purplewiz

Are you referring to La Boheme in Carmel? I ADORE this restaurant, and I think I've had their carrot soup on one of my visits. The waiter/ owner brings the soup to the table in a little copper pot, and balances the lid askew just so... ← That's the one :-). Some friends and I discovered it when we were walking past, and smelled the most amazing smells emanating from front door. I used to live in the Bay Area, and every so often we'd make a special trip to Carmel to eat there (ok, and shop!). Someday I am going to get back there for another meal.... I was SO surprised when I found they had the recipe on their web site - I stumbled on it when I was searching to find something similar. Who knew I would find the exact recipe for the soup of my dreams! Marcia.

La Boheme has a fixed menu every night, and one night when I was dining there this was the soup. I had a lot of misgivings, but I took one bite and absolutely loved it. And I truly LOATHE carrots if they taste anything at all like carrot. I can imagine that a carrot lover would really appreciate it :-). Marcia.

Some suggestions off the top of my head: Hot and Sour Soup Egg Drop (the trick for me is getting the egg to make proper strands) Avgolemono Beef Barley Cold Cucumber soup (so good in the summer) Sausage kale soup Clam Chowder French onion soup Cream of Cashew soup (from December's Bon Appetit, hopefully will be online sometime soon) The Les Halles Mushroom Soup Recipe Tom Kha Gai Any of a gazillion potato soups out there Curried carrot soup (this is SO good, and I don't like carrots!) Tortilla soup Roasted Garlic Soup Chilled Shrimp Buttermilk Soup (another good one for summer) And don't forget about good ol' chicken noodle . I've made all these soups at one time or another and liked them a lot. I've given links (I hope they're ok!) for the recipes I got elsewhere on the net. Marcia.

Well, heck, as long as it's been bumped..... What's the definition of "from scratch"? If it means do I make my own sausage or ferment my own sauerkraut, the answer is not only no, but hell no. But if it means do I start with basic components and put them together to create the flavor and texture profile I'm looking for, yes, almost always. I admit to having a couple frozen, prepackaged things in freezer for nights when I Just Can't Deal With Cooking Tonight. While I love cooking, there are some days when I'd rather run screaming naked through the snow (what a show that would put on for the neighbors) than pick up my knife. I generally do the cooking of everything right before we're going to eat it. The exceptions are those processes that result in a lot of product, like Pesto Making Day (Labor Day), when I make pesto out of all our basil and freeze it for the next year's use. Or when I have enough chicken carcasses in the freezer to make a nice big batch of stock (which goes back into the freezer). I do. I do 99.999% of the cooking and all the grocery shopping, so I decide what gets bought and what gets cooked. My family is my husband and myself, and while my husband is a dear, sweet, generous, caring, loving man, he's a lousy cook and a worse shopper. (Although he's learned to make a decent stir fry and I've started him in on basic quick chicken soup.) I used to take all his stated dislikes into account and avoid them faithfully. However, it meant eliminating a lot of my favorite things, like mushrooms, and I found I couldn't live without them. So I made them anyway, and offered him some.....and he liked them. Turned out most of his dislikes came from his mother's cooking - she's a self-admitted lousy cook. Fortunately, most of his REAL dislikes are similar to mine, so there's no issue there, since I don't make things I don't like. As for guests, I take their dietary preferences into account. My sister and brother in law are vegetarians, and when they visit I stock some special stuff for them, just in case. I have a standard repertoire of dishes that I tend to cook from - I haven't counted how many, but I'm guessing there are 40 or 50 of them. I don't tend to follow a set recipe, so even if I make chicken soup this week and next, they're liable to taste somewhat differently. I do routinely try new dishes, mostly from cooking magazines or right here on egullet. If we like them, they ooze their way into the repertoire. If they don't, well, it was usually worth making once. I am a coupon clipper. I have an accordion check file I use for filing them (with categories that make sense to me). When I'm in front of an item I want to buy that I believe I have a coupon for, I go through that section of the file. If I find it, it goes into the outside pocket of my purse, next to the list. So at the checkout counter, I just have to hand the checker my pile of coupons (which I've also checked for expiration date). I save enough money with coupons to pay for both newspaper subscriptions and then some. (Coupons compound the savings with the shopper cards, and they get doubled. It adds up.) However, I am quite flexible when it comes to exactly what to buy, especially produce and meat. If there's a certain dish I want to try, I will list out all the ingredients I need to get. But for most dinners, I look around and see what's on sale and what's good. This is why we're eating so much kale lately - it's been VERY good, crisp and fresh and cheap. (Besides, we like it.) I do a "major shop" once a week. If I need something specific for a certain dish, or I forgot something, I'll run out for it, and probably pick up a couple other things besides. About every other week I go to Whore Foods for the things I can't get at a cheaper grocery store, or that they don't have, like decent fish. Off limits: Gross human bodily functions/fluids and detailed medical stories. Politics. After that, we discuss what we feel like discussing. Could be his latest tube radio project, my sewing, how dinner was prepared, what the cats yacked up, or celebrity gossip. Sometimes we both read. I grew up in a household where books, newspapers, or anything *interesting* were absolutely BANNED from the dinner table. We were supposed to talk. Which meant we argued, because the members of my family have very little in common. So I said when I grew up, if I wanted to read at the table, I would. It's nice to have the option. We don't read when the other wishes to talk, though. Generally, dinner is at 6:00 pm (which means anywhere from 5:30 to 7:00, depending on how hungry we are), and we both eat together at the kitchen table. We have a formal dining room, but don't use it much. We rarely have dinner guests, because most of our friends do not live in the same state we do, and the ones that are here are perennially too busy to socialize. I also gave up trying to have dinner parties, because it was just too difficult to find something I wanted to cook that also would fit in with all the food allergies/dietary restrictions/etc. When everything falls together and we do have a chance to entertain, I enjoy pulling out all the stops. No kids. The cats, however, are quite eager to try all kinds of new things. Oreo has discovered he loves stinky blue cheeses. The tradition is that whoever doesn't cook does the dishes (loads the dishwasher). Marcia.

