Jaymes

I blush! Thanks. And check out Revival Meats in Houston. They just started carrying a lot of our stuff, including the posole. Handy for last minute bean needs! I've seen Tarbais for as high as $35! I didn't taste the seed we planted but the resulting beans were incredible. Maybe not 35 bucks a pound incredible but very delicious and different and I think "vale la pena". If we can produce them in California as well or better at a better price, all the better. I just want to confirm the suggestion about Revival Market in Houston carrying Rancho Gordo beans. I've been in there a couple times now, and they do have a large suggestion of RG products. It's also a pretty nifty (if small) meat market. The fellow owns a ranch/farm a little bit southwest of Houston and is raising his own pigs and lamb. There's a charcuterie room at the market, and it's also a great place to get the prettiest snowy white lard you ever saw. There's even a lunch counter with a few tables and chairs so you can grab a quick bite to eat there if you wish. Nice little place.

This recipe from Two Fat Ladies is an all-time favorite. Peas and Lettuce in Cream

Are you saying "tuna fish, guacamole, with queso fresco"? Or do you have a recipe for tuna fish guacamole. Because if you do, I'd like to know more about it.

Toasting the kraut sounds like a great idea. I put mine between two pieces of paper towels (or however many it takes) and roll a rolling pin over it until the paper is dry. But toasting would work, too. Never thought of that.

Cow's milk?

I must say, Darienne, you really are on quite the journey of discovery here. I cannot possibly tell you how much I admire your adventuresome spirit and curiosity, your persistence, enthusiasm and determination. In fact, you are positively inspiring. And you make me appreciate the abundance of foodstuffs I find all around me down here in Houston. I'm following your adventures with a big smile on my face. Thanks for taking us all along!

It crossed my mind last night that a squeeze bottle would require a relatively thin product. Yes? Interesting. My daughter and I have had this chat. I do think it's a little thinner than the jarred variety, but she says she doesn't. So I think that the proper answer is probably, "If so, not much." We use it for a lot of things where the viscosity doesn't matter much, like on toast, and in quite a few recipes, like Crepas Caramel, Chocolate Flan Cake, Mexican Bananas Foster, Baked Apples, Fruit Shortcakes, and the like. It is really handy to just turn that bottle upside down over a few sliced apples and give it a squeeze. At first, I found the notion of "squeeze cajeta" a little, I don't know, off-putting for some reason I can't quite define. Maybe it is the viscosity. But it's so popular among the Mexicans that I know, and so handy, that for the most part, I've gotten over my reluctance. I do have one or two recipes that I think are better with the jarred, thicker version. So I seek it out. My daughter says I'm being silly. Maybe so. Wouldn't be the first time. In fact, might even be one of my best qualities. ________________

I understand you probably prefer to make it yourself. After all, that's what most of us are doing here. But if you'd prefer to buy it occasionally, I'd suggest you look for Mexican "cajeta." The most readily-available brand in the US is Coronado. I buy it in my local Mexican market for about $4 for a 13-oz jar or squeeze bottle. It's made from goat's milk. Coronado Cajeta in a squeeze bottle.

From the article: So, wait, you mean to tell me that that entire creation is nothing but jello? Not only are the flowers not real flowers, they were actually drawn, IN 3D!!, in the gelatin? Am I misunderstanding this? ← My guess is something like this. Pretty stunning. Especially love the Christmas tree.

These things come and go. Something is new and exciting and different. Then it's popular. Then it's ubiquitous. Then it's a cliche. And finally even the brunt of jokes. The fashionable crowd moves on. Aspic definitely used to be a "well-known dish." In fact, you could hardly attend any sort of daytime ladies' function without some type of tomato aspic, served either as a salad, or as the main course if it included some type of meat; most often, shrimp or ham. And for the most part, the ladies loved them. Non-tomato aspics, such as the fish ones discussed, would have been reserved for formal dinner parties. Although cold fish aspics most likely would not have been served as an evening main, they were very popular first courses. Just speculating, but I think that several cultural factors are at play here. First, there are far fewer "ladies who lunch" these days. I can remember a time when I got at least three or four such invitations a week - bridge or majong luncheons, charity project meetings, church activities, neighborhood ladies' socials, and the like. I don't think that happens much anymore and, if it does, not with the same regularity, primarily because these days most everybody's working. And as for the latter - I don't think there are as many formal dinner parties at nighttime, either. And if somebody is taking the time, energy, and money to throw one, they definitely want to serve what's new and trendy and stylish and fashionable. Not something that their Aunt Helen might have brought out. On top of that, there is the generally accepted notion that men don't like congealed dishes. So, if you're not throwing a genteel ladies' luncheon to welcome a newcomer to the neighborhood, for example, when it comes to planning a menu, modern folks are not predisposed to choose aspic. ________________

There's a barbecue joint in Austin that advertises: "Need no teef to eat my beef" (and an appropriate accompanying logo). So I guess there's something for everyone.

