All Activity

I used to buy those containers whenever they went on sale. Sizes didn't matter. The idea was that when I had guests over for say Thanksgiving, Easter, etc. I could package up the food in these and send them home with my guests. Each 'family' would get either a bigger container or several containers. If one family didn't like on of the veggies, I prepared, they didn't get a container of that. I kept some for my own leftover dinners. The beauty was that I told everyone that they didn't have to return the containers.

Thank you It isn’t a thing over here as far as I'm aware. Bit of a shame, as it sounds like a grand idea, but maybe it will take off in the future.

Community Sponsored Agriculture. It’s supposed to be an arrangement where you give a farmer money in exchange for a share of the harvest. Usually a box of whatever they have ready that is picked up weekly. In all honesty, mine is a fake CSA, aimed at the carbon conscious but culinarily inept. They let you choose what you want each week rather than forcing you to contend with a giant pile of turnips. The farm grows about 1/3 of the stuff there and buys the rest locally

Community Supported Agriculture. Generally, you sign up with a farm, pay a set fee for a season and receive a regular box of produce. Variations abound. See more here.

As mentioned previously, some good melons and stone fruits at TJ's here: Dulcinea KANDY

Last night, with dinner: Sweet spot, at just around $15 a bottle. Rosé of cabernet franc. Domaine Stéphane Guion. The Borgueils he bottles are also a favorite here.

Sorry - what does CSA mean?

Well pizza of all types is one of his five core food groups, so I am sure he will be exploring that style while there! He has been driving to his destination, and should get to his apartment by tonight. I would not be surprised if pizza is his dinner. 🙂 Last night we had a green coconut vegetable curry using up some of the CSA bounty: zucchini, eggplant, peppers, cilantro, and onions. I aded some cashews for crunch, and served it with lemongrass rice. Last night

Another attempt to control the cheese drawer. Served with corn from the CSA. Best corn of the season so far.

Elsie, that looks wonderful. Oh, how envious I am that you have the deep pan!! Darn those Box people!!

Aw hell yes, I've been sorely missing that "colostrum yellow tinge" in my ice-cream.

@TdeV you vsn DV that chicken. but w a brinw like that , it will taste better roasted.

That's pretty much McD's ace-in-the-hole here, too (it's sure as hell not the food!). Lure in the kids with Happy Meals, toys, and genuinely solid in-restaurant playgrounds, and they'll drag the parents along. Then, as they grow up, of course, they're "imprinted" and tend to think of the chain as a comfort-food sort of thing. I had an afternoon with the grandson recently, which involved some time in town running errands, and given a whole city's worth of lunch options, he chose... yup, McD's. I had a McChicken sandwich, which used to be the most edible thing on the menu, and it was pretty vile. Much smaller and sadder than I remembered (mind you, the last time I'd had anything other than a soft-serve cone at McD's was probably around 2008).

Several years ago I was having a dinner with a group of Chinese students and asked what they thought of western food. Few of them had knowingly eaten it. Those who had only knew McD’s and KFC and thought it disgusting. This didn’t surprise me. Most Chinese visit once out of curiosity then never return. Yet these two chains do well here – by catering to children at celebratory birthday parties and by giving ‘gifts’ of toys to children on regular visits. The kids then pester their parents to return, not for the food but for another ‘gift’. The gifts are cheap crap. China’s government has criticised the practice but done nothing about it. And Chinese parents are notorious for never refusing their precious little darlings anything. Western non-chain restaurants in China are 95% execrable and run and cheffed entirely by people who have never eaten western food. The few good ones never last outside of large cities with an ex-pat presence. But back to those students. I asked them what they thought western people eat. Bread, steaks, pizzas and hamburgers were the top answers. I said I rarely eat steaks, seldom hamburgers and told them they’d never eaten real pizzas. Chinese pizza place’s offerings are bizarre and Pizza Hut are no better. Durian pizza, FFS? So I asked them if they eat bread, fish, pork, beef, shrimp, etc., listing the common proteins. Yes, they said (as I knew they would). I then went on and listed common vegetables, then starches, then spices. Yes, yes, yes,… When I told them we eat all the same things, they were astonished. When I said we eat rice and noodles they were dumbfounded. They thought only Asia eats rice and didn’t know that tomatoes and chillies originated in the Americas as did many of the fruits they eat. And these weren’t dumb people, by any means. They were master’s degree or PhD candidates. They didn’t know that potatoes (also from the Americas) are a staple food in much of the world. I explained that if my mother served a meal to my father without potatoes, he would have thought she had lost her marbles, just the same as they would if their mothers served dinner with no rice. This misconception I kind of understood. For a start, China produces more potatoes than any other, with 25% of the market, but most of that goes to animal fodder or some industrial uses, Until very recently potatoes were only regarded as peasant or emergency food for humans. Still, they are only ever used a yet another vegetable in Chinese cuisine; never as a staple. They only real difference between western food and Chinese food is the serving. Nearly all meals are served family style with sharing plates to be sampled bite by bite at random. I’m not trying to put my students down. Most western people know little about food in China. Even chefs!

