andiesenji

I am not advocating DQ scrap everything and start over. I made a rather offhand suggestion of a slight name change, adding two oo s, but it was rather in jest. I also can't understand why some "Native Americans" want sports teams, etc., to stop using Amerind names. I always thought it was an honor, not an insult. I can understand why they would not want to see a product named "squaw bread" in a market but that is very different, that is an insulting term. I have cousins who are half Choctaw and they refer to themselves as "indians" and think the whole name business is ridiculous.

I use nuts in several conserves. Pecans or pistachios in cranberry conserve is the most popular with my friends. Chestnuts in apple/greengage jam. Apricot/almond is a wonderful combination. Or peach/almond. You can actually cook up a small batch in the microwave in a pyrex measure to get a taste of how a conserve will turn out. I do it all the time, takes no more than 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the type of fruit, cooking the fruit in 2 minute intervals. I add the nuts about 2/3 rds of the way through the process.

I heard it mentioned on Melinda Lee's Food Talk show (L.A. area) perhaps a year ago. I grow a lot of fennel and it isn't difficult to knock the pollen off into a cloth-lined basket. I get it on my sleeves all the time when I walk between the rows of plants. I grow them for the seeds and the plants are perennial, after harvesting the last crop of seeds, the plants are just cut back to the base when the stalks die down in the winter. They are the first green shoots to emerge in the late winter. I tried a couple of the recipes from the chef at Sugar Ranch in Visalia and they were okay but I didn't notice that the flavor was as extraordinary as had been touted. It occurred to me that they may be using the pollen from Florence or bulb-type fennel which I grow but in smaller amounts. I tried it and there was no appreciable difference. I made a cream sauce using the fennel pollen which I used on scallops. I also made the chicken recipe.

I had a chat a short time ago with a friend who just happens to be half African-American and half Norwegian. When I mentioned the debate about the DQ MooLatte, she broke up with laughter. She said she would never have thought of it as being non-PC on her own. Her mother is originally from Mississippi, a high school teacher who met her father while on sabbatical in Europe in 1962. Liz told me that she has never heard the word spoken, has only seen it in books. She assumed it was pronounced mew-latto and so did not associate it with the MooLatte when she saw the commercial. She just thought the woman in the commercial was a little ditzy. She said that if someone is going to get upset about this they have too much time on their hands and are indeed a little too PC, i.e. politically constipated. (Liz is an attorney.)

I forgot all about chestnuts. I love them. Actually I don't think of them as a nut so much as a confection or sometimes a vegetable or even flour. They are so versatile and can be used so many different ways it is difficult to simply consider them a nut.... I candy chestnuts in vanilla syrup, similar to marrons glacé. Treated this way they will keep practically forever.

If you toast them just a bit, then take Kraft caramels, cut them in half and soften them just a bit and roll them in the pine nuts, it makes a very tasty, bite-sized candy. (Wear latex gloves.) I also make pignoli cookies, the Italian pine nut almond paste cookies that are very, very good. recipe The pine nuts at CostCo are very reasonably priced.

I do a water bath on most things as long as they are sufficiently acid, jams, jellies, preserves. I may use the steam canner for fruit butters, applesauce, pickles, marinara sauce, especially in larger containers Some things I process in the pressure canner because I know they can be a problem. Years ago I used to use paraffin on jellies and jams and never had a problem, however the stuff is horribly flammable and you have to have the inside rim of the jelly glass absolutely clean or the paraffin will not made a good seal and will allow mold spores to invade. Jars and lids are relatively inexpensive (unless one goes for the fancy French imports) that it is better to spend a little more money and be safe. I have both the book by Ferber and the one by Langeland, as well as quite a few others, and do use some their recipes for ideas. Some of my old books have more information about preserving vegetables and meats. However I do not do as much of those as I used to do. I still can jugged hare and mincemeat with meat (actually I use ground jerky) and spiced potted meat, venison or duck, which is like a paté. Those have to be processed in the pressure cooker.

