Smithy

With a camera, please! We need pictures!

Broth and a touch of dry white wine (sauvignon blanc is my standby) or dry vermouth. Bacon. Fry up the bacon (or use other pork fat), pull out the bacon bits, soften the leeks in the fat, brown the potato chunks slightly, stir in the alcohol, stir in the broth, let it all simmer until potatoes are done and the soup is starting to thicken. Smooth in some half-and-half, but don't let it boil. Add the bacon bits back in, or use as garnish once the soup is in the bowls. Salt, pepper to taste. A bit of chopped parsley never hurts. Good luck! Let us know what you do, and how it turns out! Nancy

By "small pieces of pomegranate" do you mean they had sprinkled pomegranate seeds over the garlic and eggplant slices? That would look lovely.

Heresy! You'd have been disappointed with our wedding cake, then: one layer of chocolate chip cake, one layer of chocolate (or was it white? it's been 7 years), married by a wild raspberry filling, covered with some luscious white (chocolate? I forget) frosting. Even people who don't normally like cake raved about it, and sometimes I dream of asking the baker to make another for us. I know how you feel, though: I am revolted, and feel cheated, when I bite into a lovely piece of cake with chocolate frosting and discover it has *peanut butter* in it. Now, I like peanut butter. I like chocolate. But not together, except for the occasional Reese's cup. I think the cake baker's sister was truly offended when she asked what kind of cake I wanted for an office party and I specified chocolate frosting *without* the peanut butter.

I have a cheapo $20 model from Wal-Mart (don't remember the manufacturer - Waring, maybe?) that works pretty well for me. We picked it because it was large enough to satisfy me and inexpensive enough to satisfy my husband. It makes good ice cream, and I only have two complaints about it. First, the way the canister sits in the ice and the motor mount sits down over the canister means that once it's together, it's together until the ice cream is done. You can't take the lid off partly through the freezing process to add nuts without knocking everything out of alignment and having to empty the ice and start all over. The second thing is the requirement for ice and salt. Not a big deal, but if you get the wrong kind of salt there will be icky insoluble chunks of dark mineral that are a messy disposal problem. (Do use ice cream salt, not rock salt!) Since I generally make ice cream only when the summer fruit is at its best, the choice has been satisfactory. My mother has the $50 Cuisinart (ICE-20). It makes terrific ice cream and does not have either of the inconveniences I noted above. When I replace my machine, that's what I'm getting. The extra bowls come in useful for making multiple batches quickly. Why spend more?

I pick the local wild raspberries and make wonderful sauces of them, those that I don't eat out of hand, and those sauces go on desserts whenever I can find someone to eat them. The wild raspberries are better-tasting than any domestic raspberries of my experience, but they're also a bit too seedy to make comfortable eating for most people. I freeze some blueberries for use later in pies, but a lot of them are eaten with breakfast cereal, too. I'm living on fruit right now, unfortunately a good deal of it store-bought but good anyway. But the berries! A couple of years ago I made a compote from raspberries and tart cherries, with a bit of kirsch, from a recipe in a cookbook. The result was a very fruity ruby-colored cherry-raspberry sauce with a small touch of alcohol, perfect for ice cream or dark chocolate cake. I loved it, my best friend and her family loved it. I shared jars with my family and other friends. Not a peep from any of 'em! When my best friend and I get together in a couple of weeks I'm taking her the rest of the jars. I won't bother trying to make it again, since my husband won't eat it and nobody else seemed to think it was as wonderful as Susan and I had. What a disappointment! Fruit salad hardly seems worth mentioning - I assume everyone does that regularly - except that people around here seem to think it's exotic!

I've never tried those handheld juicers! They must be better than I'd expected. Just to be clear about it, though, I'm posting a picture of what I'm talking about. (It's about time I tried posting a photo!) My "garlic press" analogy must not be as good as I thought. My Wearever juicer is like this. The top handle is attached to a flat plate that presses the lemon half against the flat edge of the bowl. There's a strainer inside. There are other juicers that sit higher and must have a bowl or glass beneath them to catch the juice, but they're larger and not as convenient. Now that I've set the record straight, I'll agree that an electric juicer might be easier in the long run - but no, these won't give you carpal tunnel, and they'll tire your arms sooner than your hands! Edited in a perhaps-vain attempt to spleak more painly.

Our family's version of this - I think it comes from the Tennessee hill country - is that you must never give a sharp object (knife or scissors, for example) as a gift, because the sharp edge will cut the friendship; the only way around it is for the recipient to give *you* a coin in return so it isn't really a gift. When my father was a boy, his father "gave" him his first pocket knife as a much-coveted birthday present - but then demanded a nickel in return. It was a terrible disappointment to Dad. To this day, I cringe when I give gifts of cutlery to friends, and on more than one occasion I've "happened" to mention the superstition just to see if the friend would give me back a penny! No, I'm not superstitious!

I too am looking forward to the blog, tejon! Now I can stop wondering about your screen name. I pass through Tejon Pass now and then, betwixt the Basin and the Valley, when I'm back visiting my old home grounds. Do be sure to let us know your favorite food shopping places. How much do you commute? It's terrific that you're keeping your grandmother's traditions alive!