A little further south, near Arenys de Mar. We are at my in-laws, but I am sure we‘ll be daytripping to Girona as well one of these days …

... start cooking without being 100% absolutely positively sure that all the needed ingredients are at hand. Today I started on a recipe that called for rose water. I knew I had some as less than a month ago I saw it in the cupboard and moved the small bottle to be with other similar items ... almond extract, vanilla extract, lemon oil, and so on. I had to make almond milk for this recipe (an almond pudding). The almonds were prepped this morning and soaked for about twelve hours. A short while ago, I put the prepped almonds in the blender jar, added several dates (for sweetener), added the appropriate amount of very chilled water, and reached for the rose water. WTF, said I, and started digging into the cupboard. I moved every item on the shelves, pulling some of them out of the cupboard completely, used a small flashlight to search more thoroughly ... Nada! So I made the almond milk, put it in the fridge, cleaned and reorganized the kitchen, and set the rest of the necessary ingredients in the staging area for use tomorrow. First thing in the morning, it's back to the market where I was just two days ago buying the dates for this recipe. What a waste of time and energy.

Second time today I've heard this book mentioned, first was on a food podcast (Linoleum Knife and Fork). I will check it out.

I'd say it depends on how much salt you used. Unless you went overboard on the salt, 48 hours should be fine.

Too much plastic here for me. I tend to use something like these. I only use them for storing leftovers or other food in the fridge or freezer. Never utensils.

菠萝炒饭 (bō luó chǎo fàn) Pineapple fried rice is not only common in Thailand but among many of China's ethnic minorities, especially the Dai people in Yunnan Province which borders Vietnam and Myanmar/Burma. It also borders Guangxi where I live and the ethnic minorites here also make it. This which I put together last night is 菠萝虾仁炒饭 (bō luó xiā rén chǎo fàn), pineapple shrimp fried rice, to which I also added a little chicken that needed using. Made it slightly spicy, too. So technically 菠萝虾仁鸡肉炒饭 (bō luó xiā rén jī ròu chǎo fàn), pineapple shrimp and chicken fried rice.

A few years ago, Ziploc had made some nice semi-disposable containers with relatively square corners that I really liked then of course discontinued. 🤷‍♀️ @blue_dolphin these restaurant food storage pans come in multiple depths that can share lids https://www.webstaurantstore.com/vigor-1-6-size-4-deep-translucent-polypropylene-food-pan/247FP164PP.html also, Cambro https://www.cambro.com/Products/food-storage/

Make a little patty of each to get a feel for how it cooks up and tastes, then follow your instincts. I'd probably make kofte with the goat, myself, but I have a general hunger for that lately

Marmite doesn't get enough love as a seasoning. I put it in anything involving a gravy or red meat (e.g. ragu). Top marks from me 😀

Spain-inspired, braised onions and potatoes, with pimentón and saffron. As a side dish for... Crispy-skinned roasted chicken thigh (thank whoever keeps my old CSO working!), potato thing from the 1st picture, sautéed escarole. Plum and nectarine crisp..or cobbler...crispler? cobblisp? No complaints yet.