This is why I use Sweet 'n' Low (a/k/a the pink stuff, as opposed to the blue stuff or the yellow stuff) in my iced tea. It dissolves almost instantly. But it's so sweet that one packet does 2-3 glasses of tea for me, depending on the size of the tea (one packed for the giant "Abyss Boy" size). I like my tea very lightly sweet - any presweetened tea is going to be way too sweet for me. Marcia.

This really isn't the time of year for me to be making new recipes - holidays are about traditional food and old favorites around here :-). Having said that, I did try a couple of new recipes this season - I'm counting it as Thanksgiving through New Years as the holidays. First success was the mushroom soup from the Les Halles cookbook. Yes, I know everyone and their brother has tried it, but the first time through it was just about perfect. I'll be making it again. Second was the ham and egg cups from "A Very Queer Eye Christmas". Yes, watching that episode of the show was like watching a train wreck, but there's nothing so bad that you can't learn SOMETHING from it. I kept turning off the sound because the dialogue was SO painful, so I didn't get the whole recipe, but I figured I could fake it. And so I did. For the lucky ones who didn't suffer through this show, a slice of deli ham is put into a muffin cup so as to form a crust/shell, then a spoonful of a sauteed mushroom/herb/cream mixture is put into the bottom, then an egg is broken on top and the whole mess is put in the oven to bake until the eggs are cooked. I didn't hear what herb they used, probably parsley, but I used thyme, because I think thyme and mushrooms are a match made in heaven. And I did hear that they wanted to bake the eggs at 350 for 15 minutes for soft set, but that's just too soft for me - 20 minutes was more to my liking. These were so good that not only did I make them once, I made them again for our Christmas supper last night. I'm looking forward to experimenting with the form. Marcia.

So far, food-wise, we've received: - 1 lb tin of mixed nuts (no peanuts!) - 2 lb round of Gouda cheese - box of pears and apples - 3 frozen tubs of NC BBQ with sauce, Wasabi Peanuts, and Pecan Pralines Not bad all in all, considering the past two years we've received at least 40 lbs of citrus fruit by this time. There are only two of us, and neither of us are big citrus fans, so most of it either went bad, was given away, or was juiced and frozen and still resides at the bottom of our deep freeze. This year we passed the word in the family that while we were grateful for their generosity, PLEASE stop! Marcia.

Breathsavers' Vanilla Mints. I can only find them one place around here, so when I'm there, I stock up. I don't know how effective they are, but they sure taste good. Especially for a sugar free mint. I kind of like the Altoids, but the taste is a little strong for me. Marcia.

The wind's come up something fierce tonight - cold front is moving in, snow is in the forecast for this week. Might even have a white Christmas if we're lucky..... When it gets cold and snowy, my first thought is soup. I don't care if it's made from my own chicken stock or out of a can (fixed up with some spices and herbs and other things), if it's chicken soup or beef barley or hot and sour or tom yum....I just want soup. Lots of meat and vegetables in a warm broth, and I'm happy, or at least full and warm. If not soup, then stew. My favorite is any of the variations on beef stew - crocked ox is on the menu (which is cheap beef, 12 oz beer, 1 pkg Knorr Oxtail soup (now known as tomato beef) done in the crockpot until falling apart) for tomorrow, but pork green chile stew is becoming a close second in the race. Again, the idea is warm, rich, moist food with lots of flavor. And if I can't do either of those, grilled cheese sandwiches. I love grilled cheese, and it's just perfect for cold days. Marcia.

