Lexica

Another testimonial to the power of roasted cauliflower -- I made a batch as part of dinner last night (my 2nd batch; the first one I ate all by myself). My husband, a serious veggie-phobe, had agreed somewhat dubiously to try it, but I could tell he wan't expecting to like it. He snagged a piece from the baking pan while I was dishing up the rest of dinner, chewed thoughtfully, and said (as he reached for another piece), "Damn, I'll eat roasted cauliflower in a heartbeat!" Hurray! One more vegetable added to the list of veg I can count on him actually enjoying, which until now has pretty much been onions, garlic, mushrooms, and collard greens. Definite progress. And now I'm going back through the thread copying down ideas for what to do with it on the occasions we can resist devouring it right when it comes out of the oven. Soup? Pasta? Butter-curry sauce? Mmmmm....

I clean as I go to the extent that time allows - something that simmers unattended for a while allows much more cleaning than stir-fry, f'rinstance. Whatever hasn't been cleaned by the time dinner is ready to serve (which is, at a minimum, the pot it's being prepared in and the utensil used to serve it) my husband does. Er, does when I remember to remind him, that is. He seems to have the same trait that bloviatrix described, preferring infrequent cleaning binges to daily maintenance. It's an uphill struggle.

I made a batch from nightscotsman's recipe a week or so ago. I was very happy with how well the marshmallows turned out, since I don't have much experience making candy or other sweets (when it comes to dessert, I tend to gravitate to something simple and fruity, like apple crisp). It was by far the stickiest stuff I've ever worked with. Note to self: next time, wear an apron. My husband's response when he tried one was, "Wow, this is great!" A few minutes later, when we'd each eaten three or four, he added, "How long do these stay good, and what can we do with them besides eating them straight?" The latest issue of Sunset magazine has a recipe for "molten marshmallow-chocolate cakes" that looks worth trying. Unfortunately, it's in the subscribers-only section on their website, so I can't post a link to it. It's a rich chocolate cake (more chocolate than flour) with a marshmallow in the middle. From the photo, it seems to ooze nicely when cut into. Given that there are only the two of us, I think next time I'll make a half or quarter recipe. As written, it makes a whole lot of marshmallows...

The pepper jelly/cream cheese/crackers combo isn't purely Southern, I think. The first time I had it, it was served by my dad, a 3rd-generation Californian (and no Southern heritage on his side of the family that I know of). Admittedly, it was with Nabisco Pilot Crackers, not Triscuits. If you can't find the Pilot Crackers and don't mind waiting for mail order, the Vermont Country Store's Common Crackers are also good. And this being eGullet, I'm sure somebody has a recipe for hardtack for those who'd rather not buy their crackers at all.

Because I start from the "View New Posts" page, I'm usually only peripherally aware of what forum a post is in -- I just read whichever new posts have subject lines that catch my eye. I do pay attention to whether a post is in one of the regional forums, as a restaurant review from New York City isn't much use to me here in California. About the only time I go in the front door, so to speak, is if I'm reading to catch up on previous discussions. In that case, I'll start at the forum level with the current posts and read back in reverse chronological order.

Celery instead of bok choy, no. (If nothing else, the flavor is so much stronger that it'd throw the rest of the dish out of balance.) But bok choy instead of celery works nicely if you're married to a celery-phobe like I am. Without bok choy and water chestnuts, I'm not sure what I'd use to add the "crunch" that celery's frequently used for.

Oh, yes please! It sounds wonderful.

A couple of mentions of limoncello I came across on the web this morning: - An article on lemon verbena in the Washington Post includes this suggestion: (Unfortunately, my verbena plant is not happy, so no fresh leaves for me. I may try making a small batch using dried to see how they turn out.) - The blog World On A Plate has a recipe for Torta di Limoncello. Mmm. [edit: just found another] - The blog loveSicily has a recipe for Dolce di ricotta al limoncello bianco.

Mmm, that sounds tasty. Any chance of a recipe for that one too?

I think he made a mistake in not even looking at 30 Minute Meals for Dummies. I used to write off the "for dummies" books (figuring I'm no dummy, so what could they have for me?) until I actually picked one up and found it to be both informative and entertaining. From the excerpt available on the dummies.com website, the book looks not bad. She talks about how cooking at home is quicker and healthier than fast food, and about the less concrete idea of cooking helping to bring people together. My family always cooked together, and I thought that was how everybody did it, until I met my husband. My mother-in-law does not cook, she defrosts. Apparently even when they all sat down to dinner at the same time, they generally weren't eating the same dishes. The times we've visited the in-laws, mealtimes have felt quite odd to me, as if there were something missing. It felt a little like the rare occasions when I've visited somebody's home for the first time to find that they have no books, no bookshelves - no reading matter at all, beyond magazines and a couple of paperback bestsellers. You don't read? How on earth do you live? You don't see a meal as anything more than fuel for your body? Why on earth do you bother to live?