chromedome

If you can find a copy in your neck of the woods, check out Edna Staebler's book "Food that Really Schmecks." Although Staebler lives (lived? I dunno) among the Mennonite community in the Kitchener/Waterloo area of Ontario, the food is almost identical to that of the Amish country. In fact, many families have branches in both places. There are chapters on cookies, cakes, pies, other desserts, and home-made candies. Pies are probably the most characteristic Amish/Mennonite dessert, though (often served at three meals a day), so one or another pie seems appropriate. "Schnitz" pie (sliced apples) is a stalwart, but is not noticeably Amish to the outsider. It's basically a one-crust pie of the type we think of as "Dutch apple". The version made with dried apples, perhaps, is a little more distinctive. Sour cream raisin pie? That's a true "damn the calories" dessert! Lotvarrick is a custard pie made with apple butter, that's a good 'un. Gwetcha is a prune-custard pie, and a real hard-core Pennsylvania item. Cottage cheese pie? (good with fruit or maple syrup) "Thick" (slightly sour) milk pie? How about Botzelbaum ("somersault") pie? That one starts off with the pastry on the bottom and the filling on top, and ends with the pastry on top and the filling underneath. Let me know if you can't find the book, and I'll PM you one or more of the above. ISBN on the book is 07-077392-0, if that helps.

My parents did wholesale for the first couple of years that they owned their bakery in Nova Scotia (eventually they decided it wasn't worth the aggravation). One of their customers was a real nutbar. He didn't buy a whole lot, he was terribly demanding, and he was always slow to pay. One day when I was there, he came out to the bakery to bitch. My father looked him in the eye (my father is 5' 6", the customer was 6' 4") and said very quietly, "Get out of my f**cking store. When I was in the Navy I worked with any asshole they put alongside of me, but now I run my own business. And I'm not doing business with you anymore. If you set foot in my store again, I'll kick your ass out the door." The customer left. My father says that every day of the remaining six years they ran the bakery, he'd think of that moment and smile. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That course of action is not universally applicable, mind you.

That's retail, hon...get used to it. There's always going to be some twit who has a problem with your stuff. A friend of mine who worked in a Second Cup in Vancouver had a customer one day who just totally went off on them because of the price of their coffee, and how it didn't taste nearly as good as what he drank at home for a fraction of the price...which turned out to be Nescafe. Go figure.

I made the recipe from Leite's Culinaria for my International Lab at cooking school. They were the hit of the day, hands down. My biggest memory of the day, though, was watching my classmate Abe (who keeps kosher) cook the day's best take on pork and clam stew without tasting it even once. He went by judgement and smell alone, the culinary equivalent of sailing a boat by dead reckoning. The man's got talent!

I have some interest, but won't have the opportunity to get the makin's by the Sept 1 start date. Of course, this means that I'll have the opportunity to profit by your collective experience...

The organic market I worked for in Halifax bought basil and spinach year-round from a local greenhouse operation. They had a rather synergistic approach; they grew tilapia for market in their plant-watering system. The fish fertilized the plants, and in turn helped keep the water system healthy. They're a small company, but they seem to be making a go of it. On the other hand, a much-ballyhooed attempt at introducing large-scale greenhouse growing to Newfoundland collapsed miserably. I don't know enough about it, though (it happened while I lived out West) to discuss where they might have gone wrong.

Oooooooh, please do! The restaurant I went to in Halifax used to serve absolutely amazing dhansak; I'd love to have a good recipe or two.

In "The Professional Pastry Chef" Bo Friberg gives the lifespan of pastry cream as four days; after the first two days he recommends only using it in items which will be baked after the cream is added. I think that's probably a bit conservative, myself, but I've *never* had leftover pastry cream so what would I know?

My artist/colour nut/interior-design-hobbyist wife approves heartily of your decor. I approve heartily of the contents of the showcases. And I like those clear trays too, they're much more appealing than the industrial white ones we use where I work. I'll surely be coming back to those photos for cribbing purposes...

