rancho_gordo

But do you bake your chilaquiles? I still can't get past the mention that it's a baked dish. Chilaquiles in Mexico seemed to be a dried chile sauce and then topped with something fresh. But the recipe is as individual as each chef. I like New Mexican and Southwestern cooking a lot but I think using chile powder over whole dried chiles is not as good. But it's somewhat easier.

I very much like simple home cooking and I rarely do fancy anything but the food they feature doesn't appeal to me. Like I said, it's kind of fun listening to their journey but the destination, for me, is often a "why go to all that trouble, it doesn't look that good?!" No, I have no confusion about who is who but to save the peace I'm going to leave it at that!

I admire what they do and enjoy reading/watching how they get to their destination but I have to say none of the food looks all the great. I've only seen the show a handful of times but I wasn't moved to cook after viewing. Their chili looked like a leaden disaster to me. I think it's very Yankee-style cooking, which is interesting but it doesn't seem very passionate. There's a couple of "designers'" on HGTV who do room makeovers and they have the worst track-home taste but they can justify it in a pedantic way that makes you question your sanity ("Now the grey from the porcelain kitty's head picks up the grout in the tile-work and creates a lovely backdrop for our chintz toilet paper cozy!") Really? I don't' see that at all. She's just opening cans and dumping stuff into a frying pan as far as I can tell. I dont want to reopen old wounds, but I don't think you learn anything by watching her. You get a list of ingredients.

I would not describe it as a baked dish. It may get a quick trip to the broiler to melt the cheese, although I kind of doubt it. It's a hash made in a frying pan. The tortillas are the star. I had migas all over New Mexico. But my memory was that the sauce was a rich, dried chile sauce (most likely from chile powder), not a fresh salsa, more simillar to Mexican chilaquiles.

No. I mean that it's too bad the food section isn't daily and not worry about beginners.

I think he should wear looser shirts or go to the gym more often.

It's too bad it can't be more like the Sports section! I'm not sure what is so bad about the NYTimes food section, even after reading this thread. Some articles are better than others. Surprise! There are still interesting articles (along with the fluff) and I think it's always worth checking out. The one thing I find odd is all the coverage on the SF Bay Area. I don't mind it, since I live here, but I think I might if I lived in NY.

Isn't that just the correct method for cooking meat al pastor anyway? Is there another technique?

Yes, and the ambiance is the stuff of dreams. At least mine. ← Here's my photo of the very same.

If I may, this is my way with green salsa.

I'd like to look at the Crystal Light ingredient list and compare it to water and then say with a straight face that it's the same thing!

Press. I'm too old to learn how to do it by hand! It would be great if you could make up a purslane/tomatillo vegetarian recipe. I like the pork but it's not required!

Olive oil is a perfectly perfect substitute to the lard! If you're chummy with any farmers not selling it, see if they won't give you some on the next market day. Otherwise, PM me as I actually have some seed from my sister-in-law in Holland for it.

Thanks again one and all. The book announcement is premature but you can bet I'll be asking for some help once the ink is dry. I still can't get behind slimy. It's not the right word. It's succulent and flavorful, like cactus but I've never seen an ooze, if that's what you mean. It's like macho spinach, if anything. I've heard of golden purslane but all I've ever seen is the green stuff that is a weed. When it's cultivated and well-cared for, it's got nicer leaves but it's the same thing. Here's how I cook them quick, a la Baja California: Saute thinly sliced onion rings in lard (the real stuff, natch). I use my molcajete to grind a chopped, unseeded serrano chile with some salt. I love heat but I'm not so nuts for surprise chunks of chile. This makes a nice paste. Add oil or lime if it's an old chile and too dry. Add to frying onions. Add the cleaned, roughly chopped purslane. Thick stems can be used. The verdolagas cooked down. Now it's a substantial and quasi-vegetarian taco filling. Best on a handmade tortilla made with authentic Rancho Gordo brand 100% Corn Masa, of course! I added some cheese. All I had was manchego but I would have used cotija if I'd had it on hand. The leftover verdolagas re-invented for breakfast the next morning with Fatted Calf sausages and two grade AA treats from my own hens. Now start weeding and start eating!

