I agree about something they can't buy which would be a family heirloom...something with meaning, family history, something that can be passed down. Even if they're younger and won't appreciate it as much now, they will when they're older. An album of pictures from when they were a child, when you were a child when their parent was a child... Maybe a wedding gift you received when you got married...

My cousin gave my nephew and his wife a quilt that she had made, and she had me pick it out. I think it was my nephew's wife's favorite gift - it was something that no one could buy.

I agree, something you know they will cherish - which wouldn't be a monetary gift, it seems.

Have you asked their parents for some ideas yet?

Rusty

@eld6161 It's like that in the city near where I live. Some people (like me) love it when the jacaranda trees bloom, with their glorious hyacinth blue flowers, and others say they are too messy for street trees and should all be removed and replaced with something boring.

Bpath, not sure what you are seeing. i see it as molded rice and seaweed for the Snoopy.

Lovely house. Make sure you get the fireplaced checked/inspected. There's some discoloration of the brick and rippling of the ceiling right there that might indicate some leaking of the chimney sealing. It might be something that was already sealed back up and that's just a leftover- or it could indicate an ongoing problem.

The layout of the house is fine. Obviously, none of us here know what the neighborhood is like and whether that is a good value for the location.

Whatever is going on around the fireplace looks like a giant red flag to me. What is behind that? How bad is that damage? Roof, structural supports?

Scribe a flat stock trim to the ceiling line, painted to match cabinets. No goo, no "crown".

Given that it was their screwup, sounds like the sewer guys are the ones who should be sweating it out

I cannot even imagine trying to keep that place clean with all those nooks and crannies.

Lars, you are correct that the flood risk is high. I noticed that along with the incredibly low property taxes (compared to ours).

Owner's quote: "“We didn’t want something that was going to fall out of favor..."

No fear of that! It's already out of favor! I agree with most of what's been said, that it is way too ornate, too much like a palace or museum or public space than a home that feels cozy. The marble bath tub got me as it'd never get warm enough to be usable. But I suspect this house had nothing to do with being practical or useful. Not surprised that they want to sell it. What makes me think they're moving into a 2500 sq ft colonial???

I made a pie last week based on a recipe from Tasting History, which was a 16th (iirc) Italian cheese and green herbs pie.

The original had a lot of sugar, cinnamon and cloves in it, which while Max Miller said he liked it, he also said it was ”weird”. I knew ”weird” was not going to get past my husband, so I omitted the sugar and spices and substituted finely chopped spring onions and some rocket leaves that needed a home.

There were equal quantities of finely chopped chard and spinach leaves, the aforementioned spring onions and rocket, lots of pepper (DH loves pepper), mascarpone, grated parmesan and ricotta and some egg yolks to bind it all.

It tasted not unlike a Paremsan-y spanakopita, if you can imagine that. I would do it again, but a smaller version as the original was the size of a 9” springform so it took the two of us several days to eat it all. I would also use a normal shortcrust recipe as I felt the original version was quite fiddly for no extra yumminess.

The recipe is here:

Scappi’s Renaissance Herb Torte (as interpreted by Max Miller) has

MODERN RECIPE INGREDIENTS -

Chard -

Spinach -

* Mint -

* Marjoram -

1 lb (450g) Ricotta -

¾ lb (340g) Parmesan -

3oz (85g) of High Fat Cheese (I think this was the mascarpone in the book version) -

6 Tablespoons (85g) Butter Softened -

1 Tablespoons Pepper -

* 4 ½ Teaspoons Cinnamon -

* 1 ½ Teaspoons Cloves -

3 Medium Eggs -

* ½ Cup Sugar -

2 Portions of Flaky Pastry Dough

METHOD

1. Line a large pie tin or cake pan with pastry dough and blind bake it in a 450°F/230°C oven for 12-15 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from the oven and let cool.

2. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F/180°C.

3. Finely Chop all of your herbs/greens.

4. Mix the cheeses in a large bowl until somewhat smooth. Add the eggs and beat until incorporated. Then add the butter, sugar, and spices and mix until combined. Finally, add in the greens and mix them by hand so as not to bruise the greens.

5. Once the filling is well mixed, pour into the cooled pastry shell and smooth the top. Then top it with the other piece of pastry and press the edges into the bottom dough. Leave some ripples on the top crust to give room for the filling to expand during baking. Brush the top with an egg wash, then set on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour.

6. Once baked remove from the oven and serve warm.

Note: I omitted the asterisked ingredients and substituted dried mixed herbs, spring onions (about 1/2 cup) and about 1/2 cup of rocket/arugula. I used 2 cups each of chard and spinach leaves.

We had home grown chard last night. I just steamed it and served it as a side dish. Delicious.