One of my instructors at cooking school had spent several years in Europe with the Canadian Armed Forces. He visited Italy on occasion, and brought back a panforte recipe; which we made for Christmas. I loved it, and made a point of copying the recipe. Plan on making it this year.

I can shed a little bit of light on this. The earliest forms of wheat cultivated throughout the Middle East and Med were very difficult to thresh. In time it was discovered that roasting the grains not only made threshing easier, but made the grain edible without further processing. Various forms of toasted-grain gruels and porridges were common throughout the ancient world, but the resulting grain could be eaten "as-is" if necessary. In the Himalayas, to this day, there is a common meal of toasted millet ground to flour, and with hot tea stirred in to make a paste which is eaten with the fingers. Green wheat (almost but not quite ripened) is still treated this way in various places around the region. Here, for example, is a page showing how they do it in Syria. In Iran, a pudding of green wheat called samanoo is one of the "seven S's" which are traditionally served while celebrating their New Year, Now Rooz (various spellings). Similar foods were common throughout western Europe during medieval times. Loving your blog, btw. Desperately jealous.

Having read the threads cited above, I'm salivating and just about ready to head out to my garden for some beets or beet tops. I always sow mine thickly, because the seedlings (AKA $13/lb microgreens) are one of my favourite things, as are the mature tops. I harvest them like mesclun, a leaf here a leaf there, all summer long. A combination of flavours which I did not see mentioned is beets with raspberries; two of the very best things about summer. Beets and raspberries make an unbelievable mousse; I plan to try sorbet and/or ice cream once I get the appropriate gear. Either shred the beets raw and cook them with the juiced raspberries, or puree cooked beets (roasted work especially well) and strain the juice into raspberry juice. I favour about a 2:1 ratio of beet to raspberry, but to each his own. The earthy sweetness of the beets and the acidic tang of the raspberries are amazing together. Both of my kids, inveterate beet-haters, devoured the mousse in a heartbeat.

One of my personal heroes is Dr. Temple Grandin, a leading expert on slaughterhouse design and the behavior of domesticated animals. Diagnosed in childhood as autistic, she went on to forge a rather impressive career and now operates her own consulting business. Dr. Oliver Sacks interviewed her for his book "An Anthropologist on Mars", which derives its title from her approach to living in the larger world. She cannot comprehend it in the instinctive way the rest of us do; so she applies her intellect to the task of decoding the behaviours of those around her, and deducing appropriate responses. In some ways I think this is analogous to those who have to re-learn motor skills after an accident or illness causes them to lose awareness of their body. Incidentally Grandin was able, while an adolescent, to teach herself how to learn. The methodology she devised for herself is, I'm told, pretty much what is used now by educators working with the autistic population (I'm sure Specialteach can correct me if my information is inaccurate). I don't know how the "special" links to Amazon work, but if anyone wants to throw them in here, she has written a few books which may be of deep interest to anyone who has an autistic person in their life (those of you, of course, who haven't already read 'em).

Monica, many seeds have a hard outer sheath which can inhibit germination. Some gardeners, therefore, will nick the sheaths with a paring knife (or, I guess, step on them *gently*) in order to help them sprout. With larger seeds, it also helps to soak them for 3-12 hours before planting them. I generally plant my seeds late in the day, when the soil is at its warmest. Mint is all-but-infallible, though as noted it tends to be invasive...container gardening is a very good idea. My parents have about 100 square feet of it down near the water, and it began as two plants. Mint does like a lot of moisture, though, so in arid climates it's not *quite* as invasive. Coriander is a good choice for a novice, as it grows quite readily. Two more no-brainers are potatoes and ginger. Potatoes can require a lot of garden space, but not necessarily. I tend to plant mine closer together than most people do, in order to keep them small (I do love my fingerlings). My wife's grandparents used to grow potatoes in a stack of old car tires: when the plants were a good foot or so above the tire, they'd add another tire and more soil; repeat as necessary. Eventually you end up with a tower of potatoes. Ginger grows nicely in a large pot or planter; just buy one and stick it in the soil. Give it lots of sun, and it'll grow until you dig it up and cook with it. If my uncle could grow ginger in northern Newfoundland (a climate similar to central Norway) I'm sure you can in the DC area. I'll add some more thoughts as my tired brain comes up with them.

