Hopleaf

Here, here! Next to hanging out in the kitchen, my next favorite pasttime is kickin' it outside. And I do have some plans. One of the pieces of furniture the previous owners left behind is a two-seater couch-type thing that needs new cushions but is a perfect outdoor "bench." Plus we've been luggin around these four ratan chairs that need to be re-upholstered with an outdoor-proof fabric (most likely to match the bench) and they need a new varnish. The way I look at landscape design is similarly to how I see indoor design: comfort, focal points and good energy flow. With that in mind, I have this idea to use an old window frame I found, distress the paint a little, and plant a viney thing so that it grows around the frame. I want this to be somewhat centrally located to my flowering beds and I plan to put the seating areas around it. We already have a deck that has a built in bench, with the grill and some wicker seating so far it's been a great place to hang out. But it's not to removed from the house and sort of lacks that outdoor setting. At any rate, snowangel, you're right on. You have to have a place to just kick it out in the space that you end up putting so much effort to make serene. That's what it's all about. And maggie, this winter's been relatively mild. I'm sure you've probably sat out a couple of nights? Especially those days we had in December that climbed near the 60's?

Well, I definitely will have fun. And at this point look forward to the weeding (you shoulda seen me with the first snow fall I got to shovel...new homeowner bliss...should wear off by next year). But I do want to get some lettuce in as early as possible. I understand that they don't much mind an early planting as along as the soil temp is creeping into the upper 50s or 60s. Hey Nick, have you ever tried your hand at planting hops? I found a web site that will send rhizomes through the mail. I'm wary of it tho and hope to find someone in the Chicago area that has them. Just thought with your green thumb you might've had a chance to try them.

and all cuz you didn't know how to use a lighter. at least now you won't have that problem.

I've seen people use the edge of a table. (tried it, but the table was particle board...it didn't work, but there was a nice bite-size chunk out of the table...conversation piece).

so what do you do if you have only one bottle of beer, no lighter, either no teeth or specific threats from your dentist that prohibit you from trying your teeth? and of course, no bottle opener?

So, I'm trying to put together a schedule for sowing seeds as well as an overall plan for planting (transplanting from flats and such). Is it enough to just take the "Days to Maturity" indications in the seed catalogues at face value or is there an adjustment to be made for one's particular zone?

Find yourself a good hispanic market, aka supermercado. There's a great one called Pete's Market on Kedzie just south of 56th St. There're all over the place. There's another good one on Clark and Lunt in Rogers Park. Just, whatever you do, don't buy their meats.

I love their Salsa Ranchero.

When cooking with olive oil, I tend to try to use a 'regular' olive oil, like the ones labeled pomace, or light. which are usually the third or fourth press as their smoke points are a touch higher and they're more like regular vegetable oil. If I've run out or just haven't had the time to go get some more, I cook with vegetable oil, canola usually. Fat Guy, to your assessment of the correct benefits of olive oil, isn't it true that in addition to the lower levels of saturated fats and higher levels of monounsaturated fats, one of the benefits is also a higher level of polyunsaturated fats, offering the body more access to linoleic acid (polyunsaturated fatty acid), one of the essential fatty acids that the body cannot produce on its own?

does this happen from drinking a lot of alcohol or eating a lot of mushrooms? or both?

In the prep that I described, the Tahdique is very crispy (think rice crepe, but you can still see the rice shapes), but it's only one small layer at the bottom. I'm sure brothers and sisters still fight over this in Tehran. My dad would tell us of him and his brothers making bets on things through the course of the day and the typical stake would be one's portion of Tahdique. Anyway, the rest of the rice (they call this prep pollo, btw) isn't crispy, but has a firmer texture to it than does sticky rice, which makes sense if you think about it, cus they wash all the starch out. Pollo has a cleaner mouthfeel than other rices, almost like the difference between firm italian bread vs. Wonderbread. There's a slightly sweeter flavor to it too, from where I don't know. I have half a mind to think that this method developed because people new that the sticky rice was too high in carbs for them and since they were trying to make a small amount of meat stretch to many mouths, the had to cut the carbs while contending with still filling bellies. Course that's just a supposition. My particular favorite dish is one called Adas Pollo. It's plumped raisins, lentils and pollo rice occassionally served with strips of grilled lamb.

