Toasted

I'm surprised no one has mentioned miso soup. It's the only thing I can stomach when I'm really sick.

My current favorite is the magnetized Tsp. and Tbs. set that sticks to my fridge. Now I can finally find them when I need them. Plus, they're really cute.

I use old champagne pails as planters.

I just got a new pizza stone. Do I need to do anything to it before I bake my first pizza?

I'm also obsessesed with American Pie at the moment. I've made so much pizza lately that the children are getting sick of it! It's a great book for anyone who hasn't picked it up yet.

A few homemade pizza's: Plain cheese for the kids Red onion marmalade and green olives and another one with goat cheese and roasted peppers for the adults. Green salads with the usual stuff and the best fresh pineapple we've had in a long time.

Now, I thought I was living in CT but from what you just wrote, I'm living in the south! We have many of the same dive bars with the same music, same booze, same clientel. It's not just a southern thing- ya'll (did I spell that right? Next thing you know I'll be eating grits)

The cast iron pan that I use every day of my life was bought at a tag sale for $1.00. I think I got it 15 years ago. I got the vintage fabric for our dining room chairs at a tag sale in our neighborhood. The fabric was in a box marked "Grandma" and they were originally curtains. I washed them, cut them up and stapled them to the bottoms of the old pads- very cool and cheap! At a recent estate sale I got a box of silverwear, maybe 75 pieces for $2.00. They were mismatched but I like that type of thing and of excellent quality. Now that it's finally nice here in CT we'll be having more tag/estate sales and I'm eager to see what I can find.

Fettuccine w/ fresh asparagus in a bechamel sauce roasted garlic with butter on french bread A nice green salad that would have gone beautifully with the meal but I forgot it and left it in the fridge Sliced oranges and apples for dessert. Juice for the kid's and a Mcsorley's for the cook.

Word! Or feet fungus for that matter. Or anything having to do with toenails. When in doubt, sublimate.

We finally have beautiful weather here in New England so we've been doing outside work all day. Tonight's easy dinner was quesadillas- flour tortillas smeared with a little cream cheese, shredded chedder and roasted red peppers. Guacamole Rice Steamed broccoli sliced red onions, tomatoes, and sour cream and salsa on the side. I noticed the children running downstairs with Oreo's clenched in their fists so I guess dessert is taken care of.

I happen to love the smell of indian food and if it lingers around for a while- all the better! But, if I have to air out the house I set a pot on the stove with some water and sliced lemons and let it simmer away for a couple of hours. Works for me.

Besides the roasted cauliflower, baking falafel in mini muffin tins is one of the best tips I ever pick up from egullet.

I'll help you! Now what about people sitting and walking around with toothpicks hanging out of their mouths? It drives me nuts!

Amazing lunches. It all looks so healthy-quite different from the stuff that my children are offered. You're so lucky that they have the option of buying lunch. I make all the school lunches here and it gets tedious after a while.

Flander's Fish market in E. Lyme- about 15 minutes from Mystic- I believe they were featured on Food Finds or one of the food network shows. Pizza Cucina- also in E. Lyme- same exit, 75 I think, has the best pizza and pasta around. It's a tiny little place with a kitchen the size of a closet but they put out some amazing stuff. I've heard some good things about the Seaman's Inn lately too- It's located right next to the Mystic Seaport. A few friends had dinner there recently and loved it. For Japanese or Thai food go to Bangkok City on State St. in New London. It's great.

I am so sick of this rain so I think I'll make a batch of lentil soup with lots of spices. I always puree my lentil soup- how do others prefer it ?

Thanks for all the condolences for my cat. He had lived a long life and was 17 when he died. I have wanted to tell that story for five years now just to get it off my chest. Whooo, I feel better now.

No, I never fed it to the other kids but with the 3rd one anything goes! The baby loves it and can pick it up in his little fingers and I know exactly what is in it so I think it's ok.

My daughter's two year birthday party. The first party that I ever did all the cooking by myself. I was so nervous I would have given Budda an anxiety attack. I got up at 4:30am to cook the food and clean the already clean house. I put out balloons, hung up streamers etc. ..... all the while stepping over our beloved cat who was sleeping on the deck. Hmmm, he's sleeping pretty soundly, I thought to myself and then continued with hanging up the pinata and stuffing the goody bags. 11am rolls around and kids and parents show up. I notice that some of the kids are playing with the cat on the deck- weird because he's always been so skittish around others....I decide to check on the cat, maybe he ate something bad and isn't feeling well? By now the kids are passing the cat from lap to lap and he's wearing a feather boa (one of the party favors) and is covered in glitter. I grab him and realize that he is stiff as a board- yup, dead! At this time I feel like I have two choices, mourn my dead cat and admit to the other parents at the party that their children were playing with something dead or sneak the body away and whip it into the field next to the house. I couldn't even think, I had made all this food, I felt bad about the cat but the cat ended up in the field. Everyone liked the food. I still feel a little bit guilty about the cat to this day.

No problem! What you said is true, sad but true. I read it just before I was going to write a funny about hell being Thanksgiving with my family every friggin minute of the day. It still would be hell, come to think of it!

You cooked the food, cleaned the house, bought wine and flowers and invited all your friends. But something went wrong, very wrong. What happened: did the dog run into the dining room with a tampon hanging out of his mouth? Did the conversation get a little too political resulting in one guest calling another the "C" word? Did you burn the food or worse, give everyone food poisoning? Did someone drink too much and get obnoxious? All of the above has happened to me. Now it's your turn!

Wow. Way to harsh my mellow.

I make this dough in my bread machine at least twice a week- it's easy, tasty and you can make a thick or a thin crust with it. This is for a 1 1/2 lb. machine. 3 tsp. dry yeast 2 tbsp. sugar 3 cups all- purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 2tsp. olive oil 1 cup warm water Add the above to the machine and process using the dough, or pizza dough setting on your machine. When it's done, roll it in some flour and let it sit on the counter for about 20 minutes. I find this dough very easy to work with and the crust browns nicely. I put my pizza stone in the oven set at 500 for at least an hour before I bake anything. The dough recipe above takes about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish so I have time to make the sauce too which I always do unless I have some already made and frozen.

I have found that it is the perfect finger food (raw) for the baby. I use the rest in mattar paneer or kadai paneer- sauteed paneer with onions, green pepper, tomatoes and spices. Sometimes I just crumble it up in a salad. Good stuff.