Tropicalsenior

It's interesting that this article brings out something that a friend and I were discussing the other day that in the aftermath of the Black Plague living conditions were actually better for people in Europe. "it wiped out 30-40% of the population on the entire planet. Those who were left behind found that there was a lot more food to go around." If history really does repeat itself, maybe there's hope that some good will come out of this one.

Gorgeous! My mouth is watering just looking at that.

Me too, it's a company that started in Mexico and is now the predominant bread company in Central America.

About 15 years ago, this came taped to a loaf of Bimbo bread. Best free gadget I've ever gotten.

That's the type of potato masher that I grew up with. It wasn't as pretty as that but my mother sure made good mashed potatoes. I haven't been able to find one like that for years. I'm glad you found your new potato masher. Maybe not state-of-the-art but sometimes old style is the best.

That looks so good and so easy. What is the base sauce of your white pizza?

This is my idea of thinking outside the box. Two beautiful meals that just make sense.

I really like your concept of breakfast.

It looks delicious. Fortunately sweet potatoes will keep for quite a while. This is one of my favorite ways to prepare sweet potatoes. It is relatively quick and a nice Asian flavored side dish.

I am so glad to hear that. Because that was just a polite way of saying, "I've got to hear more. If this guy thinks I'm going to believe somebody stuck feta in their tacos a hundred years ago, he's nuts". That said, they look delicious.

Interesting, the meatballs look nice and moist for being turkey. What is the history of the recipe? Is it from your family?

That would be fun, and oh so easy to get carried away. Wooden spoon set, whisk, apron and oven mitts. Things that she will treasure forever.

Good point!

My grandson just let me know that he has ordered my bags. He was kind of incredulous that I was asking him to bring plastic bags to Costa Rica but he's getting them. Just the word from the horse's mouth, head office at Amazon, and this is a direct quote from him. "Keep in mind a lot of this stuff takes longer to get to me because shipping #$%^ is messed up right now Prime shipping or not". It seems that right now about half of my wishlist is in jeopardy. If you want to order anything for Christmas, order it now!

I liked the idea so much that I went to Amazon to see what they offer and I found this https://www.amazon.com/YIHONG-Produce-Reusable-Drawstring-Colorful/dp/B07G9T9JLK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=mesh%2Bshopping%2Bbags%2Bfor%2Bproduce&qid=1639090328&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1 I can't order things on Amazon here in Costa Rica because of the cost of shipping but I've got a grandson that works at Amazon and he's coming to visit right after Christmas. This has gone on my wishlist.

Ooooh! That's terrible! I love it. I think that's going to be my Christmas card this year.

I love that idea. I'm going to have to see if I can find any here.

I don't know why they don't all use them. It's faster, it eliminates the need for a separate bagman, it has a neat little area in the center to put items that need to go in last and it makes it so much easier to accommodate difficult people like me. They do it with a smile, at least I think they do. Hard to tell with the mask.

The store that I go to has something that seems to be unique in our area. It is a carousel that sits at the end of the checkout counter. The checker can hang five or six bags on it and rotate it to put things in the appropriate bag if necessary. I wish that I had taken a picture of it today. The people in this store are really something special. There is a store from this chain that is less than a mile from my house but I drive almost five miles to this one just for the service.

Oh, those plastic bags are just the worst. Not only are they getting cheaper and more flimsy, now we can't take off our masks to lick our fingers to get them open. Not to mention that our fingers just don't work as well. Did I mention, we have some of the best Checkers here. I've never come across anybody that doesn't bend over backwards to help once they know you need it.

I just got back from shopping, which I only do once a week. My blood pressure can't stand the shock of the rising prices more often than that. I realized that I have developed a system of shopping that accommodates most of my weaknesses. When bringing your own bag became absolutely mandatory here, I bought a lot of inexpensive colored bags. Now when I get to the checkout counter, I have three requests of the checker. First and most important don't fill the bags too heavy, second, put all the refrigerated things in the blue bags, put all the vegetables in the red bags and everything else in the green. I make sure that I separate everything on the conveyor belt just to make it easier for them. Everything in the blue bags has to go in an insulated bag in the car just to get home because it gets so hot down here. Then when I get home I know that I have to put everything in the blue bags away first, then the red bags and then, if I'm exhausted, I can sit down with a glass of iced tea, put my feet up and stare at the green ones without any guilt.

Then I love this company. In this day and age we need a good laugh. I see that it's an American company so it's not a bad Chinese translation.

If she got the recipe verbally from a friend I would go for Chives.

This can't possibly be for real.

As I took my casserole out of the oven last night I had to laugh at myself and think that I'm a poor one to give advice on oven protection. I just had to take a picture of my HotPads, as we always called them. I have no idea how old they are and they have sure been through the wringer. Yes, they are clean. They have even been bleached but they are just so old and stained that they can't help it. Twice I have gotten brand new pads and thrown these away. Both times I've used the new pads for a couple days and retrieved the old ones. I have five or six really pretty ones that would do the job but they're just too pretty and I save them to use as trivets on my glass top table. They say that old friends are the best. I guess that applies to HotPads, too.