Margaret Pilgrim

Is it possible for her to ship by air?

Looks super. Tell me about cotija cheese, please. What other cheeses can you compare it with? I think it isn't a "melting" cheese.

What is becoming a diet of "daily soup" , today = zucchini, cauliflower, new onion, half a cooked potato + creme fraiche Baby, it's cold outside!

Lunch soup ready now. Learned from a French hostess: 3 veg soup. Take any three veg, up to but no more than 5, simmer in water or broth until nashably" tender. Use stick blemder to puree, adding a knob of butter. Delightfully intriguing flavors, all different. Often toss in a spoon of curry powder, and usually top with a spoon of creme fraiche, sour cream or fresh goat cheese. Today's combo = cauliflower, zucchini, new onion, half a potato ->

Peppers with goat cheese Sweet Italian sausage, cauliflower penne, sauteed crumbs, Parmesan

Ahhh. With chives and thyme in a fine herb omelet! Bliss.

Tarragon is finicky in the best of herb gardens. I somehow miraculously have an abundance, well, abundance in tarragon terms, growing in mine at the moment. It will die back in the winter and who knows what it will decide to do in the spring. I depend on dried tarragon for cooking, Bearnaise sauce, chicken, etc. Works just fine. And fresh tarragon is no sure find in the produce aisle, even in California..

@Katie Meadow It's good hot, like today, or cold in the summer. Today's version was indeed minimalist. Two cooked beets chucked into the blender, one Knorr's beef gel, a large splat of sour cream, boiling water, whir and done. Then simple whipped cream and bottled horseradish. 5 minute lunch!

Country lunch. Resurrection potato salad = leftover hash browns augmented with leftover "boiled-for-breakfast" potatoes be Beet and beef broth soup with horseradish cream

Fabulous!

Brined pork chop, smashed potato, bok choy, pan gravy

What great presents you exchanged!

Yes! I use a two-tined fork, like this, to aerate many compact or dense foods, like mealoaf, or to fluff rice.

Green Goddess is so easy to make, ingredients so easy to source, unlike the elusive pickled ramp. Just chuck it all in the blender and pour. Back mid-Century, this used to be my cocktail party veg dip. Edited because NYT swooped in with the paywall again.

Cornbread with creamed corn and green chiles, cheddar cheese, a recipe husband tore out of a magazine for me to try Excellent Canned baked beans...inedible and tossed.

We have raccoon skat but never have seen one and they seem to leave produce alone. Now in town, that's a different matter. They ate most of the crop of our apple tree, and what they missed, rats ate. They also dredge the lawn for grubs, making it look like a mine field.

Picked this morning. The Hicheyas were hiding among the similarly colored leaves. They "weren't there" 10 days ago Somehow the birds missed them also!

The twins will be 6. Their older sister is 8. This is all of my own making. We were so taken (in) by the older child's response to her first birthday that we started a tradition which, as happens has kind of grown like Topsy When this child was around 3, she was "keeping me company" as I was setting up for a dinner party. She asked what i was doing, and I explained. She bellowed, NOOOOOOO! I don't want other people having a party in 'the Happy Birthday Room"! I could certainly trim the menu to a one-size fits all, but at the end of the day it wouldn't be that much easier. Besides, they think I can do anything, but more importantly have no concept yet of the limitations of age. (the one pictured above, at her second birthday party called out, "More bread!" Her father replied, "What else do we say, Sweetheart?" She replied in an equally strong voice, "Put butter on it!")

@Paul Bacino Bravo!

Trust me, a few come to mind.

Here. Well, er, not on hand for cooking exactly... Else, I'd just toss in more fennel seeds.

We've all done it. Tossed out a casual offer and been taken up on it. Twin grandkids birthday coming up and they traditionally have dinner here "in the Happy Birthday room", flowers, candles, cake et al. And so I asked their mother for their menu requests. They came this morning. "Daddy steak" for A Lamb lollipops for B Pasta for all. Pesto for A; Marinara for B. Parmesan on the side. "Ama carrots" (my style, roasted) Broccoli and cheese sauce, but A only wants stems. Cake I know, I know, my fault. eta. I forgot the cake. A wants lemon with lemon frosting, B wants chocolate with chocolate frosting -> one layer each flavor, cut in half and sandwiched with respective frosting, butted up against each other to make one two-toned cake.

Beets with horseradish cream and smoked trout Rib eye "steak au poivre", sauteed potato, grilled scallions

There is way too much angst over this recipe. It is essentially fresh ranch dressing. Mayo, buttermilk, pickled onions, lemon juice. I use Best Foods/Hellman's mayo, a combo of cocktail onions and green onions, Meyer lemon juice. LOTS of fresh cracked pepper. If you use any ranch dressing from any source, you are probably imbibing the same amount/proportion of buttermilk. It has no flavor profile in the dressing that sour milk, sour cream, yogurt, kifir, et al wouldn't also impart. This is a good salad and veg topping, also we might add, not bad on cold meat or even pork shoulder steaks.

In a good way or bad way? Grated,, salted, rinsed and squeezed, sauteed in butter.