Random Food Thoughts

[Palaralae]

Two words: eggnog chai.

Brew your chai how you like it, but add half of whatever milk you normally use, and the other half eggnog.

Blissful heaven. Probably even nirvana.

[shiningbrow]

Raisin toast is a good breakfast treat, but not all raisin bread is created equal.

Sunmaid is very good. Signature Kitchens (Safeway brand) is quite meh. Pay the extra money and get on with your day. I also see Cinnabon has a variety out. Has anyone tried it? Just curious. I must admit to never having tasted Cinnabon at a mall. Somehow the fragrance is so overwhelming, a visit to the mall seems like I've already eaten several without even visiting the establishment.

[Palaralae]

Raisin toast is a good breakfast treat, but not all raisin bread is created equal.

Sunmaid is very good. Signature Kitchens (Safeway brand) is quite meh. Pay the extra money and get on with your day. I also see Cinnabon has a variety out. Has anyone tried it? Just curious. I must admit to never having tasted Cinnabon at a mall. Somehow the fragrance is so overwhelming, a visit to the mall seems like I've already eaten several without even visiting the establishment.

I haven't had Cinnabon either, not being a creature who frequents malls. But I do like a raisin-cinnamon bagel toasted with cream cheese.

Safeway has the best ones. The "energy bar" bagels are good as well, having sunflower seeds in.

[shiningbrow]

Thanks. I'm not a fan of sweet bagels. I never got the hang of it. It's just a personal taste thing. That's a lot of bread for the sweet payoff. I can never eat a whole bagel, anyway. A slice or two of raisin bread and I'm fine till lunch. Normally, I just bake scones for breakfast but I've been too busy lately. When I was a child I'd stay with my grandparents in the summer and they'd have raisin toast and joy oh joy, Tang, the powdered orange breakfast drink. God. I loved that stuff, as apparently, did the astronauts. We never had raisin toast at home, so it was a great treat.

Onion bialys or Sesame seed bagels, or better still, pumpernickel with cream cheese and lox is a glorious lunch. For six months my weekday lunches consisted of toasted Kossar's onion bialys with salmon schmear, and some canned soup. It was easy to transport and prepare. Can't get the Kossar's out here but the commie cheese pizza cooperative has some pretty good bialys. Damn. Now I'm hungry.

[kirinke]

I like both sweet and savory bagels. I've even tried lox, but I'm no real fan of it. It's one of those things I can eat to be polite, but meh, not my thing really.

However, deli meat sliced thin (any) on a toasted Everything bagel with creme cheese. Yum.

[shiningbrow]

I made lemon curd a couple days ago. I'll make it again today. It's very popular, apparently. The squirrels have been raiding our lemon tree. They eat the rinds and leave the perfectly peeled fruit on the tree to rot. I have to beat them to it before there are no more lemons.

It's like lemon custard in a jar. Great on toast.

[Palaralae]

My 'savory' go-to bagel is an herb-and-cheese kind made by WinCo (a PNW grocery store), and they're really good. We have a local hole-in-the-wall bagel shop that I will occasionally stop by and get a garlic bagel, toasted, with chive/onion cream cheese, and lox. I hadn't ever had lox until relatively recently, but I love salmon in just about any form and while I thought the texture was a bit odd, it was delicious.

For 'sweet' bagel, it's cinnamon-raisin or nothing.

[Palaralae]

The squirrels have been raiding our lemon tree. They eat the rinds and leave the perfectly peeled fruit on the tree to rot. I have to beat them to it before there are no more lemons.

Fucking squirrels.

This is what you need, sweet little break-barrel number. Nice and quiet.

[nail bunny]

This is what you need, sweet little break-barrel number. Nice and quiet.

In my neighborhood we use hawks, eagles, and cats. Way more lazy man's method.

[kirinke]

In my neighborhood we use hawks, eagles, and cats. Way more lazy man's method.

Same where I live. Also dogs.

[shiningbrow]

Fucking squirrels.

This is what you need, sweet little break-barrel number. Nice and quiet.

That's fine as long as you don't mind long prison sentences for taking out the neighbors in the adjacent house at the same time.

We have hawks, cats, etc. The cats don't seem to phase the squirrels or the rats. They just like to shit in the garden.

[Palaralae]

In my neighborhood we use hawks, eagles..

Falconry is *not* for the laz...oh, you meant just watching them. Hmmm, didn't think you had any eagles down that way that aren't fish-eaters.

That's fine as long as you don't mind long prison sentences for taking out the neighbors in the adjacent house at the same time.

That's just an air rifle, not going to go through anything solid. Besides, two words; "shot placement". When I lived in Misery, I used to take out squirrels with my CO2 rifle right in my neighbor's yard all the time, because they used to FEED the damned things. Normally I was pretty damn peery about watching their vehicles to make sure they were gone, but this one time I stalked up to the fenceline and was just drawing a bead on a treerat when I (barely) heard a little girl's voice inside their house indignantly exclaim, "SHE'S GONNA SHOOT 'IM!" Whereupon I promptly and abruptly went back in the house, totally busted.

[shiningbrow]

I live in an upscale (read "gentrifying") neighborhood with privileged litigious neighbors who would take issue with anything aimed in the general direction of their property. They built a house right on the property line and given my brilliant aim, I'd probably take out a window. Really, the lemons aren't worth the expense of a lawsuit.

The tree is pretty prolific and if I run out, I have neighbors who are more than happy to have me take some away, so the squirrels can have them. I just wanted to get out there before they were all gone. They've been known to strip the tree completely bare in the summer. Little bastards. I've never caught one in the act, either. They just sort of slink around, doing their best to avoid me, because I usually give them a lecture when I run into them on their way to wreak havoc. They regularly come into the yard having raided the neighbors' fruit trees. I have to pick up half gnawed persimmons, apples, etc. off the pavement. Really, if I am ever reincarnated, I want to come back as them. They've got a good life.

[kirinke]

I'm making a pork loin cooked in apple cider (soft) for dinner in the crock pot today with coleslaw as a side. I've also found that hard cider and even apple juice works well as a marinade/cooking liquid for pork.