Smithy

Another blog from our neighbors to the north! Cool! Chromedome, I look forward to hearing about (and later seeing) the sights of Edmonton, especially as they relate to food. I also look forward to hearing about your work week, and your thoughts on career changing. Congratulations on waking up and deciding to steer instead of drift. As an aside: Here in Minnesota our seasonal swings are quite large, compared to what I grew up with (central California). We tend to make the most of the long summer days, when weather permits, to make up for those long winter nights. You Canadians, and our European neighbors, have even more extreme swings. I'd be interested to hear how that plays into your daily plans, if at all, and whether it influences your cooking. Blog on!

Funny, I hadn't thought about the resale value issue, but you're probably right. My personal objection is that I have some pet pans, inherited from one or two generations back, that wouldn't work with it and I don't want to give them up. I've been thinking that a portable unit like Andie's might be a fun way to increase my kitchen's capabilities, though, and give me better simmering capability. OTOH, we already have a gas grill with the side burner outside.... I just realized what your avatar is up to. Nice photo! My cats like the bathroom sink.

As I understand it, the great temperature control refers only to the way the burner goes instantly off or on, as with a gas stove and not at all as with a standard electric stove. You get the quick response of a gas hob without the gas hookup, and when you turn it off you're just left with the residual heat in the pan. I don't think the pan itself will cool down any differently, so you'll still have the slow cooling of a heavy pan and the quick cooling of a lightweight pan. If I've missed something, I hope someone with experience will set us both straight.

We had the same fine weather up here, and I got my plants into the ground - or, in most cases, pots. We go the other way on the lawn vs. garden business: He Who Mows wants uninterrupted space. She Who Grows wants more space for plants, but is no great shakes on weeding. So there's one smallish plot in a raised bed, a few renegades tossed out into the woods to fend for themselves (although I did give the horseradish some special treatment this time), and the rest is in pots. Everything got planted yesterday, with help of dubious value from the cats and dog. 3 Jingle Bells peppers (new this year), 3 Patio tomatoes, 1 middle-sized tomato (name escapes me now), more basil, 2 kinds of parsley, 2 kinds of thyme, tarragon (but last year's is coming up again! Yippee!), 3 rosemaries, 2 sages, more sorrel. A few weeks ago I realized an onion was starting to sprout, so I stuck it in a pot with some good dirt. It's putting up wonderful shoots. Now my question is, what will I do with it? Will it eventually turn into a confined onion bed? Or will it just put out nice greenery and maybe a pretty flower?

Jack, this has been so much fun. Thank you for wonderful photos and a fine glimpse into your world. It would have been wonderful even without the Suicide Sunday photos and menu. I do have more questions, if you're still awake over there: 1. The rose is 'scambling' in a greengage tree? Is this a Shakespearean usage of which I'm unaware (there are many), or is 'scambling' some new word I might be able to bring into my own vocabulary? Please define and use in another sentence. 2. This may require too much of an answer, but I'll ask anyway. What are the advantages of cold smoking vs. hot smoking? How would one choose between the two for particular meats or applications? You mention upthread that certain meats need to be hot-smoked to melt the collagen. Are there other considerations? 3. Have you ever tried smoking fruits? Pears, for instance, might lend themselves to a smoky flavor. I saw somebody upthread mention figs as a possibility, either fresh or dried. Once again, I thank you. Well done, Sir Jackal.

Interesting that so many Microplane votes have come in. I may have to decide that I got $5 worth of decorative value out of this thing without gaining a useful too. Still, I hadn't thought of squeezing the threads to get more juice out, as Adam suggests. Andie, I'd appreciate a photo demo. Based on Tejon's comments I wonder whether I'm just using much stringier stuff than you're using. My ginger strings came off on the little spikes instead of staying with the ginger. WineSonoma, I see what you're saying about the plastic. It sounds to me like an easy way to add some Saran low-cal seasoning to the ginger paste! Do let us know how it works out. Adam, I agree with you about the ease of cleaning this thing compared to a grater. That was part of its charm. You say "different tools that get different results". Do you think the final product is all that different?

Fat Guy, you've touched a nerve. We do have a lot of vinegars, and we experiment with them. My salad dressings never contain white balsamic - at least, not at the start. When my sweetie starts adjusting things to his taste, in goes the white balsamic. Occasionally it really grates on me, and occasionally he'll leave my dressing alone. I keep things in perspective by realizing that it's a sign of a good marriage when this is the biggest thing I can complain about.

