dracisk

41 minutes ago, saf said:

I think this will be their project meal next week.

I think this will be my project meal at some point during this dark winter. I'm pretty sure Costco sells Gruyere. (I love Wegmans, too, but I'm at Costco every 2 weeks and rarely find myself at Wegmans.)

17 minutes ago, saf said:

French Onion mac and cheese

O. M. G.

Yes, there was actually maple syrup in the batter and we had maple syrup on top as well. I also had butter on mine.

This morning my husband made Belgian waffles using the Bisquick recipe with the waffle maker we bought over the summer for $5 from a family moving overseas. We had them with sugared strawberries and butter.

I rarely cook anything in my house -- my husband mostly cooks -- but I had a craving for pumpkin pancakes, so this morning I made this recipe, which was very good! I hadn't made pancakes in a long time, so they were a little overdone and dense (I think I should have added more milk to the batter as the recipe suggests if the batter seems too thick), but they still tasted great and pumpkin-y. I also made bacon in the oven for the first time. It came out very crispy but it was still bacon so still tasted great. I'll tweak my methods on both and hopefully will get even better results next time.

On 10/13/2020 at 11:39 AM, KeithA said:

Griffin Tavern

Aw, man, we were driving through Flint Hill last Sunday morning after leaving Shenandoah National Park and I noticed Griffin Tavern on Google Maps, but they weren't open yet. I'll definitely keep it in mind for future trips out there.

I wish my kid would sub green beans for French fries!!

We only made it there once. 😞

I did end up going to Rhode Island to see my parents (and other family). We got tested before we left and then crossed our fingers that we didn't pick it up between the test and our arrival (pretty unlikely as we're mostly home, except that we flew). I really wasn't freaked about flying. Everyone was masked, middle seats were empty, and I always thought airports and airplanes were filthy, so treating all surfaces as covered in germs was nothing new to me. We sanitized a lot and everything turned out fine. We've been back for 3+ weeks and no one got sick -- very thankfully!!

2 hours ago, dwt said:

I'm surprised that you, Pat, expressed this sentiment. I'm often jealous of the variety of dishes in just one of your meals

Seconded! I'm AMAZED at what Pat comes up with -- the variety of dishes in each meal and the use of dribs and drabs from prior meals. Also the use of freezer items from years ago!

14 hours ago, zgast said:

Sounds like a yummy dinner to me!  Goldfish are the one kid food that I'll still go for all of the time.

Oh I love them but I don't usually eat them for dinner (but I probably have at some point)!

My husband gave my 6-year-old a big bowl of Goldfish and an orange soda at 5pm. 🙄🤯 Shockingly, she's not hungry for dinner. But still wants dessert!

On 6/5/2020 at 4:16 PM, dracisk said:

According to my neighborhood listserv Tropical Ice Cream was unable to get a COVID-19 small business loan and is in danger of closing permanently. There's a GoFundMe campaign if anyone is inclined to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-tropical-ice-cream. As of this writing they've raised almost $10,000 of their $15,000 goal!

They've now raised almost $34,000.

We got our pumpkin there one year when we didn't get our act together to visit a pumpkin patch. My daughter also went on an adorable field trip there when she was in preschool (which was how I first learned about it).

So sad! On one trip to New York (wow, 10 years ago!!) I sought this place out and brought my friends to it. I forget how I'd heard about it -- this was way before I joined dr.com -- maybe Chowhound. I would have loved to return!!

I made these oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/12/easy-one-bowl-oatmeal-cookies-recipe.html. They are very good. I'm currently enjoying one with some cold brew coffee.

5 minutes ago, ElGuapo said:

“We first have to transfer the beer and wine license,” he said. “That takes 30 days. You have to post [the notice] on the door. So my guess it will be some time in September, October.”

 

Thank you! Moving too fast and didn't click on your link but clearly should have!

32 minutes ago, ElGuapo said:

Snider’s Super Foods in Montgomery Hills has been sold to a locally based group of small food markets, according to Terry Sweet, one of Snider’s managers. The purchasers operate Streets Market & Café, based in Washington, D.C. The company opened its first store in 2014 and currently operates nine locations in the District, Baltimore, Arlington and Alexandria, Va.

https://www.sourceofthespring.com/business/sniders-sold-local-group-food-market-operators/

This has been the talk of the surrounding neighborhoods this weekend. All I want to know is whether the new owners will still be able to sell beer and wine.

