Darienne

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.

I regret that I never enjoyed cooking for the first 65 years of my life, that I regarded it with the same attitude that I had towards making beds and cleaning toilets...something I HAD to do but didn't really want to. It took so much time away from things I was much more interested in. And all those years my wonderful husband did all the short-order cooking, something I am still to nervous to try. All those years I felt such guilt...but not enough guilt to push me into cooking one more thing than I had to. Now I am having a wonderful time, but now I am so much slower to learn what I need to know, and my hands no longer obey my demands.

Somehow came across a recipe for Salame de Chocolate (Portuguese) and made it. Yum. Then looked to to see how it was made in other countries and found a recipe I liked better by Canadian Foodie. http://www.acanadian...ocolate-salami/ Used rum for the liquor. I'd never heard of this confection before and had no idea of how popular it was. Next turned to my current flavor obsessions: lime, Tequila, Grand Marnier, etc, and looked for a lime cookie, one which would supply the needed lime juice to the Margarita chocolate log concept. http://www.howtoeata...a-stewarts.html OK. Made the cookies. Then subbed Tequila and Cointreau for the prescribed liquor and added extra lime zest for good luck. Used a lower percentage cacao chocolate, 60%, and yes, it was delicious. Neighbors liked it too. Hmmm....I love raspberry... Also what could I use for a handy mold instead of trying to get a perfectly round salame shape? Forgot: subbed peanuts for the prescribed varieties and doubled the amount. I googled Margarita and nuts and found the answer seemed always to be peanuts...which I don't usually care for in candy...but which was absolutely correct.

Still confused here. We have cylindrical leather punches and we use them for leather. The separate ones and the variable ones. How can you use them for culinary purposes? What are you making?

In French only in Celcius and in Euros. France it is.

I am drooling. Big time. Love the designation of 'sort-a' Mexican. Much of my cooking could be called by that name. Nothing to show of late. But we'll be back...

I watched just a couple of minutes of the video. Sweet. Oh, so sweet. Lucky you. But then if anyone ever deserved an enrober, it's got to be you.