kayb

Did it mention tamales, particularly Delta tamales? Their origin, as 100 years ago, the Latino population in the Delta was minimal, is shrouded in mystery, and they taste different from TexMex tamales, but Lord, I love 'em. They're first noted as a portable lunch for sharecroppers.

I refer to those as "tomato candy." I'll get out a bag to cook with, use what I need, and eat the rest as a munchy. I bought tomatoes at the Farmers' Market today and am planning on making the "tomato parmesan chips" referenced somewhere on eG yesterday. Couldn't stop thinking about them.

Treated myself to breakfast after the farmers' market this morning. Bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, orange juice, coffee. Finally got hungry again about 3. Nothing noteworthy, but awfully good. This little diner is Da Bomb.

Oh...my...God. I am SO trying this.

Cubanos. Some of your pulled pork, sliced ham, mustard, Swiss, dill pickles. Make them, then right before service, grill them just enough to melt the cheese a little and warm them up. I like to grill mine in a skillet with another skillet on top. You can have "Moros y Cristianos" (black beans and rice) made and warm to go with it, or just serve chips.

As well as the fig jam, honey is a great condiment with hard cheeses. I often make a light meal out of cheese, fruit, and whatever kind of cured meat I have on hand. And one of my very favorites is pears and blue cheese; you might start with a fairly mild blue, and graduate to the sharper ones. I love Gouda cheese. Some over my other favorite hard and semi-hard cheeses are Gruyere and manchego. Monterey Jack is another easy entry-level cheese; some of the cheddars are, and some are sharper and stronger. In the softer cheeses, I'm fond of all the bries. Rcotta is really easy to make at home, and lends a new dimension to your lasagna, as well as being wonderful in cheesecake and a good sub for cottage cheese. Fresh mozzarella is a revelation. In the in-betweens, I like havarti, fontina, butterkase, either just sliced on a cheese board or in a sandwich. I am, in fact, just like a big rat when it comes to cheese. Love the stuff.

Spectacular.

I fully intend to email the manager. At least the two-block walk to the nearby coffee shop got me a little exercise this week.

I'm about to decide that when we move, my gardening is going to be cut back to a few raised beds -- herbs, tomatoes, an asparagus bed, and one for maybe a few hills of cucumbers and a few hills of squash. Between my work/travel schedule and screwy weather (late frosts, early heat wave that really hurt the tomatoes), mine's been less than successful this year. I'm about to decide it's about as easy, and as cheap, to buy produce to put up at the local market or produce stand. That said, I do plan to plant a fig tree or two as soon as we get relocated. And depending on how big a property we settle on, maybe a couple of other fruit trees as well.

It obviously means it's produced by a lactating female almond. No boy almonds need apply.

Wonderful breakfast this morning at my favorite breakfast place in Fayetteville, AR, Arsaga's at the Depot. I had already walked down there once this week in desperation, looking for an alternative to the horrible hotel coffee, and just had to go back for breakfast. I opted for a simple bacon and fried egg sandwich, elevated above the ordinary by the fact it was a farm egg, locally raised farm bacon, and an English muffin from a nearby bakery, with cilantro mayo. It was pretty marvelous. Had a fruit salad on the side. And copious amounts of GOOD coffee, with orange juice.

While i am not a massive pizza fan -- I don't dislike it, but there are many things I'd rather eat -- two stand out as the "best I ever had" in the category. One was at Papa's Tomato Pies in Trenton, NJ, which alleges itself to be the oldest family-run pizza joint in the country outside NYC. The pizza was thin, dough brushed with olive oil, topped with THIN slices of fresh tomato, grated parmigiano, dollops of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaves. It was heavenly. Three of us ate an 18-incher, and I contemplated ordering another. The other was at Memphis Pizza cafe. Sausage, bacon, sauce, cheese. Bacon cut up in lardons and fried crisp. Sausage was breakfast sausage (sage, but not heavily so), browned. It was pretty damn fine. They make a good sauce; light hand with the spices, but they're good. Good cheese. Again, a thin crust. Don't like Chicago style deep-dish pizzas. Don't want it so crisp it's like a cracker. I like traditional NY style crust. On the other hand, I'm also real fond of flatbreads. My personal favorite to make at home, when fresh figs are in season, is fig, peach and ricotta, with balsatmic glaze drizzled over and a few basil leaves scattered about.

Must say, mine has worked like a charm all its life, which has been maybe two years? I forget. It's well-used. If it quit tomorrow, I'd order another without hesitation.

Much as I like Bittman's How to Cook Everything, none of the rest of these spoke to me. I feel virtuous.

I have some spices from before when I moved from Hot Springs in 2013. I think most everything else has been recycled through.

I don't know that I'm a coffee snob, though I have definite likes and dislikes. I have been at a conference in a hotel the past three days and the coffee has been the absolute worst I have ever attempted to drink in my life. Sludgy, bitter, an "off" taste behind the bitterness. Just nasty. A question for those of you in the food services business. Just how hard is it to consistently provide decent coffee in a vacuum pot for a conference break table or in the lobby?

Pulled pork barbecue and pineapple on pizza is a thing in the Memphis area. Of course, we also do barbecue spaghetti.

The crust on that meatloaf has my mouth watering.

Because sometimes you need a greasy cheeseburger and rings from the local diner.

Spectacular! Thank you!

Make you some tomato sauce and can or freeze it!

If I were you, I'd strongly think about preparing some foil package meals (meat and veggies and seasoning) that I could heat right in my fire or on a grill, and either freezing or refrigerating those. Protein bars for hiking. You might look at making up some sort of egg bites/muffins, a la Starbucks, for breakfasts. And of course, sandwich makings. The cheap cooler will do well for keeping non-refrigerated foods that need to be secured from open air.

God help me, I can taste that cornbread now. Dripping with copious quantities of butter.

Here you go: 5 pounds tart apples of your choice (Gala, Fuji or Arkansas Black are good choices; Granny Smith would also work, though they’re more tart than the first three) 3 cups sugar 1/3 cup cider vinegar 3 tbsp water 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground cloves Cut the apples in quarters. Don’t peel or core them; a lot of natural pectin, the material that thickens jams and jellies, resides there, and you want it. We’ll deal with peels and seeds later. Pile them into the Instant Pot, or into a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven, and add two cups of sugar. If you’re using an IP or other pressure-cooker vessel, or even a slow-cooker, add the listed amount of vinegar and water; if a Dutch oven, go up to about 1/2 cup each. In the IP, cook the apples on “steam” for 20 minutes, with a natural steam release.This will be enough to completely cook the apples to the point they’re soft, brown, and start to disintegrate. On the stovetop, bring to a boil over medium high heat, then quickly lower to medium low and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes to an hour, until apples reach the same stage. Using a food mill with its medium plate, or a chinois, or in a pinch a colander, press the pulp into a Dutch oven. Add the remaining sugar and spices; simmer for an hour or so over very low heat, until the apple puree thickens and darkens more. I’m not certain but what you could do this on the slow-cook function in the IP. I was otherwise using the IP, so I didn’t, plus I had significantly more puree than it would hold. Process 15 minutes in a water-bath canner, or freeze in pint containers. Keeps 2-3 weeks, opened, in the fridge. This is from the most popular post ever in my blog, with more than 5,000 views. I might note nothing else even comes close.

Given my love for pork, I had to go with the second one. Plus, it has Felicia Suzanne's tasso cream sauce, and Central Barbecue's baked beans, which are worth the price of admission in and of themselves.