Thanks for the Crepes

I was intrigued by your question, but unfamiliar with the term "sick". I know "wicked" and "bad" are used with inverted meanings in the US, but hadn't heard "sick" used that way until you brought it up here. Here's a link that explains it might be used in the inverted sense to mean the kelp cured cod was actually indeed very good. I'm no expert on slang or texting, and will be looking forward to input from much hipper folks than I am.

Yes, I live alone now too and eat whenever the mood strikes. It's nice in some ways, but I miss eating with my husband. When he lived here instead of the nursing home where he has to be now, I had to have dinner ready on a rigid and earlier schedule when he was still working construction. They start early! Then when he "retired" (just quit working without any income) he started drinking heavily and demanded dinner whenever convenient for him. Sometimes late, sometimes early. This was so not fun for me. : -( Many is the dinner that languished while he continued drinking or I just ate by myself while the food was at its peak. So in some ways, although I don't like eating alone, I like being able to cook what I want, when I'm hungry and feel like it. I made tuna and peas with caramelized onions in white sauce over toast with a Caesar salad tonight and ate at about 8:PM, which is early for me now, left to my own devices. Sometimes I eat as late as midnight. It depends entirely on when I get hungry. While there are so many downsides to living alone, being able to eat exactly what you want when you want it is not one of them, for sure. You don't have to worry about something being too spicy or whatever when you don't have anyone to please but yourself. I'd still trade some considerations/constraints for the right dining companion though. It just would never be my husband again. He wants to come home so badly too, but that is not to be. He's too disabled to live here again. Technically, so am I, but my condition is temporary and I will come back to fitness and negotiating stairs and such. Yes, people who are on work schedules or have children need a rigid meal time, usually quite early. Thanks for making me realize that I am blessed for having the freedom to eat whenever I please. I definitely need to focus on the positives in my life right now.

Perhaps you should also head to a spice supplier, because you have available many other ingredients for Indian cooking at home. You were most helpful to me when I asked about Indian Vegetables I was ignorant of. Turns out that many of those are also available in China. I love Indian food too. Most of it looks like a dog's dinner, but it sure tastes good.

I'm not Elsie, but HamBeens is a common brand of soup mix here in these parts. I find it with the regular dried beans in the grocery store, but haven't used it in many years. They still have it though, so it must be pretty widespread if Elsie knows about it and finds it in Canada.

I hate to say this but if you look up coothless on Google with "defintion", the fourth entry is from a hate site. The first time I looked it up, only a little while ago, it was third. So while we all know what it means, and I admit to looking up the definition of couth some time ago, cuz I'd heard and read uncouth, but never couth ... Perhaps this word should be retired. First of all, it's not a "real" word and seems to be used on a lot of hate sites. (See link) I'm not faulting Jo. I know she's extremely erudite and just using a term that everyone understands, as I have done many times. I love creating language! Back to topic, the dinner tonight was a large Romaine, cocktail tomato, white onion, carrot done in curls with a vegetable peeler and pepper salad. This was dressed with olive oil, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, salt and pepper. This was followed with a large serving of red beans and rice and a Pepperidge Farm Apple Turnover. It took me almost an hour to make the salad from my wheelchair, but it was worth it. Other dinners have been pork spareribs cooked in my crockpot. That in itself is a challenge and the IP, which is even heavier is out of the picture so long as I can't walk around and carry things freely. I had baked butternut squash with this along with briefly boiled broccoli with cheddar cheese. I try to eat a lot of dairy for the calcium and canned smoked sardines have featured as a protein frequently for the Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, calcium and protein, but I have to tell you, that while I crave these occasionally, they can get old if you try to eat them too much. I'm enjoying the cornbread I cooked earlier and froze. I slather it with butter and, oh man, it is good, reheated in the CSO. I am going to have to sharpen my knife. It's really dangerously dull. I haven't done this since I was injured in early November, and this is on my to do list for tomorrow. I will need to figure out the best way to do it, sitting or standing on one foot, but it's getting done before I injure myself further. Bet on it.

