Smithy

I wish I'd thought of that trick before now!

This used to drive my darling crazy. Where he couldn't be bothered to scrape even a wide-mouthed jar of peanut butter when it got low, I'd dig in with a spatula and get out as much as possible. 2, 3, maybe even 4 more uses! "You don't need to be so thrifty!" he'd exclaim. "Our parents were of the Depression generation, and we've both been broke as grad students, but that doesn't mean we have to behave that way now!" I'd calmly respond that I wasn't worried about money so much as resource conservation -- but yes, the money also added up. And I'd go on scraping. 🙂 Now, to be clear, I should add that I still tend to overbuy food. A sorry amount of herbs and other vegetable matter ends up on the compost pile instead of in my food. But still, I scrape. How about you? Are you of the use-it-all-up variety, or the don't-have-time-for-that variety? Got any good stories to share?

Toasties: sourdough slice, lightly toasted. Spread with Dijon mustard, then a layer of cheese slices. 20 seconds in the microwave. Tomato slices topping it afterward. Accompanied by a Bartlett pear that was about to turn, to my surprise. The outside still felt firm and there wasn't much aroma. Glad I checked it out. Its partner is in the refrigerator. This is far more, and far earlier, than I usually eat for breakfast. Now I want to go into a food coma! But I'm waiting on a service call -- which is of course open-ended, both for the start and finish times.

Sorry, I'm breaking the shrimp theme. Maybe I'll be the night's outlier. I've been pecking away (heh) at a rotisserie chicken I splurged on a day or two ago, so by the time dinner time rolled around I only wanted vegetables. Green beans -- already trimmed several days ago -- and tomatoes demanded to be used. This was loosely based on a favorite green bean recipe from the Cookie + Kate web site. Brown chopped walnuts or other nuts in a dry wok. Remove them from the pan; throw in the beans and a bit of water; slap the lid on it, cook until the beans are tender-crisp, then remove the lid and let any remaining water boil off. Add a lemon vinaigrette, feta cheese, and in this case the forlorn tomatoes that also needed to go. Stir. Serve. Add the forgotten walnuts, and remember how much good crunch and flavor they add. Tasty. Crunchy. Got some refrigerated goods out before they went off.

I expect it would be fine. I once opened a can that was even farther past its best-by date, and it had turned a caramel color on its own. After reading the discussion here about making dulce de leche in the can, I wonder if that's what happened to it. I threw it away without trying it, but now in the same situation I'd probably at least taste it. I doubt anything unhealthful could have grown in it.

As always, the photos are beautiful. The menus and food are inspiring! This bit surprised me, though: I would be annoyed at raisin bread with fish or any other savory filling that I can think of. Do you like it? Is this common in the islands? What am I maybe missing?

If you're looking for even larger bags of flour and don't mind online shopping, Amazon has some options: 100% Organic Whole Dark Rye Flour - 25 lbs… (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) from Central Milling, for $65 Great River Organic Milling, Whole Grain, Rye Grain, Organic, 25-Pounds (Pack of 1) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) $44 (Note: it says it's discontinued by manufacturer, so that may account for the lower price compared to Central Milling) There are other sizes and prices available, if you go to Amazon and search for Rye Flour. King Arthur offers it, of course, but the largest size bag I see listed is 3 pounds. The Bob's Red Mill packages are also relatively small although you can buy them bundled.

Lovely to see you getting a youngster invovled when he's interested and receptive!

That's my question, too! In addition, I'd like to know specifics about your baked potatoes. How long did they take? Did you need any special steps for them? Thanks for reviving this topic, by the way.

They do have nice linens. And other stuff. As it happens, I'm over-linened (table linens and aprons) so I'm able to resist. It's fun to look, though. I'm glad you found something!

Sur la Table is having their anniversary sale. I only just woke up to it, and it's nearly over, but there's a lot here (up to 50% off, they say) to help set up or upgrade your kitchen! Sur la Table Anniversary Sale

That's a very good question, and one I hadn't considered as far as the uniformity of the mix goes. Here, for comparison, is the can of Apicius (Ancient Roman Blend) before and after stirring: Before After You can see that a lot of fines had settled into the mix during transit. So yes, I think I'll mix/stir it, take what I want, and then put the rest back in the can for later. I don't plan to grind more than I'll use at once. Incidentally, this stuff smells wonderful!

The elk looks wonderful! Shame about the carrots. What was wrong about them?

I've had a houseful of guests for the last nearly 2 weeks, with far too much food being purchased. After most of the group left, my sister and I went touring and sightseeing, occasionally dining out and usually bringing home leftovers. Now that everyone's gone, I'm gamely trying to whittle away at the refrigerator stock before it goes off. Tonight's dinner: a Vietnamese spicy shrimp coconut curry with rice. The rice and curry were packaged separately. I microwaved the rice first with a bit of water until it was getting hot, then added the curry and reheated it all. It has a spicy kick to it: partly from the yellow curry and partly from the peppers used, I'm told. It was all too spicy for my sister. In addition to the shrimp there are potatoes, broccoli, water chestnuts (delicious crunch) and bell peppers and some sort of red pepper. (Pardon the presentation, but it's either this candid shot or none at all.) Interestingly enough, the wasabi sauce from yet another meal out actually helps tame the heat and smooth out the dish!

Righto, you Enablers...my spice cabinet has to make room. 🙂