maggiethecat

I use buttered parchment paper and string, but it's the same principle: support the ethereal.

On our drive from Ottawa to Quebec City last month I had a Tim's experience that was more about me than about Tim's but I'll tell it anyway. The Tim's was at a trucker lay by near Berthier and we stopped in for gas, powder room and a bite -- we hadn't had breakfast. The menu was entirely in French, no English translation. It was my first big push to speak French in a couple of years, and when the counter girl said: "Bonjour Madame" I discovered I hadn't lost it, and could order a bagel and cream cheese, untoasted, in French that embarrassed no one. Great confidence boost for Quebec City. But why, oh why, did they make a sandwich of it and cut it down the middle? I hate that. But Berthier ain't bagel country. And we travel with our own coffee: Tim's isn't even as good as the vastly overrated Dunkin's.

Are all Canadian 7th graders history-mad? I was enchanted with the Vikings in Newfoundland, and still hope to see L'Anse Meadow before I turn toes up. In Trois-Rivieres I grew up knowing that it was the kick-off place for the Northwest Company --Radisson, Marquette and Joliet and their crew. The Order of Good Cheer was a flat-out brilliant idea. Cooks (and hunters and foragers and fishermen) are competitive. What a great concept to reward the next purveyor of the feast. I remember hearing the "American" words to "This Land" for the first time and my ten-year-old self was outraged. How dare Americans change the words? Live and learn. Here's a link to Bonavista for non-Canadians. 1497, you gringos!

Dear Wesley: Breathe in, breathe out, and I'm not making fun. Have you learned things from your classwork that you didn't know before? Does your schooling make you feel a bit more confident before your plunge into the Real World? (Better a Community College class than a fancy degree from you-know where- that's gonna pile up years of student loans.) Keep reading books, keep the faith, and be a cook.

Just curious, can you really taste the difference between a Campari & tonic and a Campari & soda? Don't get me wrong - you horrible people have got me drinking and liking Campari, but it does tend to make everything taste like, well, Campari IMO. Maybe I need a few more bottles under my belt to refine my palate. ← We all need a few more bottles of Campari under our belts. Yes, there is a real difference between a C and S and a C and T. With soda, you get a purer Campari taste, with a C and T it's refreshing and botanical. Hmm... Campari and Bitter Lemon?

I wrote about this a couple of years ago in a Bacon and Eggs story in "The Daily Gullet." And I stood by it today: spread bacon in your most disreputable sheetpan, put it in a cold oven, set the oven for 400, and pull when then timer goes off. Never fails. Then pour the grease into a frying pan and cook yourself a fried egg.

All your choices sound delicious. As a not-up-to-speed cocktailian I'd like to add the cocktail variations of my WASPY peeps, (who love the taste of straight hooch) the Gibson. And there's nuthin bad about a Bacardi. As a WASPY sweet-hating drinker, a good g and t is a classic. I adore rye and bitter lemon, if you can find bitter lemon at a grocery store near you. I apologize that I don't have a longer list, but this ignorant conservative drinker's list, (fewer than ten) might look like this. Martini. Duh. Stirred, on the rocks, twist. Gibson. Old Fashioned -- my father makes the best Negroni Campari and Tonic Gin and tonic A real Margarita, made in front of you by the barmen at the Frontera Grill. A Sidecar, not just because it's delicious but because it was my abstemious and beloved mother-in-laws only cocktail. Something that is so simple, like a Kir Royale. Scotch and water. (Withdrawing in shame. I know I don't belong here.)

And how did I miss this until today. Made a batch tonight - it is the best! ← Thanks, Kerry for writing about this today. Lor lummee, it's been way too long since I made a batch of Jaymes' Caramel Corm.

My love affair with the Cuiz is here, in a long ago Daily Gullet article. I bought the Cuiz in it's first year of offering and that baby served me so well for so many years that throwing it out was like burying a beloved pet. But I got so tired of having to special order the old bowl from W-S. My mother said: Spend X on a Christmas present for your husband. Christmas at Williams-Sonoma scored us a bigger Cuiz at about the same price I's paid 25 years ago with, be still my heart, an extra bowl. I remember the still throbbing pulsing heart and motor of my first Cuiz when I tossed it, but it was time to move on. And I did.

Alex, I always forget about the computer calculator -- shame on me. But I'm comforted to know that I can still do something I could when I was a kid. My friend, I know you've acquired a cookbook or six since you last posted on this topic. Tell.

I have three calculators and I can't find a single one. I'm back in fifth grade, toting up columns with a pencil. I make it 157, 669. No. Wait. Two for me from a resale shop: Mark Bittman's "Fish" and a suspiciously anonymous and glossy book about Noodles, which is terrific. 157, 671. Chime in Cocktailians. Your books count too.

Holly, how I envy you your corn haul. I'm not sure how many you need to store and revivify, but I learned something from having just a couple of leftover boiled ears this week. I wrapped them separately in Saran and stuck them in the fridge. For lunch, a couple of days later, I unwrapped them, added a couple of slivers of butter, rewrapped them and nuked for maybe 45 seconds? They were only slightly lass fab than the original out -of -the- pot ears.