When I was a kid, it was spinach. I LOVED cooked spinach. You couldn't get the prewashed bags that you can now, and my mother hated the frozen and canned stuff, so we didn't have it too often. But oh, I loved it, especially "a la goldenrod" - separate the whites and yolks of hard cooked eggs, sieve them separately, then dress the mound of cooked spinach with first a pile of the white, then on top of that a pile of the yolk. I still like it a whole lot, but not with the devotion I had as a kid. My niece's big treat is canned asparagus. Apparently she'll go through as much as there is. Marcia.

Ever since moving to Colorado, we have been eating more of the Mexican/Tex-Mex/New Mexican dishes, mostly because they're more available here, and mostly better than most of the Asian offerings (we don't even have a decent Thai place in town, and now they're telling me that Thai is passe'. How can it have passed when it never even got here?). I used to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I ate Asian WAY more, simply because it was plentiful and good. For me, it's simply a matter of geographics - I eat what's good HERE, and when I'm somewhere else, I eat what's good THERE. Marcia.

Onion dip made with sour cream and Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Classic, and messy - guaranteed to end up in the carpet. Marcia.

I love eggplant, and they were on sale this week. These are earmarked for eggplant "lasagna" - grilled or broiled slices layered with the usual lasagna suspects. My favorite way to have eggplant, though, is to brush slices with olive oil, grill until nicely brown and slightly charred, then toss with a dressing of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano or thyme, and salt and pepper. I can eat eggplant this way all day, either hot and freshly tossed, or after having marinated in the fridge overnight. It's all good. Marcia.

Big old ugly pork arm or shoulder roasts. They've been on sale for next to nothing lately, and pork roast + crock pot = amazingly wonderful dinners on the cheap. Things like: throw in roast, add jar of salsa over the top, cook on low all day, shred at night. I love the crock pot for cheap meals, because you can take cheap and/or boring ingredients and let the magic of time and slow heat transform them into something magical. We got a lovely 2.5 lb piece of beef chuck last week for about $3.50. We made a Thai-flavored beef stew out it for a potluck, because we know that potlucks around here are often short on the meat dishes and long on the macaroni salad and cream of mushroom soup casseroles. I think the whole stew's worth of ingredients were about $5.25 - not bad for a dish to serve 6-8 and heavy on the meat. I third (or fifth, or whatever) the "scratch and dent" meat. Especially if you're going to freeze it like I do - that extends the life by quite a bit. I got a "scratch and dent" shoulder pork "steak" that weighed nearly a pound for $1.26 last week - chopped it up, added an onion, can of tomatoes, dash of cumin, garlic, and a bunch of frozen green chiles, and made green chile stew - and had leftovers. Marcia.

Ground cloves. I have about 3 recipes that call for it, in about 1/4 tsp quantities (a little clove goes a LONG way), each of which I make about once a year. Dill. Again, I need it for very few recipes in very small quantities, and so it sits, and sits, and sits. Ground turmeric. I only really use it when I make homemade pickles, and since I'm not doing that anymore since it's now too expensive to mail them for holiday gifts, I don't know what else I'm going to do with it. It's funny that this topic has come up now, since I've just been going through my spice cabinet seeing what's at the back. The funny thing is that what's at the back is rotating for the most part, because I AM using most of my spices and herbs pretty regularly. I was pretty surprised, since there's usually some mummified green flakes back there. Marcia.

I have only a general plan about what I want to make when I go grocery shopping. I know the types of meals I'm most likely to make, so when I see things that look good or are on sale, I know if they'll be easily worked into a dinner, or if I need to plan a meal around them. Occasionally there will be a new recipe I want to try as is, without substitutions or tweaking. (Hey, it's been known to happen!) I have a reasonably well stocked pantry, but if I have something specific in mind (like the cream of cashew soup in Bon Appetit), I plan ahead and put the stuff I don't have on the list. So when I'm home from shopping, I generally have ingredients for at least a week's worth of meals available. What meal gets made when, with what sides, depends a lot on what I feel like any given day of the week. Some days I don't really feel like cooking, so I put together something that doesn't need much thought. Some days I feel like it, so I cook something more elaborate. It also depends on what my mouth wants to taste. Even if I've pretty much settled on something, if my mouth says "No, I don't want THAT, I want soup", I'll change plans and make soup. The only time I really sit down and plan out a meal is when we're having guests. I put a lot of thought into what will work with what, how long things will take, dietary preferences, and stuff like that. The rest of the time it's sort of winging it. Marcia.

