Jensen

Now that looks good! What is black vinegar and, if it isn't available where I am, what would be a good substitute? Also, this is probably a really stupid question but how do you warm the tofu? It doesn't look like it's been fried and there's no broth...microwave?

Ditto what Chrisamirault said. I love my larger braising pan but the shape is different than a soup or chili pot. It's got a larger diameter and is shallower. I actually hemmed and hawed over this 5.5qt one because I thought it might be too big (and we are three here).

I did because I've already got a larger enamelled cast iron braising pan (another off-brand...Daniel Boulud).

Maurdel, these are the dimensions: Diameter at base: 23.5cm/9.25in Diameter at top: 24.5cm/9.625in Height: 12.5cm/5in

Jensen - they're small plain dumplings, about 2 cm in diameter. No filling, just a mixture of eggs, flour and some milk usually. ← I'm intrigued that the word "knedle" is so similar to the Yiddish word for a matzoh ball, "kneidl," plural "kneidlach" (seeing as how matzoh balls are basically a variety of dumpling). Makes me suspect that both words have a common root--possibly/probably German? ← Germanic, for sure. Knödel is dumpling, in German. I'm sure the same root led to 'noodle' in English.

What an interesting thread! You can almost know the type of cooking each poster does, just by knowing which herbs/spices they go through. As for me: herbes de Provence, thyme, cumin, coriander, and Mediterranean oregano The first two I buy in largish bags so I guess they are the primary herbs around here.

One more thing: Thorne considers a New England boiled dinner to be of similar origins to pot-au-feu.

Another recommendation for those considering this cookoff: John Thorne's essay "Pot on the Fire" is a great read about pot-au-feu. (BTW, in his pot-au-feu recipe, the meat is not browned first.)

My first post to this thread! Breakfast this morning was very simple...just a poached egg on yesterday's no-knead bread smeared with some Laughing Cow Lite cheese. (I don't normally go for fake food but the LCL cheese isn't too bad.) Not sure if the picture does the egg justice; it was just so pretty when I chopped it up that it made me immediately think of this thread! I hope it's worthy... (You guys have the best egg porn ever on this thread... )

A Target mini-catalogue arrived in the mail yesterday and there on page 13 is what looks like an enameled cast-iron Chefmate casserole (4 quarts)...$40

Pille, what are knedle? noodles? dumplings? something else?

If I hadn't read this post this afternoon, I could have saved myself some bucks! Thanks for the heads up! I picked up one of the blue ones today.

Better than Foster Farms and better than Petaluma Poultry! I did get a lead on another possible source for Mary's chickens (and other good meats); a butcher shop has opened up in the new Quarry Ponds shopping centre. It's a bit of a drive from here but it's now on my list of places to check out.

I'm really looking forward to this blog. The photos so far have been very scenic; I hope you'll include more location shots throughout the week.

My take on Brazilian fish stew:

Melissa, I used your method of overnight oatmeal for my breakfast this morning. (Note how I'm training myself to attribute the method to you and not Martha.) I'll have to perfect the amount of water used, as my end product was a little thinner than what I prefer. I like porridge that you can slice! In honour of you, my bowl this morning was topped with yogurt and maple syrup. I usually just eat it plain but have been known to put salsa or soy sauce on my porridge, depending on my mood. Who knew that dairy and a sugar product goes so well with it? Oh, forgot to add that I also buy the TJ's oatmeal to fill my McCann's tin. I just do it because I'm cheap though.

Well, it won't be any time soon. Just got home from Orangevale Meats; they only get Mary's Chickens in occasionally. BUT...I did buy another type of 'all natural' chicken (can't remember the name) which the shop marinates in their own seasoning blend. I'm thinking I will throw it on the rotisserie.

Yes and yes. Once a year, we'd go up Island for a couple of weeks and we always went clam digging. The little clams we got were put on a rack on the bonfire at night but the big geoducks were destined for the pot. My dad had made a special shovel for digging them (he was a machinist); he called it a clam gun. I don't know if that is a real name for clam digging shovels or not but it made getting the geoducks slightly easier.

Hey! One of those places in Sacto actually has a storefront (i.e., it's not a restaurant) and, even better, it's near my house. Orangevale Meats is out of Trigger's range but well within the newly-licensed Spawn's driving comfort zone. The last time I was in there, they didn't have meats in their cases; at that time, they were solely processors. But I'm willing to take a ride to check them out...if nothing else, it'll give me a chance to listen to the Spawn's Amy Winehouse CD.

Melkor: here in the burbs of Sacto, it's just not that easy to find poultry that isn't factory farmed (especially when one doesn't drive). I can get Petaluma Poultry products at my local Raley's but that's still factory farmed, even if it is a factory farm with a slightly nicer view. I grabbed a chicken from my Trader Joe's earlier this week; it tasted remarkably similar to Petaluma Poultry's product. I'm guessing it's PP, private labelled. The only good chicken I've had in recent memory is a Smart chicken I picked up at Corti Bros. Excellent chicken but Corti Bros. is out of Trigger's range (Trigger being my electric scooter). Is it too much to ask that decent, un-mucked-with food be available? (Rhetorical question...I already know that it is far too much to ask.) JAZ: I just noticed it about a month ago. I was ranting about it to a friend and she said "Well, that explains why the last time I made [some dish], it was way too salty and tasted like crap." (I'm paraphrasing.) Based on that, I think it's a fairly recent change.

Are geoducks available here? Those are the clams I grew up with; the shells of the big ones can double as small passenger vehicles.

While admittedly the product is not uber-high quality, I have been in the habit of keeping a bag of Foster Farms' boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my freezer (Jinmyo, avert your eyes now). The first time I cooked from that bag, the texture of the meat was a little rubbery and the dish was fairly salty. I thought maybe I'd just got an odd chicken but then, the next time I cooked it, the taste and texture was the same. So, I looked at the ingredient list on the bag. Instead of just "chicken", it now reads "chicken, water, kosher salt". It would appear that Foster Farms is selling brined chicken breasts. This is outrageous! There's another thread here on "the dumbing down of heirloom tomatoes"...this is the dumbing down of boneless skinless chicken breasts (which were pretty low on the dumb scale to begin with). What other meats are these company mucking around with? (and I mean just in the processing end of things...we all know they're mucking around with all sorts of things in the growing department). BTW, Foster Farms responded to my comment to them that they had lost a customer over this issue with a polite "Thank you for your feedback."

DesertCulinary, I made your soup tonight for dinner. Well, I made my adaptation of it; that means I glanced at the ingredients and then tried to remember them when I was in the kitchen. I did pretty well; I may have used more tomatoes, I used black beans, and it was topped with yogurt instead of sour cream. I also just followed my own method, mostly because I have a problem with authority It turned out to make a lovely, light dinner. (My picture didn't turn out because I used my little camera and it's a bit of an over-achiever when it comes to flash photography.) Thanks for the idea!

DanielM. -- your salmon looks incredible but even more (heart)warming for me is your avatar. Go, Canucks!

They charge ridiculous prices and pay MINIMUM WAGE? If I was ever tempted to purchase anything from them (and the yearning wasn't really there), that just killed any inclination.