Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

So many bastards, so little time.

He really is that stupid.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

“A king is only a king if we bow down.” – Rev. William Barber

If you cannot answer whether trump lost the 2020 election, you are unfit for office.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Petty moves from a petty man.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

I really should read my own blog.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "Stories from the Road" / Ceviche Heaven

Ceviche Heaven

by | 225 Comments

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Joelle is taking Jack to go see his owner who is in assisted living, so I have the house to myself. Me being me, I immediately showered and went out on a little lunch adventure. One of the things that is hard for Joelle to understand is that I really am a solitary individual. I very much enjoy being alone, doing things by myself, and I need vast amounts of time with zero meaningful human interaction. I am fine being around people at restaurants or grocery stores, etc., just the only people I want to talk to are cashiers or wait staff.

Actually, as I read this I realize that’s bullshit, she completely understands and is very tolerant and respectful that about me, I am just projecting shit onto her. I’m the one with the problem because I feel like I am ignoring her or avoiding her and feel guilt about it. For whatever reason, I feel guilt about moving across the country to be with her then going to a room and shutting the door to be by myself. So what I was initially doing there was blaming my guilt on her by pretending she doesn’t understand.

This is also why I like to write instead of talk extemporaneously because it gives me the time to think and come to the right conclusion. Or better conclusion.

Back to the fucking point. I immediately hosed myself off, hopped in the car, and drove to a Mexican place for ceviche. I found this place called Mariscos El Wicho, a nice little family run joint in one of the billions of strip malls around here. There are more here than in Columbus, Ohio.

At any rate, I had some initial concern because it was so clean, but I ordered a ceviche platter and it was fucking awesome. And massive. I have enough for dinner. I had also never had it with mayo before. You squirt a very little mayo onto a tostada, and it sounds gross, but it gives it this creamy finish. I tried it on one just to experience it, and then went back to just eating it normally (for me).

ALSO THEY HAVE APPLE SODA- Sidral Mundet! I do not know if I have mentioned it here but I do know I have tweeted about it and everyone who knows me I would probably commit murder to get Apple Slice back into production.

That’s it for now, I will check in later.

Reader Interactions

225Comments

  1. 1.

    David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch

    Speaking of the road: we were supposed to fly to Iowa today for the women’s Iowa-Indiana game, but something came up and we had to cancel our plans.

    We lucked out. It’s “Ice Station Zebra” out there with the temperature at-14 ° with 16 inches of snow. Indiana just landed after several hours of weather delay for a game that starts in 4 hrs.

  2. 2.

    Mousebumples

    Sounds like an enjoyable day! I’ve been to a few good Mexican places on my travels to the Phoenix area, but I’m not there enough to know any by name.

  4. 4.

    Yutsano

    One of the things that is hard for Joelle to understand is that I really am a solitary individual.

    …

    You do know that’s not how this marriage thing works right?

  5. 5.

    different-church-lady

    I’m the one with the problem because I feel like I am ignoring her or avoiding her and feel guilt about it.

    Guilt over me-time is pretty normal for relationships if a person is even a little caring. Don’t think of it as your problem, it’s just being human, and as long as you stay mindful about it, things will be great.

  6. 6.

    H.E.Wolf

    “Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other. ”
    ― Rainer Maria Rilke

    It takes all kinds. Life would be dull otherwise!

  8. 8.

    Suzanne

    There’s so many good mariscos places around there. San Diego Bay on Guadalupe and Priest (technically in Guadalupe) is amazing.

  9. 9.

    C Stars

    There are a lot of shitty things about the Phoenix area (strip malls, summer) but Mexican food is not one of them.

  10. 10.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    My girlfriend and wife to be move in together when we were 25.  The first or second day in our joint, I was reading and she asked, “Are you mad at me?”  Oi!     Not much has changed after 30+ years of knowing each other.

  12. 12.

    Dmbeaster

    Lucky you.  Love great ceviche.  I have tried to make it without success, even though I fish the Pacific and have access to top notch fish.  Best I ever had was in Lima, Peru, but maybe that was because that was the first time I experienced it.

    I have a local Mexican restaurant that makes very good ceviche, including with various types of fish or other seafood.  Straight up white fishes are still the best.  Plus, why make ceviche out of shrimp, scallops or ahi?  There have much tastier uses.

  13. 13.

    trollhattan

    Elections matter, Brazil section.

    The rate of deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell by nearly 50% in 2023 compared to the previous year, space agency data suggests.

    Brazil’s environment ministry said it was the lowest recorded deforestation rate in the last five years.

    Though smaller than in previous years, the deforested area is still more than six times the size of New York City.

    President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pledged to end deforestation by 2030 when he took office a year ago.

    Preliminary data from national space agency Inpe showed 5,153 sq km (1,989.6 sq miles) of the Amazon were cleared in 2023, down from 10,278 sq km in 2022.

    President Lula promised to restore the Amazon rainforest and chase down climate criminals during his speech at climate summit COP27 in 2022.

    Rainforest destruction had surged to a 12-year high under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
    BBC

  15. 15.

    pabadger

    Sidral Mundet is pretty much my go to soda at Mexican restaurants.

    And it is soda, not pop, not soda pop, and definitely not (shudders) coke.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    @Suzanne

    Betting there’s Mexican joints in and around Pittsburgh but not a single Pennsylvania Dutch eatery in the whole of Arizona.
    ;)

  21. 21.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    I think it’s good for you to get out of West by God Virginia more, if only so you’re not surprised by things that, to others, may be common knowledge but seem to have escaped your ken. Like places in the Southwesterly portions of the country having great Mexican food.

