Margaret Pilgrim

sounds fabulous!

Side by side against a from-scratch pilaf, probably not, but heated slowly with a well seasoned liquid, some butter tossed in because why not, it warrants a spot on a dinner plate.

Am way past that. More in line with Piaf.

In my dotage I have discovered/decided that Strozzapreti are my speed. Mindless, idiot-proof, angst-free, impressive if only to me.

Duh. Sorry. Obtuse, here!

Thanks,Ts. Yes, I've made Orecchiette and, like you, found them a pia, which fired my questioning if further creating a shell was practicable. But as you say, proper dough and patience/practice are the determinants.

Not sure I am talking about the same problem/situation but with iphone, every photo I take is automatically transferred to both laptop and desktop, iPhoto folder on toolbar. Click on it and select photo(s) in order to pull them to screen.

On Calphalon, at least, I have found that it is indeed a chemical deposit rather than reaction, as I have been able to remove it successfully with feather-touch scouring. An anodized exterior Al-Clad, however, is irreparably defaced. It looks as if someone tried to remove the anodized finish. They only partially succeeded! Again, the interior is primo and at a couple of dollars it is just fine.

Wow! Never heard or even imagined such a thing. Do you think they were hand or machine made? Am having trouble mentally shaping them. Thanks for these.

Absolutely! Modern thought is that children will feed themselves as appropriate, rather than being fed what adults think proper, with possibly less adult obesity. Not pretty, but (have patience!) effective.

I have several flea market All-Clad pieces bought for pennies on the dollar which have been abused beyond any of our comprehension. Dishwashers do extraordinary damage to anodized aluminum, Calphalon as well as All-Clad. I am a master at resurrecting these pieces. Seldom back to factory condition, but quite satisfactory. As a garage sale and flea market maven, I have a skeptical opinion of middle class American consumerism. How do people buy with such abandon and consume with such little respect for product?

Neitherr have I followed her toast crumb trail.* I have used Delia to get a sense of style and tradition. I have very much enjoyed her Book of Cakes which I brought home from a 1980 visit. *I am still using my mother's mid-Century Sunbeam toaster. My d-i-l couldn't believe her eyes when she dropped in a slice of bread and it automatically lowered into the toasting chamber, crying out, "How did THAT happen?"

I have found that Delia's concepts and recipes work.. As objects of derision, you have Delia; we have Martha.

I grew up on Monterey Bay. My father loved to go clamming. We would bring home a bucket of clams, chuck them, cut them into morsels (these were big, 6" wide shells), and make New England style chowder, simply clams, their liquid, onions, potatoes, milk. Never herbs. Good eating. I also was fed raw clams on the beach with lemon and Worcestershire. Until my peers said, "eeeeeuuuuuuu!" and I stopped.

So someone. not you or I, are actually buying them, and supposedly enjoying them, at least for their short promotional life? Seriously, I am always boggled by the Chinese produced snack foods at my/these markets. Chips, crackers and candies of all flavors and conformations. I love cruising the isles, even if I understand little of what I see.

Where are they being sold? More specifically, where are you seeing them offered for sale?

Someone must be buying/enjoying these seemingly unfathomable Chinese flavors. My neighborhood Asian market has maybe 20 feet (x 5 feet) dedicated to flavored chips.

As a lifelong Northern Californian, I not only agree but propose that we cook some pretty awesome vegetables at home, too. You might enjoy thumbing through Jeremy Fox's "On Vegetables".

Indeed I have! All of the countries you list fall under the "they" category. "We" referenced middle America. :)

Years ago, when asked, I used to terrify friends who were planning dinner parties by sharing the list of foods husband didn't like. I finally stopped doing this and told them to cook what they wanted. And, you know? He scarfed up whatever these excellent cooks created. Often leading to requests for a new food or concept of a food. Succinctly, be yourself.

Reminds me of an old limerick: There once was a lady named Maud who was a deceitful young fraud. She never was able to eat at the table but back in the pantry, Good Lawd.

I have to wonder if chicken breast and pork tenderloin might be their regular fare, but not the limits of their palates. I.e., how they eat regularly for controlled calories and cholesterol, but might be willing, even excited, to splurge occasionally. (I can only hope..)

As suggested above, we need to give Asian cultures their due for excellent and delicious treatment of green vegetables. They celebrate them; we suffer them.

Got it.

"Nothing to eat" is the crux. I was a young child during WWII with strict rationing. My mother sourced as well a she could but there were many foods I chose not to eat. Mostly offal. There were enough vegetables from the victory garden that our plates generally had several things on them, and meat is not a daily necessity. Of course, if you were subject to starvation rations, like a friend who grew up in wartime Netherlands and whose family resorted to tulip bulbs, or a friend from Crete during Nazi occupation who said they lived off horta (wild greens) and snails, you would eat anything that kept you alive.l