Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

A lot of years ago, I was fortunate to be invited to visit Mary Frances with a friend. We had a marvelous afternoon that will remain as one of my best memories forever!.

She was warm and chatty and showed us her home. There were books everywhere and a wonderful cat that followed us around,

Lunch was simple - bread and cheese, a little potato dish and a crisp salad. Someone else had done some of the cooking as it was all set out and ready when we arrived. Good wine and neat conversation. Only problem, she asked us so many questions that she spoke little about herself. I had taken a week's classes with Jim Beard, Marion Cunningham and Barbara Kafka in San Francisco and she said "give me the scoop" on how it went. I did and she made some great comments on the food we'd done. I treasure the memory.

The bathroom was unforgettable and her bedroom/study seemed huge. There were books and papers everywhere.

Prime Rib, a hearty salad and a foxy red wine.

I live in wine country and the Farmer's Market sells locally dried - no additives. Big and fat, golden, sweet and "plummy". They are good in many things, but I especially like them in my bran muffins and a bistro-type salad if I don't have fresh grapes.

Before I add them to muffuns, I soak them in a little heated rum or wine.

The Healdsburg Hotel - about five miles to the North - serves a good brunch and great Farmer's Markets are in Healdsburg on Saturdays and Windsor on Sundays.

Tex Wasabi in Santa Rosa serves awesome food - small plates etc. - It's owned by Guy Fieri. I've eaten there several times and never been disappointed. I'm not sure they have waffles though.......

I just noticed a nice looking recipe in a blog - thekitchensink - that looked good. I plan to try it. same blog that has the roasted tomato and basil salad oictured here.

I had some of those 20% preservative frozen individually packed fish fliets of various species to get rid of before we moved. My mom had told me how fantastic X brand was but forgot to tell me to make sure I got the ones with out added "solution". I couldn't figure out what would hide the taste but didn't want to throw them away, so I made a tomoto based fish stew with chickpeas and spinach and LOTS of cayenne pepper. Everything was from the pantry or freezer and had to go; and it was delicious!

oh my gosh!!!! Tobey and Bev, my grandmother had a stock pot on the back of our stove back in the 40's that produced 'never ending soup''I have forgotten that : )

1 ) Garbage frittata
2 ) Garbage quiche.

taco fritatta, taco quiche
grilled vegies frittata, grilled vegies quiche.
leftover salmon fritatta, leftover salmon quiche.
Leftover pasta, gravy, cheese...quiche or frittata...great stuff!
There is nothing that doesn't work when one applies a egg/milk custard kind of thing.

When I first met my boyfriend he used to make this garbage soup, he would put everything and anything in it. He stopped making it when I came along. I have to laugh cause his friends were so relieved when I came around and took over the kitchen, they didn't call his concoction garbage soup, they called it botulism soup.

So funny this came up as I was craving an accidental, never to be repeated refrigerator soup I made a few weeks ago for a friend. It was basically a creamy potato and vegetable soup, mostly pureed (and it had lots of cream in it from an other dish) which was then studded with italian sausage bits which had a very nice fennel component and a few of the veggies left whole.

This is the heart of cooking I believe - I have heard that french housewives of yore would have a stock pot on the back of the stove that essentially never went out, like even for years and years! It just keeps getting morphed into the next batch. I wonder if this is true and I seem to recall that Madeleine Kammen might be the source but I would not swear to that.