fifi

This one still has me giggling. I remember my sister doing the exact same thing one time with powdered sugar. I think brown snow is funnier. *prepare for gross-out* Venerable sister was getting over a cold at the time. She said that her post nasal drip was sweet for a few hours.

I don't know if you will find a place that can accommodate the whole party but my favorite place is the area around Akumal, south of Playa del Carmen. There are usually houses (villas) for rent (some of them quite spectacular) and many of the hotels have casitas. We were in a private house but I did check out several places. Check out the Akumal web site. I really want to get one of the bungalows at a place like Club Akumal Caribe and hang out for a week with the kids. The place is to die for. Really laid back but some neat bars and restaurants. The water and the snorkeling is spectacular. The pictures don't do it justice. We had a great time spending most of a day at Xel-Ha. If you go early in the morning when it is just opening, you avoid the bus-loads. The place is really well done.

I think that this whole thing is just another example of how so much of what MLK said and stood for gets "highjacked" for ulterior motives. It enrages me when I see it. MLK was all about inclusiveness and understanding and respect for individuals and their culture. Some folks need to go back and read what he said. That "content of their character" line has resonated with me since I first heard it as a youngster. I am also sure MLK enjoyed a good bowl of chili.

this just in from my favorite son... copied with his permission.

The Houston Chronicle - Cooking Hong Kong Market This column was entirely too short and I would have liked more pictures. There is one interesting piece of information... The 150,000 sqft monster is the one on Bellaire.

Fat Guy, WHAT were you drinking... er... I mean thinking?

Why do I have this visual of you stumbling around in a parking lot picking up the remains of pigeon pecked pieces of hot dog. I nominate Real Men Don't Eat Quiche. I have no idea where this thing came from. I have even less of a clue as to why I still have it and have moved it around with me for 20 years.

I just finished kissing the closest pictures of my GROWN children and sent them warm, motherly e-mails. I did not explain that my behaviour was due to a Chuckee Cheese discussion thread. I figured I would let them worry for a while. Son: Hey, sis. Have you seen the weirded out e-mail from mother? Daughter: Yeah. What is up with that? OMG... Do you suppose she had some sort of disease? Son: Hmm... Either that or she has lapsed into some kind of depression or something. Daughter: Well, should we call her to see if she is ok or just see if she returns to normal soon? This type of speculation and exchange will go on for some days and dozens of e-mails. Eventually they will cave and I will get an e-mail along the lines of "WTF?" Only then will I tell them that I was just being thankful that they are too old to have subjected me to Chuckee Cheese. (This admission will be rapidly followed by dozens of e-mails between them along the lines of... "Chuckee Cheese???!!!" "The bitch got us again!") BWAHAHAHAHA! Ain't being a parent fun?

I think this one is now considered politically incorrect, but when I was a kid, I had a favorite Golden Book... Little Black Sambo. The story went somehow that Sambo got these tigers running around and around a tree and they all turned to butter. Then his momma made pancakes and they had butter on their pancakes. I think that book started my life long love of butter. I loved that book and I loved Little Black Sambo. He was so cool. I also kept wondering what the tea tasted like that Peter Rabbit's mother gave him after his traumatic experience. Was it chamomille?

I think I will hold out for the UV laser solution.

Maybe you could use those narrow cabinets on either side of the cook top for vertical storage of sheet pans, cutting boards and such.

Rats... I can do it with my knife in an hour. Actually, I usually do a cup at a time and it usually takes me a little over an hour if I use the big cloves.

For those of you wondering about this wonderful plant, this site will probably tell you more than you want to know. This is one of the sites on the google link above. The site is absolutely manic in its detail.

Using "fancy" salts in cooking. Sea salt and specialty salts sprinkled so that their texture makes a difference is a good thing. But putting them into a dish where the crystal structure dissolves is nuts. I'm with FoodMSG on organic veggies. I would rather have the fresh picked odd variety either out of my garden or at a farmer's market (if I had one ) even if it was not strictly organic. While we try to garden as organically as possible, here in the Gulf Coast that isn't always possible if you want to eat anything out of said garden.

I like the idea of the open shelves below the cook top for often used pots. I am doing something similar under the island across from the range. I have seen this in a friend's kitchen and it is wonderful. That feature has had some of her friends ripping doors off of lower cabinets.

OH MY GOD! You have found my holy grail of gadgets. I have mentioned my lust for just such a thing on other threads. I don't care if it takes a week to clean. I make mojo de ajo all the time. That requires 1/2 to a whole cup of evenly diced garlic. Do you know what a PITA that is?

Now that is a good suggestion. I have tried to do the Oaxacan style black beans when I have been able to find avocado leaves at Fiesta. I didn't think that the avocado leaves added much but also suspected that they were stale and flavorless compared to a fresher product. What little I could taste tells me that the Mexican Mint Marigold would make a nice substitute. Any other suggested recipes using this substitution? Can you share your bean recipe? If it is your recipe and not copyrighted, you could even put it in RecipeGullet. (hint, hint) BTW... I read somewhere (Zarela Martinez?) that you shouldn't go out and pick leaves off your avocado tree. The aren't the same as the leaves used in southern Mexico and may be somewhat toxic. Does anyone know more about this?

Nope. It is real bamboo. Clickety. That is one type.

In that category, are there any issues with the size of the gas line?

The mental image of the duck-ass-wiggle got me. You get 10 points on the eGullet secret scorecard for ethusiasm.

Please use the site with reverence. The guy that put it together has made the supreme sacrifice... his sanity... and he does NOT have a life.

Welcome to eGullet bucktown. This is a fun place to be. You are not addicted, just enlightened. You brought up a good point that I just thought about. Last night I opened a jar of Mom's putanesca that I found due to Jaymes' recommendation. I only used about a half cup on some rustic pasta I also found. Put the jar in the fridge. I am usually just cooking for me so every few months I am throwing jars out. To compound the problem, I may know that I have a part of a jar in there but want to try that new one. HMMM... I just did that with the new jar of Mom's. There was a perfectly good jar of something else in there (well... maybe not perfectly good) but I opened the new one.

Clickety here for probably more than you want to know about cumin. The list of names is pretty impressive. Scroll down for a picture of the seeds. They are actually about the size of caraway seeds.

I have made Huevos del Toro's truly excellent work in Progress Chili. I had never used whole cumin seeds in chili before. They were a nice surprise. They cooked up nice and tender and you sometimes got a "cumin surprise" that was absolutely delightful.

I have one that I bought somewhere because the wooden bowl looked cool and it seemed like a good idea to the time. Then I discovered that the business end of the operation, the blade, was a piece of crap. It squished and bruised herbs rather than chopping. It languished in my pantry, out of sight and out of mind. I have no idea where it is now. I always intended to give the concept another try. If I do, I intend to get one of the Wusthof choppers. I really don't like the double bladed thing. It could be a bitch to clean all of those sticky leaf bits off the inside surfaces without mincing your fingers. I also can't figure out a good way to sharpen it.