Smithy

My wand blender has a stationary casing on the outside, reaching down to below the blade level, with side cuts to allow liquid in and out. The blade can't touch anything except the material that comes in through the side windows. I wouldn't hesitate to use this blender in any container. I would be sure to hold the glass in question, though, to make sure I didn't send it flying across the room.

Without having smoked food with it I can't be sure, but I can attest that the aroma from an orangewood fire is a wonderful thing. Go for it. It *gutted* me to have to leave a pile of such wood in the back yard of our old place, in central California where there are burn restrictions, with no economical way to get it up here to northern Minnesota where we could use the fuel.

I ate at the Blue Lion last year and posted about it here. I thought it was very good and very expensive. An off-season deal sounds pretty nice. I don't know about the other places you mention, and you've gotten a lot more help from the others. I will add, however, that the Snake River Brewing Company puts out very nice beer. We didn't eat at the restaurant but we got some of their beer - and then went out and bought more to bring home. As for breakfast - late or early - we ate at the restaurant associated with the motel we stayed at in town. I forget its name now, but it's right on the main highway coming through town. The motel buildings look more or less like bunkhouses, low-slung and strung along the river. The restaurant is closer to the road, has a deck and indoor dining and a 50's motif. Seems like the service was a bit slow sometimes but the food was fine. Sorry I can't remember the name.

I just looked at the prog charts for Friday. High pressure bubble coming down from Pam R's way. Cold, clear. Bring warm clothes, and bring on the soup! Better still - bring chili, shredded cheese, crackers, beer, sour cream. What could be bad? I am not suggesting that you eat this in the car, of course. But by the time y'all saw your way in past the fallen trees, you'll need something warm.

I don't know about that particular bee, but I do know there are bee keepers down your way - or at least, there used to be. You might be able to pursuade someone to bring a hive out your way for a while. On a side note, I remember last year reading about bee rustlers, of all things, up in the Central Valley! Congratulations, Kathy! I'd forgotten you were moving, although it was much-discussed in your last blog. How great that you've found a good gardening place.

Not only a record-breaking ice-out, but the earliest leaves I've ever seen here. I have NEVER seen the trees break out in leaf before mid-May, and the woods already have the watercolor wash. Excellent choice, even if it does snow tonight. (I think they're wrong, FWIW.) I've already picked off the first tick of the season. Tuna sandwiches for the drive north? I'm on a tuna salad kick right now. I like Marlene's ideas, too. Fried chicken, or rotisserie chicken; devilled eggs; lots of bananas.

YESSS! Your blog is still open! I've been catching up and having such a grand time with this lovely blog. Thank you for answering my question about slicing the waffel to put the stroop in. It sounds like something beyond my skills - and anyway, I don't have the waffel maker, so I'll just have to enjoy them when I can buy them. Some final thoughts and comments from here: Leidse kaas (cheese from Leiden) is another name for cumin cheese. They come in different ages, from very young and buttery to old, salty and crumbly. Then there's a cheese made in Friesland, nagelkaas, which is studded with either cloves, or cloves and cumin. ← I love cumin cheese. I've had it mixed in with cheddar. I've never had other types. There's something for me to look for. This insight is as true as a plumb-bob. My knowledge of food, and cookery, and little cultural things from all over the world, have expanded tremendously thanks to the web and places like eGullet. I'm so grateful for all the participation, and this week, I'm very grateful that you, Klary, have taken the trouble to invite us into your life. I was determined to have some fun myself this time. The dinner for Dennis was more hard work, than fun. It's interesting though. While that dinner was impressive, and guests were impressed, and I was proud of myself because of the achievement, I think at the end of the day, both I, the guests and Dennis will say they prefer the less ambitious gatherings like the one we had last night. Something to think about... ← Here is another truth that I need to take more to heart. I get all kerfuffled over trying to do elaborate feasts and not having the time or organizational skills, yet we seem to have a better time with the less formal operations. Thank you for pointing this out. A cream cheese layer in the brownies is yet one more thing I've never tried, and will have to try doing! But I'll have to be sure not to eat the trimmings unless I want to buy a new wardrobe. Happy birthweek, Klary, and thank you yet again. Here's wishing you many more years of looking fabulous in a black dress, and may you have many more years of agreeable messes.

