Snadra

Aren't there local college/tech schools that offer a retail meat cutting course? Similar to these in Alberta: http://www.oldscollege.ca/programs/MeatProcessing/index.htm http://www.nait.ca/program_home_18870.htm http://www.nait.ca/program_home_13735.htm http://sait.ca/cometosait/academic/certificates/arm.shtml Something like this would give you a start and butchering experience which you could then use to expand into charcuterie.

Erin, your pictures are great! Due to work & study commitments I've not been making too many new recipes lately, but last I made the Dai Carrot Salad. It didn't have quite as much flavour as I was expecting, but I think the issue may have been the carrots. No pics, as I forgot until after we'd eaten it! Next time I may use a different cut on the carrots as well. I had sliced them quite thin, and they kept sticking together. Thick-ish matchsticks may allow the dressing to permeate a little better. Or maybe I sliced them too thin? Still, it's a dish I'd do again, with better carrots next time.

D'oh! Wrong title! The book I'm actually talking about is "Modern French Culinary Art - Adapted for the American Kitchen". Too much cream and chaudfroid sauce on the brain, perhaps? Still not to be confused with the Australian version. And to add to this: Time Life Foods of the World books: just starting to collect them, but they really are fantastic. Betty Crocker: I have a 1955 edition colour cookbook that belonged to my mother-in-law. I don't make many of the savoury dishes, but the cakes and breads always turn out perfectly, and it's the first one I turn to when I'm thinking of making a cake or cookies. One of the things I like about the Time-Life books and the Betty Crocker book is that they also do a good job of illuminating their times (albeit from a narrow angle), something not all cookbooks do as effectively.

Bump! My mother has a copy of 'The Spice Cookbook' mentioned upthread which I used to read over and over as a child. It's on my list of books I must get my own copy of. My candidate for aging gracefully is "Everyday French Cooking for the American Home" by Henri Paul Pellaprat (1960s) , NOT to be confused with the bastardised version released in Australia (sponsored, I think, by the Australian Womens' Weekly) some years later. It has my go-to, unsurpassable recipe for Beef Stroganoff, and the cake and pastry recipes are fantastic. A large number of colour pictures, some stunning, some more than a little frightening - one trout dish in particular gives me the shivers - and a nice bit of history and direction here and there. The cooking times don't really suit modern tastes, but adjust for those and you have some lovely meals in your future.

Those are pretty! I'm not an experienced macaron baker, but the first thing I thought of when you mentioned purple was taro. Something like this maybe? But then I looked up taro recipes and found this, so maybe what you would really want is ube, or purple yam, assuming that was a route you choose to take.

That's how I feel about cold cereal and milk. I feel better hungry than I do with cold cereal in my belly! I'm the same way. Lemme splane. I'm very anti-grease for breakfast, but I'm also anti-cold for breakfast. You definitely need something warm, but you also need something light. My go-to's: rice porridge, veggie/mushroom risotto, toast, bagels, etc. I feel similarly. Whatever it is, I prefer it to be HOT. Cereal and yogurt is my least favourite breakfast, because it's cold. I eat it when time is of the essence. Otherwise, porridge or toast is what I need. Interesting! My objection is not so much the coldness as the sweetness, and possibly the milky-ness, although I can tolerate a latte in the morning (maybe because the milk is hot?). I like toast with avocado (or vegemite or cheese) because it's savoury, not because it's warm. When we've been travelling, I love being in a German hotel the most, because cheese and for breakfast (with a boiled egg where available) is my idea of savoury heaven. Although pancakes are permissible if served american style, with bacon and/or eggs on the side to cut through the sweetness. But to return to the original question, I too find I can go without lunch if I haven't had breakfast, which is just as well as a day that's too busy for breakfast at my desk is a day that's usually too busy for lunch. But I tend to turn into the Snadra-beast at around 3.30 on those days, and then everyone else suffers. As much as I can make them.

That's how I feel about cold cereal and milk. I feel better hungry than I do with cold cereal in my belly! I have a long commute, so generally eat breakfast at my desk on workdays - coffee and toast (preferably with avocado) - but that doesn't happen until 9, and if I've got something on I'll go without. On weekends we usually just have brunch.

