Toasted

Trader Joe's makes an awesome packaged Guacamole- I had my doubts but it's really very good- fresh tasting with lots of avacado chunks.

Can't wait to see the pictures oh, and, YUCK!!!!!!!!

I am so sorry to see this blog end! I enjoyed hearing about your son and what he ate as well as the pictures and your beautiful house. We have a sunroom off of our kitchen too and I'll admit that it's the reason that I bought this house in the first place. Good luck to you and the family.

The devil's sweat? That's just too funny.

Another amazingly good idea that I never would have thought of! God, I love Egullet.

Thanks to this thread I am getting rid of my silly cupboards over the 'fridge! I've decided that the top of the 'fridge would be the perfect place to put my little kitchen t.v. I mostly listen to it for sound anyway and right now it's taking up valuable counter space. The crap that's up there will either go in the pantry or on shelves in the garage- it's not stuff I use daily anyway. BTW: when I stood on a chair to see what was up there I found a huge bag of halloween candy. Do do think it's still good?

That's some pretty amazing art work for a kindergardener. The one you made is beautiful too.

Marlene- that is such a good idea. I wish I had thought of that when we had our kitchen redone about a year ago. The only way I can reach our cabinets is by standing on a stool and even then I can barely reach the back. I mostly store seasonal things up there like platters and heating trays, nothing I use on a daily basis.

I will never again buy a kitchen gadget that I have no room for on the counter or in the pantry. That means you, mr. pannini maker!

I totally agree with this! My biggest failures have always been recipes that I've made before and thought I could do again- easily! Noooooo- And it always happens when I'm making it for my mom or my sister, both, amazing cooks.

The muffins look wonderful. Good job with the pictures- I have yet to photograph a dish and have it look at all edible. Or maybe it's just my cooking.

I found the book with the interesting seitan recipes. It's called "366 Healthful ways to Cook Tofu and other meat alternatives" by Robin Robertson. Horrible title for a really good book. Some of the more interesting recipes include "Seitan Marsala" "Quinoa-Seitan Pilaf", and "Ground Seitan Patties with Mustard- Wine Sauce". This book also has some great recipes for tofu and tempeh.

I usually do a buffet at our bigger parties. The key to a good buffet is the selections of hot and cold foods and the freshness of ingredients. I always have plenty of salads- including a wonderful fruit salad, a variety of good breads and butter, and lots of finger foods. Buffets are nice because you have choices instead of one "set" meal. It's also easier for me in terms of satisfying the different eating habits of our family and friends i.e meat eaters, vegans, vegetarians.

While I do buy candy and popcorn for the kids, I always sneak in a Subway veggie grinder for myself- Subway's right next to the theater in our little village. Sometimes chips too.

Tasty stuff! I made a pot tonight- just the basic recipe on the package but I added some S & P and butter. I'm going to shape the leftovers into little patties tomorrow and lightly fry them. Maybe add some grated cheese first- and some diced peppers.

Very yummy looking and very creative Katherine. BTW, you can buy vegetarian worcestershire sauce in most health food stores.

That's basically my recipe for soft polenta although I don't cook it that long. It's always delicious. This weekend I went to what is "supposed to be" an upscale Italian restaurant and had the most bland, tasteless polenta. I think they just boiled up some cornmeal and water and dumped it into a mold hoping that the mushroom puree would save it. It didn't. Very disappointing because polenta isn't that hard to make.

I just picked up a box today. I'm going to try making some type of pilaf with it tonight. Any more recipe suggestions would be great.

Asparagus roasted is also very good, so good that the children eat it without the usual obnoxious comments. Today I found some for only $ 1.99 lb. so I got a lot and will be cooking with it all week.

Tuna Wiggle 1 can tuna- packed in oil, not drained 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1/2 cup mayo 4 slices wonder bread toasted. Dump first three ingredients into a pan and stir until blended. Bring mixture to a simmer and continue to stir until well heated. Spoon mixture over toasted bread. Enjoy! It's amazing that we lived past childhood.

I have a perfectly seasoned cast iron pan that I got at sal's (that's the salvation army store for those who don't know) that I love. I use this 20 year old pan for everything but most importantly, any type of potato dish. I even take this pan with me when camping or when cooking at other people's houses. I hate to have anything on my kitchen counters but this pan breaks the rule, it gets rinsed out and then back on the stove because I know I'll be using it within the next couple of hours. Call it my cooking muse, it works for me.

The clothes, the shoes, the men, the drinks, the lifestyle! Well, sniff, I'm going to miss it too! Let us all lift our cosmo's and toast the women of SITC.

MMMMM, Yummy! Drinking one right now in honor of the thread. Very tasty beer, they use a lot of spices in the brew, not the taste for everyone but I enjoy it.

You could come over to my house. We toured the brewery this weekend ( Cooperstown NY) and brought home a nice selection. The brewery was the nicest and cleanest I've ever seen BTW, and our tour guide was so generous with the beer samples that I had to take a nap on the way back to the hotel. Melissa

Dice them and add them to rice or salads. I made a rice dish last week with saffron, diced dried apricots, and chopped toasted nuts.