Toliver

Have you tried pluots? They're a cross between plums and apricots. The organic farmer in our local farmer's market usually has 3 or 4 different kinds when they are in season (should be soon!) and some are incredibly tasty. Last year he had some pluots that tasted like giant green grapes. They were amazingly good.

I recently read somewhere that apricots were known as the first fruit of summer. It may be too early at the moment but give it a couple weeks and I'm sure they'll be overflowing.

I bought a two-liter bottle of the Pepsi Lime yesterday. I was not that impressed. I thought the lime taste was, by far, too subdued. It might as well had been Pepsi Twist that I was drinking (it kept reminding me of that flavor). Perhaps they should just combine both brand lines and call it Pepsi Citrus. Or do as other posters have suggested and just add the lime yourself to regular or diet Pepsi. Also, though I am a fan of Diet Pepsi, I thought it tasted far too sweet. It could be possible that I got a bad batch/mix so I would be willing to try it again another time.

You've been approaching it from the wrong angle. Write one (excellent) column for each holiday and then re-run it as each respective holiday rolls around again, labeling it as that "cherised classic holiday essay". That should relieve some of the stress and get you a day off, too, if you work it right.

I have onion envy! I've seen nary a Vidalia this season in the local grocery stores and it's bummin' me out. I love carmelizing them, too (though most in the Onion Confit thread are of the "don't carmelize sweet onions" camp ). Oh, and you two need to throw a couple of "eh's" into your posts or I'm not going to believe you're in Canada.

Pretty sure they do. Yup they DO! ← Thanks for pointing this out, kitwilliams!

I noticed the same ingredient (the wood rosin stuff) in orange sodas and Squirt and had the same reaction as you. Namely I will worry about it less, thanks to eGullet. Anyone know if they make Diet Squirt? It's not on the shelves where I shop.

I concur. It's a great flavor. The only drawback is that it loses its flavor too quickly! Within the last year I'd started keeping the jumbo packs of Extra in my office because I'd get a flood of visits from coworkers asking if I had any gum. One positive side effect of chewing the sugarless gum is during my last visit at the dentist's office, the hygenist who was cleaning my teeth asked what I was doing differently since there was hardly any staining on my teeth. I didn't put two and two together until I left the dentist's office that the gum must have made the difference. Chew on!

Frings & the Bell Beefer...two fast food items I wish they would bring back. Frings were from Jack-in-the-Box. It was just a ingenious mix of french fries and onion rings in one bag. The best of both worlds. J-I-T-B has just brought back onion rings in my area so I can only hope Frings will make a comeback soon, as well. The Bell Beefer was from Taco Bell. It was basically a Sloppy Joe (aka Loose Meat sandwich) in a bun. It's doubtful they will ever return since it means they would have to bring back hamburger buns. They were simple and a great invention. But they did bring back the Enchirito so who knows... edited to clarify

I don't have the willpower to do this! One of the greatest pleasures in life is to cut a piece of hot-from-the-oven brownies while they're still in that not-yet-set-gooey-goodness state and enjoy them with an ice cold glass of milk or perhaps some vanilla ice cream. A friend visited once when I had just taken a batch of chocolate mint brownies out of the oven. We ate them while still hot and it was sinfully good. She often speaks about it in a wistful yet lustful manner. Life's too short to refrigerate brownies!

Yeah. Or "Frank-fort". ← DOH! Thanks for the corrected punchline. I need to get out more...

I worked with a guy from Kentucky whose favorites joke was to ask: "Loo-ee-vil? or "Loo-uh-vul"? How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky? So, the Rube (aka "me") replied "Loo-ee-vil"... to which the smart ass would reply, "That's funny. We always pronounce the capital of Kentucky as 'Hart-ford' "! Regarding this past dessert discussion, I'm assuming everything went well. From your pics and posts, it looks like you ended up doing great.

