Eden

I was the worlds biggest fan of washed spinach & salad greens until a few weeks ago, when we read a piece in Science News "Ready-to-eat spinach bears tough microbes (6/25/2005): Bagged spinach may contain a significant number of bacteria, many of which are resistant to several antibiotics." Sorry no link it's one of their subscribers-only articles, but you get the gist... The research focused on one brand of bagged spinach, but it seems obvious to me that the same processing techniques are going to be used for most brands, and for other bagged greens as well so I'm having to go back to washing greens which I HATE

I'm just wondering has anyone tried putting their pie plate over a burner for a few minutes when they pull it out of the oven to crisp up the bottom? If you can do it for a second or two to help release items that are sticking to the pan I don't see why you couldn't do it for a little longer to help with your crust. It's an extra step of course, but it seems like it might help... you might also experiment with different crusts to see if another crust holds up better for this particular recipe. I've always done the flour or cornstarch method, but I really like the amaretti idea. I think it would be particularly good with blueberries. By the way, what Curlz describes as a Gallete here I have heard called a Country Style Tart.

That would have to be plan A, because we Ballardites would rise up in anger if you took him away from us! In addition to the best croissant in seattle, they also make a really lovely ginger biscuit - great for Bill who doesn't like gooey sweets, and their macaroon has the perfect texture. So far I've loved everything I've tried.

a spoon sorry irrisistable... something like orange-almond cake, or Brandied cherries would go well. I'm partial to chocolate on chocolate, so serving it with a really good chocolate cake/torte/babka would also be good.

They come to the Ballard sunday market as well & I don't recall seeing goat milk, but I'm all about the cheese so I might not have noticed. They sometimes sell a very liquidy goat yoghurt in milk-type bottles, so it would be easy for milk to blend in...

Oddly even though I love it, I rarely make Sangria at home. When we're travelling however we make it all the time, mostly because we just can't finish a bottle of wine between us, and it's a great way to use up that mediocre wine you bought on spec... Travelers sangria: partial bottle of wine you couldn't finish yesterday, last bit of orange juice from breakfast, random fruit from the cute little store up the hill, sugar if needed/available, gorgeous view of the amalfi coast or french countryside. mix well & enjoy

As I understand it, it's not legal to sell unpasteurized milk/cream to the general public. My friends who make cheese as a hobby had to "buy a share" of a goat in order to be able to legally get the milk.

With much delay because life happens... Round 3 of the "locusts" was almost perfect. no photos because they look pretty much the same as round 2... this time, I cooked the honey only until it reached 230F (soft crack) and mixed it into the crumbs, almost immediately. I also found the trick to making the little balls look nicer. you form them initially, let them rest 5 minutes while the honey is firming up, and then come back & smooth them up. The one odd thing was that in spite of a higher crumb to oil ratio, this time there was a little too much oil for the crumbs somehow. I think this is just a humidity factor so I've just modified the recipe to allow a little extra crumbs to be thrown in as needed... The recipe is now in RG

Actuallly I think its 5 digits, and it starts with a "9"

Juraydat - Small Locusts Serves 22 as Dessert. These are a wonderful little spiced honey candy based on a 13th century Andalusian recipe (translated by Charles Perry). Mr Perry was unsure of why they are called "Locusts" as the original text specifies to make them into little round balls like hazelnuts, but we're fairly certain it's because people fall upon the plate like locusts when you serve them... 2-1/2 c plain storebought bread crumbs 1/2 c almond oil 1 c honey 1/3 tsp powder forte* 3/8 tsp pepper Whiz crumbs & oil together in food processor. If they look too "damp" add more crumbs. They should look light and fluffy. Let sit for a few hours. Put 1 c. honey in a heavy enameled pot on medium heat. Stir constantly as the honey wants to boil over! Using a candy thermometer watch closely as you heat it to approximately 230F (soft crack) this should take 3-5 minutes only. Remove from heat. Add spices let cool a moment, break up any clumped spices. Mix into crumbs, form little 3/4" balls let sit about 5 minutes to firm up, then come back & smooth the balls out a little. Let rest another half hour at least and then serve and get out of the way... *Powder forte was a spice mix used throughout medieval Europe, usually based on cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove and black pepper. (Mine has grains of paradise as well.) If you don't want to make some up yourself just use "pumpkin pie spices" Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Vegetarian, Candy ( RG1359 )

Juraydat - Small Locusts Serves 22 as Dessert. These are a wonderful little spiced honey candy based on a 13th century Andalusian recipe (translated by Charles Perry). Mr Perry was unsure of why they are called "Locusts" as the original text specifies to make them into little round balls like hazelnuts, but we're fairly certain it's because people fall upon the plate like locusts when you serve them... 2-1/2 c plain storebought bread crumbs 1/2 c almond oil 1 c honey 1/3 tsp powder forte* 3/8 tsp pepper Whiz crumbs & oil together in food processor. If they look too "damp" add more crumbs. They should look light and fluffy. Let sit for a few hours. Put 1 c. honey in a heavy enameled pot on medium heat. Stir constantly as the honey wants to boil over! Using a candy thermometer watch closely as you heat it to approximately 230F (soft crack) this should take 3-5 minutes only. Remove from heat. Add spices let cool a moment, break up any clumped spices. Mix into crumbs, form little 3/4" balls let sit about 5 minutes to firm up, then come back & smooth the balls out a little. Let rest another half hour at least and then serve and get out of the way... *Powder forte was a spice mix used throughout medieval Europe, usually based on cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove and black pepper. (Mine has grains of paradise as well.) If you don't want to make some up yourself just use "pumpkin pie spices" Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Vegetarian, Candy ( RG1359 )

