Smithy

I've gotten some great suggestions for those asparagus roots, both here and in the Food in the Time of a Pandemic topic. Thanks, folks - keep 'em coming! The ends went into the freezer for the moment. I have a lot more asparagus to deal with yet. I mentioned that it's too hot to cook inside in the afternoon and it might be worth climbing the stepstool to dig the Instant Pot out. In the end, it was too hot to do even that! The camp stove came into its own for cooking the pilaf with vegetables. We've been jonesing for grilled chicken thighs. I rubbed them with a blend of spices (berbere boosted by smoked and hot paprika, mixed with oil and honey, rubbed onto and under the chicken skin) and grilled them after the sun went down. Once again, we proved that we're out of practice with charcoal griling. The seasonings tasted great. The chicken was overcooked for my tastes, because we didn't wait long enough for the coals to burn down and I had to keep squirting the coals to douse flames. (He thought it was all just right. Our mileages vary.) There was much discussion about using a pyrometer to measure the coal temperature, but we didn't do it and wouldn't have known what to shoot for. Sounds like a good research project, which someone has no doubt already done. There's another chicken thigh, larger and thicker, that we'll be sharing sometime today. I think it will turn out to be nicely done, instead of overdone. The pilaf, btw, was perfect. Even though neither of us is crazy about that vegetable mixture.

In the interests of avoiding unnecessary waste, what can I do with these tough asparagus stem ends? I started by peeling them before snapping them off, but they kept snapping at the natural break point of the stalk. Finally I lost patience and snapped them without peeling. I've read about tricks to use that part of the asparagus, but I'm drawing a blank. I'd rather not get a mouthful of wood from simply chewing them. Cut them into finer pieces, bag them in mesh like a bouquet garni, then use in a soup or stew?

We braved the grocery store again for things we really will need before arriving home in (we still plan) late April. It's a small town here, and at least at the grocery store they were doing a good job with the social distancing. I picked some packages of frozen vegetables for convenience of keeping them. There were no simple packages of frozen peas (blech to me, nirvana to him) or corn (tolerable to me, maybe even not bad) but there were blends. When we got home he realized what I'd grabbed. He hates this particular mixture! Corn, peas, carrots and green beans - and he doesn't like the mix! We agreed that he'd pick out the corn and peas, and I'd take the rest. Actually, I think I'll use the Instant Pot to make a pilaf and mix these vegetables into that. It's up into the 80's in the afternoons here, and the Princessmobile gets even hotter. Minimizing the heat makes it seem worthwhile to drag out the IP from its overhead cabinet and use electricity. I saved these asparagus stem ends - the tough bits - from the bunch I bought today. I was in the process of peeling them prior to saving, and they kept snapping at the natural break point of the stalk. I got lazy, stopped peeling and started snapping. Now: can I use these ends in some creative way? I'm wondering about cutting them into smaller chunks and loading them into a fine-mesh bag for easy removal, then cooking with the rice. Good idea? Bad? Got a better one?

Way to go, Kim! What great-looking loaves! I think the split can be controlled with strategic cuts along the top (see @Ann_T's typical loaves) but I don't know whether that's contraindicated in the no-knead method. I typically store my loaves in a plastic bag...but be warned, that will soften the crust. My other half prefers a soft crust, so I usually go that route. Storing the loaf in a paper bag, or even cut side down on a breadboard (if you have room - I don't) will allow the crust to stay hard. In my experience it will also dry out more quickly that way. That's why we learn about things to do with stale bread: bread crumbs, croutons, panzanellas and panades, for example. Of course, the best thing is simply to eat it quickly. Before it has time to dry out.

That's a nice design and workmanship! It looks like you could knead in any direction without slippage. I have a Lucite "pastry board" with a lip that slides over the near counter edge, but it still skids around. Not as pretty as that board, either.

Anna's question got lost in the shuffle, and I'd like an answer too! I'm envisioning something akin to the orzo treatment in Tasty's Butter-Poached Shrimp and Orzo recipe that made such a splash here recently, but would appreciate clarification.

I was wondering about the extra-yolk element and what it did. Right now I'd prefer not to use eggs more than necessary, lest I be unable to find them for other purposes later. By "easier to work with" do you mean it provides extra flexibility?