Rally's currently has 389 restaurants, mostly in the Midwest. ← Cool. Since I moved from Ohio to Illinois, all of the Rally's/Checker's that DID exist near where I lived all folded up and moved out of town. ← All the Rally's in this town closed up, too. Bummer. I liked their battered fries. The nearest one was converted into a Starbuck's and they really take advantage of that double drive-thru!

I concur with Alex. It's an awesome mill. In a pinch, you could always use your cast iron skillet to whack the peppercorns enough to crack 'em coarsely. Put the peppercorns in a plastic bag, lay them on your cutting board and whomp away with the skillet. A little noisy but a great way to vent if you've had a bad day.

Well, y'all know the kitchen will be making another appearance at the "Varmint's Pig Pickin' -- Part Deux, Labor Day Weekend 2005" which is only just about 4 months away. Click here for 41 pages of "Varmint's Pig Pickin', episode 1" I hope eG'er's who will be attending the Pig Pickin' of '05 will post in that disccusion their first-hand impressions of the new kitchen. That stove is just begging for a pot of "VD stew"!

The article didn't quite get the Bayless brouhaha right: They didn't mention why Bayless shilling for BK was such a big deal which was really the crux of the whole issue. The article also neglected to mention the Jamie Oliver-Heinz Baked Beans incident which is a prime example of a chef "selling out" (the money went to fund scholarships for his "15" students...but he still sold out).

How about a "Tomato Bread Salad with Herbs"? It's not exactly luau material but it is "Summery". It would feature tomatoes (which should be plentiful in the summer) and could be served at room temperature (don't refrigerate tomatoes!). Add the bread 15 minutes before serving and it's done. You could also add some cheese (mozzarella, feta or goat cheese) to the salad for that extra something special.

I've made the strawberry, the lemon and the orange cakes from "The Cake Mix Doctor" and they were all winners. Guess I'm in the "Mix" category when it comes to cakes. "Scratch" for brownies, though.

Add one more for me. I'd been looking for the out-of-print "Florence Lin's Complete Book of Chinese Noodles, Dumplings and Breads". I searched the usual places (eBay, Amazon Used, etc) and found lots of used copies for quite a high price. Then recently, on a lark, I decided to Google it again and found it at Powell's for a mere pittance...and it's in almost perfect condition. Either they didn't care what the going market price was or they just didn't know what they had. So my tip for the day: Google, Google, Google...you never know when you'll find a treasure at a great price!

I just found out my niece and nephew will be traveling from Austin on a class trip with their high school band to attend the JazzFest. I am so freakin' jealous and look forward to reading about the event in the Louisiana forum!

I tried regular Coke with Lime this weekend and had a couple thoughts... I was surprised that the lime flavor was so subdued. I would have thought it would have been more pronounced like the lemon is in Pepsi Twist. The other thought I had was how similar it tasted to...wait for it...Pepsi's Holiday Spice! Has anyone else noticed the similarity? Does anyone have access to both colas for a side-by-side comparison (like a blind taste test)?

A similar discussion from another forum: "Favorite/Least Favorite Food "Celebrities", the best and the word"

While I've never submitted a total for myself, I will add one to the eG count. I was in Costco and bought The New Best Recipe by Cook's Illustrated. What a monster! As thick as an old dictionary (1,028 pages) and chock full of the most basic recipes with oodles of tips and recommendations. It'd be a perfect "starter" cookbook for anyone getting married or moving out on their own. The one drawback is the almost complete lack of photos though it does have the typical Cook's Illustrated-type drawings throughout.

By Googling, I found this address and phone number for them: California Press 6200 Washington St. Yountville, CA 94579 (707) 944-0343 In another Google, I found this email for them: nutchief@californiapress.com I haven't tried either one so I can't guarantee they'll work.

It's actually in the other direction...about 5 to 10 miles north of Lake Elsinore before you get to Corona. I've always wanted to stop but I'm usually too eager to get home (San Diego) to take the time. It's certainly grown over the years. Originally it was just him but now I know there's an AM/PM gas station and a Carl's Jr. there, too. Home developments are slowly encroaching on the area. Who knows how long he will be there before the land value skyrockets around him?