https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/The Kitchen is always a place of warmth--sometimes too warm--and gratifications, of indulgences, clever solutions, and occasional disasters. It is a place of recipes and experimentation. This blog is going to be hanging out in the kitchen for a while. hourly12000-01-01T12:00+00:00https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/998660We have always made crepes using a tried and true family recipe, one at a time so it takes all morning for everyone to get breakfast. I looked with a skeptical eye at a boxed crepe at the grocery store, but when they went on sale, finally tried them. And suddenly, crepes for breakfast is ready...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/998540One of those Maryland crabcakes fried up to golden brown then scrambled in with a couple of eggs... at the last minutes, a few marinated artichokes... Now that's a fine first meal of the day! What's a special breakfast you like to make and to eat?https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/997293I've been waiting for the heat to come down outside so I could do some proper cooking, and finally the time came... The two Asian eggplants that have been languishing and slightly wrinkling in the fridge finally met their fate. Years ago I made, accidentally possibly, a really tasty antepasto. I...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/997177Yesterday afternoon I was up for sitting in the car a/c and driving across town to where Charlie had an event to visit. It fit in perfectly with a couple of cravings I've had a while now: a big glass of guava juice that they serve at Juanita's, an authentic Mexican restaurant next door to the...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/996345With or without a/c, firing up the stove and serving hot meals runs against the grain. Early in the morning or even very early in the morning before the sun comes up may be the only rational time to be cooking up the potatoes for potato salad, the rice for sushi, even the protein for cold...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/996153Lately I've been eating a lot more fish than red meat and paying more attention to what's available. I don't remember my mother ever cooking fish though I imagine she did. It was mostly canned tuna she used to make tuna salad. I knew of swordfish, I think, and salmon but we ate ground beef and a...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/996103Tuna, chicken, ham...Each one mixed up with some mayo and bits of celery, parsley, onion, other herbs to taste, served with crackers or as a sandwich or on a bed of greens... Different kinds of fish work well, too: salmon, trout... canned, maybe smoked. That's one of my hot-weather go-tos. Of...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/995157My mom was very nutrition conscious. Also, systematic. Breakfasts alternated between eggs one day, hot cereal the next. Eggs were scrambled, poached on toast, soft-boiled, baked in breadcrumbs... There was bacon, or sausage. The cereals were oatmeal, corn meal mush, wheatena, or cream of wheat....https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/995024Lately two things have come into play that have resulted in something nice. First, I really have to reduce my intake of saturated fats. Second, I am loving Costo's $5 rotisserie chicken. It's a heck of a good chicken and a lot of good protein for the money! Along with those two thing goes this...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/994557Recently I've discovered Costco's rotisserie chicken deal. The chicken is bigger than the ones in regular grocery stores and half the price. So... I get one now and then, enjoy the carved meat on sandwiches and salads and over potatoes or stuffing and cranberry sauce... And then: soup! The bones...