Smithy

So far, I just like it with a touch of honey (or sugar) to take the edge off the tartness. I have some star anise. Need to explore!

It really was a good idea to make stock. Right after that last entry I propped up the overhead cabinet door and extracted the Instant Pot. Then I rooted through the freezer until I'd found all the bags of chicken bones and vegetable scraps. I even threw in a couple of asparagus stem ends, but am saving most of them. I doubt, with all the other things going into that broth, the asparagus would be discernible. The bag of bay leaves is from the last time we were on the Texas Gulf Coast, about 5 years ago. They keep well in the freezer, but eventually I'll have to buy some unless we can get back there. This won't be the spring to do it. It's already too darned hot in here: 87F inside and out. We may have to break down and turn on the A/C, but then it's noisy! (I know, this is a pretty small reason to whine. I'll stop.) I've been keeping cool and hydrated with iced hibiscus tea. The shrimp for tonight's ceviche are thawing. My darling will be pleased to see me use up some of the tomatoes I've been hoarding.

From The Art of Baking Bread: What You Really Need to Know to Make Great Bread by Matt Pellegrini, location 168 Disclaimer: I haven't actually cooked from this book yet. It's on sale in Kindle form for $1.99 (thanks to @Toliver for pointing to it here) and I bought it based on its clear writing style. He seems to cut to the chase as to the role of ingredients more clearly than I've been able to find in my extensive Kindle library. That probably just means that, as usual, I've expected to absorb knowledge by osmosis from the likes of Peter Reinhart and Ken Forkish, instead of working my way through their books!

It would definitely help the browning. It would probably change the flavor slightly. I don't know whether there would be other interactions - say, with the yeast - that you might or might not like. I also don't know how much! There's so much that I don't know about bread-baking. Two things I do know: (1) folks here already have the answers to your questions, and I hope they speak up soon. (2) I'm off to check some of my bread science books to see if I can get a definitive answer. (That's why I hope someone speaks up soon, to save me from having to get off my duff and do actual book-research. )

If your dough doesn't have any sugar or honey, as mine doesn't, it's difficult to get much browning without burning. That's my sole complaint about the unsweetened, lean* breads...but I've almost lost my taste for sweetened breads, except as a dessert. Even many commercial sandwich loaves are too sweet for me. *I'm not sure to what degree the addition of fat for enriched bread doughs plays into the browning question. It seems to me that any dairy is likely add sugars, which will enhance browning. The better bread bakers can weigh in on this question.

I am continually amazed at how well mushrooms that are about to go soft / off respond to roasting. Nice save, Anna.

Sur la Table has their semi-annual cookware sale going on now. Some good prices on All-Clad, ScanPan, Staub and other heavy hitters. They're saying "Up to 55% off!"

Bang-Bang Shrimp is a new one on me. I found this recipe in, unfortunately, an ad-riddled website. Does it look more or less like what you did? I have the ingredients!

I feel your pain with regard to the slop and wet and the long, long winter. When we get home, assuming we get home on schedule (on or around May 1) there will probably still be snow in the shady areas of our lawn, and we'll have to get used to mud again. I can (and do) kvetch about being too hot -- I HATE being hot -- but here we only have to worry about dirt getting tracked in, not mud. Mornings are the best time for me to plan meals and get out any equipment that needs to be gotten out. It's cool, I'm cool, I'm full of energy and enthusiasm. So now is the time for me to dig out that Instant Pot, if I'm going to. Right now I'm leaning toward ceviche for dinner, and can't think of any uses for appliances to be fished out of their hidey-holes. Hmm...I'm getting low on chicken stock. Maybe I just thought of a reason.

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.