quite often because Ry would be hungry way before we were ready to eat. He was much less willing to try new stuff then. I'd try to plan in as much fresh stuff as I knew he'd eat. For example, he always liked broccoli, so I'd make broccoli at least three times. And he was nuts for salads. Most of my inspiration is driven by what's in my freezer, unless a specific dish is requested by my menfolk. Then I'll run around and shop if I have to. And I don't usually think about it till the morning of. My son and I have the same conversation every night before he goes to bed: Ry: What's for supper tomorrow night Me: I have no idea. Is there something in particular you'd like? Ry: No, just wondering. I never use store coupons. Mostly because I always forget them. Now that he is more adventerous in his eating and can wait longer for a meal, mealtimes are getting more exciting in our house.

You're on! And by the way, if you are the challenger, I get to choose the weapon I choose, fluttering eye lids, quivering lips, a single tear tracking down the cheek, a delicate flush to the cheekbone, a luminous sheen to the eye, a downcast sweep of the eyelash, a tremulous quiver to the lip. Madame.....?

I'm being fed these questions. but only because I lack originality I have to find this book. It sounds wonderful! I'm off to my local Chapters tomorrow. Then maybe I can think up a question on my own. In the meantime: Do food tasters still exist or is it a dying art? No pun intended here (ok, well maybe) What qualifications do you need to be a food taster Thank you for joining us on this very unique Q&A!

Now, now Canadian Sistergirl! Don't pout. Enter. Here. Now. Maybe the august panel of Smackdown Judges are weighted in the favour of pretty blondes who live in the Toronto 'burbs and have great kitchens. Um yeah...... Ok, I'll think on it. Besides,, I'm really good at pouting!

Well you can't really. No more so than when my son wanted Broccoli and cheese sauce every night for dinner for months. Daily trips to the vegetable stand..........

I never win nothin. The one contest I entered got put into hiatus.

When parenting small children, eating, like sleep is something of a luxury

I'm sure I'm gonna regret replying to this thread, but oh yes, this could be another thread indeed. Kids are infamous for this kin of stuff. My son ate everything put in front of him until he was two. He decided at the age of 12 months, he'd had enough of the pureed baby food stuff - too bad he still had no teeth with with to chew anything else. I think his first tooth came in at 13 months. A bit of a late bloomer, my lad. Then he went through the phase of insisting on the same meal three times a day for months. And just as I decided to buy - for expample- peanut butter - by the case, he'd decided he hated the stuff. No spice on anything was de rigour for a while. Now he's branched out and is enjoying things spiced - especially garlic. We asked him where he wanted to go on his next vacation and he said Texas, so he could try their hot sauces And don't get me started about shopping with kids. Urg. My ex and I used to take turns carrying our screaming child out of the store to sit in the car because he decided that the store was the perfect place to pitch a fit.

In order to post the recipe in the archive, we should have some quantities associated with the ingredients/ then I can post!