Right. In fact, the KCBS instructs the judges at its cookoffs to hold up the ribs and give them a little shake to be sure that they are not "falling off the bone." If they are, they are disqualified from the competition, going on the theory that anybody can overcook meat. They tell the judges that the meat should have enough texture that you know you're eating meat and not mush, and definitely require some pressure to come loose from the bone. If they've been perfectly smoked, the bone will turn white where you take your bite and pull the meat off it. It's been a few years since I took the KCBS Judges certification, but this is news to me. We were told that "fall off the bone" ribs were overcooked and should not score high in the texture component but they were not disqualified. A disqualification would be if there were fewer than 6 separate portions in the box, marking of the box (toothpicks, brisket rosettes etc), or cutting a pork butt into smaller portions before cooking. I'm sure there's a few more but it has been a couple years. Well, I suppose there is always going to be individual interpretation, but it's only been one year since I took the KCBS judges certification, and we were told that pretty specifically. In fact, I'm sure when you took the class, they brought in sample boxes to judge. One of the ones they brought to us did have the ribs falling off of the bone. They looked fine in the box, but when you picked them up, you couldn't keep the bone attached to the meat. That box was specifically prepared that way in order to demonstrate to us that that particular box of ribs would be disqualified, and not judged. I don't know if things have changed since you took the certification class, or if individual instructors interpret the rules differently. But when I took that class, they were very definite about it. And, as I say, even prepared one of the sample boxes to be sure we understood.

This is incorrect. Competitors are not disqualified for overcooking, but their scores will reflect it. I did not say that the "competitor" would be disqualified. The competitor can continue to compete in other categories. What I said was that if the ribs "fall off of the bone," the RIBS are disqualified from the judging. The rules specifically state that the ribs must be turned in, and eaten, "bone in." And that is 100% correct.

I know there are as many different ways to make fried rice as there are regions and people that make it. But this is how I learned back when I lived in Asia, several decades ago (the Philippines and Hong Kong). Regarding the egg, I both scramble one and cut that one into strips, and also, as the last step in finishing the rice, stir in a beaten egg to coat things during that last frying. That's how I learned, and we like the flavor and texture that that last egg imparts, so that's what I do. Regarding the stock... Our cook in the Philippines always had several different stocks in the fridge, including chicken, beef and seafood. Depending upon what sort of fried rice she was making for lunch, she splashed a little stock into the pan along with the oil as she was frying the individual items. So, she'd chop up whatever - onion, green peppers, celery, yesterday's pork chops - and fry them in individual steps, adding a very little stock to the sizzling pan with each ingredient. After she put in the cold rice, she didn't add more stock, but the flavor of the stock was already incorporated.

Interestingly enough, a great many people, it appears.

No kidding. My grandmommy, who was a legendary southern cook, got her start in the restaurant biz as a Harvey House Girl back around 1910 or so, married a conductor on the Kansas & Topeka Railroad and, when he died, around 1922, opened a "home cooking" restaurant in South Texas. She always cooked the bacon in the oven. Unless she was just cooking for one or two folks. And that almost never, ever happened. There usually was all the family and half the neighborhood gathered around her table at any given time. She just had a big sheet pan with a small lip. She laid the bacon right on it. No racks or parchment or "tin foil" or anything else. If she thought about it, then halfway through, she'd turn the strips of bacon over. If not, then not. When it was done, out the pan would come. She'd put the bacon strips onto a napkin or dishtowel or something to absorb excess grease, and then drain the pan of its drippings right into that pretty little ceramic jar that she, and everybody else, kept on the stove for just that purpose.

