FORT Koffee Klatch

[ClosetRTWatcher]

I love Honeycrisp apples when they are fresh in the fall. They are so light and crispy and just a bit sweet. They are by far the best apples I have had!!

I have never cared for asparagus, but I have not tried it in many many years, so I have been thinking I should probably try it sometime. I'll try to hit a farmers market when they open up and get some fresh! My most hated veggie as a kid were brussles sprouts. My dad liked them so my mom would cook them and then I ended up having to eat them - YUCK! She eventually realized that she shouldn't try to make me like them because she doesn't even like them!

On another note, does anyone know why the "What's Going On In Palin's Hometown?" thread in the Current Events section was closed? I thought it was very well behaved and everyone was staying on topic...?

[ClosetRTWatcher]

I was just going to ask what 'lutefisk' was, thinking that it sounded like some kind of fish. Luckily, I wouldn't have to try it to see if I liked it since I am super-allergic to white fish. It certainsly doesn't have a very attractive name.

The gist of it is that they dry the whitefish (usually cod). Then the dried fish goes through a series of soakings in water and a water & lye mixture that makes the fish caustic!! After the water/lye soak, it is soaked in clean water again to remove the lye. This soaking process takes approx 2 weeks.
The fish is then cooked before eating, typically steamed or parboiled.

This is a quote from wikipedia:

The fish will swell during this soaking, attaining an even larger size than in its original (undried) state, while its protein content decreases by more than 50 percent, producing its famous jelly-like consistency.

"Jelly-like" is really not a consistency I look for in my fish.

I have lived in MN for a while now, and I am thankful no one has tried to get me to eat lutefisk!!! I watched an episode of Bizarre Foods a while back that featured lutefisk. Andrew Zimmern eats a lot of weird stuff, but even he had a hard time with the lutefisk!!

[inthegarden]

I have TONS of wisteria blooming in my yard. Can I cut some of it to bring inside and put in a vase or will it die too quickly? It's so pretty and I have so much, I'd like to have some inside. Dogwood too. But my azaleas are not blooming. Everyone else in the neighborhood has gorgeous azaleas. Mine, not a sign of a bud on them.

You can cut them and bring them in. I'll go to the gardening thread and share

[queenb]

MRD, it's possible your azaleas are a different variety from everyone else's. Mine aren't blooming yet either, and I don't expect them until around the 15th.There is about a 6 week period of bloom, just like there are early-mid-and late daffodils, peonies, etc.
And, you've only been there one year--are you 100% sure they are azaleas? If you are, and they don't bloom, it's possible someone trimmed them last year; most azaleas bloom on new wood, and if it gets cut off, no flowers.

[MRD]

I love Honeycrisp apples when they are fresh in the fall. They are so light and crispy and just a bit sweet. They are by far the best apples I have had!!

I have never cared for asparagus, but I have not tried it in many many years, so I have been thinking I should probably try it sometime. I'll try to hit a farmers market when they open up and get some fresh! My most hated veggie as a kid were brussles sprouts. My dad liked them so my mom would cook them and then I ended up having to eat them - YUCK! She eventually realized that she shouldn't try to make me like them because she doesn't even like them!

On another note, does anyone know why the "What's Going On In Palin's Hometown?" thread in the Current Events section was closed? I thought it was very well behaved and everyone was staying on topic...?

Try roasting the asparagus in the oven. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little kosher salt. YUM

I belive that lutefisk was a way of preserving fish back before we had refrigeration.

Thanks Queenb, they are definetly azaleas and I doubt anyone's trimmed them in a couple years. They may just be a late blooming variety. They are also a tad choked with weeds, could this be causing the problem? We need to get out and clean up the beds, but have had not a lot of time to do much of anything outside the house.

[ClosetRTWatcher]

Try roasting the asparagus in the oven. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little kosher salt. YUM

Do you have a suggestion for oven temp and how long?

[Newfherder]

I belive that lutefisk was a way of preserving fish back before we had refrigeration.

It preserves the fish forever, because nobody will eat it

[MRD]

Do you have a suggestion for oven temp and how long?

Try 350 degrees for 30 min. or so. May take longer. My husband likes them really crispy. I prefer them less so.

[ClosetRTWatcher]

Try 350 degrees for 30 min. or so. May take longer. My husband likes them really crispy. I prefer them less so.

Thx mrd!!!

[Ellen]

I thought that you already were!

Newf is my new boyfriend.