  22. 22.

    C Stars

    @Suzanne: I bet so. I didn’t realize how good it was until I moved away. Here in the Bay Area you can get a good burrito, but I have yet to find anywhere with street tacos even close to as good as the ones you can get in any divey little joint in PHX.

  26. 26.

    C Stars

    @NotMax: Some friends of ours recently toured around Pennsylvania and said they were shocked to find creamed beef on toast on the menu at multiple restaurants. They had thought of that as something you only ate if you had to, but apparently it’s a regional specialty in some places?

  28. 28.

    TBone

    @C Stars: S.O.S. is not part of the food pyramid?  I think it is its own food group (along with Habersett scrapple).  Must be a Delaware Valley thing.

  29. 29.

    rikyrah

    😒😒😒😒

     

    chris evans (@notcapnamerica) tweeted at 0:04 AM on Sat, Jan 13, 2024:

    65 year old Matthew Thomas Krol is serving a 4 year prison sentence for his role in January 6th.

    Here he is complaining that he’s unable to get treatment for a heart condition.

    The truth is, he REFUSED treatment because they tried to take him to Howard and he didn’t want to be treated by Black people 🥴

    https://t.co/yxaJ2hTI8T
    (https://twitter.com/notcapnamerica/status/1746050512351293885?s=02)

  30. 30.

    Martin

    Was wondering what was going to happen when Cole found proper southwest Mexican food. Pretty much what I expected.

    Welcome to the promised land, Cole. And you’re right to be suspicious of the clean places, but it’s not that a clean place won’t be good, its that a dirty place is guaranteed to be good (that’s why it’s still in business despite being dirty) and a clean place is rolling the dice.

  31. 31.

    geg6

    Well, the Steelers/Bills game has been postponed until Monday (probably).  Apparently, the NFL is smarter than the Iowa GOP.

  33. 33.

    trollhattan

    @TBone: ​
    Leader of second-largest nation in the Americas to “I’m going to Philly and totally pawning these watches”?

  38. 38.

    lee

    Take heart John. My wife is very much like you. To make matters worse she interacts with people all day long (she’s a veterinarian). So when she gets home, I make sure to give her a hug and then go away for about 30-45 minutes. Then she is ready to talk about her day and hang out.

    Spouses that last (we’ve been married 31 years) understand that you need your alone/recharge time. I’d much rather have her fully engaged when she’s around and give her time to recharge.

    Even on vacation she has said ‘Remember cool pub/store/diner/museum we saw? How about you go check it out and I’ll stay here in the hotel’.

    After your Arizona adventure if you want to check out a different part of the Southwest, go to New Mexico. I’ve got some great recommendations. The food in NM is slightly different than Arizona.

  39. 39.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @geg6: Apparently, the NFL is smarter than the Iowa GOP.

    So are most actual footballs (of whatever football code to which one subscribes).

  40. 40.

    realbtl

    As a kid we’d often do the San Diego to El Paso drive.  It was interesting noting the changes in Mexican food as we went East.

  41. 41.

    Jay

    @Martin:

    the horribly filthy Pizza place near here had pretty good pizza. It wasn’t wood fired thin crust, but for regular pizza it was better than any.

    SWMBO was so impressed that she was thinking about offering to clean the place in exchange for free pizza.

    They didn’t survive covid.

    By horribly filthy, I mean both front and back. Cobwebs and grease.

  42. 42.

    pluky

    @rikyrah: More the fool he. When I had to get a hip replacement, I felt more than a bit of comfort and joy when meeting the surgeon for a pre-op consult. Not only was he a brother, but his family hails from the same part of Richmond as my mother’s people.

    But that’s not why I was pleased. Given the stats on black people in orthopedic surgery, forget attending at one of the best orthopedic surgery hospitals in the world (NE Baptist in Mission Hill, Boston), he had to be DAMN GOOD. And he was.

  44. 44.

    lee

    I’ve got an mildly interesting political anecdote.

    I’ve lived in the same house 23 years. I’ve pretty much had the same neighbors for most of it. The guy across the street and I mentioned politics in passing over the years. I do put out signs in my yard so he knows I’m a Democrat.

    Today I was out front and he came over and was fired up to talk politics. Started with the less than dependable Texas grid and then went on to women’s healthcare. He was just excoriating the Republicans the entire time.

    In the time that I’ve lived here the area has gone from deep red to pink. I’m hoping we finally make it purple if not cyan in this election cycle.

  45. 45.

    zhena gogolia

    @Mousebumples: Oh, I’m glad to see you. That cauliflower-and-carrot recipe is great! We loved it, and it has entered our household rotation. Thank you!

  46. 46.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Waiting for Joelle to make the future cult movie favorite “I Married An Axe Murderer Introvert.” 90 minutes of the camera focused on John’s closed door to the sounds of gaming and reorganizing.

  48. 48.

    raven

    @pluky: When I broke my back in Atlanta in 1975 my orthopedic surgeon was Hamilton E. Holmes. He was one of the two African-American students who broke the color line at the University of Georgia.  I was very fortunate.

  49. 49.

    TBone

    @rikyrah: powerful point, along with the fact that unconditional love like his dad gives him is a powerful antidote.  Not putting up with any shit, but love no matter what

  50. 50.

    Mike

    @raven: OMG!  That was my favorite when I loved in Phoenix.  The green corn tamales are pure heaven.  I would go every Friday for lunch – so much so that for years after I left Phoenix, whenever I managed to stopped back in they remembered my “usual.”

