Smithy

I just looked at your Green Goddess dressing recipe. It looks really tasty, and - hooray! I grow those herbs in my garden! I'll remember that about adding more vinegar, though. I tend toward the tart/sour end of the taste spectrum myself. One question, though: I've never heard of Dijon vinegar. What's it like? Is there a good substitute for it, if I can't find it? Edited to add: your chicken Waldorf salad is beautiful, and it's making me hungry although I just finished lunch.

Yes, I'd like to know that silver cleaning tip, please. I don't understand about the ice cream maker bowl. Do you mean you're storing the empty bowl in the bag in the freezer? Why use a bag? For myself, I can't stand to see that ice cream maker bowl take up space in the freezer without being useful. I puree whatever fruit looks good, with a touch of lemon usually, then put it in a plastic tub (formerly purchased with potato salad) that just fits inside. Not my original idea, but I put leftover broth or tomato paste or roasted red pepper puree or lemon juice in an ice cube tray and freeze it that way. Then I have 1.5T cubes of whatever, ready for a sauce or stock at a later time. I also whirr up basil, parsley or other selected herbs with olive oil and garlic, and freeze that in the ice tray for a bit of winter brightness.

Can you post a link to it?

I can't answer for the poster, but I can say that my cousin is allergic to corn syrup. She avoids it at all costs, now that she's identified it as the source of a lot of mysterious health problems. Avoiding corn syrup quite a challenge in this country, however.

That must have been quite a sight. I usually try to fly through the prime area as expeditiously as possible, to avoid a high-speed collision. Gliders are a bit slower, and on the occasions I've used raptors or gulls to help me find thermals they've usually vacated quickly. Something about a white bird with a 55' wingspan unnerved them, I suppose. John must have had a fine view. And yes, you really should look me up when the time comes. Regarding your further posts - something is strange with my formatting, so I won't quote the others: 1. What is a bio-dynamic farm? 2. Do you make your own Green Goddess dressing? If so - care to share the recipe? If not - which brand do you prefer? 3. (comment) I'm from California, and Miracle Whip was a staple around our household. At some point my tastes changed and I'm a mayonnaise fan now, but that doesn't change the beginning. It isn't a Midwestern Thang. 4. I'm sure others will be as interested as I in the specific adjustments to food that y'all have to make to keep your physiques on an even keel. You're off to a great start, and I'm looking forward to more! Finally, as to the full, overloaded bag with wonderful goodies: I can relate. I looove the farmer's market, with all its perils.

Greetings from Hawk Ridge, Minnesota! Actually, I just live near Hawk Ridge and have never participated in a count, but I have friends who do. Just tonight I learned that a young friend will be volunteering this year for the next 6 - 8 weeks. For myself, I've figured out that the migration has started, simply by the much-heightened number of kestrels I'm seeing, as well as (broad-wing?) hawks and, I swear, more peregrines than I remember seeing in a long time. I'm a casual observer, but I do not think the kestrel count is down around here. Food and librarians, eh? I never realized that! However, my only librarian friend (who lives near Princeton) is someone I met on another food forum. She could even be lurking here now. I just thought the food-library connection was random. I'm looking forward to this week, and to toast dope, and to making the most of summer produce. Here in Duluth we're nearing the end of summer already. Blog on, Suzi!

Cream cheese spread on a large flour tortilla, layers of thin-sliced salami or other cooked meats atop that, perhaps olive tapenade or other interesting sauce if it isn't too messy and doesn't interfere with final adhesion. Roll the whole lot up tightly into a sausage shape. Cut crosswise into bite-sized spirals. You can use any combination of spread that (a) fits the budget and (b) tastes good and © sticks together. That's where the cream cheese or neufchatel fits in. If it doesn't stay together you can secure it with toothpicks, but that takes more time and money.

Y'all have given me another excuse to freeze fruit during the summer, and another use for those cherries I pitted and froze earlier. Thanks for the inspiration!

If all else fails, it seems you can order it from Amazon.com and have it delivered. At the moment, your post has 2 flamingo-pink links that will take you to Amazon, and if you enter Amazon through such a link then eGullet will get a small donation for anything you order, regardless of whether it's food-related. What's really wierd is that "Diamond Crystal" is showing up as one of those links, but the result is not related to the salt you're after. I think these links come and go with the whim of the web crawler, so if you're wondering what I'm talking about, then click on this link to get to one of the Diamond Crystal table salt cylinders they offer. There are several different Diamond Crystal offerings in the gourmet foods section of Amazon, so check the area if this isn't the right one.

