Maison Rustique

I am planning Thanksgiving foods and decided to try something last night, I roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots with fresh rosemary, then drizzled with some sorghum (syrup) a few minutes before taking it out of the oven. Really delicious, though I'd like to see a little spice with it. Definitely has potential for the holiday meal.

I've been doing that a lot lately, too. It might be time to stop my subsscription, as sad as that makes me.

I have a number of friends who work as checkers in grocery stores. I refuse to use self check-out in order that they might keep their jobs.

I'm not a fan of traditional panettone with dried fruit in it, but over the years I've had other types that I enjoyed. I've got a limoncello panettone ordered from my milkman to arrive in a couple of weeks or so. I'm excited to try it.

I need to make up some sorghum butter and make some biscuits! Or pancakes! Now I'm hungry!! I have heard of Steen's but have not had it. I'll check it out. Am sure I can order online if I can't find it locally,

I have a milkman (I'm not being sexist, that is what the company calls them.) from a local dairy. They offer a lot more than milk products and last week they had sorghum. Growing up, I recall my Dad loved it. I can't really remember what Mom made with it, but she likely substituted it for any recipe that called for molasses or served it with hot biscuits and butter. So, with that memory of my Dad, I had to order a jar. Now I'm trying to figure out how I will use it. I found this recipe for Pecan Cobbler that sounds pretty darned good, but haven't made it yet. I saw a recipe using it in a brine for chicken that seemed interesting and I could also see it to make a glaze for ham. Any sorghum fans here?

I have a Breadman Ultimate that I've had for probably 30 years. It looks similar to he Zojirushi posted here, but am sure there are major differences in the works since it is so old. I do occasionally bake in it, but mainly use it for the mixing and kneading and rising until time to shape. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer but have not used it for kneading. I should give it a try sometime.

I just bought my Black & Decker last year (Love it and cook anything that fits.) and it is not nearly that clean!!! Use it mostly in summer months when it is too hot to turn on the big oven.

I wonder if the Sandwich Police are in cahoots with the Soup Nazi!

I'd rather eat than play with my food. Seems a bit silly to me.

@Tropicalsenior This is Carrie Tillie's blog This is an amusing video series, mostly historical. It cracks me up sometimes. While not quite historical and certainly not American, this is a fascinating video series. I've not watched this yet, but it popped up and looks wonderful. I am pretty sure I've got some others, but this was what was at hand tonight.

I've made lemon thyme pound cake that was loved by all. I think I just used a regular recipe and added lemon zest and thyme and made a glaze with the same. I can't recall the maker, but I often buy a goat cheese that is rolled in a blueberry/thyme thing. I think you could do this yourself--I'd likely get freeze-dried blueberries (or KAF now has a blueberry powder that I haven't tried), add finely chopped thyme and roll a log of goat cheese in it.

I love The Townsends! I don't know if they still have it in print, but they used to publish a catalog of reproduction clothing and kitchen/cooking items. I've never ordered anything, but it is great fun to browse it. There are a couple of other video series that feature historical cooking/food. I'll write myself a note to take a look for them to post. And I know I have some historical food books--will also try to track them down. Will take me a while. I've got about 503 balls in the air right now. And member (former member?) @Carolyn Tillie blogs and gives talks on food history. Be sure to follow her. If you need links, I'll get those, too.

Thank you for sharing all this with us so that we might know her a bit better. She leaves a huge hole in eG--things simply will not be the same without her. Many condolences for you and all her family and friends. May she rest peacefully.

I might be addicted to these French butter cookies at Costco. I hate it when they put them on sale because then I'm forced to buy a bunch and stock up.

It happened to my Ray Bans and I was told it breaks down over time and you just need to toss them. They were probably 30 years old, so I guess I can't complain.

For the tomatoes that need to be used right away, roast and freeze. Ditto eggplant and peppers. Potatoes should keep for quite a while if you've got a dark cool place to store them.

I did not complain to Misfits, so was surprised to get this email this evening. Maybe they are reading eGullet!

When I decided to give Misfits another try, I was very happy--for a while. I'm discovering that the prices are higher than I can get locally. And it has been increasingly difficult to find items to order that aren't already sold out at 2 minutes past my order time. I didn't order for 3 weeks because I had some other things going on and by the time I could get online to order, there was nothing left. I did order this week and was reasonably happy with what was still available. Or so I thought. My order arrived early yesterday morning with no ice pack so I'm glad I was home. Out of the 10 items I ordered, I got 4 of them. It is impossible to plan meals when it is this unpredictable. I'll find a better source somehow.

I make a panade with spinach and mushrooms that is delicious--I'll look for the recipe later. Just about any Rancho Gordo beans cooked with hearty greens is going to be delicious--I don't use recipes for things like that. We just call them Beans 'n Greens. I love buttered sauteed spinach with new potatoes, too.

I don't think AnnT ever sleeps at all! I can't believe she does all this and holds a job, too!! Superwoman!!

Trader Joe's had some Brioche Toasts for a while that I loved, but they are no more. I like Wheat Thins and Cheeze-its extra brown version for mainstream crackers. But Effie's Homemade Biscuits are my latest obsession. Funny this thread popped up because I just posted about Effie's on Facebook today. So far the oatcakes are my favorite, but I still have a few varieties to taste.

I was an avid Aldi shopper for several years, but the one nearest us started to decline in terms of inventory (shelves often not stocked) and apparently distribution issues, as they often do not receive the items in the flyer. The quality of the produce has also declined. I seldom go anymore.. Actually I seldom go anywhere except Costco (because we get our prescriptions there) and anything else I need, I order for delivery. I always loved grocery shopping and really miss it, but trying to drag my husband out to go like I used to is just too difficult and I can't leave him alone. I do have to say that Sprouts (I think they are national?) has replaced Aldi for me and a friend of mine for bargains. If you go frequently, they mark down foods (meat, seafood, product, pantry items) drastically when it is on the verge of the sell by date. Last week, my friend brought me a huge package of scampi with asparagus that was expiring the next day. It was marked down from $17.xx to $.98. Also a package of beef tips for under $1. And this week, he brought me a package of marinated spicy orange salmon that was not close to expiring, but was only $2.98. We had it last night and it was delicious. There is enough left for hubby to have a sandwich for lunch today. If you have a Sprouts near you, go often and look for the mark-downs!

I need to clean out my freezers and make some space so I can order!

I finally got around to checking them out. I'm amazed at the low prices! I definitely need to check it out. Things are not great here right now and I've been buying a lot of pre-prepared meals and instant-type things, so I'll be trying some of these.