  51. 51.

    geg6

    @NotMax:

    Yeah, there’s a pretty good one near here.  As authentic as it gets for this part of the world.  For Suzanne, it’s in Leetsdale, just outside of Sewickley, off Route 65N.  It’s called Azul.  El Jefe on Forbes in the city is also pretty good.

  55. 55.

    Elizabelle

    John writes:

    I really am a solitary individual. I very much enjoy being alone, doing things by myself, and I need vast amounts of time with zero meaningful human interaction.

    I think you have just pegged a lot of us.  Even those who might not seem to be so.

    ETA:  Who is Jack?  Is that Cowboy, the most recent dog to jump into a Cole car?

  58. 58.

    zhena gogolia

    @TBone:

    @Elizabelle:

    Roast Carrots & Cauliflower
    * 4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on an angle
    * 1 small head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds), made into small florets
    * 4 Tablespoons olive oil
    * 1 chopped onion
    * Salt and pepper, to taste
    * 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsely
    * ¼ teaspoon thyme
    * 1 oz. walnuts, finely chopped and browned (about 3 Tablespoons)
    1. Place carrots and cauliflower florets on cookie sheet with raised edges. Drizzle with olive oil.
    2. Add all ingredients except walnuts and toss to coat.
    3. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Bake for 45 minutes, mixing every 15 minutes.
    4. Remove from oven and stir in browned walnuts.
    Serve hot

    ETA: I think we may have used a bit more olive oil than that!

  66. 66.

    sab

    @Yutsano: That is how some marriages work. I am a solitary individual entering into my 23rd year of a happy marriage. He likes TV, and he belongs to several coffee klatches.

  67. 67.

    Martin

    @trollhattan: Yeah, I think that’s it. It’s less that it’s unclean and more than it’s unpainted or maybe not conformist. Olemendes is clean but doesn’t look like how a restaurant is supposed to look.

  70. 70.

    satby

    @Elizabelle: Cowboy was returned to his owners. Jack is the last dog Joelle took in; not sure if it was a rescue foster or she knew the owner. But so kind of her to bring Jack back so his owner and he could visit. People who have to go into assisted living worry the most about their pets being homeless.

  71. 71.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @sab: Old folk saying that my great grandmother used to quote:  There is no pot so crooked that a cover won’t fit.

  73. 73.

    satby

    @sab: Dayton Ohio is where our work group went for “really good Mexican food” and they had put Cheese Wiz on it.

    As Chicagoans coming from a city with a lot of great Mexican (and other ethnic) food we were not impressed. More like repulsed.

  75. 75.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @H.E.Wolf: Another Rilke quote for Cole – I saw this many years ago, I believe it’s from Letters to a Young Poet:

    Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest human beings infinite distances continue, a wonderful living side by side can grow, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole against the sky.

  77. 77.

    jimmiraybob

    “…Mariscos El Wicho, a nice little family run joint in one of the billions of strip malls around here.”

    OMG! You’ve discovered the secret! My first time in PHX at a family Mexican restaurant in a nondescript mall they had to call the bartender over to act as translator. I loved the food and the wait staff…..and, of course, the translators. Went back often.

  78. 78.

    Martin

    @zhena gogolia: I think this could be improved by cooking it on the grill over even higher heat if a grill is convenient. The higher heat gets you more Maillard reaction. Reduce cooking time, but you’d have to keep it moving.

  79. 79.

    Spanky

    @Suzanne: It won’t be much comfort, but the food in Pittsburgh is a zillion times better than when I was growing up there. About the most exotic food I experienced then was Italian food that hadn’t come from a can (hello, Chef Boyardee!).

  82. 82.

    sab

    @rikyrah: They go on about the huge opioid crisis, and then they ignore the fact that almost all of these addicts have families that love and worry about them.

    I think that they are trying to harrass Hunter into either a relapse or suicide. It enrages me.

  83. 83.

    TBone

    In defense of S.O.S.

    “Chipped beef is served in many diners and restaurants in the United States as a breakfast item.[citation needed] It is popular among the veteran community who generally refer to it by the dysphemism “Shit On a Shingle”; chipped beef in milk gravy (or “S.O.S.” When children are present it is usually referred to as S.O.S. and when the child asks what that means, the answer is “Same Old Stuff.”) is a common traditional meal which is served in all branches of the United States Armed Forces due to its reasonable nutritional profile, ease and speed of preparing, and relatively low cost to produce in large quantities (i.e. in quantities sufficient to properly feed an entire military outpost). Creamed chipped beef is standard fare on many such diner menus, especially in the Mid-Atlantic…”

  87. 87.

    Spanky

    @NotMax:

    Amish snowbirds (mostly from Ohio, IIRC) have been a presence in Florida for quote a while.

    That’s a damned long buggy ride.

  89. 89.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @TBone: Creamed chipped beef on toast is fine.  Creamed eggs on toast is acceptable.  I draw the line at creamed turkey on toast.  Ugh.

  94. 94.

    satby

    @Spanky: ok, another story: growing up we ate at a lot of ethnic restaurants and my father, who seemed to know everyone, wouldn’t allow us to order off the “American food” menus. We were taught that’s an insult to the restaurant, besides he wanted us to learn to enjoy other cuisine. But when my mom’s twin brother’s kids came from Pittsburgh for the yearly family visit, they always were allowed to order hamburgers. My sisters and I were outraged; not because we even wanted hamburgers instead of Chinese or Greek food, we just thought it was unfair. Besides, how could you possibly want a hamburger in Greek Town? The most exotic ethnic food they had ever had was Italian.

