I guess every post can't be a Picasso painting, a Giacometti sculpture, a Proust novel, evoking the world with each word.
What's the difference between mexican vanilla ice cream and the normal stuff?
I'm a little unnerved by the visual similarities between those tuna casseroles and the apple cobbler.
I just saw a report on the Obama family food preferences which described the four of them as foodies. The specific foods mentioned seemed pretty down to earth, though. Malia likes mac and cheese. Probably a PR man was there to make sure that Obama didn't make Reagan's "lobster" mistake.
When I was a kid lobster was iconic as a kind of food that no one could afford to buy. Steak and prime rib were at the top of the ladder. Any kind of fish was fine. Oysters and clams were fine. Shrimp and crab would have been fine except that my dad was allergic. But lobster was something that only rich people ate. I think that the idea might have been that you finally got lobster once you graduated from medical school.
4: It has not always and everywhere been so.
Regarding lobster, Fred Phelps' crew was in town yesterday protesting a movie about Matthew Shepard, which prompted someone to tell me about God Hates Shrimp.
Regarding Phelps, at the No on 8 march today, I saw a cute T-shirt with a Phelps-style emblem reading "God Dates Fags".
Other than that, it was a bit wretched. After an hour and a half of speakers, the crowd revolted (I was not a bystander) and shouted down the people on stage with "March! March!".
Laurie Jean, the Gay and Lesbian Center director who was responsible for the questionable tactics of the No campaign, went on for 15 minutes. 15 minutes! In rally time, that's 40 days and 40 nights.
Aimee Allen [about 12] of Osakis was the winner of the Lions Peace Poster contest. Her poster included the description, "Peace begins with me because I am blowing bubbles that are flags of the world to show that we are all part of one big world and the bubbles of peace can travel all over the world.
4: But lobster was something that only rich people ate.
That was certainly how it seemed growing up in Ohio in the '60s. I managed to bring my mother to tears of frustration when on vacation on Deer Isle, Maine I insisted on having a hot dog at the local 4th of July celebration where whole lobsters were going for something like $3.00.
This is a really fascinating site about beekeeping and a particular honeybee colony (which, after all, results in honey, and is thus relevant to food matters).
11: Agree. From the site:
It's entirely unclear to me what the fascination with plastic bears and honey is. We don't make plastic junkies with heroine inside, or plastic Major League players filled with Steroids, or plastic models pumped full of silicon.
7: Is that what happened? I was so far back I couldn't tell what was going on. There was Xena, then Rocky Delgadillo, then some other guy, and then shouting, and then three steps, and then confused standstill for like fifteen minutes. Also, the hot hot sun. Last week's Sunset Junction rally, which was in the evening, and out of the sun, and without so much of the long speeches, was so much better.
Since I started diving, my friends have been after me to get a lobstering license. Something like $30 for the year. Bag limit 7/day.
or plastic models pumped full of silicon
So what are Real Dolls made of?
Last week's Sunset Junction rally, which was in the evening, and out of the sun, and without so much of the long speeches, was so much better.
Sunset junction is generally more fun.
I didn't go to the march in SD today, 'cuz homework, but I did flip off the mormon temple.
13: I was pretty close up. During Laurie Jean's peroration I started in with "Let us march!" and profane variations thereupon. AFter Rockard D. it got picked up far and wide.
Fun once it got going, though. I thought it was odd when the Mayor said, "I love you Los Angeles. In EVERY sense of the word." Eeew.
When I was a kid lobster was iconic as a kind of food that no one could afford to buy. Steak and prime rib were at the top of the ladder
when I was a kid, we used to eat subprime rib.
18: you've been saving that up, haven't you?
Lobster was totally something only the decadent rich ate when I was a kid, but I was growing up in the mountains of western NC, about eight light-years from salt water, much less lobster.
The sushi place around the corner has an Obama roll that is topped with wasabi lobster salad. It's so amazingly good.
Oh, my, god, R, M, M, P, I, do, too.
Fuck, I, do.