Note that so far, not one person has suggested bottled lemon juice. That's a hint. I use my trusty Wear-ever vintage lemon squeezer. It's perfectly designed for the job and mine has squeezed lemons for lemonade and lemon meringue pies through 2 generations now. You can't have mine, but you can generally pick one up on EBay for somewhere between $5 and $15. Imagine an oversized garlic press, with a base so it rests on the counter. Now imagine that you lift the press handle and put in half of a lemon (or lime), and press down. The juice runs into the holder, the seeds and most of the pulp are strained out by the screen, and all's right with the world. A fork? That's a new one on me! How do you do that, WHT? Edited for spelling, and to add: yes, it would work for quarts' worth if you don't want a power tool. Further elucidation already added via another post.

Welcome out of lurking, Nancy Sexton, and thanks for the review! I've toyed with the idea of buying the processor attachment for my KA, and I'm glad to have the info. Now I have a comment and/or question for the assembled masses. A few years ago I bought a stainless steel food mill with 3 interchangeable screens. It was the right size and right price (inexpensive, and maybe that's my problem). I've been disappointed with its operation. It seems to push the food around the disk as much as it squeezes or strains the food, and I'm continually backing the blade, poking stuff around, and trying again. I think the reason is that the disk holes are very smooth (nice machining!) and they actually need rough edges to snag the pulp. Does this idea make sense? Since I'd never used a food mill before I'm not sure whether my expectations were reasonable in the first place. Nancy Smith

Interesting! My Norwegian friend says her family's philosophy for good health is: A man should eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunchtime, and a pauper at dinner. (Note the regional differences in the meaning of the word 'dinner' )

Well, here I go, pulling this topic back up to the top, because I've a confession that will make most of you cooks out there cringe. I just made creme anglais, and I'm not sure I got it right! <looks down at floor, shuffles feet> It isn't as thick as I'd expected it to be, based on written descriptions. I can't find a picture in any of my books. I was expecting oh, the consistency of Hershey's chocolate syrup at cool room temperature - something you could drizzle on a plate and have it keep its shape, more or less. I got the consistency of fairly warm syrup - that is, something that's likely to make a puddle on the plate instead. (I will note, however, that it will be a very tasty puddle. Yum!) I know I cooked it long enough and got it to the right temperature (around 170), and judging by the slight curdling on the bottom of my pan I'd say I stopped the cooking not a moment too soon. I took a couple liberties with the recipe, out of dire necessity related to "darned if I'm going to the grocery store AGAIN", and I'd like to know whether these would make a difference in the texture: first, about half the egg yolks were from pasteurized eggs; second, the "milk" was a mix of 2%, 1%, and half-and-half. Would either of these factors make a difference? Or was I expecting the wrong consistency?

Mario, I've listened and laughed during at your interviews and banter at the Food and Wine show in Aspen, thanks to Lynne Rosetto Kasper's Splendid Table radio show. Two years ago I thought you must be joking when you announced and described "Lardo" (a.k.a. "Prosciutto Bianco") but by golly, last year you got Steve Jenkins to name the perfect wine for it. Are you really marketing this? How do *you* use it?

It's fairly common for a grocery clerk to ask "what's this?" and/or "what do you do with it?" when ringing my produce through. The best reaction ever, though, was a grocery bagger who asked my sister, "Oh, basil! I LOVE basil! I hope you don't think this is too weird, but ... do you mind if I smell it before I bag it?" She said no, she didn't mind, and he took a bunch of deep whiffs (carefully keeping his nose out of the bundle). Then, with a satisfied smile, he thanked her and bagged the rest of the groceries. My husband and I marvel privately at the tubsters in town and their grocery carts full of frozen pizzas, chips, ice cream, sodas. There's not a piece of fresh produce to be found. But we keep it to ourselves. No doubt our cart looks strange, too: the processed food companies don't make much money from us, so that probably makes us some sort of evil pinko fiends who don't do our part to support our country's economy.

Hmm, sounds as though I'd best stick with the technique I was told, unless I can bring back a bunch of them and experiment. I hadn't heard about washing the cookware with baking soda and water. Thank you for that! It sounds much better than the detergent I've been using, albeit sparingly. Even using very little detergent, I worry that I'll remove the seasoning and get detergent into the pores.

D'Oh! (I guess I should have read more carefully!) Thanks, Lauren!

I thought I'd seen a thread around here about seasoning clay cookware, but I can't find it now, so I'll post in this thread. My Egyptian unglazed terra cotta pots (tagines, but not in the Moroccan sense of having covers) look a lot like the lower-left pot in the picture Elie reposted: unglazed open bowls of varying sizes. Our Egyptian friends said they had to be seasoned by wiping with "black honey", i.e. molasses, and cooked in a hot oven, before use. We've done that but not been entirely satisfied with the results: it looks strange, the clay pot taste still comes through. Given our respective communicating skills it's entirely possible something was lost in the translation. Paula mentioned wiping with vegetable oil and baking in the oven. Would that work as well as, or better then, the molasses trick? Did we miss something?

