andiesenji

When I posted earlier I forgot to mention my favorite honey. It is a local sage/wildflower honey sold by a beeman in Lacaster that has a permit (very hard to get) to put his hives out in the Desert Plant Preserve area. This area is protected because some very rare wildflowers grow only in that area (as well as a wonderful display of California poppies in the early spring) People come from all over the world to photograph the wildflowers in this spot. The honey is very aromatic and quite dark in color, almost the color of maple syrup. You can tell what it is the moment you open the container. It is unlike any other honey, certainly nothing like any other sage honey I have tried. The bees gather pollen and nectar from the native desert sage, also known as Cleveland sage, which is a beautiful plant with some of the largest (larger than 1 inch across) and most complex flowers of any sage. (And the flowers have a wonderful scent.) See it here. I have a beautiful specimen plant in my front yard that is more than five feet tall and 7 feet across. Unlike the wild plants, mine is cut back after the spring flowering (we save the stems with the seed heads because they are lovely in dried flower arrangements) and will get a second flowering in late September. I have two pineapple sage plants on either side of the Cleveland and the right red trumpet flowers of the pineapple, contrasted with the Cleveland is spectacular. It is a busy place for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds when they are in bloom.

Would pepper be too strong... I dont know. We would have to experiment to find out I think Black pepper is one of the spices added to some spiced coffee recipes, just as it is in some chai recipes. I mentioned in an earlier post that a friend made coffee with spices and instead of black pepper added grains of paradise or malaguette pepper which he learned to combine with coffee while living in Madagascar. I know that grains of paradise are not as strong as black pepper but have a peppery flavor and are often finely ground and added to fruit drinks to add a bit of spiciness. The Szechwan peppercorns are a completely different spice, unrelated to either black pepper or malaguette pepper. I was just wondering what effect it might have when added to coffee.

It sounds good to me but I am a big fan of that particular flavor. I grow a lot of anise hyssop, popularly known as "the rootbeer plant" - or rather it grows itself all over my yard and garden, merrily seeding itself in even the tiniest bit of earth. (I found one 3 ft tall specimen growing in an inch of soil in one of my old gardening clogs that was left under a rosemary bush out next to the fence, probably by one of the dogs.) I dry the leaves to concentrate the oils then brew a very strong infusion to which I add sugar then cook down to make a concentrated syrup. When I was a child I loved the rootbeer popsicles that we got as a treat when we got to go to "town" with grandpa. My cousins all loved the grape but rootbeer was always my choice. We always had ice cream, homemade, but the popsicles were store bought so were more desirable.

Yes, and California Pizza Kitchens began doing their thing which of course meant that some of my clients wanted me to do similar things at their homes. (That and duplicate Chasen's chili.) I often suggested they simply go to Spago or another place but far too often they would prefer to hang around the house because going out meant getting dressed......... And by this I mean putting on some clothes. I learned not to be shocked by anything but I only used male assistants when I worked in these places.

Yes, it is lovely and I think I mentioned I was going to make a sorbet from it. I did and it was lovely. Great recipe Melissa!

I wish I could remember more about the 80s. They sort of went by like a blur, mainly because I was so busy all the time because I was working my regular job full time, working as a personal chef part time and showing dogs almost every weekend. I do recall that "like" because an integral part of any conversation with many of my showbiz clients. A typical request might have sounded thusly. "Like, you know, I was in (insert trendy city nickname here) and this restaurant had, like, a bitchin sorta sandwich thing, but not a sandwich, like, you know what I mean, it was like, a sorta pizza, inside-out and like, had some veggies in it and something like, maybe a cheese in it." I would ask, "a calzone, perhaps, or possibly something in a pita?" "Maybe, but like, it was really hot, maybe it had something else in it. Like, I was really into the munchies and maybe there were like, a couple of things but one of them was sort of a pizza sandwich." "Can you make some, but not with pizza crust, that other stuff, like, you know, them fried pies?" I ask, "How did we get from the other thing to fried pies?" The answer, "Like I was maybe stoned a little. Fix whatever you think my buds will like." I ask, "How many have you invited?" The answer, "Like, how do I know, I put the word out I am back and my buds should slope on over, maybe twenty or thirty." Okay, I am going to prepare food for at least eighty. I am going to call his publicist (who went with him on the trip) and ask her if she has any idea about the foods he had while away and learn that on this particular trip he had been in Australia and the things he was trying to describe were the Oz version of Cornish pasties. Mainly I remember preparing vats of pasta primivera, salad bar selections and the introduction of some "new" fruits, odd toppingg on pizza and the beginning of "nouvelle quisine" and "architectural" presentations.

