Tropicalsenior

We are so lucky here. Costa Rica has excellent pork and in over 20 years I have never gotten an unsatisfactory piece. Sometimes the cuts are a little strange, but that is a cultural thing. My first thought when I saw the price on your pork was, 'Man, you're paying a lot for that lil' string bag'!

Holy cow! And I have been complaining about pork going up to about $3.50 a pound here in Costa Rica. And we have excellent pork with no shortages.

It has everything to do with the method of cooking. I wish I could find the article that I read by an eminent food scientist that explained it so simply. Cooking eggs underwater causes the membrane, especially in fresh eggs, to fuse to the egg. Streaming the eggs causes the membrane to fuse to the shell.

this thing has kept me in stitches all afternoon. Maybe I'm just sadistic.

So I have a weird sense of humor.

That was exactly my thought. The Chinese are clever people. I could imagine a tiny press 6 inches high.

Okay, I give up. What in the world is sparrow juice? I can't find it on Google and I am left with the image of a tiny copper duck press. The only other image that I have is unspeakable.

Heard a Dr. on TV saying in this time of Coronavirus staying at home we should focus on inner peace. To achieve this we should always finish things we start and we all could use more calm in our lives. I looked through the house to find things i'd started and hadn't finished, so I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiumun srciptuns, an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how feckin fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner piss. An telum u luvum. And two hash yer wands, stafe day avrybobby!!!

If that is somebody's idea of progress, Lord help us all! If it was something that could actually print out and make the different kinds of cheeses I would put my order in tomorrow for two of them

Love it! I have already sent it on to my friends and family and I'm getting back the reply from everyone, been there, done that.

I did that once when I was first married. You could have resoled your shoes with them.

Yes, I would be interested but not if the memories make you sad. It does, however, explain your love for unique, interesting, quality food. It also explains why you are such a good cook. Many times I have drooled over pictures of your food. You have no idea how many times you have sent me to the internet looking for the definition of one of your dishes and the recipe.

I loved this so much that I used it as my Christmas greeting this year. All my friends and family enjoyed it as much as I did. I did accidentally send it to a niece who is a born-again Christian (I don't quite understand this, it seems like once should be enough for anyone). She thought it was hilarious My grandson even had it enlarged poster size and hung it in his office. He works for Amazon. Thank you for the great Christmas humor.

Today I came across a topic that was started in 2002 by Ivan, who is no longer active. It was fascinating and it is wonderful to see the diversity of the members and to be able to share in their heartfelt reminiscences. I think that this topic deserves resurrection. These are all Ivan's questions from the original thread. https://forums.egullet.org/topic/12849-how-we-ate-growing-up/ "What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Was meal time important? Was cooking important? What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? Who cooked in the family? Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? When did you get that first sip of wine? Was there a pre-meal prayer? Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Even though other threads cover memories of specific foods or dishes, please include those memories here if they illustrate your family's food culture."

Yes, please explain! I'm beginning to have these terrible images running through my mind.

That's why I say befriend your local vendor. If you are true to your word about picking them up, they will usually bring you some the next week. Or get their phone number, and ask them a couple days ahead of time. My local vendor is very accommodating about this,because I give him a couple English lessons each time I see him .

I'm sorry, I forgot that up there you don't have year-round farmers markets.

Has anyone ever thought of making friends with a tomato vendor at a farmers market? My husband loved Fried Green Tomatoes and that is where I always got mine.

Or from China.

Thank God, I thought that it might be something that came from Costa Rica.

I have no idea where this is, it just showed up on my Facebook page. But wherever or whatever it is, I think I'll pass.

Yes, lindag, it was sad, because as relatives, we were expected to eat them and that woman had a memory like an elephant. I was always on her list.

A really great article. Thank you, I enjoyed that. I won't say that my mother-in-law's food was actually dangerous but it certainly was stomach-turning. Another of her favorite tricks was to save bacon grease in great big tins in her pantry and that was what she used to make pies, cookies and cakes. Everyone that knew her was either on a diet or too full when they got to her house to eat any kind of sweet.

It reminds me a little bit of a sign I saw in a butcher shop here in Costa Rica. Bistek de cerdo. Translation, pork beef steak. And trying to explain the absurdity of it to the butcher was like trying to explain it to the animal that it came from.

If it didn't look like it had enough flavor, she would add half a bottle of ketchup.