  96. 96.

    Mousebumples

    @zhena gogolia: Oh, I’m glad to see you. That cauliflower-and-carrot recipe is great! We loved it, and it has entered our household rotation. Thank you!

    Glad to hear it! I love easy and delicious. 😍

    @Elizabelle: it’s from my late grandma’s cookbook. She was a home ec teacher and County/State Fair foods judge for years. I see the recipe has been shared above, and I hope it works out well for you. 😊

  98. 98.

    karen marie

    @zhena gogolia:   That would make a fantastic soup.  Dump the roasted veg into some chicken or veg stock, blitz with a stick blender, add some cream or half and half, then serve with the toasted walnuts sprinkled on top.  Mmmm.  Delicious!

  99. 99.

    Delk

    I get my tamales from a couple of women at the Kimball brown line stop. During the summer I pick them up at the farmers market.

  100. 100.

    Prescott Cactus

    @TBone:

    SOS was a monthly event while growing up. It reminded my Dad that he wasn’t sitting in a tank, protecting an Alaskan Air Force base from North Koreans.

  101. 101.

    Martin

    @NotMax: Man, my fucking childhood. La Choy Chow Mein was for too long stretches of my childhood the best nutrition/dollar for my poor mom. She shoveled that shit into me sometimes every day when money was tight, and I despised it. New York wasn’t short of good Chinese food, but she would sometimes get a case of that stuff  for like a quarter per can, and nobody was offering take-out for that price.

  105. 105.

    frosty

    @NotMax: ​I’m betting there’s not too many Pennsylvania Dutch eateries in Pittsburgh. Wrong side of the state. Maybe just the wrong side of the Susquehanna, for that matter. I don’t know of any over here on my side.

  108. 108.

    SteveinPHX

    @raven: ​
     
    I used to eat there a lot. I had a good friend that lived a few blocks south on E. Belmont (he’s now in Oracle). Also got Xmas tamales there many Christmas’s.
    Haven’t been back there in 5/6 years, but it was always excellent!

  109. 109.

    Anotherlurker

    @p.a.: Probably Rockfish.  Not Maryland Rockfish, which are striped bass. Pacific Rockfish are very tasty members of the Scorpionfish family.

  112. 112.

    HinTN

    Of course I’m late but I really like the “too clean” assessment. The best, by far, local ceviche here is in a little mercado in a strip mall and it’s … clean but not squeakily so. Great tacos, too.

  113. 113.

    Jay

    @Anotherlurker:

    Pacific Rockfish are a species of concern in most of the Pacific North West.

    They are easy to catch, taste good, are long lived, but slow maturing, as a result, their populations are in steep decline.

    Most of the “whitefish” in taco’s here is farmed Talapia, also known as poo fish, because its the cheapest “white fish” available.

  114. 114.

    eclare

    @sab:

    I agree, Republicans are trying to trigger Hunter to relapse.  It is disgusting, cheering for a person to fail.

  115. 115.

    UncleEbeneezer

    You want some serious ceviche?  Get your ass to Merida, Mexico and go to Apoala Restaurant.  You can see a picture here (third picture) from my On The Road post about the Yucatan.  We still talk about this freaking ceviche, even to this day.  In fact it was almost exactly a year ago that we were there demolishing two orders of it.

  117. 117.

    suzanne

    @Spanky:

    It won’t be much comfort, but the food in Pittsburgh is a zillion times better than when I was growing up there. 

    The food’s all right. Just not the Mexican food. There’s a place called Las Palmas that’s good (and two blocks away) so I can scratch that taco itch. There’s more good Italian food here, of course more seafood (not mariscos). There’s German food, which I mostly don’t like. There’s some great food trucks.

    When we moved here, it felt like every place was pizza-wings-hoagies. I avoid that stuff. I am weird…. John’s post yesterday about breaded chicken and gravy was making me gag. I don’t like heavy sauces.

  119. 119.

    suzanne

    @C Stars: My mom made me eat SOS once as a teen and it made me sick. Like, both-ends-at-the-same-time sick. I don’t know how anyone eats it. Terrifying.

  120. 120.

    Mousebumples

    @Elizabelle: Thank you for sharing. We will definitely look forward to anything else from your gram.

    ❤️ Any requests? I typed up her favorite recipes in a cookbook ~7 years ago. Probably at least 50 desserts, lol, and definitely some recipes that are a Sign Of Their Time (eg using frozen lemonade vs fresh or bottled). But lots of options to pick from. And lots of favorites.

  123. 123.

    HinTN

    @pluky: I was pleased and amazed to learn that my hip surgeon had an engineering degree from Texas as his springboard into med school. Yes, he’s good!

  124. 124.

    Mousebumples

    @Omnes Omnibus: Upper Midwestern Catholic, with a Lutheran twist, lol. Her parents were a mixed religion marriage, which meant my sister and I were both warned against that.

    … We’re both more agnostic non denominational, and Mr. Mouse is more an atheist.

    The Obama Family Chili is in there though. But so is Mount Mary Orange Drink. (Mount Mary is an all women – or used to be all women, anyhow – Catholic college in Milwaukee.)

  126. 126.

    C Stars

    @Omnes Omnibus: Things cooked in milk is definitely its own genre of food. I’ve never heard of creamed eggs and the idea makes me feel a little sick (are they boiled first?) But one of my mother’s favorite foods is tomatoes in a cream sauce. She makes it almost every time she comes to visit me and I pretend to like it because I know she considers it the ultimate comfort.