TROPICAL FRUIT PLUS CORN AND JICAMA SALSA I use this with chicken and it is also good with fish, however I do not eat much fish. With chicken it is perfect, the sweet/sour flavor and the varied texture is very nice. 1/2 cup diced barely ripe papaya You may add the papaya seeds if you wish.... 1/2 cup diced mango 1/2 cup of fresh pineapple chopped. 1/2 cup fresh cut corn kernels and the liquid from scraping the cob. 1/2 cup finely diced jicama 1/4 cup diced sweet red bell pepper 1 small fresh hot pepper, a Jalapeño or half an Anaheim or similar mild one, if you do not want it too hot, remove the veins and seeds. If you want hotter, use a Serrano, Manzano, Scotch Bonnet or Habanero. 1/2 cup diced sweet red onion juice from half a lime 1/8 cup rice vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Combine all ingredients, cover tightly and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow flavors to blend. Makes almost 4 cups.

'Scuse me for askin' but is the topic title supposed to be "Hungry" Like the Wolf? or as it is?

I have scales for different purposes. For general measuring with a tare function I have the Salter Aquatronic because it weighs liquids as well as dry ingredients and goes up to 11 pounds. Aquatronic scale Not all scales have the ability to weigh liquids and many of the recipes I have, particularly the ones from Australia, indicate liquid weight. You can convert, of course but this scale does the conversion for you. Not all volume measurements are equal, definitely not the Aussie ones and a error can have a devastating effect on the recipe, particularly in baking. I got mine on sale at Linens 'N Things. I think it was $39.00. I like the new one they are showing on this site, Cool scale! mainly because it looks so cool but so far I haven't gotten to the point that "I can't live without it." but the day may come....... I think I have mentioned before that I love gadgets, especially the quirky ones. (Presently I am bidding on a really odd gadget on ebay, if I win I will post a photo.)

I wish I could get this story from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Last year we had a case of "beenapping" in the area. Unfortunately the man to whom it happened will not talk about it. A local bee man who has been providing bees for orchard owners for many years found some of his hives abandoned when he was retrieving them at the end of the flowering season. Apparently another bee person, instead of simply buying bees was sneaking into the orchards at night when the bees were inactive, transferring the queen to a hive in the back of his truck and waiting until sunup for the remaining bees to leave the hive and follow the scent to the new hive. He also had vandalized the first bee man's hives that had been set out in an area within sight of the 14 freeway. He had thrown a chain around several of the hives, shut himself in his truck and then drove away, dragging those hives into others. He was caught when someone recalled seeing a guy loading a large chain into the bed of a pickup truck not too far from where the vandalism took place. Strange what some people will do. I don't think there is all that much money to be made in honey, unless one has a huge operation. The honey from Buell's farm (which nearly burned in a recent wildfire) is very good, I buy it by the gallon for my holiday baking.