Right. In fact, the KCBS instructs the judges at its cookoffs to hold up the ribs and give them a little shake to be sure that they are not "falling off the bone." If they are, they are disqualified from the competition, going on the theory that anybody can overcook meat. They tell the judges that the meat should have enough texture that you know you're eating meat and not mush, and definitely require some pressure to come loose from the bone. If they've been perfectly smoked, the bone will turn white where you take your bite and pull the meat off it.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? In fact, doesn't it sound simple enough that I might have tried it a time or two? And for the most part, it doesn't work. These bartenders in many of these restaurants have a formula that they are expected to follow. They don't seem to know how to "wing it" when it comes to many drinks, and they're busy and they're not willing to try. Or, they don't have any fresh lime juice, and aren't willing to squeeze some. Or they don't have any orange liqueur. Or something. At best, they'll pour in a shot of tequila, and then add their pre-mixed stuff. At worst, they just want to pull a lever on their frozen margarita machine and call it a day. No need to get all harsh -- I wasn't trying to be condescending. And I didn't mean to get all harsh. Maybe I should go shake myself up a nice Margarita right now. Of course, a very large part of my problem is that I usually go out to family-style Mexican restaurants with family in tow: daughter, SIL, several toddlers, and me, the abuelita. And not to the kinds of joints that pride themselves on their bartender's skills. And traveling with that kind of crowd, and having just arrived in the minivan, and having just now gotten settled in with a great deal of kerfluffle and shuffling of chairs and highchairs, there's not much chance I'm gonna get up and leave, either. Although the thought has crossed my mind. And more than once. And not just because of the sweet, slushy Margaritas.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? In fact, doesn't it sound simple enough that I might have tried it a time or two? And for the most part, it doesn't work. These bartenders in many of these restaurants have a formula that they are expected to follow. They don't seem to know how to "wing it" when it comes to many drinks, and they're busy and they're not willing to try. Or, they don't have any fresh lime juice, and aren't willing to squeeze some. Or they don't have any orange liqueur. Or something. At best, they'll pour in a shot of tequila, and then add their pre-mixed stuff. At worst, they just want to pull a lever on their frozen margarita machine and call it a day. But hey, things could be worse. Wouldn't even have mentioned it, but didn't want all of the "proper martini" folks to be the only ones with an "I'm conservative...." cocktail complaint. And my real complaint is about ceviche, anyway. I lived in Central America for four years (Panama), and developed a deep and abiding love for ceviche. I see it on menus in upscale restaurants here in the US very often. But nobody, and I mean nobody, is in the mood for doing a plain, classic ceviche. They all want to gussy it up with some sort of special "signature" or "new twist." I really love the old twist. I can't even remember the last time I saw just regular, plain ol' white fish ceviche on any menu, except for a couple of authentic Mexican dives here in Houston. But frankly, these places are so "authentic" that nobody speaks any English and the jukebox is blaring Norteno or Tejano music so loudly that you can't hear yourself think. Now, don't get me wrong, I love these places. But I have a very hard time getting anyone to go with me. And when I'm dining in a nice restaurant somewhere, with companions, and I see ceviche on the menu, which I do very, very often, just once, I'd like for it to be the classic. Which, in my opinion, doesn't need any improvements. Or "signatures." Or "new twists." It was fine the way it was. Which is why it became a "classic" in the first place. Or so it seems to me, anyway.

Chris and Corinna - I'm not located in a place where it should be particularly difficult to get a decent Margarita, to say the least. Houston. And I know that there are bars here where I can go, but I do make pretty good Margaritas myself here at the house when I want one and, at my current age and circumstance, I'm not really into the 'social bar scene,' so it's not worth it to me to seek out a particular watering hole. Generally speaking, I only order Margaritas when I'm out for Mexican food with the family, which we do about once a week, on "Tex-Mex Friday." And it's difficult to find a Mexican restaurant that has a good mixologist. I understand that's not their main focus. As far as those slushy things go, it's like someone said - a snow cone. After I have the "How do you make your Margaritas?" chat with the barkeep, I usually give up and have the Margarita-flavored slurpee, since that's all that's available. But I pine for the real thing, and wish I didn't have to waste the time and money and calories on its too-sweet slushy second cousin. I will say that recently, local restaurants have been advertising something called the "Skinny Margarita." I dunno, didn't sound good, so I didn't inquire into it for a long while. A few months back, though, I did. And the bartender at that particular restaurant said, "Oh, it's just a regular Margarita, but we leave out the sweet & sour syrup." Things are looking up!

Something I'm conservative about is Margaritas. I must be the only one on the planet that very much prefers the plain, unadorned original: Tequila (I like a silver), some sort of orange liqueur (lately I've been using Patrón Citronge), and fresh lime juice, shaken vigorously with ice, then strained into a salt-rimmed martini glass and served straight up. I loathe that vile sweet & sour mix. But like I say, I must be the only one, because the original-style Margaritas are almost impossible to find.