Just found out that one of my classmates from NAIT is working there. Couldn't think at first where I'd heard the name before. Then it hit me (Duh!), where else but the Gullet?

This has been rather interesting for me, up here in Alberta. Back in the early 80's, when the Mulroney government introduced the widely-detested GST (Goods and Services Tax), many Canadians began shopping across the border for items such as milk, gasoline, and cigarettes. As a (then) retail-store manager in a border community, I felt the pinch myself, and so did the other merchants. At that time, in the heart of dairy country (British Columbia's Fraser Valley) I paid approximately double the price of American consumers a few minutes south in Washington state (this is my unsupported memory of those days, so take with a grain of salt, but it was close). Today, in Edmonton, I'm paying anywhere from $3.26-$4.99 CDN for a 4-litre jug of milk; the low being at Safeway or Walmart and the high being at my neighbouring convenience store. At places like the drugstore up the road, or the local IGA, the price seems to usually be $3.99. To provide context for the mental-math challenged, $3.26 CDN equals roughly $2.80 US, depending on the exchange rate. A four-litre jug is somewhat larger than a US gallon, but slightly less than an Imperial gallon.

I've been using canola for years, as it is far less expensive than the others here in Canada (40-60% the price of any other vegetable oil); has a high smoke point; and is relatively neutral. Then in school, I had to taste and describe ten different kinds of oil. What a revalation! Canola tastes like window putty (or at least, like window putty smells). It's detestable. I also tried the cold-pressed-organic-extra-virgin canola oil that some of the local companies are pushing as a premium product. It has a lovely, deep green-gold colour...and tastes *POWERFULLY* of window putty. <sigh> So I've gradually migrating back to olive/EV olive; with hopefully a small bottle of grapeseed oil soon (when budget permits) for deep frying etc. I also have a small bottle of sesame oil in my cupboard, primarily as a flavouring agent. My mustard oil got old and rancid, so I chucked it out. I save my baconfat, always, and rendered pork fat. I haven't saved any chicken fat, but Edna Staebler says in "Food that Really Schmecks" that older Mennonite cooks of her acquaintance reserve rendered chicken fat for making the best cookies. Go figure. BTW, I highly recommend the exercise of tasting your ingredients and comparing them. We did ten oils, ten vinegars, ten cheeses; but you could set up comparisons for yourself on any ingredient you consider important. Butter (to judge from the foregoing) would be an easy choice.

That would be Golden Boy brand, I do believe. That's the one I've got in my cupboard.

I always use the broccoli stems. Sometimes in casseroles, sometimes in soups, sometimes in broccoli salads, but most of all in stirfries. At work I'm becoming recognized as the king of utilization. Overshipped on tomatoes? No problem: I printed Suvir's tomato chutney recipe and brought it in (had to bring a few ingredients from home, but what the heck). Cherries getting tired? Bald guy pits them and makes cherry pie filling for the bakery to make tarts with. Zucchini and summer squash starting to look like your granny's neck? Shred 'em in the RoboCoupe and bake 'em into the coffee cake. Stock boy put two cases of cabbage on top of the flat of raspberries? No problem! Raspberry coulis for the bread puddings I'll soon be making with the leftover bread... On Tuesday, when I go back to work (it's a holiday here in Canada tomorrow) I've got some beef ribs to work with. We had a catering contract involving prime rib for 250 people this weekend, and the meatcutter put aside the ribs for me to do something with. It all appeals to that "east-coast frugality gene" I've inherited from my various grandparents, I think.

