I was in Hawaii recently, and fell in love with apple-bananas. Wish I could get them on the mainland.

And I have recently incorporated chia into my diet.

whoa whoa whoa, what are apple-bananas?

also, that reminds me… fried plantains. yes.

Homemade raspberry sundaes. Well I think they were homemade, even if it came from a restaurent.

See I went on a trip this weekend, and we went out to eat at this restaurant. I asked for a chocolate sundae for a desert. So my order was taken, but what happened was, there were no supplies left to make it. On a whim, the waitress quickly put together a raspberry sundae for me, with things she found lying around. She explained this to me after, that she made a desert herself that wasn’t on the menu since they were out of the shit they use for normal chocolate sundaes, and hoped it was okay with me and that I would enjoy it. Technically, she’s not even allowed to do that. But having my own exhaustive waitress career myself, as if I was gonna go all mental.
Well her sundae was fucking awesome, and had real raspberries in it plus this weird pink sauce thing, but it was way too good. She said it’s really simple to make and told me how, but I should have written it down, cuz now I’m not sure I remember everything. :/

Mushrooms, mushrooms and more mushrooms. One of my friends told me that you can get all sorts of exotic mushrooms for a very good price at our local Korean market. They have some of the same items as Whole Foods and a bunch of other schrooms as well, but the prices are ridiculously low. About 75% less than Whole Foods prices.

I asked my friend why that was, he said, “Because we Koreans consider these mushrooms to be staples, not exotic items. Nobody would shop here if these mushrooms were expensive.” And the even better thing was that I found out that most of these schooms are organically grown right here in the U.S. They’re not imported so you don’t have to worry about where hey came from or how long they’ve been sitting on the dock.

Some of my favorites are these bunasmeji mushrooms which have tiny caps (but bigger than enoki caps) and they have a very light delicate flavor. I’ve put them in soups and also put them on a pizza. They are delightful and super cute to look at. My other favorites are these Giant Trumpet Oyster mushrooms. These are huge about 6 to 8 inches tall with a cap that’s anywhere from 2 to 5 inches in diameter. These also have a very delicate flavor, but you can chop them up, including the stems into fine pieces to make delicious cream of mushroom soup. You could probably grill them too, like you do with portobellos. They also have huge packages of enoki mushrooms for a buck fifty, wheras a tiny pack of them at Whole foods is 3 or 4 bucks! They also have fresh Black woodear fungus which I had never seen in any store, only the dried kind.

@Kardamom I totally love mushrooms too. I knew this guy way back who was an expert in mushrooms. He knew them all by sight, and could spend hours explaining stuff about them, how to prepare them, what to put them with and all.
He used to pick some off telephone poles lmao, or in the woods, wherever, and knew which ones were edible and which ones weren’t. I’m also guessing he knew a lot about which ones you could trip out on lol.

@Symbeline I would love to go into the woods and photograph mushrooms, but I would never, ever trust anybody, even if it was somebody who was an expert who tried to get me to eat mushrooms that weren’t farm grown. But photographing them would really be fun. Schrooms are just so cute. I love those dancing mushrooms in Fantasia.

Not too long ago I learned to make a really delicious mushroom gravy, so that I could have gravy on my potatoes at Thanksgiving along with everyone else (I’m the only veg in my family) Some of the instant package mix mushroom gravies aren’t too bad, but when you’ve had fresh mushroom gravy, you’ll never want to go back to those powdered pouch mixes again.

I’m still excited about pesto. Just mix up basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic and olive oil in a blenders nd that’s IT! Then freeze it in ice cube trays and pretty much every thing you make after that can be made into something fancy by tossing pesto on it.

@zenvelo & @SamIAm I can get Apple bananas and red Lady Finger bananas in North Carolina. Look and ask at your local grocery.

South African Pinotage wine or for food Pickled Lime HOT ! !

@Kardamom I bet. Not a fan of powdered shroom gravy myself, really. Homemade stuff is prolly way better. And don’t worry lol, I’m sure that guy knew his shit, but I wasn’t gonna eat something that grows on telephone poles lol.

I recently made a chicken vindaloo recipe that was basically chopping up chicken breast, blending a ton of spices and sauce, and throwing the whole thing in the crock pot for a few hours. Yum.

@SamIAm Apple bananas are grown all over the islands. They are shorter, and often appear bruised on the skin but fine inside. Sweeter, and not as dry, as regular bananas.

I put fruit in just about every recipe now. It adds just the right taste of sweetness. Any fruit will do, but bananas, apples and grapes are my favorite. I occasionally use citrus, but not as much.

