Smithy

Some years back my parents were getting ready to barbecue. Dad was carrying the tray loaded with stuff out to the back door, and a mouse ran across the floor in front of him. With admirable presence of mind, he put the tray down on top of the mouse. NOW what to do? As it happened, the mouse's head was sticking out from under the tray yet, so Dad grabbed the meat tenderizing mallet and clobbered the little guy. He couldn't understand why Mom refused to use the meat mallet again, no matter how much he cleaned it. I'm pretty sure the barbecue tray and contents got used anyway.

That (freezing things flat for quicker defrosting) is a great idea! I don't have a griddle/grill of any sort. Hmm, now maybe I have an excuse?

Kit Kat is made by Hershey's in the United States, but in Europe it's made by Nestle. Isn't that strange? ← Ha! I had "Hershey's" written, then looked again at Jack's link and changed it. So much for source-checking. I'd ask about the connection of Hershey's and Nestle overseas, but that might be too OT. This blog gets more amazing, even after a couple of glasses of wine. No need for bourbon. The spirit of Hunter is with us.

Ah, of course....the nonlinear approach is the ticket! Where's Hunter S when we need him? ← Dead. ← hes not dead hes just not taking any calls right now ← One might say he's a bit scattered these days.

Ah, of course....the nonlinear approach is the ticket! Where's Hunter S when we need him?

Not to derail the conversation, but I'm as interested in this other note as in the original topic - and no, I'm not at all surprised. I frequently try recipes for dishes I've never eaten but that sound interesting. (If I were to cavil, I would liken it more to sight-reading a piece of music previously unheard, rather than trying to construct the melody from the chord progression alone, but that would be cavilling.) I heard or read once that cookbooks took off in America because so many pioneers moved away from their family roots to places where there were unfamiliar ingredients and customs. Without previous generations around to show the way, it became vital to come up with precise measurements and exact descriptions of a dish, because someone might not know what the end result was supposed to be enough to make adjustments. It always made sense to me. Then again, it could be bogus pop history. My one effort at clafouti was not exactly a disaster, but wasn't worth repeating either. I took it to a family gathering, where it was eagerly greeted. "A clafouti!" my sister-in-law exclaimed, "I've always wondered what it's like!" Everyone politely ate a piece, but nobody wanted seconds... and in this family, leftovers are rare. It never occurred to me before now that clafouti might be tricky to get right.

I think they're a terrific idea! We have the crock with utensils, a couple of drawers with utensils, and small hooks just under the cabinets for hanging some utensils, so the backsplash of the work counter on either side of the stove has spatula, ladle, scoop, sieve, potholders and so forth hanging. I resisted the idea at first, but it actually looks good (to us) and puts the most-used utensils within easy reach without having 5 other things fall out of the crock when the desired item is removed. Oh, very definitely, appliance garages in the corner! (You get points for creativity, even if someone else had already invented them. ) That is, if they leave enough room for work surface.

That's very interesting! I didn't know okra would do that - that is, lose its slime and turn brown, presumably without burning. Now I have two version of okra to try when I get around to it. Maybe there's more to okra than bamya, after all.

My turn, while Will is contemplating the answer. What's matcha?

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.