Macadamias by a huge margin, then - - Hickory nuts Pecans Spanish almonds Pine nuts Pistachios I have a friend on the big island who sends me macnuts from the grower, these are the shelled but not perfect nuts, but I used them in baking so who cares if they have a chunk out of them. They are almost the toughest nut to crack, hickory nuts are the worst.

You got them all! Congratulations.

I think they could solve the whole problem by simply sticking two more oo s in the name to make it MooooLatte. There could be no mistaking that it meant Moo as in cow and Latte as in milk.

Don't you mean grammar? I was waiting to see if anyone caught that. Did you catch the other errors?

I use a lot of the words y'all don't care for but I will try to do better in the future. Or not.... I use "veg" quite a bit since I worked with a young woman from Australia and picked it up from her along with a few other terms best left unwritten. I don't mind "artisan" in any of its permutations as long as it is not applied to the ersatz pap that has been served up to us all along, just with new packaging. There is a place for it, many people who are working with foods are artisans, their work is artistic, adventuresome, not by rote. Abbreviations work in some contexts but are out of place in others. I don't recall ever using 'shrooms, but am sure I have used words to describe foods that appeal to me as lucious, delish, etc. Frankly, I enjoy reading the posts even if they include words that are not what I would use, or there are no capitals, but there is incorrect punctuation and some very odd spelling. Having been an English major I notice these things but it is the context, not the grammer that makes the posts interesting to me.

I always have breakfast but it varies considerably, depending on my mood, the weather, the news, how much I have to do, if I am going to my office or puttering in the garden or having to do a bunch of baking or cooking. I love cereals of all kinds, I mix several together to have various textures. I usually have some kind of fruit which goes into the bowl first. (I learned many years ago that the cereal does not get soggy so quickly when it is supported by the fruit.) If it is a lazy day with not much to do, I will make cheese blintzes. I make crepes in large batches, they keep well in the fridge and are great for filling with meats, eggs, and other goodies. I love omelets of all kinds. I love the southern breakfasts with ham, eggs, grits but I like fried potatoes also. Biscuits and gravy. fried cornmeal mush with maple syrup. My own invention, mock French toast - bread pudding baked in a loaf pan, sliced and cooked on a griddle. Fruits and melons of all kinds. Fruit salads I still have a long list. And of course, black tea, hot, in a large mug or cup with milk and Splenda, since I have developed diabetes. Lots of tea. I do like iced tea but in the morning I prefer hot.

Ihave two "high-volume" pitters. This one cherry pitter #1 and this one cherry/plum pitter which is great for large cherries, plums and large olives. (which do not fit well in the smaller one) They may seem pricey but if you need to process a lot of fruit they are worth every penny.

Speaking of Grilled Cheese and it's first cousin, the Panini I have news! Sam's Club has the VillaWare Uno Pro-Press Panini Grill for $38.81 This is a very good buy. Up to now the best discounted price has been about $75.00. Happy Grilling!!

I forgot to mention that I use the Japanese suribachi like this for grating ginger in large amounts. The inner surface with its ridges works so well and you do not lose any of the ginger juice as one does with the little flat things that are difficult to hold onto if one has arthritis in the hands as I do.

This is almost how I make my basic bread salad, except for the watermelon - - - I cut the tomatoes, cucumbers (I grow the lemon and the Persian) into bite-sized chunks, chop the purslane coarsly along with some onion and some finely minced oil-roasted garlic. Then I tear my home-baked Asiago cheese bread into bite-sized chunks and toss everything in a large bowl. I serve it with a selection of cheeses, fresh as well as hard so people can add their own and a selection of olives. I also set out a selection of fresh herbs, lemon and lime quarters, two or three varieties of salts, olive oils and two or three pepper grinders with different types of pepper. I have a large collection of good-sized pasta bowls which are perfect for a rough salad of this type. Room enough in the bowls for people to mix their own selections without losing bits of it all over the place. I can add thinly sliced or shredded cold meats to round things out. (many men seem to think a meal is not complete without some kind of meat.) I do not make a particular dressing per se, I let my guests compose their own.

