Pete

Thanks for the tip Joe! We had a great drive down Rte 15 coming back from a trip to the GF's family yesterday, and the country-side was incredible. Will have to try out Bluemont Vineyard on a leisurely weekend afternoon sometime.

Great Country Farms is right across the street from Bluemont Vineyards (we are CSA members of Great Country Farms) and is a great place for seasonal U-Pick items. They also have a barnyard, play area, and other activities for both adults and kids.

Buttermilk ice cream with blueberries, black raspberries, and red raspberries. I think summer fruits are my favorite foods ever... except ice cream.

I've got buttermilk and blueberries to use up and have been thinking of doing a buttermilk ice cream. Do you have a recipe that you recommend?

Baby Back Ribs with mushrooms (sauteed in roasted garlic butter) and orzo.

I made the Baby Back Ribs using Alton Brown's indoor cooking method as a guide. I made a batch of Zora's Spicy S.C. Mustard Sauce, thinned a portion of it out with some white wine to act as the braising liquid, and finished them under the broiler with a heavy dose of the sauce. Killer.

I used this on baby back ribs last night and, if you were to play a recording of the sounds my family made as we tore through those two racks of ribs, I don't think it would be work safe. Well done, Zora!

Ditto. What a fantastic sauce! Congratulations on winning the contest, although I find it a little odd that the winner of a BBQ sauce recipe contest wins (among other things) a collection of bottled BBQ sauces.

It looks like Paula and I will be able to make it (plus our 3 1/2 year old and 10 week old). I think I convinced Paula to make Black & White cookies.

It looks like the Farmers Market is starting this Saturday. I am not familiar with the vendors listed (then again, I rarely am); however, I am curious about the knife sharpening vendor.

I read in the local paper that it is opening in mid-May. I hope it does well, but I have my doubts about how well this farmers market will do, since that area is a ghost town on the weekend (with the exception of the hotel itself). If the market was open on a weekday, they would probably get a lot of traffic from the offices nearby.

I'm embarrased to say that even after living across the street from Plush for the past 5 months, last night was my first trip to the gelato and coffee shop.

Have you tried Molly's Yogurt in the shopping plaza at Nutley and 123? Their gelato is really good (I'm no expert), but I am curious how it compares to Plush.

Super Chicken now has a location in Tysons Corner in the same shopping plaza as Marshall's and Home Goods. I tried it for the first time and was very pleased. The chicken, both the white meat and the dark meat, were juicy and flavorful. The rub/marinade that they use definitely has a strong cumin flavor (which I like). My sides of chickpeas and fried rice were terrific as well, although the fried rice was a little too dry. This is my first experience with Peruvian chicken, so I have no basis of comparison to other Peruvian chicken joints. Given how good this meal was, and its convenience (despite the construction hell going on right there on Route 7), I will definitely be returning.

So sad to report that they are closing their doors or have closed already. Reported by Viva Tysons magazine. Old email 30% off inventory.

Considering that there were 3 other wine stores within about a half mile (Out of Site Wines, Vienna Vintner, and Norm's Beer & Wine), I'm not surprised that one of them went under.

What about freezing jalapeno peppers? I bought more than I will need at Lotte recently and don't want them to go to waste.

Never heard of this one before. My wife avoided eating raw protein while she was prego but that was about it. Is going vegetarian being recommended by doctors these days?

While my wife avoided raw proteins (except for the omakase at Sushi-ko on the day she happened to find out she was pregnant) and deli meat, my wife's doctor told her that pretty much everything is OK in moderation and so far our 13 day old little girl seems healthy and normal. I'm guessing the vegetarian question has more to do with tolerance to tastes/smells at this early stage of pregnancy.

I instantly give points to coffee shop purveyors who roast on site since you know the java is fresher that way and most don't do this due to the cost.

Coffee was excellent. Owner very nice and there's a brand spankin' new, yellow and gleaming steel fairly high tech roasting machine right in the front of the cafe. My only pick, a minor one, is how they positioned and use the machine. It's set up like one might expect at a science museum and reminded me of the Way Back Machine. It has a velvet rope around it, a few scattered coffee burlap sacks for effect and it's connected to a laptop with its own stool. But maybe not so cool to run it during the day as they do since it's right next to the tables and makes a ton of noise.

Is the coffee roaster officially operational? Last time I checked there were permitting issues and the roaster was just on display, not in use. However, that was a few months ago.

I'm glad you started a thread on this place, as the coffee is excellent and the owner and staff are extremely friendly.

Bump.

We got a good deal on a crock-pot at Costco, but it is not such a good deal when it still sits in its original box. Does anybody have any good recipes to share?

Any recent updates? We will be going on Saturday night as a last "date night" out before child #2 arrives.

To my brother and best friend Mark. It's hard to believe that it has been 1 year.

made faccacia. One of my worst efforts. It was flat and very yeasty. Really dense, had no rise in it at all.

I think I let the first rise go too long (24hrs on the dining room table. I completely for got about it). When rolled it out on a sheet pan, it would not rise again. Thank goodness, my kids have never met bread they did not like. It was gone within the afternoon.

Soup

This recipe that Legant posted upthread for No Knead Easy Focaccia is really good. I have made it twice within the last week with great success. I would recommend upping the salt to 2 teaspoons as the first time I made it (as written) we all agreed that it definitely needed more salt.

Why wouldn't a regular plastic blade guard that fits a chef's knife of the same length fit a cleaver?

You're right. It probably would. However, ideally I want to cover not just the blade edge but the entire surface of the cleaver.

Does anybody know where I can get a knife blade cover/protector that would fit a meat cleaver? All I can find online seem to fit chef's knives but not cleavers.

Although it has been 4 years since I have eaten there, I'll 3rd the recommendation for Mikaku Sushi Taro.

I need some help resolving an access issue. My home computer cannot connect to DR.com -- I get an error message saying the server may be down. I've tried several different browsers and two different internet connections. Ideas?

I have been having the same problem from my work computer for a couple of months now, which stinks, because it means that I actually have to do work now.

Mr. Chang and wife are ensconced at Tasty China in Marietta GA.

Details:

http://285foodies.com/forum/index.php?topic=105.msg11971#msg11971

Carpe diem.

Sweet! We will be in Atlanta at the end of September and may have time to check it out (assuming he's still there).

I posted in the intrepid traveler forum, but just to cover all my bases ... I'm driving from DC to Harrisburg, PA tomorrow (and back) and will have time to stop off for snacks on the way - if there's anywhere worth stopping. I've been told of a place called Shamrocks in Thurmont, MD, and a place called People's Restaurant in New Holland, PA. Is either of those worth it? Anything else worthwhile a little more on the way? Am looking for something to improve the drive

Wave hi to me on the road tomorrow, as we are driving up to Harrisburg as well.

I270-I15 is the easiest way to go. As others have mentioned, there will probably be some roadside stands along I15, usually north of Thurmont and into Pennsylvania. We usually make the trip straight through, as we try to time it around our daughter's naptime, so we haven't had a chance to explore as we used to. There is also a Sheetz in Thurmont, if you are into the MTO thing.

Bump.

Has anybody seen 00 Flour around recently? Whole Foods in Vienna was a bust.

Any recent reports? Paula and I are heading here tomorrow night (assuming my reservation for the "Sushi Bar with Koji" was understood correctly) and are trying to break out of our usual sushi/Japanese comfort zone.