megc

Indeed it is. I also want to thank Suzanne and HWOE for being terrific hosts for the potluck. You were both very gracious and welcoming, making this newbie feel at home and at ease. Suzanne, can you please ask HWOE the name of the musicologist from Indiana? I think he said she is married to a composer. I can't remember her name, but would like to. I'll also chime in with praise for Elyse's cheese crisps and breads and of course the pecan pie, which was fabulous. I adore pecan pie and this was some of the tastiest I've had. Loved Belmont3's brandade, too. But all the food was great and very satisfying. Thanks, Suzanne, for your kind words about the tapenade, and I'm so glad it's being eaten up post-party! It was great to meet everyone there, too. I enjoyed the many and varied conversations I had. What a great group! I look forward to the next event. Bunny update: no sign of their nocturnal voraciousness since we put up some netting/fence. I hope they continue to be daunted by it.

Thank you, Aquitaine!

OK, I've made some tapenade, so I'm coming for sure. I have a favor to ask: could someone please pick up a baguette? The bread out here in Stony Brook is crap. I can pay that person back tonight. I've also got some mild goat cheese to go with the tapenade/bread. I am looking forward to meeting everyone!

If I can catch them, I will! Suzanne, please PM me directions, in case it turns out I can attend. Turns out we're gonna de-bunny-ize (read: put in fencing) in the morning. Actually, if you could send the directions to my yahoo address (indicated on my profile) that would work better for me (my current browser at home is still crap). Maybe I could bring some tapenade. And something to drink. Hopefully, it will work out that I can be there!

I just might, Rachel! A garden emergency (damn rabbits) and some additional musical obligations will preclude me from attending this event. Boo hoo! However, I look forward to reading reports from the delicious evening.

Andrew, I like "Chez Panisse Vegetables" by Alice Waters. Also "Greene on Greens" is a helpful resource. Neither are specifically vegetarian cookbooks.

I guess if McDonald's counts, then so does Ghiradelli. Joseph Schmidt chocolates, the first US chocolate to be of international quality. Not the greatest quality, but I think See's was a CA business? During my childhood in Michigan, I remember my parents pining for their chocolates. Donsuemor Madeleines. You can find them in Starbucks and Trader Joe's all over the country. They started and are still operating out of little Emeryville, CA. Straus Creamery in Marin, too.

I'm stuck on Long Island, 2hrs away. It is true that I could probably catch a train back to Stony Brook around 9 or so. I will think on this. Thanks for the encouragement, =Mark!

Will there be another one of these in the relatively near future? I'd like to attend, but am recording the following day and need a decent night's sleep Saturday. All the proposed food sounds delicious and I'd love to meet some of you NY eGulleters. The event sounds like heaps of fun! I look forward to reading about all the festivites post-potluck.

Home of Yoshi's, which is responsible for one of the most beautiful pairings - jazz and sushi. Not to mention the Parkway Theater, where you can watch movies sitting on couches while eating pizza and drinking beer.

It's sold at Gourmet Garage. Yes, I read about this somewhere. But they sell only 12oz bags of beans - we like having the full pound here. But, in an emergency, I'd go to GG. Maybe when I eventually move to the city I'll buy it there regularly. I'm stuck on LI, so getting it shipped seems like the best situation for now. That being said, it pleases me to no end to know Peets is available in NYC.

I love Peets so much that I have it shipped to my house in NY. My whole household loves the stuff. I can't find any better coffee here. I think "spa food" orignated in CA, too.

Ah....the Cheese Board. Wonderful establishment. It's one of the places I miss most while I'm in New York.

Fish tacos? The Hass avocado. The Symphony grape was developed at UC Davis. Peet's Coffee. Chez Panisse.

Would the Bisquick Velvet Crumb Cake count as white trash food? I spend 9 years of my childhood in Saginaw, MI (we were fairly poor towards the end of that time) and we ate bisquick-based items often, because it was cheap. Those pigs in a blanket were one of them (bisquick biscuits instead of crescent rolls). Thank goodness I had homemade bread and homegrown vegetables to counteract that.

That was my birthday cake for years. Me too!

Stone, did you happen to see the "Murder Burger" outside of Davis? I stopped there once - their big draw is ostrich burgers. My friends enjoyed the beef burgers and (surprisingly with a name like that) my veggie burger was quite tasty. I just love the name of the place.

Lisa, if I remember correctly, it was something like hazelnut ice cream with chocolate ribbons and brazil nuts through it. I liked the nut and chocolate combo. I once met Wavy Gravy. Nice guy. He also spoke at a number of protests I attended in Berkeley. Erin, I loved Rainforest Crunch, too! I miss Double Rainbow French Vanilla too. Tastes like frozen custard. I haven't seen it here on the east coast since I left CA.