Well, I've been thinking I need to haul out my pasta maker too...it's been a while since I used it! Thanks for the inspiration, @Kim Shook. This is a good time to point out the eGullet Culinary Institute (eGCI) courses on stuffed pastas. The first one listed has a good tutorial on making pasta. Stuffed Pastas Stuffed Pastas, Part Two: Tortelli, Ravioli, and Cappelleti Stuffed Pastas, Part Three: Pancotti, Tortelloni and Raviolo This topic has recipes without pictures, to give inspiration on other things to do with pasta: Pasta Around the Mediterranean Finally, there is the eG Cook-Off #13: Fresh/Stuffed Pasta & Gnocchi. Let's start this voyage of discovery, or rediscovery!

Ah, bless the enablers of this world!

"Homemade finocchiona"...glad to know you're still doing your home curing, Chris. That looks and sounds good.

Rather than wreck my (admittedly inexpensive, but now indispensible) enameled cast-iron pot, I'm considering dropping some money on a cast iron set that would do the job for bread baking. Amazon carries this Lodge Dutch Oven set with a lid that doubles as a skillet. What say you? Would this be a worthy bread-baking pot? Is 5 quarts too large? I don't see myself being able to haunt garage sales and thrift stores any time soon.

I've never made tortillas, but I have kept maseca around so long that it went rancid. I'm bringing it up in case it hasn't occurred to you, but you'd probably notice the off-flavor and off-odor anyway. (In my case, an entire bag went out to the compost! 😧)

On another of their pages they suggested that it's more like sous vide pasteurization. Please post photos if your sister sends some.

Interesting suggestion! Of course when I think of MRE's I think of a tinned product. This page says they're pressure-cooked to lock in flavor and ensure cupboard stability for 6 months. That makes me think of a can. However, it also says they're microwaveable. Is there a plastic that can be pressure cooked? Maybe there's a microwaveable dish inside the can? Do report back, please. The stuff in their catalog looks pretty good, but that doesn't mean much. I'm sure a food stylist could make the original MRE's look good.

Q.E.D.

I just dug my 1-cup flour scoop into the canister, swept the top level, and dumped. Definitely a different method, and an excellent example of why weight measurements are better.

In the original NYTimes article, they did indeed use volumetric measurements. The Bittman weights came from a later article,which was quoted about 2 years ago in the comments (notes) on the original article that we're discussing. He may have tweaked the recipe by then. I was quoting his numbers as the basis for the 80% ratio. My numbers came from my scale. My 3 cups of flour weighed 462g, according to my scale, which is closer to his 430g than to your calculated 360g. The 1-5/8 c water weighed 388g, which is a pretty close agreement with your calculated 384.4, especially considering the markings on my beaker. There could easily be a 4ml error. Does the KA Flour calculator assume sifted flour? I didn't sift mine. Bittman was silent on the topic in the original article. I suspect his was also unsifted.

No, I think you have the ratio inverted. Looking down the notes on the NYTimes web site I see that Bittman provided weight conversions for the recipe: 345g water / 430g flour = 80% hydration. I was using the original volumetric recipe, so just now I got out the scale to see where mine came out: 388g water / 462g flour = almost 84% hydration. It is a VERY slack dough. Next time I'll try weighing the ingredients, now that I've found those notes again.

That's where my cooking magazines go, to the magazine rack. I hope none of my dinner guests ever figures that out!

Yesterday I made another loaf of the no-knead bread. It was not scorched this time, but was also not without incident. I used a silicone trivet inside the pot to protect its bottom, and perhaps prevent scorching the bottom of the loaf. It seems to have worked on both scores, but the loaf didn't rise as well as before. Was it because of the trivet, or because I had tried letting the loaf rise in in a truly (trust me on this) well-floured tea towel, and it still stuck? It went into the pot not as a cohesive loaf, but as a blob with an extra little topknot thrown on after I wrestled a final mini-blob off the towel. Still, the crumb is pretty good and so is the flavor. Breakfast this morning was a break from the usual yogurt and oat crumble. The first slice was just toasted bread, with butter added after toasting. That butter went right through the holes, it did! The second slice was more substantially treated.