  127. 127.

    sab

    @TBone: My mom used to make SOS (we never called it that) and we all loved it. She stopped when low salt became a thing. I don’t know where I could find chipped feef if I ever wanted to make it.

  128. 128.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @lee: We were just in Taos for the holidays.  My wife lived there for a few years in her middle-school years.  First thing we did after landing in ABQ was run to the nearest Lotta Burger for some green chili cheeseburgers.  In Taos, I don’t think a day went by that we didn’t have Green Chili Stew, Adobada, Sopapillas etc. I think it is by far, the best regional food in America.  And up there with Gochucharu (Korean red chili) I put Hatch Chiles in my top two peppers, anywhere.  So much more complex in flavor than jalapeños, Thai, habaneros etc.

  129. 129.

    Mousebumples

    Today feels like a soup/stew kinda day.

    Beef Barley Soup

    • 2 Tablespoon salad oil
    • 1 lb. stew beef, cut into 1” cubes
    • 6 cups water
    • 1 lb. onion, coarsely chopped
    • ½ cup medium barley, rinsed
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper
    • 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
    • 1 cup sliced celery
    • 1 small turnip, cubed (1 cup)
    • 1 cup frozen peas

    1. In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, cook beef in hot salad oil, adding a fewp ieces at a time until well browned. Remove pieces as they brown, if pan is crowded.

    2. Place browned beef in saucepot and add the next 5 ingredients. Bring to high heat until boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

    3. Skim fat off soup and add next 3 ingredients. Simmer 40 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Add peas and heat thoroughly.

    Makes about 3 quarts.

    Chef’s note: The secret is to have the oil hot and to brown the meat well for a hearty flavor.

    I’m not a parsnip person so I sub in potatoes, but this is another favorite recipe that makes it easy to get going and work on other stuff while this is cooking. And yay leftovers!

  132. 132.

    Mousebumples

    @suzanne: ZOMG SuzMom has a cookbook with a whole section on “molded salads”. LOLOLOL.

    Haha, I believe it!

    The table of contents –

    * Appetizers, Page 4
    * Breads, Page 13
    * Salads and Dressings, Page 21
    * Vegetables, Page 34
    * Breakfast Dishes, Page 43
    * Casseroles, Page 48
    * Meat, Page 57
    * Fish, Page 64
    * Soups, Page 70
    * Bars and Kuchens, Page 81
    * Cakes, Pies, and Tortes, Page 88
    * Cookies and Tarts, Page 101
    * Various Desserts, Page 112
    * Beverages, Page 119
    * Canning, Page 125

    2 recipes almost weren’t included since they use raw eggs, but they are family favorites, so they’re there. Chocolate Icebox Torte and Poppyseed Torte.

  133. 133.

    C Stars

    @suzanne: Ew, I’m sorry. We had a similar experience when I was growing up–my dad made my brother eat something he was repulsed by and his gut reaction was almost instantaneous and, well… prolific. Probably why I never force my kids to eat foods they don’t want to.

  138. 138.

    Marc

    @smith:  Don’t know if they use airplanes, but you certainly see Amish people taking the train in the Midwest.

    Amish or Mennonite?  The Amish are a sub-sect of the Mennonites with more conservative practices, most Mennonites have a somewhat more liberal attitude towards using modern technology.  Their religious beliefs otherwise seem similar.

  139. 139.

    eclare

    @C Stars:

    I was forced to eat something at a Girl Scout camp.  I later felt very sick and told my leader.  Then I threw up on her.

    I don’t believe in making kids eat anything.  Fuck the whole “clean your plate” brigade.

  140. 140.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Mousebumples: ​
      Kuchens. The great grandmother I mentioned above made great kuchens. No written recipe. Just added things until it “felt right.” My mom worked with her to get an approximate recipe – mom measured things as they were being added – but what “felt right” died with the old lady. Even her daughters never fully learned.

  141. 141.

    Mousebumples

    @eclare: I had to Google kuchen, never heard of it. Regional foods are so interesting!

    Yummy German dessert. I like apple best, but rhubarb is also popular. Great warm, topped with ice cream.

    My great grandpa called the corner pieces davenports, lol.

  146. 146.

    Mousebumples

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​Kuchens. The great grandmother I mentioned above made great kuchens. No written recipe. Just added things until it “felt right.” My mom worked with her to get an approximate recipe – mom measured things as they were being added – but what “felt right” died with the old lady. Even her daughters never fully learned.

    Can’t promise these are the same, but happy to share these recipes if either have a secret that’s been missing…

    Rhubarb Kuchen
    * 1 cup flour
    * ½ cup butter, softened
    * 2 Tablespoons sugar
    * 1 egg
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 3 cups chopped rhubarb
    * 1 package Jell-o (cherry or strawberry)
    * 1½ cup sugar
    * ½ cup flour
    * ¼ cup melted butter
    1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Blend first 5 ingredients to form the crust. Pat into 9×9” pan.
    2. Add rhubarb, spreading evenly. Sprinkle with package of Jell-o mix.
    3. Combine last 3 ingredients to form strudel. Pour or sprinkle on top of kuchen.
    4. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

     

    Apple Kuchen
    * 1 cup butter, melted
    * 2 Tablespoon sugar
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 2 cups flour
    * 6 Macintosh apples, peeled and
    sliced
    * 1 cup flour
    * ½ cup packed brown sugar
    * ½ cup white sugar
    * 1 stick butter, softened
    * Cinnamon
    1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Mix first 4 ingredients to form the crust. Pat into 9×13” pan.