My housemate had a pint of B&J Coffee Heath Bar Crunch in the freezer just last week. I'm here on Long Island. Don't know where he bought it, although I do remember him saying that he sometimes shops at an oddly named supermarket called "Meat Farms" in Port Jefferson. I had a taste, and yes it was delicious. I'd buy it again. SteveW, I hope you find some soon! I miss the B&J flavor "Wavy Gravy." Has anyone seen it lately?

elyse, it actually is pretty tasty. But very, very, very sweet. My mom loves the stuff and makes it from time to time, still! Another dessert that might fit this thread is the layered dessert of chocolate wafers and whipped cream. I think anything with Cool Whip is probably considered White Trash food, too.

I was taught a pudding recipe involving boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk for three hours - one hour on one side, the second hour on the other side, and the third hour involves rotating the can on its curved side throughout the hour. After the can cools down one gets access to the caramel by opening both ends of the can and pushing the caramel out into a bowl. It is then combined with whipped cream, mixed until smooth, and then layered between Nilla wafers. Set the concoction in the fridge for several hours, and by that time the wafers will have softened and it becomes a very, very sweet thing. My grandfather, who grew up in and around Beloit, WI had the recipe.

That's how I feel about the milk from Straus Creamery in Marin (SF Bay Area). It's the best tasting milk I've ever had. The mass-produced stuff can't come close. Regarding labeling of rBGH, I've seen it often on milk cartons, for both organic and non organic milk. But not everyone does it (most of my experince is in Berkeley CA and Stony Brook LI).

Is this the Guy Watson story? Watson is an organic farmer from the UK. In 1998 a test field of LibertyLink corn was planted right across the river from his farm that contained organic corn. Backed by the Soil Association, he brought suit against the company (I believe Monsanto), with the claim that the GE pollen from the neighboring LibertyLink test field would fertilize his organic corn crops, via the wind (corn is fertilized by pollen carried by the wind). This could jeopardize his status as an organic farm - the SA could revoke his certification if "genetic contamination" was found in his corn. However, Watson didn't replant seeds (no "seed saving") the following year, so his next year's crops wouldn't have been infiltrated. The presence of errant GE genes wouldn't have altered his organic methods of farming. But the simple idea of contamination was the concern, in some people's eyes. A good book to read is "Lords of the Harvest" by Daniel Charles, technology correspondent for NPR, and son of a farmer himself. In it, he goes through the history and culture surrounding the science of GMOs. I've learned a lot from it. Personally, I try to avoid GMO foods if possible, especially when it comes to produce (no FlavrSavr tomatoes, please) and tofu. It is difficult to avoid it across the board, as it's in most things we eat (can you say soy lecithin?). Farming in this country has been greatly changed by the use of GMOs and the pressure to use such products as Roundup Ready soybeans. Their use has affected the ability for smaller, family farms to stay afloat, for economic reasons. For example, the "technology fee" instituted by Monsanto. Instead of one cost for a bag of corn seed, there are two: the cost of the seed itself and the cost of the genes inserted by Monsanto (in this case, the Bt gene). This makes for a more expensive product. Monsanto would in effect license its patented genes to the farmer. No seed saving would be allowed as a result, a tradition among farmers. And Monsanto could regulate the price on the gene element of the corn seed. And that's just the beginning. It's not just food products that are affected. Cotton as well has been modified to reject the cotton bollworm. If you are wearing clothes made from cotton in this country, good chance it's GM cotton. Another thing to remember, is the presence of mutation. There is always a portion of the pests that will grow immune to the effects of crops inserted with, say, the Bt gene. Hopleaf, BGH (bovine growth hormone) is a version of the cows' natural growth hormone, produced artificially (in fermentation vats filled with GE bacteria). It was injected into cows to increase their milk output.

I'd like to see more people enjoy these drinks. I love tapioca milk tea! I try to drink some whenever I'm in Chinatown (NY). I was first introduced to it in 2000 in Berkeley CA, where it had been popular for some time at a number of places near the southside of the UC campus. My favorite place in Berkeley is Quickely, which uses real tea and not the powdered tea mix. I've had the taro flavor (tasty) and green tea flavor (which was nice and perfumey) but I'm really happy drinking regular black tea tapioca milk tea. Love the black balls. And I prefer it when there's chunks of ice (like in iced tea) instead of all whirred up, like I've found it here in NY. I used to drink it 3-4 times a week! I was an addict, I guess. But it's so good! Meg