Smithy

Great topic, shain. How did you treat the pine needles? Toast slightly, dry, crush? I see the whole pine needles used as a garnish on top, but get the idea that you built them into the dish as well. I've heard about smoking , and possibly roasting, with pine needles to provide some aroma. I'd never heard of incorporating the needles into an entire dish.

Welcome, Bakerchic! You're lucky to be up in the wine country, and so close to good food being grown year-round. It's a beautiful area. You've come to a good place to get answers and learn from pros as well as enthusiastic amateurs. C'mon in and make yourself at home. If you have questions about the forums, feel free to ask a host.

Nice find, @Porthos. What size pot does it fit? It reminds me of my Revere double boiler set, a 3-quart pot with insert and lid. I'd never heard of a steamer for it.

You know how to live, @rarerollingobject!

I grew up in central California thinking that chicken pot pies had a top and bottom crust, but (confession time here) our chicken pot pies came from Swanson and were a luxury treat.

@mgaretz, I'm fortunate enough to be lactose-tolerant, and generally avoid non-dairy products on the assumption that I wouldn't want them. Your cherry/chocolate/almond ice cream puts paid to that idea. I want that ice cream. NOW. Please keep sharing your progress!

I love being able to try and buy local cheeses at farmers' markets. Two of my favorites are produced in the San Joaquin Valley, and I discovered them during an extended summer visit to Visalia. One I can get when i visit the area in the winter, but the other - well, it was a lovely sheep cheese with a delightful vendor, but I'll never see it again unless I manage another summer visit.

Here's the topic I think you meant. It was an eye-opener for me as well. Adulterated Olive Oil Fraud

I love that closing paragraph! Now that you mention it, I have some dried - and shamefully old - fava beans I've been planning to use, finally. They were an impulse buy, I don't remember when. The plan has been to make Egyptian ful madames with them, but the first question is how to get them basically cooked. I figured on a good long soak followed by some hours of simmering. I don't have a pressure cooker at the moment. Do you have a feel for how long to soak and how long to cook at normal pressure?

That's a very funny writeup. I especially liked his take on what the witches in "Macbeth" were really up to at that cauldon.:-D

Welcome! There's a lot of interest in the same topics around here, and you're bound to find someone who can help you out. Take a look around the forums, and if you have any questions about where to find things, feel free to ask a host. You may find these particular topics of interest: Molecular Gastronomy in Pastry Adventures with sodium alginate

Thanks, huiray. It does look more apt for scooping up loose food, doesn't it? I'll try to perfect that technique also.

Ah, leipäjuusto (bread cheese)! There is now a brand of cheese sold in northern Minnesota by the name of Juusto. It's a small flat brick that you bake before slathering over bread. So far we've tried the smoked and the un-smoked version and liked both. I hadn't realized the source of the name. Darienne, I know that border makes a difference in what's available, but since it's in our neck of the continent it may also be in yours. @EsaK, thank you also for that description of and recipe for pulla/nisu/korvapuusti.

@ChocoMom, do you have a recipe for Nisu/Pulla that you'd care to share? Question: if "Pulla" is the Finnish word (I've heard that one) then what language is "Nisu"? I'd have picked that out as the Finnish.

Thanks, Deryn! Yes, that size would fit my oven and that's a better configuration for us. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks also for reading along, and for the compliments.

Thank you for that suggestion. We'll be driving into town in the next few days, and I'll look for something along those lines. I had one a few years ago that I'd picked up at, oh, Kohl's I think? using a special discount coupon. It was a good-sized heavy Bobby Flay reversible griddle. Very practical for trailer use! It turned out to be too big to fit in our trailer oven and too large for the two of us. In the end I gave it to my step-daughter, an ace cook who routinely entertains several families at once with her outdoor cookery. Maybe I can find a smaller version of that.

