LindaK

This is fascinating and humbling. I've been trying to think of an equivalent example in my own culinary repetoire and can't come up with one. I'm happy to freeze leftovers, which is a good thing, but nowhere near as resourceful as this. Can anyone else add to the throw-down of "one vegetable, one dollar, five tastes, four meals" ??

Thanks for the report. But I agree that $400 is a lot for two people unless you really felt that everything was stellar. The supplement for the cheese/dessert swap seems unwarranted. And if the wine pours were as small as you describe, I'd also feel slighted unless they were very special. The high by-the-glass wine markups at Boston restaurants (and probably elsewhere) can be insulting.

It's not a strategy, but for a quick meal, frozen edamame are cheap, nutritious, filling, and quick. And go well with a glass of wine.

Interesting thoughts, and tricky to disentangle. Is "fusion" supposed to be about ingredients or about technique? It seems that both are pretty blurry categories. When does the time line begin? You mention tomatoes, but many spices would also be hard to pinpoint as distinguishing one cusine from another. The spice trade routes saw to that. My Swedish grandmother put cardomom into all her baked goods, but the only cookbooks I own that call for it are Indian. The technique piece is also hard to pinpoint. Marcella Hazan points out in her cookbooks that she believes Italian cuisine is most closely related to that of China, and she was talking about technique, not whether Marco Polo brought pasta to the western hemisphere. I remember being very struck by that observation the first time I read it, it jerked my thinking away from "tomato vs. soy sauce" and made me pay more attention to the simplicity and quickness of many Italian cooking techniques. The concept of "fusion" seems to be more an invention than anything else, a reflection of times when cultural categories of all sorts were less familiar and seemingly more distinct. It seems like a tired concept today. Perhaps the locavore movement will help us purge it from our culinary language. Who cares that fresh ginger is considered an "asian" ingredient if it tastes great with the locally caught salmon (east coast envy here) or the carrot soup I made last night from my CSA box?

Toss chunks of butternut squash with olive oil, slivers of garlic, salt, pepper. Roast until tender and lightly carmelized. Addictive! Last winter I found myself preparing it at a dinner with more guests than expected, so to stretch it I tossed the roasted squash with cooked barley and some dried cranberries. It was a tasty and lovely side dish, a big hit with the guests and worthy of being made again.

Maggie, thanks for this post. Such a scary time, you have my best wishes. Greens such as kale, escarole, and collards are relatively inexpensive for fresh veggies. Not only great as a side dish, but tossed with pasta, as a filling for a frittata or omelet, or as the basis of a soup. I mention them not only because they're delicious but because they're very nutritious, and healthy eating often falls by the wayside when money is tight. Condiments and additions like cheese can make a meal out of simple things. Broccoli doesn't feel like much of a meal on its own, but sauted with garlic and red pepper flakes, tossed with some chopped black olives and some crumbled feta cheese, and that's one of my favorite dinners. So while having olives, some parm cheese, etc. in the fridge may seem like a splurge, they keep a long time and a little goes a long way when you use them. Please keep us posted on what you find works especially well.

Not yet. I don't own a camera, but my contractor took tons, and is supposed to be giving me a disc with all of them. I'll be talking to him sometime this week and will remind him. I'll happily post some pics then--I'm still enjoying showing it off.

Ah, the search for the perfect countertop. Of all the choices in a kitchen renovation, this one has to be the most maddening. If you learn anything, it's that choosing a countertop is all about compromise. This "lab countertop" sounds like the description of most quartz countertops, such as Caesarstone, Zodiac, Cambria, etc. I seriously considered quartz during my recent kitchen renovation. A friend who has them regularly puts her hot pans straight from the oven onto her quartz countertops without any problem. In the end, I decided on concrete, and I LOVE them. They are beautiful and so far have held up well to daily abuse as well as a round of serious holiday cooking, baking, and red wine spills--but I've only had them for a few months now so I can't tell you about long-term issues. The guy who fabricated them made sure I understood that they would eventually develop a patina, much like marble, from exposure to water and acidity. I can see that happening, though it's very slow and subtle, so far barely noticable, and with no effect on performance. Not 100% maintenance free. I wax them monthly (about a half-hour of my time). Ask me again in a year, and I'll tell you what I think, but right now, no regrets.