Sarma, it's wonderful to have your voice added to eGullet and to read your take on the raw food! It's especially wonderful to read such great reviews of PFW. Good luck to you, and keep on visiting! Now, I have a few questions, and I apologize in advance if they've already been discussed and I missed the answers. First, and most specifically: how the heck do you make a vegan ice cream? Are you just saying "ice cream" to denote the flavor and texture? I assume it isn't a sorbet. What provides the creamy texture? Second, and far more broadly: when I've read about the raw food movement my first reaction has been "man, that's too much work!". Is this a practical thing to do for home cooking, without devoting hours and hours a day (or the weekly equivalent, say a full day each week) to the process? I love to cook, but I suspect that in short order I'd be munching on carrot sticks and chopped lettuce dressed with dried apricots, and calling it done... Finally, nobody so far has answered the question of "why 118*F?" Enquiring minds want to know...

Boris, this has been a wonderful blog. I've been too busy at work to have any time to read "fun" stuff all week. Now I've had your entire blog to read at once, and your wonderful cookstove and kitchen to drool over, and your hangovers to laugh at. (Mine was yesterday.) I'm looking forward to trying to make banitsa. I've a package of phyllo dough, waiting for an excuse to use it. Now all I need is time... Thank you for a terrific blog, and insight to life in your corner of the world!

I'm sticking my oar in here even though I have little experience with chard. What if you wash it, then stick the stems into a bowl of ice water, as though it's some herb or flower? Would it keep? The approach works well in the refrigerator with herbs, but I've no idea whether it would work on chard out on the counter. If I had access to chard and limited refrigerator space I'd give it a try. Maybe it would keep for a day, anyway? Think of the centerpiece it could make on your dinner table! Failing that, maybe you should invest in an ice chest or two? Wash it, wrap it in damp towels, lay it in the ice chest with something frozen?

I am sooo envious. In the 20-odd years I've lived here in northern Minnesota, produce shipping and handling has improved to the point where good nectarines - really good nectarines, as in 'I grew up with nectarines and I know what I'm talking about' good - can be had in the grocery store if you shop carefully. Peaches take a bit more care, but they turn up once in a while in good shape, with good flavor. Good apricots are as scarce as good navel oranges. I don't understand it. I'd think that if you could get one variety of stone fruit out in good ripeness, shape and flavor (did I mention that good cherries arrive here too?) that you could get them all. It doesn't happen with apricots. I have recipes galore celebrating apricots - tarts, brandied apricots, the list goes on - and never a chance to use them. Grrr.... Enjoy those apricots, Andiesenji....!

Snowangel, thank you for posting your blueberry pie recipe, and for posting a pointer to it! I can hardly wait to try it, even with domestic blueberries! A friend who spends her summers at her cabin in northern Ontario - a hundred or two miles north of yours - makes her blueberry pie without corn starch; she just loads those wild blueberries into a pie shell, puts a crumb topping over the lot, and bakes. It falls into a bazillion little delicious berries when you cut into it, but oh, what a fabulous flavor. Since then I've made my pies the same way. (Who cares about the looks?!) Then, one horrid weekend last year, a friend who does the occasional favor for me asked me not to bother bringing any more pies for him as thank you gifts to be shared - or else to bring store bought. Hoping he was only joking, I brought a Perkins pie (bleah) the next time and he couldn't sing its praises enough. I won't try to thank the ungrateful heathen with my baked goods again, but if I find another unsuspecting soul I'll have another recipe to try. Edited to add: can you/do you make this pie with your berries after you've frozen them, or only when they're fresh?

oooh, yeah! to the phraseology and the sentiment, both! (I just HAVE to work the phrase 'groozly bits' into a conversation later today!) My biggest reasons for wanting to cook the turkey at our place are (1) leftovers, (2) the pope's nose, and (3) picking at the skin and the pan. When I'm elsewhere, my hosts think I'm the best guest ever because I *insist* on helping with the cleanup! Cooked spinach. Most particularly, cooked canned spinach with that vinegar stuff in it. I can make a meal out of that when the darling husband is away from home. (He doesn't even like cooked fresh spinach, more's the pity.) Those black olives some others admit to also loving. Since I grew up among olive ranchers (Dad wasn't, but his friends were) those olives Taste Like Home. Cilantro seems to be the feline of the culinary herbs: it almost always provokes a strong reaction one way or t'other. I'm in the pro-camp but have to be careful about when and to whom I use that wondrous herb.

My personal jury is still out on whether freezing or canning is better. I didn't have much luck with freezing the tomatoes individually and "popping" the skins off later under running water - no doubt it was my technique. (How much time do you give them under the water, Susan? Or does this depend on the type of tomato?) Last year I canned a bunch of tomatoes and froze a bunch more; in both cases I skinned and seeded them. The funny thing is, the freezer operation was much easier up front but the canned tomatoes have been more convenient. I rarely have the foresight to take something out of the freezer in the morning (tearing out the door, trying to get someplace, trying to make sure the cats have been fed and are inside, etc. ad nauseum). In the evening then I'm either nuking the frozen package or opening a jar. OTOH, the frozen tomatoes keep much more of their color because they haven't been cooked during the canning process. 140 tomato plants!