IslandMom

TVP is great for dishes calling for ground beef, that involve tomato sauces. It's great in chili, spaghetti sauce, shepherd's pie, etc. I substitute it for part of the ground beef in recipes, after rehydrating it in hot water first. I use it because my husband won't eat meatless spaghetti or chili, and I want to get his LDL down and HDL up, so... TVP it is. He doesn't like vegetarian dishes in general. When I prepare them, he'll eat it, and then scrounge around for "meat". I don't like using ground chicken or ground turkey because I really hate the smell of it when it's cooking up.

Almond butter mmmmm and I guess you'd call it chunky - sort of a course ground peanut butter that you can get at the health food store, where you grind your own. Roasted nuts and salt - can't beat that! I haven't tried the cashew butter, but that's next.

I absolutely love them: Cinnamon Raisin Bread rum Raisin ice cream (I'm soaking soem in rum as we speak to make a batch) in pilaf's in stuffings and dressings in Picadillo Pannetone the list goes on and on.... They add a great sweetness and that is like nothing else and it is VERY discernible. As for their texture, well I love that too (same goes for dates, dried apricots, prunes,...). Do you hate those as well? Other than the raisin-hating banter, I enjoyed the article . No seriously it was fun to read. Good work. FM Mmmmm, nothing better than rum raisin ice cream! I love raisins, and the only truly vile recipe I've ever tried involving raisins wasn't really a recipe, I guess. A few years ago, while living on the third floor of a 3 story walk-up in Seattle's U district, I came across an article in the Seattle PI that said a good cure for joint pain is soaking raisins in sloe gin, and consuming 10 soaked raisins a day. So..... I find a liquor store, purchase the smallest bottle of sloe gin I can find, take it home, and soak my raisins. After a couple of days, I thought they'd be soaked enough, so I eat one. Phhhtttttppptttphttt ewwww, I couldn't spit it out fast enough. It was the vilest thing I'd ever tasted in my life. What a shock!!! And to think I went to all that trouble to find a liquor store. (In Hawaii, most drug stores and supermarkets carry hard liquor, as well as beer and wine - so it would have been a lot easier to try out that evil potion).

Hi, I've never been tempted to try this all raw cuisine business. Part of what really put me off is a statement I read in a write-up of the movement. The interviewee said that typically, people experience lots of ummm (sorry, no delicate way to put this) flatulence and diarrhea until their gastrointestinal track makes the necessary adjustment. Frankly, those two are just undesirable when one doesn't work at home, so I am not tempted at all to try it. This brings to mind an anecdote - years ago, I had a neighbor who was into the organic, healthy eating thing. We had her family over for dinner one night - simple stuff - teriyaki chicken, steamed broccoli, steamed rice, etc. She just raved and raved about the broccoli, and her kids just gobbled it up. She asked me how i prepared it, and I told her that I peeled the stems and then steamed the broccoli till it turned bright green and was still crisp. That was it - no sauce, no nothing, just broccoli. She said, "Oh, wow, maybe I should steam my broccoli, too. The kids just hate raw broccoli". You know, with all its vitamins, her broccoli was doing nothing for her family because they weren't eating it. Some things are just meant to be cooked! (BTW, I love raw fish)

I went to an M's game while I was in grad school at UW... got there and the vendors weren't ready yet, so I figured I could get a hot dog later during the game. One of the vendors made his way toward our seats, so I ordered what I thought was a beef hot dog. He looked at me questioningly and said, "You want a beef?", and I said "Yes, how much?" to which he replied, "$5", which I thought was high for a hot dog, but what the heck, I dug out my $$, he reached into his box (I was still seated, so couldn't see into the box), and popped open a BEER! I just sort of gave him the money, and he handed me the beer.... as my friend declared, "I think Carol just bought her first beer". This is true - and I don't drink beer - so I handed it to my friend, and said, "Thanks for the rides". He was pretty happy, but I still didn't have any hot dog. Guess I have to go back one of these days. I did my internship at Group Health on Pill Hill, and took the express from the U district to the Convention Center bus depot. There was a hot dog cart there - and the dogs looked soooo scrumptious.... I promised that one day, I'd buy one. Sadly, that day never came! I'm back in Honolulu now, thinking about those hot dogs.......

I like Ivar's and Kidd Valley (in Washington state). My hubby likes Red Mill (burgers and shakes), and #1 son likes Kidd Valley (burgers and shakes, and my all time favorite fish sandwich). #2 son likes Dick's (burgers and shakes), #3 son likes Kidd Valley. Unfortunately for me, hubby, #1 and #3 sons, there are no Kidd Valleys, Ivars, or Red Mills here in Hawaii. (#2 son is lucky - he lives in Seattle). For the "fast foods" here, I like Teddy's Bigger Burgers, Maui Tacos, and though not fast food, Chili's is usually pretty reliable. Okay, now you know my dirty secret - that I eat fast foods. Please don't report me to my friend Ryan, a clinical pharmacist who doubles as the cholesterol sheriff! :D

I agree with you. I live in Honolulu, and The Big Island is my second favorite. Though Honolulu is "built up", I know this island best, so I can usually find what meets my needs. It hasn't changed that much - still lots of wide open spaces.