My turn: I will eat more raw vegetables I will make more soup I will find more time to entertain friends at home I will learn to make pho, nuoc cham, and other vietnamese basics I will teach myself to make a double batch of everything so my freezer is always well stocked I will read Michael Pollen I will not buy canned chicken stock

ditto Craigie for all the same reasons. I haven't been to the new location in Central Square since it moved, but reports from friends have been good.

I've been reading up on slow roasting at very low temperatures, and this sounds like a candidate for that type of cooking. In her book The Slow Mediteranean Kitchen Paula Wolfert has a recipe for "Day and Night Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder" that calls for baking a 6-7 lb Boston butt for approx. 12 hours at 180 F (after an initial 45 minute blast at 450 F). The roast is ready when the internal temperature reads 170-175 F. Has anyone else tried this or a similar recipe? I've been thinking of trying this technique, so if you go ahead with something like this, I'd be very interested in the results.

I see lots of unused space--on the walls to the right and esp. the left of your stove where the knives are, and in the "air rights" above your island. If you live near one, get yourself to Ikea. They have great "wall storage" systems for kitchens. The foundation is a rail that runs across a wall (under cabs or not) with a range of accessories that hang from them--paper towel holders, caddies for small items, small shelves, spice racks, or just simple hooks. Until my recent kitchen renovation, I used them to hang everything--cheese graters, sieves, my food mill and chinois, caddies that I filled with spatulas, whisks, etc. You get the idea. It gets everything off your counter and gives you more prep space. It was the nicest part of my otherwise awful kitchen. You can see some examples at the Ikea site: Ikea Wall Storage Systems You could also use a hanging rack or shelf above your island. There's the traditional pot rack idea. Or a simple shelf just above eye level might be a nice place to display things, such as your collection of mini-cocottes (which I love!). I've seen these kind of hanging shelves in design magazines on either side of vent fans over island cooktops. Here's another Ikea item that gives you the idea, though you could probably build something similar yourself if you wanted different materials, such as wood. hanging shelf Sorry if it seems like I'm pushing Ikea. It's just that I've had great luck with their kitchen stuff, and the prices are very reasonable.

Though I don't own it, I have enjoyed several meals that a friend prepared using Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. I do own How to Pick a Peach, and would recommend it highly for the informative descriptions as well as the recipes. I'm indebted to this book--and my trusty weber kettle grill--for getting me through a bountiful eggplant harvest from my community garden plot this past summer when I didn't even have a working kitchen.

I've had good luck with the recipe in the past, and I'm not as fastidious with measurements as I should be. Oven calibration is key, though. all the best for your sister, I wish her well.

The tea and cholcolate combo sounds divine. My only experience with tea as an ingredient is using it to flavor a basic sugar syrup that I first used to moisten a savarin (french yeast cake) that was then filled with whipped creme and berries. I've since used the same tea flavored syrup as a substitute for basic sugar syrup in other ways. The tea helps balance the otherwise very sweet syrup, and gives a very subtle perfume and flavor to the finished dessert.

Mine says "macina-legumi" on the handle, which I think means "vegetable machine" -- not exactly a brand. But it is exactly the same as ElsieD describes. In addition to the removable discs, the other thing to look for in a food mill are the three retractable "bars" that can rest on a bowl, so that you can use your two hands for (1) holding the handle firmly and (2) turning the mill. I've seen food mills without them, but I would find it difficult to keep the mill steady over the bowl.