At $300 per head, I would be expecting a once in a lifetime experience. Not just a good meal, not even an excellent meal, not even a unique meal, but the kind of outstanding experience you look back on and smile with remembered pleasure about some 20 or 25 years in the future. I'm more than willing to make sacrifices and decisions that allow me to spend a goodly amount on these once in a lifetime experiences. However, from what I've read about these restaurants, I just don't think they're delivering that kind of experience every night. Maybe I'm wrong (I often am). This is why we no longer go to the one 4 star place out here in the hinterlands. The last two times we were there we both agreed that the experience and food was no longer up to the prices they charge - the food was good, but ever since they remodeled, something is missing, the something that made it sparkle for us, that made it worth the cost. We can get the same level of food and experience for a lot less elsewhere, and so we do. Marcia.

The Pirouettes are good, very good, but my heart (and stomach, and probably everything lining my arteries) belongs to Brussels Mint. So addictive. The Salzburgs aren't so shabby, either. Marcia.

Chicken soup? Chicken broth? Sugar free jello? Whole Wheat Toast? Homemade applesauce with cinnamon? (Might be a little high, but I find cinnamon helps settle my stomach a lot.) I don't know how you react to dairy, but I can often handle cottage cheese even if I can't handle other dairy. When I have stomach ailments, I tend to be somewhat more lenient with my diet, because whatever it is I'm eating, I'm not going to be eating much of it. This isn't to say I go particularly high carb, because these days that doesn't sit too well, either. But if a banana is all that will sit well, I say go with the banana. Marcia.

I'm with many of the previous posters: if it's a bad experience on the first visit, I probably won't go back. I have too many other restaurants to go to. If it's a place we've eaten at a lot, I give them a lot more slack. One bad experience, and while we'll probably not go back for a little while, we know that everyone has bad nights. However, if it's part of a downhill trend (or downhill breakneck fall in some cases), we put the place on probation, and don't go for for about six months. We figure that six months is long enough for attrition to occur (if it was a person causing the problem) and for management to fix any procedural problems. Then we'll go back. And if that meal sucks, then the restaurant is off the list for good. Surprisingly, this plan works pretty well - about 50% of the places we've put on probation and given a rest have come back - and a remarkable number of the other ones went under. Also, to tie this in to the other thread about complaining, if a place is a favorite, we're far more likely to say something about poor service or poorly cooked food than if this is our first visit. And I've found that restaurants that know us as semi-regulars are a lot better about trying to fix or make up for problems, too. One place even had their district manager call (yes, it's a chain, but we like it) and explain what was happening, and what to say to who to make sure it didn't happen again - and I'm sure it's because the restaurant's manage knows us on site and always greets us warmly. Marcia.

He's part computer person, part English graduate . It's his way of exerting some influence on the menu, since I do all the grocery shopping and 99.5% of the cooking. (He does other things!) My husband also says that! If he likes it, he asks that, and if I do remember, he says "Write it down. NOW." He knows I'll forget! Marcia.

"It's bad" - the food is actually bad. Burned, poor quality meat, too salty, vegetables that were rescued from the compost heap, undercooked chicken. Not only not good, but never had a chance at good. "Not to my taste, dear" - the food is cooked correctly, I just don't like it. "Average" - cooked properly, tasted ok, but not something I'd seek out ever again. Used mostly on restaurants that people rave about that turn out to be nothing special. "I would like to see this again" - my husband really liked one of the new dishes I'm trying out. Or one of my experiments worked well. "You must have gone through so much trouble to make this!" - polite comment made as a guest when the host/hostess asks "how is it?" and you don't want to say "terrible". Also see "How kind of you to have us over!" and "I see you have <x> in this dish - do you cook with it a lot?". Marcia.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! I would like to ask about the differences in Italian attitudes toward vegetables vs. American ones. My experience has shown me that I live in an area where vegetables are definitely considered "second class citizens", just something else to have on the plate along with your meat and starch, something that kids have to eat in order to be rewarded with dessert. (This comes from discussions with friends and neighbors, and the number of times I have to explain the "weird vegetables" I'm buying like Japanese eggplant or rainbow chard.) Since changing my diet to a far more vegetable-centric one, I've discovered a whole new world, and I'm wondering how things differ elsewhere. I'm also wondering if there are any vegetables that are popular/common in Italy that are unknown or rare or unpopular in the US. I'm always looking to expand my horizons! Thank you again - Marcia.

Oh wow...what a wonderful, wonderful Farmer's Market! Ok, I'm jealous. We don't have anything like that around here - the produce is almost making me weep. I want to try that Romanesco Broccoli! (And the tuna and bean salad doesn't look too bad either!) Thank you for some wonderful pictures (and inspiring food dreams!). Marcia.

I made frittata earlier this week, with green habanero sausages crumbled (not as hot as they sounded), some onion, and a dash of chili powder in the eggs. Melted cheese over the top when it was almost done, then served with salsa, a dollop of sour cream, and and a salad on the side for dinner. Maybe a little spicy for a luncheon, but it's the classic sausage and egg combination! I've also made them with browned Spam cubes. It's better than it sounds. Marcia.