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With that veal stock, you could make a nice French Onion Soup....the Italian bread and Munster could compose the cheesy crouton topping. I also agree with the others- pasta with red pepper flakes, broccoli and anchovy is a staple in my budget-conscious household. Broccoli puree can also go nicely on top of toasted garlic-rubbed bread. Or heck- roasted garlic on toasted bread is pretty darn tasty too! Also a big fan of pasta and toasted breadcrumbs. And aglio e olio. Baked pasta. Pasta or polenta topped with Bolognese sauce. If you have eggs, pasta with soft-yolked egg on top (this would be a nice place to insert broccoli as well). Polenta (or grits...maybe cheese grits?) with egg on top. French toast. And if you have baking basics, pancakes. Maybe a strata with torn bread, eggs, sausage, cheese and some vegetables thrown in for good luck . If you have dried beans, I love black bean soup (just black beans simmered with a few garlic cloves in water, salt to flavor at end) with an egg poached in it. While roasting veggies is delicious, I also find that the volume shrinks (naturally ) with that cooking process. Thus, If you choose to roast broccoli and/or cauliflower, I'd suggest stretching that flavor-concentrated dish by combining it with pasta, or making into a soup. Roasted cauliflower soup would be plenty delicious with water as a base. Same applies with meats like sausage. The taste is strong enough to flavor lots of blander "base" like rice, pasta, etc. Speaking of which, Julia Child's basic method for making vegetable soups based on water is one of my favorite ways to make soup....small knob of butter or olive oil, add vegetable, bay leaf, onion, dried herbs....sweat, add water and plenty of salt, and simmer till vegetable is tender. Puree or leave as potage. Meat can be used as flavoring. If you have frozen peas, they make for excellent soup. Grilled cheese + soup can be great comfort food. Tilapia + celery + tomato + water + dried herbs (if you have it, Old Bay would work great here) = seafood soup Baked potatoes topped with steamed broccoli and Munster. Along with meatloaf, you could even go with a "sweet breakfast sausage" route by mixing the veal with the apple, sweated celery and onions, and dried herbs like sage, thyme, fennel, etc. Or, take some of that meatloaf mix, and make tiny meatballs out of it to drop into simmering garlic and onion-kissed broth, along with frozen chopped spinach and pastina....Italian Wedding soup. If you have milk (even powdered milk)- scalloped potatoes. Or macaroni and cheese. Bechamels work OK with powdered milk. If you have rice, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, fried rice. Jook can also be satisfying. Brain is losing power....but I'll keep thinking, and I'm sure more wonderful suggestions will be coming your way! Please keep us updated on any changes to your grocery list!

Welcome Doodad! Never done it myself, but thought you might want to take a look at this article if you haven't seen it. Others may be able to weigh in on the method outlined as well. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/article...una-confit.aspx Good luck, and let us know how your confit turns out!

I guess I play more loose and fast in the kitchen....Don't bake or do confectionary work much, but when I do , I pay more attention to measurements than usual. And as many of you have already stated, I use them as guidelines. Especially when it comes to bread doughs, where I try to simply get to the right texture/consistency/feel for the dough more than anything. One of the most revealing experiences in the kitchen happened for me a few years ago. A friend wanted to learn how to make a curried chickpea dish that I had made a few weeks ago. As I was chopping things, she would scoop them into measuring cups and spoons to get precise measurements of everything, and then would scribble down notes (e.g. 1 tightly packed cup of onion sliced in 1/8 inch half-moons). It was just such a different prep style than I'd ever seen ...but in a way it was nice for someone would go through that tedious process since I'd never taken the trouble! The funny thing was that at the end, I was using a different brand of tamarind pulp than usual, and it ended up being much more sour than I'd intended. This was a great learning point for both of us- together, we figured out how to compensate for the extra tang through experimentation. I learned to be familiar with my ingredients before tossing them in the pot. And she got some experience with "winging it". In my opinion, it was harder on her end to deal with my different cooking style (I think I was more fascinated than anything with her meticulousness), but we certainly weren't dissuaded from cooking with each other again! After each session together, she'd send over her typed-up recipes, and I would add more sensory comments (e.g. how things should smell, look, feel, etc.) So I think we actually made a great team!

I just made this last night! Well, almost....I cut the corn syrup in half (because I don't like very sweet sauces and I was using semisweet chocolate), added a pinch of salt and a little vanilla extract. Because the corn syrup wasn't lending it's viscosity, I probably could have simmered the syrup a little more before stirring in the chocolate, but it was nicely drizzly last night....kind of like good tempura batter. Curious to see how it's holding up in the fridge and how it'll re-heat.

