andiesenji

As suggested by jsolomon, I would go to a health food store and get a bottle of the unfiltered cider vinegar that contains the mother and add 1/4 cup to a quart of the "wine" and put it away in a dark place for 3-4 months, which should be sufficient time for the mother to take over and create vinegar. Some truly awful raw wines have been converted into excellent vinegar, in fact, one vintner here in California turned a disaster into cash back in the late 70s when he did this following a year when grape crops were affected by out of season storms coupled with a strike by farm workers. Jelly, jams, preserves and juice are also great options. You can also remove the grapes from the stems, spread them on a tray and freeze them, then transfer to bags for later processing if you are overwhelmed with a huge amount. If they are seedless and very sweet, you can dry them and make wonderful raisins. Don't try it with seeded grapes, it is a lot of work to split them and remove the seeds. I expect yours have seeds as most Concord varieties do. I know of only one cultivar that is seedless and it is a relatively new introduction. You can cook them down a bit and put them through a food mill to remove the seeds and the tough part of the skins which will leave you with the pulp and this can be thinly spread on a silpat mat on a sheet pan and dried in a very low (140 degrees) oven to make grape "leather"......

Wow! Diana, What neat ideas. Heads up!!! I had to go to Staples today to pick up some storage boxes (have to put away some of my books -bought 18 boxes.) While wandering down the desk accessory aisle I found a heavy wire 5-section file folder holder/sorter which must be a new item because it isn't on their web site and I did not see in the store when I was there two weeks ago. It is much heavier than the other file sorters and will hold heavy lids without bending. I wired one to one of the steel shelves and it holds the heavy lids easily. I bought two to see how they work - they are only $8.85 and are only available in black (appears to be powder-coated) so far. Looks like a good deal. I am going to see how they work with sheet pans and especially my cast iron cornstick pans which are so heavy they bend all the other racks. Photos to follow....

I received Diana Serbe's newsletter today and when I visited the site I noticed the number of English recipes and a couple of Christmas recipes. Wouldn't hurt to check it out. In Mama's Kitchen I already posted the mince meat recipe on the Pork Cake thread.

I received a newsletter today from Diana Serbe, from In Mama's Kitchen, and noted that there were several English christmas recipes represented, including one for mince meat, the real thing, containing beef. This one appears to be fairly simple, fewer ingredients and fewer steps than the one I have so I am posting it for those who may not want to use pork. Mincemeat recipe.

A boyfriend who used to pick me up after work at my Mom's bakery would, instead of kissing me when I got into his car, would nuzzle my neck. I finally asked him why he did that and he said I smelled just like his grandma's schnecken. I was a bit put out at first but then decided it was probably a compliment as German farm boys aren't much on flowery prose. I never wore perfume, never needed it!

As Judith says, sometimes we need to do this even when very ill. It is a restoring activity and if we tire, we simply rest a bit then get right back to it. A couple of years ago one of my then neighbors, (she has since moved to Taos, NM), began having fainting spells, collapsing without warning, etc., particularly dangerous in the kitchen. She was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and was told she would have to give up cooking and baking, an activity which she loved. She was very depressed until another neighbor, whose husband works at Edwards with the test pilots, mentioned that he had heard that the pressure suits such as the pilots wore, could be adapted for use by people with this condition, fitting from the toes up to the lower chest cage. It was a time-consuming and very expensive proposition but eventually she did get her "pop suit" and was so excited that she could stand for longer periods of time and didn't pass out without warning. She went back to cooking and especially baking big time. She baked enormous batches of cookies, rolls, and other goodies, took them to the women's and children's shelter, the sernior citizen's center, the Chamber of Commerce, as well as all the neighbors and all of her friends. It was a renewal and gave her a tremendous shot of energy. She also joined a support group for the disease and at one of their conferences, met a very nice man whom she eventually married (she had been a widow for a number of years). He is an aspiring artist and lives near Taos so she sold her home and moved there.

I remember well the saucer-sized abalone steaks and am profoundly sorry that they went into decline. The flavor is wonderful. In the 70s one of my friends, a scuba diver with an "unlimited" permit, used to bring me a washtub full of abalone. I cleaned, then froze them, cleaned and sandblasted the shells and sold them to an artisan button maker in Oxnard. I still have two of the very large shells somewhere in my junk. They are so beautiful, with all the iridescent colors. I used to use them as serving dishes for crackers, etc. I'm glad you reminded me of them. I'll have to get them out and start using them again.

I would rather be called schnecken......... Wait! Come to think of it, I have been, however that was a long, long time ago.

As far as things known in ancient times disappearing, it is true that sometimes plants are selected for a particular characteristic and the parent plant gradually disappears from domestic use. It is possible to find an occasional ancestor plant in the wild but it is a huge job to search for them and people who are interested in such things either don't have the time or the money to search or there is no access to the areas where such plants might have survived. One of the notes in my great grandmother's journal refers to lovage, a particular favorite of mine in the herb garden, and in the next sentence she wonders whatever happened to "smallage" which was apparently some kind of "salat" green, known in the time of Elizabeth I, but seemlingly no common mentions of it afterwards. Did the name change to something else that rapidly or did it suffer a blight that destroyed all known plants? Other people have wondered also and have written about it.