I've never had birch syrup, but a friend who makes it says it takes a lot more sap and time than maple syrup because of the much lower sugar content. It sounds delicately tasty. (I'm allergic to birch pollen and therefore reluctant to try the syrup.) As for the pannukakku - thanks for the link! That looks like a nice luxury breakfast treat for some time when we have company.

Readers may remember that last Thanksgiving I managed to break yet another baking stone. I decided to try doing without one, in a slight nod to trailer weight; and in truth I haven't missed it - until yesterday. It's warming up here, and if the wind ever stops trying to blow us into the next county we'll be doing more picnic lunches and hikes. It was time to make pita bread. I did a sourdough substitution, got the dough to the right flavor and consistency, and fired up the oven. Then, and only then, did I realize how out of practice I am and how useful that baking stone is. I also, for the first time, regretted giving away both my bread paddle and a large folding bread spatula at Christmas. I've been using bread screens and sheets instead of paddles, and decided I'd rather have the room. Well, a baking sheet was going to have to substitute for the baking stone, I thought. "Out of practice" means I'd forgotten how large or small a ball to make. By the time I had the first dough rolled out to the appropriate thickness, it was large. Have you ever tried to flip a 1/8" thick floppy bit of dough, 11" in diameter, onto a hot baking sheet in a tiny oven? It instantly flopped in on itself, making a charmingly folded bread item that never would be able to puff. I rolled the next two dough balls out to a more sensible diameter, but they only puffed reluctantly in the oven. The last two I did on stove top, in a cast-iron skillet. They puffed, but controlling the heat was another matter. Here it is: the naan-like object in the middle was the first of the batch, and the concentrically-charred pita at left spent a bit too much time on the stove top. Still, they make pretty good sandwiches. Today was tuna salad, with lettuce and a bit of the Bengali pickle I picked up in Tucson last fall.

Yesterday I made a loaf of Golden Grains Bread from last year's Holiday Issue of the King Arthur catalog. It's dangerous to mess with new recipes, and we've all noted the idiocy of rating a recipe without trying it as written. Nonetheless I wanted to try it and was missing a couple of ingredients. For 2T of Non-Diastatic Malt Powder I used 1T molasses and 2tsp sugar, per some advice I found elsewhere on the web; and I simply omitted their Whole-Grain Bread Improver. It came out beautifully. Would it be better if I had those precise ingredients? Maybe, but it's so good as is that I may not bother to learn. This recipe is a keeper! We're going to be enjoying sandwiches with this. The recipe can be found online here.

I'm going to try that. I saw a video advocating that method but have never tried it. It might lower my aggravation when I'm frying spuds.

Welcome, Jim! It does sound like you'll fit right in here. Since you're new here, you may or may not have discovered this topic, which may be of interest: Planning: eG Chocolate and Confectionery Workshop (2016). I look forward to seeing more of your posts. If you have any questions about how to work the forums or where to find things, don't hesitate to check with a host.

@Lisa Shock, I want you to know that I've adopted this method, and it's been working well. Thank you for the tip!

When we're feeling too lazy or rushed to pack our own road meals, we usually stop at Subway. As a rule we're pleased with their BLT's, with a bit of customization: we both prefer the whole wheat bread, and sometimes we pull out all the stops and get extra bacon and mayo. I want mine entirely toasted; he doesn't - which led in one memorable instance to a confused clerk asking if he really wanted the bacon cold. I have a ton of dill pickle added, he goes for a few chiles. Once in a while one of us will opt for a their spicy Italian sandwich instead. The rest of the choices - their custom choices - generally don't appeal to us, but at most of the Subways we've visited our preferred options have come out satisfactorily.

Thanks for explaining 'Skippy', and enriching our culinary and popular education on the other side of the world, @sartoric. Please continue, it's entertaining! Then tell us how 'roo meat tastes. Strong, mild? Are there certain cuts more tender or flavorful than others? Is this farmed meat or wild game?

Yes, I wish I could try those beautiful cakes for myself - but I'm glad at least to see photos. I'm impressed!