an adendum to your Persian rice recipe (which I'm sure works well the way you describe it), but instead of taking the step of putting it in the oven, here's what my grandmother would do (my wife's learned this method and is actually better at it than I am). She would prepare the rice as you've describe, washing the starch out, and your proportions are about accurate. From there, she'd put it in a pot with the water and start cooking. In fact she'd basically slow-boil off the water (which takes a bit of time) to the point where you start to see holes in the rice as if you'd poke the handle of a wooden spoon in it. At that point they put the lid on the rice pot, leaving it slightly ajar and turn the flame way down. They'd simmer until they heard some minor crackling, which is the rice at the bottom of the pan carmelizing, a delicacy that they call Tahdique (haven't a clue how to spell this). Then it's basically done. Also, in the water they would cook the rice with they'd add some oil and salt and pepper. It's really fantastic. I can almost not eat sticky rice, unless it's with Chinese take out. Try it, see what happens. I'm gonna try the beef and prune sauce recipe you posted. Jaymes, can you give us an impression of what it was like to have these guys in your home? What kind of cultural differences did you notice? Stuff like that.

I just prefer to buy mushrooms. It's just far too dangerous (and especially after reading that article that JSD linked, forget it!). I'm sure there's some measure of satisfaction from going out in the wild and picking 'shrooms if you know what you're doing. But it also seems like an unnecessary walk on the wild (ha! punny!) side. Thrillseaking is not my game. no bungy chords, no parachutes, no spelunking, no ice-skating after March 15, no frogger-like jay walking. As I get older, I get more and more cautious. I did find a recent episode of Good Eats interesting wherein Alton Brown discussed mushroom farming (after a bit on picking wild mushrooms that featured Death complete with sickle and black hooded cape...funny). Aparently they have to create some sort of solution to the fact that mushrooms can suck the nutrients out of a dead tree relatively rapidly and that they were only good for one or two harvests. I forget what the material was (maybe compressed wood chips) but they were able to get about 5 or 6 harvest off of these instead. And for the record, never shroomed either.

no, it sticks to the roof of my mouth.

I just like saying Robuchon. Rro-BOOSH-ohn!

Plus, you absolutely must pour it in the appropriate glass. It doesn't have to say Chimay, like this one, but it has to be this shape:

ok, seems like we've kind of plateaued. What can we come up with as far as particularly influencial people through history that have helped take food more seriously and develop it into an aesthetic thing that can both be created artisticly and appreciated in an artistic sense? A couple of ideas to start the ball rolling (mostly from the modern era since aside from some big names I'm not well read enough, and mostly in regards to the US, since I don't know the Eurpean scene much): Delmonicos in New York city. Forgive me if I've got this wrong, but wasn't this one of the first restaurants to offer fine dining options, something which in early 19th Century America was relatively unheard of? Clearly from a media standpoint, we've probably got to tip a hat to Julia Child for putting food on the map (someone would've done it at that point in time anyway given the changes happening in food production and distribution at the time, thankfully it was her). But to me, someone that really open the doors wide to a larger audience of the importance of aesthetically presented food was Emeril Lagasse. All his efluvious expressions aside, he's done wonders to increase people's awareness of culinary artistry. Most every dish he prepares, he finishes with plate presentation. In a more historical sense, Escoffier started it all by organizing what was previously unorganized. But Carême probably did more for food aesthetics. At any rate, just wanted to start the ball rolling in a slightly different direction and see if it maintains its momentum.