When I'm trying to drink a large volume of liquid (8 glasses of water a day for example) I find a straw the easiest way to imbibe in quantity. I guess I never learned to chug but I agree that their main purpose is to cope with the ridiculous amounts of ice people put in drinks these days. and chile_peppa forgot how much fun it is to make "snakes" by scrunching up straw wrapppers and then dotting them with liquid

We were discussing your plight yesterday, and wondering how many companies can afford to reroute through Seattle. I assume that the US/Wa State will charge some hefty import duties to let anything pass through, in addition to the extra costs of trucking it north once it comes in here, I'd think that would all add up pretty fast. I hope it all gets resolved soon for everyone's sake.

Actually one of my blueberry sorbet recipes does this, and it's lovely 2 qts blueberries, 1/4 c. each amaretto & cognac, and 1 cup sugar. cook for @ 10 mins, puree, strain, freeze... hmm, that might have to be next...

actually we CAN grow citrus here exactly the way the wealthy of northern europe grew it at least until the last century - build yourself an orangerie put your lemon tree under glass & it should get plenty of therms. I also wonder if there are specific varieties that do better in our climate. I was amazed to hear that people cold grow figs here outside of a greenhouse. me I got two black thumbs so with the exception of a few herbs if I can't buy it, I don't get to eat it. I guess my role in life is to support local farmers

You might look & see if you have a Grocery Outlet in yor area. (store that sells gently dented cans, overstocked items etc. don't worry they can't sell you food that's expired or gone off) When I was young these were a great way for me to occasionally find splurge foods at budget prices, and often regular foods for practically nothing...

having now tried the "hardened" ice-cream I can say it did OK. It gets extremely hard, but a few moments of resting on the counter & it's scoopable, without having totally melted. it does have some ice-crystals in there now, but not too bad & the flavor remains outstanding.

No we only chilled it for the minimum 2 hours listed in the recipe. waiting a full day might have killed me ;-> we use an older Krups model with a canister that lives in the freezer also.

After forever_young_ca's glowing endorsement above I went out this morning & bought strawberries, because I couldn't go another day without fresh strawberry ice cream Wonderful husband Bill then made ice-cream for me following the linked recipe except he didn't strain the seeds since we both grew up expecting seeds in home-made strawberry ice-cream. here's the custard with the strawberry puree about to be added in. if you look closely you can see the line left behind in the custard by the spoon running through it: and here it is all pretty & swirly being mixed together: here's the mix ready to freeze: and here's the final product about to be devoured by yours truly: I totally agree with forever_young_ca - this recipe is fabulous! If I hadn't watched it being made, I would swear it had guar gum or some other stabilizer to get that perfect texture. Bill theorizes that it's the protein in the egg white that causes that particularly smooth mouth feel. Bill was worried when making it that it would be too lemony as the recipe calls for a large amount of lemon juice & peel, but it was just right, if anything, I'd use a spoonful less sugar, and since strawberry ice-cream is all about feeding your inner 6 year old, not even that...

Medievally verjus could also be made from unripe apples. Several years ago (before we knew to thin the fruit) one of the branches of our apple tree came down from the weight of the fruit before the apples were ripe. We juiced them green & it made a wonderful souring agent! I keep meaning to make more (skipping the broken branch step!) because it was a really lovely unique flavor.I know that wheat CAN grow here as a friend grew some in her garden down in renton a few years back for a project she was working on, but I highly doubt that anyone is doing so commercially. what about legume flours as a sub? anyone growning chana dal locally? Do any of the local nut growers produce nut oils? almond oil is wonderfully neutral tasting (I don't know if it has a high smoke point though) and of course for many applications you can just use lard, if you want to render down a batch of pig/beef fat.

I thought this was a cool idea as well, assuming you accept the "marco polo rule" mentioned in the thread of allowing spices to come from foreign parts (maybe specifying that they have to come from a small local store as a way of paliating the rule-bending factor?) I'd personally prefer 150 miles so that we could include all the yummy produce and wine from Eastern Washington, but I can see that the 100 mile limit would force you to be more creative. what about "local" wineries that source their grapes from yakima? and local bakeries that buy flour from elsewhere? how strict do you want to get? Of course my refridgerator is packed to the brim right now with foreign cheeses so there's no way I can even try to eat really locally for another week or so...

Oh, man... a good restaurant in an old church. That has so many possibilities: You could call it St. Bacon's, and of course missing sunday morning services would be a sin. ~A ← The theme possibilities here are immense.We went to a pizzeria in Verona this spring that was in a converted old church. we can't recall the real name because we just kept referring to it as "God's own pizza"

Dinner tonight, thanks to a suggestion from little ms foodie, was was fromage forte on Essential Bakery's Desem loaf. So good! Paired with a glass of the same white burgundy used in the fromage and a salad of fresh heirloom tomato and sweet green pepper both from the farmers market, just drizzled with olive oil & salt. We were going to have leftover sorbet for dessert, but ended up eating more fresh tomato instead!

sounds tasty, and that way I can use up some of the leftover wine too - I think we have about 7 partial bottles lying around at this point!

There is really just too much for me to eat without getting totally sick of the sight of it. what will happen to it texturally if I freeze & later defrost it? I haven't had good experiences freeezing cheese thus far - is there a trick to it i'm missing? mmm mac & chee mmm fried cheese.