Hey from another downstater. Yeah the movement to split the southern part off into a separate state doesn’t seem to realize we would instantly become one of the poorest states.

I feel like Texans who think Blue Bell ice cream is the best have never tasted any other ice cream.

Kroger’s house brand HemisFares has a very good reasonably priced balsamic vinegar option. It’s got some thickness to it, and decent flavor for something that costs a lot less than the real stuff. You can also improve a cheap, thin balsamic vinegar by reducing it down to about half the original volume. You need to…

If you don’t have a kitchen torch but have one in the garage or workshop, it’s perfectly fine to bring it in and use it for this. Nothing of the torch touches the food; you’re just using the flame to melt and caramelize the sugar.

I just tried them for lunch. Warning that if you get them to go, they will be soggy by the time you eat them. I only had to drive down the street back to my office, but they were a soggy mess by then. I mixed the cheese and red sauce, as suggested here, and that was a good call. They weren’t too spicy at all. Very…

It’s incredible the number of murders there are in small quaint British villages.

My wife and I have almost finished a bag of Ruffles Honey Habanero. I personally don’t like them on their own, but we’ve found that they’re excellent on a sandwich. Any kind of cold cut or meat, with a slice of cheese, some mayo, spicy mustard, fresh tomato, and a few of the chips for crunch and kick. Mmm. I just…

Sounds like my mom. I think if she can taste it, it’s “too spicy.” One Thanksgiving I made a sweet potato casserole with some cayenne in it. She actually said to me, “Don’t do that again.” lol

Quote from my oldest daughter, “If there’s one thing I learned living in Southern Illinois, it’s that there’s a limit to how many zucchinis your neighbors will take.” I imagine the same principle applies to yellow squash.

I think emigrate is also correct here. It can be an implied, “...emigrating from the United States to Russia.” If you left off to Russia, it would certainly be correct. Rephrased, that would be, “If you don’t like it here, leave!”

“Daich DCT-MNS-TS Quart Spreadstone Mineral Select Countertop Refinishing Kit” in the color “Sundance”. I think it was around $160 when I bought it. The kit probably had enough to do at least twice as much area as that countertop. I’ve seen similar kits at the store from Rustoleum.

After checking into how much a new one would cost, I used one of the refinishing kits on the old 1980's faux marble countertop and integral sinks in our master bathroom. The results were very good. I got a medium tan stone finish, and three years later it still looks about the same. As you mentioned, it requires a bit…

Partial solution:

My wife and I are caring for her father and my parents with dementia, but it doesn’t look like there will be any fruits from this for another 1-2 years for us individual caregivers. I read through some of the info at that CMS link, but although I’m a pretty smart guy, I don’t have the domain knowledge of the…

I haven’t been there, although my kids and a lot of friends have, and it’s considered one of the best theme parks around. If I remember correctly, you get free unlimited sunscreen and drinks all around the park.

Seems like a scaled down Mach 5 would be a great opportunity.

I tend to trust Gilles, because he seems like a real car guy. Years ago I was at an event where he not only gave the keynote speech, but he also volunteered to be an instructor at our track day.

We grow a lot of peaches in Southern Illinois. I’ve heard that in the 1800s this was actually the largest peach growing area in the country. The past three weeks I’ve gotten some delicious local peaches from the farmer’s market. Hoping there are still some there tomorrow! I planted a peach tree of my own two years…

When I was a kid in the 70's, all the local grocery stores had similar industrial quality machines where you could grind peanuts into a jar right there in the store. We only did it a couple of times, as far as I remember.

Sounds good! Very similar to peanut butter cookies, but with no flour.