So, 157,354. I can't help but think that this figure is low!

This could not be more apropos! I made biscuits last night and was thinking of starting a topic, but Kerry the Kool has done it better than I ever could. I adore Angel Biscuits with their yeast boost, but it being yeast and all, it takes more time than I had. The dinner plan was a big plate of homegrown tomato and basil salad, some local corn, and a plate of amazing Canadian cheese -- thanks Kerry. I pulled out Old Faithful -- "Joy"--which opens to the biscuit recipe. I used half and half AP and King Arthur Cake and Pastry flour. Crisco, of course -- biscuits are why its shameless self is in the fridge. I gathered some thyme from the garden and stripped leaves into the batter. I changed out some of the milk for yogurt for the hell of it. It took, like, five minutes, including the minute I wasted looking for the biscuit cutter. And with this particular dinner they were perfection: slather with butter and triple creme stinky cheese, inhale and chomp some local corn. The biscuit recipe in "Joy" was one of the first things I ever baked --maybe I was eight? There are other great recipes out there, but it's the one I come back to. (Beaten Biscuits: what a fraud! I made them in the late 70s from a recipe in "Pleasures of Cooking", beating them with a meat tenderizer. Go buy a package of Carr's.)

Randi, if you're really blaming yourself, get professional help. (Hug) You served a great meal. But I agree that this death will be on the minds and tongues of the Seniors next time. I agree with rachel -- give them the comfort greatest hits.

Ah, the jeans test! I came to this method way too late in life, when I found I couldn't afford to buy new clothes. I don't aspire to Amanda's sylphiness, thank God, but I remember my sainted mother's instructions: "If your shoulders are wider than your hips and your boobs stick out farther than your gut, you're OK." I'm resigned to never being a slim sprite -- medium-sized is my genetic profile. Seriously, now -- forgive yourself a "bad" day. Tomorrow you'll do better.

I agree on both points, especially the first -- my mother called it Varlet Parking. In fact I think that it was well-meant and hospitality driven (pardon the pun.)

D'oh! I know someone who might get in Michael's lap pool, calorie-wise My son-in-law's brother Thai is bicycling across the country this summer, from Poughkeepsie to LA . l think he's in Iowa now. Thai's blog. He's lost over ten pounds while trying to keep the calories up and dining expenses down. Pop Tarts and Little Debbie Snack Cakes (ugh) seem to feature big in his diet. The kindness of strangers has provided many the yearned-for carb and calories laden breakfast. (He repays them by fixing their computers before he leaves.)

I think that unemployment might be a huge reason I've lost 20 pounds in ten months without trying, or even wanting to. No stretch of mid-morning or mid-afternoon trips tp the junk machine, because of boredom. No trays of brownies or bagels No fast food lunches. But it comes down to an hilariously few tips: 1) If you're buying a fast food burger or sandwich, never order fries. They're not worth it. If you're in Quebec or Belgium, order the fries and skip lunch. 2) This is hard, but if you don't work construction and if you're over forty, cut your intake in half. Easier than you'd think, actually. Think of the protein portion as the size of a bar of soap. 3) If you bake, as I do, cut the cake or pie or cinnamon buns in half right away and give them to your neighbor. They'll watch your cats forever. 4) Eat what you want to eat and don't eat what you don't want to eat. Ever. 5)Never eat when you're not hungry. Eat whatever you like when you are. Never feel that you can't eat what you want to eat. Be so happy with your food. 6) Edited to add:eat breakfast, even if it's just a bowl of Special K.

I don't think that eggplant is a requirement -- at all -- but without it I think of the dish as closer to a piperade. I lean towards jammy myself, heavy on the olive oil. Mushrooms...hmmm. I'm sure they'd taste good but I consider ratatouille a bright tasting summery dish and the mushrooms would add an autumnal note. The pairing of ratatouille and eggs is one of the fabbest I know, whether as an omelet filling, a base for a poached or fried egg, or a side with scrambled. I use up my "leftover" ratatouille at lunchtime with an egg. Cheap, healthy, delicious. Another use for "leftover" is to add a can of chickpeas. Heresy, I know, but served hot over rice it's a supremely satisfying vegetarian dinner. And chick peas are Provencal.

There was a story about Phelps in a special New York Times section a couple of weeks ago. It said that his coach makes sure that when he's not swimming or sleeping he's eating. All the time.

We revived an old Heartlander tradition: the American Gothic shot. It might have started at Varmint's first Pig Pickin', and Im sure we posted one from Grand Rapids. Behold Sam Iam and Lady T with knife and cognac instead of farm implements.

Jon Henley of The Guardian tried to ingest the 12,000 calories a day swimmer Michael Phelps needs to do what he does. It's heavy on carbs and fats, light on fruits and veg. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/food/2008/08/m...l_phelps_b.html That's a lot of fuel! Do you know anyone except a male teenager working construction who can eat like this?

This is not a "what I learned" thing, it was reinforcing something I've known forever: Pigs in Blankets get inhaled.Fie on fancy cocktail food: PIBs rule.

You must be a Supersmeller. No, I don't.