Way to go, Mitch! Thanks!

Do you suppose this is a case of "more than the market can bear"? I've been working on a theory that goes like this: 1. Excellent item gets noticed 2. Excellent item gets promoted 3. Many, many people want said excellent item 4. Not enough excellent item is available, so a substitute is brought in. 5. Substitute is sub-standard, but more people buy it for the name than those who refuse it for its poorer quality. Suppliers do just fine, thankyouverymuch. Just how much wild-caught salmon can the market bear, for instance? How about Parmeggiano-Reggiano? Truly fine peaches? Strawberries? At what point does the promotion outstrip the supply, and then what are the suppliers to do? I think, as a rule, they'll rely on lower-quality substitutes. I'm guessing that's what's happening with the tomatoes.

Oh, Maggie. I'm so sorry. I had no idea just how bad your "personal crap patch" has been. Maybe you have hit on the hidden benefit of the story. I'm betting that it won't be a permanent loss for you, but it may be a permanent gain for Megan. We don't get many of those in this world. Perhaps your mother is helping from afar, now that she's free of her pain. You've shown amazing strength and discipline, with keeping it together enough to do all that cooking and caretaking. You deserve rest and down time, and it may be that you *have* to do the downtime so Megan can find herself. Meanwhile, take a break. Allow yourself to rest. The enthusiasm will come back, but it takes a while. We had plenty of time to prepare when Dad was dying of cancer, and it was still hard when he actually left. Healing took a long time, and the tears still crop up at unexpected times. A couple of weekends ago I finally broke out the omelet pan that had been his father's favorite piece of camping cook gear, and for the first time I cooked potatoes and sausage in it. As I cooked, I thought about Papa, and Dad, and how that pan had been a fixture in my grandmother's kitchen. When Dad and Mom were downsizing and I claimed the pan, Dad told me of the camping trips he and Papa had made, and how it was a favorite camp pan, and how sooty it would be after days in the back country - and how angry Papa was when Nana reclaimed it for the kitchen and scrubbed off the soot. I cooked, and smiled, and was thankful for my family. I think the same time will come for you, in its own time and way. In the meantime, please accept my heartfelt condolences. You have the fire. It will come back. Just bank the coals for a while, and let Megan find her skill.

Wow, I feel like a celebrity! Roasted cauliflower and all its relations for me. Roasted asparagus is a regular household routine now. Drizzled with olive oil, with touches of salt, garlic, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice - oh, my. Fifi's gumbo. Braising, from the eGCI course. It's a technique rather than a recipe, but it opened worlds for me, including... Tagines. Foodman's samke harra, and pita.

I'm so glad you wrote that, Abra. I clearly wasn't thinking last night when I wrote that - or I wasn't thinking clearly. I add preserves lemons and/or olives to my tuna salads on a regular basis. Why I couldn't see it with fresh tuna is a mystery now.

Nery nice, but I notice that while they're offered in red or black, they only come in a right handed model? SB ← Not to harp on this, but I don't see why you couldn't use them with your left hand--just slide the locking mechanism with your index finger instead of your thumb. I just tried it, and though I am useless with my left hand, it worked just fine. ← That's what I'd do. I just always find it curious when companies forget that 10% of their customers are left-handed, but are considerate enough to offer a choice of colors? ← Perhaps, Steve, they just remember that lefties are generally more creative than righties. They can figger out another way better than most of us can imagine another color.

Welcome and thrice welcome to eGullet, Greg! Come on in and set a spell. First of all, your post came through just fine. I'm personally glad you picked this fine thread for your first post. Now that I've brought the Welcome Wagon™ out to meet you, I have to say that I've never tried slow-cooking fish in any vessel, so I can't be much help. I think that you'll need a sturdy fish so it doesn't fall apart too quickly. For instance: tuna or swordfish, yes; grouper no. I'm wondering at what stage you'll end up with a fish stew instead of just good fish. Have you tried slow-cooking fish before? If so, what did you cook and for how long? As for the seasonings - well, I can imagine a slow simmer (or tagine) of fish with preserved lemons and olives, and I'd think it would be pretty darned good. Somehow I don't imagine that going well with tuna, but I don't know sea fish well enough to come up with an alternative. (What fish need strong seasonings to be at their best?) I'm just thinking aloud, trying to come up with something useful. What about shrimp or mussels for this kind of treatment? Let's hope someone with experience pops up soon. They belong to eGullet; they just have to notice this thread. Meanwhile, stick around and keep on posting!