Thanks to @heidih's comment here and @Margaret Pilgrim's reply in the next post, I've tried the NYTimes no-knead bread twice. As usual for me, there are bumps along the way. I scorched the bottom of the loaf the first time (see here for a photo). Last night, knowing I needed to protect the bottom of the loaf and, preferably, the bottom of my enameled cast-iron pan, I tried putting a silicone trivet in the bottom of the pot. I worried somewhat that the silicone would overheat, but the trivet and the pot seem to have escaped unscathed. The first time I tried this, I let the loaf blob proof in an oiled bowl before sliding it into the preheated Dutch oven. This time, based on something I read somewhere here, I tried letting it rise on a very well-floured tea towel to be dumped straight into the pot from the towel. That was unsatisfying! Loaf stuck to the tea towel. I eventually got most of the blob into the pot, but that extra handling may explain why it didn't get the rise the first loaf had gotten. Either that, or the silicone trivet made more difference than preventing scorching. Still, this was among the most open-crumbed breads I've made. It's worth continuing to work on. Top, bottom, crumb: I love it when hot butter drips right through the holes.

Yes, and I've been quite pleased with it. I bought it (on Amazon, where else?) back in 2014: the Starfrit 093474 Swizzz Prozzz Chopper. Unfortunately it's no longer available, but there are others like it. It operates on a pull-string that rewinds, reminiscent of a salad spinner or an outboard boat motor. ("Pull harder! I'm sure it will start!" is the all-too-frequent joke around here... ) This set has a wicked sharp chopper blade that I've used successfully for things like pesto and last night's salad dressing. Here's an old photo of pesto I've made in it. The photo was taken at an intermediate stage, before the nuts were added. How finely it chops is largely a matter of how many times one wants to pull the cord, but nobody will confuse it with a Vitamix. I've whipped cream and made mayonnaise in it using the whipper at the bottom right of this collage. It also works pretty well as a small-scale salad spinner, say for freshly-washed herbs.

A less expensive option is to cannibalize one of those flexible plastic cutting boards that often come in packages of 3. I took one that had seen the dishwasher once too often. It makes a pretty good pot cover. If I'm really worried about a good seal I lay more rigid objects onto it to hold the edges more firmly in place.

Thanks for the compliment on the plates, @Darienne. We bought them in Tucson a year or two ago. Under other circumstances I'd have gone back to that shop this trip for a few other items, but that's off the table now. Anyway, I was laughing at your comment about the cardinals, not about your compliment! Yesterday, after we relocated, we set up the camp stove on the picnic table that comes with our site. This site has neighbors a touch closer than in the previous site. They're very nice, as were the previous neighbors...but instead of playing loud radio music for an hour or so in the evening they leave their outside televion on alllll day, whether or not anyone's watching. Oh well, it isn't loud. (Yes, there really are RV's with TV hookups on the outside, with TV's hooked up to them. The Princessmobile has 4, count 'em 4, TV hookups (living room, garage / dining room, bedroom, and deck outside) but only 1 rarely-used TV.) The compensating factor of this site is that it is the only spot with a small lawn, and with two citrus trees. They're both blooming at the moment. It's the smell of every spring to me, and I'm delighted to be near it. Last night's dinner was a happy combination of my darling's favorite "Super Burgers" and a broccoli salad recipe taken from Feast of Eden, a Junior League cookbook I picked up used a year or so ago. The steamed broccoli is tossed with a dressing made from sun-dried oil-packed tomatoes, anchovies (don't tell my darling), garlic, a touch of lemon juice all whirred together, then mixed with grated parmesan. My original notes said "strong flavors" so I was careful to balance it against assertive food. The burgers are assertive. They also aren't very photogenic. My darling puts his between sliced bread. I load mine with mayo and mustard, but apparently forgot to shoot that stage, not that it's exciting. The broccoli, now, that's exciting and pretty. It's funny: the salad dressing was supposed to be whirred in a food processor. After all these months of not having easy electricity, I find myself reluctant to go to the trouble of fishing out an electrical appliance when I have a small hand-operated processor available. It doesn't do as fine a job at chopping, but it's less fuss than climbing a step stool and unpacking this cupboard to get at the processor. My sister commented that this kitchen is one giant jigsaw puzzle. She's probably right.

It isn't supposed to be, for fear of exposing one to the embedded fibers. Nonetheless I thought I'd read it somewhere. Last night I used a silicone trivet for the same purpose, inside the pot. I was a bit nervous when I removed the lid to dump the loaf in - thought I might have overheated the silicone - but the trivet seems none the worse for wear. It does seem to have protected the pot's interior; certainly it kept the bread bottom from scorching. I have yet to cut into the loaf to see whether the crumb was affected.