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Pasta Fagiole (Variation 3) from Six Seasons of Pasta by McFadden - nice variation which gives a more rustic touch to this dish. Hot Italian sausages are formed in patties and seared hard to get a good crust with some smashed garlic, red pepper flakes and tomato paste. Once you add hand-crushed tomatoes, pinto beans and rosemary, you break up the patties and garlic and mix it with farfalle and a parmesan-pecorino mixture. Served with some panko crumbs and olive oil

Agreed - living on n California there are many great things to buy in supermarkets/shops but I miss sour cream (and creme fraiche) and similar dairy ingredients from Europe. Most sour cream in the US is barely OK and the better stuff is very expensive

"Das Ultimative Sauerteigbrot," recipe from Rene Dasbeck (https://www.brooot.de/weizenbrote/das-ultimative-sauerteigbrot/?fbclid=IwY2xjawN2XQVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFmZDQ0dXFLZVRZbnlySVZuAR6hdP13QyH-HhP9AdzvLk-AfgyuXpbVn9A_CDxbzA1oBZZXDMvxB4ouTVqCKw_aem_KdbnKjzYidqkmIDMHPC5qQ&brid=1mib5OTjoleHhLhjZdlu9A). Nice in that it has a relatively small amount of pre-ferment, and a touch of beet syrup. Very aromatic, as he indicates, a pleasant everyday levain.

Don’t you hate it when they skimp on the bread ..?!

I had the original but no longer have it. There was a recipe I used to make out of that book but I can't remember what it was. It certainly wasn't the snow peas. PS I had no trouble accessing the article.

Martha Stewart has elicited commentary here for years, both on the pro- and con (heh) side. Whether you like her or not, you must admit that she's been a prolific cookbook writer. 101 cookbooks! Who knew? I certainly didn't. The Washington Post recently published an article stating that she's going to re-release her very first book, Entertaining, long after it's been out of print. The idea is that the 20-somethings now might get as much enjoyment and inspiration from it as those who were 20-something when it first came out in 1982. I have admired the photos of spreads she's put on, and in my copy of The Cake Bible (Rose Levy Berenbaum) there is an admirable wedding cake designed and executed by Ms. Stewart. Nonetheless I've never aspired to be her or to emulate her. Heck...I look around at my house at this moment and wonder whether I'll manage to get the floors vacuumed before my best friend arrives for a visit tomorrow! I therefore found this article in the Washington Post quite entertaining. After 101 books, Martha Stewart is re-pitching her first one to Gen Z by Jura Koncius I've posted the link as a gift article, but some of you have indicated in other posts that the paywall is insurmountable. With that in mind, I've copied and here pasted the paragraph I found especially entertaining, about Ms. Koncius's first party. She had settled on a menu titled "Cocktails for 25". She wrote: I can see myself all too clearly in that incident. Anyone else going to look into the book? Or do you already have the original?

Kinda makes you long for the good ol' days of enoki mushrooms, doesn't it?

What's this you say? Contaminated pistachios? Surely not. yawn....

https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/certain-roasted-pistachios-recalled-due-salmonella-0

Exactly right! I should point out that that was half of a hoagie....

@gfweb although the sodium load on that beauty had to be impressive Im sure it went down smoothly w a smilie on your face. Congratulations .

Hoagie

Me too. I couldn't resist.

This is my current favorite, the only version I've liked enough to share on my website (here if you prefer to link to it): Curried Carrot-Parsnip Soup Invented on a chilly night's ride home from work....and this one came out so nice that I had to share. The parsnips complement the carrots wonderfully, being sweet and mild when cooked, and while you could get something nice with carrots alone, it would not be as good. 1 t mustard oil or other vegetable oil 1 tsp cumin 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 4 medium carrots, sliced thickly 3 medium parsnips, sliced thickly 4 dried tamarind pods, shelled 6 pods cardamom 1 tbsp whole coriander seed 1 tsp dried galangal chunks 3 C water 1/4 C unsweetened coconut 2 tsp freshly grated ginger 2 tsp cayenne, or to taste 1 tsp paprika, or to taste 1 tbsp south indian sambar powder (from 1000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra) or another curry powder of your choice 1 tsp salt or to taste In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and cumin briefly, then saute the onion lightly. Add the carrots and parsnips, water, and, in a small metal bowl set on top of the vegetables, the tamarind, cardamom, coriander and galangal with a bit more water to cover them. Bring up to 15# pressure and cook 12 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, in another pan, lightly toast the coconut until golden. Strain the separate spice water into the vegetable mixture, pressing the tamarind pulp into the mixture. Puree all in a blender or food processor. Stir in the coconut, ginger, cayenne, paprika, curry powder, and salt, and adjust spices to taste.

I'm a sucker for cute very utile doohickies - nice find!