I'm feeling very envious Nick! I haven't made a poached egg that looks like this since we kept chickens. I might have to try some experimenting again. At least experimenting with poached eggs is cheaper than the same with poached lobster... ETA: That is, bar the plastic wrap trick.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the ingredients list was Mostarda di Frutta. A bit of a sideways connection, but there is a similarity: sweet syrupy fruit/preserves with sharp flavours.

Ahhh. I see where you're coming from. I was a fussy kid raised by parents who believed in brown rice & granola, and I always felt a bit of a freak when I astonished friends and neighbours by refusing all sorts of processed delights.

Because my local shops still don't sell eggs out of a cooler the eggs tend to get runny whites quite quickly. Katie's method is hands-down foolproof and I love it. They're not quite as pretty as a free-form one done with a super-fresh egg, but they work!

Towels - Anna N & nakji are right, towels generally overwhelm the gremlins. I think they dislike their flappiness (comes in handy when you set the smoke alarm off). Also, potholders tend to get all disgusting very quickly and need washing. And as far as using a damp one goes, the only time I've done that it was a d*&m potholder! I have two silicon grip things, but find them very clumsy, so now they live in the deep drawer where kitchen gadgets go to die. Although it doesn't seem to matter which I choose - I'll still get as many burn injuries as knife injuries.

I don't understand where the shame is in this. I once tried to eat Kraft Dinner at a friends house when I was six or so. Even with more ketchup than KD on my plate I couldn't eat it. I've never had it since either, even as a poor, poor student. And I'm not ashamed of that at all. Hey, you never know when it might come in handy! I have great difficulty cleaning my floor - it just never seems important enough.

I think it's one of those things that you need a bit of practice with to feel confident about. I make mayonnaise reasonably often, and tend to think of hollandaise as a minor extension of that. But I'm too lazy to deal with melted butter, so I use the cold butter method. Mmmm asparagus hollandaise.... I'm so glad we're going into spring and asparagus will be abundant again soon. ETA: I will never again attempt to make and freeze an abundant amount filled pasta only to watch every.single.ravioli crack and break open. Unless someone can tell me where I went wrong?

I have a Melita cone thingy which was sent to me from overseas. The filters are easy to get here, but not the cones they sit in for some reason. I also have one of these Bodum Solo set-ups. It has three pieces, plus the cup. The coffee goes into the bottom section, then you insert a plastic cup which has holes in it and slows the water flowing through, and there's a lid to top it off, which I don't always put on (sometimes the coffee 'burps' at me as it's filtering through). I love them! I generally prefer filter coffee to espresso style and using these is nearly as easy as making a cup of tea (and much better than these. I also find them easier to deal with than a small plunger pot.

D'oh! (smacks head on desk). I see what you mean now! As far as ready-to-eat shelf-stable, I think you could still do well with pita crisps, tinned hummus and assorted jarred, roasted/marinated veggies, like the eggplant mentioned up thread and the dolmades (great idea!). They are all fully shelf-stable and there is no need for heating or prep other than opening the jar/tin and putting some stuff on your plate. Plus it's much nicer than canned chilli and can be enhanced by any fresh food (cukes, tomatoes, etc) you may have with you. Also: I have a weakness for canned refried beans at room temp. Add some jarred salsa and tortilla chips and you've got a sort-of meal that doesn't need heating.

You could try doing a Herbe Salée. The traditional Acadian way involves filling a mason jar with alternating layers of herbs and salt. Some plants take to this treatment better than others but in the end you get a preserved flavour and colour combo, albeit a salty one. Excellent suggestion! I think the other herbs will fare better than the basil. I've only had soups made with Herbes Salee but they were lovely, especially in the depths of winter in the days before fresh herbs were common at the grocery store.

