Smithy

What timely advice, and I thank you. My mid-sized tomato plant (Totem) has been doing well, and it's trimming its leaves all by itself. The cherry tomato (Patio) plant and the big tomato plant (variety forgotten) are trying valiantly but the fruit hasn't started blushing yet. It was 39F in Hibbing last night, but only down to the 50's in Duluth.

KitKats lack caramel and are crunchy all the way through, whereas Twix have a caramel layer that provides textural contrast. KitKat layers are thin wafers interleaved like the layers of a dobosch torte. Twix have only one layer of each component. Although there is a distinct split in the KitKat, it's still all one candy bar. Twix are two separate coated bars in one package, resulting in a higher surface:volume ratio. Since Nestle makes KitKat and Mars makes Twix there may be a difference in the chocolate, but I can't swear to it.

quelle nightmare ← sounds like something that would obliterate the lingering aftertaste of the zone bar. ← I should think so. It's a pair of layered skinny candy bars, each roughly the size and shape of a finger or a fat short stick: crispy cookie layer on the bottom, with, er, nougat I think as the next layer, then a caramel layer, and the whole wrapped in milk chocolate. Definitely not a high-class dessert, but one of the few candy bars in which I indulge now and then. I tell myself I'm only hungry for a bit, so one bar will serve. Then, somehow, the packet of two disappears.

When I can get to Minneapolis I go to Sindbad's on South Nicollet Avenue. It's been the only place I could find Egyptian domiata (domti) cheese this side of the Atlantic. I can usually find sumac, z'atar, blocks of tamarind and various interesting-looking things that I haven't tried yet. Cub Foods in Duluth is starting to carry freekeh, pomegranate molasses, and other odds and ends in their Ethnic Foods (or do they call it World Foods) section, so our local choices are growing. For the best and freshest spices I still go to the Whole Foods Coop in Duluth, but I haven't found sumac, z'atar or tamarind there. Nor have I found those at the Oriental Grocery in Duluth, but I've found enough other surprises that I'm moving them up on my food radar for visits.

I rendered another batch this weekend, and wonder whether I overcooked it. Although my thermometer never indicated higher than 207F, the alarm (set at 220F) kept beeping at me. The drained, clarified lard has a slight golden tone. After I drained and strained that lard (cheesecloth in a chinoise) I put the strained material back in the pot and did quite a bit more cooking before I got cracklings. The lard strained from that batch is a bit darker, but still more gold than brown. My previous batch of lard (first attempt) was snowy white, and when I'd first started this batch the spoon drippings were clear to white. Did I overcook? A little, a lot?

Sorry, the microwave position makes no sense to me. You now have it next to the fridge and about as far as possible from the range and oven. I may have missed why it went there, and maybe it would work for you, but (looking at this the way I cook) I'd be crisscrossing the room all the time or, more likely, not using the microwave much. Right about now you may appreciate a story I heard recently from an airplane designer. I was complaining about the location of a temperature probe in the airframe. He sighed and said the design group had had weeks of meetings about that. One person would say "put it here" and another would say "no, you can't, there's a door post in the way". Another spot was suggested and rejected, and so on. Finally they came up with a spot that, in his words, "only a radio engineer could love". It really helps that you've put labels on everything! I've been having trouble tracking what appliance was where. Are you planning to use the corner recesses (atop the cabinets) for storage of things you want out, or do you plan that to be work surface? I use my corner cabinet top for work surface because it's close to my sink, but I find that the recesses are wasted because they're too deep. They're useful for storage, though.

Heh. I understand all about cats and cupboard tops. A few times we've discovered a fondue pot or some tippy thing sitting askew, up near the ceiling, with never an earthquake to explain it. It hasn't happened for several months, so maybe the kittens have grown out of it...or else they're expending all that energy outside. We'll find out come winter, when they're inside all day looking for amusement. Varmint, my poor innocent, those spaces atop the cabinets are perfect for serving trays, oddball utensils that you rarely use and don't want cluttering up your lovely storage drawers, or last year's tax return that you can no longer find. You're too organized by half, mate.

