Tropicalsenior

I've only had it once in Chinatown in Flushing, New York. And now I am confused. Is it used for making the tea or drinking the tea? All we were given was a big fat straw. It was a takeout situation so it would be impossible to give everybody one of these large spoons.

In the early seventies, I worked for a catering company that contracted all the food that went out on all the airlines from Reno Nevada. In those days we served real food. We had a pantry division, a real Bakery and I worked as a line cook. It truly was an efficiently run system. Each Airline had its own menu and at that time I can remember that United Airlines had the best food. We also contracted with a lot of private Airlines and some of the food was truly spectacular. One of my most memorable incidents was when two 747s loaded with Vietnamese War orphans had to be diverted from San Francisco and they were stranded on the runway in Reno for 2 days. The first day that we called them and asked them what we could get them the nurses replied that they needed 24 cases of diapers and a case of Valium.

And don't just buy a cheap import. Make sure the one that you get is a hard Stone, because the softer the stone, the more grit that winds up in your food. Buying a traditional one at the source as @KennethT did is always the best idea.

Although I don't use one, this style of stone grinder is popular all through Central and South America. If anyone gets a new one they do season them with rice. However most of them have been handed down through the families for Generations. I've never heard of anybody having any bad effects from sand in their food or chipped teeth from particles of stone.

I think what he is referring to is that mortar and pestles of this type need to be seasoned. There's a good article here on that.

This is probably one of my favorite ways to use white beans. The recipe below is just a template. I change it according to what I have on hand. I have made it with chicken, Italian sausage, and a smoked, kielbasa Style sausage and bacon for the protein. Tuscan White Beans and Sausage 1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage 1 tablespoons oil 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 to 3 plum tomatoes, chopped 1/2 cup tomato purée 1 teaspoon sage 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. I start with the protein, brown it in the skillet and remove to a bowl. I then put some butter in the skillet and add the diced tomato and since I can't add onion or garlic I put in mushrooms and celery. When the tomato has started to soften I add a splash of white wine. When that is reduced, I add chicken broth and the other tomato element. Sometimes it is canned diced tomatoes, sometimes tomato paste, sometimes tomato sauce depending on what I have. I add the sage, or sometimes I use Herbs de Provence instead. I let that simmer on low for about 20 minutes. I add the beans and let them simmer about 10 minutes and at the last I add the protein back in to reheat. I always cut the recipe in half except for the protein. You need about a quarter of an ounce of that. That means that you would just need half a can of tomatoes and about 3/4 of a cup of beans. It's a fun recipe to play around with because you can make it with whatever you have in the pantry.

Just got back from doing my regular grocery shopping and had this thought. Years ago in their futuristic prognostications they said that in the future things would be more streamlined and easy to do. Today was the perfect example. When I first got married in the sixties it would have taken me all day to put away $100 worth of groceries. Today it only took me 10 minutes.

@Norm Matthews I don't know what most people are using to access the forum but I'm sure there are quite a few like me that are using just their telephone. I have never seen a link at the bottom of any of the posts. Maybe it would be a good idea to put a link within the text once in awhile for those like me that do not get that notice. Fortunately, I bookmarked the link to your site a long time ago. With all that good food that you make, I'm not going to miss out on an opportunity to check out your recipes.

I've been avidly following your situation and your meals. For things that you are just throwing together they look very appetizing and nutritious. I was eating alone for 6 months after my husband passed away and it was sandwiches and whatever I could put on a plate. I lost 30 lb. Then I was fortunate enough to rent a room to a young Nicaraguan man and I had someone to cook for and someone to eat with. I think we need to start a new topic called Dining Alone. I think it would help to share ideas and the tricks we have found for making small portions and feeding ourselves when we really don't feel like doing anything. I know that there are quite a few other singles out there. So @Maison Rustique please keep on posting. Yours is one of the first that I click on when I see that you have posted something new.

This is what I have bookmarked.

Thank you Ann. For those of you that have never visited her site, I highly recommend it. It is one of the most beautiful, informative sites on the web. I was one of her biggest fans long before I ever joined eGullet. I've spent many happy hours there.

Found this on Google. At most, you can marinate this for 48 hours. After 48 hours, the chicken will become mushy.

These look so good. I did look for the recipe on your website and can't find it. Is this a recipe that you have posted? I did find a picture of Sticky Toffee Muffins but no recipe. They also look wonderful.

Something to perch on the edge of a pot to keep a pot from boiling over?

Decided to do something a little different today. I'm a little bit tired of my Sunday buns. So today I made individual pizzas. They are a great thing to send in Carlos's lunch and anything left over I put in Ziploc bags and store in the freezer. When I want pizza for lunch all I have to do is pop one in the microwave for 30 seconds and into the air fryer for 3 minutes and I have fresh hot pizza. The topping is salami, and pepperoni, with parmesan, gorgonzola, and mozzarella cheese. They look kind of messy but I guarantee you they are a tasty mess.

I should add that at the Country Club where I worked, this was served as a canapé on tiny toast rounds. I've never done that myself, too much work.

Good Lord! I take it that this is a festival dish not a typical weeknight dinner.

@Maison Rustique the butter cracker recipe really sounds good but I agree with @blue_dolphin that it might not be the best thing for transporting. My choice was always a high-end neutral flavored cracker. Much easier to carry and a lot less work. Another thing that would keep your work to a minimum would be to use anchovy paste instead of anchovy fillets. Just add the paste until the flavor tastes right to you. One time I was invited to an impromptu birthday party and I stopped at the store on the way there and bought a tub of cream cheese, anchovy paste, and crackers. I just mixed it up when I got there. It was the hit of the party.

Imagine getting on an elevator with somebody dosed in that. Although I think a few of the bums in our area are already using it.

Somehow I don't think it will be a best seller.

That's good to know. I do know that some years ago when I was in New York I checked every spice Outlet and every Chinese and Japanese Market I could find looking for wasabi and this is the closest that I could come. It's green but it's not really wasabi.

That's the problem. If you bought it outside of Japan it's not dubious or questionable you just automatically know it's not the real thing. But now we are all accustomed to using the phony stuff. About 98% of us wouldn't know real wasabi if it walked up and kicked us in the face.

I used to buy the Hawaiian bread in the big loaves in Seattle. I loved it and since I've been here I've tried several recipes. I can get the taste but I just can't get that fluff. Maybe it's the flour that I'm using but unfortunately I haven't much choice. I've never seen it with the salt on top but I will give this recipe a try. Thank you.

Perfect! Except now I'll have to change my perfume. Maybe I'll just dab on some anchovy paste.

Oh well. You and I have about the same amount of hair so we really don't need headbands anyway.