Thanks, Gooster! Similar, pine nuts and raisins, but fewer ingredients and bread crumbs rather than dough. It'll be some time before I can try these things, but they're saved. On the F&W page, I also found some other recipes to save, maybe for Fall. So double thanks!

As Betty Davis would say, "You should never say bad things about the dead, you should only say good . . . OJ Simpson is dead. Good.”

"My default is to disbelieve, not believe"

The police didn't believe a woman I knew or didn't care when a boyfriend broke her arm. She tried to file charges but they just took away his guns, and gave them back a week later. I started dating her a few months later and he kept calling her nonstop to come and visit him but I convinced her it was dangerous and she never did, thank god.
A few months later the guy Shoots and killed his new girlfriend who was leaving him and then shot himself. My girlfriend was traumatized and left me because how could she trust any man? I left her alone and a few months later we reunited and married in 1996.
The Victim's name was Jennifer Noack, and the killer's name was Duane F. Arbuckle, it happened in Crystal MN on October 16, 1993.
The only reference I could find was in the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.
"Jennifer Noack, 23 Crystal October 16, 1993. Jennifer was shot and killed by her boy friend,Duane F. Arbuckle, who then shot and killed himself. Jennifer had just started a
graduate program at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire and worked in the Twin
Cities on weekends. She was breaking up with Arbuckle and had gone to his apartment
to pick up some belongings. When she didn't show up for work on Saturday morning the police were called."

Elmer, I'm not judging you on your comment but 1 in 3 women have faced some type of Physical violence by a partner and a claim of abuse should always be believed by default.

I’ve seen the odd one over the years. Also crazy funny statments on clothing tags. I guess it depends on the ethos of the company.

50 Most Creative Barcode Designs Ever

192 of the Most Genius Barcode Designs Ever

Etc ... Google Search: Artistic Barcodes

That guy kinda reminds me of Weird Al.

Modern day threat sign....

When I was young we moved to a small country town where there was a general handyman who collected the garbage and made deliveries etc. He always wore a red towelling bucket hat, which would get more and more faded until it was mostly pink, then he’d get a new one. We left town just as bucket hats went out of fashion and I often wondered what the handyman would do when he couldn’t replace his signature hat :-)

Will they match my granny square vest?

Well, not this one, but remember?

I love the hats!

I'll see if I can find it.

There’s a cake mix here which is dairy free, gluten free and egg free, and the chocolate cake tastes incredibly similar to the really good chocolate cake I have made for decades. If I have someone who has dietary restrictions who wants a chocolate cake, ”Free From” chocloate cake mix is my go to, because I haven’t found a recipe with nearly as good results.

Fortunately gluten free flour mixes and other things are getting better. I remember when Amanda was first diagnosed as celiac many/most bread or baked type recipes were terrible and not many options were available.

Good luck!

Annie

Ditto. I've had good luck with 1:1 GF mixes if they're not too high percentage rice, as well as buckwheat flour and starches.

Salon, he's flattened.

Rusty

There’s a special stuff for screws called Lock Tite which you can squirt on the threads before you tighten them. But once it’s on, you’ll need special Lock Tite dissolver to get it off.

I would replace the wooden knobs with metal ones. I did this on one dresser I have that came with wooden knobs, and that solved the problem.

Could you give the knob a twist occasionally, or when things seem to be getting loose again?

o j

Once again great minds think alike!

Watching politicians would be even more fun!

I saw this today and thought of this thread. Hope you and those with furbabies enjoy it until you delete the thread. I might post it later on the daily smile thread.

Agree with a top crust for pot pie, unless there’s sugar in the dough. I’d also be fine with another lemon meringue.💛🍋

It will also freeze beautifully for later, if that works for you.

What a presumption. My pastry is neither burnt nor tough. It's frozen unbaked. Once baked it's like freshly made and I know exactly what is in it : flour and butter. That's all.

This is what's in a well known supermarket crust:

INGREDIENTS: Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin], Palm Oil, Water, Rapeseed Oil, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Salt, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Inactive Dried Yeast, Flavouring, Emulsifier (Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid), Colour (Beta-Carotene), Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid).

Making extra for the freezer is no more work than making one batch. And it means I can get a top quality fresh baked quiche or pie on the table in 40 minutes.

And I can make them cheaper too....

I have a friend with free range chickens who gives me eggs- I give her cake :-) The eggs are random sizes as she has bantams as well as chickens and often I get a duck egg or two. I just use my judgement as to how many eggs to use- I've been baking for well over 50 years- and it all works out.

sleevendog, the only "peewee" sized eggs I"ve ever encountered have been from the Bantam sized chickens or when I get new laying hens. They lay "beginner" eggs that are sometimes pretty tiny.

