thistle

Budget-stretching-make sure everyone in your household will eat leftovers-this is my biggest problem, they usually like it first time around, but noone but me will eat things for several days in a row, no matter how creatively I try to disguise it. My favorite 'extender' is rice (not as cheap as it used to be), thanks to the rice cooker, we have rice w/ almost every meal (& noone gets tired of it). Lots of odd & misshapen veggies from the late summer, neglected vegetable garden-tomatoes, eggplant, herbs. I also use my electric smoker (low maintenance) to smoke pork butt, if there's leftovers (rarely), it can be frozen to use in chili, baked pasta dishes, etc. I like beans, but noone else does, so if I make a big pot, I eat them for at least a week-not good...

Ft. Hunt park, VA (south part of GW Pkwy., a few miles north of Mt. Vernon) & as for time, early afternoon?-on...some folks (the ones that have small animals to cook onsite & those who want to set up &/or can't wait, start arriving mid-morning). Lots of parking, pretty easy to find, restrooms across the street-the 2 picnics I've attended have both been rainy, but that makes it seem more intimate, right?

OK, I like my BLT w/ sturdy wholegrain bread, brushed w/ butter on outside, good bacon, homegrown tomatoes (thank goodness the tomatoes are still hanging on, despite the lack of rain), cheese (sharp cheddar or smoked provolone, grilled under a bacon/panini press until warmed through, then add lettuce & salsa mayo (salsa-either TJ's salsa verde or Pace Picante mixed w/ Hellman's light mayo), served w/ cold beverage of choice, pickles, & chips...

Ghoulish/goulash-good! pumpkin-good, as long as it's paired w/ lots of pork(maybe braised pork/pumpkin goulash, w/ lots of paprika)...Fall picnic gives us something to look forward to (I'm having those back-to-school blues, although I don't know why)...maybe a crab & shrimp gumbo? since it always seems to rain...I'll help with anything needed-setup, cleanup, bringing a tent, stove, stuff....

My 3 okra plants are Cajun Delight & I let them sit way too long in a tiny cell before planting, & they're planted in a bed where they get only half day sun, so I'm surprised they're blooming at all. This bed (w/ a windmill palm & a Japanese maple) got all my leftovers (I dug out a ton of bearded irises & gave them to my neighbor), the 'discarded' tomatoes, peppers, okra, Japanese anemones that I couldn't figure where else to put. It's on the S/E side of the house & will get a few more oddballs before I'm done-'Harlow Carr' clematis, ginger lilies, I might try & put in a fatsia before fall.... I'm also adding a few more hardy hibiscus, in a boggier part of the yard-I have 1 'Plum Crazy' & I'm adding another & a 'Fantasia', I think they'll fit in well w/ the elephant ears & bananas, also have canna, calla, eupatorium, & passiflora-the other plant that is taking over is pycnanthemum-mountain mint-it's a THUG, but I don't have the heart to dig it out, because the bees LOVE it-I've never seen so many honeybees!

That sounds good, maybe dirty rice? (I'm a copout, use the Tony Chachere's mix w/ gound beef -chicken livers-ugh!) w/ eggplant. My favorite way to eat eggplant so far seems to be fried-eggplant parmesan or the delicious ziti w/ fried eggplant I used to devour at Elizabeth Pizza in Wilmington, NC. I'm trying to get used to eggplant in Thai curries, but I'm not there yet. I also have some okra on my okra plants & I like those fried, too!

Help!, I need eggplant recipes-maybe just ratatouille? Tomatoes are just starting to kick in (the Sungold cherry tomatoes are in the lead), lots of Ichiban & Turkish Orange egglant (which are so cute-they look just like tomatoes & the bush is bending over because it's covered in fruit), lots of peppers-Thai hot, serrano, jalapeno, Holy Mole. Cucumbers have migrated to my neighbor's side of the fence & are gradually being smothered by passionflower, blackberries & hops not doing much, but I seem to be growing world record size mosquitos....I also have 3 box turtles in my back yard now & I was overjoyed to see one cruising along yesterday with a fat slug in his mouth...