Over in a thread on lamb ribs, two fine cooks reverse the sequence of when they'd put the meat in the smoker. In that thread, Dave would smoke first, finish later; Chris is thinking to cook first, finish in the smoker. I've been wondering what difference the sequence makes, if at all. I haven't used my smoker enough to really know what I'm doing yet, and I haven't worked my way through the entire smoking thread. I have learned that smoke can be overdone. I'm planning to experiment as I can, but as of this week Northeastern Minnesota is under a complete burning ban. No charcoal fires, no wood fires, no blow torches unless you're within a mile of Lake Superior. (Those of you living with flood watches may marvel that we're in the worst drought since the 1930's.) I don't care to test our sheriff's vigilance quite yet. So.. help me out, here. If you aren't going to cook a piece of meat entirely in the smoker, when do you do the smoking? What are the considerations and tradeoffs? What experiments do you suggest for me, when I can get back to smoking?

I too am an enthusiastic gadget collector, although my enthusiasm is starting to decline as my drawers get more crammed. I've stayed out of the discussion about the stainless steel odor remover until now, because I personally haven't tried it. However, Fifi - may she rest in peace - thought it worked. Read about her stainless steel mushroom here. Hard-headed materials scientist and empiricist that she was, I've always thought there must be something to it after all. She even came up with a plausible explanation. Still...that roller looks like it would send bits of garlic shooting out in every direction. Nah...not for $19, not for $1.90.

I *think* Chistou is the brand and Istara is the type. I discovered Istara last year at my favorite local cheese shop when they were out of Manchego. They gave me a taste of Istara, saying it was similar although not the same. Since then I've spent precious time (and money) trying to decide, with no success, which I prefer. I like them both, very much. The local good grocery store has been expanding its cheese selection. Although the cheeses aren't as good as at the good cheese shop, the place is more conveniently located. I've seen Chistou Istara there. For what it's worth, when I've tried it, I haven't found it up to snuff, and I've begun to wonder whether it's really Istara, or whether I've gotten the type wrong all this time. Nonetheless, I think Istara is the type of cheese. If I'm wrong, then we'll both learn something!

What a great article! I just finished eating lunch and I'm hungry again, and regretting that I won't have time to smoke anything for a couple of weeks...and at that, it won't come close to what Brian's doing. I did pick up a couple of good pointers from the article, though. Brian sounds like a really nice guy as well as a talented chef. I hope his business does well. I wonder if he'd be a good candidate for the eGullet spotlight? Thanks for posting the link!

I've never even thought about pockets in an apron! Yet, looking at that Donna Reed link, I remember I used to see pockets on neighbors' aprons. (In our house, the aprons were strictly below-the-waist affairs, and I don't recall any pockets in them, though they did have rickrack.) Rickrack-trimmed aprons: now that takes me back. My aprons have more coverage but no towel loops or pockets. Pens etc. go in the Mason jar on the counter; towels lie on the counter or loop through the oven handle. Add me to the list of those who want to see your design, Maggie. And if it makes you feel any better, please accept my admiration for the phrase "personal crap patch". I plan to stuff it into my stock of fine phrases (right along with Fifi's "one-butt kitchen") and make it my own. Sorry you had reason to invent the term.

Lovely, lovely writing. Thanks for the update! There's a Trader Joe's in Minneapolis now? Since when? and where?

Uhm, OK, help me with the story, please! What happened? I take it the socks were dry? I haven't burned myself making caramel, but the first time I tried making it I found myself thinking "Funny, the instructions didn't describe these white streaks developing," and wondering why not, when I realized that my mother's spatula was getting shorter. I will never again make caramel without a silicone spatula, or a similarly heat-proof stirring utensil.

Nessa, it sounds like a fun party! I have to ask whether you mean YOU will be belly dancing all evening? If so, I see why you want not to be tired out from cooking! Linda, thanks for offering up that toum ou zeit recipe. I'm always on the lookout for more ways to try making what I know as toumeyya, so as to get as close as possible to my favorite restaurant version. That restaurant (a place in Cairo) uses an egg yolk in their toumeyya. Have you ever tried that? Or does that, in your opinion, change the nature of the dip too much?

Wow, that looks beautiful! It looks exactly as I'd imagined it - but I can see that the addition of brown sugar, corn syrup and chili sauce would all have helped a lot with making it sticky. Thanks for raising a great topic and showing the results!