Thanks for the Crepes

I'm looking forward to what you all get up to, @Shelby. I always enjoy these reports from hunting season in Kansas and what you cook from the bounty the guys and Chum bring in. Can't wait!

It all looks great, Rob, and I hope you had a lot of fun. Your Puerto Rico Express meal looks like maduros, a big serving of Moros y Christianos, and a pile of lightly cooked onions on top of maybe grilled fish? It's hard to make out whatever it is underneath those onions. Also I was surprised to see the black beans and white rice instead of Arroz con Gandules, which is yellow rice with pigeon peas. Although after to going to look at Yelp photos for PR Express, what you show seems to be their version of Arroz con Gandules. I am used to seeing the rice more yellow and the peas/beans more green looking. I've made the dish myself with canned pigeon peas and they were quite green. Thoughts? This little food stand sure looks like my kind of place. I'm having cravings for beef empanadas and maduros now.

The crumb looks great to me. I'm bad too when it comes to fresh bread out of the oven when it's still hot enough to melt butter. Back in my twenties, my then husband and I used to polish off a full-sized loaf hot out of the oven with slathers of butter. Whoever can resist that fresh-baked bread aroma is a stronger person than I.

@Toliver, Thanks for the link on the Cargill beef recall. My local news website ran the story, but did not specify that it was beef in chub packaging that was affected. They helpfully added that it had been shipped worldwide. I don't buy ground beef in chubs or in that carbon monoxide treated packing with expiration dates that are too far out to be credible, so I am more confident that I am safe with my frozen ground chuck that was freshly ground at my local Food Lion that day and then frozen by me at home. I cannot resist saying here that I think it is a really, really bad idea to grind the carcasses of many animals you can't trace back to their origins and sell them. It seems to me to be one of the places where economies of scale are just not worth it. This seems to be the scenario for all of the deadly e-coli beef recalls, or the ones I'm aware of, anyway.

I just finished a Philly Cheese Steak sub and bacon cheese fries delivered by my local pizza joint, Primo Pizza. Because I could for the first time in a several days. I also ordered up their eggplant parm with spaghetti and marinara and hot chicken wings. This will all be eaten over the course of about the next three days. I was lying awake looking out through the window at blue skies for the first time in nearly a week and watching a gazillion birds through my newly Mother Nature-pruned trees. I could not sleep and was hungry, so it dawned on me, why not order some really good food? I should be able to get some sleep now. I feel myself slipping into food coma mode.

Visually, without tasting these, I would definitely prefer the ones on the right without the eggwash. Just my opinion and I have no personal experience with mooncakes. The ones on the right are just prettier, and if you look at @liuzhou's posting, downthread of what we would expect to be authentic examples of mooncakes, the detail also seems to be more pronounced than what is going on with your eggwashed ones. If it were up to me, I would ditch the eggwash.

@CantCookStillTry, You can still keep your Cheese=Life philosophy. That plastic style cheese, at least in this country, is not even legally allowed to be called cheese. It is designated as "cheese food product", because it is NOT cheese.

I'm with you Kim. I hate American cheese food product but love real American cheese. Land O Lakes is good, but the Food Lion carries a Fresh Deli brand that is cheaper and very good too in white and yellow varieties. A must for queso dip and also makes a creamy stovetop mac and cheese.

Yes, heidi, I'm surprised at how good some of the seasonings I was able get at Dollar General are. Cheap too, and that probably encouraged me to experiment more than I would have at a more expensive supplier. The grocery store spices and herbs are super expensive around here. The other night I made popovers to go with some split pea soup I had in the freezer. I baked the popovers in a six-slot Nordic Ware muffin pan that fits in the CSO. These were so good! I usually made popovers in a jumbo 6-slot muffin pan, but it would not quite fit into the CSO and allow the door to close. The popover recipe was easy to split because the full recipe called for two eggs. My usual muffin recipe calls for only an egg for 12 muffins, so I guess beat the egg, measure and use half for a half recipe. Then yesterday I roasted chicken wings with garlic, rosemary, oregano and chicken seasoning from the dollar store that I found at the back of the pantry. served with angel hair with butter and parm and field peas with snaps. Tonight I had the rest of the chicken wings with store bought toaster waffles and part of a nectarine.

I also have to add that I am very much enjoying your sharing your experiences with us, @HungryChris. I have never been to Italy, but you have brought back to mind a pizza restaurant in the San Diego area circa 1965 or '66. I was six or 7 and it is my very first memory of an Italian restaurant. We would come here for pizza and I remember liking to get a lot of toppings but sometimes being limited by mom to cheese only for financial reasons. Dad was in the navy and hated cheese and pasta , so would never have been with us. I also remember telling the waiter that I wanted no dressing on my salad, and always having to have this confirmed with Mom, which infuriated my precocious self. Rambling on, my point is, that in all these years, I thought the red and white checkered tablecloths and the graceful wine bottles such as you are showing were just kitsch. This restaurant, had these same tablecloths and used wine bottles like that to hold candles, which dripped down the baskets. It turns out after all these many years, that my beloved little San Diego restaurant was much more the real thing than I ever knew. I am surprised how very delighted I am to find this out so late. Thanks for your posts!