Many of my favorite frozen homemade dishes used to be inspired by Stouffer's. I figured if they could make it work, I could do it better because I wasn't so focused on saving 1/26 cent per unit. I was right. Stouffer's used to be really good, but the name was sold to a big corporate entity, which I am too disgusted to look up. Here is my rendition of the Ham and Cheese Crepes they used to sell frozen. They're no longer available. Ham and Cheese Crepes (makes 12) Marcella Hazan's recipe for Crespelles w/1/4 t baking soda added. (There will be a cook's treat here, because you only need twelve) 16 oz. pkg. Land'O'Frost hickory smoked ham 8 oz. Swiss cheese, grated 2 c medium white sauce 2 T white wine added to the white sauce Lay out each crepe/crespelle and lay down three slices of ham down the center of the crepes. There are always exactly thirty-six slices of smoked ham in the Land'O'Frost 1 pound pack, in my experience. Then divide the grated Swiss over the top of the ham slices. Ladle out the white sauce over the cheese and ham and roll up the crepes. Lay out plastic wrap and roll your assembled crepes up individually and place in Zip Lock then freeze. To cook and serve that day, heat oven to 350 F and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 F and cook another 10 minutes. The Stouffers company sold these things to be microwaved, and back in my working slave days, I did that at work. My standards had to be lower then. I recommend baking them for the crispy edges and a little browning on the cheese. Of course, you will want to extend the bake time for frozen ones. Unfortunately, I failed to make notes on how I did that, but these things freeze and retherm like a dream. I guess with the corporate view for investor profit, the food cost was too much. These are cheap to make though; the company that took over the Stouffer's name just wants only stuff that's dirt cheap, as far as I can tell anymore. I used to get their lasagna because it was as good as mine. Nope, not anymore. Their mac and cheese, which is another great dish that freezes well, was something I'd buy as well. No longer. Even that has gone the corporate way. It is just a name being exploited by Wall Street now. @JoNorvelleWalker, You have said the Stouffer's Spinach Souffle is not available to you. I buy it regularly, although it ain't what it used to be. I don't think they bother to whip the egg whites. It's more like a spinach custard. If you want the ingredient list, let me know.

Me three on the Camparis. Food Lion has been out of them since November, though. They had them all winter and summer long last year.

I have about a dozen dish towels. I store them in the drawer in the microwave cart, and normally hang one either on the oven handle or the refrigerator handle closest to the sink. Now that I'm in a wheelchair, the in-use towel has to live on the counter by the sink so I can grab it without moving the chair with wet hands. I have a couple terry ones that don't get used very often because I don't like them for kitchen use as well as the thick, flat cotton kind. The dishwasher reluctantly dries my dishes, and I wipe up spills with a sponge or one of the rags from the laundry room. Worn out dish towels make the best rags. Mine last a long time, though since I only use them to dry clean hands. My favorite towel, and I do use it, is the one with cats and fish woven into a design in the towel. It's one of the Cat Things my stepmom gave me before she passed on. It means a lot to me and reminds me of her, but it's also the thickest, softest most absorbent one in my kitchen.

Last night was a spinach salad, raw and a one pot macaroni and beef. I always try to make a single serving of this with a four ounce frozen ground chuck burger and a half cup of elbows rounded out by some white onion, a little pepper, this time it was green bell (please look away @rotutsand other bell pepper haters ) and a 14.5 oz can of whole tomatoes. It always ends up being two servings, so the other one is in the freezer, and that's fine, because this is a dish that stores and reheats very well. I used a very fragrant and delicious Turkish oregano from Penzy's in the dish. I'm picky about my oregano, and don't like Mexican that much at all. This Turkish version, I can get along very fine with, though. Tonight's dinner was inspired by @spaghetttti's post in the Breakfast thread. She made some nice biscuits, but regretted not having sausage gravy to go with. I haven't made sausage gravy with fluffy biscuits for years and decided to correct that ASAP, and that happened here tonight. Canned peaches from a big can I opened to go with cottage cheese the other day for dessert.