What a neat topic. I have already added it to my "subscriptions" list so I won't lose track of it. I have several, many of which duplicate GGs. But I think these are different. BBC food glossary Petit food glossary. Italian food glossary Japan food glossary India Tastes food glossary and Gernot Katzer's spice glossary Which I find particularly helpful when trying to get a different flavor in a certain food.

Exactly, what you said!!! I detest picky, picky, picky eaters that complain about every little thing. And some of these people have such chutzpa....... I was really floored a few months back when a couple of guests brought along an uninvited addition (she had dropped in on them unexpectedly and then wanted to come along to dinner) who came into my house and started to light a cigarette. I immediately asked her not to smoke as my house is strictly smoke-free. She flounced out onto the patio and smoked her cigarette, standing just outside the screen door so I closed the glass slider. She complained about the water, asking if it was bottled - since we are on a well and have the best tasting water around - this was insulting to me. She didn't like the dressing on the salad and complained about the duxelles on the meat and scraped it off the meat and managed to push it off her plate onto the table cloth. I had tried to be gracious but the final straw was when she stuck a spoon in the tart tatin and my homemade ice cream and made some remark about thinking that a "gourmet cook" would fix something besides plain old apple pie, then went out to the patio to smoke another cigarette. My guests saw that I was ready to explode and apologized for bringing her and made their excuses and immediately left. They were embarassed and the other couple were astonished at the performance of this nitwit who, as far as I was concerned, was a party crasher. I was actually surprised that the couple, whom I have known for years, would even consider bringing an extra person - I later learned that she had been foisted on them by the man's employer so he felt obligated.

Citron is a type of citrus but only the rind is used. It has a unique flavor and aroma. The fresh is a world of difference from the commercially candied stuff which is why I like to make my own. You can see it here which is the place that I just ordered a Kaffir lime tree. I am considering ordering a citron also. I have a greenhouse that is 12 x 24 but it will have to be expanded if I get any more trees of this size. Fortunately the add on sections are 6 feet (sides, floor and roof) and they just move the end out further. It may require an additional heater as I think the one I have now is for the current air volume. Anyway, back to the citron. Yes, they will only order it by the box. These were 12 to a box and the fruits are about the size of a grapfruit, just sort of football shaped. I'll try and get a picture later today, when it is a bit warmer and hope that my camera is again speaking to the computer. I had a devil of a time yesterday trying to get it to communicate. They seldom carry them in regular markets because nowadays no one seems to know what to do with them. Markets that cater to middle eastern and Israli customers sometimes have them but if you have a good relationship with a produce manager in a supermarket, they can get almost anything if given enough notice. (I also take him jars of my home made bread and butter pickles and my candied ginger which helps a bit... ) I guess yuja and citron are the same. I googled yuja and got this site with a recipe for citron tea. The other site google listed is this one and refers to "omija" but I am not sure which item would be the yuja link.

Yep, that's what I use, batticarne = meat pounder. I use mine so often it lives right near the cooktop with a fresh plastic bag slipped over it after each use so it is ready for the next time. It's funny you should mention tostones. I just bought some plantains yesterday, but hadn't thought of making tostones. I have a tostonera in my kitchen gadget collection but have never used it as the batticarne is always so handy, within easy reach. My housekeeper also loves Tater Tots. Coming from eastern Europe, she is familiar with similar potato creations but not as "handy" as these. I do buy them in the giant-sized bag at Costco or Sam's Club but repackage them in smaller ziploc bags which go into a jumbo bag. I found this was expedient after having one of the large bags split at the bottom while I was trying to open the top. Knee deep in wasted Tater Tots. Now the big bag goes onto a tray first.

I've known quite a few people such as your describe. I have even worked for a couple. These were people who would eat cereal for all three meals since it mean't they didn't have to put out any effort at all for themselves. However they did believe in serving guests fine foods, which is where I came in. Many times I would offer them a taste of something I had prepred but they invariably said no. And often they barely touched their serving, mostly moved it around the plate to make it appear they were eating. They certainly weren't health conscious. In fact, both were rather pudgy and never exercised that I saw. These were two unrelated people, not a couple. And I didn't work for them at the same time but it always seemed odd to me that they had no interest at all in food. To them it was just fuel. They went out to eat quite often for business but never remembered what they had been served. One was a screenwriter and the other was a set director and both were quite busy most of the time. Both had been married at least once but were single at the time I worked for them. I tried to fix things that would tempt them but they never seemed to notice. It was frustrating to me but at least their guests were happy with the meals I prepared.

There was a time when I used to buy Franco-American macaroni and cheese by the case. It was a godsend when I was campaigning dogs that would refuse to eat their regular food while on circuit (or any trip away from mommy and daddy). A show dog can lose so much weight in just a couple of days that they quickly seem to be in poor condition. F-A mac & cheese to the rescue. Even the most finicky dog would gobble it down straight from the can and I have to confess that there were a few times, at the end of a long and exhausting day, that I simply spooned some into a dish, heated it in the microwave and had that for my dinner. I could eat that just before going to bed without waking in the middle of the night with a tummy ache so it must have been easily digestible. There were also times when I had it for breakfast too. No time for anything else. Ah, the good old days, essentially working 7 days a week, at least 16 hours a day. No wonder I was skinny.......