Ok, with this new, perhaps original, bent in mind my two cents worth: I'm not so much an artist as an art appreciator, so I consider myself able, not necessarily in an authoritative sense, to respond. having toyed here and there with artistic endeavors (drawing, painting, ice carving, clay throwing, cooking) I can honestly say that there is as much artistry to cooking as might be seen in the act of drawing. As for scope, with certain obvious limitations which other art forms also seem to have (canvases are not limitless, ice blocks not endless, clay not infinite) cooking, for me, was as gratifying at the end of the day as was a finished drawing or ice carving I had created. I think it was cheffette who mentioned something about where the culinary arts fit into a hierarchy of the aesthetics, and I just wanted to ask whether or not the arts are/can be viewed in a hierarchical sense? they all seem to speak to different parts of our human experience on this earth. I can't personally say that a black & white photograph, however particularly impressive I find it, is better or ranks higher than the gorgonzola-stuffed filet mignon at Zia's Trattoria (NW-side Chicago). They each appeal, equally, to a different part of me.

Dunno if she's the most talented chef on TV, but I did catch her last night on Discovery's new Home & Leisure channel (which I think is only available on digital cable or dish networks). Check your local listings.

I'm sort of new to this gardening thing, but I know this much: MAGGIE, DON'T EAT THOSE, THEY MIGHT CAUSE HALUCCINATIONS!

tomatocastles? in the air? Big Burpee? Can you explain this? ahhh, Big Burpees. I'm starting to see the light. and Brandywines. mmm-hmmm. it's all coming together now.

Perhaps what begs attention here are the particular choices of words here. And rather than argue for or against, let me just ask a few questions for us all to ponder. When she says that food cannot express emotion, is she suggesting the inherent necessity for food to interact with our sensory perceptions? In other words, food on its own cannot DO anything, least of all express emotion. That being said, the same could probably be said of a painting or a book. If an fan of Monet has never seen one of his paintings, that one painting is limited by the lack of viewing. Accordingly, if a Steinbeck fan has never read Travels with Charley (how can they call themselves a Steinbeck fan, right?) that book hasn't effected them. How do you think she views great art moving us? Does it seem that she is overlooking food's associative nature? Anything created that interacts with our sensory perceptions can induce a memory or cause an emotion. For me, to exclude food from this group (great art) is narrow-minded. The simple smell of olive oil heating up in an omlette pan causes me to recall my childhood and for some reason makes me miss my since-departed dog Sasha. I'm not exactly overwhelmed by grief at Sash's death, nor am I succumbed by sadness for my lost youth, but that can't be said of a painting or a book or music either. In this sense, she's really missing the boat when she says that food can't have expressive connections. And I promised not to argue for or against. Ha!

FYI, if you haven't already seen it, there's a very informative article on genever and its artisinal revival in December's Saveur magazine

What's interesting is when a somewhat well-known company purchases these As Seen on TV products and puts their name on it, as if it'll make a difference that Samsonite now offers those vaccumable bags that shrink your clothes down to pancakes, what're they called, the Honey I Shrunk Our Sweaters, Now They'll Fit in Our Suitcase Bags. I'm sure the makers of the Pasta Pro are hoping beyond hope that Calphalon buys them out and they can all retire young. Fat chance! Edit: I actually spelled 'clothes' 'close.' It was a typo, yeah, that's the ticket!

This weekend I was watching Good Eats and in the midst of an Alton Brown lecture on cooking pasta (which I was finding particularly intriguing as it meant I didn't have to run down to change over the laundry) on comes an infomercial for the Pasta Pro. Talk about two completely opposite approaches to pasta preparation. Then I saw the "As Seen on TV" logo and recalled the time when I was in PR that I had a chance to interview the self-proclaimed inventor of the phrase, as well as the man who brought you Ginsu knives, Steve something-or-other (truth be told he was so full of himself it was difficult to remember the guy's name). So, the Pasta Pro is just another schtick item in a long list of schtick items that this guy has developed. Very entrepreneurial, not to mention "what a friggin' scam artist!"