Do you have a favorite regional food?

My mom used to make tht in the winter. It is very nourishing. I miss that as well.

Oh, I love that soup too. I put the ox tails in the pressure cooker with 7 whole cloves and a few bay leaves and cook them until the meat starts to fall off the bones, but not so long that the bones disintegrate. The broth from ox tail soup is just heavenly.

The broth from oxtail soup also makes a great starter for gravy. I remember having it as a child. Very good.

@thea09 Yes, GardenGerty is my wife.

I would miss Braum's stores and, of course, their ICE CREAM and MILK.

Hello Gertie, I just saw this discussion for coffee syrup and thought of your post last night. Off topic I know but is Finlander your hubby?

I wonder if they would survive in Kansas. I would try if I thought they would. What do you think?

If you have a barn or shed (or even an enclosed porch) they can be overwintered there, or you can use one of the outdoor protection systems described in this excellent article: http://lawrencefruittreeproject.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/article-growing-figs-in-kansas.pdf I've also heard of people keeping them in big pots and simply bringing them in as houseplants over the winter. You can also make them into bonsai figs, as shown in this imaginative couple's link: http://hutchinsinbrazil.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/dsc055281.jpg?w=510&h=382

I must agree with you about homegrown vegetables. Is there anything in this world that is better than fresh peas right out of the pod? I don't think so.

I agree, not much that comes out of a garden that i don't like. Have a good day .

If you were to ask my Mom, she would have said that I hardly use any sweetener in my coffee. What you describe sounds, to me, like espresso. Is it?

Hi finlander, well Greek and Turkish coffee are not really like expresso as the latter doesn't really have the mud stuff at the bottom. Size wise it is about the same. We don't really get expressos here but one of my friends does have an expresso machine and the coffee was very good. Now a little off topic here but we came out of the sea on Monday afternoon and took over a couple of sun beds being vacated in front a restaurant. This was a novelty for me as it's usually beach mat on the sand. Anyway the man came from the restaurant to see if I wanted a drink so ordered as usual. Black Greek coffee, plain, no froth, which was duly brought. When he returned I ordered another as outside the house they are little more than a mouthful. He said they'd run out of coffee. How can anyplace run out of Greek coffee. The whole country would grind to a standstill, there would be national strikes everyday. My man was ok as he's not as addicted as me and happily settled for an iced tea whilst I sent my son off to a nearby taverna in search of the real stuff.

I think I could pass on having black pudding.

How about FRIED CLAMS? We went to San Diego several years ago and we had them right by the ocean. They were good.

I really like some spicy food, but not too hot. Thank you for your response.

Thank you. I can hardly wait to hear about food from other countries.

I am not really interested in trying very sweet food, and I don't eat noodles. Thank you for your response.