This is probably false. You need a container that will hold 5-7 quarts of oil for common passenger vehicles with room to move that nasty oil out from under the vehicle without spillage. With inexpensive plastic containers like this one, that are of adequate size, why would anyone try to use a skillet? Also, with these specially designed drain containers, you can seal them up and carry the used oil back for recycling to the auto parts store where you bought your fresh oil. This service is free at Advance, last time I availed myself of it. I always changed my own oil or had a boyfriend, husband or relative change it, and I have never seen anyone suggest using a skillet. IMO I would not worry in the least that old cast iron has been used to drain used motor oil. It doesn't make sense. Most skillets would be way too small, and then what would one do with the used oil?

I am just now calming down from belly laughing @GlorifiedRice's post about the eggs.

I agree with this. We need protection from food fraud and adulteration for profit from unscrupulous vendors. This has always happened, is happening today, and I believe it is a great service that our government provides in ensuring the safety and purity of our food to the limited extent that is even possible. At least the dirty players have some motivation to stay within the lines of decency. I also agree that the person who burned themselves at the drive thru with hot McDonald's coffee is ridiculous. Should the rest of us who can be more careful with hot drinks suffer through our mornings with lukewarm coffee because of this developmentally challenged person? I also don't like that we can't buy unpasteurized cheeses here. I probably wouldn't even like 'em, because I'm not a fan of stinky cheeses, but they have been produced for thousands of years and as far as I can tell, no one has been harmed by them. It is a complex issue. I think we can all agree that we need to keep baby formula free of melamine that tricks the tests for protein into registering higher. I think some folks were executed over that one. The bolding on the word supplement in pastrygirl's above quote is mine. Did ya'll know that the FDA does not test, or really regulate in any meaningful manner, dietary supplements? I didn't until I did a little recent research on vitamins that I need for bone repair. I tried to find out if the vitamin and mineral supplements added to food like breakfast cereals, breads, and Eggo waffles are tested and regulated by FDA, but apparently I was unable to word my query correctly to return any meaningful info. Does anyone know if supplements added to food are ever verified? Bottom line is that especially with dietary supplements even with the FDA here, which does not oversee those, consumers should be especially vigilant when purchasing any supplement. You have to do your own research. That's why apricot kernels belong with the supplements and not the snacks, IMO.

Homemade rosemary olive oil cornbread with Campbell's Bean and Bacon soup. There seemed to be no bacon at all in this batch. The much cheaper version from Dollar General (like half price almost) sports much more bacon and tastes better. Oh well. At least the cornbread was good and I have a huge amount in the freezer. The cornbread was cooked in the CSO and came out very delicious.

That is what I'd call a New York Strip or strip steak, which is on the other side of the T-shaped bone from the tenderloin. Not my favorite steak, as I tend to favor the flavor from the rib and shoulder. I hope you enjoyed the steak. I should not say one more word, so I won't.

Noted. I have made both pasta and white clam sauce and clam chowder because I'm getting down to some canned ingredients cuz I can't get out of the house. Bouillon is of course not nearly as overpowering a flavor as homemade poultry stock. I usually avoid both in seafood applications, but it always comes to mind to try and I may just do so. Those look like very desirable small clams. Big ones are easy to find here, little ones, not so much.

Well we have biscuits available from McDonald's here in the South, and I think @rotuts or perhaps someone else located more northerly has said they are unavailable up there. That is nothing like the weird manifestations of pizza that seem to come out of Asia, though. Corn on pizza, really? and it seems very popular.

How old is it, Jo? Can't be that old, I don't think.