THIS may have been covered upthread too, as I've been in and out of this thread too much to have good recollection, but keep in mind the possibility of cabinets that don't go to the ceiling, but with no soffits. My husband and I store some of our more decorative plates, bowls, pots up there - not to mention the stockpots, that would take too much cabinet space. With the stepstool we can get at them easily, but we think they really add to the look of our kitchen. I'm pretty sure we'll make sure to keep that open space if we ever get around to remodeling our kitchen. I'm with you on marble. Too soft, too vulnerable to acid. Granite, though - that would be fun.

Our leftovers from my first attempt sat around in the refrigerator for at least a week. I remembered being disappointed in the fish itself, although not the sauce. My husband had claimed to like it all, with no disappointment, but somehow he never quite got to those leftovers. Finally I decided that the last filet would have to be sacrificed to the garbage, for health considerations. I hate throwing food away, but it seemed inevitable. I opened the container. I took a sniff. It smelled good. Nothing appeared to be growing. I took a taste of the sauce. Tasted darned good. I took a small spoonful of the fish. Hmm...nothing off about that! I took the leftovers to work that day and ate them, rewarmed, for lunch. If anything it was better than the original. The fish tasted wonderful - none of that "old" flavor I'd noted before, and plenty of lovely spice. I am DEFINITELY going to make this again. I may even try marinading the fish in the red spicy sauce for a day first, just to give it all a chance to meld!

Our leftovers from my first attempt sat around in the refrigerator for at least a week. I remembered being disappointed in the fish itself, although not the sauce. My husband had claimed to like it all, with no disappointment, but somehow he never quite got to those leftovers. Finally I decided that the last filet would have to be sacrificed to the garbage, for health considerations. I hate throwing food away, but it seemed inevitable. I opened the container. I took a sniff. It smelled good. Nothing appeared to be growing. I took a taste of the sauce. Tasted darned good. I took a small spoonful of the fish. Hmm...nothing off about that! I took the leftovers to work that day and ate them, rewarmed, for lunch. If anything it was better than the original. The fish tasted wonderful - none of that "old" flavor I'd noted before, and plenty of lovely spice. I am DEFINITELY going to make this again. I may even try marinading the fish in the sauce for a day first, just to give it all a chance to meld!

Our leftovers from my first attempt sat around in the refrigerator for at least a week. I remembered being disappointed in the fish itself, although not the sauce. My husband had claimed to like at all, with no disappointment, but somehow he also never quite got to those leftovers. Finally I decided that the last filet would have to be sacrificed to the garbage, for health considerations. I opened the container. I took a sniff. It smelled good. It looked okay - no visible growth. I took a taste of the sauce. Tasted darned good. I took a small spoonful of the fish. Hmm...nothing off about that! I took the leftovers to work that day and ate them, rewarmed, for lunch. If anything it was better than the original. The fish tasted wonderful - none of that "old" flavor I'd noted before, and plenty of lovely spice. I am DEFINITELY going to make this again. I may even try marinading the fish in the sauce for a day first, just to give it all a chance to meld!

Ah, that pretty much describes the ones we get here. I was thinking of the lovely specimens you get at kiosks in Germany around late may early June. The ones in the states aren't even improved by roasting. ← Behemoth, are you saying you don't ever get local strawberries? We do up here in Duluth and along the South Shore of Lake Superior. They're tender and tasty, and almost as good as the strawberries one can get in California from the local stands (but not the grocery stores). Adam, it has never occurred to me to roast strawberries. Do you do a fairly hot fast roast, or at more of a medium heat? I'd like to try that with our supermarket rubbishy offerings, which are no better than the ones you and Behemoth describe. I too am enjoying your blog far too much to see it stop. Your creativity and language make for a wonderful read.

I rendered a bunch of leaf lard from a hog we bought and had butchered to specs. There was so much leaf lard in that bag, I still wonder whether we got the unclaimed fat from other people's hogs too. At any rate, it's lovely stuff but I'm still getting used to using it, and don't always think to do so.

Is that bottle on the right really "green zaatar", or (more likely) am I reading it wrong? What does it taste like, and how would one use it? I think of zaatar as a dry mix.

Wish I could be there for that cotton-pickin' pig-pickin'. Meanwhile, I think I'll have to try the little fried wheeeels(!) With all this fuss, there must be something to the little slimy devil... but Egyptian bamya sure didn't cut it.

