Smithy

I also think that sandwich looks lovely. Is that rye bread? What bread would you have preferred for that sandwich? I'm looking forward to seeing what you get up to during your visit this fall. I hope the silences aren't too protracted due to a heavy workload. :-)

It's the season for chowda now, isn't it? That was our dinner a few evenings ago, but it didn't look as nice as yours.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.

I can't detect any smoke. There's only one dried chipotle per jar, and I admit it's old, but it's potent enough to give a small kick. Thanks so much for your recipe!

This is a shot of my most recent eggplant salad. We make it fairly often. Get the juices right, get some good crusty bread to sop up extra dressing, and you have a fine meal. I think the colors are beautiful.

*Bump* Is anyone else making sauerkraut these days? I set up 2 crocks' worth - one green, one red - a little over 2 weeks ago. I think red cabbage when cut is particularly beautiful: Isn't this beautiful stuff? Here it is, sliced, mixed with salt, caraway and coriander seeds, and ready to pack in the crock: Last year's kraut fermentation stuck, and I got it going with the addition of more salt and a touch more water. I had calculated 3% by weight for the salt, so this year I tried 4% from the outset. It's a bit more than Sandor Katz recommends, but so far seems to be going properly. Our tap water is more basic than most; that may account for needing more salt. The poor green cabbage got the same treatment, but like the homely child just didn't get as much photographic attention. Nonetheless when this particular photo was taken, the green kraut was making better progress than the flashier red and had thrown off more water. I added brine to both after this shot to ensure the liquid level stayed high enough, but it probably wasn't necessary for the green kraut. Yesterday was the first taste test. It has a way to go before it's done, but it's quite edible and nicely crunchy.

In the last month I've made a batch of Shelby's quickles, another batch of refrigerator pickles from my friend April's recipe, and two batches of sauerkraut. It's all coming to fruition - er, fermentation! Yippee! April's refrigerator pickles went into one very large jar - good for packing, not so easy for distribution: They were packed earlier than Shelby's Quickles, so we got into them first: Meanwhile, Shelby's Quickles got several different treatments. This photo is from the initial packing, not after they'd had time to ferment. We've been taste-testing and deciding that the addition of a dried chipotle to a quart jar gives a pleasant kick. I packed 2 crock's worth of kraut some 2 or 3 weeks ago. Yesterday was the first taste test. It's coming along nicely. It still has a way to go, but it's well on its way to being proper kraut:

I adapted a friend's recipe for yellow and red tomato 'pie' a few nights ago: omitted the pastry shell and substituted fresh, finely sliced potatoes instead. The layers are helped with a mix of grated parmesan, mayonnaise and garlic. The photo isn't the greatest, but we agreed the dinner was well worth repeating.

Beautiful photos, David. Hmm: we have freshly-dug potatoes and a wood-cutting/splitting/stacking party coming up in good crisp fall weather. Thanks for the inspiration!

Wow, thanks! Yes, we'll be heading south again in about a month. I'll try to see whether I can come up on a new spin that isn't just a rehash of our usual routine.

Welcome back, ChefCrash; good to see you! A couple of questions: - What, please, is lemon-gret? (or is it lemong-gret?) - What would be the Berberi spice mix?

It might depend on the proportions you use. My fruit ice creams, made with nectarines, plums, peaches or raspberries, taste intensely of the fruit in question, but the dairy portion is relatively small in order to keep that flavor.

Welcome to eGullet, simon ben. What do you do with the olive oil? What seasonings, if any, do you include?

liuzhou, your description of moon cakes and their being passed back and forth reminds me of fruitcake in the U.S. I dislike it (fruitcake) for much the same reasons of its seasonal ubiquity and cloying sweetness. (To be fair: I have experienced a few good slices of fruitcake, but not often enough to change my wariness of the stuff.) I think the fancy tin looks like a lot of fun, however. That would be worth accepting a gift or two of mooncakes. :-) Edited to add this note: people who wish to defend or malign fruitcake may be interested in these topics: The Fruitcake Topic Fruitcake -- Bake-Off IX

I have the glove in a kitchen drawer. I have a pusher for my mandoline. I also, apparently, have overconfidence and a short memory because I now have a heavily-bandaged finger. I know better, I really do. Except that, apparently, I didn't.

Good luck keeping that tank sealed!

We also keep very quiet about the patches of wild asparagus in our area. Our neighbors, who are diligent gardeners, are ectatic that their asparagus is thriving; I think it took 2 years of care before they harvested a few stalks. Now it flourishes. As I recall they began with a careful and deep bed preparation, and used liberal amounts of compost and uncomposted manure. It can be done, but as Okanagancook notes it ain't easy.

I hear you. My other half couldn't see what the fuss was about, and if he'd had his way we'd have grabbed the cheapest thing and gotten out in the shortest checkout line. (It's a good thing we both drive, so we didn't quite drive each other around the bend.) What are your faucet criteria?

Even the picture makes me feel slightly lightheaded. I'd have had to eat one too, and stagger out with you. What was the interior like, and how did it all taste?

That book is splendid reading, worth going back and revisiting. I laughed, and groaned with delicious delight, and cooked from it. If you haven't tried his Gratin Dauphinois, do so. Do not wait.I just finished listening to the audio version of "Yes, Chef" by Marcus Samuelsson. Eh. He's certainly passionate about his work, but I think the book might have benefited from better editing. He gives interesting insights to what it's like to become a chef, and how race relations came into it for him, but I think it was a bit disjointed and repetitive.

Welcome, and congratulations on moving from the packaged food to cooking it yourself! You'd probably have a lot of fascinated westerners if you were to post about what sort of packaged foods are readily available there, but you've probably already figured out that there are a lot of do-it-yourselfers around here. If you feel like sharing your learning experiences with us, I'm sure you'll have a lot of eager readers. What sort of flavor profile and cooking ingredients go with your part of India?

Right down to the bare walls! You're brave. How much of the work are you doing yourself/yourselves, and how much by contractors? Have you picked out everything by now - colors, flooring, and so on - or are you still making choices? I drove my darling nuts with repeated trips to pick up and return samples that continually cluttered our space while we worked out an acceptable design scheme. Do please keep us posted. Entertaining stories about design dilemmas will also be welcome.

Welcome, ecclescake. We look forward to hearing more from you. If you have any questions about where to find things on the forums, don't hesitate to ask a host (I am one, but not the only one). Tell us a little more about yourself. Are you starting to look forward to spring, or is it already springing for you? I don't know enough about Wellington's climate to know whether it has an easy winter and early spring, or long winter that gives way reluctantly and late as it does in the northern U.S. Are there any spring crops that you're eagerly anticipating for your savoury baking?

OK, Mmmpomps...mmmore details, please? What were the steps you followed, approximate timing, and so on? I am still peering over the brink and considering buying this gizmo. I'm suffering experimentation fatigue and not sure I want to take on learning how to work a new piece of equipment at the moment, but...you lot are producing some mighty fine-looking, apparently quick meals...maybe, once I was past the learning curve, this would be a valuable addition to our kitchen. *Oh, my duxelles! Oh, my dollars!*

No, now you can hypnotize her into buying an Instant Pot, as you've done with so many here. I'm astonished that she told you she wasn't interested, when it obviously can steam vegetables but do much more besides.