Smithy

If it isn't inappropriate, I'd like to know how trash and garbage are handled there, as opposed to in the USA or (Klary?) the Netherlands. For instance: that chicken head that went into the bin. Do you have to worry about animals getting into the trash? (Does Beppo find any foodstuffs irresistable?) Is there recycling there? Composting? Have there been surprises for either of you? I admit, some of these questions have come from reading Abra's blog, so if it seems out of bounds, I apologize.

The light glows in your photos and words. Thank you all for this luminous blog. Thanks also for the early morning catnap photo of Beppo. Is there anything more peaceful and charming than a sleeping cat? That is the quintessence of relaxation and security. If I were to look at a map to see your location, where would I look? "The South of France" is pretty broad. I'd love to see, in my mind's eye, myself driving (or training) out through that lovely countryside. Oh, and just to get back to food for a moment - yes, I've been drooling - what does epoisses taste like? That oozy glorious-looking photo makes me want to try the cheese, but I confess not to being fond of stinky cheese.

Lovely, all of it: simply (or - whom am I kidding!? - not so simply) lovely. ...and despite having a houseful of cats and kittens right now, all charming and loving, I look at Beppo and melt. He looks so much like my Tab Hunter, gone this past spring to his final hunting ground. I do love tabbies.

You all are very fortunate, to have gotten together over there and be getting to know each other. It is OUR extraordinary good fortune that you're all such accomplished cooks, photographers and bloggers! This is a really fun blog. I like Klary's comment about keeping an open mind toward trying new dishes. I, too, might not have thought to try stuffing and boiling a chicken, but I will now. A question for y'all: after the chicken is cooked, do you then flake the meat off the bone? If so, what do you do with the skin? The wing in one of those photos doesn't look like something you'd serve intact.

Chris, I've never used a sieve one-handed, nor used one for sifting flour, so I may not be qualified to answer. Now that I've got that prevarication out of the way, I'll tell you what I think are the likely benefits: 1. The sieves I've seen have had a different geometry: either much wider and shallower (drum sieves) or, if you're including a standard strainer in the "sieve" category, almost hemispherical. Neither shape is as well-suited for rapid shaking of large volumes of material over a small area as the tall, narrow, nearly cylindrical shape of a sifter. My drum sieves might be good for shaking flour over a large bread-baking bowl, but if I tried to use one over my standard mixing bowl I'd have flour all over the counter. My strainers don't hold more than a cup of material at a time, and if I give one the same shaking motion that I can give my sifter I'll be spilling material over the top of the strainer, thereby bypassing the whole operation. 2. The Oxo to which I refer allows a very rapid hand motion, using only one hand. I think it must be because you're really shaking the internal scrapers (which are attached to the handle) instead of the entire mass of the sifter and flour; once you get going, the cylinder of the sifter doesn't move much. With a rigid sieve, you'll be moving the entire mass of flour and sieve; it's more tiring, and more prone to spillage. (If that doesn't make sense, ask - I'll restate, perhaps with some photos.) 3. I think the little scrapers atop the screen provide a bit better mechanical action than the simple friction of flour particles atop one another, as with a standard drum sieve or strainer. If nothing else they should break up some of the softer clumps that flour-on-flour friction wouldn't break. Edited for (I hope) clarity

I have the Oxo Good Grips sifter. I think it's terrific. I gave my mother one, back when she was still baking, and she also thought it was terrific. I like these things about it: 1. It doesn't tire out my hand, the way the squeezer-handle type did; the shaking back and forth is quite easy; 2. It doesn't require 2 hands, the way the hoop-and-crank sifter (our family heirloom) did; 3. It has lids for top and bottom, so it doesn't make messes when I store it. I do not find it slow. All these points have been brought up already. One thing that hasn't been mentioned before is that it really does have a comfortable grip. I think this particular Oxo Good Grip lives up to its name.

Let's see, I think I was about 40. I'd invited my adopted extended family over for Thanksgiving at my house: 670 square feet of house, 17 people for Thanksgiving dinner, no problem! I was elated. Until I realized, the day of the feast, that I knew how to cook a turkey but hadn't a clue how to make gravy. Fortunately, Joan and Kate were first to arrive. "Quick!" I urged, "help!" They came in, showed me their tried-and-true flour and water slurry method, and it worked like a charm. I love the slurry method and use it to this day. Oh, and the dinner? We had a great time. Folks sat on the couch, the piano bench, at the table, at a card table...afterward, we chatted and played piano and sang while the kids played in a bedroom, and the dog kept making the rounds to be petted. After everyone left, I found small-child handprints in unlikely places: on the walls below the bed level, and on the ceiling above the bed. Clearly, the kids had a great time as well.

