my ukulele progress

[Oldscruggsfan]

I haven't been playing too much lately as I have been acclimating to the CPAP nose-device that I am required to use by my new job. So I have been working and sleeping.

I have been zoning out with a rather pedestrian blues progression of Em, Am7, B7sus4 with some chromatic fills between the chords. Over the chords I was playing some pentatonics and a few modes. My goal was to not stay within my scale patterns but to move around the fretboard. It has been somewhat successful.

My wife told me that Heinz is going to merchandise a blend of ketchup and ranch dressing...or 1001 Island dressing as I called it. I just shook my head and said "What a world."

I have never had a bottle of either in my house due to philosophical (classist) reasons and because I don't eat food upon which you would slather goop.

I suppose the only condiments I have in the house are my homemade curry mustard, Worchestershire sauce, and Bunster's hot sauce. That isn't to say that I am Spartan (even though I do enjoy bucolic poetry which employs a lot of Doric dialect); I just create flavor during the cooking process with garam marsala, bakharat, zaatar, tarragon, red chile and tomatillo suspensions, and green chile chunks.

I’ve seen folks pour ketchup on an otherwise beautiful plate of scrambled eggs and had to look away to suppress the gag reflex.

 

[ripock]

I have a few unflattering things to say about ketchup and scrambled eggs but that's not the kind of energy I like to promote. So I'll hold my tongue and just describe what I'm doing to stay positive.

Speaking of positivity, the annual balloon festival is about to start here and in preparation for this the city always cleans up the public defecations and trash in order to promote tourism. The city actually budgets $750000 to mitigate the victimless crime of homelessness. So it will cleaner for a while.

 

[ripock]

In honor of condiments whose etymology I assume is derived from condo, to build--so that a condiment builds a flavor atop the existing flavor of the food--I put some curry mustard on my meat and eggs. It was okay but certainly not a game-changer

 

[Tin Ear]

Occasionally I have a little salsa with my eggs - hope thats acceptable. I am guilty of using some condiments, but I try to use them sparingly when I do use them .

Maybe since I became a retired person last week I can start to actually cook a little more , make my own salsa etc.

 

[ripock]

Occasionally I have a little salsa with my eggs - hope thats acceptable. I am guilty of using some condiments, but I try to use them sparingly when I do use them .

Maybe since I became a retired person last week I can start to actually cook a little more , make my own salsa etc.

The only problem I have with tomato salsa is its ubiquity. Here in New Mexico we prefer the variants such as tomatillo salsa or green chile salsa or red chile sauce. Or there is even salsa casera which is tomato salsa except the tomatoes are cooked. At restaurants, the waitstaff will always ask "green or red?" to see which chile salsa you want. Tomatoes aren't even an option. But that's because chiles are a major cash crop here and we promote local crops. You can't imagine the upstir that NAFTA caused because then Mexican chiles could be imported more cheaply.

All this talk of eggs has made me lament the loss of my favorite egg, the Porterhouse egg. That's what my mom called it although I have never heard anyone use that term. It is essentially an overeasy egg fried inside a piece of bread. But I can't have them because processed grains are a trigger food for me. If I buy a loaf or a 10 pack of tortillas, I will eat them all. I wish we could buy bread by the slice, so that I could have a less than healthy indulgence without going over the deep end.

 

[ploverwing]

It is essentially an overeasy egg fried inside a piece of bread.

My husband calls this "toad in the hole" but I just discovered that's not the correct term, either - toad in the hole is sausages in a Yorkshire pudding (which sounds equally deadly for the grain-averse).

 

[ripock]

My husband calls this "toad in the hole" but I just discovered that's not the correct term, either - toad in the hole is sausages in a Yorkshire pudding (which sounds equally deadly for the grain-averse).

In the 90's, I went to a Denny's restaurant and they had a version they called egg in a basket. And I've heard it called egg in toast. One reason why I have disdain for scrambled eggs is that that was baby food. In my parents' household, when you were old enough to eat runny eggs, you knew you were a big boy.

And yes, I do love yorkshire pudding and I even have a specialized yorkshire pudding pan (a very shallow muffin tray) and I have the same problem with them. If I buy a little bag of wheat flour, I make and re-make the pudding 'til the flour is gone.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

In the 90's, I went to a Denny's restaurant and they had a version they called egg in a basket. And I've heard it called egg in toast. One reason why I have disdain for scrambled eggs is that that was baby food. In my parents' household, when you were old enough to eat runny eggs, you knew you were a big boy.

And yes, I do love yorkshire pudding and I even have a specialized yorkshire pudding pan (a very shallow muffin tray) and I have the same problem with them. If I buy a little bag of wheat flour, I make and re-make the pudding 'til the flour is gone.

"Egg in a basket" is the term I've always heard and [gasp] I prefer to heat the egg a tad between runny and hard, then schmear it with either Jaemor Farms tomato jam or Smucker's orange marmalade. A small schmear of the latter goes a very long way, flavor-wise. The toast, IMHO, must be sourdough. Otherwise, the whole thing is just "meh".

