Margaret Pilgrim

Late start to the country meant that hunger set in before our usual lunch haunts. Husband ask's "Popeye's, ?" Never been but why not? Walked into a "fried chicken" smelling dining room. Not in a particularly good way. Aware of the current super-sizing these places are giving their featured sandwiches, we ordered ome spicy chicken combo to split. Making like a Frenchman, husband pulls our his trusty pocketknife and halves the sandwich. Verdict: Gummy, perhaps ersatz brioche bun, thick slab of white meat, thick crust. Husband didn't like the heat level; I thought it was the only saving grace. Dill pickle seemed to be the only veg. A half of this sandwich was plenty for me; I left a quarter of that. Fries were "tasty" but soggy. I think Popeye's is not our thing. Next time, better to suck up hunger and drive 20 miles more to Lodi.

Arrived late in the country -> just get something warm on the table = .Packaged four cheese tortellini in boxed chicken bone broth And a little wine

Along with his other produce, a sweet gentleman used to sell baked sweet potatoes, kept hot in an insulated chest, at our Civic Center Farmer's Market, until one day when he didn't. He said that the health department had stopped his doing that because he had neither a commercial kitchen nor permit to sell prepared food. Stupid, stupid, stupid! These morsels were a wonderful winter breakfast treat. Stupid....

We celebrate, not question, the manner in which our kids, (hey, even friends) accept and appreciate vegetables. A chacun son goût. Well done. I may copy.

Time for honest confession. Husband took one look and taste of tonight's fuyus and asked for no further dressing. So... Naked fuyus from his tree. On to an extremely untidy artichoke/caramelized onion/Oaxacan cheese frittata Sloppily plated with portobello salad

Aha! Never thought of adding blue cheese to egg salad. 'Open a new window; open a new door..."

Actually, we could be twins separated at birth. Great list!

Dark chocolate Meyer lemon Warm fresh bread Salted butter White Burgundies Classic ragu French fries Green chiles with cheese Strong coffee with cream Butterscotch Mashed potato/lots of butter

It seems their numbers are recovering . Clicking on suppliers, it serms that Berkeley Bowl is mentioned. You might call ahead since they are seasonal.

Fresh cheese, red onion, EVOO Butter lettuce, EVOO, banyuls vinegar Packaged Italian sausage ravioli, butter and cheese

From Franci's sublime to my ridiculous, I went dumpster diving, er, sorry, freezer diving. Three diverse sausages -> + peppers, onion, potato. Husband cased the prep area and remarked, "Dumpster diving?" Maybe there IS something going on here. Seared in EVOO, splashed with white wine and chicken broth, fresh herbs. 20 minutes later = I've had worse and fortunately will hopefully never have the same ingredients OH at the same time again. Lots of leftovers. Oh, well....

Grapefruit Spaghetti, ragu

I'll tag along here since the spicing (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) in these fills the house with holiday thoughts. My M-I-L's persimmon cookie recipe includes blond raisins and walnuts as well as clumps of slurpy persimmon

Husband's "second breakfast" (he had apple pie for his first!), eggs easy-over on last night's pan roasted potatoes, hash browned.

Yum! This reminds me of a favorite "sandwich" I enjoyed at a fair in France. Listed as "Lard", it was a half baguette filled with grilled pork belly. With a cold beer... Oh, my!

Lovely, shain. This reminds me of another crepe dessert that I love for its simplicity. Sugar and lemon crepes

Momofuku dressed tomato and fresh mozz Lydia's chicken and potato casalinga, garlicky beet greens

Crumpets eta Recipe

"You've seen these before" fuyu with raspberry cream dressing Pork schnitzel, smashed potatoes, roast cauliflower

Avocado with "Russian/blue" dressing Rutabega/veal stock soup, creme fraiche, cubes of fresh pears

It's marked "SiliconeZone".

As I remember. the recipe made 3 pans worth, i.e., 24 pieces. You can also refrigerate the batter for a subsequent bake.

I used to make our dog a heartshaped Alpo "meatloaf" on his birthday. Doubt he noticed.

Did I mention the cupboard was bare? Veg crisper close to empty? Meat bin cleaned out? Smoked sausage, Dijon, curry-braised celery, caramelized apples Husband "filled in the chinks" with a couple of slices of walnut bread

I am totally impressed! When our first grandchild was born prematurely, her other grandmother sent the family a gingerbread house kit. The new mother had no time for such, so it came to me to assemble. I came close to coming as apart as the disparate house pieces. I finally traded duties with the au pair, taking her hours of housework in exchange for her construction skills.