Hi Maggie, I certainly don't mean to project my own experiences on you, but when I lost my father, who bought me my first cookbook, introduced me to Julia, Martin Yan, and the rest of the PBS gang and helped instill me with a love for food and cooking...well, after he was gone, I thought that I'd never want to be in the kitchen again. Our circumstances were different- he died suddenly, whereas you had an extended stressful time with your mother's death. But what you're saying resonates with me- my ever-present desire to cook was gone. Nothing felt like it would be normal again..... But those pockets of normalcy (in the kitchen and outside the kitchen) do find their way in. Even if there's a reset of what is "normal". Maybe you'll never go back to cooking as diversely as you did before. Or as often as before. Or as ambitiously as before. But if cooking is a strong part of your identity, I betcha it'll make its way back in its own way. Music (another area where my father profoundly influenced me) never fully returned as strongly as part of my identity, but it made its way back into my life when I didn't force it. Here's a thought- maybe you'll find comfort in meditatively snapping the ends off fresh beans. Or shelling peas. Or shucking corn. Or pitting cherries. Maybe you'll lose yourself in thinking while you go through the motions....maybe you'll simply focus on the task at hand. That's not to say that you'll want to DO anything with the produce once they're prepped, but it's a step in the cooking process....and maybe one day you'll find that you want to do something with them, instead of passing them to a supportive husband. My best wishes go out to you and your family.

Welcome Fritdjof and CdnLifeguard! Ah lessee....I'll never again: -microwave a thick soup at work without a cover of some sort (might as well have been a raw egg with the explosion that sucker made!) People actually came out of their offices to see what had happened ....so I might not be microwaving thick soups at work, period. -set down a plastic cutting board on an electric stove coil without checking to see if it is warm. The board still bears a scar...... -set down a plastic sugar canister on an electric coil without checking to see if it is warm first. Actually, I didn't do this, a friend did, but her tales about having to clean up that mess have set me straight! -think it'll be just fine to transport a canister of cocoa with a snap-on lid without a plastic bag. Did this in grad school- had class all day, and was going straight to a friend's house afterward to make a birthday cake. Of course, I was smart enough to bring my own good cocoa powder....but dumb enough to just throw it in my backpack, where it would get tossed around all day with my books, notebooks, etc. When I unzipped my bag at about 10 PM, there was a big POOF!!....and there I was, standing in a brown haze, with my friend's small kitchen literally COVERED in fine brown dust. Not to mention all of my schoolwork and the other contents of my bag.... Cocoa powder is quite fine and can reach amazingly obscure places. And the birthday cake was vanilla that year .

She's SO happy! You all are great, and she sends a big "thank you" (as do I)! Nonblonde007, please tell me more! How is the cucumber prepped for this? Sliced? In batons? Under the fish, over the fish, beside the fish.... ? And for that matter, what kind of fish? And Pontormo, the Slater suggestions sounds great for tonight since I also have some nice fresh radishes to use! Thanks for coming up with these ideas (since my heat-slogged brain obviously isn't ). I can't believe I've blanked on so many of these (e.g. Asian and Mediterranean flavors) ! Please keep them coming!

Hi all ! So, an office mate has generously brought in loads of cucumbers from her garden to share with us- yay! They're wonderful raw- tenderly crisp, thin-skinned, and though they're somewhat seedy , there's still plenty of flavor and appealing texture there. I could eat a whole one simply cut into ice-cold spears and sprinkled with kosher salt. Any ideas or recipes for her bounty would be wonderful to share...I think my office mate would appreciate those as much as we appreciate her generosity! In particular, I'm personally curious about recipes that involve cooked cucumbers...... So far, my suggestions for her have been: -Standard sweet and dill pickles (though she's not big on canning) -Quick pickles -Raita -Hollowed and stuffed with smoked salmon spread or chicken, shrimp and tuna salads Others?

The things I learn every day.... Thanks for the suggestion! No Dean and Deluca around where I live, so I might be online ordering. Appreciate the link!

Mexican (or Tex-Mex) is probably an easy option. Kids can self-serve and adjust to own tastes. Beans can be done in advance and is great for any vegetarians. So is guacamole. which is fast for last-minute prep. Meats can be marinated in advance- either quick cooking cuts (e.g. chicken breast, skirt steak), or you could do barbacoa or shredded chicken sauce in advance. Of course you could do the usual ground beef..... Garnishes can be done in advance (e.g. fresh salsas, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, chopped lettuce) Tortillas can be kept warm in the oven or rice can stay warm in a Crock-pot. Fresh fruit can make for a refreshing end...sliced mangoes, pineapple, melons, kiwi, all can be cut and kept chilled in advance. Or, for something more decadent, if you used the grill for meats, let kids make their own grilled fruit packets in the warm embers- banana with chocolate chips and marshmallows, peaches and plums with granola,etc. Good luck!

