SpaghettiWestern

THANKS for the information guys! AND... if you have NOT had UTAH scones you are SOOO missing out on one of the BEST treats on earth ! There is a chain called chuck-a-rama. its a buffet.... they are in Utah and a few in Idaho. THEY have hot fried scones on their menu and I LOVE to go there when I am passing thur an area I can get to one. I always pig out on their scones and then sneek some into my purse for later on. OMG ! Utah scones are SOOO good ! they are the cousin to fry bread which is my number ONE favorite carb. I love it so much.... i'm gonna learn how to make them. maybe I can learn how to make the scones as well. ONLY in UTAH can you get UTAH style scones. and they as SOOO worth the trip when they are good.

i LOVE UTAH scones ! As I get ready for my road trip to Texas I am looking at places i can find my favourite foods along the way. And... in UTAH..... I'm lookin for scones. I know about Moms cafe in Salina UT. but I am looking for others along I-70 going east that sell those lovely pillows of fried dough. if anyone has any suggestions i would appreciate it. Thanks

YEP.... that what i figured. I would have to make it myself or find it at pow wows. Does anyone know if ANY of the grocery stores in Central Texas carry Bluebird flour from Cortez Colorado? Thats the flour of choice for Indian fry bread. If i cant get it in Central Texas I can always pick up a sack on my way thru the Navajo rez. THEN.... all i need is a good recipe.

I LOVE fry bread. Is there ANYWHERE in Texas.... especially in central Texas you can get it? Any Native American resturants around ? Thanks

When I return to Canada, more and more I'm shocked at the poor quality and variety of vegetables and meats available in my hometown. It seems like everything comes pre-cut and pre-washed in a plastic bag. There's a farmer's market that turns out some very nice produce in season, but the rest of the year, the Canadian climate works against that kind of bounty. That's why I'm so happy in Asia...it seems like I could try a new ingredient every day and never get tired. And here, vegetables are grown for their flavour and freshness, not their ability to traverse large distances and stay fresh-looking on a shelf. I know what you mean about not being rich...but I can feed myself as if I was shopping at Whole Foods as a matter of course here, for a fraction of the cost. Yes..... a cold climate works against growing things. I can see where living in Asia would be like having all the good things about whole foods... AND FAR more.... without the cost ! I lived in the islands at one time and the bounty of what came off the trees and out of the ground was astonishing. I ate like a KING for practically nothing. So.....lucky you ! enjoy !

Hey Nikki great pic.... and i like your website too. I once spent a year in Greece traveling around and eating the wonderful foods there. I have found memories of cold goats milk yogurt on those hot Greek afternoons. Definitely one of my favourite places. YUM !

MAN! I am very disappointed. It must be true what I read.... that there are NO good baguettes in central Texas. Pity.... I do find that hard to believe. oh well.

Well, I agree with this, and certainly my collection of kitchen equipment is evidence that I own lots of nothing - one downside of moving frequently for the food is that while you do get to sample a wide range or regional food, you do sacrifice a little in the way of things like permanent vegetable gardens, expensive unitasker equipment like ice cream makers and similar. I've had to compromise on the sorts of foods and cuisines I could explore, too, as where I live comes without Western necessities like ovens. So I've had to shelve my ambitions to explore sourdough breads, and I only look at books like The Perfect Scoop and sigh. Yes... I think if you are a cook and you want things like a veg. garden. you have to make choices about how mobile you want to be. If I was much of a cook and wanted to garden I wouldnt be able to move around as much because I would want to keep sources as well as my garden. But.... since I am a generally a lousy cook I CAN let that part go. but..... I dont see why you couldnt take an ice cream maker with you. If I adored ice cream tha much. I would damn well be draggin that ice cream maker along with me. LOL I guess its all about choices.

