By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon Count Comet

I don’t make many desserts, especially if it requires baking, but when I had my restaurant in Laramie called Lost and Found, I discovered the Berry Apple Betty.

In truth, it was the person who I hired to do my desserts that introduced me to this wonderful taste treat.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

My exposure to dessert cocktails was fairly limited until I opened my own restaurant/bar in Taichung, Taiwan. 

When I worked at the Hotel Wolf, my first summer in Wyoming, they had the Grasshopper and Brandy Alexander as dessert drinks. They were both made with vanilla ice cream and were creamy and smooth. 

I have written about them before and given the recipes.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon Count Comet

I love Thai food. That is no secret. I could probably eat Thai food every day if allowed.

Once I went backpacking through Thailand for two weeks. I have been to Thailand probably a dozen times, but two weeks was my longest stay.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I recognize that if I had not worked in bars overseas, there is a strong chance there are many liquors I might never have been exposed to. I am not sure which job or country exposed me to more different spirits.

An interesting one that has only one brand available in Wyoming is ouzo.

It is from Greece and Cyprus.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon Count Comet

I love vegetables and recently, I have been told, vegetables have to become an even stronger component of my diet.

That is no hardship for me.

I broke out my Wok and decided to use a recipe from my Taiwan days. It has some of my favorite vegetables, fairly quick and healthy.

It is called Mandarin Cauliflower and Broccoli.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I don’t know if I would put bananas as one of my favorite fruits, especially if they are ripe to very ripe.

If they are a little green, then I do enjoy them tremendously.

I make smoothies with ripe bananas all the time. It is rare for me not to use a banana in a smoothie.

I also enjoy a banana milkshake.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon Count Comet

When I first opened fM (it stood for Fred and Mike) Bar and Restaurant in Taichung, Taiwan, it was with my kid ex-brother-in-law and a financial backer.

Three years went by and we were successful, especially the bar, and we were only open for dinner. Fred wanted nothing to do with lunch.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Growing up, orange juice was king in our house as far as the early morning juice to drink.

My father would sometimes have grapefruit juice when he was on a diet. He even ate half a grapefruit for breakfast instead of the danishes and Pop-Tarts that we kids used to have before going to school.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon Count Comet

I can cook. My mother started early in my life when I was paid an allowance to come up with the family meal with food she left out to be dinner.

As I mentioned to her at 13, “Mom, I don’t know how to cook,” she handed me a Betty Crocker Cookbook and said, “If you can read, you can cook.”

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

When I was a kid, I really didn’t care much for butterscotch candy. I went as far as to tell people I couldn’t eat it or I would get sick. That was true with some foods, but butterscotch was not one of those foods. I just didn’t want to be made to eat it.

As I grew older, my taste buds did change some, but I still stayed clear of butterscotch as a flavor.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon Count Comet

One thing that I ate often in Asia that I never ate in the USA, and I mean never, was tofu. I saw it on menus in Chinese restaurants while living in the Washington D.C. area, but I was not a vegetarian, and I don’t remember ever going with someone who ordered a tofu dish for me to try.

That is, if I would.

Tofu is made from bean curd.

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

Although bourbon was made the official liquor of the USA in 1964 by an act of Congress, a spirit that should have been in consideration would have been rye whiskey.

Lunch Lady Corner

C.J. Lindsay

By Mike Armstrong

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

July 4th is here and America celebrates with fireworks and parties. Many of these parties celebrate with alcoholic drinks. What many Americans might not know is that the United States has had a national spirit since 1964.

It is bourbon whiskey.

By Mike Armstrong    

Reporter, Carbon County Comet

I was in the grocery store the other day and I saw two packages that made me say I know what I am making for dinner in the next day or so. One bag had sea scallops and the other a mixture of different seafood, such as octopus, clams, mussels, small shrimp and squid. 

I had some shrimp at home and some fresh Roma tomatoes that I knew I had to cook soon.