Thanks Adam! I should also correct my original post- the Montilla is actually 250 years old, not 25 (kind of a big difference, no? )

I just read this, catching up, all in one go...what an enjoyable account of your week! As a fellow fan of spicy food and a condiment addict, I adore your pictures of random jars...especially the various available sambals. Also, where's that beefcake recipe? Best wishes for Mara's recovery, success with your business and continued good eating!

Hello, So I've decided that my next "splurge" is going to be a nice vinegar. The obvious choice is a balsamic, but I've also seen a 25-year old Montilla that's about the same price point as a 12-year old balsamic (lil' less expensive, but not significantly) What I'm wondering is- can it be used in the same way as a finishing balsamic (e.g. finishing meat sauce, on salad, on fruit)? If you've had both, how would you compare the flavor profiles? Much appreciation for any guidance .

All-beef, on a toasty bun, with Sriracha, yellow mustard, minced onion and minced green chili peppers. Really pretty color combo, spicy delicious, and your breath can put people off for hours unless you brush your teeth!

Well, as a container gardener, the herbs are doing pretty well this season! Ones that have made it this far are marjoram, purple ruffle basil, chives, dill, cilantro, and parsley. Unfortunately, my purple Cherokee tomato plant was quite damaged during the transition to a new apartment last week.....and just as fruit was starting to appear! I've mended with tape and additional supports as much as possible, so we shall see.....

Hooray! Wondering how the "environmental change" is going to work out.... It is interesting that he's looking to the newest "thing" as the source of weight issues. Could very well be that your cooking tastes so good, he can't imagine it couldn't be indulgent . Though from what it sounds like, you're not necessarily cooking light recipes for him- only yourself? Oh- and the salmon straight out of the can? Have done it before, actually. But personally, I prefer it in patty form.

AMEN! Would goulash be too adventurous for him? How about stroganoff? Along the lines of clam chowder, how about oyster stew? And along the lines of cod cakes, how about salmon patties? Quiche? I really like the idea of soups....provides some additional fluid that he might need. How would he feel about borscht? Is gazpacho too far-fetched? Maybe do a veggie plate one night...succotash, his beloved tomatoes and cucumbers, maybe some greens, basket of corn muffins on the side. Sorry if I repeated anything- look forward to your continued accounts, Ellen!

Last night I had a dream that involved an ex-boyfriend and a fish.... Anyway, in the dream, we had found a bag that held a gorgeous piece of fish- the flesh was pale pink and the skin was a deep, shimmering, iridescent indigo and it smelled like clean ocean water. Though it was barely the size of a VHS tape, it weighed 2 pounds, so it was really dense for some reason. We walked around the store asking what kind of fish it was- no one knew. The cashier decided to ring it up as catfish- and so we named it after a cat that lived in his house. (The cat's name is Furbus, so we called it Furbfish) I wish I dreamed long enough to find out what we did with the fish, but I woke up... (FYI, the guy and I are still good friends- we used to grocery shop/cook together a lot when we lived in the same town. Other than that, I have no idea where the rest of the dream came from )

Another option- for people who are 1st posting about the results of a show, they can add "Spoiler Alert- MM/DD" at the top so that people will know that if they haven't seen it, they should avoid that message and posts from that point on. I like to catch up on people's thoughts about the previous episode before watching the next one (often on TIVO), and sometimes it slips my mind that a new episode took place. At least that's what I'll try to do- if I ever actually watch an episode the night it airs

Maybe this is the one you're thinking of? http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=64949 I think the idea behind funeral/wake food is similar. LoriZig, my thoughts are with you. Glad your friends have someone like you around....

Beautiful, Peter. Seriously, where is the tear-of-joy emoticon?

Great play-by-play, Mr. Ross. Thank you. Even after seeing the yechy steaks, that last prime one has me craving beef.....

Did you have a birthday recently? If so, happy birthday! And sorry to hear about your technical difficulties.... Blue cheese coleslaw sounds good! Is it simply traditional creamy coleslaw with chunks of blue cheese mixed in? Or is the blue cheese blended into the dressing?

Thanks for a second opinion. I should have described the crud better! In some cases, it does just look like mildew..... In other cases, it's an actual thin layer of grayish, compacted stuff that I can scrape up (with a little effort) using my fingernail. I'm just wondering about the inner workings that I can't access with my fingernail. The current owners of a Kenmore I was interested in said that they thought it was just soap and that it worked just fine. However, they also said that a typical cycle runs 20-30 minutes If anything, I thought that portables typically have cycles that are just as long, if not longer, than built-ins.... Anyway, I think I'm going to pass on the crusty machines unless anyone can advise me that I'm just paranoid. Mildewy ones might have a shot with me.

OK, I give up....what is it? Can you describe a little more what the texture of the dried squid is like? After toasting, is it completely dry and crisp, or is it more like beef jerky? What is it like after boiling briefly? Hope your mouth is healed! I've been enjoying this.thread immensely... And I want my mommy! (even though I'm quite certain she's never cooked Korean food in her life )