[What Are You Preserving, and How Are You Doing It? (2016–)]

I used to have access to an enormous amount of Meyer lemons.  I zested them, juiced them and froze both.  Still had too many and freezer was well stocked.  I tried dehydrating them and use them in tea, water and things like chicken piccata.  My relationship with the source ended, but now my friends that I have gifted with the dried lemons are on the lookout for lemons for me.  This was half of today’s haul.  I have a small cheap 5 tray dehydrator so I expect to to be going full blast for a week.

[Food in the time of a pandemic]

I was in Costco today, did not seem to be a shortage of anything.  Food prices are higher for some things like bacon.  Limit of one per customer Costco sized toilet paper.

[RIP Host David Ross]

What sad news.  I always looked forward to his posts with recipes included.  

[Unexpected Food Gifts]

@Anna NI must have missed @blue_dolphinpost, I’ll have to go back and read it.  Thx

[Unexpected Food Gifts]

I was gifted this box of hybrid plum/cherries.  They’re much sweeter that plums which I often find too tart. The person who grew them is a professor of horticulture at the local university.  I’m going to make chutney, preserves or jam.  May dehydrate some.  Any other ideas are welcome.

[Children Who are Fussy/Picky Eaters]

I was a picky eater as a child and in some ways still am.  My brother not at all. I didn’t eat meat until I was 12.  Family MD told my mom I was too lazy to chew. Red sauce with ground beef was acceptable. BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs were my gateway.  Then well cooked bacon.  Ate every vegetable. We had a salad every meal, my parents felt it was a luxury to live In California where the vegetables were so abundant.  Mom was from Kansas, Dad from Texas and we were barely blue collar. Didn’t and still don’t drink milk.  My only real issue now is any hunk of fat in meat or overly fatty mouthfeel.  My son is much less picky than I am but as a child could eat red bell peppers and cucumbers every day.  

[Stranger in a Strange Land]

@liuzhou so sorry for your loss.  Glad you had that last trip back for her birthday.

[Making Limoncello]

I get a lot of lemons this time of year and slice them fairly thin and dehydrate them.  Use the slices in tea and water.  Also as @Anna Nsaid, freezing the juice in ice cube trays and decanting into a zip loc is good too.

[What frustrates you when you try to organize your kitchen cupboards/pantry?]

Here’s my over the fridge cabinet.  It’s full of bags of dehydrated lemons some stuffed into the vases stored there.  The front of the cabinet has sugar and flours.  I can reach the stuff in front but need a step stool to get to the lemons.  I use the lemons everyday in tea but I have one zip lock in a lower drawer where I can reach it.

[Buying a house - ideal kitchen?]

Definitely counter space.  When I remodeled my kitchen , I doubled the counter space and it’s the thing I appreciate the most.  Next best improvement is the six burner gas stove.  Under cabinet lighting is also worth it.

[Food in the time of a pandemic]

I am also tired of cooking.  At first it was an adventure with grocery delivery and meal planning.  Now it’s a chore.  I have access to all kinds of food for delivery and curbside pickup, but I just want to have a nice meal in a restaurant.  I did go to a ‘bubble’ friend’s house for dinner last night which was nice and food was good but I want a meal IN a restaurant.  Whenever we are able to and it feels safe to me, I have a list of local restaurants to go to.  That helps.

[RIP member suzilightning]

Quite a loss, RIP Suzi 

[Food in the time of a pandemic]

@heidih I just pulled out my copy and couldn’t find stained glass cookies in it.  Looking thru it was a trip down memory lane.  I may make the molasses crinkle cookies.

[Food in the time of a pandemic]

A lifelong friends husband had a stroke in March, then two other diseases were discovered both of which cause clotting.  Many complications have ensued.  I’ve been making dinner or baking for them about once a week. They could afford to have food delivered but my friend said it’s so comforting when friends cook for them.  My friend and I started cooking together from the Betty Crocker Cookbook for Boys and Girls when we were about 8 yrs old.  It certainly does feel good to do this.

[eG Member Brooks Hamaker (Mayhaw Man)]

@Son MayhawI loved reading everything your dad wrote, it was so filled with joy, humor, and love of food.  So sorry for your loss.

[Christmas Eve/Christmas, New Year's Eve/Day 2020/21]

After I made ham and potatoes for my son and turkey and stuffing for myself on Thanksgiving, we decided to have whatever we wanted for Christmas.  So far, the votes are for beef filets and Dungeness crab.  Maybe a vegetable, Brussels sprouts with bacon.  New Year’s Day will be snacks, probably make his favorite bacon wrapped water chestnuts.  Make try to sneak some bacon wrapped dates in there too.  Mimosas with Costco prosecco.  I’m saving my bottle of Veuve for the inauguration.

[Grains You Like When Not Eating Rice]

I love barley, farro, and freekah.  Usually use the barley in soup, farro and freekah as a salad base.  I am so done with quinoa.  A friend owned a company that did agricultural packing.  When quinoa became popular, that’s all they packed for a while.  I still have bags of regular, red and tri-color quinoa in my pantry.  Bob Dylan’s son was the quinoa supplier.  He imported it from Peru, IIRC.

[Thanksgiving USA 2020]

It’s just my son and I.  My son wants ham, I want turkey.  He wants au gratin potatoes and dressing.  Ordered groceries for pick up yesterday.  I ordered a small fresh turkey breast, they called and said they were out.  I blithely said they could substitute any other fresh breast.  Ended up with a full organic breast at almost triple the price.  Think I will resume doing my own shopping as they forgot a few items as well.  Making pecan pie in a couple of 7 inch cast iron skillets tonight, otherwise nothing has been done in advance. We probably won’t eat until late afternoon.

[Appliance You've Purchased But You Use the Least (and probably don't need)]

The juicer I bought after a friend lost 30 lbs juicing.  Never used it. Still have the extra pounds.  The mini blender stick I bought when my cousin worked at Sur La Table. Definitely the spiralizer.  All collecting dust.

[Camping, Princess Style]

Thanks for taking us along, once again.  I love your stories and scenery.

[Cooking with "This Will Make It Taste Good", by Vivian Howard]

I got my copy yesterday and have just started to read thru it.  I volunteered as a poll worker for the next 4 days, so I won’t be cooking anything until next week.  LGD sounds really good.

[The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)]

@Anna Nso happy to see you posting more regularly again.  I’ve missed you.

[Dinner 2020]

@Norm MatthewsHappy Birthday!

[Dinner 2020]

I made larb tonight but it wasn’t the larb I wanted .  I’ve made it maybe 4  times, the first was the best. I can’t remember what recipe I used, going  to go back and read the thread on it.  

[Food in the time of a pandemic]

I pandemic ordered 5 lbs of onions a few weeks ago.  Every time I walk into my kitchen, I smell raw onions.  It’s been driving me nuts.  I finally threw all of them in the slow cooker tonight to make (and freeze) caramelized onions.  But I swear I thought smelling onions was a sign of Covid until my brain finally made the connection that I was smelling onions because I had a surplus of onions. I did wise up and take out the garbage bag of onion trimmings, but geez my brain is compromised by all that is going on.