Currently hanging out for: Samboy Atomic Tomato chips!

eBay item 2396807222 (Ends Apr-30-04 19:52:37 PDT) - ELECTRIC POTATO MASHER

"A Gift For The Person Who Has Everything"

Tofu Burger Mix

I have a secret love of convenience foods, though I do steer clear of them as much as I can. I just like the super space-age promises of making my life easier, and the seemingly endless combinations of super easy and quick tastes available.

I was so excited to stumble across this collection of homemade convenience foods. The first I made up were a few batches of the above linked tofu burger mix. I really like it! It has been my lunch staple this week (tofu burger that is). I jazzed mine up somewhat by adding vegetarian stif fry sauce, louisiana hot sauce, and liquid smoke to the wet mix. I also had to add some salt since I didn't use the soy sauce.

This is my kind of convenience food! I get to control what goes in the convenience mixes, and it's cheaper than prepackaged mixes to boot!

Ting Ting Jahe!

These are my current addiction. I practically have to sit on my hands to keep from maniacally eating all my stash of these little bits of gingery goodness.

Using Deb's charred broccoli and Allison's roasted asparagus (which we ate the other night) as inspiration, I made the most divine bowl of past tonight. Ever. I roasted a pan of broccoli and zucchini with a bit of olive oil and plenty of sea salt until it got all charry and yummy and then tossed it through some penne with some olive salad and some cracked black pepper.

I think I might have to eat it again tomorrow night.

Texas Monthly: Cranberry-And-Pecan Tamales

Can someone make these for me!

A Veritable Slow-Food Frenzy!

We have been on a making slow-food kick lately. It all started with the adventures in cheesemaking (the first round of farmhouse cheddar is ripening as I type, and we've got a good three weeks to go), and has evolved into a pickle making trend. To this end, I made Alton Brown's Pickled Beets yesterday, and plan on making these
dill-brined refrigerator pickles tonight. I also have a lovely fresh jicama I'm thinking of pickling.

Tonight we have a fresh lot of Queso Fresco that D made today. I think I'm going to have to crack one of those jars of beets early to enjoy with the fresh cheese. (Who are we kidding, I've already eaten half a jar of the beets and they are divine!)

Olive Salad:

The cure to all that ails you.

Seriously.

First, get a pound or so of olive salad...I highly recommend Central Grocery's version...then eat it! I like it with wheat/grainy crackers. Add a couple glasses of vino and some nice cheese if you are feeling especially punchy.

I promise you, there is nothing so bad in life that it can't be made better by olive salad.

About Texas Oysters

I've read that this is a good year for Texas Gulf oysters. I had some just the other night (in New Orleans) and can attest that they were quite nice. This lead to a discussion with the D about oysters. We both agree, the nicest oysters ever are the ones he pried right off the beds in kalbarri and ate in the surf.

Bread Pudding in New Orleans = Sure Winner

Seriously. I've never had a bread pudding I didn't love and didn't overindulge in. From Red Fish Grill's praline bread pudding (drool...) to cafeteria style mediocre bread pudding served in a board room during a lunch time meeting....and everything above/below and in between.... any and all? I'm a happy girl when I have bread pudding on my plate.