jo-mel

Parsnips. No matter how that vegetable is prepared, ---- mashed, candied, roasted----I just can't get it down. I've tried, my Mother tried, to no use. I just plain can't stand the flavor. Other roots are fine -- just not parsnips.

It is a real town!! Uhhhh, Actually it's Needles. That's where Snoopy's brother, Spike, lives. And since it was before the birth of Spike Lee, he has been unable to successfully sue the Schultz estate. JPW -- You are right! Needles - not Noodles. I was walking around with not much on my mind, and all of a sudden -- "Needles" popped in my head and I realized I was wrong. I'm happy that there actually is a Needles, AZ --- is there a Noodles, too?

A STEAMED lobster with a vinegar dip. Next best is Lobster Savannah as served at Locke-Obers in Boston. http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blsea92.htm

Machine wrappers for me for Shao Mai, and also for my favorite Pot Sticker ( ala Rhoda Yee and Hugh Carpenter) However, for boiled jiaozi, I want the chewy home-made dough.

When cold sesame noodles first started to become noticed, most people in the NYCity area pointed to a Chinatown restaurant as having the best. (Yuan Hua/ Hua Yuan??) It was a Sichuan place, the usual linoleum floor, no decor --- but great food kind of place. This was back in the 70s? Well, their noodles, which were wonderful, had a simple clear sauce -- no sign of either seame paste or peanut butter. When I examined them closely, the only things I could detect were sesame oil, chicken broth and scallions. There may have been other seasonings, but they weren't openly apparent, and not at all the creamy sauce that I find and see in recipes and other restaurants. They were cold, glistening and wonderful! The last word in Sesame noodles. Unfortunately, They wouldn't give away their secret and hav since closed.

The picture with the bare hand and the knife reminded me of the number # Emergency Room procedure -- suturing up hands that were cut when slicing bagles!! Rachel -- your project is one of those things that makes e-Gullet so special. The entire pictorial procedure also belongs in a magazine. Beautiful!! "Cooks" should be contacted. I once had people use plastic chopsticks to pick up wet quails eggs -- as a way to learn dexterity with chopsticks. I didn't cook the eggs, (I'm lazy) they came shelled, in a can -- about 24 to sardine sizes can!!

Does Noodles, Arizona -------a la Snoopy/Peanuts/Chas Shultz comic strip count?

Chicken broth with minced garlic and cayenne, followed by another big cup of chicken broth with grlic and cayenne. While sipping, hold the cup close, and sniff in the fumes and moisture. Zinc lozenges, C and Echenacia (sp) and if you have a sore throat, lemon and honey laced with cayenne. I am not a believer in taking aspirin or the like for a fever. I believe the heat, caused by a temperature, is there for a reason -- to kill germs. Of course, if it spikes out of bounds, then it is a different story. (DH spiked to 104.6 -- he had pneumonia.) I use Tiger balm - both as a chest rub, but also smeared on a cloth or kleenex. I inhale the fumes when I go to bed. Helps to stop the annoying cough. As someone earlier said, (Mabelline?) if you have a relapse, get yourself to your doctor!!! Did I mention taking chicken broth with garlic and cayenne?

The HARD smack on a flat surface usually works for me. You have to make sure that the lid is absolutely flat when you bang it. Also, using a wide elastic band, wrapped around the lid helps, as the elastic holds firm, as compared to your palm ----- which moves. The elastic works even better than a wet cloth.

Dejah --- Keep in mind the 'dryness' of the flour, when you add liquid. I've found that there is never any true ratio of flour to water/milk because of the amount of moisture, or lack of it, in the flour.

FUN thread!! What was your family food culture when you were growing up? 30s-40s. working class. Mother was French Canadian. (great Tortieres!)Father - French Canadian roots. Was meal time important? Yes -- Sit-down breakfast and dinner. We didn't eat until all were seated. Father (when he was sober) was strict, so mealtimes were not always happy times. The food was cooked, tho, with great love. Was cooking important? Yes. Most things from scratch. My Mother loved to cook. When she was in her teens, she cooked at my Grandfather's lumber camp. She used to make 100 apple pies at a time! What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? A reprimand. Along with speaking with your mouth full, and taking big bites. Hand always in lap when not being used. I've carried that one over to adulthood. One time, my Mother said to my teen-age brother "Another bite like that, and you'l leave the table." His answer -- "Another bite like that, and I'll be done!"- There was too much laughing for Mom to get mad! Who cooked in the family? My Mother. Except for the few times my Father made 'Mulligan Stew' that he had had in WW1. Beef and onions and bread mixed in with the gravy with lots of poultry seasoning. I loved it! Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? I can only remember going to Boston's Chinatown. It wasn't an era for restaurant meals. I think my town had two/2 places that would qualify as restaurants. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? No. Kiddie table only at Grandmas, when there was a crowd. When did you get that first sip of wine? Under 10. (given to me by my crazy French-Canadian uncles.) First glass was not until I was 18. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Only Thanksgiving and Christmas. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? Not really, but Friday was fish night and Saturday was Franks and Beans and Brown Bread. (typical Boston stuff) Every Sunday we had a big roast along with 2 vegetables and some sort of potato. All from fresh. Lots of Corn Chowder, Clam Chowder and American Chop Suey - Hamburg, onions, tomatoes and elbow macaroni. Something like Beef-a-roni, but SOOOOO much better. (I can taste it just thinking of it.) How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Quite a bit, when my kids were all home. I guess the apple never fell far from the tree!

