fifi

I think that what those Eagle Pass tacos had over others I have had is that they did use fresh corn tortillas. They were obviously hand made as well. Oh... Man... Does anywhere here do fresh, handmade, corn tortillas? What I see is mostly flour tortillas. they are not a bad thing at all. But fresh corn adds a whole 'nother dimension.

Thanks for the tip on Christians Tailgate. I go by there fairly often but haven't tried it. Now I will.

I haven't been there yet. My sister went for a Rodeo committee "do" not long ago and raved about the filet mignon.

Hmmm... How can there be a "bad" breakfast taco? My best memory of breakfast tacos is from a junky drive through joint in Eagle Pass in south Texas on the border. A friend of mine and I would attend the annual dove hunt at a friend's ranch. We would have to leave early on Sunday to make it back to Houston. We would wake up bleary eyed from the Saturday night festivities, walk the dogs (after we rousted them out of the bed in the cheap motel) and head out. The next stop was the taco place. My favorite was the taco that had everything... chorizo of unknown origin, potatoes, beans, eggs, cheese, and a searingly hot salsa to clear the head. The dogs got chorizo and egg. The dogs were also helpful in licking our hands clean of the red grease from the chorizo so we could just keep on adrivin'. Ah... Breakfast tacos.

I tried it dusted with a Greek spice mix from Penzey's once. It was just wonderful. I think I have to go buy a cauliflower.

Here ya go, Ms Neato... eGCI course on poached eggs No more excuses. (Ooops... That is another thing I was going to try this year. )

Heh... Judith, all great minds... Now my next question... I am wanting to start some herb pots. I am thinking of getting some rather large "polyurethane" pots, those that look like terra cotta or off white clay pots but are actually the foam stuff. My thought is that they will offer some insulation to the swings of temperature that we are subject to. If I also use some of the newer "moisture balancing" planting mix, I may have a chance of growing a variety of herbs on my balconey. If we have a freeze coming, I can protect them or bring them in. My question is, what can I successfully put together in a pot? Obviously, the basils are more delicate, the rosemary is more forgiving, etc. Do any of you have any experience in doing this? What mixtures have worked well for you. As an aside, this kind of information will be helpful when I actually get back to a real herb garden.

I have resisted contributing to this thread, until now. I have spent a bit of time in Europe and I do find a difference in emphasis on food. The first premise is that good food, lovingly prepared, is the glue that sticks the family and the body together. You can't do that if your family has this impossibly insane scheduling. What is the value of that? What if the kid is a soccer star if there are no bonds, no glue to hold the psyche together? How did we get here? When did the "external" forces on the family and our food traditions get taken over by the "go-go" life-style? It seems to me to be relatively recent. I don't remember that as a kid during the 50s and 60s. We ate what our mothers put in front of us, and those portions weren't the inflated portions that we see from the corporate entities trying to convince us that they are "giving good value". Then you add in the 24 hour news culture that has to grab on every "study" to make "headlines" and you have the recipe for revolving paranoia that has no real basis in fact. We are insane. *rant over*

Oooo... That is a good question. We used to have wild plums down in the "creek bottom" at the old country place. My sister and I have been wondering about how to get our hands on some of that. When our dad was in his wine making phase a bunch of years ago, he made some of that plum wine. Years later, at a Chinese restaurant in California, I had the plum wine after dinner. It really tasted like dad's wine, sweet and with a rich plum flavor. We would like to duplicate that. I am thinking that a call to your county extension agent may be in order.

Thanks for that, Kerr. A few years ago when I worked downtown, someone would offer to do a taco run on Friday mornings. We get every other Friday off, not everyone on the same schedule, so the crew was pretty sparse on Fridays and we were a pretty "loose" group. I have a feeling that this is where those tacos came from. The "taco runner" would have one of those little Igloo thingies and come back with it full of breakfast tacos. They were pretty darn good. At home... Breakfast tacos were always the answer when I had a bunch of hungover kids laying around on my floors when my (grown... sort of) son lived with me.

Uh... Back to Dr. Phil. I still haven't done diddly. But, I have been to a couple of good Indian restaurants for lunch. Does that count? Oh well... There is always 2005.

I forgot to mention that the tile I am considering for the new house is the new stain resistant grout stuff with color added. I had that on my tile floors in the previous house and it was marvelous. I wouldn't hesitate to use tile in the new kitchen, but the look may not work and I will probably revert to laminate. I haven't gotten to those details with my designer yet.