I'm not sure it's "too many people" that add too little parsley, as it is too many Westerners. I think that, at least in the US, the feeling is that in order to appeal more to Western tastes, tabouli is considered to be a bulgur salad with a little parsley added. However, in the Middle East, where it originated, it's exactly the opposite: a parsley salad with a little bulgur added. And since we're discussing this, I also find most versions in the US don't have enough lemon, either. Too little parsley and too little lemon make for a much blander salad. I also think you're right, Jenni, that in different regions of the Middle East, the list of "proper" ingredients varies. I've actually traveled in the Middle East, and although most versions I've had there correspond pretty closely with that humorous video (to which I linked) and include tomatoes, I've also had versions with no tomatoes, but with cucumbers, garlic, spices, etc. Even chopped olives. Honestly, I think it's just like most salads, and for that matter, most recipes. They're going to vary. Add what you like. Leave out what you don't. But I'm a tomato girl, all the way. To each his own. I thoroughly agree. It may seem like such a simple recipe but even a little change in the amount of any of the few ingredients can make a big difference This is the recipe I use, from my friend's mother. Does it sound like it would do? Tabouli by Mrs. Gemayel Sent with permission to post online! 2/3 cup bulgur pint of cold water 1 1/2 cups parsley 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions 1/4 cup chopped mint 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed 1 rounded teaspoon sea salt 3 + tablespoons olive oil, (I use grapeseed oil) 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 medium=size tomatoes - seeded and cut into small dice ------- Dressing for tabouli (for people to add as they want) 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed 1/2 teaspoon sea salt Soak bulgur in cold water for half an hour. while soaking, wash parsley and mint, remove any big stems, wrap in a dry towel and put in fridge chop scallions (green onions) and set aside seed tomatoes and chop into fine dice (1/4 to 1/2 inch) coarsely chop parsley and mint - it should be fairly dry by now Drain bulgur, spread on a towel to dry a bit. Put bulgur into a large bowl and toss with the scallions, mashing the bulgur and scallions together to mix the flavors. Add parsley and mint and toss to mix well. in a cup whisk together the 2 tablespoons lemon juice, the salt, the black pepper and the oil Add to bulgur mix and toss well to evenly distribute Add chopped tomatoes and gently toss and mix with 2 spoons - don't break up the tomatoes. in a small bottle or jar, mix the lemon juice and salt together and set on table to sprinkle over each serving. Serve on lettuce leaves or a bed of greens - baby spinach is good. Although I don't really measure anything, just chop, add, stir in, etc., until it looks and tastes "right," I'd say this just about sums up exactly what I do. The only difference I note is that you say you use grapeseed oil. I really love the flavor of good olive oil, so I can't leave that out. Of anything.

I'm not sure it's "too many people" that add too little parsley, as it is too many Westerners. I think that, at least in the US, the feeling is that in order to appeal more to Western tastes, tabouli is considered to be a bulgur salad with a little parsley added. However, in the Middle East, where it originated, it's exactly the opposite: a parsley salad with a little bulgur added. And since we're discussing this, I also find most versions in the US don't have enough lemon, either. Too little parsley and too little lemon make for a much blander salad. I also think you're right, Jenni, that in different regions of the Middle East, the list of "proper" ingredients varies. I've actually traveled in the Middle East, and although most versions I've had there correspond pretty closely with that humorous video (to which I linked) and include tomatoes, I've also had versions with no tomatoes, but with cucumbers, garlic, spices, etc. Even chopped olives. Honestly, I think it's just like most salads, and for that matter, most recipes. They're going to vary. Add what you like. Leave out what you don't. But I'm a tomato girl, all the way. To each his own.

Interesting. This is just exactly how I first learned to cook rice when I lived in the Philippines several decades back. Although, no microwave back then. After you put the water in to the first knuckle, you bring it all to a boil. Then a quick stir. Then get a dishtowel, or even paper towel, and wrap up the lid to the pot to be sure you get a good seal. Then turn the heat down as low as it will go and let it sit for about 15 minutes or so. Then turn off the heat and finish whatever else you're cooking. Then, just before serving, take off the lid and give the rice a good stir to fluff it and let it sit a couple of minutes without the lid to dry a bit. I've never had any problems with this method. But in later years, I've wondered... In the "olden days" in the Philippines, anyway, the rice was often dirty, so the "washing until the water runs clear" step was a necessity. I've noticed on the packages of rice I buy now that it says "no washing." I don't really understand the chemistry involved here, so I've compromised. I wash until the water runs sort of clear. But would like to understand it all. And the rice cooker has always seemed to me to be a waste of time, money, space on (and below) the kitchen counter, etc. But reading over this thread makes me wonder if perhaps I should invest in a small one. The older I get the more I appreciate things that require no thinking whatsoever. But back to my initial conundrum. Washing the rice? Good idea? Or no.

No tomatoes? Met a girl, she was a cutie She said she'd make me tabouli But she made it without the tomato So I had to tell her, "See ya later."