No - it came from a store I have around the corner...https://www.vinvero.com/p/4c9yclwgn2fdn/chateau-de-targe-chenin-de-targe-saumur-blanc-2022 As Eric Asimov often writes in his articles reviewing wines for the Times, it's often hard to find the wines he writes about. Hopefully, you can find some nice Loire Valley whites (Sauvignon or Chenin or maybe Muscadet) where you are.

That looks like something I'd enjoy, but I bet I won't be able to find it at the local stores. One of the things that frustrated eG's last attempt at collective wine tasting was we rarely could find the exact same wine, due to distribution vagaries. Still, I'll look for this one. Or did you bring it back from overseas?

That’s what I really loved about my golf club restaurant job. The chef was really good. A big cut above most anything in the area. The place had gorgeous views and did a lot of catering for weddings, brunches, luncheons, dinner events, etc. so he was constantly working on custom menus that he’d try out on the kitchen staff. It was interesting to get to taste everything but also to hear the feedback and troubleshooting about stuff that might look and taste great but be a nightmare to prep or plate. Might have been uncommon for a chef to be so collaborative but fun to watch.

Hostess at Marie Callender's Denver (that's how we answered the phone). My mother had directed me to get a job there as a Strawberry Girl, which was the job where you cut strawberries all day for pies. At the interview, I was informed that the hostess job paid a little more, so I took that one. I was 12. Later, after I got my driver's license, I took a second job with a catering company on weekend nights. I liked that job a little better because the workers ate for free. Mostly I was a server but sometimes I worked in the kitchen prepping, which I liked better -- both the labor that was entailed as well as the coworkers on that side -- but no tips. I wanted money. I wanted to go farfaraway to college, and I wanted money. At least that's what I remember thinking at the time. In reflection, though, I think I just wanted to get me some of the kind of food that was served in restaurants. I wanted to work around food so that I could eat more restaurant food.

First frost this year was on October 9th (slightly later than average), and the second was just last night. Not much still going in my garden, but I might actually get a few late florets from my poor broccoli plants, and the greens are finally producing (now that the days are short, and they won't grow briskly). I harvested 460g of kale and chard last night (just over a pound); we ate the chard with dinner and today I'll blanch and freeze the kale. There are still tomatoes to be stripped from the vines, especially the cherry tomatoes, but the grandkids have worn out on 'em. I may only plant one vine next year, we'll see how I feel in spring. I have a couple of my cherished Black Krims that died on the vine while I was away in NS, but I'll have the sense to preserve seed from those ones this time instead of ordering them from the seed company (duh). A couple of pics for your amusement: my lavish harvest of (respectively) melons and buttercup squash. The green one is a Sugar Baby watermelon, the bottom one is a hybrid that looks like a honeydew but tastes like a melon. Part of the latter had gotten mushy (hence it's cut up and incomplete), but it was fully ripened and tasty. The itty-bitty watermelon wasn't quite ripe, but at least had begun to taste like a watermelon. The squashes were slightly larger than the melons, though still tiny as you can see. One of them came "quality tested" by some garden critter, but to judge by the sugar warts on the lower one, they may have chosen poorly. I still haven't cooked these, though I will at some point in the next couple of days. On the upside, our nicotiana is blossoming and looked quite pretty. My little hydrangea also tried to blossom for the first time, but it was too little, too late. Not gonna complain, though. It almost died during its first winter, and took almost another year to bounce back and show some signs of growth. This was its third year, and it's finally flourishing.

It's baby quail time again, first batch from the new incubator (we've learned our lesson, and got the extended warranty). Forty-odd hatchlings at present, with more still coming.

I found this beautiful little vintage clay Chicken roaster on our local FB Marketplace. I was working yesterday and the seller was kind enough to drop it off to me. I had a sourdough in the fridge for three days. Took it out of the fridge at 8:00 last night and shaped it at 4:00AM this morning and baked two boules, both in clay bakers.

Yeah, I finished the bag after posting and found a couple peas, they had only had that sweet batter-flavor like the rest of the things. This tastes fairly good and I can see where it would hit a particular craving, but when I want a sweet snack, it's usually cookies, so me personally I probably won't buy it again. Edit: if you look at the bowl picture I posted, about 630 there is a wasabi pea in the milk, just found it hahaha

I’ve had this recipe for a lemony tuna salad sandwich marked to try for quite a while and finally got around to making it. The tuna salad is made with celery, lemon zest, Kewpie mayo, Dijon mustard, a bit of toasted sesame oil, S&P. It’s spread on a ciabatta roll, topped with a layer of sliced pepperoncini, followed by a layer of salt and vinegar kettle-style chips. Not my mom's tuna salad which is a go-to comfort food but I quite enjoyed it and would make it again.

We drink a lot of Chenin Blanc; this is a lovely, crisp, easy-drinking wine.