I'm glad you have had good experiences with all the Subways you've encountered. Consider yourself extremely lucky. I can't believe that Cary and the surrounding area is the only place that has Subway franchises from gross to excellent. Just so's you don't think I'm crazy, here's a Yelp link to Subways close to me and the ratings range from 1 to 5 stars. If you take the time to read the reviews, which I do, the ratings will usually match the restaurant experience around here. We have a ton of these franchises in the area and most of them are really lousy. I was reading a review from a woman who experienced wilted and slimy spinach being put on her sandwich just like I did the last time I darkened the door of a Subway. I mean the employee "sandwich artist" wasn't blind. She saw exactly what slop/garbage she deliberately placed on my sandwich. That kind of gross experience sticks with you. It will be a while before I ever go to a Subway. The good experiences stick with you too. That last horrible visit was because I was craving roast beef with lots of veggies from Subway after eating at the location inside Duke hospital, Durham. What can I say? It's a total crap shoot around here. Sorry you can't get the Reuben, but if it's any consolation, the one photo I saw of one from around here showed extremely little meat in proportion to the bread and twice or more saurkraut as meat. I do not think that is the way to make a good Reuben. Besides, aren't proper Reubens toasted or grilled? Seriously, around here, the Subway experience can occasionally give you the craves, but more frequently a case of the skeeves.

I have heard of them as a destination for desperate cancer patients to go to Mexico for laetrile. It's legal there, I think, and not here. I have known cancer victims to get very, very desperate. This is a sad disease. And, nope. I do not agree that apricot kernels are something to snack on for fun or tastiness.

Erm? Beg to differ. The output from various Subway stores varies so much that it can be craveable (location inside Duke Hospital, Durham, NC) to execrable and inedible (my closest location on Chatham St.) If you find a good franchise, go for it and lucky you. Otherwise, proceed with extreme caution. Ha Ha. Just searched for the offending nearby one, and it has disappeared. Thank you, Lord, for your kind mercy on unsuspecting hungry patrons.

Hey there, neighbor! It's nice to see someone else from Cary join the forums. You came to the right place to learn about and share your knowledge of food. I used to think I knew a lot about food, but I have learned so much here. I learn something new almost every day. I'm looking forward to hearing about your take on the Cary food scene. See you in the forums, TftC

They do indeed look like good pasta and at a very good price. I'm more familiar with the "Gigli" variety as Campanelle. While it is beautiful, it shares a characteristic with Farfalle that I dislike. If you want the interior regions where the pasta is in double or more layers done even al dente, you are forced to cook the exterior outer edges to approaching mush. The Gigli is the worst offender for this I've tried to cook. Visually though, who doesn't want a lily flower trumpet of pasta to hold their sauce. So pretty! Please let us know if you can get more success cooking this lovely shape than I have been able to achieve.

I bought a jar of Nutella for my nephew and niece when they visited. There is a lot of oil in it. There's nothing healthy about it, and the chocolate flavor doesn't come through over the oil to me. Don't get me wrong. I'm game for the trashiest food imaginable if it tastes really good to me. Nutella doesn't do it for me either. I hear the European formula is different, better and I'd love to give that at least a try sometime.

New Years day was a chuck eye steak and home fried potatoes. I thought I had some black eye peas in the pantry, but that didn't materialize. The next day was scrambled eggs, whole 12 grain purchased toast and spinach salad. Then tonight was a gift from the freezer. Greek style braised chicken in tomato sauce with onions, mushrooms and freshly cooked thin spaghetti with iceberg lettuce. No dressing on the lettuce, but it was good dipped into the tomato sauce. The spaghetti was Barilla White Fiber. I got this from a food bank pantry a few years ago and have been totally averse to the idea of messing with pasta ever since. As I said before, when I tried it the first time, there is no fault to be found in this product. It truly does taste like regular pasta, same texture. I guess I'm still reverberating with my one go at whole wheat pasta which is apparently made of sawdust.

Last night was a braised pork butt steak with onion gravy, spinach salad and a baked sweet potato with butter. Tonight was fluffy scrambled eggs Florentine, lima beans and purchased 12 grain bread toasted. Blueberry Greek yogurt for dessert, and as always lately a pint of milk for beverage. I'm getting better at cooking from the wheelchair. You just have to be patient and realize it's going to take a lot longer than usual.