If I were one of those guests, I'd be extremely pleased to take some of those interesting ingredients. And then said interesting ingredients would be there in MY pantry, adding to the clutter. Why, even as I write I have a package of apricot paste and a jar of home-cured olives from friends who were clearing out their kitchen prior to remodeling, about a year ago. My pantry and cupboards have overflowed with chickpea flour, home-made jellies, Trader Joe's condiments, dried chilis that looked interesting for which I had no specific use in mind, various vinegars and oils and barley flour and nuts and noodles and canned goods and bagged goods and.... Then there are the ingredients and condiments that we do use, which we stock up on when we can. (In truth, most Trader Joe's condiments fall into this category.) Everything's muddled together in there. I've thought about starting a topic titled "Pantry roulette: help me use up this stuff!" or making it the theme of a foodblog. Every once in a while we'll start working our way down through the mess, but just as we're making progress we'll go away on a trip and find more exotic ingredients. I really like the idea of the crate on the counter! ETA: Expiration dates? Not to worry, Peter. Some of us don't bother looking at them.

Holy smokes, that's a lotta stuff! I'm looking forward to seeing the 10 dishes you make with it. I'm enjoying your blog, and glad to see you back online. What certain birds or certain seafood is excluded from Halal cookery, do you know? I knew about the pork, but clearly, I have more to learn.

The kitchen is beautiful! Congratulations! I would watch TV in the kitchen more if I had a small TV and a place to put it - and yes, sometimes I roll the spare TV and VCR on their cart into the kitchen. The set are too large and intrusive to leave in the kitchen, and too cumbersome to roll back and forth for only an evening, so most of my late-night cleanup relies instead on a portable DVD player or music. Will you be sacrificing vital counter space if you put a TV in? Are you considering an under-the-counter model?

That is too funny. We have a chowcat in the house, but as far as I can tell I'm the only resident who likes olives. I like the photomontage!

I've thoroughly enjoyed the photos - of wonderful pets, fine foods, excellent cooking - as well as the writeups. I am agog at Corti's, and envious of the Farmer's Market. It reminds me anew, as if I needed reminding, just how short the growing season is out here compared to there. (It IS too bad the Meyer Lemon seller picked so many lemons still green.) Thanks for giving us such a good pictorial glimpse into the Atkins lifestyle. Thanks for doing such a lovely blog!

Thanks for your prompt and informative responses! With regard to the potato gratin recipe, I found it while you were answering my questions. Here's a link to Potato Gratin with Porcini Mushrooms and Mascarpone Cheese, on Epicurious.com. Thanks again!

Now that I'm catching up from our Thanksgiving runaround, I have a few comments and questions. First, THANK YOU for showing the source of your potato mushroom recipe. That does look to die for, and I'll be looking around to see if I can get that magazine and/or the recipe. Perhaps it's on Bon Appetit's web site. Second, I want to congratulate you on being able to type at all, much less post so coherently and with such lovely photos. If I'd helped polish off that many bottles of wine, I'd have a hangover the size of Tennessee 2 days later. It sure looked like fun, though, and the table setting was gorgeous. You keep talking about ketosis and wanting to stay in it. This is something I've read before about Atkins, and it puzzles me. Back in my first-responder days, ketosis (there may have been a modifying term that I've forgotten) was a clue that somebody's body chemistry was way out of whack - like they were going into shock, or pushing the envelope of a diabetic problem, or - I've forgotten what it meant except that it was really very NOT good. And I could smell it on the victim's breath. Yet ketosis seems to be what you're shooting for with Atkins. How are the two phenomena different? Do you know? We're toying with the idea of adding a kitchen island for the sake of counter space. Yours looks great. My question is whether I'll be sorry to forever have something I have to go around; right now we have an open floor. You noted that you love the counter space. What's your take on the island vs. floor space tradeoff? Fridge shots and animal shots - oh, my! What a happy lot you seem to have around! And I'm glad you didn't try to clean out the fridge first. Those shots give me an inferiority complex. Finally: was that a bottle of Davis Bynum wine I saw peeking out in one of the drawers? I love their stuff. Edited to add: The recipe IS on Epicurious.com!

What a cool tour! I would NOT have guessed that Lodi grapes contribute to some of the Napa or Sonoma wines. Thanks! - even though I've now got John Fogerty's voice stuck in my head. Again. Oh, Lord.

