Growing up, I was never too fond of orange marmalade. As the cheapest of all the fruit preserves, it was ubiquitously served by all the old aunts and their friends with whom I had the misfortune of having tea at some point or another. I am sure they were great ladies on limited budgets trying to save a few pennies, but as a child I wasn't that understanding. At home, I insisted on strawberry jam, or if we were lucky and found it available at the store, on rapsberry jam. Even as a kid, I felt sophisticated eating toast with butter and those exotic berries.

I still prefer berry jams, which in the US are as obiquitous as orange marmalade was in Argentina. All jams & jellies here seem to be priced identically, regardless of flavor, so there isn't an incentive to buy any but the one you like.

I hadn't given a second thought to orange marmalade for at least twenty years, until I ran into this product at the 99-cents store. I could recognize the brands, they were imported from Argentina. I was intrigued, it had been sooo long since I had tasted it and it could indeed bring memories back of home and childhood. And yet, I hadn't liked it as a child so why should I like it now? So I didn't get any.

I kept thinking about it, though, so when we visited the 99-cents store again last weekend I decided to get a jar of orange marmalade along with one of apple jam, also a product of Argentina. Today I tried it and was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Perhaps its sweet and sour taste is more pleasing to adults, or perhaps it's just nostalgia speaking, but I thought it was great on a slice of toast, and even better in a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. At 99 cents it cannot be beat.

The apple jam is quite good also, it tastes like a sweeter, denser apple sauce. This is something I might have had once as a kid, so it didn't any evoque any particular feelings, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Yesterday we went shopping to Trader Joe's. As usual, most of what we bought were impulse buys including a pint of Sharon's Sorbet, coconut flavor that I got a craving for. That's the problem with being pregnant, you see something and you want it.

I've never had coconut sorbet before but I liked it. Unlike other sorbets, it's quite creamy, which makes sense given that its main ingredients are coconut milk and coconut cream. Still, it's lighter than regular ice cream which I liked. It had a nice coconut flavor, though I would have preferred more coconut and less sweetness. It wasn't as refreshing as I wish it was. But it was good.

Last night we had fondue for dinner, from a box. It was Le Superbe Fondue, imported from Switzerland, which we got at Trader Joe's. It was quite good, a little bit less alcoholic tasting than the ones from the red boxes we usually get at tthe supermarket, which is good. Of course, home-made fondue is often better, and it is really easy to make, but last night I wanted something that took no time at all. And that would save us having to wash the food processor (after grating all those cheeses). Anyway, we liked it.

I'm getting tired of take-out and I'm often too tired to cook (not to mention that my kitchen is too much of a mess to cook in), so the other night I decided to try one of those ready-made entrees available in the refrigerated meats section of the supermarket. I'd had a craving for Beef Stronganoff before and while I didn't have high expectation of this version, I figured it was as good a choice as any.

It was OK. The meat was tender and not very fatty; the sauce tasted like a sour gravy, and not at all like Stroganoff, but it was perfectly edible. I served it over spaghetti and it was OK with the pasta. I don't think I'll buy this again, but I may try one of the other entrees.

A couple of nights ago I served chicken with Patak's Tikka Masala simmering sauce which I bought at Cost Plus ($3.50 for a 15 oz jar, enough for 1 lb chicken and 2 1/2 people). It was OK but it didn't taste at all like tikka masala. Mostly it tasted like other generic jarred or frozen Indian curries. Its main ingredient was oil, so it's very fatty (but it gave a wonderfully tender consistency to the chicken), followed by lemon juice, so it's also very sour. I don't feel any compelling reason to buy it again.

It's Xmas already and I've gotten several food gifts:

-Prashad, Cooking with the Indian Masters - a cookbook by J Indor Singh Kalra (from Mike)
-The Best Ever Indian Cookbook (from David & Dana)

-White and black truffle oil, directy from Italy (from Mike)
-A bottle of fresh olive oil from the Marin's farmers market (from Lotty)
-A garlic oil & vinegar set (from David & Dana)
-A huge bottle of cheap balsamic vinegar (from Mike)

-Soup plates (from Lola & Iggy)
-A whole silverware set (from Kathy)

-Aprons (from my Mom and Lola & Iggy)
-Potholder (from my mom)
-Dish towels (from my mom)

-A gift certificate to Bay Wolf!!!!! (from Regina & Boris)

Christmas Eve dinner was a huge success. All the food I made was simple and easy to make yet delicious. Everyone - not the least me - was impressed.

I put up the menu and recipes already (they are at http://www.marga.org/food/party/xmas04/), as I failed to do it in previous years.

Christmas day we had a frozen lasagna for lunch and then went to the Oriental Tea House for Chinese, we were the only non-Chinese people there!

Yesterday we ate leftovers, and that's what I assume we'll have for lunch as well. For dinner we're taking K. to Chevy's, as that's where she wants to go.

We got a number of small liquor bottles as stocking stuffers. As I don't drink hard alcohol even when I'm not pregnant, Mike is the one who ends up with them. He already tried the Tangueray Dry Gin (straight) and he liked it quite a bit, it had a nice and subtle lemon flavor. It was his first time drinking gin, I think, so it may very well be that that's how gin tastes :)

Another small bottle that Mike got was for Disaronno liqueur. It's an amaretto (though you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at the bottle) and Mike didn't like it for straight drinking, at least. I'm sure I'll find something to use it in, however.

I really like the Asiago Cheese from Safeway. Actually, most of their premium (and non-premium) breads are pretty good, but the Asiago one is delicious. It's not cheap (about $3.50 I think), so I don't see it as an every day sort of bread, but once in a while I really crave it.

Our friends Charlotte & Daniel got us a bottle of Stonehouse "Olio Nuovo" for Xmas. This is a very fresh olive oil (pressed two weeks before we got it) and it's delicious. It's taste is actually much fresher than that of regular olive oil and I like it more. Mike doesn't seem to like it as much, which is great as it means there is more for me! I'm using it just for dipping, though I imagine it could also be used on salads.

http://www.stonehouseoliveoil.com/