For years I've minced my ginger by hand or grated it on the fine holes of a cheese grater. The cheese grater has worked satisfactorily: juicy ginger bits go through the holes, fibers stay on my side. Recently, however, I purchased what's supposed to be a real ginger grater or shredder. It's ceramic with little molded spiky bumps that come up off the bottom. You run the ginger over it. The little molded spikes rip the ginger apart and sort out the threads. It's supposed to be The Real, the Classic, the One True Way to Deal With Ginger, by cooks who know their stuff. I tried it tonight and was impressed with how speedily and easily I could shred the ginger. Then I discovered the problem (which, by the way, I had foreseen with this kind of shredder until I found one too pretty to resist). How do you get the juicy bits of ginger out from all the spikes without bringing the fibers along? This thing is sealed on the bottom, so nothing gets through; it all has to come off and out from around the spikes, and there's only one way out. My asparagus ended up with ginger juice and ginger strings all over. What am I missing? Can someone 'splain to me how I'm supposed to be using this $5 wonder?

Did you address Scotch eggs farther up? I've forgotten what they are. Oh, I can't help myself. Just how hot are these faggots? Or, to put it a different way, is there something aside from the name that requires a sense of adventure to try them?

I'm really glad you pointed out the Fine Cooking photo. Those particular olives were not on the ta-ze.com web site when I went to look at it, and that's why I was confused. I guess I'll have to order several types of olive from them! Maybe our next house party will be an olive-tasting party.

In Egypt the accent is on the first syllable, as you assumed, with the broad a sound of your 'ah'. The 't' at the beginning is stressed such that it's almost, but not quite, a 'd'. I hear it as "TAA-jeen" or "TAA-geen" (with a hard 'g') depending on the area. Chefzadi, I apologize for apparently misunderstanding you.

I've had a number of tagines in Luxor at various restaurants. I may have had them in Cairo also. They aren't at all like Moroccan tagines in flavor or cookware, but they are stews of various sorts (lamb tagine, fish tagine, chicken tagine, etc.) I won't make a sweeping judgment about how it works all over the country, but in these particular cases I don't think they're trying to evoke Morocco, since the restaurants are Egyptian and make no reference to any other country. Finally, my moussaka pot (Egyptian) is *always* called a tagine in Luxor; that word specifies a particular type and size of pot. It bears no resemblance to the Moroccan tagine. Perhaps the word "tagine" is drifting across countries and taking on new meaning?

This morning as we went for a ride on our tandem (best marriage counselor ever; it'll make or break you probably about as well as a kitchen remodel will) and talked a bit more about the swing-up/fold-down section. He assures me that supporting a swing-up will not be a problem. He's also thinking that this section would be perfect to make out of a different material, such as marble, and we could even put it at a slightly different height (a touch lower than a standard countertop, because I'm short enough that when I roll dough on my pastry board on top of our counter, my shoulders go up around my ears.) But this is the part I think is really neat. One of my concerns about a swing-up was that the working surface is on the outside, where it can get bumped, bashed, shin-whacked, or worse. His plan now: build a sort of cabinet around the swing-up, with a door that looks like all the other cabinet doors. Then, when you want to use the swing-up, you'd open the door---which would then block the doorway to prevent people from trying to come through and banging their hips on the swing-up. A multi-tasker! (Depending on how things are set up, the door may also help to support a fold-up backsplash.) MelissaH ← That's bloody brilliant! OK, I'm a convert now! ...and I agree with you about the tandem; try tandem kayaking sometime, too!

To my taste it's distinctly sweeter as well as less pungent. My husband and I differ slightly on where we prefer flavors - he likes things slightly sweeter, I prefer more tart - so he's forever adjusting my salad dressings and sauces with a touch of white balsamic. What's funny to me about this (funny or annoying? you decide ) is that he cannot resist making comments about empty carbohydrates when I use sugar, but the white balsamic has sugar added to it. Does anyone know if all white balsamic has sugar added? Or are we just getting the cheap stuff? Edited to add: if you wanted to keep the white appearance of the salad dressing but get a more complex flaor, you could try mixing white balsamic with a more tart white vinegar - sherry vinegar for instance, or maybe just white wine vinegar.

