lperry

I made an apple pie yesterday with a vodka crust. I used my regular pie crust recipe (the one on the inside cover of the old checkerboard cookbook ) and just substituted half the water with vodka. It came out great. The dough seemed a little stickier to work with, but rolled fine after a rest in the fridge. I like the idea of using flavored liqueurs - will the sugar make a difference in texture? -L

At Annandale today - apples, pears, winter squash, greens of the kale/collards type and the lettuce/arugula type. Tomatoes galore. There are still fresh herbs - I saw dill and basil. The best part of the trip was when I was buying my Stayman apples and I complained to the apple vendor that nobody grows Winesaps anymore. He told me they have them, and they should be ripe next week. I should complain more often.

Middle eastern food is nice for a buffet-type spread and many items are vegan. Hummus, baba ghanouj, tabouleh, etc. Many Asian foods are also vegan. I will be the next person to recommend Jaffrey and Madison cookbooks. I have a shelf full, and they are wonderful. Good luck and have fun! -L

They had several types of dried peppers - ancho, chipotle, and piquin come to mind immediately. I think they also had smoked and regular paprika (ground). What and where is the Indian Spices and Appliances store?

I took one for the team today and checked them out . What a nice store! Everything is out in different sized containers, including bulk bags if you have your own jars at home. There are large "sample" jars so you can take a sniff and see how fresh everything is. I went in swearing that I would only buy ground ginger and cloves - the two things I need for upcoming holiday baking, and the only two spices I don't grind myself. I controlled myself better than I thought I would and came out with those two items, almond extract, bay leaves, and the country French Vinaigrette mix. I've never bought their mixed spice blends, but this one sounded good so I got a little bag to try in dressings and marinades. Be forewarned - parking is a pain (big shock). You have to pull into the building courtyard (the sign says "The Byron" and they ticket after 90 minutes), and there are only about twelve retail spots there. It was fine in the middle of the afternoon (three empty spaces), but I imagine that evenings and weekends will be a bit tougher.

Well, according to Google maps, it's exactly 1.1 miles from both the West and East Falls Church Metro stops. Smack in the middle.

A few days ago while driving through Falls Church on 7, I spotted a temporary banner sign indicating a Penzey's spice store had just opened. A quick check of the website here indicates that I was not under the influence of a wishful hallucination. So, has anyone been in yet? Is it as wonderful as I fear? (Or as my wallet fears?) -L

They came from the Springfield Costco - off Fullerton Road just south of the beltway.

Thanks for finding the morel thread! It didn't occur to me to search for specific mushrooms. I searched for "mushroom" and found most of the Asian threads. These sauces sound wonderful APPS411 and Lisa1349. I got another tip yesterday from a friend - they can be put directly into your rice cooker with the rice (or any other grain) as long as you use "clean" mushrooms (i.e., not sandy porcini).

I like the idea of adding them into fresh mushroom dishes to up the flavor. Plus, I have barley in the pantry..... It's supposed to be cold this weekend, so I'll go for the soup first. I tend to use porcini in sauces - I love the flavor they impart. Add a little bourbon, and well, there you have it. Brandy is a new idea that I will definitely try.

Due to the enthusiasm of my mushroom-loving BF, I am now the proud owner of a half-pound jar of the "Gourmet Mushroom Blend" by Manitou, currently selling at your local Costco. I found a few topics on dried mushrooms in Asian cooking, but apart from a few shiitakes in the batch, these are mainly western varieties. Here's the list: Morels, Porcini, Brazilian caps (?), Ivory Portabellas (I'm guessing these are regular Agaricus button mushrooms), Shiitakes, and Oyster mushrooms. The packaging indicates that you should use them as a mix. I tend to disagree, and my reasoning is that some of these have quite distinctive flavors that might be best used alone. I have some decent recipes for porcini and shiitakes, but I've never used any of the others in dried form. Rather than have a year's worth of risotto (which would not necessarily be a bad thing), I thought I would check here to see what everyone else is doing with dried mushrooms. It seems like there should be some good fall ideas out there. Does anyone have recipes that they can share? -L