I have seen them in the various Asian markets in my town. We have the Phillipine market, a Thai market, a Korean market and next door in Palmdale an Indian market. We also have a middle eastern market here in Lancaster and I shop there quiite often as they also carry a good selection of Indian items. The large brass M&P I bought there holds 24 oz liquid measure. I have had no problems with the large porcelain Mason Cash M&Ps breaking. They are quite sturdy and I just set them on a piece of the rubber shelf liner to keep them from sliding on the work surface. I like the size of the big one because after I mash the herbs, and such I can use it as a mixing bowl to add most of the remaining ingredients. see here Often I am working with large quantities when I am composing an herb and spice mixture for canning and the large one will hold everything. If I limited myself to one of the smaller ones I would have to make multiple mixtures with the possibility of omitting something in one or the other. I use the glass one for grinding oily seeds as it is much easier to clean than the others. Both the molcajete and the large metate I have were purchased in Mexico. You have to be careful in buying these because some are only made for decoration. You have to be able to see if it will hold water because some of the volcanic rock is so porous that water will pour right through it. Buy one and test it as soon as you get it home and if it is too porous, i.e. will not hold water for more than a couple of minutes, take it back. You then have to "season" it by grinding multiple batches of dry rice and very coarse salt in it to knock off the loose bits or you will have gritty bits in your teeth. It takes a fair amount of work to get one of these in good condition for use but they are worth it.

You can make kefta from cooked lamb, you simply grind it and mix with the herbs and spices, fry them, drain well on a rack till completly cool, then freeze on a sheet pan and transfer to a ziploc bag when frozen. (This way they won't stick together) Recipe here They can be reheated in the microwave or thawed and heated in the oven, they can even be steamed. you do not have to shape them in the traditional shape, you can form patties, etc. You can use other herbs and spices for a different flavor if you wish, use the same proportions. Sage and cumin with some ground hot pepper is an alternative flavor which is good with lamb.

I do have a granite one (green) that is fairly large (8 inches across) and a smaller black one (both bought at the Phillipine market here in town). Two porcelain, Mason Cash, one quite large the other medium, (both from England). A lava rock molcajete 8 inches in diameter, a large wooden M&P mostrly for decoration. The brass one I mentioned, for pounding hard spices such as star anise, cloves, cardamom, etc. I also have a thick glass laboratory one and a small agate one that has a pestle that is shaped like a mushroom which I use for grinding pills for my dogs. I also have two of the Japanese suribachi bowls. I have been collecting these over the years, trying to find one that worked better than those I had. Actually I find one works well with some things, others work better with others.

Check the selection at Fantes here I have several of different materials. I have a large brass one, made in Turkey, which is my favorite. I found it at a middle eastern grocery for $15.00.

I order the Tehama Gold from this place It is unfiltered and very fruity. You have to use it up rapidly, it loses a lot if left to stand for very long.

This is a joke, right? Not a joke see the link: Real Salt

I know this is the Fine Spirits and Cocktails topic, however I would like to add a note about Rose's Lime juice. I buy it in the industrial-sized bottles, not because I use it in drinks, but because it has become an integral part of my seasoning ensemble. I have found that a dash or two of this potion is great for adding a bit of pizazz to a salad dressing, a marinade, soups, particularly cold soups such as tomato and also carrot. Yesterday I roasted some figs with cheese and drizzled a bit of the Rose's over some of them an the flavor was excellent. It didn't mask the flavor of the figs but rather enhanced it. I began using it about 15 years ago when I happened to be out of fresh limes and was making glazed carrots with Marsala. The original recipe called for orange juice and zest. I liked the lime better and changed the recipe.

Sorry, I meant to type hogweed, because it is also called that in certain areas of the south. It has many other local names. In western Kentucky where I grew up I knew it as hogweed or little hogweed as it is noted on this site: purslane/little hogweed Here in So.Calif. it is always labeled in stores (Mexican) as verdolaga, occasionally with purslane in brackets. Here is another site which notes the health benefits: pursland If you look through herbal texts, you will find about 40 different names for purslane depending on when and where the books were written. (I have an extensive collection of herbal books)