I'll be really interested in what you have to say about Lodi wines. The place is so doggoned hot in the summer, I have trouble imagining them producing anything better than cheapo-jug wines, like what Gallo made when I was growing up. If the wineries you tour today have anything to say about special considerations for summer heat, I hope you'll include that information. I'm looking forward to your photos. Blue valley skies can be a wonderful thing, especially if you have to contrast them with the usual Valley tule fog. Have you had much of that yet? There was a humdinger in Fresno a couple of weeks back. Your food photos are wonderful. I commend the designer on the layout of the raw ingredients! Oh, and avocado on chili looks like a fine idea.

Ah, what a great blog. I LOVE Lava Cap's wines! I wish I could find them more often out this way. My sister brought a bottle of their pinot noir for Christmas one year, and it was a rare treat, showing me how wonderful pinto noir can be. I haven't been able to find it since. What is it about Cakebread's chardonnays that you like? I've pretty much given up on that wine, but maybe there's one out there worth trying. Animal count presently 3 adult cats, 5 kittens, and a large and boisterous Siberian Husky. I'm so glad to see someone else share the enthusiasm. And isn't it really just the case that cats will wake up at the odd times? I think they do it to make sure we know who's the boss. Oh, and - well, In-n-Out Burgers are a fine treat. They're even better if someone else is eating them. I may just have to try this low-carb thing, so I can eat In-n-Out without guilt.

That's valuable information, zoe b. Thanks for the update, and congratulations!

Greetings from one Valley Girl to another! I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley, which is the bottom half of that grand Central Valley you live in, and your photos look a lot like "home". Tell me, do you live close to the river? That architecture, with its evocative name, suggests that you do. Flooding used to be a huge issue, up and down the valleys, and your house predates the aggressive dam building that changed the state's water flows. What crops do you especially like to get locally, if any? If there are farmers' markets still going this late in the year, I'd love to see what's growing there now. Are there local fruits that you don't do because of Atkins? And yes, please do post better photos of the water tower! And the local markets!

Nawal Nasrallah's book, Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine, describes Pasha as "Head, Tripe and Trotters" of a sheep. She gives detailed descriptions of the meticulous cleaning needed for each of those items before they're boiled along with things like onion, garlic, chickpeas and seasonings. After it's all cooked, the meat is layered in a bowl with bread, broth, chickpeas, dried lime or lemon, and drizzled with yogurt sauce, or oil, or.... (The list goes on, and it sounds like it varies with the cook's preferences.) All in all the finished dish sounds like a fattah, but with those critical sheep parts providing the meat. Does that sound like the pasha of your notes?

Anna, I think the relatively short shelf life is probably due to loss of flavor rather than food safety. As you note, vinegar - even balsamic - is likely to provide pretty good protection against bacteria. I think what's most likely to happen is that the fruit will lose its bright flavor as the flavor elements start to break down, possibly in the first stages of fermentation. I would leave it and keep checking, and figure I'll know when the flavor starts to fade... but then, if it does go off, I might be kicking myself for letting it go too long. The deglazing liquid idea above sounds like a good way to hedge your bets for some of the vinegar.

Yes to all the suggestions above - the precautions, the herbs (including Herbes de Provence). And yes, photos, please!

That's a good size for a French oven, and the LC looks to be in good shape. That particular blue is one of my favorites, so that's another point in its favor. As for whether it's worth it - well, you might be able to do better if you looked around a while longer, but you might not. I think I've spent about as much on some of my smaller used pieces. I was lucky enough at the time to think that $50 for high-quality cookware is worth it. How's that for a definitive answer?

I'm with you on the unimportance of political boundaries with regard to cuisine. (Call me a cockeyed optimist, or a wild idealist, but I love seeing that some things can be shared without conflict.) However, I'm glad Archestratus noted some actual distinctions above. Most of my friends have as vague a concept of "Middle Eastern" food as I, but I'd hate to confuse someone who would otherwise know better. I'm also glad to know what happened to "The Near East". My mother used to use that term, and I've been wondering lately where it got to. Speaking of corrections, I'm glad you mentioned The Arab Table. By the time I realized I'd misspelled Ms. Bsisu's name, it was too late to edit my post. This topic is really turning up some interesting-sounding books. There are some I hadn't heard of that I'm looking forward to trying, even as my bookshelves groan under my new acquisitions. You've given me some recommendations above for where to start with the Egyptian book. I've eyeballed the cauliflower salad, but haven't tried it yet.