An oil-burning stove for cooking! What weight oil are you talking about? Oh - now maybe I'm waking up - are you using what we call kerosene? Sorry if this sounds silly; I've visions of Bunker C being kept warm and pumping into your house, lots of BTU's but pretty heavy stuff. Please describe the Aga and its operation more for me, and for other readers who might not know why it's so wonderful. It certainly looks impressive, and the rest of your kitchen looks very comfortable and fun to work in. I am such a fool for animals. I looked at your bantam chick photo and said "awwww"

Jack, I'd be interested in knowing how you use sorrel and horseradish. I enjoy them both and have some pet uses, but I'm always on the prowl for more. Hmm. Now that I think of it, all I do with burnet is put it in my salads. Do you do something more creative with it?

I'll be glad to let you know how it comes out. My copy of Fine Cooking is still sitting in our mail clutter, so maybe I'm asking the questions too soon, but I'll ask anyway. Can you recommend some olive variety that might be close to the proper type that's likely to be available in my mid-sized town? Generally our choices are Nicoise, Kalamata, Sicilian cracked green, and the California treatments (green, black ripe, green ripe) I grew up with. By 'midway' do you mean 'midflavored', as in not as sharp as either Sicilian cracked green olives or kalamata olives? Finally, the Ta-Ze site shows several Taris olives, all described as green or black. I'm guessing that you mean either the Edremit type or the Memecik type? The seem to be the most middle-ground judging by their looks. Palamut seems to be too close to the Sicilian cracked green olives. That's a very nice site. They'll be getting some of my money soon...but not soon enough to help with my immediate question...

I have used it, but haven't used it lately and have never used it regularly. I have a recipe for a knockout salad dressing that includes Accent. I've also added msg to roast chicken, long before I discovered the joys of paprika chicken. I'm pretty sure my favorite store-roasted chickens have msg added, or at least used to have it. As to whether I 'experienced' umami - well, I know I liked the flavor and couldn't describe it. At the time I'd never heard of umami, so who knows? Maybe I'll try it again. I still have a lot of Accent in that jar.

Wolfert, thank you so much for that idea. It sounds like it would work well, and would let my friend savor the flavors without worrying about the dietary consequences.

Most of my bacon ideas have already been suggested. (Do you need a recipe for rumaki?) The only other thing that comes to my mind is a corn chowder with crisped bacon. Soften up some chopped onion in olive oil, add some chopped bacon and cook it slightly, throw in maize cut off the cob, chopped tomatoes if you like, diced potatoes if you like, and water or broth (generally chicken for me). Cook until nicely melded and thickening. Finish with cream and garnish with really crisp bits of bacon. I'm leaving seasonings out, but of course there should be salt and pepper to taste, and herbs or spices of your choice. I think I only just now thought of chives, despite the patch outside my door, but I think they'd do well as a garnish. I notice that you use grams and kg for weight (mass, really, I know) but degrees F on your temperatures. Is that just because you're using a Yank thermometer, or do you think in Fahrenheit? I want one of those ovens. I lust after that oven. I think we have room. I didn't know you could get that texture of bread without kneading. That's fascinating. Anything more you care to tell us about bread would be greatly appreciated.

My experience has been that once the plant 'bolts' - that is, flowers and starts producing seeds - then the leaves won't be as full or as flavorful. The seeds are good too, but they don't make the kind of garnish I'm really looking for.

Oh sure, rub it in. My tomatoes are 4" high. Where's that "sticking out my tongue at you" icon when I need it?

Do I detect a theme here? Is there something you aren't telling us about yourself, Judiu?

Adam, those photos are beautiful. I know what you mean about the physical labor. I've watched mud bricks being made the old way, pottery being fired the old way, rocks being hauled the old way. None of that involves the bad chemicals you're showing, but they involve exhausting labor and (in the case of firing pottery or cooking the bricks) breathing some really bad air. It makes me appreciate industrial hygienists and pollution control. Getting back to the food: what is in the baskets in that first souk shot? Beans? It looks too exposed and prone to spillage to be something moist like olives.

Edible flowers, with names and descriptions of how you use them, would be lovely. If you want to withhold the names for now and let us guess, that would be fun fine for the moment. I remember being so surprised at my first sight of England. It was summer, I was from California, and I was amazed at the green. Your photos are bringing it all back.