KNorthrup

225. Oddly round number. Latest purchase is David Rosengarten's 'Taste.' Inspired largely by all the paeans to his old show by everyone on egullet who otherwise hates TFN. Remaindered for $9.95. I also just completed my Time-Life Foods (Flavors?) of the World collection. Amazingly, I never had to go on-line or otherwise through the post. Found them all in town. Eventually. Now what? It feels empty to no longer have a quest. How was their The Good Cook series?

Was making a birthday cake for a family friend. German chocolate from a box. That was the request. Hand mixer was older than I was and the cord was removable from the base (why?). Due to age or general bad engineering, the cord also tended to fall out of the base unasked. And did so into the batter. I pick it up and hey -- it's something with batter on it. Pop it in my mouth. Other end of course is still plugged into the wall. Oh and I had braces at the time.

This is a little less conventional, but one of the first books I bought when moving from the dorms to an apartment was Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant. It's their 'ethnic' edition. Each chapter is a different cuisine. It's a great introduction to many different kinds of food and the ingredients are always inexpensive. I'm not even vegetarian, but it's still one of my favourites and has been consistently well-received giftwise.

Portland also has an Edible Complex.

At home, usually milk. (For the taste, not to be healthy. I always hear that's weird but it's yummy.) When out, wine/beer/cocktail depending on the venue and the company.

For the record, powdered milk is vile. I think she's making this up. But it's an angle I haven't already seen posted. I'm also feeling a bit betrayed. For added context, this would be 1971. "At three months you became a bottle baby, originally with Carnation, water, and corn syrup. But you gained like 4 or 4 1/2 pounds in one month. The doctor said that was way too much and had me switch you to powdered milk. Which you drank happily."

Wisconsin bratwurst from the cart across the street. Topped with Kase (white wine, melted swiss, garlic) and grilled onions.

I think I have an entire cookbook of meat with fruit. Middle eastern versions are a favourite. Pomegranates - mmmm. But one thing to have with duck that's fruity but not super sweet is that balsalmic vinegar with fig in the yellow bottle. Lucy's?

We had the same forbidden foods (70s/80s) as most everyone else here. Sugary cereals, anything by Hostess, etc. We also never ate anything she disliked. I was in college before I discovered eggplant. During my first semester or so of college, I rebelled -- Froot Loops for breakfast every morning, sandwiches of Wonder Bread, Kraft Singles, and Miracle Whip. But that got old and within 12 months, I was eating healthy, substantial food again.

The Italian deli on the ground floor of my office building has an unconventional candy selection and they've recently added black licorice tubes (soft, about the diameter of a white board marker) with apricot middles. I think they're Australian. Hate licorice more than I love apricot, so I haven't tried them but it seems a pretty brave thing to bring to market.