SLB

This was published today: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/dining/missouri-high-school-hunting-farm-to-table-program.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eE0.TFOv.3vU--GYoOZoj&smid=url-share It doesn't really go in this thread, but -- Shelby, it made me think of you. It's true that I don't know you or Ronnie in all the ways that matter for this, but I immediately thought, OMG KANSAS KIDS COULD GET A MODULE FROM YOU TWO!!! Plus, Chum . . . .

I saw "The Taste of Things" this weekend, splurged for the big screen. Worth every penny.

Chili, my friend. No, it's not really beach food. However; it's kids, they can be ok with it. My vote is chili.

I have a love-hate relationship with the term "fatback". Honestly? I have no idea whether this is even a term that is used outside of African-American dialect. But I grew up with it, and was appalled at each and every utterance. Which should not be confused with a rejection of its seasoning . . . . Also? "Poke" prompts terror. This is not irrational though -- it's because, when poke became stylish in lower Manhattan, you would get served something perfectly described as "slop". **I have been to Hawaii, and had bona fide poke, which would never bring "slop" to mind. I guess I am only terrorized by the term "poke" anywhere outside of Hawaii.

^^ This. We need the details!

I collected my half-pig this week, and they sent along some of the organs: heart; liver; kidney; and the tongue (which I realize is not an organ). I'm fixin' to grow, y'all!!

I have to eat this ham that's been in my freezer forever, since the new ham is coming in this weekend (along with the rest of the pig). I am inclined to do the horseradish/mustard/citrus notion upthread, but I just thought I'd check: any new thinking on ham glazing??

I loved Montrachet enough to travel from Alabama for my 30s birthday dinners there. At the time, I had to come to NYC about 3 times a year for work, and saved up for fine dining per Reichl recs. It was, honestly, a wonderful way to, you know, budget.

I thought the game was, like, the US version of "Keep Calm and Carry On." [not that I ate any British food. I ate chili, dutifully.]. Anyway. Any championship that goes to the last play is just, well, excellent. Happy Kansas, @Shelby. I may have to fry up some parts, in honor. [Also, ahem: I have to get some room in this freezer, my pig is coming . . . .]

Chili and cornbread, every year. Super boring, but I'm not ever the actual host, so I just have to deal. I have to root for the 49ers in honor of a beloved late friend, who lived for that team. But I like Kelce, Mahomes, and Taylor Swift, so I think I'm gonna enjoy myself.

Last night I made a recipe from Food52 for dark chocolate olive oil banana bread -- why not? Anyway, it calls for half a cup of cocoa powder, and a pile of chipped up dark chocolate. The batter is deep and dark. And it instructs one to bake the loaf until "golden brown". ?! I went with the good ole "pulling away from the sides".

I don't know where our Heidi was on the Ukraine mess; but I wanted to discuss clematis with her yesterday, bad. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/07/realestate/ukraine-gardener-clematis-flowers.html And, I ordered plants for my spring/summer windowboxes, and I wanted to show her my 2024 orange-theory. Heidi was kind to me -- specifically, patient -- in a place of myself I discovered at 50.

Well, I'm glad you did your research before paying for it. I usually find out after the fact, sadly.

@TdeV, it's worth the money, once your recipe collections gets past a certain point.

Me neither. I'll be on the lookout, thanks for the heads up.

I am eating White Beans in Sauce with fried eggs on top. I am very happy, considering that I overslept and will not be going skiing on a bluebird day when it's actually snowed not all that far from me. I think I am straying off topic, though.

Right as rain! Dinner is: White Beans in Sauce; hamburgers; fennel salad.

So, after filling my freezer with the New Beef, I am broke and having beans as the side these days more often than not. Which led me to return to the Time Life Dried Beans volume from "The Good Cook". This was actually the volume that I first came across in a vacation rental, which led me to buy the whole series on ebay. Anyway, I'm currently making a Moroccan recipe, "White Beans in Sauce". It involves a pound of white beans; water; TWELVE TABLESPOONS of butter (!); FIVE onions (!); and saffron. Oh, yeah, also parsley at the end. I am expecting to like this sauce, a lot.

Macadamia nuts??? I don't even know what to say . . . .

I am just seeing this terrible news. <gulp>. Seconding everything said here; her humor was such a pleasure.

Oh, God. I'm reeling too.

I like everything. Those hearts and gizzards, my goodness. Downright inspiring.

@Duvel, I hope this will land in the non-molestive spirit in which it is launched: I love you, a lot. On topic -- some great ideas here! I'm supposed to eat a lot of leafy greens, too. When tired, which is often, I fry (I mean, sautee) almost any of 'em in a tasty fat with onions and garlic and chili. Shovel. The dregs are repurposed into the weekly frittata. If the green is kinda yucky -- like radish greens -- I add more garlic, and shovel faster.

I write with an intense exasperation, bordering on rage: what is up with the restaurant beans being served crunchy? Or is it al dente??? Whatever it is, I have HAD IT!!! First of all, I thought beans had to be fully cooked to be, you know, not poisonous. As an adult eater who has broadened her horizons, I do recognize that one does not have to cook beans to busted, which is how I understood them to be done in my home of origin. Repeat: busted. I accept that beans are done when soft and not busted. In fact, beans for soups and salads need to be done and not busted. I get it. I do it! All the time. But I am now being served beans that are goddamn CRUNCHY in fine dining settings. [I'm sorry for the profanity. But as I said, I have HAD it.]. The last time was from a wonderful, wonderful chef, in an otherwise brilliant cassoulet prepared to go with a four wine flight: '89; '94' 95' and 96 Chave Hermitage Rouge. I say this to say -- this was no half-assed game going on here. But. CRUNCHY. If it was the first time for this, I would possibly think it was, you know, a mistake. But it's not the first time. It's a lot of the time. Matter of fact -- it's getting to where I'm expecting beans in fine-dining establishments to be served crunchy. Is this what the pros are doing now??? Why? Why? WHY????

This is perfect!