ludja

At the Mountain View market this week it was all about cherries! Yellow-Blush Rainiers and dark red Tulare and Brooks were among the varieties I saw. Also saw some beautiful string beans that were a purplish black color; their booth was pretty busy so I didn't get to ask what their name was.

ooh, thanks petite tete de chou--the syllabub sounds like a great idea! I like the eden's idea also to combine scented geranium with other fruits to make a sorbet... another nice combo could be almond and rose geranium ice cream...

It would be neat to hear what types of produce you are getting out there in New England. Growing up in central CT there used to be tons of roadside stands in nearly every town from which we would buy fruits and vegetables all summer. Seems like there might be less of these now--although, maybe some of the goods are now more available through farmer's markets or CSA's.

When is the season for glasswort aka samphire? I remember you mentioning that this was another item that you can find on the Texas coast in this thread. This is such a fun thread Fifi, thank you very much!

I've used rose geranium leaves to flavor cream and milk based desserts. Got the original idea from Deborah Madison's, " The Savory Way". Basically, you infuse the milk or cream by bringing it just to the boil with the leaves; then turn off the heat and let sit for 20 min or so. I've made a creme anglaise with this base which is wonderful to serve with a pound cake and blackberries or raspberries. Being in the same family, rose and black or raspberries go very well together. You could also use the flavored custard as a base for oeufs a la neige, a panna cotta or a bavarian. Another idea I've seen is to layer leaves in the mold of a rose-scented coeur a la creme to further scent the creme. A rose flavored creme anglaise would also be nice with home made berry sorbets. Rose flavored whipped cream would also be nice with the berries... I don't know how the flavors would hold up frozen, but one might be able to also make an ice cream. Peach goes very well with almonds and pistachios so you may be able to apply some of these ideas in a similar way.

Money for egullet if you order thru this Amazon link. Thanks for sharing the review julski (and welcome to egullet). I'm also looking forward to Bill Smith's upcoming book, which I think it scheduled for release in the fall.

from the latest newsletter...

Hope it's a good addition to your baking library Seth. Thanks for the recs Priscilla; I'm not sure if I have the correct pan but I would like to try the pan de mie. It gives me a little shot of confidence knowing that it turned out to be a reliable recipe for you. I have a few invites coming up to which I'd like to bring something, so I may try a few other recipes in the near future as well.

Congratulations on your 10th anniversary Chufi and thank you so much for sharing the food on your trip---absolutely wonderful. If I had to choose one meal among all the ones you had it would be so difficult! A great selection of desserts also; the photo of the chocolate tart is magnifique!

But you said it best!

No Central or South American staff in the kitchen?

I must add my thanks for your charming blog fifi; it has been so fun to read. I mentioned this on another thread I think, but my grandmother (in Austria) make a great syrup out of elderberry flowers ("hollanderbluten") each spring. She uses it as a drink; i.e. add some sparkling water. It is really quite wonderful. I don't have a recipe and don't know if it is more than flowers, sugar and water...

Has anyone had any wines from Tokar Estate (Yarra Valley)? A friend brought back a 2001 Shiraz that we enjoyed very much ~ a year ago. I don't have any tasting notes though... I haven't seen the wine over here (in the US) so I'm not sure if they export.

Linda Dannenberg's Paris Boulangerie and Patisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding Bakeries ($ for egullet if you order thru this Amazon link) just got reprinted (Mar 2005) by a new publisher (Grammercy Books) and at a great price (under $12 on Amazon). Until recently, it had been out of print (1994) and available for over 100 bucks on Amazon so I had to content myself with taking it out of the library from time to time. Of the 70 or so recipes, about 15 are breads, baguettes and brioche. It has great photos of most of the pastries/cakes/cookies/breads and features the following bakeries: L'Ancienne Tradition Storrer, Laduree, Dalloyau Les Specialistes Max Poilane, Le Maison du Chocolat, Patisserie Lerch Les Grandes Classiques Lenotre, Ganachaud, Marcel Haupois Les Jeunes Aritsans Extraordinaires Jean-Luc Poujauran, Moulin de la Vierge, Gerard Mulot and Au Peche Mignon. I have so far only cooked one item from the book: Tart al a Rhubarbe. It was excellent with a ground almond pate sucree dough and filled with rhubarb in a creme fraiche custard. I'm eager to tackle more recipes but thought it would also be nice to hear what other people may have tried...

In my book you can't go wrong with Zuni either. Always a fun time and great food. Just had a great salmon dish there with beets, asparagus and hard boiled egg; interesting combination that worked very well. They also have a great bar if you enjoy that and if you like oysters they have a menu with usually at least ten choices.