    2. Arrange apples in rows in pan.

    3. Mix next 4 ingredients with hands to form the topping. Sprinkle over apples. Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

    4. Bake for 30 minutes.

    Reheats well after freezing, if desired.

    I think grandmas (and great grandmothers) have an extra heaping of love that makes their recipes extra amazing.

  150. 150.

    Prescott Cactus

    @C Stars:

    It was Dad. He belonged to an informal group called the 50 below club, being on maneuvers for a month when the wind chill hit 50 below. . .

    For years and years and years I tried to get him to return and show me around. Finally got him on Vancouver to Anchorage cruise and the plan was a train trip back to Fairbanks. We were going to spend a few days at Denali. Didn’t happen.

    The train was scheduled to leave anchorage on Sept 11th. Yeah that one. Couldn’t fly home as we were on non rev tix and were lowest of the low on priority list. People couldn’t / wouldn’t fly up either, so we took a fairly empty cruise ship back to Seattle.

  151. 151.

    Salty Sam .

    @Yutsano: You do know that’s not how this marriage thing works right?

    I beg to differ.  I am very much like Cole myself-  I can go days without any meaningful human interactions, and in fact, prefer it that way.  Salty Spouse is much more extroverted- she comes from a large family (six siblings).  They have a big Fourth of July party in central Minnesota every summer.  With all the aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, etc, there’s usually 85-100 people there for a three day shindig.

    I can only take a tiny portion of that at one time.  Firstly, I only attend every other year.  And I have settled into a routine that works for me when I’m there:  I’ll interact with folks for as long as I can stand it (usually 30-45 minutes), and then retreat to the room they’ve set aside for us, where I can let my nerves settle.

    I suffered the same sort of guilt Cole describes . Our culture is wired for extroverts- to be different from that is to be the weirdo.  But she has assured me that she understands, and likes that I know how to take care of myself.  It works very well this way for us.

  153. 153.

    Mousebumples

    @Omnes Omnibus: I’ll see if I can get a copy of the “recipe.” If I can, I’ll put it on a future recipe thread.

    That would be great, thanks

    Eta – dinner time here, so I’m ducking out. I’ll check back in later, in case of questions on the recipes I can try to help with.

  156. 156.

    raven

    @Mike: El Bravo. Rose Mofford, the first female Governor of Arizona, ate here many times. So did former Arizona governors Jane Hall, Janet Napolitano, and others. If political figures dine at and spread the word of El Bravo’s scrumptious food, this portrays just how connected El Bravo has been to people of all walks of life throughout its history, from immigrants to top politicians. Outside of politics, Lorraine said that El Bravo gets 80 tables a day, with some seating one person and others entire families. El Bravo is a very small restaurant, space wise. So if we take a moment to complete some simple math, taking into account that El Bravo is open six days a week, 80 tables would translate to around 25,000 people a year. This is an incredible amount considering how small, and hidden away family-owned El Bravo is

  161. 161.

    C Stars

    @Prescott Cactus: Wow, what a surreal experience that must have been! I’m sorry it turned out that way. It’s kind of sweet that he commemorated not being back there regularly.

    My grandfather was a carrier mechanic stationed in the South Pacific for pretty much the whole war and he simply never wanted to talk about. Ever. He wrote an autobiography towards the end of his life, with the chapter on the war consisting of a short paragraph: The name of his division and the craft he was stationed on and the dates. And then “That’s all I want to say about that.”

  163. 163.

    TBone

    @H.E.Wolf: lovely.  If my hubby and I didn’t have our hours of comfortable silence, I’d go nuts.  Sometimes a man of few words is wonderful, it makes those words even better.

  164. 164.

    JoyceH

    This weekend I’m devoting to a homemade Puppy Bootcamp. Whimsy’s house training has been pretty sketchy thus far, so for the next few days she’s going to be in one of three conditions – in her crate, loose in the yard, or indoors on leash under constant supervision. What she needs to master – no pee or poop in the house, no nipping, no leash chewing. We’re also working on the useful omnibus command “leave it!”  Don’t know about Whim, but I’m worn out!

  167. 167.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @TBone: Beefaroni was a staple to take to the field in the army.  You’d use the heater in your vehicle to heat up in the can.  Unless you were a tanker like Cole.  An M1A1’s exhaust could heat things unbelievably fast.  OTOH no one thought of it as nutritious food.  More as comfort calories.

  170. 170.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, … TheHill.com:

    Congressional leaders have reached a deal to avert a government shutdown next week, landing on a two-step stopgap bill that will keep the lights on in Washington into March, according to two sources familiar.

    Under the deal, the new government funding deadlines will be March 1 and March 7. The agreement comes ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline, and a second deadline on Feb. 2.

    The deal — which still needs to be approved by both chambers next week — will give the House and Senate more time to complete work on the 12 appropriations bills. Congressional leaders announced a deal on top-line spending numbers last weekend, but appropriators need more time to hash out particulars in each funding bill.

    Biden’s SotU speech is March 7.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  171. 171.

    Jager

    @Martin:

    My wife”s office cleaning lady brought in pork tamales for a Christmas party. We buy them from her a couple of times a month. I asked Doncella where she learned to make them,  “My grandma, her grandma, all the way back to our Aztec grandma.”

    In SoCal the best Mexican food is any place actual Mexicans eat.

  173. 173.

