Smithy

Here's some of our haul from the Babylon Market: Those are oil-cured olives in the plastic bag. I see from the cheese boxes that some have preservatives and do not require refrigeration before opening. The Greenland cheeses have no preservatives. I think that's why they recommend refrigeration even though they're in aseptic packaging. Not shown: rice, falafel mix, bulgur, some Indian simmer-in-the-bag convenience foods, and tamarind paste.

We've moved on to Tucson, Arizona, and been very busy seeing sights, visiting with family, and running errands. I'll start with the most fun errand: stocking up at the Babylon Market. We found this place a couple of years ago, and it's become our best source for Middle Eastern foods as well as some hard-to-find Indian ingredients. This time when we strolled in, I had camera in hand and asked one of the owners if I could take photos, explaining that I'm doing a traveling food blog and would like to show off his place. He was pleased to give me permission; in addition, he and most of the staff were happy to be photographed. (One young man was immensely helpful but wished not to be in the photos; he was pleased that I asked first and respected his wishes.) This little shop packs an amazing amount of stock into a very small area. The shelves are jammed with multiple brands and sizes of any given item. I didn't keep careful track, but I think there were more than a dozen types of olive oil alone; safflower oil, corn oil and sunflower oil also came in multiple brands and sizes. Check out their honey selections: Tea, and the necessary equipment to brew and serve coffee or tea: ...and the equipment for a convivial sheesha if you're of that persuasion: Fresh, good-looking chicken, lamb and beef: A grand array of spices, in very different package sizes ranging from small pouches to large bags or cans: Our hopes were dashed at the dairy case; they were out of our preferred Greenland feta cheese. They had low-salt feta and light feta and other brands of feta or domiati (another name for this type of cheese). We selected some alternative types and will hope that one of them is close enough to our preference. There are pastries at the checkout counter. I resisted, but it was a struggle. I'll bet that baklava is outstanding. "You may want to get a photo of our deli in back also," said the owner. Oh, I did. They make shawarma, tabbouli, baba ghanoush and falafel that are wonderful, and we always plan to eat there when we shop there. Check out their shawarma rigs: beef on one, chicken on the other. It's delicious stuff. I thanked the gentleman who took our order and the gentleman who made our sandwiches for allowing me to take their photo. "It's our pleasure!" they smiled. We ordered a falafel sandwich and a shawarma sandwich. These babies are very tasty. The last touch is to grill them lightly after they've been wrapped; the wrapping is warm and soft, with the barest hint of a grilled crunch to it. We ate outside at one of their tables, then waddled on to the rest of our errands. The owner asked whether I'd seen the article about them in the Edible Baja Arizona magazine. I hadn't even heard of the magazine, but he gave me a copy of last year's issue, which included a nice article featuring the Babylon Market. For better photos and background on this treasure of a store, I recommend checking out their article: A Flavor Oasis. Edit: Corrected shawarma information (previously misidentified as lamb).

I once worked as a short-order cook in a diner, and later tended bar in a pub, but have not otherwise been involved in the food industry. One of the things I like about the eG Society is that I get to rub elbows, figuratively speaking, with professionals as well as home cooks. I have learned a great deal here!

Yes, welcome! Meat, wine and cutlery sound like a great combination of interests; you should fit right in here. Sorry if this seems like a silly question, but what is the wb board to which you refer? Wine buyers?

Ann_T, that's beautiful! Please help me understand more about the cubes. Did you cube the cheese and the onions and add them during the mixing, proofing, or the final loaf-shaping stage, or is there more to the process than what I've just suggested?

I was warned that it might, when my granite countertops were installed. I've never wanted to risk it.

Tis is very sad news. Thank you, Annie, for telling us and posting a link to the family's youcaring site.

I probably wouldn't, except in the sense that I sometimes buy a magazine or book knowing that I'm buying for a specific recipe. The same would go for a DVD. You need to think carefully about who would be doing the offering, also. Are you asking about a target market from a publisher's standpoint? Publishers or writers might consider selling excerpts of their copyrighted material, and that would be legal. Two or three people could agree to purchase a copyrighted cookbook and split it into parts of their own, and that would be legal, although a travesty to a beautiful book. A buyer who does not hold the copyright could not legally (or ethically) sell copies or excerpts to recoup his or her cost.

