Darienne

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?

Good Heavens, I think they are. I don't have anything to open them with except a hammer and so I'm not able to get a very clean break. Now to find out what to do with them...should I decide to go to the trouble of cracking them all and prying the nutmeat out. Thanks, Elsie. oh...do we have them in Ontario???

It tastes like a walnut but it's not very big as you can see from the ruler in the photo. Large tree at a roadside rest area. Leaves are oval, very slightly toothed, about 6" long. What is it? Can we eat them?

Hello sunshinesupernova and welcome to the gang. You'll have to begin posting some photos of your work. Trust me, these eGulleters will be kind and appreciative of your efforts.

I will wait until I hear the answer. Given that the roses look completely unprumed this year...some stalks being about 10 feet high...it may be that no one tended them at all. And they are not near any other green things. We live in hope... Thanks, Heidi.

So here we are in the land of rosehips and my next question to the condo management is about what substances have been used on the roses this year. No answer yet. What is the situation with this part of the rose? If the roses were sprayed with something slightly or muchly toxic, how much travels to the hip? How much stays in the hip? Considering that it is the 'seed'? part of the plant (I am not a gardener) would it not be full of said substance and thus unsafe to eat? In the interim I wait to hear the official response and alll eG answers gratefully received.

My go-to ice cream base is using cornstarch. Not fancy, but it works for us.

Sounds wonderful, RWood.