Maison Rustique

I had another piece of my decimated steak with some salad last night. The salad isn't really swimming in dressing--I just missed and it puddled up on one side.

When I was a child, we did not go out to eat often but when we did, I don't recall ever even seeing a children's menu. At home Mom cooked all sorts of food and we ate what we were given so to order from a menu, we were familiar with and liked most anything on that menu. It was generally at lunch time in a department store restaurant so often it was a sandwich of some sort--maybe a Monte Cristo or something a bit fancy. We ate it whatever it was and loved the experience. We were in our hats and gloves and wouldn't have dreamt of throwing a fit because there were no chicken nuggets. Different times, for sure. I just saw someone post about Oreos cereal. OMG! I can't recall Mom ever giving me a bowl of cold cereal for breakfast. Yuck!

Yesterday was the best weather we've had so far this year. Mid 60s and no wind. I got the grill out and had defrosted an old NY steak and some smoked sausage. I must have had the fire too hot because I completely overcooked the steak in less than 10 minutes! As soon as I realized, I pulled it off and put it in the fridge to stop it cooking as best I could. I did not take pix of it but sliced up half of it and had it with this grain blend I rescued from the freezer. The steak was OK--not quite shoe leather. Not sure what I'll do with the other half. I'll think about it. The grains were quite good!

Most frozen broccoli I have bought has way too much water in it to successfully broil/roast. I think you would end up with slightly browned mush.

Great stories and precious photos!!

@weinoo, spices/herbs/blends are the only thing I have more of than Rancho Gordo beans. Somehow these things breed in my pantries and have multiplied by the next time I open the door.

After getting my taxes done and finding that I'm actually getting a tiny bit back for the first time in forever, I decided to get take out from Olive Garden. They have a new entree call Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo or something like that. I've been craving steak so ordered that, zuppa toscano and a take-home size of 5 cheese ziti. The ziti and zuppa went into the freezer for future use. I had a little less than half of the entree last night. It was disappointing. I really wanted steak and did this because it is really near my house. I should have gone farther and just gotten a steak somewhere. I think weather is warming up again so maybe I'll defrost a steak and couple of other things and do some grilling sometime soon. At any rate, I sat at the bar and had a glass of wine while I waited for the food so at least I got out of the house for a while.

I wish I had a couple of those pickers! I used to have a set and apparently I got rid of them because I don't have them. Now I bugger up the tip of a small cheap knife since I don't have any proper pickers.

I'm going to horrify many of you with this. I had not had a fried Spam sandwich in decades, but suddenly had a craving so indulged myself. I have leftovers.

Wish I could poof myself to San Diego. I am so over winter!! Thanks for sharing the sauce ingredients. I shall try it--sounds like something I could eat with anything!

I concur! First, I wouldn't even think of inviting extra people to a dinner at someone else's home. And if the host said it was OK to bring them, I'd have immediately said they were Muslim and that I would bring some food for them since it was late notice and there were special considerations. You were very gracious to accommodate everyone.

I did not take pix, but that last time I went to TJs, I got one of their Parlanno Pizzas. My freezer was beginning to be overstuffed, so I pulled it out last night, added a little more cheese to it and put it in the toaster oven. It was very tasty with a glass of some Portuguese red blend that I got at Costco. I'm never truly happy with the way pizza crust turns out in my particular toaster oven, but it was OK. Lots of toppings on it and I didn't even add anything other than the cheese.

I switched to the Lite Club for a while and even that was too much for just me. Sadly, I had to stop. I felt really bad doing it since I've been a member for so long. But I have so many beans, I do not think I am in danger of running out. I do miss getting the extra things.

Reporting back on the Sri Lanka curry. It is super-instant, but I found it completely bland. I would not buy it again.

Thank you for the Gouter link. Am I missing a place to see shipping info or are the goods only available for pick up in Canada?

I often use expired mixes if they aren't rancid. You can tell by sniffing if it is. If it is something that needs to rise, I sometimes add a little fresh baking powder to give it a boost in case that has gone flat.

My food-gifting friend brought me an Aldi flatbread yesterday. It looked rather spare in the topping department, so I went to work with more cheeses, pepperoni, olives and onions. Very tasty, though Aldi pizza crust is not my favorite. Never look a gift horse in the mouth...just give it some help.

Where is it that you all are ordering Gouter products? I Googled and nothing came up, aside from defining the French word.

@Smithy I can't believe how big your kitchen is in that thing!

You're inspiring me to use some of the old stuff I have in my pantry.

One of the reasons I have way too much stuff is because I save things like lids--just in case. Ha!

I seldom really cook anymore due to being old, arthritic and recently widowed, but I find all these ingredients fascinating and love browsing ethnic shops. Thanks for sharing these.

Now that I am an elderly single person who has no real desire to cook just for herself, I often find myself wishing my freezer space was the size of my fridge space. If I buy fresh foods, I often end up throwing out at least half because I can't use it fast enough. I do better with prepping or cooking and freezing stuff in small quantities. Maybe when I get moved, I can get a smaller fridge and a small freezer.

@Norm Matthews, what everyone else already said. Except that I'll add that $30 towards a crab boil for 2 people sure isn't much. I hope he plans to bring a nice bottle of wine, too!

I didn't know such a thing existed. When I was having an issue with the acid in coffee, I switched to ground cacao beans (Crio Brew, I think is the name). Doesn't taste like coffee really, but it sufficed.