Let me add my welcome to the others, Clementine. I too love Greek food and am looking forward to what you have to say about it. According to what I've read, there's been some changes happening there and some of the traditional dishes are being jazzed up with new twists. I confess, I've never thought of watermelon and feta! I've been in Coftu and the Greek part of Cyprus, and loved both places. That's the closest I've been to Greece, but I hope to get to the mainland one day. 25 years old, and already started in the food industry! You're off to a good start!

I concluded, during our kitchen remodeling, that the term "independent contractor" implies the independence of a cat: you never know when the crew will turn up, or for how long. Take heart! It will get done, and you'll love the results, and eventually you'll have some fun stories to tell.

Anna's right: making pita is easy, and a lot of fun. Here, to encourage both Shelby and Thanks for the Crepes, is Foodman's recipe and instructions: Pita Bread (Khobz Arabi). Yesterday I tried using a sourdough mixture instead, and it worked quite well. I think the tricks are having well-developed gluten, having the dough rolled out (or patted) thin, and having a hot surface to throw it on. (I've also done it in a skillet, using a small film of oil. That idea came from Flatbreads and Flavors.) Anna, does that match your experience?

Today was a blustery day: windy, with rain hitting the hills around us but none arriving at our location, and temperatures cool enough to consider running the furnace during the day. Such a day lends itself to baking and cooking inside. Last night's bean dish needed something to jazz it up. Out from the freezer came a roll of chorizo, and into a pan it went. After a brief fry to remove and drain some of the fat, the beans went into the pan to simmer with it. In the meantime, I hauled out another jar that has traveled across country more than once, waiting for Just the Right Occasion. When I bought this I really had bruschetta in mind, but it's also a fine accompaniment for blanched broccoli. The tomato, olives and oil in the bruschetta topping give the broccoli a nice piquancy, and we love the color contrast. I don't know whether this TJ's Bruschetta topping can still be purchased. If it's still available, I recommend it. As the beans simmered, I had the oven heating up, and then began the day's bread-baking project: sourdough pita. Dinner was served in two stages: broccoli with bruschetta topping; then pita pockets with beans, salad greens and cheese. The "dinner served" photos are too unruly, so here are the final elements instead - unassembled: There are *still* leftovers from yesterday's beans, but the amount is halved and considerably more flavorful than before the chorizo joined the ensemble. Meanwhile, another jar is out of the pantry.

This area is where I pick up mesquite flour and tepary beans, both grown and sold by the Tohono O'Odham whose land is nearby. I've been experimenting with using mesquite flour in savory applications. This flour, from the seed pods, tastes not at all like the mesquite smell of barbecue and smoke. Rather, it has a warm, slightly sweet flavor, vaguely reminiscent of cinnamon but neither as pungent nor sweet. It adds a certain mystery and depth to grilled salmon. Today I tried it on chicken thighs. As a safeguard and comparison I rubbed two thighs with mesquite flour and the other two with smoked paprika; some rosemary, coriander and Aleppo pepper were also added. Into my clay pot they went, covered, for a low and slow oven session. Tepary beans are mild-flavored and fairly easy to cook, and I was going for benign neglect tonight so I could wander away to a lecture for an hour or so. Carrots, onion, celery, beans and a dried chili pod went into a stovetop pan. I left the chicken and beans to fend for themselves, and went to learn about roadrunners. Staying in a congested campground has a (very) few advantages, and I count Ranger programs among them. When I came back, the chicken was done: ...or, perhaps a bit overdone: tender and falling off the bone, but just the wrong side of being overcooked. Good flavors, though, with plenty of juice to be mopped up slices of sourdough from my last effort. Dinner:

Yes, I too like the handle and the lower price compared to the Oxo. These things are very sturdy, and I like the selection of sizes and shapes they have available.

That's certainly quicker than my version, which takes weeks. Thanks, David. I'll have to try that method.

