SylviaLovegren

That looks delicious! A local (and locavore) pub here serves hand chopped hamburgers, mixed with marrow during the chopping. I haven't tried them yet because I've got this (irrational) thing against marrow. But your comments may make me get my courage up.

If you come from Hudson Co., New Jersey, "chopped meat" is what you call ground hamburger.

Gaaaack! I do, however, love ranch dressing. Prefer the homemade but will swizzle up the boughten if that's all that's around. A secret pleasure at inexpensive restaurants -- salad bar with ranch.

When I lived in the northwest US I used to cook whole salmon stuffed with onions and apples or peaches, depending on the season. But I didn't serve the stuffing with, it was just for a bit of flavoring for the fish while cooking. Sardines and melon sounds simply awful, I have to admit. Shrimp and coconut, of course, is classic. Love the Brazilian version and make it frequently.

I wonder, though. My experience with broilers has been that they definitely contain spatter but are pretty neutral versus stovetop cooking when it comes to smoke and smoke-like vaporized grease. Really? When I lived in an apartment the first thing to do if I wanted the smoke alarm to go would be to fire up the broiler. Gar-n-teed. Why not do a "cook out" theme -- grilled or broiled meats, deviled eggs, corn on the cob, cole slaw. Or do an Argentinian grill with a plethora of different grilled meats, chimichurra sauce, grilled potatoes. Yum. I love chimichurra. I might cheat and serve it with arepas, which are not Argentine but sure would taste good with the meat and sauce.

There's the 70s favorite brunch dish, Joe's Special, which is basically ground beef, onions, mushrooms and spinach cooked together until soft, then scrambled with eggs. Mushroom quiche, of course. Or how about crepes with mushrooms in your favorite sauce? And now I see both these suggestions were made already. There's also the brunch classic, the strata -- layers of bread and whatever (sauteed mushrooms and cheese?), with eggs/milk poured over, let sit, then bake.

I was trying to remember a nougat bar I used to love as a kid. Couldn't remember the name. Spent some time on the internet and discovered that it was called "Big Hunk" and the chocolate covered version was the "Look" Bar. You can still buy them, although probably not in stores. Found lots of fun stuff at http://www.oldtimecandy.com/ Caramello's are really big here in Toronto. So are Kit Kats which are a complete waste of calories, IMNVHO.

Exactly.

Really, what's the problem. A guy who wants to "spread the word" opens a restaurant that spreads the word. If that doesn't bother you, you eat there. If it does bother you, you don't. If it bothers enough people, his restaurant fails or he changes. To me, it's like complaining that the decor in a restaurant is really ugly and you're p.o.'d that people with bad taste insist on inflicting it on you when you're eating. One of my favorite restaurants in LA was a Sikh vegetarian place that had all kinds of religious stuff in the place. Was I ever going to become a Sikh? No, but the food was good and the atmosphere was calm and pleasing. Another favorite place is in Amish country in Pennsylvania. A restaurant run by Mennonites with tons of Christian stuff all over the place. The food is good, the people are nice and I love it. In either case I don't feel threatened letting them be who they are. If you don't want to be around people who are different than you, your choice is to force them to change or stay away from them. I know which I think is the right response.

dcarch -- I don't know where you live but I've experienced power outages due to storm damage for 5 days, in a very well-off NJ suburb. In the middle of the summer when temps were in the 90s with corresponding humidity. Freezer items that didn't get eaten during those 5 days were a total loss. Ditto the make sure car is gassed. Be sure to have flashlights and batteries. If you can find a crank radio get one. And be SURE to charge your cell phone -- and keep it turned off except when absolutely necessary if you lose power. If you have a landline, connect a phone that doesn't need electric to work. You might also want to fill your tub/s with water. It won't necessarily be potable but is very handy for washing. Stay safe. My husband and son are in NJ for the weekend and I am very unhappy about it.

I highly recommend Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Cunningham. Here's a link It has a few representative recipes but it is mostly straight history of the foods of the Indian subcontinent. Fascinating and well written.

The texture looks sorta like that of things called crullers or French doughnuts in the States. (And I could see why Americans would call them French doughnuts rather than Nuns' Farts!). Anyone have any experience with both items?

That's fantastic. Stocking stuffers for friends and family alike!

I've never used her recipe but in cooking lentils I start with 1 cup lentils to 2 cups water, then watch carefully, adding water as wanted. The 1:2 ratio is usually way too thick, but it's much easier to thin things down than to thicken them up.

I have a dim memory of MFK Fisher writing about Nun Farts in one of her books about living in France. Love it! Were they good?

I don't often trust the great reviews because who knows who wrote it or why or what that person's tastes are if he or she is honest in the first place. But sometimes the negative reviews can be helpful in steering me away from a place ( if it doesn't sound like its written by a nut). But then... I was reading a review of a Mediterranean restaurant in Toronto yesterday which raved about the great Japanese food and gracious Japanese servers. Someone had obviously gotten their wires crossed.

Which is why it gets all clumpy in humid climates. The rice must help break up the clumps.

Downtown Toronto here and we shop pretty much daily because a) we both work at home and b) the markets are all within 5-10 minute walk. Also, we enjoy it-- it's part of the day's constitutional to walk to the shops. We do make a trip every Sat. on foot to the big farmer's market about 1/2 mile away to get locally grown meat, cheeses, local veg, etc. When we lived in the Joisey burbs, shopping meant a car trip and big lines, so I tried to do one big shop a week usually at the huge A&P, and then fill in at Trader Joe, Whole Food, etc., when we were close by. I love not having to drive to the supermarket.

Uline is good for many types of bags.

Just wanted to say I strongly approve of this entire thread.

I like to put the ice cream in the mug and then pour the root beer in. Gives nice little ice crystals in the ice cream.

I've never ruined a quart of milk putting hot things in the fridge, but I, too, had a glass shelf shatter when a too hot pot was put on it. Never did that again.

If you go to Amazon.com and look for Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt To Plate you'll find that along with numerous books on foraging.

I would switch to butter, use some ricotta to replace part or all the cottage cheese, add some parmesan, plus some nutmeg, and just a hint of tabasco (not enough to taste, just enough to brighten).

Did she wash the cutting board afterwards? No, the dog licking the board clean was the "washing".