Mount Vernon this morning was looking like fall. Lots of apples - the typical varieties along with some Staymans and Empires, greens - mustard, collards, arugula, chard, oak leaf lettuce (be still my heart), sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, winter squashes, okra and on and on. It was the last of the peaches, but here are still some tomatoes and peppers coming in. The pears are beginning to come in as well. I bought red Bartletts and Devoes. I've never heard of Devoe pears, but they looked and smelled fantastic, so I had to buy them. -L

Tim has it right. I took four semesters of ceramics back when I was an art major (in a past life). Strength of the ceramic material is due to several factors including the clay body and heat of firing. Earthenwares, like those beautifully glazed majolicas from Portugal, Italy, and Mexico are at the bottom of the list and are quite fragile. There's nothing like having your gorgeous new serving tray chip in your suitcase before you ever get it home. Stonewares hit in the middle and are quite hard, and porcelain, though it appears to be more fragile, is actually remarkably strong and durable. A trick for figuring out what kind of clay body was used to make a dish is to give the edge a gentle flick with your fingernail and listen to the sound. Earthenwares "ping" differently from stronger materials. The sound will be sort of high and tinny. Stronger materials will make a more solid sound. Really. -L

I have not in the past, but I did with the last batch I made with mangoes. I haven't eaten any yet, but the set seems to be a bit firmer.

This is interesting, because I assumed that my longer cooking times were due to my using a high walled pot instead of a preserving pan. I end up having to cook for twenty to thirty minutes as well, and I am using a thermometer to gauge the set point. I was actually considering buying a copper preserving pan, in part to cut down on cooking time (but mainly because they are so beautiful). But you are having the same issue with the pan? Is it possible that fruits here have a higher water content?

Pam R, if you are like me, you won't be able to wait for next summer. Once you start, it can be hard to stop. And everyone's jars look so pretty! I'm jealous of people who live where there are all these wonderful berries. Someday I'll have a garden...

^This particular vendor had a banner that indicated they were certified organic from the mid-nineties through 2003. I apologize for forgetting the name - I'm terrible about that.

Mount Vernon again this morning. Interesting items included celery and rainbow chard from the "ecoganic" stand. Also seen were very nice looking zucchini blossoms at $3.25 a pint and the last of the blueberries for the season (at least according to the sign). The first winter squashes, acorn and butternut, showed up as well. I bought a big bag of fresh lima beans that I will shell later. I hated shelling them when I was a kid, but the utter loathing for the tons of beans that we had to pick, shell, wash, blanch, and freeze has somehow turned into nostalgia. I may put the beans with the chard and dress it with herbs and feta.

I grow these and they make the absolute best hot pepper jelly. I use one large bell pepper to about two tablespoons of piquins. -L

Mango-lime is now on the shelf. I used Ferber's recipe and added about 1/4 cup of key lime juice. I'm finding that her ratio of 1 kilo of fruit to 800 grams of sugar works very well with many fruits, even when you can't find a good recipe. And I haven't made anything without maceration since I saw the first batch come out so beautifully. I just picked up a box of Weck jars from Craigslist - I need more fruit!

I had a couple of tablespoons of leftover pesto, so tonight's salad is wheat berries, chopped sun dried tomatoes, chopped shallot, and very coarsely grated pecorino romano, all in a pesto vinaigrette made with a pinot grigio vinegar that a friend gave me. It's marinating right now and tastes pretty good, so it should be even better by dinner time. This is going to serve as a side to some fresh veggies from the farmer's market. -L

Wow. Just. Wow. Incredible stuff. Need more tomatoes.

Mount Vernon on Tuesday had all the summer staples and the start of the fall. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, white and yellow peaches, and my favorite take of the day, baby sweet potatoes!

Thank you so much for this topic. I was just given this book as a gift, and viewing your photos is helping me decide which recipe to make first. Everything you have made is just beautiful! -L

One of my favorite things about eGullet is that, just when you think you've read it all, a wonderful thread from the past gets brought up and you find another must-make recipe. Thank you, Suvir Saran, for posting the tomato chutney recipe and discussion. I'm going to buy a case of tomatoes at the farmer's market this Thursday so I can make it. My first use will be in the old, US, southern standby, okra and tomatoes. I'm thinking that okra and tomato chutney will be absolutely fantastic. If anyone who has made this recipe is reading, I do have one question. Is the measurement of 1 1/2 *cups* of oil correct? It is my inclination to use less, but if this is the correct amount, I'll stick to the recipe the first time out. -L