Ditto on the bowls and multiple "all-but-disposable" cutting boards. I bought a ton of each at the local dollar stores during my first year at school, and they've become stalwarts of my kitchen. So, also, are silicon spatulas. I really like those, and use them for a lot of things I used to use wooden spoons for. I like 'em for things like hollandaise or creme anglaise, so that I can make a nice clean sweep along the bottom of the bowl. Saves straining later (I alternate, of course, with the whisk). As for the KitchenAid mixer, I am not wholly satisfied with mine...I find it useless for anything larger than a single loaf of yeast dough...but still wouldn't be without it now. I have tendonitis in both elbows and a significant amount of arthritis, and while I can still challenge all comers in whisking a mayonnaise I'd sooner not bother. Meringues, especially Italian; nice light buttercreams, choux paste, genoises, and similar preparations: all are much easier in the KA. And let's not forget brioche! I sometimes appreciate the emotional therapy of a lengthy kneading session, but usually I just want the finished product. I know there are several savoury items I use it for too, but they are eluding my sleep-deprived brain at the moment. I'll come back to this, when I can think of them. I know I use it for pureeing beans, because I don't have a food processor and my mortar and pestle are too small. On a semi-related note, I found an offbeat appliance at a garage sale last week. It is a Moulinex "Jeanette"; essentially a light-duty meat grinder with attachments for shredding, grating, and slicing vegetables (a motorized box grater, if you will). I can see potato pancakes and kartoffel-kloesse being more frequent in my household, this fall and winter! It's kind of an odd little thing, but I think Jeanette and I will have some fun together. At least until I get a food processor.

You've inadvertantly hit on one of my pet peeves, JP. For some reason which I can't quite define, the exclusion of the southern shore from our understanding of what is "Mediterranean" irritates the hell out of me. When you think of it, there's a real continuum of overlapping influences, isn't there? I'd second the Tess Mallos recommendation, btw...good sound recipes, and lots of background information for the interested newbie. And all of Najmieh Batmanglij's books are worth looking at.

I'm with Varmint. Mrs. 'Dome (Leslie to those who know her, "who's that wacko?" to those who don't) is still my favourite reason to cook. She's patient with infinitely-extended mealtimes, ill-thought-out experiments, and my transient enthusiasms. And she really, really loves good food. REALLY loves good food. Think Thumper from "Bambi." When I hear her foot going thup-thup-thup under the table I know I've hit on a "keeper." I can't think of anything more appealing than the notion of a whole day, just us, to go out and pick the ingredients and prep a meal to enjoy together. No phone, no kids (dearly though we love 'em), no neighbours, just us. <sigh> Been a lot of 60-80hr work weeks, these last few years. Alone time is hard to come by.

Montreal is definitely Gallic, but SPM is France. Both are great places to visit, of course.

I'm not an utter novice, Monica, but I've accumulated things here and there haphazardly over the years. I'd certainly be interested in an orderly exposition of basic principles, combinations, etc. I'm also (he says modestly) one king-hell proofreader.

Like any other city with a booming scene, in those days, there were a great many local bands who would not have become known elsewhere. And that's not counting the various ad-hoc side projects of established bands' members. Vancouver at that time had a lot of so-called "fuck bands" (because they were just "fucking around", you understand). I remember, for example, the Flunkees (punked up Monkees covers) and the Themester's Union (punked up retro TV themes) with great affection. Popular local alt-rockers The Reptiles had a country incarnation called Tex Tiles and the True Moral Fibres of the South: they did old-school country tunes with a great deal of affection and something of a poke in the ribs. In their version of "Ring of Fire", for example, they pulled out kazoos to do the horn parts; their take on Jack Scott's "My True Love" was an outright spoof called "My Tree Love"...("I Cedar in the bar...she was obviously quite Poplar..."). ==================================================== Okay, that was OT. But I did mention ribs.