jsolomon

Oh, veggies are most certainly man food. Especially the kind that have a retort or two the next day. Guys; men; manly men; big, hairy, beastly, ghastly men love the things that food do to their metabolisms. Food gives conversations the best punctuation. Especially the next day.

On a lark, I picked up a few tomatillos at the grocery store yesterday. I've never even tasted one to know it. What can I make to help me understand what tomatillos bring to the plate?

Tonight I'm frying chicken. Outside, though. If I do it inside, the dogs go nuts.

Non-toxic is a significant misnomer. If it weren't toxic, it wouldn't kill the bacteria and/or fungi. However, hydrogen peroxide degrades quickly (especially in the presence of peroxidase-producing bacteria) and acetic acid is a volatile acid.

For some of those, you need some interesting stabilizers otherwise your product may break on you, just like a sauce will break or separate. Others, you may have problems with acids, etc. Best of luck!

I would also suggest (even though it's not exactly seafood, but freshwater fish) is poached catfish, like Alton Brown has done on Good Eats. Easy and forgiving.

Stovetop, that depends a lot on the predominant crops in the area. In Nebraska, cows get fed a lot of corn and soybeans, because that's what we have a lot of here. In other areas, the cows get fed oats or barley, or what-have-you, because shipping the feed grains does matter in cost. Now, what I don't quite understand, is why there can't be a grain finish done on a ranch. Sort of a middle ground between what we have now.

Hit 103 Sunday here in Nebraska. No change.

Well, I'm too young to say "Billy Beer", so I'll have to answer Spilker Ales Windchill Spiced Ale. Sadly, it's not produced anymore.

No, they're Hash House Harriers. They'll cope, because they're expert copers. Besides, we always need an excuse to bend the elbow at six bells on a Monday.

Good plan. DVD's aren't that nutritious or digestible.

Uh, sure....give me your password and carte blanche at your restaurant, and I'll spell and grammar check all of your posts!

Mango and peach are a good combination, but when I was in El Salvador a few months ago, fresh mangos were served with lime juice squeezed over them, and occasionally a pepper sauce akin to tabasco, or a Louisiana-style hot sauce. It was super-refreshing when it was hot. So, how about with a lime granita?

M&M's and peanuts. Perhaps a couple of thermoses of hot chocolate if your flight is a meat locker like my last flight was. I swear it was below 60 in that cabin. ON THE WAY BACK FROM HAWAII! WTF???

Just drown your frustrations on 6th Street and you'll fit in with the locals.

I don't know of the date, but the largest testicle festival in the world is at South Bend Nebraska in June each year. Testicle Festival date from this year

I'll have to call up some squid friends and make a date with them. 'Course, everyone knows the Army can drink the Navy under the table, so I feel sorry for the poor sots. But we'll try to make an evening of it. But, sheesh, on a Monday? What the hell kind of idea was that?

Mike, you ask a compelling question, but you neglect to give a nod to the realities of people who practice charcuterie. There are reasons of intellectual curiosity: it's neat to try these things and succeed. It's like performing magic! Also, there are other reasons. For people like me, the reason is one of economics. Sure, I can buy the superior products, but not locally. So, I end up spending a premium on the product, and then a second premium on the transportation--if it's possible at all. So, you're completely ignoring issues of access and economics when you state the question like you do. So, why do I do it? Because my bacon, jerky, and sausages are simply better and cheaper when I make them myself.

Have you checked the accuracy of your oven thermostat?

If you are really ready to try something new, try a curriculum partly based on the concept Roger Welsch was talking about in "Weed 'em and Reap" Here's the blurb off of the back. "Join best-selling humorist Roger Welsch as he gathers and prepares wild fare, and soon you, too, will be able to amaze everyone around the campfire by serving up a salad, stew, vegetables, drink, or dessert made from ingredients found within yelling distance of the tents. This fun-to-read yet practical guide teaches more about morels, cattails, and smut (the fungus kind) than you ever thought possible. There's also information on making wines, jams, and jellies, and even gathering and enjoying acorns the Native American way." ISBN 0-7627-3907-X

When I was working at a University Women's Center, my boss kept telling me that I could not recommend that as an exercise regime, no matter how fat, desparate, or whatever, the person coming for help. I always thought that whatever you do to work off your food or beer should be worth the effort. I'm glad to see you and I are of the same mind! On the topic, I celebrated it with a grasshopper, just because I could.

Mixed drinks, especially froofy sugary ones are going to be your worst enemas. They have none of the fine points of wine or beer, and all of the calories, if not more. Also, I'm not aware of a gluconeogenesis pathway in humans using ethanol as a starting material, so I'm not sure it really counts as being caloric. It does produce some energy through ethanol -> acetaldehyde + NADH + H+, but that's negligible to the energy in ethanol. Anyhoo, good luck.

You may also want to check out Alton Brown's recipes with yogurt. Starch/protein gels can come close to mimicking the mouthfeel of fats. But, ice milk is ice milk. It needs cream to be ice cream. I look at diet foods as a bowdlerization of good food, and I never can support bowdlerizations. I think if you desensitize yourself with foods that taste like fatty foods, then you are more likely to overindulge when it comes to fatty foods. It just seems like a very slippery slope that a lot of people get trapped by.

One intrepid eGer spoke to me of a galette de sarrasan Naguere's description. Sounds lovely.