Klary, I've been away from the computer several days, and missed most of the blog. Logging on tonight, back home again, I see shots of canals! thank you for that! and comments from people drooling over a birthday dinner that I haven't seen yet! and your rat returned! (I am so very glad your blog doesn't have to mark that particular sorrow) and so many good things...I wonder if I could find smoked eel around here? I'll be so glad to catch up, and so sorry I won't be able to comment on it or ask questions. The beginning and end of the blog are lovely, and I look forward to catching up on the middle. Thank you so much for showing us your world!

Agreed - I did a double-take (double-read?) when I saw that. It must be especially difficult if the waffle is hot off the iron and still a little bendy. ← I wonder about that. Perhaps the waffel is more like a pita, with a hard surface and edge, and soft inside? Then it would just be a matter of slicing the perimeter so that the soft interior would split. Klary, do you know? If you don't know, maybe you can go back and visit that cute guy again and ask him. Thanks for the harbor shot. I've seen that view, out the back of the station, but never taken the ferry. I always assumed it would take too much time.

Oh, this made me laugh! I go exactly the opposite way: start out with grandiose plans, then as the time approaches and reality sets in, find myself scaling back. I've never quite ended up serving crackers and cheese as the dinner party, but I can imagine it. I admire your gumption in adding more!

...and following up on that, I hope someone will explain where clabber fits into the mix, as in clabbered milk or clabbered cream. (I can still hear my grandmother saying "it clabbered my guts when I saw you up that tree!" but I'm not talking about clabbered guts! ) I think clabber is closely related to creme fraiche. It might even be exactly the same thing, echoed across the pond. But I'm not sure. And is clabber just thickened milk, or the beginning of sour milk?

Yay, Klary, you're blogging again! Add my thanks to the others' thanks - I love your posts and photography, complete with recipes over on the Dutch cooking thread. It's neat that you take the trouble to celebrate an entire birthweek. Thanks for sharing it with us! Nobody has mentioned the waterfronts yet. When I think of Amsterdam I think of the canals and the harbor. Are the canals only near the central part? Are you near there? Some water shots would be nice. I'm fascinated by the old (older than this country) houses along the canals, complete with tilting facades in some cases. I don't know whether you're anywhere near there, though. At any rate - whatever you choose to show us during this birthweek will be charming. It already is.

That's beautiful. I love the extravagant growth of ramp leaves, compared to their cultivated cousins. It's even prettier in the woods, judging by your photos. What kind of soil and conditions do they like? I understand they grow in northern Minnesota but I'm not sure where in the forest to look (high and dry? swampy? sun?). I haven't gotten around to asking our local extension agent yet.

How about creamed eggplant? Basically, you make a bechamel sauce and mix that roasted eggplant (with a bit of lemon and salt) into it, then stir until the eggplant "melts" into the sauce (that step still amazes me), add grated kasseri cheese, and stir all until creamy. It's wonderful, with or without spiced lamb stew over the top. You can see photos and discussion of the process, interspersed with discussion about the lamb dish and other extraneous items in this post from my food blog. Scroll about halfway down that post until you see the eggplant, then you'll know you're in the right area. Edited for spelling.

A sorrel risotto, eh? What a timely suggestion that is: even as we type, there's a risotto cookoff under way. I'm so glad that sometime I have the good sense to print out a recipe and save it someplace where I can find it again. The recipe for Pecan-Crusted Salmon with Sorrel Sauce is on Epicurious' web site. The recipe was originally printed in Bon Appetit. Cook's note: An immersion blender is a wonderful tool for this sauce.

That's funny. The first time I made this at home I used pita bread, fried crisp. This time around I actually read the directions and tried something with more body, as I'm pretty sure shamy bread is a thicker flatbread than the Egyptian baladi (pita). Both versions came out pretty well as far as texture goes, but you're right that it makes a difference. I don't know how this is served outside restaurants, as that's the only place I've ever had it. There, it's in smaller bowls for an individual serving, but yes, they're deep-ish. I do think there's a bit less sauce over everything in the restaurant version, and I know it's runnier. Again I think that's because I baked it to warm everything. Next time we go (insha allah) I absolutely must not be dissuaded from ordering this again, just because we ate too many appetizers!

