A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 Half & Half, Part II

Oh, and cold cereal for breakfast? Do you really eat that stuff Sheri?

My son would stage a mutiny if I tried that. But then, I don't like it either, so, there ya go.

Cold cereal is ok for an evening snack, though.

And what's wrong with soup and sandwiches for lunch? I think that's a great lunch for you to have made all the time!

Merme

Merme, I used to use soy milk all the time but it's got a lot of fat. It's very good. I tried the fat free and it was terrible.

I don't eat cereal at all but my children like it. They don't eat eggs, pancakes, waffles, susage or ham. Johnny likes cold cereal too. What does Maxi eat for breakfast?

I can't help it Sheri...it is in my blood! I can't remember ever going to my grandma's house that she wasn't in the kitchen! It didn't matter when or what time you hit her house...there was always something yummy going on! My family is VERY spoiled to full meals! And...that is my "relaxing" time! It has just been a bit of a challenge here because I have no kitchen to speak of! I don't think Peanut has ever had cold cereal except to munch on dry when we are traveling.

Merme...I do like peppermint...but not peppermint "flavored" things. Like peppermint coffee or cakes...that sort of thing...but I do like the soft peppermint sticks.


~V~

What are those?

[QUOTE Maxi HATES cinnamon AND coconut] [/QUOTE]
Yeah, okay, I said I like everything, but coconut doesn't thrill me. I like cream pie, and german chocolate cake, 'though I don't eat many sweets, but coconut in general, :p

Oh, where to begin?

Sheri ~ You asked what does Maxi eat for breakfast? Anything as long as it is hot food. When he was very small he would call to me "wake and cook, Mama! Wake and cook!" So I'd drag out of bed and start rattling the pots and pans.

Mostly, he loves One-Eyed Jacks, Eggs In A Basket, or a homemade breakfast sandwich, but isn't adverse to leftovers from dinner heated up.

He is badly shocked when people eat pastries or cereal for breakfast.

Dave ~ Harvard Beets are when you add cornstarch to the beet juice and thicken it up like a rich gravy. Some folks add lemon.

And have you ever had the opportunity to eat a coconut right off of the tree?

When I was a kid my family moved to Miami for a year and we had coconut trees in our yard. A Seminole man came to our house and showed us how to get them out of the huge husks, poke holes in the openings to drink the milk, then break the coconut apart to eat. That stuff is wonderful fresh like that. Out of a bag or in a piece of candy, not so good.

Merme

As a matter of fact, I have had fresh coconut...in Mexico. They lop the top off with a machete and give you a straw to drink the juice. I wouldn't even call it milk...it is so fresh that it's clear! Go figure!

Isn't it interesting, Dave, how vastly different fresh foods can be from those that have been unkindly processed? I'm not against processing per se, but only against it done poorly.

And, I'm still wondering if anyone here enjoys Steak Florentine?

Merme

I forget what that is...

Steak Florentine is thin steak that has been cut into 1 to 1.5 inch wide strips. Each strip gets coated with spices, spinach and cheese, then rolled up into a pinwheel type disc about 4 inches across. Then it gets tied into shape. That is how you purchase them... already prepared.

Pop 'em in the oven and shortly you have a yummy supper!

It reminds me of when I used to buy an extra thick steak and cut it in half crosswise to make a sandwich pocket. I'd stuff it with spinach, bacon, tomatoes, diced onions, a bit of garlic, and roast that. Some people like those pockets with a bit of tomatoe marinade gravy on the side to pour over their plate.

Merme

Oh, and Dave ~ I meant to ask you before if you do not have a real butcher near you?

Merme

Merme...Better yet! My brother-in-law custom feeds beef on his farm, and we buy a half or whole beef about once a year...The steaks are better than anything you can buy. We have a store nearby, Country Boy, that has excellent meat, as well, much better, I think, than Albertson's and those places , but unlike Albertson's, they don't prepare things like steak florentine. I love to cook, and I'll look up a recipe for florentine and try it at home.

Wow, aren't you the fortunate ones? Fresh stuff from a family type farm.

About a block from my house is a real butcher shop that people drive to from hours away to buy his things.

The real butchers who work there are very, very good at what they do.

I go in and ask: what's good for dinner tonight?
And he'll ask: for how many? The grill or the oven?

And he always dreams up something YUMMY!

Also, he once saved me about $30 on my leg of lamb order one Easter by giving me the hint about the correct way to order it.

And he'll do things like build me a roast if I tell him I want pot roast for 6 people or for 8. Or if I ask him to slice the pork chops extra thin for my pork chop casserole.

It is helpful to have someone so near who really knows what they are doing!

Merme

I used to live in a place that had a real butcher. It was wonderful. Now I don't know where there is one and meat cutters at your grocery chains are very accomodating.

Merme, I've never eaten lamb. I've been told it has a "harsh" taste. Not sure what that means. I don't like mint. I'd like to start with chops instead of doing the whole leg thing. Any suggestions?

I like to broil lamb chops, just get them barely cooked through. I do like a tiny dab of mint jelly with them, but with or without, they're GREAT served with peas and new potatoes.

P.S. I think what I get are the shoulder chops. Anyway, the tiny, less expensive ones...They're not commonly available except at Easter.

Sheri ~ Serving lamb is a very Mediteranian thing, and I can think of countless Greek recipes. You've never had a Gyro?

Lamb is also terribly British Isle, and if you prefer your food without the Mediteranian spices, you could try English recipes, which tend to be more basic.

The addition of mint jelly on the side isn't a necessity. It is moreorless used as one might put a bottle of ketchup on the table for those who like it.

And as whether or not it is "harsh", well... I would say it isn't a harsh meat such as Moose can be, with that rather strong "gamey" taste, but it does have a distinctive flavor. You KNOW you are not eating beef,chicken or rabbit.

If you'll let me know your spicing preferences, I will be glad to look up some things for you in that genre.

Of course Peppereater's broiled chops with new potatoes and peas is top notch too.

Merme

I think I'll try the broiled chops to start with to see if I like them. That's easy enough.

I fixed Rachael Ray's apple and onion stuffing and it was horrible. We all tried a bite and didn't eat another one.

How did she suggest you prepare it, Sheri?

Merme

She sauteed an onion and green applies in butter, add toasted, buttered, diced bread, warm together, then add chicken stock to moisten. It didn't taste very good. No one liked it.

Sheri, that doesn't sound too good to me, either!

When I make the traditional, standard bread stuffing, I always add celery, onion, and at least one red apple diced up. It is how my mom made it when I was a kid.

In this way, all the flavors we so like about the traditional stuffing remain intact and yet you get the delight of small pieces of apples that have been baked right along with everything else.

Merme

Rachel did put celery in hers but we don't like celery. I don't think it would have made that much of a difference. You know, hers is 30 minute stuffing and it didn't take more than 30 minutes to make Some people might like it but we didn't.

I saw her make that Sheri and wondered about it..now I know!
One thing I have noticed on the cooking channel about the stuffing is that it never looks "done" to me! You can always see the bread "cubes in it. When I do dressing, I like it to be moist and mixed up enough that you cannot see the individual bread or cornbread cubes!

Well, I meant to say...our favorite dressing is squash dressing. I have tried MANY others but always keep coming back to the same tried & true one made with yellow squash. And...by ALL means...do not try the recipe on the back of fresh cranberries for their cranberry dressing...I tried that one last year and it got thrown out....even the dogs turned their nose up to it!


~V~