The fish looks wonderful, but since others have commented I'll ask about the lamb, which also looks promising. How long did you cook the stuffing mixture, and why? To soften the tomatoes and get it all to mix properly? What will you use to braise the rolled lamb? I can't wait to see how it looks when finished.

I have 2 nesting melamine bowls with nonskid rings, handles and pour spouts as discussed above. I have nesting stainless bowls with lids. I have the white glass (Pyrex?) mixing bowls from an old mixer. I also have a large shallow stainless bowl perfect for large tossed salads or for mixing bread dough, and a similarly-sized glass bowl that came in an insulated carrying case, that gets similar mixing use. All types have their places, but if I had to keep just one set it would be the glass mixing bowls. They can be microwaved (unlike the melamine or stainless), they can be covered and refrigerated, and they're the heaviest and most stable. Unlike the melamine or stainless, these glass bowls are heavy enough that I can be beating or stirring with one hand and adding ingredients with the other, without no need for a third hand to hold the bowl in place. The melamine bowls rotate on their bases when I'm doing that, and the stainless bowls are so light that they not only rotate, they can tip over. (Note that I don't have the heavy stainless bowls to which Andie refers. If I did, my opinion might be different.) I've seen advertised a glass batter bowl with a handle and pour spout like the melamine. That might be the best of all worlds, but I don't know how well it nests.

How do the commercial purveyors get wild game? Do they employ their own hunters and shooters? Are there commercial hunters and shooters, so to speak? Or do the locals bring in their bag and sell it?

I'm glad I finally got over here to check out this piece, Andy; it's a fine piece of work. You've brought to mind my schoolmate, Verna, our resident JW. Like you, she suffered being different - the refusal to salute the flag or celebrate holidays or birthdays, the too-long skirts. (Oh, you didn't have to wear long skirts? ) I didn't realize she had dietary restrictions on top of the rest. We'd long since lost touch by 1975, so I was also unaware of that apocolyptic shedule. I've often wondered what happened to her. What did your mother do with all those cans of ham and beans?

Maybe the picture isn't very good in showing what's going on. They roast naked, so you invoke a direct poke. ← Pardon, my stupidity was showing.

The heathens! I'm glad somebody gets to partake of the bounty, but...but...what are these people thinking, that they don't want their catch? Why bother going out?! ← Sometimes, the meaning is in the doing, no? How many times have you prepared something for a meal that wasn't lauded in proportion to the effort expended to produce it? You have to take you satisfaction from the craft of preparation, don't you? I believe that if you take a fish from the sea, it's your responsibility to make sure it's consumed -- if not by yourself, then by others. The mate on a recreational tour will often sell the remaindered fish to local restaurants. This nets (alomst always) him a few extra dollars, and provides some choice spots with excellent raw product. Otherwise, the surplus gets sold to a fish wholesaler. Sexton's, for instance, waits for the overcatch --as well as the haul from commercial boats, especially shrimp boats. ← Points well taken. Now that you explain it that way, it sounds like a good system. I was thinking more along the lines of the deer hunters who love to hunt and who bring home the kill, only to have it buried in the freezer because the spouse won't eat or cook the game. What a waste. I am amazed, impressed and envious of the fish selection you have down there. Someone else commented on what we're missing in the way of fish, up here in the Midwest. Your photos really show it. In case I don't get back before your blog closes, I'll thank you now. Well done, especially in the middle of vacation! Oh, yeah - when you poke those spare ribs, are you unwrapping them first, or poking them foil and all? (Sorry for having to ask such a basic question.)

Do I sense an Okra Cook-off thread coming?

That's beautiful, Elie! It looks much better than mine did. My husband has already put me on notice, however, that he doesn't want any fish staring at him from the pan.

You may be sorry you started this topic, and Elie may yank it. However, on the off-chance that we can answer a simple survey question without getting into a linguistic debate, I'll start. In Upper Egypt and Cairo, it's called baba ghanoush. I assume they use the same name elsewhere in Egypt, but I have no information to confirm that assumption.

The heathens! I'm glad somebody gets to partake of the bounty, but...but...what are these people thinking, that they don't want their catch? Why bother going out?!