I made a pitcher of mojitos yesterday and they were so refreshing and delicious. I didn't feel like making simple syrup so used this recipe that calls for granulated sugar: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/233523/mojitos-by-the-pitcher/. I drank them while lounging in our backyard inflatable pool. #quarantine

@ktmoomau, those are all very helpful things to think about and thank you for sharing your protocol. However, I'm quite sure my family isn't going to do any of that stuff. 🤣

I'm still undecided about whether we'll go. I spoke to my mom and she wants us to come. She says she doesn't have that much time left (I mean, she's not THAT old -- she's 73) and she misses us. She'd especially like some time with her granddaughter (who's 6). She'd rather take the chance and spend time with us. My mom is a homebody anyway so doesn't go out that much, but she's been going to the grocery store this whole time and not during senior hours because she doesn't like to get up early. My father has been golfing and playing cards indoors with a group of guys (most of whom are older than he is). I sincerely doubt they're wearing masks. He's been sharing golf carts and will attend an indoor golf tournament dinner with many people (I'm not sure what the limit it in RI for indoor gatherings, but it'll be close to that limit). The piece de resistance is that my brother and 7-year-old nephew have been coming down from Boston every other weekend to stay with my parents, and my brother's live-in girlfriend works in a hospital (not directly with COVID patients but still).

So I kind of feel like if we go we're not the ones who will be breaking their bubble. The bubble was already broken by my brother and by my parents themselves. One of my co-workers took her young kids to stay with her mom for a week and she said the way she thought about it was that her mom had some guy in her house helping her clean out her basement, so her mom wasn't being that careful and it didn't seem that risky for my co-worker and her family to be in the house, too. That's kind of how I'm also leaning, but I still haven't decided for sure. If we do go we'll definitely limit our interactions with anyone else during the 2 weeks before. We may get tested before we go, too. Your protocols for visiting definitely seem much safer than what we'd do.

I made sangria for the first time. I had a bottle of Riunite I needed to use* and the only use I could find for it other than drinking it straight was sangria. I was on the fence about making it, but when I realized we had just enough brandy left from when my husband made Beef Wellington 6 years ago I decided to go for it. It was tasty and perfect for a hot day in our backyard with a couple of neighbors. Next time I make sangria I'll probably use a Spanish wine, though!

*I sent my husband out for a specific bottle of dry lambrusco last year, and he came back with that plus a 1.75 L bottle of Riunte, because it also says "lambrusco" on the label.

4 hours ago, John William G said:

Well it has been a number of years sine I lived in Morocco, but back in the late 60s there were holes in. the ground everywhere.

Now that you mention it I've heard of them in India, too, but I've personally never encountered them outside China.

I don't remember that at the Louvre. I don't think I've ever encountered a hole in the ground outside China. I don't even remember them in Thailand, which is the only other place I've been to in Asia besides China (and Hong Kong).

I got used to holes in the ground during my time in China and didn't mind most of them. My knees were much better then, though. 😂

On 4/21/2015 at 9:07 PM, dcandohio said:

I have spent time in China, and some of the nastiest bathrooms ever were at tourist attractions and eating establishments near tourist attractions.

The nastiest "toilet" I've ever experienced in my life was in Chengdu, China, at the Hei Kafei (Black Coffee) Hotel. It was a tiled subterranean expanse that one squatted over (not a "hole in the ground;" much bigger). Based on the stench and the contents, I can't imagine this area was cleaned more than once a week. (This was in a communal bathroom at the hotel.) Rats also ran through the hallways of this place. This was in 1993 when I spent 6 months studying in China (mostly in Beijing and Nanjing). I have no idea why I feel the need to share this with everyone.

According to my neighborhood listserv Tropical Ice Cream was unable to get a COVID-19 small business loan and is in danger of closing permanently. There's a GoFundMe campaign if anyone is inclined to donate: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-tropical-ice-cream. As of this writing they've raised almost $10,000 of their $15,000 goal!

I just want to go to Rhode Island, where I grew up, at the end of August. We go every summer to see family and go to the beach. Unfortunately a major component is staying with my parents (who enjoy spending time with my 6-year-old). They're in their 70s, so I'm not sure if it's happening this year. We usually fly and we thought about driving instead to minimize the chance we'd infect them (though we'd still probably be stopping in roadside bathrooms), but I still haven't worked out everything in my head. We usually go for Thanksgiving, too, and I'm not even sure that's going to happen this year. I kind of feel like it won't be safe to get up close and personal with them until there's a vaccine, but maybe I'm wrong. The guidance I've seen on safe activities this summer with high risk populations involves seeing them but keeping a safe distance.