bokreta

Astonishing that some may have had a different lived experience than yours in the course of their life in different areas of the world than where you live/have lived. I promise that in 1991 Yugoslavia (pre- and mid revolution) the local shops didn't have an "American Aisle" or M&Ms.

I gotta admit, when I spent a year abroad on a Fullbright as a youngling, as much as I LOVED being where I was and the food that was widely available, I seriously missed M&Ms and Kraft Mac & Cheese. I had a chance encounter with a traveling American business man and helped him navigate a sticky local situation. Once he got back to the States, he sent me a care package of those plus a few other treats. I almost cried when I opened the box and rationed the heck out of that box for the next many months. Certainly not tastier or better food, just what the heart wanted after another day of everything being new and different.

I once worked for a tofu manufacturing company. My official title was Office Manager, but the reality was that I did everything that didn't involve immersing my hands in soy mash. I insisted on a working title of Factota. The one who gets things done.

Gyros. Default meat expected to be lamb combined with beef. Seattle, with some deep ties to the local Greek community.

Dobro dosli!

That's appalling. How could they let that through?

My shameful defaults: Pasta with Karam's garlic sauce and a salty cheese (parm/asiago/feta/etc). Rice with ranch dressing, canned tuna, and black pepper. Rice with sauteed summer sausage, cheddar cheese, and green olives and/or jarred jalapenos.

This is slightly off topic, as it's not about a holiday menu, but it is Christmas and food related. I'm planning on a smallish tree decorated primarily with dehydrated pretty slices of lemons, limes, kumquats, blood oranges, and tomatoes (and popcorn garlands). My question is what else can I do with the butt ends of the citrus fruits beyond stashing them in vodka for a spell? Tomato ends will go into a salsa, and assuming that I buy (small) bags of citrus any non-decorative slices with be salt preserved, but what about the pithy end pieces?

Darn it. Y'all got my hopes up!

And I would never judge a book by one recipe.

I bought a Weber Q last year, thinking that it would be a good solution to my living situation not allowing a charcoal grill without a 3 floor trek down and up to check on any progress. I had significant issues getting a Coleman propane tank (the small, squat ones) attached, and was always a little nervous about the connection. Once I got it going, it worked fairly well for most high or medium heat things, which was nice. As BBQ season finally is ramping up here in the PNW, I am finding myself just committing to just schlepping downstairs for the afternoon because it's less daunting than replacing the fuel canister and doing the soap test etc.

Wait, have I been rude all my life? I've only ever stayed in US hotels while in transit, rarely for more than a day. I've also only stayed at utility level places. It never would have occurred to me that I should have been tipping the housekeeping staff for doing what I have little active interaction with. I've also never asked for any "extras" - I tend to travel at minimal maintenance levels.

I don't have a magnet habit, nor did I grow up with one (outside of the ubiquitous letter-shaped magnets for teaching reading skills). However, many years ago when I was partnered with a general contractor/woodworker and assisting him with most aspects of his life, I got the idea of take some of the otherwise useless off-cuts, squaring them off, and doing the finishing work to convert them to fridge magenets as low-cost meaningful gifts. I almost never gave them away - it was too fun to have them around to play with while I was tending to kitchen projects. Hundreds of nice square magnets with discernible grain in many different colors, sizes, and thicknesses, and a fungible canvas like a freezer door? Plus really pleasant to handle, thanks to the finishing process. Also a good distraction for guests when the surface is between the public area and the core of the cooking work area.

I've done similar excursions, most often with my ex and our two big dogs. We/I found that having a quick way of sourcing hot coffee in the morning was REALLY important. He was always the early riser and got a fire going first thing, but later when I was solo (plus dog), a Turkish coffee pot with a small butane camp stove did the trick. What worked best for us/me was a staple list of bacon/summer sausage/cheddar/eggs/rice/potatoes/frozen broccoli/frozen spinach. Kind of monotonous in the long term, but tasty and satisfying. I also brought a small kit of spices/herbs/hot sauces. The frozen veg helped in the cooler, and none of them are susceptible to short term spoilage. Sometimes we splurged with a steak on night one, which was always wonderful. Once I tried gumbo, which was a total fail because I got the reduced proportions totally wrong I would recommend a (fire safe) small cast iron skillet, 1 qt pot, and a kettle/caffeine generator. as a minimum. Booze, of course, and s'more fixins if you have a sweet tooth (I don't, but I remember them being good). Reinforcing that ALL FOOD and FOOD TAINTED DISHES should be bear/wildcat-secured before bed time. In my experience, no dishes that are camp-washed are exempt.

Agree with Darienne. Phyllo freezes beautifully. I've had the best luck with folding up the spanakopitas, brushing them generously with butter, letting the butter set up in the fridge, and then portioning them out as desired into bags before freezing. The butter acts as a protective coating during handling, and eases just sliding them from the freezer to a baking sheet.