That's the recipe I referred to up here in my earlier post. My link goes to The Splendid Table's recipe files, which carry Lynne's "adaptation" (I don't know that that means) of Jerry's recipe. I'm glad this got bumped up, too. I hadn't seen it the first time around. Rampaging sorrel, eh? I'm just pleased to have something that will overwinter without having to be brought inside.

It works well in a panade, too. You don't have to do anything except tear our the biggest veins if the leaves are big, and the army drab color isn't an issue.

I'm envious that y'all are talking about sorrel already. The snow is just now gone from my flower bed. I am seeing chives, at least, so there's hope. I hadn't thought of cutting the whole thing down in the summer; I'm so terrified I'll lose it all. Maybe I'll try that this year. I generally use sorrel in sauces to go over things like pecan-crusted salmon, or sauteed chicken. The salmon recipe isn't mine but it's a fine treatment, both of salmon and sorrel, with the one drawback that the sorrel turns that dreadful army drab color. One could probably garnish with something brighter green to make it look better. The flavor is terrific. I'll look around and see if I can find that recipe link. As I remember my chicken goes something like this: brown chicken pieces in a pan with oil and garlic; remove the chicken briefly; deglaze the pan with a neutral white wine; add cream and chopped sorrel; return the chicken to the pan, cover and cook until done (turning periodically); at the last, uncover the pan to reduce the sauce until it's the consistency you want. Add seasonings as you like. I'm always throwing nuts into things like this. The chicken should be well coated with the sauce, but there should also be extra sauce for the serving. Serve with (in our house, that means "over") rice. I did learn last summer that if you're using big leaves you really need to devein them for this recipe. I chopped whole leaves and ended up with little tight spiky tubes where the veins had curled in on themselves during the sauce cooking portion. Bits of sorrel chopped into a salad are great. Somewhere on this forum, Andiesenji posted a sorrel soup recipe. Sorrel and fish, sorrel and chicken, sorrel and eggs are all good combinations. Sorrel and cream are downright synergistic. Hmm. So far I haven't found the pecan-crusted salmon with sorrel sauce recipe, but here's another fine-sounding recipe: Smoked Salmon Benedict with Sorrel Sauce. Bless Lynne Rosetto Kaspar, she's the one who turned me onto sorrel in the first place.

That's excellent news! Thanks for the update!