I'll second pulled pork sliders-good rolls (make 'em or buy 'em), slow-roasted/smoked pork butt, w/ a splash of hot pepper vinegar. I like my slaw on the side, not on the sandwich, tangy rather than sweet (rice vinegar & Pickapeppa sauce)-wow, this is making me hungry!....I wouldn't prep them ahead of time, just bring a container of pork, the rolls, slaw (optional) & let them construct their own...

That sounds like the perfect harvest size-I went away for about a week & had to depend on 'the kindness of strangers' (well, not really, neighbors) to do my watering, but I understand there was quite a bit of rain. I have tomatoes-Sungold & a couple of big, fat Turkish Orange egglant, a few tiny Ichiban eggplant, & various hot peppers-& everything's still alive! (well, 1 tomato plant has serious blossom end-rot). My friend that I visited in NC still has lettuce & beans, tomatoes (raised from seed, about 30 plants in huge buckets), cukes, & his corn is looking pretty good-I ate alot of farmstand corn while I was there...

I've had a Zojirushi (not fuzzy logic, model is NS-MYC18,I think it was $90) for 8 years, use it 3-5 times weekly, & would not be without it. I usually turn off the 'keep warm' cycle, too. I have the Beth Hensperger 'Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook', but will shamefully admit the only thing I've ever used my rice cooker for is plain cooked rice, which it does, perfectly, every time. I took a Thai cooking class the other day & I was dumbstruck that the teacher didn't have a rice cooker (not that it's difficult to cook rice, but the rice cooker is awesome).

You're right, it's probably all in the editing, I am one of those who has disliked Lisa all along, yet I don't really know what her cooking is like. I have favored either Richard or Stephanie for the win from the beginning, though, & thought Dale was the dark horse, can't believe he got booted before Lisa. I am enjoying the show, but I agree it has shifted more towards top caterer (food for the masses) rather than restaurant food, to order...

Any of Deborah Madison's cookbooks-Greens, Savoury Way, the Complete Vegetarian, vegetarian suppers (not sure of the exact titles-I have the first 2, but have checked the others out from the library numerous times)-I think they'd be perfect for improvising on whatever you can find at the market or grow yourself...

My okra-Cajun Delight-has been eaten up by some kind of bug, so I'm spraying them (& the tomatoes, peppers, & eggplants) w/ Neem. The blueberry has been planted out & I'll share w/ the birds (although the berries don't seem to be ripening, yet). Tomatoes are doing OK, but I wish it would warm up a bit. I'm taking a bunch of 'reject' tomatoes, & planting them in different beds throughout the yard-at least, we got a good, soaking rain tonight...

No comment on cicadas-but late season veggies are a good idea-tomatoes, cukes-honey is good, too-I bet it would be awesome on bacon... & for ice-cream, they have those camping ice cream balls you can kick around

I got the last 3 alpine strawberries at Holly, Woods, & Vines. What's left now is Chandler (June bearing) & Ozark Beauty (everbearing). Disclaimer-I work p/t at HWV & it just killed me this weekend to hear people talking about the vegetables-'these tomatoes look rough'-well, it's been cold at night, sometimes warm during the day, inconsistent watering (tons of rain), lots of wind-you'd look pretty rough, too! These veggies just need to be planted (tomatoes, deep &/or sideways), given some sun/heat & love, & they will catch up! Throw on some compost, manure, tomatotone & do a harvest dance...

It's a funky spring we're having-cool & wet. Most of my veggies are just sitting there, waiting for some heat. I did get a big blueberry bush, 'Blueray', planted an akebia, & picked up 2 squash-Supersett yellow crookneck & Aristocrat zucchini, & 1 more pepper-Ancho Villa poblano. Oh, & 3 alpine strawberries for a container...

Hey, I picked Hung for the winner last year at the first episode. This year, I'm thinking it will be Richard. Unless the Bravo guys absolutely want to have a woman, in which case, it will be Stephanie (I think she's a great choice, also). I really liked Dale (as a cook), thought his dishes looked great, & can't believe he was eliminated before Lisa or Spike. But then, I was also upset that Jen got bumped before Nikki....It's very subjective. I think the ultimate showdown will be between Richard & Stephanie, & I'm fine w/ that-I think they're both quite skilled & thoughtful...