I personally like Honolulu the best, but then, I must admit, I live and work here, and have my own favorite places to go. If I had to spend a week on Maui, I'd go crazy. The last time my hubby and I went to Maui to attend a benefit celebrity roller hockey game (I wanted to see those NHL stars who were coming out to play!) - we were just stunned by how touristy it had become. Don't let people tell you otherwise - parts of Maui are just as bad as Waikiki, with what we consider "Tourist Traps". It sure wasn't the Maui I remembered, although "upcountry" Maui was really peaceful. If you do go there, drive up to Ulupalakua, to the Tedeschi Vineyards. There's a tour and wine sampling! You may want to consider spending a few days on Maui, and a few on either Kauai or Hawaii. Of the 3, I like Hawaii best. If you're in to geology, botany and zoology, you'll love Hawaii. You'd want to go to Volcanoes National Park!!! If I had to live somewhere in Hawaii other than Honolulu, I'd pick the island of Hawaii. Note that we really have a huge selection of restaurants on Oahu. Hope I didn't rain on your parade!

Happy Birthday, Adam! Tomorrow's my birthday, too. Wish I could say I was just turning 30. Oh well, c'est la vie. Wild boar - sorry, I have no advice about that, except to be very careful that it's fully cooked so that you won't get trichinosis.

I had some halibut from Alaska that I couldn't decide how to cook, and finally dipped it in egg wash, and then stuck thawed (previously frozen) loose hash brown potatoes on it, and fried it in a pan with melted butter. I stuck the hash browns on both sides, because I like potatoes! Mmmm, it was good, but I wouldn't deliberately seek out halibut. Guess I'm not too crazy about it - I prefer mahimahi.

My family is lactose intolerant, and one of my sons was allergic to milk. When he drank milk, he'd wheeze, and his eczema started up. After some detective work, we cut out the milk. In his late teens, he found that he could tolerate limited amounts of dairy products. We did the Lact-Aid bit, but find that using almond or soy milk with cereal is easier to do. I look for yogurts with live lactobacillus acidophilus cultures, which is not to be confused with raw milk yogurt. Maybe you can repopulate your gut with lactobacillus! According to our allergist, most lactose intolerant people can consume yogurt safely, though you might want to experiment and see what you can safely eat without too much ummmm "discomfort". Experiment, and keep notes!

I have the good old Braun - whatever model they had at Costco for ~ ผ.99. Works fine for me, but then again, I'm in such a rush mornings that I'm probably not that discriminating. I like Starbucks beans that I grind, or Lion's Coffee beans European Blend, and Kona coffee beans that I buy at Sam's Club or Costco. Gulp gulp, and it's time to hit the road.

I love unagi (eel) sushi!!! The eel has a sticky, slightly sweet sauce, like a teriyaki. It's cooked fish, so if you're hesitant about eating raw fish, try the unagi. It's a very tender, slighly oily fish, and soooo good. A couple of Easters ago, I had a craving for unagi sushi, so I drove to Central Market in Shoreline, bought a package of frozen cooked eel, and made a couple of rolls of unagi makisushi (the kind rolled in seaweed). It was just delicious, and didn't really take that long to make. Do try the eel!

I like the burgers at Chili's. We get the Old Timer's (I think that's what they're called.) A nice, thick hamburger, nice and brown on the outside, in a good, hearty bun, with lettuce, onion, tomato, and crispy fries! They're the same in WA as they are in HI! My son LOVES Kidd Valley. He wishes we had one here (Honolulu). As for me, I love Kidd Valley's fish sandwich, but that's another story. I wish I were back in Seattle now!

I've been to Top Gun, and the food is good but the waiters are very surly. They were semi-decent to us because one member of our party spoke Chinese, but otherwise, well..... I don't think I'd go there again. I wish I could remember the name of the place I liked. It's near Honey Court, in the middle of the block. Something like Dragon Gate or a similar name. Their food was really good!

Hey, we have Todai here (Honolulu), and I've never been there because my hubby DOES NOT EAT SEAFOOD or SUSHI! (Opposites attract, so I married him anyway). There's ALWAYS a line to get in. I've heard from others who've been there that the food's great. 250 feet of seafood - it boggles my mind. Give me some sashimi and Dungeness crab!!!!