    Prescott Cactus

    @C Stars:

    Twas. We were at the Holiday Inn when things started. We went to the train station, but kept the room key and didn’t check out. The train tracks go thru an Anchorage air base, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. They went on full lockdown ASAP. Rather than waiting in the train station we returned to the hotel and extended our reservation for a week. Also rented a car when they opened. It was a “trip”.

  175. 175.

    zhena gogolia

    @TBone: Something I’m kind of nostalgic about is Jeno’s pizza. It wasn’t half bad.

    Never liked La Choy, though.

  176. 176.

    Jay

    @JoyceH:

    Chewing is important for puppies, up to 2 years old.

    Their tooth changes bother them, ranging from painful to just annoying. After 2 years old, it’s mostly a comfort thing.

    So the chewing training should be about what is acceptable to chew on and what is not.

    If you have a good petstore in your area, the Staff, can recommend appropriate chew toys. Both our dogs loved Pippies, but Casey would de-tail them and take the Squeaker out, Digger loved the squeaker.

  180. 180.

    TBone

    @sab: usually in the supermarket in plastic pouch kept near the bacon and breakfast sausage.  It used to come in little jars. It keeps a low profile so ask if you can’t find it, it’s pretty common.  I make a hot dip with dried beef, Philly cream cheese and grated fresh onion that’s bangin’.

  181. 181.

    Rose Weiss

    John, my husband and I were both ;ike that throughout our 36 year marriage. I don’t need all the time alone but I do need a lot of time every day. He felt the same. We solved the problem by doing things like sitting across the room from each other, each of us silently reading our preferred book. Later when we could afford it, we each had our separate office/lounge space, his downstairs and mine upstairs. It was great. Sometimes we’d communicate by emailing!

  182. 182.

    NotMax

    As we’re (partially) discussing remembered foods, I sorely miss pletzel – a distant relative of focaccia topped with caramelized onion and poppy seed. Also known as onion board. Once ubiquitous in bakeries in or near neighborhoods with a Hebraic bent, now disappeared altogether.

    Once looked up recipes to bake it at home and bowed out when the site owner quoted her grandmother saying “It’s a real pain in the ass to make.”

  183. 183.

    TBone

    @Mousebumples: I made that with the leftovers from Christmas’ prime rib roast, using all the bones and scraps for beef stock.  I still have some in my freezer and that stuff is like gold, baby! YUM.

  186. 186.

    TBone

    @C Stars: my sis-in-law (Irish meat & potatoes only fam) had that experience the first time she tried lobster at a boil I had for friends.  I got her a filet mignon, but she wanted one bite to try the lobster because we were having so much fun. Wasted that entire filet mignon!

  188. 188.

    Betty

    @Marc: I have seen Amish people on the train in the Lancaster area. I am familiar with Mennonites. These were definitely Amish folks.

  190. 190.

    JoyceH

    @Jay: Whimsy has a large basket of hand-me-down dog toys including many appropriate chews. She needs to learn what are the INappropriate chews, a list that includes the leash, shoes, the cats, big sister, and Mommy.

  191. 191.

    NotMax

    @TBone

    Ah, those little thick glass scalloped jars with pry-off metal lids. Oft spotted hiding on the supermarket shelf near the paper-wrapped cans of Underwood deviled ham.

    @zhena gogolia

    So you were a Chun King gal, then?
    ;)

  192. 192.

    TBone

    @Omnes Omnibus: memories of my Lt. Col. great uncle (started his military career with a purple heart at Pearl Harbor and ended up in Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan in the 60s) and my stepdad the Viet Nam Marine come flooding back reading your comment.  I miss them and thank you for that.  My great aunt taught English at all the various bases in between.

  195. 195.

    dexwood

    @UncleEbeneezer: Come on back anytime, just remember chile is spelled with an e in New Mexico. My nearly 50 years here tells me that if you see an i at the end of the word in a restaurant it’s a place owned by someone who moved here from another state.

  199. 199.

    Jay

    @NotMax:

    The trick is to pre-caramelize the onions.

    When I caramelize onions, I do lots, freeze what I don’t use, flat in ziplocks, break off what need for later use.

    A good focaccia uses a hard wheat flour instead of all purpose.

  200. 200.

    frosty

    @C Stars: The name of his division and the craft he was stationed on and the dates.

    With that and some research you can find out where he was and what action his ship was in. My F-I-L was on a PT Tender in McArthur’s Navy and while he didn’t mind telling a few stories (like sleeping through the Battle of Leyte Gulf) I learned more by looking things up.

    My Uncle Roger was like your grandfather. C-47 pilot. All he ever told his family was “I towed gliders over Normandy.” My brother and I spent some time researching, talking to other Troop Carrier descendants and pieced together everywhere he was and every flight he made, training and all.

  201. 201.

    TBone

    @NotMax: once when I was very little my mom took me on a “just us” picnic and made Underwood deviled ham sandwiches on the little cocktail rye slices with spreadable cheese.  I can still taste it.  At the time, I loved it but haven’t had it since. Thanks for that memory a la Proust!

  203. 203.

    Anyway

    @Martin:

    Sometimes I wish I could add myself to someone else’s pie filter.

    Bwahaha! That’s too funny.

    I roast veggies all the time and just wing it. No recipe involved.

  204. 204.

    Jay

    @Jay:

    Oh, BTW, you can also just jar them up with olive oil and keep them in the fridge for a couple months. Works great with pizza and focaccia.

  205. 205.

    Mousebumples

    @TBone: I made that with the leftovers from Christmas’ prime rib roast, using all the bones and scraps for beef stock. I still have some in my freezer and that stuff is like gold, baby! YUM.

