I was in the mood for reubens, but I got suckered into going over to the pseudo-MIL and eating turkey. :(

I need a mincemeat pie.

I think I'll make it tomorrow.

must bake more bread... will do some time this week =P

I was craving a roast chicken. Mission accomplished with cornbread dressing.

I am going to try a "healthy" version of eggplant parmesan tonight.

Reubens sound really good, but today I was in the mood for chocolate covered peanuts. Bought them, ate them and now feel sick. They were still well worth it.

Isn't eggplant parm healthy as it is?

I'm making reubens today, and I bought some baklava today. I'm going to eat that and feel sick. Like your peanuts, they'll still be well worth it.

I made pumpkin bread yesterday. The recipe called for applesauce, apple juice, and dried cranberries which I didn't have, so I used mashed up canned mandarin oranges, diluted orange juice, and golden raisins instead. Came out good, too.

Eggplant parmesan is usually covered in sauce and cheese in these parts. I'm just putting the eggplant on a sheet w/ some evo in the oven for a little while, put on a little cheese, then put fresh tomato on top until the tomato gets kinda mushy, sprinkle on basil. It can be done on the grill but I don't feel like going outside or cleaning the grill side of the stove.

Has anyone else tried the pumpkin or eggnog yogurt that is available this time of the year? It's only available seasonally. With some extra cinnamon and nutmeg they are both excellent. I've never seen it anywhere else but I suspect it's made by Breyer's, since Breyer's is about the only yogurt you can buy without artificial sweeteners, but I could be wrong. It's a store brand here.

I've been making Persian lime pies, since I can pick Persian limes off a tree. I've never made pies before in my life, unless you count quiche. Okay, I don't make my own crust either.

For some reason, I just can't eat yogurt anymore. I guess I overdid that stuff at some point.

Persian limes - I have no idea what kind of limes we have up here. They're green..........
Key limes are available sometimes and I have made pies from them. Cute little things.

We did establish quite some time ago if you don't make your own crust, you can't call it a pie. That's the way it is.

Persian Limes? I do not know what they are either. Tricky to know when to pick them from the Bush/shrub/Tree because how do you know when they're ripe?
The plant label just said Lime.

As for Pumpkin Pie. We have Pumpkin Soup or Scones but Pumpkin Pie doesn't sound inviting.

Persian limes are smaller than typical limes found in the stores and are round and yellow/green. They cause one to pucker your cheeks all the way to your arse.

It's easy to tell when fruits are ripe, it depends on the color and how firm it is. Now, oranges aren't truly that pretty orange color of the oranges found in the grocery store, although tangerines are pretty close. Persimmons and figs should just about crush in your hand when picking. Carambola can be tricky and downright bitter if not ripe. Bananas are best picked green right before they start to fall off the tree, otherwise they fall off the tree and make a mess; growing more trees and attracting ants and cockroaches, etc. Did you know bananas are annuals? I didn't but they grow and fruit all year. And, the bananas most people grow are far less astringent then store bought bananas and taste infinitely better.

You have to pick pineapples before they are completely ripe or the raccoons and gopher turtles get them first. They behave like most bromeliads and just keep making more and more pups.

Now, guava confuse me. They are tasty but you aren't supposed to eat the seeds. However, they are all seed, so there is not much left if one throws out the seeds. There is even a cattleya variety of guava.

Laura - forever spoiled by my own personal fruit of the month club. Hey, strawberry season starts next month.

Well, I still have lots of apples picked from my Dad's trees this past fall. They should last me through February. If oranges aren't $10 lb. by then I'll start buying them. If they are, I'll keep eating those dried cranberries I've come to love. Winter in the north is sooooooo........character building.

While you were building character this morning, I squeezed myself some fresh orange juice.

Persian limes are probably the best limes.

In terms of pumpkin my pseudo-grandpa makes a wonderful pickled pumpkin. The alcohol fumes when you open the jar are amazing.

In other fruit news, my tomatoes, while a bit late, are starting to set flowers!

Stacy

What I wouldn't give for a good tomato this time of year!

Today I want apple pie. I will have it.

K

Yesterday, I wanted blutwurst, and I had it.

Today, I suffer for lack of a hankering. The question 'What's for dinner?' is tortuous. I'm sick, so maybe a nice piece of pizza...

Stacy

My tomato crop is looking great. But fingers crossed it has looked great before and some dreaded thing happens to the plants and i get no crop.

The difference in taste between a home grown tomato and the rocks you buy in the shops is vast.

How can tomatoes set flowers when it is winter over there? Or is Atlanta tropical?

I would say Atlanta is kind of a desert these days. Are the preachers there still doing the rain dance thing???

My pie was wonderful. I was making the crust early this morning and discovered I didn't have enough shortening, so I used part lard. Best crust I ever made.

today we're feasting on ginger mollases spice cookies. They smell delicious. I'lll let you know how they come out.

cookie prozac.

Atlanta is a desert, but it rained allllllll day yesterday. Only the governor does the rain dances. Tomatoes grow inside in Atlanta, right now, anda get thrown out in a couple of months.

Cookies are prozac. What spices?

I felt like stuffed grape leaves with avgolemono sauce, so I made it.

I also felt like Persian lime pie but forgot to buy the condensed milk and cream. How can a person spend $200 at the grocery store and forget stuff?

I did, however, remember to buy the necessary evils for either lasagna or manicotti tonight, in anticipation of this cold front. No, wait, forgot garlic bread.

Yikes, more snow here. I made basil gnocci with pesto, chicken, pine nuts and asparagus.

I was in the mood for spicy shrimp and peanut spring rolls so I made some.

$200 for groceries?? That would feed me for a couple of months or longer. I think you are a very, very rich lady.

Maybe we should start a thread to see how much people spend on groceries.

No, I'm not rich, just practical really. $200 is usually for two weeks worth of groceries, sometimes three, occasionally one, if I forget too much. But keep in mind, I live 10 miles from the nearest grocery store and work at home, so there is no stopping to just pick something up and spending an extra $30 a couple times a week, and there is no running to the store if I forgot something or we run out, so I do keep the pantry stocked (forget take-out and pizza delivery). In that context, I think I do very well. I also, admittedly, always pick up several bottles of wine for different occasions, we have lots of occasions.

You do realize the "rich lady" remark was just me being me?

I don't think folks would be willing to post how much they spend on anything. I think that's one of those sensitive topics. It would be interesting to see the price of various food items from place to place though.

MN is still one of those states that won't allow booze sales in grocery stores. So odd.

Actually, I'm rather proud of my hunter-gather prowess. I mean, if you consider that historically/prehistorically the man and/or dog should do their own hunting, or that of the family, we would all starve, if it weren't for me. I find great honor in eating well for as little possible. And, unlike you, I've never had spam. Hehehe.

Admittedly though, when Paul came home from a dinner with a business associate the other night and informed me he had learned the secret to cooking a standing rib roast, I quickly informed him that in this lifetime we could never afford one, so a cooking lesson was a waste of time.

Ginger, black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, mollasses, ground cloves.....delicious. Of course it's prozac. I put in extra black pepper. That makes it good.

We have seperate liquore stores in Ontario as well, it can be nice.

I was in the mood for cranberry pound cake today, so I bought one.

I'll probably finish it tomorrow.

I did, at some point, inquire as to the price of spinach or something like that. I also remember noticing that the price of Odwalla increased the further the bottles had to travel. I wonder how much more we pay for the Cal apples here?

In Va, wine and beer can be found in grocery stores, but for liquor one must head to a state-licensed store - they are all called VABC stores, or something like that. Of course, crossing the state line is possible around here too.