*bump* OK, I've figured out how to do the fatta shamy and show it, without violating copyright issues. I've done the work. I've recovered enough to post about it. I am not an efficient cook, but even having done it recently and been able to plan it better, this was a big undertaking. I've decided that it's either something for a big party, or better still, something that several people work to made...like the village operation DianaBuja mentioned upthread. Fatta Shamy - my interpretation of the recipe printed in Flavors of Egypt: from City and Country Kitchens, © 1992, Susan Torgersen. This particular recipe is credited to Hella Hashem. The writeup, interpretations, comments and photos (and errors!) are mine. This is a layered dish with several separate components. I'm going to describe it that way, with photos as necessary, instead of in the usual recipe fashion. 1. Boil a chicken. This will produce a chicken's worth of cooked meat and broth. You'll need all the meat and some of the broth. The recipe calls for cooking the chicken with an onion and a bouillion cube added for flavor. The recipe goes into more detail about the process, but most people here know how to boil a chicken and separate the cooked meat. Save the meat and the broth (separately); dispose of the skin and bones. I defatted the broth as a matter of routine, but it doesn't actually say to do that. 2. Cook up some rice, unless you have some leftover rice from another dinner. You only need a cup's worth. 3. Dice some bread and fry it in butter. The recipe calls for 2 shamy breads, broken into medium-sized pieces. (I'm fuzzy on how big a shamy bread is, and I didn't want to make any, so I cut 4 or 5 leftover dinner rolls into chunks for this step.) Set the fried bread chunks aside on paper towels to drain. 4. Slice 2 medium onions into thin slices. Fry them in oil until golden brown. Set them aside on paper towels to drain. 5. Another layer is made of 5 thin green peppers and 4 -5 tb chopped garlic. I confess, I substituted thin green onions for the peppers. I must not have been reading well at the time. Anyway, what you do is you chop them finely then mash them together with a bit of salt until you have small pieces, but not a paste. I used a food chopper for this step. I feel really silly that I read "green peppers" as "green onions". 6. Finally - and what started this whole conversation - you make the sauce. Here are the raw ingredients for the sauce: 5 tbsp tahina, 1/4 c. vinegar, 4 - 5 lemons, salt and cumin to taste, and 3 c. yogurt. The instructions say you mix the tahina, vinegar, juice of 4 lemons, 1/2 c. water, and mix well, adding more water if necessary. The mixture should be thick. Then add salt, cumin, and more lemon or vinegar, to taste. The instructions caution that there should be enough lemon for you to taste it at this point, because the yogurt still has to be added. Then you start adding yogurt. There's an interesting instruction that says you keep adding yogurt (mixing well as you go) until you can't tell whether the sauce is brown or white. Here's my photo of the mixing process: OK, so now here are the layers, ready for assembly: Fried bread, caramelized onions, heated broth, cooked chicken, tahina/yogurt sauce, rice. I forgot to include the peppers and garlic in this photo. Start layering as follows: Bread, dipped in hot broth, and layered on the bottom of the pot Cooked chicken next Sprinkle with the garlic/peppers (I cannot *believe* I misread that as onions! That explains a lot!) Tahina sauce next Fried onions on top of that Then the layer of rice, and another layer of tahina sauce. Garnish the whole with chopped parsley. (Oh yes, that's another layer.) What's especially interesting about this is that there's no indication that it's supposed to be cooked afterward. I did cook it at about 325*F until it had set and all the layers were warmed through, since the chicken had spent a night or two in the refrigerator by then. I garnished it with parsley after it came out of the oven. As I look over both my fatta shamy recipes, I see that neither seems to indicate cooking the final assembly. You cook the layers, you throw them together, you eat. How one does all those steps before the chicken gets cold is beyond me. That's why I think this must be a group project. Anyway, here's what the finished dish looked like this time around, after cutting into it so the layers could be seen: The flavor was not as good as the last time I made it. The tahina sauce steps threw me: I added water, then realized the whole sauce should be thick, so added a lot more tahina to thicken it up, then added lemon until I could well and truly taste the lemon. I gave up on adding enough yogurt "until I could no longer distinguish whether it was white or brown" because I was about to overflow the bowl and I was out of yogurt. I think I shouldn't have added the water in the first place (I didn't, the first time around) because the brand of tahina I used is runny anyway. The lemon and tahina flavors shouted down the yogurt as a result. Still...with salt, or extra yogurt on the cooked dish, the strong tahina and lemon flavor is tamed, and the dish is good. I think it would be better if I'd used green peppers instead of green onions; those are pretty strong. Actually, I think last time around I used red bell peppers and liked those immensely. Compared to the restaurant fatta I've had in Cairo, this was firmer. That may be because they really toss everything together while it's hot and don't cook it afterward. I wish I'd had it this last year so I had a more recent memory. So, there you have it. It's a good dish, but the more I read this recipe the more I think I've taken accidental liberties and not done it properly. Even done properly it would be a LOT of steps. Still - it's worth it for the right crowd. We've certainly been enjoying the leftovers. I'd appreciate comments (polite and helpful, if you please) from anyone who knows how this dish is usually made. Anyone else is free to ask questions or provide suggestions. Oh, and I apologize for the size of the photos. I thought I'd saved them to a smaller size. At least they aren't huge pixel-wise, so maybe they won't take too long to load.

Snowangel, I'm so jealous. I made a special trip into town today, thinking they must surely have arrived at the Whole Foods Coop by now. No such luck. The produce manager said a couple of weeks ago that they were due - just about now - with my luck, it'll be while we're out of town.

Yah. You get the feeling that they're really, really unhappy with the product? I wonder if FireSlate's customer service has started paying attention yet.

I'd have explained about the flame temperature being much lower than the teflon breakdown temperature, but jsolomon beat me to it. I keep a pan lid on hand for fire control, rather than a wet towel. Slapping the lid on the pan if the flames get too high is a bit less messy and at least as effective.

Well, you could try starting such a thread. There's a thread titled FREE cookbooks, if you want to add to your collection that has worked more or less like that. It wasn't as active as some of us expected, but it's still helped a number of cookbooks find good homes.