Or in some cases, determining what killed off certain groups and you don't have to go back all that far to discover some interesting mysteries solved. For a long time no one actually knew why some of the mid-19th century arctic temporary settlements died off totally. There was some evidence of disease as the population, mostly men, sickened and died over a period of many months with it becoming more rapid as time passed. The anthropologists that studied them finally found the critical factor. Lead poisoning. From canned foods that they took with them to round out their diet. Early on they subsisted almost totally on foods they hunted or caught and used the tinned foods sparingly. As they began to sicken and were less able to hunt they relied more and more on the tinned foods which of course killed them more rapidly. Had they relied on the foods of the native peoples, some of which were very odd to them, they would probably have survived instead of having faith in their "civilized" foods.

I use several butters, in addition to homemade. I like Kerrygold as a table butter. I buy Plugra, both salted and unsalted on a regular basis. I also use Strauss Family Creamery butter but it is very expensive. I also like the Organic Valley butter which is very similar to the Strauss and cheaper but still much more expensive than most others. When it is available, and is from a fresh shipment, I buy the Anchor butter from New Zealand carried at the local Phillipine market. It is excellent for baking. I have tried all of the "new" European style butters and have not been terribly impressed. For general holiday baking I buy Alta-Dena unsalted butter in bulk as in highly spiced baked goods the taste of the butter is not as important to me and it has a neutral flavor that is just fine plus the quality is better than the "brand X" butters sold at some of the big box stores. I generally buy 20 pounds when it is on sale, vacuum seal and freeze it up to 4-5 months. I have noticed no change in texture or taste. For baking where butter is an integral part of the taste (as in shortbread) I use only the best. Generally I make my own for this particular application because I can control the product.

I have been thinking about the various spices that might be combined with coffee and am wondering what effect the Szechwan peppercorns might have. Since one effect mentioned is a slight numbning of the tongue, would that interfere with tasting the coffee and other spices? If it were to be combined with other spices, what should they be, what combines well with the Szechwan pepper?

My favorite is braised leeks and although I do not have a recipe (been cooking them for 50 years) Recipe Source has a basic recipe and 3 others that are made exactly as I do. I also combine them (after cooking) with glazed carrots. My recipe (somewhat unusual) is Glazed carrots It makes a beautiful presentation, the color combination and the flavor combination is perfect with meats and also as part of a vegetarian meal. I have a friend who is a vegetarian (not vegan) who always asks if I am going to prepare this when I invite her for dinner.

Those ducks are hung in a sort of smoker and are laquered with a sauce that firms on the surface and actually seals it. They are delicious. Last summer there was a segment on Food TV with Ming Tsai and his home kitchen. He showed the duck smoker he has right in the kitchen and described the process.

There is a mention on this site Toddy brewed coffee of brewing a special coffee in the Toddy that includes cinnamon and vanilla syrup. The filter appears to be made from felt. Here is one story about the development of it.toddy coffee filter And here is a different story: Toddy coffee filter system The first time I saw one of these contraptions was in Solvang (Danish tourist trap near Buellton, California, north of Santa Barbara). The nice lady, in traditional Danish dress, gave the sales pitch and told me the idea came from high in the Andes where water boils at a lower temperature and full coffee flavor couldn't be extracted except with the long, cold brewing method. I believe she said the filters were made from dense felt made from Llama wool. Who knows for sure, only the guy who thought it up.

I just learned that there are some espresso "pods" that will fit the Senseo. However I am not sure how well they will do. One reviewed complained that even with one Senseo pod and a double dose of water the coffee was too bitter for him and in fact he liked it better on the second extraction. I tried it this way and got mostly colored water that had practically no coffee taste at all. There were two new ones at the office yesterday and everyone had to "play" with them. The doc even brought one of his patients back to see it and have a small cup. I think it is the "gimmick" effect. Something different that looks cool and that works the first time with no difficulty. Not everything is so fool-proof, I guess it is fun to have something work the way it should right out of the box. I know when I got my first espresso machine (back in the dark ages) I must have made 20 or 30 (or more) really bad pulls before I learned the correct tamping method and got a half-way decent cup. It took a lot longer to get proficient at it so it worked every time.