I made Hui Guo Rou - Twice/Double Fried Pork - in a cooking class, recently. Everyone looked at the fresh pork belly with a 'eeeeuuuuuuuu' look, and the blanched piece of pork didn't make them feel any better. BUT, when they had the final dish, they absolutely loved it, and a new respect was born!

What is the Asian twist??

I absolutely love Reubens, but not to the point where one bite sends the rest of the sandwich out the other side. Worse, tho is when the sandwich comes opened on the plate -- almost like a gravy sandwich, and has to be eaten with a knife and fork. A club sndwich is a delight to look at and a b**** to eat. It is supposed to be a lovely ladies lunch sandwich, isn't it? Well, eating it is not very lady-like!!

McD's Chicken Fajita -- a couple of them would qualify as a sandwich. Sbarro's Philly CheeseSteak ----- if you hold it right, you can eat it as a sandwich. ( it's really stuffed pizza --does that count?)

He also said you were such a little girl for such a big appetite! And what was that about strawberries??

Way to go!! It went by toooooo fast!

My dark side is showing in this one. There's a couple of people from history and a couple still living, that I'd pick --- and I'd poison the food. For dinnertime stimulation? Too many to choose from. I'd have to have a banquet.

Well, I guess I have Sichuan Peppercorns on my mind! In a dream, last night, I found myself in a bright, colorful, glittery Chinatown. I went to a store, and in Chinese, I asked for the pepper. They gave me a big bag full -- the size of a big bag of sugar!! LOL! Anyone want some? (In your dreams!!) In the Feb. 4 NYT's article, a spokesman for the Agricultural Dept. could not point to any study or research that showed the dried peppercorn carried the disease, and could not say whether there was a case of peppercorn contaminating the citrus trees. So, do they plan to check it out??

Thanks for the alert! I'll be listening.

I don't think it is (though it certainly could be cultivated here). But that's not really the point. What's being banned is the importation of the harvested, dried buds, which travel from importer to retailer to end user to the wok. Where's the mechanism for infecting live citrus stock, of which we have plenty in California? Time to bombard the Citrus Lobby, and F whateveritis A, with letters?

I have a couple of Nationals - different sizes-- and I am VERY pleased with them. I also have a little bitty Aroma, that is nice, too. In Asian Grocers, I see "Zojirushi" brand in great numbers. I have given that brand as gifts and have not heard any bad reviews. Mostly I cook rice or barley. When you look for a cooker, get one with a hole in the cover. My first National has a cover without the hole and when the rice steams, the cover dances. The other two have holes -- no dancing.

All Chinese: Gunpowder Tie Guan Yin (Ti Kuan Yin) Chinese Restaurant Tea

I nuke it. I use a deep bowl, don't add any water, and cover the bowl. I just shake off the water that I rinse the cauliflower with. The cauliflower has enough moisture in itself. Sometimes I add a clove of garlic. I add a couple spoonfuls cream cheese, and some sour cream. Then use the Braun mixer and mash away. Dry chives are nice with it and also some 'real bacon'. You can play with it to get the amounts you like. My m-wave has a 'fresh vegetable' function, so I don't have to time it, but I always add 1 or 2 more minutes. What I want is soft -- not soggy. That is why I don't add any water.

'Faux taters' are one of the biggies on the South Beach Diet. Since I've been following it (partly), I've noticed that it is sometimes in short supply. I think the South Beachers are the culprits! On another thread on e-G, I mentioned 'mashed faux taters' that can vie for the real thing. They are made with sour cream, cream cheese, and chives and mashed till creamy like potatoes. (I use a hand-held Braun mixer) I really forget that I'm eating cauliflower, and I am a cauliflower lover. A DDIL, who DOESN'T like cauliflower, liked the faux stuff so much, she had seconds! I've made kugle and pancakes also, but haven't yet found the consistancy I want. Roasted? It is soooooo good! This should get the cauliflower industry going full steam!