Xanthippe

Great news, Mr. Varmint! Slow and steady weight loss is the absolute right way to go about the matter; it's healthier, you don't feel deprived and thus likely to backslide, and you're apt to keep those pesky pounds off permanently. Please continue to keep us posted . . .

Laura Chenel, who in 1978 began making chevre up in Sonoma county.

Several Blenheim apricots. They are lusciously sweet.

What recipe do y'all make the white-cornmeal cornbread from, Malawry? I was just today looking at my sack of stone ground white cornmeal come all the way from Brevard, NC and wondering what to make first. I love the beurre-noisette corner pieces, too; unfortunately, so does Socrates, and we end up fightin' over 'em!! Hope you're feeling multitudes better, Jin. Uh, pork done how??

Thanks for the information, paul o'. You did good, obviously. I shall continue my vigil down at the mailbox . . . 'Nanner pudding, mcdowell??!? One of my hands-down, absolute favorite desserts. What makes your girlfriend's version so famous? Oh, and I've been intending to mention that when we were at Duarte's last week after our olallieberry picking expedition, I asked after the cookies. Our waitress said that as far as she was aware, the restaurant has never served cookies! She went so far as to ask one of the kitchen staff who has worked there forever; he confirmed it -- no cookies.

Wow, several new developments since I last checked this thread (my schedule decided to run amok yesterday, and I'm still trying to catch up around here)! Yes, please keep use posted w.r.t. you and your cooking buddies' efforts. You all in Houston need a good farmers' market. Edit to add: Great haul, melkor. I housesat for some Napa-ites several years ago, and took advantage of the opportunity to visit as many of the local FMs as possible. The Napa market was my personal favorite. It rocks . . .

I shall camp out down by the mailbox to await the delivery!! And a terrine must be rich, no??!? Which is why cornichons are such a perfect go-with: their tartness cuts a bit of that richness. Mustard is good, too, and for the same reason. What did you come up with as a result of your spice ratio guesswork?

This morning's meal was a delight, truly. Olallieberry-and-peach smoothies Eggs scrambled with beet greens and black pepper bacon, topped with homemade creme fraiche Strawberry Streusel muffins Yogurt Buttermilk White Cornmeal Cornbread with buckwheat honey Coffee for Soc., Scottish Breakfast tea for me

Why don't you start one up, fifi?? It would be a serious coup should you manage to pull it off! I haven't a clue how to begin; perhaps you could gather a few like-minded folks and form some kind of steering/investigative committee. There's most likely some info on the Dept. of Ag. site.

Der, sorry, I didn't see this. The NJ forum. S'okay, girl -- you PM'd me in the meantime with the information.

Alas, no, elyse! We never got around to taping that one. But we do have "Rocket Attack, USA"!! Please, paul o', I want some of that terrine. Might you ship a few slices to me??!?

Great haul, joiei! Please regale us with details of your repast over on the "Dinner" thread!!

Thanks, gus! As you've probably surmised, I'm a huge MST3K fan. Amongst the treasure in our video archives are: "The Attack of the Giant Leeches" "Hercules" "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" "The Attack of the the (yes, "the" appears twice!) Eye Creatures" "Side Hackers" "Mitchell" . . . and the worst movie ever made, "Manos, the Hands of Fate"

X (if I may call you that) - Do you remember some years back when there was this kind of short dumpy woman and she was married to this 6'5" glangly guy - typical tall skinny dude, big hands, big feet, big Adam's apple - And they both decided to get sex change operations at the same time. So they wind up this world-class-weird-looking couple - funny short dumpy rather feminine husband, and giant crane of a wife, still with the big feet, big nose, enormous Adam's apple... Well, they were all over the news at the time - magazines, papers, TV - everything. They were from Benson, home of The Thing. So they're interviewing one of the locals and he says: "Oh great. Like Benson needs this publicity. First The Thing, and now THIS!" Yes, Jaymes, call me X, Madame X, Xan, or whatever . . . but just call me! How could I forget that "world-class-weird-looking" transgender couple?!? Best argument against sex change operations I've seen to date! So they were Bensonites, eh? Goodness. Poor Benson, home of The Thing . . .

You funny, girl! An olallieberry is a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry (a blackberry hybrid); I believe it's grown almost exclusively here on the West Coast. We go to a u-pick place every year and stock up.

Brentwood straddles the far East Bay and beginning of the Delta; it's still pretty much an agricultural/rural area, although starting to become a suburb. And IrishCream's right: the region has great farm stands and u-pick farms/orchards, about as close to an "official" farmers' market as one can get! The market in NJ, elyse -- where??

I used to live in Tucson - about 40 miles west of The Thing. So it amused me to give people, who were driving from the east to visit me, directions from The Thing. As in "after you reach 'The Thing,' go 38 miles to exit #122, then right...etc." Tickled me no end. Omigosh, The THING!! Jaymes and mcdowell, I thought my two sisters and I were the only people who would openly admit having stopped there! Amazing. My first visit, I fair to collapsed on the ground in a sodden heap of laughter -- and that was on the walkway lined with fantasia wood animal sculptures, before we even got inside the, er, um, The Thing. Edit: What dear Mr. Varmint said. I really, really, really want to attend the Pig Pickin', so's if any of you care to offer me a lift on your private jet . . .

Ah, now I get it (and I have the same issues with caffeine)! Currently eating a large handful of still-warm-from-the-sun olallieberries, a very small portion of the day's berry picking bounty (@ 18 pounds).

I'm a bi-weekly visitor (yes, better than therapy). For a report of Twin Cities Farmer's Markets, go to Twin Cities Farmer's Markets There is also a thread on The Heartland about the Evanston farmer's market. Thanks, snowangel; I shall check out both the report and the thread. Such is my passion for this subject that I get a vicarious thrill merely reading of other, non-local markets and the specialties of the various regions.

Great, great topic! My weekly forays at our local FMs are quite literally theraputic, and certainly cheaper than an hour on the couch!! Have just returned from the largest year-round local market, in downtown Santa Cruz. My haul consists of: dandelion greens; collard greens; beets (two bunches, golden and Chioggia); French Breakfast radishes; Rainier and Lambert cherries; peaches, yellow and white nectarines; two baskets of strawberries; one bunch of last-of-the-season asparagus; red and Sun Gold cherry tomatoes; mesclun mix with peppercress, baby red chard, and arugula; a few Moro blood oranges; two Gwen and one Bacon avocado; two bunches fragrant basil; two bunches of mint; cilantro; Italian parsley; a half-dozen duck eggs; and four bittersweet chocolate/chipotle truffles. Oh, and a jar of buckwheat honey.

Uh, are you on some sort of food plan, girl?? Just one chocolate-covered coffee bean??!? I'd never be able to eat just one . . .

Okay, I'm woefully behind in my thread reading, having just now caught up. I regret to learn of your gastrointestinal distress, paul o'; I regret having read of the Unfortunate Incident of the Toasted Mouse; however, I do not regret noting that the Key Lime granita is the closest thing to a dessert I've seen Jin prepare! I'm fair to swooning over this revelation . . .

Co' Cola cake . . .

Just returned home and received notice of this topic, which I indeed encouraged sparrow to start. Thanks, sparrow!! Let's see, this morning, only time for a mini-breakfast before leaving the house: Fresh Moro blood orange juice, a container of Total yogurt mixed with rosemary honey, two pieces Acme Bakery ciabatta toast with unsalted butter and fig preserves. Oh, and two cups of Russian Caravan tea.

Crossword puzzles . . . Making up for lost appetite now that the heat wave has abated: Two-Buck Chunky peanut butter on a toasted flax seed bagel.