My favorite brand also. I buy it by the case from my local Phillipine market,(picked up a case this morning). I use a fair amount in the mustard I make and in the various ketchups, chutneys and other home made condiments. Jonny's regular price for the 25 fl. oz (32 oz by weight) bottle is $1.99 but when I buy a case I get it for $1.29 which is cheaper than it would cost me to make from scratch. Of course I buy a lot of other stuff too, I am a good customer. This time it was a new bottle of fish sauce, (Patis brand), sweet soy sauce, mushroom flavored soy sauce, a jug of rice vinegar, hot and spicy banana ketchup, a can of jack fruit, four bags of frozen coconut juice/pulp, a stack of banana leaves and a bag each of sweet red rice and sweet white rice. Then went next door to the Phillipine bakery and bought a couple of pork buns. (Guess what they will be dipped in?) and 4 empanadas (chicken) for my lunch. I also bought a jar of a new item Jonny showed me, a Korean BBQ sauce - Bulgogi Marinade, Korean Pear, 15.8%. Product of So. Korea. Anyone tried this one yet?

besides my favorite sandwich "spread", i.e. crumbled crisp bacon mashed into ripe avocado with a little onion, I make Avocado Ice Cream: Thusly 1 can evaporated milk very cold. (14 1/2 oz) NOT sweetened condensed milk. 1/2 cup Orange juice, strained to remove pulp 1/2 cup Lemon juice, ditto! 1 cup Mashed ripe Haas avocados - use the others if you must but they have to be very ripe and free of any fibers. 1 1/2 cup Sugar or Splenda. pinch of salt. The best way to do this is to pour the evap. milk in a metal bowl (chills faster) and put in in the coldest part of the fridge or even in the freezer for a few minutes. Meanwhile assemble the rest of the ingredients. Using a wire whip or wire beater on mixer, beat the milk until it looks sort of like whipped cream and has doubled in bulk, approximately... Add the juices and the avocado, continue beating until creamy then add the sugar and salt while continuing to beat. Be sure it is well blended, no lumps of avocado. You can freeze this in an ice cream freezer OR you can treat it like a granita, put in a container in the freezer and take it out every half hour to stir and rake it to break up any ice crystals. An ice cream freezer is easier.

And for that pesky goose - Cumberland sauce.....

With gifts like that, you're welcome to come to my house or share in major celebratory events at any time. I have always believed in the "Bread cast upon the waters" philosophy!

This is where I buy the glassware I need that I don't already have on hand. The volumetric flasks are very nice to give as gifts when they contain something colorful. lab glassware Scroll down - - -

I just got a call from Jalloun, the guy who makes the spiced coffee. He has come across with his "secret" spice mixture. No black pepper, he uses what he calls malaguette pepper, also known as grains of paradise, a little sumac (I was right), cardamom green or white, cinnamon and allspice. Sounds good, doesn't it?

You might consider visiting a laboratory glassware supplier and check out the very inexpensive flasks, filtering flasks, filters and funnels that work beautifully for filtering all kinds of liquids. There is a type of flask with a top opening and a tube connection on one side that is great for your type of application. As long as the plug is on the side tube of the bottom flask, the liquid in the top section (the filtering flask) can't move into the lower flask. Many years ago we often made coffee or tea in the (totally sterilized) lab glassware at work. When we stopped doing lab work in the office, about 18 years ago, I brought all the glassware home. I have carboys in which my vinegar is working, volumetric flasks that hold the various flavorings I make, and etc. There is a decorater on Melrose, in Los Angeles, who uses lab glass a great deal when he is "doing up" a kitchen. I am sure he charges a bundle for these interesting items but they are really very, very cheap. The borosilacate glass is tough, heat proof and you can do a lot with it. You can even set up a small still, it is easy to do, if you want to make pure coffee essence.

No one has ever turned down a bottle of Chateau d Ychem, I gave a bottle of the '83 as a wedding present last year. Even though I do not drink, I do buy some wines when they are at a good price and hold onto them to give as gifts.