Made an exciting find (for me) yesterday... I had taken Linda Dannenberg's Paris Boulangerie Patisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries out of the library quite a few times. It was originally released in the early 90's and was out of print. The cheapest copy on Amazon was over $100. Well, I was in a bookstore yesterday (in the SF Ferry Bldg) and saw a copy! It was only $12.00 (hard cover, beautiful photos of almost all the pastries, etc). So I snatched it up and was gleeful with my "find". Still very happy with getting the book, but I looked on Amazon today and in that way figured out that it has been recently (Mar 2005) republished with another publisher (Gramercy Books). The new release looks just like the old one. So, if you've been wanting this book you have another chance!

Well said! (Bold in first quote added by me). Trying to falsely redefine the meaning of a word doesen't advance the discussion. One can appreciate and support (as I do) small, local and sustainable farming for food without redefining everything else as "not farming". There are different types of farms; discussions on them should focus on their own merits, deficiencies and purposes. It also seems strange (to me) to attach a moral superiority to growing grapes for food vs growing them for wine.

Not pointing this at any particular person(s) in either thread, but why set up a false strawman and argument regarding this topic? Growing grapes is obviously farming and as Carolyn mentioned is a distinct part of the process of making wine. Also growing grapes/making wine encompasses issues that are similar and different than growing other fruits or vegetables. I don't think we need a politically driven definition of what is or is not a farm or farming. There are different types of farms and as several people have pointed out there are many differences even within growing wine grapes w.r.t. small and large operations. Why not "compare and contrast" (as my high school english teacher would say) farming grapes for wine and farming fruits and vegetables for eating? There are so many interesting sub-points for discussion; a handful off the top of my head are: differences in grape production between producers/farmes that grow grapes to sell to winemakers vs. vineyards that grow their own grapes; farming issues and challenges of small vs large grape growers/wineries farming practices for growing wine grapes in different countries or regions economic issues that influence grape growers and/or winemakers (some good discussion in the beginning of Matt Kramer's "New California Wine". differences in types of agricultural practices for growing grapes (biodynamic, organic, else)

Well, I guess "thick" and "thin" batter are a little subjective... (referring to my earlier post that I find I sometimes need to thin the recipe I use). "Thicker than a milkshake" could fit the description of my dough... I use a device that seems similar to what Swiss_Chef describes. It is just a a metal bowl with a handle attached and holes ~ the size of a pencil. You push the dough thu with a wooden spoon or spatula. I haven't had a problem re: the spaetzle sticking together--maybe they do a little right out of the chute, but they separate as they cook and float to the top of the water. I do make the noodles in batches so that they are not too crowded. (maybe sticking would occur if they are crowded?). Interesting point re: the length of the spaetzle Behemoth. Mine tend to not be that long; i.e. closer to "little sparrows" perhaps... Glad you made progress in your recipe Adam; I think experience does count with the different recipe styles in order to 'learn' what the dough should look and feel like. Flour can vary in moisture content as well so one does have to adjust even within the context of a given recipe. Saw this point made in an article on line:

Paris would certainly be more fun, but you might have luck over in Cambridge. Have you looked at Schoenhofs or Out of Town News? Just an idea, I haven't been to either of them for awhile and back then I wasn't on the prowl for food magazines.

Niman Ranch beef, pork and lamb. They started (and still have) farms north of San Francisco, but now they also procure "all natural, hormone free meats" from other sustainable farms across the country to sell under their brand. Lot's of info on their website: here . (Also some good recipes from restaurants that feature their products). It's easy here (in Northern CA) to buy their stuff at many places but depending where you llive this could be useful. Other interesting information from their website that I didn't realize before is that they sell (and also by mail) all sorts of less common cuts and parts including some offal. For example caul fat, lambs tongues and also some cured meats like Guanciale or Tirolean Speck.

Wow, thanks for describing this dish, Boris. Much of "mountain" food does seem geared to fueling up before some serious outdoor work in the thin air. Still wonderful for apres- or pre- skiing or hiking though! (or anytime in reasonable doses).

Nice post ptipois and thanks for the photos curlywurlywifi... I am intrigued by the filliing too. Seeing the photo, the texture looks close to a "pastry cream". I may have gotton confused early on in the thread re: whethr or not there were eggs in the filling. (I thought not...) Anyway--your description sounds pretty good ptpois. Curlywurly--another question that you may have addressed before, but to clarify do you think there are ground almonds in the dough?

... I love the onion topping BTW... just sliced and roasted, right? ... ← Saute thinly sliced onions in butter over med-high heat. About half way through season with some s&p. Cook until brown and slightly crisp.

Haven't tried it, but I think I would agree with you... With something like goulash or something else very saucey I like the contrast of the rather plain, slippery noodles. But then I've never understood old-fashioned Chinese-American restaurant offerings (back East anyway) of fried rice as the rice to serve with a stir fry dish... Pan-sauteed (?fried) spaetzle are nice but I would tend to serve them with a simply prepared piece of meat. I just can't really picture "deep fried" spaetzle, maybe they would be tasty as part of some prep!