It's a succulent so it has that quality but it's not slimy like cactus or okra. But there is a little something there.

I was weeding my tomatoes one year and thought I'd try and sell the stuff. I did, for about $3 a pound! Ask most gardeners you know and they're bound to have some for you. Here on Napa it drives the vineyard people nuts. But it's my favorite kind of thing- a weed, self-sustainable and loaded with nutrients, including Omega 3! Raw, I think it's only an occasional "treat". It's pretty intense. Cooked with tomatillos and pork, it's a great vegetable. But I'm going to try Marlena's recipes and see if I don't like it better raw. It's probably not for sale, but ask any of the farmers at your market if they'll bring some in for you.

These sacred texts are difficult for the modern dry goods buyer to read and decipher. If I hold the key, I must spread the word!

I've recently dealt with WF directly and I have to say, to a person, they've been considerate, professional and understanding, especially as to my position as a small producer. Maybe fresh produce is different but re dry goods, my impression is that the stores can make individual decisions. I'm as cynical as the next guy but these guys are trying to do the right thing and are responding to feedback. I'm sure they're also trying to make a lot of money but there is a dialog going on that is nothing short of amazing. I'd like to see Safway or Vons show a similar interest!

Call me crazy (or self-serving) but beans are mandatory. The simpler, the better, to soak up all the BBQ love on the plate.

I think it's wiser to dip them quickly in ice water rather than soak. If they are too long in water, the petals get saturated and are ruined. I'm with shelora re preperation. The fried are lovely but you really can taste them in a quesadilla or squash blossom soup.

My new favorite blog is Michael Ruhlman's on Megnut. Now you should start here and take in every wise word he says! Then I suppose after you've read that entry 10 or 40 times, you can go to the actual homepage for megnut which includes Ruhlman's musing and some great stuff from bogger/hostess Meg Hourihan. Thank you for your very kind attention!

I don't want to sound like a record, maybe one called Sour Grapes, but if you're seeing fresh cranberry beans, they're not local. The prices may be good and they can even be of top quality, but they won't be local. I haven't been to Alemany in years so I'll assume they're all growers, but the as for the Civic Center market, you might as well go to Safeway. There are many cranberry beans, all dense and velevety. Borlotti are one, Tounges of Fire is another. There's one called October. I sell Borlotti (Borlotto would be the singular!), October (French Horticulture), Wrens Egg and Vermont Cranberry. I also sell Christmas Lima, but of course all mine are dried. Keep in mind I only sell dry beans, but I don't think the fresh ones have such a developed flavor. They are nice and all have a generic bean taste but it's when they're dried that they become really interesting. Of course, they take longer to cook but they don't have to be consumed within a very short season. I know what you're thinking, Of course that's what he'd say!, but i think it's true! Luckily, there's room for everyone at the table.

I was a delegate too, and it was pretty life-changing. I hope it's as good this time but I think the addition of chefs is a serious mistake. They should go to Salone and leave Terra Madre to the producers. As good as TM was, the programs and seminars needed a lot of work and editing. But the fact that they were geared towards producers meant everything. Meeting a bean grower from Ghana was wild. Meeting a coop of Mexican widows involved with ag was great. I talk to chefs a lot. A lot! I can't imagine what they would add. The other problem is the conference takes place right at harvest time for me (and a lot of my friends), making it impossible to go. I had to withdraw my application.

The outrage here at Whole Foods for being too "pc" might be better served aimed at something like factory farmed pork or chicken, things we eat every day and are getting more and more disgusting.

I remember reading the issue is really that a lobster can spend six months in that awful environment. Maybe if the economic model allowed for a shorter period from catch to table, this wouldn't be such an issue. I'm not saying I agree or disagreee, but I want to make sure we're talking about the real issue.