We've moved eastward with some reluctance, on into Arizona. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is quite close to the Mexican border, and a showcase of the Sonoran desert. It's considerably more lush here than where we've been staying. You have to watch where you're walking, however; the cactus is much more plentiful and varied here than in the Colorado desert. We weren't here 15 minutes before two of us had picked up thorns. We arrived late in the day, having delayed leaving our favorite spot and forgotten about losing an hour when we crossed the border. Dinner was another of our dead-easy standby dishes. We used the last of our Egyptian feta cheese for this, and cleared out half a container of sliced onion as well as another whole sweet onion. It really is easy: chop the onion, cook if desired, boil and drain the noodles, mix them with the cheese, onions and tuna. Serve with cumin and (if so inclined) pepper. Sweet onion is best. We usually cook some of it and throw the rest in at the last so there's a mix of onion crunch and flavors. I didn't get photos of the dinner serving, but we always make plenty for leftovers. He "invented" this dish during his Egyptian research days, over the protests of his driver and guide. For reasons we never understood, they liked the boiled noodles with cheese, they liked the cheese with the tuna, but they didn't like to mix the three. It's his little joke to call this "Traditional Bedouin Tuna Noodle Hot Dish".

The shrimp on sugar cane looks mighty tasty. I love the lines of the Vietnamese coffee cup! Was it easy to manage? I generally like a fully looped handle instead of an open handle like that, but it looks cool.

I feel your pain, MetsFan5. Our kitchen remodeling was done in "record time" - meaning it only took 3 times as long as estimated - but we were very pleased with the final result. I bet you will be too...over and above the sheer relief of being done.

Welcome, Carmen! Barcelona is quite the culinary scene these days. Do you like to eat out a lot? Do you cook for yourself? What sorts of foods do you like?

Well, you've come to a good place. Dive right in, start learning and reading, and join in the conversations. Welcome!

It looks delicious...and it's on another gorgeous plate! That looks very 1960's, maybe early 1970's to me. Dansk?

mm84321, that is even more striking than your usual beautiful platings. I especially like the border. 1. Is that dill? 2. Did you use tweezers to accomplish that precision? Smoked salmon. Caviar. Would you adopt me?

Today we set off sight-seeing. We've heard great things about the wildlife and scenery in the Picacho State Park, situated far south on what's left of the Colorado River. Google Maps gave us 2 route options. The most direct route is about 25 miles, but advertised to take around 21/2 hours to drive. The less direct route, which involves some freeway travel, is between 50 and 60 miles - more than twice the distance - but estimated to take less than 2 hours! We decided on a circle route, and packed a lunch. About 12 miles along the shorter route we reached a very steep, twisty, rocky track down into an arroyo that - according to the folks we met who'd traveled it 2 years earlier on a guided tour - has hubcap-deep sand at the bottom. "What you've been over so far is the good road," they said. I had been quietly checking my fillings to make sure they were intact after the washboard and rocks we'd experienced so far; at this comment, my jaws clamped shut. Yes, we have 4 wheel drive. No, we are not a short wheel base. No, there is no cell phone coverage. We did not wish to chance getting stuck, having to trek out and trying to find a tow truck company that would/could come get us unstuck. We turned back and found a nice picnic spot. Our tailgate lunch harkened back to his Egyptian desert research days: the Egyptian white feta cheese, canned tuna, tomatoes. (Warning to Anna N:, this IS a very salty cheese. I don't know that it can be rinsed, although much of the brine stays in the box.) In an ideal world we'd have had chopped parsley and/or cilantro to gussy it up, and pita with which to eat it. We had crackers, chips and no gussying. We added stuffed grape leaves and dates. Nobody bothered to build a fire for tea. We looked at rocks and birds, enjoyed the sunshine, and rambled home again.

Shelby, is that like a pecan pie (corn syrup etc. filling) with different nuts? It looks tasty and rich.

Thanks, cyalexa. That particular site didn't help, but I did find two sites that said, in essence, 1 cup starter for 1 packet of yeast. This website has more detail, along with adjustments to be made and considerations for hydration level.