Darienne

Wonderful!!!

Halloween in Moab UT means the Annual Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival. And besides the chucking of pumpkins...some very ingenious...one year a team came from I can't remember where with some amazing 'machine' which chucked the pumpkin one whole mile...or so I am told. OK. All the community organizations have booths and give out pamphlets, sell t-shirts, etc. I have donated 6 dozen lollipops to the Moab Humane Society to sell as my contribution. Otherwise, I just hide in whatever house I am living in...

We have always called it the 'Cavan Mall'. So, did you take them both and now are saving one for me?

Thank you so much...but a few towns/cities are missing in your list. Please.

Yep, it is a tad far and we'll be home in the far frozen north by then and as for needing something...the only thing I need right now is time, energy, peace of mind and a new food processor which I'll buy back home...where at least I can return it if it breaks down in the first 30 days. But many thanks for thinking of me...

Yippee for you. What a score. Do I need a food processor or what? Moab is not living up to its former reputation this time around.

In the tradition started by Pastameshugana, I start a new topic on Utah. (Mostly in the hopes of finding somewhere to eat in Moab) Moab is not a place to go to eat in my humble opinion. Chains and a few pricey upscale places. There are three long time Mexican restaurants patronized by mostly Gringos. We have tried two out of three (the third is out of our snack bracket) more than a few times and are never very happy with the food. Small, excellent family run Hispanic restaurants have popped up and disappeared just as quickly. Imagine my joy when upon arriving in Moab this time we found a new restaurant, no decor, no ambiance, very few gringos, lots of hispanics, workmen coming for their lunch, etc, reasonable prices, paper plates, plastic cutlery...AND WONDERFUL FOOD. Mi Ranchito Mexicano at 812 S. Main. If the restaurant gods are just, it will still be here next time around.

OK. They look just like the ones in the Nevada photo. The shells are not very hard at all. I looked for the information on roasting and toasting and temporarily gave up, defeated by the length of the article (I am not adept at reading on a monitor very well to begin with and this is a small laptop screen. I'll print it out later.) Thanks for all the information. Learn something new everyday.

Good question HeidiH. My current thinking on the pine nut situation is that I should leave them in their current unshelled state, take them home and then unshell them. I can't possibly use them all before we leave Moab and I can't keep them frozen, or even cool perhaps, on the 5-day journey home. I hope this is going to work out.

Thank you, thank you. I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten myself into.

The topic title and description say it all. I bought them this afternoon...couldn't believe the price. A pound for about $5. Was too stunned to realize that they were unshelled (I know, I know ). How on earth do you shell these little doodads? And then what? Thanks. OK. I should have gone online first. But I still don't know how to shell them properly.

Don't pass it on, but I have been known simply to throw some instant coffee into the blender to make iced coffee if there is no cold coffee on hand.

I would ask the same question as paulraphael: how much invert sugar to how much sugar. I have used invert sugar in making ice cream, and it has performed very well...no crystals at all. I made the invert sugar using Chef Eddy's recipe, given earlier in this thread. ps. the invert sugar was clear.

Just weighed the finished batch: 2 lbs, 13 oz. Interesting: at $20 per pound, that's close to $60 worth.

And if it isn't, some other poison is sure to be. What a story!!!!

An old plastic milk crate, large clamps, a couple of metal rods and some plastic clothes pegs for our first attempt at dipping pretzels in caramel and chocolate.

I think a first post like this requires a recipe! I especially like that "queso" comes before "pork". And I think that I would like very much to have this queso with pork recipe. Please.

Back in Moab in the land of second hand store bargains. Nothing spectacular this time around but I did get a lovely huge stainless steel colander today for $1.50. Nicer than any I have back home, so home it will go. Oh, and a black 8-sided Arcopal glass mug, Novoctine patter for 50 cents, which for some unknown reason I am now collecting, although preferably in white.

Andie, my dear, you are one clever lady!!! I don't have a big roaster, but I do have the largest crockpot made (I think). Our daughter gave it to me a couple of years ago and mostly it sits there, unused...just TOO big. There was an old electric roaster in a second hand store in Moab a couple of weeks ago. Could have bought it for a song... I'll keep an eye out.

Thinking about the three-in-one crockpot and yearning slightly... Naked greed is so what?...human. If you don't have the space...then the 3-in-1 is great. However, if you do have the space...and we do..although no crockpot is stored in the kitchen proper...but then lots of kitchen stuff is not stored in the kitchen...then three crockpots (or more) are better for multi-cooking, entertaining large crowds, etc. So...shoved my buying urge behind me and concentrated on thinking about the things I actually want to get in the States.

Naturally.

Right. They are simply corn chips, in this case a bite-sized, light variety. I have taken them before to the local GourdFest and they sit on the 'admission' table (admission is free) and they are gone so quickly. I print out dozens of little slips with the recipe on it and all the slips were taken a couple of years ago and I had to send the recipe to a few people who insisted. THe confection is 'wickedlly' good.

For tomorrow's GourdFest: Tostitos Kaki Mochi...addictive little critters. Just googled to see if there was a recipe online in case someone wanted one...only to find that I had posted the recipe to eGullet some time back. I have no idea of how I accomplished that curious error. Here is the recipe

I have been working out the cost of making the stuff. Enstrom's in Grand Junction sells their stuff $20 a lb online. Depending upon what I can buy at what price, it costs me about $15 to make one batch. Oops. I have no idea of what one batch weighs. OK. I'll weigh it next time: 1 1/4 lbs sugar, 1 pound butter, 12 oz chocolate, 7 1/2 oz of almonds. Total of 3.75 lbs. I guess the finished product should weigh 3lbs? 2.75? I'll weigh it this time around. Had to learn how to make confections at 4000'. I have a few orders from the condo management company to make some. (And the plumber who just fixed the toilet has ordered a Spirit Elk gourd for his Father! ) Life is interesting...