Well, this seems as good a thread as any to shamelessly brag on Rory's latest cake. She's in a book club. They are coming to our house tomorrow. Decorating a cake for every event that she deems cake-worthy is getting old fast, but I'm impressed as hell with this one.
Thanks -- I'm really kind of in love with it.
That is one private cake.
(Shamelessly bragging really only works if other people can see it too.)
Because the shameless bragging is that important to me: here.
Wow. I am a good cook & an okay baker, & somewhat artsy, but if I attempted that decorating job it would be a gooey mess.
Food related question: what sort of main dishes freeze well? We want to do some cooking & stocking up pre-baby. I'm a little skeptical of freezing cooked meat dishes--I'm thinking that making & freezing some sauces that can quickly be made into meals is the way to go, as far as both freezer space & food quality. I guess casseroles might work okay; we don't really make a lot of those.
Di, I'm awed. That is truly a cake worth bragging about with no shame at all. It's amazing. So is your Rory. A book club cake! Fantastic.
Freezing sauces is indeed handy and an excellent idea. Portion them up before you freeze them, of course.
Other things that freeze well include ratatouille, lasagna (assembled but not yet baked), soup, and cooked rice. To freeze rice, portion and wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap or a ziplock while it is still warm and moist. You can reheat in the microwave or (if you used something watertight, like a ziplock) in simmering water.
Holy smokes, Di, that cake is beautiful. You and Rory are amazing. Did you end up making the tennis cake too, or was this made in its stead?
The cake is indeed gorgeous. What does it taste like inside?
Clear broths freeze well and are the perfect nutriment for invalids.
30, re: freezing things. It depends a lot on how you like to cook, of course, but with limited freezer space, I tend to go with freezing components that are reasonably versatile. Sauces, yes.
Something like ratatouille is great because you can have it over grains, or pasta, or by itself, or on a baked potato .... Ditto for chili, which you could also incorporate into a burrito or something similar.
I've also been known to freeze a lentil burger mixture (cooked lentils w/ onions, garlic, etc., mixed with bread crumbs -- just add an egg upon thawing, and cook patties or hockey pucks). Also freezing baked, breaded eggplant slices: turn those into quick eggplant parmesan, or even a slice on a sandwich with some hummus, greens, onions.
The main thing in all this is these don't take up huge amounts of room in the freezer, the way a full-fledged casserole or three would.
Rory is astonishing. I do the occasional stunt cake, but that's way over my head, and neither Sally nor Newt could do anything remotely similar.
Katherine-
Anything in the rough category of "a pot of beans" freezes well and compactly. Chili, pea soup, lentils -- if there's anything particular in that category you like, you can make lots, freeze in one-meal-size baggies, and with some bread you've got dinner. I'll repeat what I said to the Marveys', though -- filling the freezer won't give you enough slack to help all that much. More helpful is figuring out meals that you can eat straight out of the grocery store that won't make you sad -- hummus on pita, scrambled eggs, whatever takes almost no prep.
35: Unexceptional on taste, frankly. White cake from a box, filled and frosted (under the fondant) with a milk chocolate ganache. The cover, though, was my first ever effort at ginger bread and quite tasty.
38: Oh, you totally could if you really wanted too. I know you've mastered the fondant thing. You can paint on that with food coloring and a pastry brush. For the fine details, we discovered food coloring markers! For a kid whose attention span normally maxes out around 10 minutes, though, this was quite an accomplishment.
Katherine -- ditto what everyone has said about freezing chili and soup. I tend to have a gallon or two in the freezer at all times. I've also gotten in the habit of seasoning all my meats when I buy them and throwing it in the freezer in meal-sized proportions -- pull it out of the freezer the night before, and your are ready to toss on the grill at mealtime.
I've also gotten in the habit of seasoning all my meats when I buy them and throwing it in the freezer in meal-sized proportions -- pull it out of the freezer the night before, and your are ready to toss on the grill at mealtime.
Di, even the eye of newt? How about the adder's fork or the lizard's leg?
How about the howlet's wing? Doesnt it lose all flavor when you freeze it?