    Yum is right! I’m glad I got some larger silicone ice cube trays that are great for freezing soup for leftovers.

    @TBone: kuchen is the German word for cake.

    I feel like I used to know that but forgot. Thanks.

    @Jay: The trick is to pre-caramelize the onions.

    When I caramelize onions, I do lots, freeze what I don’t use, flat in ziplocks, break off what need for later use.

    I love carmelizing onions in the Instant Pot. I freeze leftovers in the aformentioned ice cube tray and toss a few cubes in when cooking.

  206. 206.

    normal liberal

    @Marc: Back in July I took Amtrak from Chicago to Normal, IL. Union Station was being renovated and everyone was packed into the main waiting room – easily 50% of the crowd were Old Order Amish, family groups, all age ranges. I couldn’t figure out if they were all heading to the same destination, but there are Amish communities in southern Illinois and in Iowa that were likely locations.

  207. 207.

    NotMax

    @zhena gogolia

    Here’s the recipe.

    Didn’t remember the quote verbatim.

    And yet, it has fallen out of favor. I suppose it stands to reason. When I would ask my grandmother about pletzel, she had one standard reply: “Delicious. But a pain in the ass.”

  209. 209.

    geg6

    @Spanky:

    You didn’t know where to get the great stuff way back when then.  Any ethnic church or church festival (and Pittsburgh has a vast number of ethnicities and churches though Hispanic people are fairly new here) had fantastic takeout or festivals.  Bloomfield is the city’s Little Italy and has had great Italian places since the 1940s.  Oakland has always had great Asian and South Asian places due to the universities and hospitals.  Even out here in the sticks in Beaver County, we had many good restaurants, especially Italian.  We have a place here that’s been around since I was a kid that is nationally known for its wine cellars carrying only American wines.  You just didn’t go to the right places.

  213. 213.

    geg6

    @suzanne:

    Have you been to Max’s Allegheny Tavern on the North Side?  Fantastic and authentic German food.  So good and not all German food has heavy sauces.

  214. 214.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Omnes Omnibus: ​I draw the line at creamed turkey on toast. Ugh.

    Your loss, Oh-Oh. Mom used to process the Thanksgiving bird carcass in a pressure cooker, shake all the meat back into the pot & discard the bones, dump in a pack of frozen mixed vegs and some flour, heat till cooked and thickened, and serve over toast points. Bro & I liked that better than the original bird.

    (Y’know, for someone with a screen-name claiming to know everything about everything, you often seem a lot closer to someone who doesn’t know much about much of anything. I gather that’s an all-too-common failing of leagle egals.)

  215. 215.

    WaterGirl

    @Mousebumples: That’s very similar to my mom’s beef barley soup recipe, except for parsnips instead of peas.

    That is the only time I eat parsnips or turnips.  But it wouldn’t be my mom’s soup without them!  :-)  Not sure if the parsnips or the turnips have a big of spice to them, but it seems like one of them does.

  218. 218.

    Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    My Mom used to do mashed turnip. For everybody but me.

    I would get raw slices on my plate instead because that was the only way I would eat turnip.

    SWMBO adds them to stews, in chunks, which I really don’t notice. When I cook stews, I don’t bother to add them.

  219. 219.

    satby

    @Marc: Both. Amish and Old Order Mennonites are nearly indistinguishable from each other. From Wikipedia:

    Congregations worldwide embody various approaches to Mennonite practice, ranging from Old Order Mennonites (who practice a lifestyle without certain elements of modern technology) to Conservative Mennonites (who hold to traditional theological distinctives, wear plain dress and use modern conveniences) to mainline Mennonites (those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population).

  220. 220.

    satby

    @Steve in the ATL: Both Amish and Old Order Mennonites can get permission from their church leaders to fly in an emergency like a dying relative. But they normally train it. Conservative Mennonites almost look the same in attire, but the women wear brighter colors and the men often don’t wear beards.

  221. 221.

    Gemina13

    There are only three things I miss about Phoenix: orange trees; the Queen of the Night blossoms in Scottsdale; and Mexican restaurants. I loved going to some hole-in-the-wall in Phoenix and finding excellent food that made me want to order seconds.

    One place I loved is the excellent Chino Bandido. But another, which I’m sure I’ve mentioned here, is Los Reyes de la Torta, which is in a strip mall off N. Hatcher & 7th Street near John C. Lincoln Hospital. The medical crowd was always there for a meal when I lived there (2006-2011), and I could never go there without it being packed. And the food . . . oh, my God, the food. Plates loaded with enough to keep you sated for a good 6-8 hours, if you could finish them. A selection of tortas to delight the stomach (and terrify the heart with all the pork they contain). Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, seafood offerings (sadly, ceviche is only offered as an appetizer), huaraches (my favorite: the pollo de tinga huarache, with green sauce). I once looked up from my plate to see a young man with a six-month-old baby girl on his lap. His shaved head, tattoos, and piercings had a lot of people side-eyeing him; his attention was focused on feeding a bomba con leche to the baby, who squealed with laughter after every mouthful. It made me laugh because the glass the drink came in was easily the size of her face.

  224. 224.

    Mousebumples

    @karen marie: it seems similar. Not my favorite, so I’d have to double check and compare the recipes. “mine” used the now discontinued Nabisco chocolate wafers as a crust.

    @WaterGirl: I made it per the recipe once and was underwhelmed by the parsnip. So sub with potatoes now. 😂

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