BugFest Raleigh, scheduled for 9-15-18 has been recalled due to Hurricane Florence. I am not sure if they planned to offer raw centipedes, but Cafe Insectca, for real offers up edible insects every year. Not my cuppa, but apparently it attracts a lot of visitors. It does make one wonder if the health department subjects this novelty to the same scrutiny as they would a hot dog cart? We are making light of it, but rat lung worms. Eww!

The way my mind works, I may not notice something if it is unfamiliar and I'm not looking for it. That is why I love learning about ingredients here on eG so that if I do chance across them, I'll know something about them and maybe my overload filter will not just discard them. My culinary world is so much wider now thanks to this place, and I am so thankful for that.

Sorry that happened. I know it's scary. Here's a piece on where the most lightning strikes occur in the US. I was standing near (about 12 feet away) an electric pole in West Memphis, Arkansas at the entrance to the stock car race track on my way to check on my horse in the stable at the end of the road there during a storm. Lightning struck that pole and I have no idea why I am alive and writing this today. AR is number 5 on the list of most lightning strikes. I often worried about being caught in a storm when I was walking to the grocery store here in NC. We have frequent afternoon thunderstorms in summer, but I'm still here and I only got even rained on a couple times because I researched the forecasts before embarking. NC is number 7 on the list and 3rd for mortality from stikes. I came here from Memphis, and TN is number 10 on the list. My aunt still has a scar from a lightning strike on her stomach where she was washing dishes in my grandparent's home place in Louisiana. LA is number 2 on the list. My SIL's fancy Bernina electronic sewing machine was destroyed by a strike on their home in Durham, NC, but not, weirdly, their TV or computers. We read about people being struck locally frequently, so definitely not something to ignore! In your case, just taking advantage of the coolness of cloud cover and it not raining yet without any previous thunder or lightning, well it seemed like a smart idea to do some gardening. It has to strike first somewhere though, and sometimes you get caught out or are just plain unlucky. I figure I got my free pass under that pole in West Memphis, so I am extra careful now. I would have taken advantage of cloud cover close to shelter like you did under the circumstances you described. If it's gonna get ya, it's gonna get ya, but no need to tempt fate, for sure.

Yeah, I got one of these from S-Mart one time, and while it was highly anticipated as something I had never experienced before, I was disappointed. Still, anytime you can try something as a new experience is a good day, in my book.

I went to lunch today at Torero's Mexican Restaurant in Cary with my sister and her eldest daughter, my niece. Sis asked me where I wanted to go and I said I wasn't married to anyplace, and asked her what she was in the mood for and I would research it during her hour and a half drive to get here. A lot of the less expensive and really good places here are mom and pop's that are closed on Sunday. She said she was taking me to lunch, and to pick wherever I wanted, so after ascertaining that we all really like Torero's and weren't falling into a rut yet, we decided to go there. It was so good to see them! They were both delighted when I rose from my wheelchair and hobbled over to my crutches across the kitchen. I probably could have managed even without them on this trip, because my niece was kind enough to drop Sis and me at the door of the restaurant before parking and then pick us up there too, so not a lot of long distance walking. The chips and salsa are nice, but if I'm on the ball, I will mince some fresh jalapeno and bring it with me to add a little heat. The lunch menu is available on Sundays until 3 PM, and you get discounts on already very reasonably priced dishes. I ordered steak fajitas and Sis ordered the fajita burrito off the lunch menu and my niece ordered the fajita sampler with chicken, steak and shrimp off the regular menu, which is available during lunch. I think she has ordered this all three times we have eaten there. I almost always get the Carne Asada, but was feeling self conscious because Sis was picking up the tab, so I ordered the steak fajitas instead, which was $1 cheaper on the lunch menu. Well, the fajitas come with nearly the same ingredients as the Carne Asada platter, but the steak is not real skirt steak in the fajitas and it is in the Carne Asada. That wasn't the deal breaker, though. It's always so impressive, visually to see the steam and smoke rolling off the cast iron sizzle skillet when someone is served fajitas. Then there is the tantalizing aroma and the sound of the fierce sizzling. Well to get these effects which last several minutes, once the food is delivered, they have to heat that cast iron to approximately the temperature of the surface of the sun! This means that your food will be burned beyond a nice char where it touches the cast iron. I remembered quickly having to rescue shrimp in fajitas from overcooking from years ago by moving it to a cooler place. I like the sensual affects of fajitas, but today I remembered that they are a lot more show than they are well-cooked food. With the attention to detail, that this restaurant has continued to demonstrate over 20 years of patronage, they had placed lettuce leaves under the small ruffled tortilla bowls of Mexican rice and frijoles refritos that were also on the sizzle platter. The lettuce was fried to an almost unrecognizable crisp. That said, I still very much enjoyed my lunch, and will enjoy the leftovers tomorrow. Just next time, I will order the Carne Asada as usual and enjoy the delivery of fajitas to other tables. We talked about them going to the WEG Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC next week. Oh, how I wish I could go! Horses will be flown in from all over the world for this event, and not just any horses. The BEST horses in the WORLD. And they are going! They have promised to share many pics, and my niece, who is the photographer in the family has promised to send along photos of her dogs, cats and horses to help me forget I no longer have a pet of my own. We also talked about proper preparation of chimichangas when Sis considered ordering one for lunch. I told her the one time I ordered one at this restaurant, it was delivered much less crispy than I would consider good. Niece, who is already a good cook and has strong opinions on food prep, concurred that in order to be proper, a chimichanga must be fried crisp. I told them it was years ago, I had only tried it the one time, and that the cook who made mine might be deceased for all I know, but she didn't order one. They also talked about their new mandoline, and asked if I had one. I said no and told them that too many of the tales in the "I will never again ..." thread here on eG seemed to involve mandolines. They are enamored of theirs though, going on about the perfect slices it makes. I told them the stories about even using the guard, and a hand slipped into mayhem. I told them the stories about even with a Kevlar cut-resistant glove injuries occurring anyway. I stressed not using it while distracted and to really watch yourself when applying a lot of pressure. I hope I put the fear of the mandoline into them. The mariachi band was there again. Those guys are so handsome in their matching costumes and they are talented musicians. The trumpet player didn't seem as loud today, but did not add a mute to his repertoire. He was using a smaller silver instrument today instead of the larger highly polished brass one of the last time. The booths are spacious, deeply padded and comfortable. I can highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for good Mexican food with good service and a comfortable place to eat it. We certainly enjoyed it today.