The cook at the Mexican restaurant down the road from my home often has a cloth, that looks like a "flour sack" kitchen towel tied around his left upper arm. I am in there often because I have a deal with them, they save their coffee grounds for me (I provide the containers) which I use in my compost and worm composters. Anyway, I finally asked him about the cloth tied around his left biceps. He said that it was so he could wipe his face and his eyes on the towel without getting his hands anywhere near his face when he had been chopping peppers and onions. They fix some pretty spicy foods so it makes sense. A simple solution for a burning problem!!!

I am reading eG and talking on the phone to the friend with whom I spend the Christmas holidays. She reminded me that I also make a fruit and turkey curry with rice or couscous. Her husband is a really picky eater but if I make it spicy enough he will eat it. I use one of the curry pastes combined with a chutney and cooked in coconut milk and stock(chicken or turkey) to make the "gravy" in which the turkey is heated. I chop dried apricots and peaches, plump them in hot water and cook them in the coconut milk prior to adding the turkey. I thicken it with arrowroot which won't break the way cornstarch does.

By the way, I have a lot of squash. There was so much piled up in the shed I had to have some brought into the house and every horizontal area in the pantry is full so they had to go onto the floor.

Here are the photos of the Oroblanco (Sweeties) that I bought yesterday. I will be starting the candying of the peel this evening, assuming I get done with a few chores I have to do first. I am trying to do them by myself as my housekeeper has longer classes today and won't be home until quite late. I am rather slow at some things because I can't lift much weight and have to rest occasionally. I am really excited about finding a new citrus with more flavor in the skin for candying. I have tried pomellos and they are pretty much tasteless.

I buy a lot of stuff on ebay and have picked up some really rare finds when the person selling it had no idea what it was and the description was so vague that probably most people didn't bother to look at the photo. I got a beautifuly made French duck press (which I gave to a very good friend for Christmas last year) for 48.00. It is silverplated and needed polishing. The seller called it a "Pewter-look, fruit juicer". Heh, heh, heh!!!

Your turkeys may be more tender without brining. However, I am roasting fresh-killed, free-range turkeys (bronze) that have much less fat and absolutely no liquid injections of any kind. The first year I did one of these it was not wonderful. The next year and every year since I have brined and it has been outstanding. I have also done a side by side test of one brined and one one unbrined turkey, El Cheapo, loss leaders (actually they were free because of my large purchases at two different markets) and the brined turkey was by far the better result. They were roasted in the same oven, not exactly side by side, one was upper one was lower, but the oven is convection so they got the same heat. I hadn't intended to roast the second turkey (the reason it wasn't brined) it was supposed to become stock, however I had last minute additions to my guest list and needed the extra for dinner. I just want to add that I never do anything because it is "fashionable" - there has to be a good and practical reason for it. And I certainly don't pay that much attention to the celebrity chefs.

Fennel grows well in pots outdoors, can be grown on a balcony, cut back in the winter and it will grow again in the spring. Each plant produces quite a lot of pollen and you just have to be careful to catch it just as it appears and cover the flower heads with a paper bag. Use a string to tie it so it is not too tight. The weight of the bag will bend the stalk. After three days, shake it vigorously and remove the bag carefully. You will have gotten most of the pollen but will leave enough to attract bees so the seeds will also develop. You can use almost all of the plant, the fronds, the pollen, the seeds and if you dig it up, you can use the bulb. Florence fennel will produce a good sized bulb the first year but even the common fennel will produce a bulb in the second year and if you keep it going it just gets larger and larger.

It just makes them flat instead of round. They hold together fairly well but the edges split a bit. It seems to make more crust and less center. Try it with a handful at the edge of the pan in which you are baking a batch. See how they compare.

I make a layered casserole, usually in a deep lasagna pan, dressing, turkey cut into bite-size pieces, homemade cranberry sauce, dressing, turkey, cranberry sauce, bake for about 35 minutes at 375 and serve with freshly-made turkey gravy and perhaps fried potato cakes made from the leftover mashed potatoes with the addition of chopped scallions and hard-boiled egg. I always buy extra turkey wings and legs for making stock for gravy. I roast them first to deepen the flavor. However, I carefully remove the skin from the legs before roasting because when I do the extra dressing in a casserole or small roasting pan, I cover the top with the turkey skin. This infuses the dressing with the turkey flavor just as it would be infused inside the turkey.

I loved the Julia shows, Galloping Gourmet, Frugal Gourmet, Jacques Pepin, and especially the Great Chefs shows. Also the other PBS food shows and I taped quite a few over the years. The CIA shows were also very good. The earlier Food TV shows were much better, in my opinion, than most of the shows on now. especially John Ash, as well as The Two Hot Tamales, Curtis Aikens, Two Fat Ladies, Jacques Torres. I want to learn about a particular recipe and see the technique that makes it work. I don't want entertainment, I want instruction.