I'm thinking that with flocks being destroyed due to bird flu, maybe there are some young birds just starting to lay, and those are the ones providing the peewee eggs. Or not, some people like the little Bantam chickens as pets and they still lay eggs, even if that's not why the people have them.

Annie

I once made cream of lettuce soup, having an abundance of lettuce to use up and a tight budget, despite my misgivings. It was actually quite good and very delicately flavoured.

'This cabbage has no more flavor than some lettuce and a lot less than others. '

That surprises me. Savoy cabbage is a strongly flavoured winter vegetable ime. It goes well with robust tasting things like bacon. It would swamp the delicate pea flavour imo. But if yours is very bland it might work. The thing with lettuce is that is deliquesces into the soup. You can't detect it.

As for cooking lettuce, try grilling wedges of a crisp variety. Delicious.

Floral, I'm always interested in learning new things, so thank-you for that especially. I rarely get new words anymore, so a special thanks for “deliquesces”. The savoy probably wouldn't do that, I've only heard of grilled lettuce in the move Julie and Julia. Julia Child is a trusted source on one level, but there are a lot of things in her books I'm not eager to try. I appreciate your recommendation. At some point I’m sure I'll try the lettuce in soup thing, but when I'm more able to fuss with it. Thanks again!

Crustless quiche. Frittata. Ham loaf. Muffinless eggs Benedict. If you can stand a little carb, crepes made with low carb flour filled with chopped ham in a cheese sauce (there are recipes for flourless cheese sauce, Heston Blumenthal's is good).

The bone should fit in your crockpot as there should be a joint in there. I get a 7kg ham for Christmas every year.

Well, I understand about giving him a shopping list, but he said how bout one of those spiralized hams for Easter? I thought Hey what the heck! One less thing to worry about cooking! He's learned his lesson!

Cold gray rainy spring day here in Maine. Thinking about split pea soup. Especially if you have a bone for flavoring. I have to be in the mood for split pea soup which either I love or not so much.

I disagree Lars, no one would bake a quiche at 225C. Plus the style of the language used is American to me, "Listen up" especially.

My extended family love my quiche. I bake it at what my oven claims is 200C but I strongly suspect is more like 180C- 190C. It works. I also use cream instead of milk, and the texture is very silky. I used to blind bake the base but for some years now I haven't bothered and truth to tell, no one has noticed any difference.

I don't know any egg dish that bakes so high. Lars do you do your frittatas above 400F?

I don't like non-stick. I think I learned the oil trick here in CF. Heat the pan, cover with oil, let cool for a bit, then heat up for real.

I'm doing a slow roasted leg of lamb with shish tawook. Haven't decided on sides yet.

Just my Cousin and I having dinner. Roast Pork Tenderloin with maple salt and buttered garlic flat green beans I bought at a greenhouse yesterday in the County. I also bought a huge bag of mini curly cucumbers which I might slice up, add some white vinegar, sour cream and thinly sliced sweet onion. Nice and easy and doesn't take long to cook.

pour hot water down a rabbit hole

That's NOT a cooking term is it?

They look like more work than your average cookie, I'm not surprised they're a Christmas treat! I'm tempted to try them though, as I have some honey looking for a home :-)

It sounded interesting and fun with the orange and spices (Yum nutmeg and cloves) and, in my case Grand Marnier. That was until you mentioned how much the walnut flavour is a major flvour - something I just do not like. I would've substituted pecans in my ignorance.

I made a point of enhancing the walnut flavor, but if you do not like walnuts, you could substitute pecans, as they have a similar texture to walnuts. I like walnuts and pecans equally.

Elmer, there is no reason a child should be leaving their toys in my driveway, ever. I have no kids who live in my home so why would I expect them to be there? No neighborhood kids have ever left their toys/bikes in my driveway and I've lived here since 2006. Of course I look behind my car in a public parking spot. You remind me of my brother, which isn't a good thing.

I clearly understood floral's meaning as well.

Some folks seem to make a sport of finding offense where none was intended.

Geez. I read salonva’s post and her pointer or floral’s pointer to floral’s post. That was before many here were awake. Both were very clear.

No one needs to appologize, but a few might want to reset their noggins and flush out the high dudgeon and earwax — maybe sleep on top of the bed.

Hours have passed since the catastrophe. The bridge collapsed in what seemed like seconds. I feel heartsick about the loss of lives and that lovely bridge. All lost in an instant.

I am sad and for some reason I am just utterly pissed that an apparent power failure on a massive ship could create so much loss so suddenly.

How do we get made ”whole” from this? (And the shock to our collective psyches figures in there as well.) I feel ill.

Edit— rephrased a sentence

Did you know that the CEO of IKEA became President of Sweden?

He’s still trying to assemble his cabinet!

tj