Darienne

Quick reply: I know little about eggs per se, but I do recall and earlier eG topic in which it was established that European egg sources do not wash the egg shells before sale, and that's why they can be kept sitting out. North American sources wash the protective coating off the egg, thus leaving it open, so to speak, to problems and we must keep them in the fridge.

Thanks RobertCollins. I am confused though. Google doesn't list a Penzey's in Albuquerque. (We should be passing through in a couple of weeks.) Or must I order it online? ANd are you sure it's pure vanilla? I am now under the impression that you can't buy pure Mexican vanilla in the USA? We stopped in Grand Junction at a Mexican mercado and bought the imitation stuff again this year.

Thanks to all who have put up such good suggestions. All of you. Thanks Beth for the idea of keeping certain things in a container/bag which is easily grabbed/found/etc. Our things are a bit too spread out for emergencies. We have just finished adding a room to our cellar...long story...and we were thinking of storing food in there. On shelves so that it could easily be used correctly as to date, etc. But the new room is the furthest from easy egress...Have to rethink that one. Not that we get much in the way of earthquakes. Our main problem is no power in the dead of winter. We don't have the oil/wood furnace anymore and I'm not too happy about that. (propane now) But we are surrounded by wood. I'm going to push for a wood stove in the new living room. After Sandy, Ed is back planning our survival in earnest.

This sounds pretty much like what I do. Liquids into the hot cream, then add chopped chocolate, whichever kind I am using. Of course, some special ganaches do take butter, corn syrup, and other ingredients and then I would probably just follow the instructions, at least once.

And it's Sunday again which means the old guys go to Wabi Sabi. Got a Waring Ice crusher for $1.50 for next summer's Dog Weekend's Margaritas. One use but not much of a footprint. The silliest chip and dip plate I've ever seen. Won't embarrass myself by posting a photo, also for the Dog Weekend.. Four more Bon Appetit hardbacks for my friend back home who is collecting them. At 50 cents a piece, I didn't bother checking whether she had these ones or not. Small muffin pan to give me 18 at a time. Bought another breadmaker, Regal Ware, and am about to test it. It goes back when we leave. But in the meantime I make David Goldfarb's recipe for Challah to use in a Capirotada. Yeah, I know...

Those ribs look excellent. Mouth is watering.

My omission: We have only a very small freezing unit in the condo fridge and won't be here long enough probably to eat all the sauce. The freezer has also pulled pork, Hot & Sour soup, enchilada makings, frozen meat for the dogs, etc, etc. And TOO much spaghetti sauce. Thanks for the ideas, eGulleters.

DH, Ed, has made his 'signature' spaghetti sauce. Enough for 28 meals for 2 people. We won't even live long enough for eat it all. A friend came for lunch today. And we ate it yesterday. That's a bit off the top. Should add that because we are in a condo we don't have all the necessary ingredients and thus he added only a bit of oregano and no basil at all. It has mushrooms and onions and celery. Tomatoes. So I'm thinking a sort of Lasagna? or Moussaka? Something with tortillas? Other ideas please. (no seafood please, we don't eat it.) Thanks .

I'd love to try pulling sugar. My confectionery partner, Barbara, and I have talked about doing that for a couple of years now, but somehow never get around to it. Possibly a bit of cowardice here. Ya think?

Made a large pot of Hot and Sour Soup last night. Can't get a lot of the ingredients where we are so I brought them from home. We like a bowl of the soup for supper. (We eat our big meal at noon.)

Sunday at Wabi Sabi. 50% off for over 55-year olds. And boy, are we over 55. Bought a Breadman breadmaker for $6, just to use here for fun and then return when we leave. But back it goes tomorrow. Never had a loaf of bread stick in the container and have a thick, almost burnt crust. Used a never-fail recipe. Maybe that’s why it was turned in. Picked up a few cookbooks, including three on Chinese Cooking. One by Ken Hom, Also Mrs. Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook. A small El Paso Chile cookbook on tortillas, a Bon Appetit Special Occasion Desserts, and one called Garden Harvest Cookbook which has pages and pages on growing vegetables and herbs.

Go rest, my child. You deserve to after this tour de force.

Well done, Baselerd. Looks delicious.

We are back in the land of incredible second-hand stores…the why is still a mystery to us. Our first Sunday (50% off for seniors) shopping brought no amazing buys, but a good supply of stuff which we needed to augment the usual condo rental supply…a) because the condos are usually full of OHV-riding types who don’t cook and so they aren't stocked for cooking and b) because I am NOT going to ruin their spotless Paula Deen pots which I pack away while we are here. Today’s visit to look for shelf making bits brought a cute treat; a bright red Quesadilla maker. One-purpose, totally unneeded, but cute as a button and only $4 (no % off today). So for lunch…because you have 24 hours to return electrical items if they don’t perform well enough…our first ever Quesadillas. Fun and they tasted good with cheese and Hatch chiles.

End of my rose-hip hopes for this year. Although the roses were not tended properly, they were sprayed with Round-Up according to the owner. Case closed for now. Thanks for all the replies.

Thank you Miz Andie. Sounds good. Now let's hear the 'strange' method, please, KA.

Too bad about your lack of love for roasted radishes. We had a bumper crop of huge radishes a few years ago and discovered that we both loved them cooked. They change so much in the cooking. ...which may be what you don't like a lot....

Kouign Aman: OK. I'll bite. What method is that? C'mon, you started it. annabelle: sounds like a good idea, but we have none of either where we live and now we are all waiting to here the interesting way to do the job from KA.

Terrific start, dear Beth. I am quite determined to get to Ecuador some day...you really make it come alive for me.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions and recipes. I don't have enough to do anymajor recipes...and you're right...they are the devil to pick. I'll just leave them on the table in a bowl for random eating. Mostly me, I suspect.

OK. So I have Enchilada sauce on my face. Still my enthusiasm knows no bounds. I would love to visit Ecuador and have Beth for a guide.

Probably not PanaCan since she did a blog last year...although I would welcome another one.

Thanks. I have eaten several of them and they're all good.

Firstly, alas, I don't have enough. And secondly, you'd have to pay me to pick all that meat out of the shells. But thanks for the idea.

I'll second that. So now what?