Ain't it the truth, Molly... And a warm welcome to you. The change in the Houston food scene has just exploded in the last 30 years. It isn't just the restaurants, either. The specialized groceries and the range of foods available has also gone ballistic. It is also happening in neighborhoods. Where my sister lives, the house next door has changed hands a couple of times. When she first moved there, the couple consisted of a Mexican lady and her Italian husband. They got into her tamale fillings and his grandmother's red sauce. My sister introduced them to the secrets of fried chicken, biscuits, corn bread and crowder peas. Then they moved away and away we go with a new couple... She is from Taiwan and he is from Indonesia, we think. We can't wait.

Fifty years ago, I think different cuisines existed in more isolated "islands" than they do today. I remember eating out in New Orleans at least 45 years ago and that was explained to me as Creole, identifiable and distinct. Then we spent some time in the Morgan City and Lafayette areas and that was described to me as Cajun, identifiable and distinct. There were a lot of differences but, even then, a lot of overlap. More or less, you would find gumbo's and etouffe in both places, but you wouldn't necessarily find the more haute cuisine dishes out in the country. The creole/cajun cuisine started invading the Houston area about 20-25 years ago as a lot of our cajun oil patch friends started showing up here because here is where the oil patch jobs moved to. (Does anyone know how much impact the "cajun invasion" had on Scotland?) We still had our east Texas peas and cornbread here and fried chicken could be found everywhere. Grits cover the land. And there is an ubiquitous glaze of BBQ. That is why I think of some of these things as specialized islands in a sea of Southern, if you will. Good grief... Just look at the "regional" variations in gumbo. I think I am getting a headache.

If you don't have "a ton" of pint containers, get some of those zip lock type freezer bags. With a little practice, you can smush out all of the air as you close them. Then you flatten them out and freeze them on a sheet pan. They don't take up as much room and thawing in hot water is a snap.

Heh... I was rooting around in a storage closet while ago and spied my hacksaw in my tool carrier. I was thinking of Dave's ceiling as I carressed it lovingly.

I had a loverly slab of polenta fried in butter for lunch. The oven method sure works for me. I did notice something, though. Someone needs to investigate the unusual heat retaining properties of fried polenta. That sthtuff never coolths off! *nurthing a thcorcthed thounge*

Now, see there? I didn't know that either. Is Dallas the nation's incubator for chains? I do have to say that I used to like Blackeyed Pea. Then they quit making their signature salad some years ago and I have been mad at them ever since.

Good point. However, if the place was built in '78, asbestos is pretty unlikely. Asbestos was phased out around '72 or earlier, even in industrial applications. Anyway, using a wet removal method is a good idea anyway. You don't want to be breathing that stuff.

I don't think your opinion is suspect at all. I kinda like it.

fifi finally checking in here... First, the ceiling. Given the way construction was/is done, I seriously doubt that there is anything above that dropped ceiling than the original ceiling. When building condo's they wouldn't have gotten "cute" or done anything overly complicated. The way I see it, you can either leave it alone and maybe replace the tubes with those new ones that have a warmer light. Or you can take it down and do something else, track lights maybe. With general lighting around the perimeter, maybe. A trip to a lighting store is probably in order. You might have to do something with the popcorn stuff and that would be messy but cheap. Counters... I have heard all of the wild praise for granite. I just don't get it. Even though I can afford it, I... Just... Can't... Spend... That... Much... Money. I feel the same way about the Corian and Silestone and that ilk. And I really don't like the look. I find it somewhat cold. I know it is practical. It is just a personal thing and I can see how some folks would love it. (I have a lot of friends that have those things.) I have had butcher block and really liked it. I am not sure I would do a whole kitchen with it though. I don't mind the "lived in" look it aquires. I just don't go for too much of the look. That is just a personal thing. I lived with my sister one time and she had tile. We liked it. A swipe with some clorox took care of all sorts of stains, including elderberry. The price is certainly right. I have mostly had laminate and actually love it. The way I work in a kitchen, I have never wrecked it. I really don't cut on it or sit hot pots where they don't belong. I am probably going to stick with it for the new kitchen. I will have a marble inset in the island, though. The design possibilies are endless and that is a lot of bang for the buck. I like bang for the buck. That is what keeps me going back to it.

I dunno... I like your shortcut idea. I have the little Le Creuset in the oven as we speak. I whipped up a cup of "artisan" cornmeal with the quart of water, the Parmesan Reggiano is grated, and I am set for a polenta dinner. We will see how this works out.

When nice, fresh, juicy ginger appears in my Asian market, I buy a big hunk of it. Then I clean, peel, and slice it and store it in rice wine vinegar in the fridge for later use. I do the same thing when galangal is available.

Wow! Who knew? I love Schlotzsky's.

That is what I want to know. Now... How do the commercial guys that sell the hulled, green pepitas do that?