 

[Down Up Dick]

My wife eats ”toad in the hole“ all the time. It’s one of her favorite lunches.

I don’t eat eggs. I can’t remember ever eating a fried egg. My mom usta try to make me eat eggs. I can still remember the gagging — yuk!

However I, like ripock, love bread and/or tortillas but don’t eat it much. When I do it’s a real treat— especially with soup.

 

[Patty]

Maybe since I became a retired person last week I can start to actually cook a little more , make my own salsa etc.

Congratulations, @Tin Ear!

 

[bbkobabe]

That's what my mom called it although I have never heard anyone use that term. It is essentially an overeasy egg fried inside a piece of bread.

My mom called it egg in a frame...

 

[ripock]

My wife eats ”toad in the hole“ all the time. It’s one of her favorite lunches.

I don’t eat eggs. I can’t remember ever eating a fried egg. My mom usta try to make me eat eggs. I can still remember the gagging — yuk!

However I, like ripock, love bread and/or tortillas but don’t eat it much. When I do it’s a real treat— especially with soup.

A "bread" that I periodically eat is farinata. I think in some parts of the world it is also called cecina. It is just garbanzo bean flour and olive oil. It is moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Best of all, I can just make a little bit in my 8 inch skillet to go with some soup without there being a surplus for me to graze on.

 

[Down Up Dick]

A "bread" that I periodically eat is farinata. I think in some parts of the world it is also called cecina. It is just garbanzo bean flour and olive oil. It is moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Best of all, I can just make a little bit in my 8 inch skillet to go with some soup without there being a surplus for me to graze on.

I showed the cook your post, and she said hmmmm.

That bread sounds a lot like Turkish Ecmek (?). I’ve eaten that before. It was okay.

We sometimes have cornbread with our soup, but “regular” bread is better — lots of it! Most of the time I just have crackers — ahhh, me . . .

 

[ripock]

Having a PhD in Greek, I know Ecmek and it is more of a dessert. And it is made with pastry dough. Farinata is more plain. I usually use some salt, paprika, and basil. It is best to keep it simple and dunk it in the soup.

And speaking of simplicity, the only soup I make is something I derived from a recipe enjoyed by Arturo Toscannini. You take some stock (since I currently have some lamb bones, I'll make a brown stock with them), you add some grains (we use millet instead of rice) and add some celery. It is a simple soup and simple farinata works well with it. But if that's not your cup of tea, that's fine. That means there will be more soup and flatbread for me!

 

[Down Up Dick]

The cook at my house cooks very good soup, and it’s a good thing, for I love soup. She mostly cooks soup with lots of vegetables. Tortilla soup is a favorite, and, of course, with lots of tortillas. Lentil with sausage meat and potatoes is another favorite.

My mother also cooked good soup. Our soup is different from yours, but, as far as I’m concerned, soup is soup, and it requires lots of bread!

 

[Down Up Dick]

Having a PhD in Greek, I know Ecmek and it is more of a dessert. And it is made with pastry dough. Farinata is more plain. I usually use some salt, paprika, and basil. It is best to keep it simple and dunk it in the soup.

And speaking of simplicity, the only soup I make is something I derived from a recipe enjoyed by Arturo Toscannini. You take some stock (since I currently have some lamb bones, I'll make a brown stock with them), you add some grains (we use millet instead of rice) and add some celery. It is a simple soup and simple farinata works well with it. But if that's not your cup of tea, that's fine. That means there will be more soup and flatbread for me!

I thought Turkish Ecmek was made from sunflower seed flour. It is, indeed, oily inside and crusty outside. It is a tough bread but good. I only had it once or twice.

 

[Patty]

Lentil with sausage meat and potatoes is another favorite.

Wow! Sounds terrific. I’d eat it with black bread & butter, if I weren’t on this damn diet.

 

[Down Up Dick]

Wow! Sounds terrific. I’d eat it with black bread & butter, if I weren’t on this damn diet.

Wow! That brown bread with raisins that comes in a can! Thinking of it makes my mouth water. We usta eat it with weiners and baked beans. Ahhh - the good old days.

Diets, are a good time ruiner. I’ve lost 20 pounds, none of my pants or belts fit, and I’m mildly depressed or sneaking little nibbles whenever I can. Bah!

 

[ripock]

I remember the raisin bread in a can. But do you remember the chicken in a can? It disgusted my wife but I was avid. I was like, "it's a whole chicken...and it is in a can!!" The marvels of science.

 

[Patty]

I remember the raisin bread in a can. But do you remember the chicken in a can? It disgusted my wife but I was avid. I was like, "it's a whole chicken...and it is in a can!!" The marvels of science.

I’m all in favor of marvels of food science, but was taken aback last week to see shrink-wrapped packages of cooked rice. Really? people can’t be bothered to cook their own rice? That almost tops the packages, in the produce dept., of cut-up apples.