Can we save the haggis for RBurns day-Jan. 25th ( or even Nov. 30th, his birthday)? Despite my Scots ancestry, haggis is kind of yuck-I'n assuming they celebrated that , in lieu of anything else....now, potatoes, that's something you can celebrate...(I have nothing against kilts or bagpipes or even turnips)...

I forgot about the market this morning (normally, I'm working, but I had a child home sick from school), so when I went to the library (Sherwood Hall), I got a bonus-the market! My daughter got some fudge & I picked up some sausages at Cibola farms-buffalo/pork/cranberry/wine & pork/tarragon-can't wait to grill these!

OOh, yes-late summer potato fest-w/potato salads,grilled & fried potatoes, & grilled meats to accompany them...

So far, it's been a strange cool, rainy spring-I have 6 Earthboxes planted up w/ veg- 3 Sungold tomatoes, Early Girl, Big Boy, Better Boy, Orange Oxheart & Mortgage lifter, 2 Turkish orange eggplant, peppers-holy mole, thai hot, & carribean hot. I have some other tomatoes planted out in the beds, cucumbers-straight eight & cool breeze, Ichiban eggplant, okra, & lots of herbs. The rain is good, now we just need some heat...the fig trees are all leafing out, my pineapple guavas from last year made it through the winter, although I doubt they'll fruit. I need to replant my new pawpaws deeper & I'm thinking about what other edibles to add-some gorgeous blueberries just came in at the garden center...best performer last year-vietnamese cilantro (rau ram), got to be a bush about 3' around (& I used alot of it)...

A few more post-picnic observations-major kudos for Scott Johnson(& Claudia) for getting us all moving & keeping things organized & for making a veggie torte that was so beautiful that noone wanted to be the first to cut it & to Goldenticket, for unobtrusive & masterful logistics, Jake-for the ham (which had my kids hypnotized for the first few hours) & coordinating cellar tasting/cull/swill (whatever you want to call it), the various pork maestros-agm & quickdraw, w/ the caja china ( I couldn't decide whether I liked last year's lamb or this year's pig better-tough call), Ilaine & Scott's piglet, which was quickly dispatched w/ a cleaver, the chorizo (yum), everyone who brought side dishes (not everything should be pork!)...once again, despite the weather, the people & the food won out! Now, about a fall picnic? I know it's early, but...maybe another chili cookoff or porkfest ?

This sounds like an excellent roadtrip-all you can consume beef & beer, this is something to plan a weekend around... My own hometown food festival is the Sneads Ferry (NC) shrimp festival, usually held the first weekend in August. One price gets you shrimp, hushpuppies, fish stew, but the beer is NOT included!

I guess I'll be the first to post, after leaving the picnic. It was awesome! pork products galore-the piggie in the caja china(agm & notquickdraw, who were the first ones onsite), the piglet that Ilaine & Chris brought, Eric's home-cured bacon, Karen's chorizo, & the starter-the Calhoun ham (I believe Jake brought it), that was our mainstay, until we could eat all the other pork.... & all the sides-frittata, cheeses, veggie salads, deviled eggs, tortes, dips, gravlax, wings.... & desserts-mango mold, cookies, brownies, tarts, mango-strawberry pie, lemon bars, cupcakes. & everytime someone would arrive, w/ something new-fried chicken & mac n cheese, the ostrich egg (which was fried sunnyside up, in bacon fat, & was the one thing my daughter kept returning to, over & over again-(I bet I'm the only kid in our school to eat an ostrich egg), we would all gather around, then move in like bandits...The best part of the picnic was meeting people that I had previously only met online...I look forward to our next picnic!....Linda/aka Thistle

Along w/ other stuff (beverages, food, hard goods), I'll be packing the 10 gallon water cooler & the Campchef stove for folks that want to cook onsite-it has 3 30K burners, a grill box that covers 2 burners & I can bring a cast iron skillet for the 3rd burner. Very much OT, but I had the BEST mother's day lunch yesterday at Thai Herbs (Richmond Hwy.)-it was a buffet & I had pad thai, larb (multiple portions!), seafood curry, spring rolls, rice, salmon, thai grilled chicken & the most amazing key lime cheesecake-I really shouldn't be hungry again until Sunday...