Judiu.... I have an online job. And before the internet.... I just worked for various companies that had locations in lots of states. The internet though is whats freed me to go and live ANYWHERE. The trick of all this is to live lean. You dont need alot of money.... you just have to learn how to travel light. Some people have families and friends they dont want to leave behind..... I dont.... and I dont own loads of stuff...and i dont owe anybody anything. Ya have to have alot of nothin to be free. (unless of course... you are rich... then ANYONE can do what they like) Anyway....I am always up for the adventure. My internet job makes it easy for me. So? why not just get up and go LOL

Lonnie those pictures are great. i think that doing THAT kind of ART for a living is wonderful. I wouldnt have the dedication for it. I admire people who do. And about the thread..... I have wondered for years if there were many others like me that would pick up and move somewhere... JUST because there was a regional speciality.... or even just because there was a favorite food source avilable. LOL now its possible to ask these things here on a site like this. Hell.... I have even moved for good water. I dont mean the stuff you buy in the bottle but good natural sweet mountain water with just the right minerals for great flavor. yes.... I know I am nutz. but the year spent there was just amazing. anyway... thanks again for the pics.

So.... another question about sauces. I stumbled on Mario Batali's vodka sauce on sale and it was SOOO good. but... I like to have something more with my pasta than just a sauce over noodles. has anyone discovered any vegtables that seem to go well with that kind of sauce? i already discovered that sauteed mustard greens with anchovy are pretty good. Anyone else have any other suggestions? For me..... the chunkier the sauce the better. Thanks

Since I am going to be moving to central Texas in a few weeks.... one of the things I would like to find is a GREAT artisan baguette. Suggestions where to look please. Thanks

Lonnie.... If I could afford a private chef.... I would have a place to live in EVERY place i wanted certain foods. then....move around seasonally. LOL so no.... I cant afford a personal chef. but I LOVE the picture of that bread! You are right about the internet making it easy to get things. I could even mail order the BBQ if I wanted it. BUT.... I want the option of taking in the WHOLE thing. I want the regular experience of walking into a place and enjoying the smells and sights. i want to see them carving my brisket and putting it into that brown butcher paper. I want to observe what others are eating and how they enjoy the the Q they bought. so..... I gotta move there. AND.... I dont care if i know anyone or not where i am going. I have lived all OVER not knowing a soul when I got there... BUT.... I knew where to find the food I was after. And THAT was all I was interested in. Thanks everyone for your comments. Its nice to know I am not the only nutcase when it comes to getting the food I am after. I am moving to Texas in 4 weeks. Everytime I think about waking up in Q country EVERYDAY... I get giddy. LOL CANT WAIT to get there.

WOW.... LOVE those 2 carbonara suggestions alot. I wasnt thinking about that for some reason.... but sounds really good. Today for lunch I stumbled on something that came out great. Yesterday I saw Mario Batali's vodka sauce on sale so I bought a jar to try out. well.... I put a few tablspoons in a pan while the pasta was boiling and I remembered that I had sauteed some mustard greens with anchovy a few days ago and it was in the back of the fridge. I added it to the pan with the vodka sauce and WOW! it was SOOO fabulous ! something about the way the sauce played off the spicy mustard greens. That was indeed a happy accident. I am going to make that one again. Mario's sauce is AMAZING. Hs anyone else discovered other veggies that go well with vodka sauce? Now i think i am on a mission to find out what else i can add when to that sauce. Thanks again for those 2 carbonara suggestions.

Care to share your recipe for the dough you use to make the pasta ? Do you always make the same shape ? Aloha Steve ..... I am smiling now. I cant share with you my dough recipe because I dont go that far to make fresh dough everyday. I use only Setaro or Rustichella pasta.... in all shapes and sizes. Usually everyday... a different shape. LOL.... depending on whether the sauce is chunky or not. I leave the fresh dough to my mother.... who DOES make it nearly every day.