This is my first opportunity to brag about the shiny new Blue Star range sitting in my new kitchen. Among its many virtues is that the controls are all knobs, no electronics. Turn on the oven and the little blue light next to the knob goes on. When the correct temp is reached, light goes off. End of story. Maybe not enough for some but good for me. I've had it a couple of months, and I'm embarrassed to admit that work, etc has kept me from giving it the serious workout it deserves. But now that life is getting back to normal and the holidays approach, I anticipate having a lot of fun testing this stove.

I thought this debate had been settled in favor of pie long ago. But thanks for bumping it up again, Brooks, it's fun to read once more the futile arguments in favor of cake. This probably wasn't funny at the time, so hope there's no offense when I tell you that your picture of a flame-throwing cake made me laugh.

The cured products are fantastic, as are their own terrines and pates. If you can make a meal of one of those and a glass of wine (and often times that's what I want), then I'd be happy. My recent visit was with a small group of friends, with the intention of sharing some wine and cured meat followed by dinner. Our first difficulty was with the wine list, which was both oddly organized and definitely on the pricey side. Only a few wines were below $50 per bottle (our desired price limit), and despite an educated clientel and consultation with staff, the choices were mediocre at best. Food from the dinner menu was quite good, but main course prices for small appetizer portions. The per person bill was near $90 and when I got home I raided the refrigerator. My point is that qualite/prix ratio was poor. I eat out once or twice per week and don't resent paying for a good dining experience. But within my budget, I won't head back to the Butcher Shop anytime soon. I'd rather pay more for a dinner at No. 9 Park, another of Barbara Lynch's restaurants.

I think I need to try dessert at Clio! I'd forgotten that Craigie is moving to Central Square...nix that. A second vote for Oleana in Cambridge, then. If you can get away from your conference and take the T to Boston, I would also recommend No. 9 Park. But I'd stay away from Barbara Lynch's South End outposts of B&G Oyster and the Butcher Shop. The food is good but wildly overpriced for the casual food that it is (I'm still recovering from the bill for a visit to the latter last Friday, which made me remember why I'd stayed away).

If you're based near MIT, you can eat very well in the vicinity. Lapin d'Argent mentioned one of my favorites, Steve Johnson's Blue Room in Kendall Square. In the same neighborhood is a new place getting good reviews (I haven't been yet), Hungry Mother. In nearby Central Square, one my favorites is Central Kitchen on Mass Ave. A short menu but always high quality, fair priced wine list, and a comfortable place to have a meal at the bar if you're alone. Closer to Harvard Square, there's Craigie Street Bistro, one of the best restaurants in the area. For a more casual place, I like Casablanca, with generous and delicious small plates of mediteranean food. Further out, at the Alewife T stop, is Jasper White's Summer Shack for all things seafood. As for pastry, Hi-Rise in Cambrige is excellent.

So perhaps they should be a course of their own, sauted with a dollop of lovely, delicious sauce/foam on top? I had such a course a few years ago in Paris, it was lovely. Simple can be good.

A friend once made a grapefruit tarragon granita that was fabulous. I don't eat desserts much, but that was memorable.

Wow. Admiration and envy are the words that best sum up my feelings at the moment. More pictures, descriptions, and even recipes, please.

Technically true, but in the southeast the term has come to mean flat, stringed beans that require lengthy cooking to render them edible. The cured pork not only gives the beans a nice flavor, but means that they can more or less stand in for "meat" in an otherwise meat-poor diet. ← Wow. that's too bad. it's incredibly wrong! I think what you're describing is an old fashioned string bean. And not so fresh. There are many very delicate, delicious beans that can be steamed that grow as poles. True, which is why the term "pole bean" isn't helpful by itself. Clearly there are regional differences in nomenclature here. Whether they grow as pole or bush beans, romano style beans require long cooking. Conversely, the best thin, haricot vert style bean I ever grew was a pole bean, but most such varieties grow as bush beans. The important thing is to recognize your bean type so you can cook it correctly. So I'm going to assume that the original question was about the flat romano style. they're among the tastiest beans ever, and I would love some new recipies.