I am on a guacamole kick right now that borders on obsessive. I can’t seem to get enough, as long as it is authentic.

in fact pm me if you can point me toward some great store bought or recipes.

Really weird, but awesome, ice creams. Fresh basil, honey, margarita (if only it had tequila…), baklava, watermelon sorbet (with real watermelon, not like Jolly Ranchers flavor), blueberry waffle, honey chili pepper, lavender, etc. I almost hate that I’ve discovered the place that makes it because it’s so alluring.

Gorgonzola Dolce

This is an Italian cheese I discovered about a year ago and can’t get enough of. It’s a bit hard to find but so worth it.

It’s not bitter or dry like some other types of blue cheeses but really creamy.

And it tastes awesome with beets. Incredible combo.

@Buttonstc If, say, one hated the hell out of beets, what else would it go well with?

I also enjoy it with ordinary crackers. It has such a great taste all on it’s own, unlike other blue type of cheeses.

But any recipes which call for blue cheese would taste better with Gorgonzola Dolce.

Combined with sour cream, it makes a great salad dressing. It would also go well with rare filet of beef. You could also add it as a garnish on top of Tomato of Squash soup.

BTW. do you hate fresh roasted beets or is it just the canned variety you find appalling? If they’re roasted in tinfoil (similar to potatoes) it brings out their natural sweetness so much more than the pallid canned ones. You should seriously consider buying a beet, roasting it, sliced up with a little butter and some GD cheese. You might be pleasantly surprised. Even better if you go to Whole Foods and get Organic ones. Real Flavor difference.

Whole Foods, BTW is the only place where I’ve been reliably able to find GD cheese thius far.

@Buttonstc Both. I’ve tried them fresh and raw from Whole Foods, canned, and pickled, and have never found them likable. My mother, aunt, and sister don’t either, so maybe it’s a family thing!

I do actually like pretty much all blue cheeses plain, as well as in things, so I’m sure I’ll love it!

Yeah. If you like blue cheeses I know you’ll absolutely love GD.

Do you like other types of “stinky” cheeses as well. I read a while ago that they’ve recently revived Leiderkrantz from the original recipe. But so far I’ve been unable to find it locally. I may eventually have to resort to the Internet.

@Buttonstc The stinkier, the better (although, I think they smell quite sweet).

@zenvelo – they sound similar to what is called “sugar bananas” here. Firm, moist and sweet, they taste like honey to me. I love them and have a couple of small trees growing in the back yard, I can’t wait until they start to produce.

I love hummus and chickpea burgers. Fills me up, low GI and tastes so good, especially with some sweet chili sauce.

@rooeytoo Where are you that you are able to grow them? I’m in Northern California, don’t think they would produce fruit here.

@zenvelo I am in tropical Queensland Australia, banana plantations everywhere here!

Cheesy Chicken
I was given this recipe by a co-worker recently, thought it sounded a bit odd but tried it at home and hubby (and I) LOVE it. Yes, Ruskoline is usually thought of as a fish dressing, but is actually also used to coat chicken, and to make scotch eggs too :-)

INGREDIENTS:
Appropriate number of chicken breast fillets for however many you’re cooking for lol
A couple of eggs
A packet of ruskoline (which is what I use and is perfect) or similar
Thinly sliced cheese (I use chedder or Red Leicester but it’s your choice)

Method:
Beat one or two eggs in a bowl (again depending on how many you’re cooking)
Pour one of the packs from the box of Ruskoline into another bowl and sit bowls side by side
Dip a chicken fillet into the egg till coated, then roll in other bowl till well coated with ruskoline
Place on a lighty oiled baking tray

Carry on till all of your chicken breast fillets are prepared in this way
Place baking tray into the middle shelf of your oven at approx 160/180 degrees (I have a fan oven so adjust to suit) for 20–25 mins
Check if chicken is cooked by piercing in the middle with a skewer or a knife if juice runs clear it is cooked.
Place thin slice of cheese on top of chicken fillets and return to oven for last few mins till the cheese is melted.
Remove, serve with whatever you fancy, I usually go for a green salad.

Warning: these are gorgeous!! very moist, and just a little slice of heaven. Enjoy :-)
huggles honeys xx

This guy claims we can grow them in Northern California.

Buffalo Chicken dip!
Shredded chicken, cream cheese, shredded mozzarella, Hidden Valley Ranch mix, Red Hot Sauce, bacon bits and green onions. Mix & bake- serve with warm tortilla chips!

My new favourite fruit is mango. It has a nice taste, a soft texture and is very refreshing.