Hey thanks everyone for your suggestions. and Blether ! .....of course I use a freezer and small keeper boxes. LOL I have a few in there with meat sauces that i spent alot of time making. but I dont like to eat that every day. i like fresh veg. based sauces and bring out the meat sauces about once a week. AND no..... I am not paying attention to Marcella Hazen. LOL I dont have alot of time to read cook books... in fact I only have a few. mostly from my travels to exotic places...none of them have any pasta recipies in them. Being Italian....most of what I have learned is from my family......but i havent been around them enough to really learn as much as I should. I havent gotten anything out of cookbooks. maybe i should. I always use garlic, anchovies, olives as a base for most of my daily sauces. and when I have had time to shop.... watercress or any bitter green makes a good plate of pasta as well. but I always cook from scratch...... everyday. I guess I could streamline my prep by making a quanity of good tomato sauce and then adding what i want to it as the pasta is boiling. seems that even if I do that..... in a few days ... its gone again and i have to start another big pot. LOL There are days when i have pasta for more than one meal. Thats kind of the way it was in my Scilian family. Its not a meal for my father if we didnt have a pasta and bread on the table. And Bud.... I am at 6200ft and my water takes a little longer to boil but i start it alot earlier than when i want to eat. LOL altitude never keeps me from doing anything. Anyway..... thanks again everyone. you have had some good suggestions here

You know? I have seen that one before and wondered about it. I just cant imagine how it would be not cooking the sauce. I love to cut up those baby roma tomatoes.... never peel them ... just quater them and throw them in the saute pan. i will definitely give this a try. love anything with a tomato sauce... fresh or otherwise. tomatoes make a great base for a quick sauce. thanks for posting this.

I eat pasta every day for lunch or dinner. And every day.... I cook from scratch. some days I JUST want to eat the pasta and dont want to go into all the peeling and chopping. I dont mind doing a little of it but some days I just want my pasta not to be the big production it turns out to be. I love anchovies and olives ... the sauce usually has alot of that in it. but.... how to streamline my prep time and still have a great condimento for my pasta. I would love some suggestons please..... I am open to anything. thanks

you know? i tried that and it didnt come out at all. tell me how you did yours. it sounded like it would be good. i must not be cooking it right

wow! thanks for the replies. i like all of your suggestions. i will try them all. thanks again for your input.

they are in oil and vinegar.... not alot of vinegar. i wish i could figure out how to eat them with pasta but not being a cook.... i am just not sure what to put in with them to make it taste good. just the chokes by themselves with pasta is not good enough. any ideas for a sauce ? thanks

I was given a BIG jar of these and while i have eaten them before..... i was wondering what might be a tasty alternative to just using them as antipasto. what do you like to do with them? i tried putting some with pasta and it didnt work too well....maybe i am not doing it right. i am not at all a good cook. LOL any suggestions please? thanks

YEP ! i know what you mean. I lived in Vancouver too and THAT is an AWESOME place for ALL that food !

And I have to say that's one great thing about Houston. I didn't really plan to come here, but as long as I am here, I certainly must say I'm enjoying the inexhaustible variety of restaurants that the US's fourth-largest city provides. Houston seems to be an immigrant mecca. Very large populations from every country on the planet. The Vietnamese community here is second-largest in the nation; only California's Orange County is larger. Every nation is represented, along with at least four or five restaurants specializing in their indigenous cuisine. All that and terrific barbecue and Mexican food, too. Now, if it were just not for these blasted, infernal summers... YEAH ! the summers are horrific ! I remember New Orleans in the summer and it was SOOO difficult. I didnt know that about the Vietnamese population in Huston. I LOVE vietnamese food and the REAL thing is SO hard to find. I am hoping that some of that has drifted to central Texas LOL the BBQ is over the top but GREAT vietnamese food is to die for too.

NAKJI ! WOW ! FANTASTIC ! I absolutely LOVE pho so I can totally understand your move ! Thats one place i have thought about for years because of the food. AND.... i can understand too how you feel about Italy.... i have been there many times.... but i am afraid if i go one more time..... I wont get out either ! LOL