My bad. Shoulda read it three times. I knew it was there somewhere. Hey, it's not authentic pizza in China without corn, right?

@chromedome, Thanks for the pics of your great-looking garden. I'm amazed you are harvesting (nearly) okra and lettuce at the same time. When I was growing them, the lettuce would have been fried to a crisp well before the time the okra even thought about flowering. Aren't the okra blooms beautiful? Okra is one plant that really tolerates heat well down here, so I'm surprised at your success with it in the Great White North. When you said you were going to plant some, I was thinking, "well, we'll see." So yah!

Yum! Having used toluene in paint strippers, where I had to wear gloves and a respirator, I'd be all over this product. Not. At least they left the corn off the second one.

Dear Jo, You work at a library. Could you not bring your excess tomatoes in there for your co-workers or the patrons? They would most probably very much love them. Just sayin.

Well, having read that this algae thing might be a problem, I simply take the water reservoir out and drain it. I let it dry out. It can take several days, but that's not usually a problem for me. I do not like any chemicals around food and we have heard one story about vinegar not really working. So for me, deinstalling the water reservoir seems to be the best way. It's a PITA, and if you need steam every day, then it may not work for you. For me, it works well.

Thank you Kim! It's perfect that I can freeze these since I am cooking only for myself now. Your recipe uses only half the amount of flour for the same amount of milk as the recipe I used. I think I will like this new recipe a lot better.

@blue_dolphin, So now I have to batter and fry some of the button mushrooms I have. I am blaming you when I am cleaning up the mess on the stove. I think I may use part besan and part wheat flour, and definitely nothing toward ranch dressing for dipping. I like well fried mushrooms fine on their own, but I will think about a dipping sauce, but nothing mayonaise-based.

I'm a big fan of fresh! jalapeno slices on pizza as well. I do not like the pickled very much, and have even been known to bring my own baggie of finely chopped fresh jalapeno to add to salsa at Mexican restaurants. I used to pickle jalapenos when I grew them because it was the only way to enjoy them during the winter. Still, I much prefer them fresh. Sometimes I can enjoy an Hawaiian pizza. This had the higher fat content, that makes it better to me. I was making it sort of frequently and my husband enjoyed it too. These were made with leftover Easter ham. It's not something I order at pizzerias, though. Those usually involve very lean deli ham, and just don't taste very good to me. As far as the Asian obsession for corn on pizza, while I love good corn and I love good pizza, corn on pizza is about the weirdest idea I have encountered.

Yes! this was the first justification I have ever seen for peeling tomatoes and it immediately brought @Shelbyto mind. Add to the constipation issue that there is a lack of privacy on smaller boats, and you have the perfect storm. So while it is not a comfortable issue for discussion, @Auspicioushas brought up some helpful information. This has sometimes been my most uncomfortable situation on smaller boats, especially with people I did not know well.

I know that many, many people like apple wood-smoked stuff, especially bacon. I don't. I prefer hickory. I have also tried smoking stuff with mesquite, and I don't like that either. I did try cooking chicken over mesquite chunk coals, and that was great. @Smithyturned me on to the mesquite cooked food, I just do not care for it as a smoking agent. So it can be a personal preference. It's also difficult to infuse cheese with smoke without melting it unless you have a sophisticated and expensive setup. I do love smoked cheese, though. HaHa, and I still smoke too, but I don't want my food to taste like that. Hickory for the win!