Are you passing very few grocery stores on the trip? Our usual thing when planning a multi-day trip is to pack sandwich-y bits and pieces, and buy some cheeses/sliced ham, etc as we pass a store in the mornings so that our meals are basically picnics at rest stops or in the hotel in the evening, fortified with tea and wine (motel rooms here generally have a kettle and small fridge). We've also done this when travelling by car in Europe. We find cheese generally keeps well enough in a cooler bag for a day, and so buy just enough for a single meal. Of course, how useful this is depends on how many grocery stores you pass in your trip! I cannot make a meal of sweet things, so really need savoury stuff. My general rule is if it can't be made on a single plate on my lap, it's not happening, so cucumbers and tomatoes which can be sliced straight onto a sandwich/crispbread are better than carrots which might need peeling, or celery which takes up all that space. Plus they go great on a sandwich. Just wash and dry before you pack them if you're stopping off during the day. So besides snack foods, we might buy/bring: Rye crispbread (Wasa, Ryvita, etc). grissini pita crisps Olives Tinned/jarred artichoke hearts Tinned/jarred roasted peppers Tinned hummus (not bad!) Avocado Tomato Cucumber Apples / Pears (they tend to be a bit less messy than other fruit and go great with cheese) Then depending on what we're in the mood for, when we stop for cooler stuff we get whatever cheese or deli meat looks good/takes our fancy. Fresh hummus & tzatziki if it's available are good too. If there's decent fresh bread to be had, so much the better, but if you've got some good crispbreads, at least you're not suffering. Our motel picnics have ranged from french to middle eastern to italian. But with tomatoes, cukes & avocado, you can still make a nice meal on bread/ryvitas without cheese or ham. Don't forget the salt and pepper grinder! Personally, I love tinned tuna, but can live without the smell in an unairconditioned hotel room, so generally leave it.

I can't speak from personal experience, but I have heard very good things about The Agrarian Kitchen outside of Hobart. In fact, I've been itching to go to the 'Whole Hog' class since I read about it last year.

My in-laws always have bits of crystalised ginger with their evening cheese. They usually have brie and something resembling gloucester. I think a few of their friends do it as well. I never thought of it before I saw them doing it, but it is rather nice. I'm an apple-and-cheese girl myself, especially sharp cheddar and a not too sweet apple, but I don't think that's too odd. My husband likes some sort of bread (toast, crumpet, cracker, etc) with golden syrup and cheese. And my father used to toss a bowl of salted peanuts with some cayenne.

Interesting! I love the pumpkin seed rolls from Luneburger Bakery, but I was wondering about how common they were in Germany. I never saw them when I was there six years ago, but I was mostly north of Hamburg - maybe they're a southern thing? No matter, as they are certainly delicious.

Potato!! I love a bit of fried potato with a runny fried egg. What about a handcut chip dipped in?

Hi Darienne, Here are two antipodean websites which have a good collection of recipes and may yield something a little different. Australian Gourmet Traveller Cuisine (New Zealand) I particularly like Cuisine Magazine.

Australia just finished its second season of MasterChef Australia, and it sounds like the US version has taken on some of the Australian changes that were made to the original UK format. The tears, the stories, the "I'm doing it for my Gran/Mum/Dad/Dead Relative"s, the continuous return to the contestant talking later about exactly what was going through his/her mind. It rated HUGELY here, higher this year than last, and it was on 6 nights a week. I personally didn't like it because it skewed more game show than cooking show. Instead of seeing people come up with amazing dishes (although they often did) you see people rushing about madly trying to finish a complicated dish in a ridiculously short period of time, or rush around the MC Pantry in their alloted 2 minutes to collect all their ingredients. You rarely got to see what they were doing, and instead listened to them describe how they were worried they were running out of time to finish all their 'processes'. I have no doubt they are excellent cooks - it would be niced to see more cooking and less drama. And frankly, if I hear the word 'beautiful' (usually pronounced 'beyoudifool') to describe a dish, any dish one more time, I will do something outlandishly ridiculous and out of all proportion.

Given the circumstances you will be cooking under,I really think prebaking, brushing with olive oil (as opposed toa flour sprinkle which i suspect will dull the taste) and storing between cardboard would be your best bet, especially if you are wanting to get them out quickly at the do. Transport problems will be limited, you could keep them in a cooler without ice, so no condensation problems and your life will be easier without sacrificing flavor. My feeling is that using a press to make bases on site will be not much easier than rolling them out, if only because of the dough quantities you are dealing with for a Pizza compared to a tortilla. But it might be worth an experiment. As for topping: an "Aussie" has ham and egg on it. And for some reason tandoori chicken is a favourite, although not mine.