Nancy in Pátzcuaro

Thanks very much for that informative reply. I have no idea why my German friend wants to know about these places, but at least I can tell him that they still exist. Frankly I'm a little surprised that the economy hasn't snuffed them out, as it has so many other worthy endeavors. N.

I don't know if this is the proper place to ask this question, but here goes: Does anyone remember that a few years ago there were "cooking studios" sometimes associated with a food market, where people gathered to prepare a week's worth of meals? There were experienced chefs on hand to answer questions and give advice. I'm asking this question on behalf of a German friend, who's been unsuccessful finding out more information about it. He thinks there was something like this in Seattle. Personally, I think the start-up cost for something like this would put it out of the reach of most home cooks (who, after all, have their own kitchens to work in), and it's possible these places went out of business after the downturn. Thanks for your help--N.

I think I'll be making this one of these days for either a brunch or for dessert. Sounds very yummy, especially after reading all the recommendations for improvement. Have you considered substituting minced rosemary for the poppy seeds? Not a straight 1-to-1 substitution, of course, but maybe only 1 Tbs. However, you couldn't call it "poppy seed loaf" anymore... It would probably work better in an olive oil cake than one with butter, but you never know until you try. If I make it I'll report back. I've become a big fan of rosemary in baked goods, probably because I have a huge rosemary plant in the garden. (I'm going to have to change my user name--I no longer live in Colorado, where rosemary does not grow outdoors.) I'm not much of a baker--someone always sneaks into the kitchen and throws flour around and then runs away. At least that's what it looks like when I finally put something into the oven. Nancy in CO (but now in Pátzcuaro, México)

See also this thread on Seed Savers Exchange forum: http://forums.seedsavers.org/showthread.php?t=434 This is in regard to making one's own paprika. Basically it's nothing more than drying the peppers completely and then grinding them, seeds and all, in a coffee mill or spice grinder. Some people use more than one kind of dry red chile to make a more complex blend. The thread digresses into how to grow chiles and which varieties, which is understandable in a gardening forum. But the basic idea is quite simple. Plus I like the idea of putting a couple of big buttons in the jar that you shake to break up any caking of the powder. N.

I guess it depends on what kinds of chiles you're preserving. If it's the poblano/mirasol/hatch green type, they can be roasted, steamed in a plastic bag and peeled, then chopped (with seeds or without) and put into zipper freezer bags. If you've bought a bushel of chiles you might want to use a food processor for the chopping part. You can almost liquify them if you choose, or freeze them whole with stems and seeds intact. I've used these frozen whole chiles for chiles rellenos with complete success. Press the bags flat to squeeze out all the air and stack them in your freezer. When you want to use a little in a recipe, break off a chunk from the frozen mass and reseal the bag. They last all winter, until green chile season starts again in the late summer. I add this to soups, sauces, marinades, chicken salad or plain white rice or scrambled eggs, and it does wonders for a turkey sandwich after Thanksgiving. Once you have a stash of these chiles in your freezer you'll find yourself adding them to almost everything you cook. And then your friends and family will tell you to knock it off for a while. I suspect you could do the same with any fresh chile, red or green. If you've scored a bunch of jalapeños (and you have a smoker) you could consider smoking them to make chipotles. Don't ask me how--I've never done it but I'd be interested in hearing if anyone else has. Is there a better aroma than the smell of roasting green chiles? I live in México now, and we buy our poblanos at the market as we need them rather than laying in a supply in the fall, but I still miss that heavenly smell of roasting chiles. N.

Has anyone tried the "2-bowls-shake-like-mad " method? I've heard about this more than once and have never thought to try it. Of course, if you're just using a couple of garlic cloves it's not worth it, but if you're making Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic you might want to consider it. From what I understand, you put 2 stainless bowls of equal diameter together with your garlic inside, and you shake hard for about a minute so that the cloves bang against the bowls. When you separate the bowls the garlic is supposed to be peeled, with the dry skin easily removed. If this is true, it's a good way to peel many cloves for use in recipes that use a lot of garlic and saves all the stickiness of peeling it. Now all you have to do is some knife work and you're done. Hopefully someone in this group has tried it and can tell us if it worked. Garlic soup, anyone? N.

Johnnyd, I'd be interested in your impression of the salt pollock. A friend of ours, I believe, developed that idea in Alaska a few years ago when cod availability became uncertain. She subsequently sold her company, but before that she had a strong market in Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal. I've never had salt pollock, but I really love salt cod. It shows up here in México every year around Christmas and I make sure to lay in a good supply to use during the rest of the year. (I need to change my user name, since I no longer live in Colorado.) Thanks--N.

Thanks--I'll look at this one too. Both this and What's for Supper sound very much like what I remember. Nancy in CO

Thank you both for those links. I think What's for Supper? is closer to what I remember. Anybody else have an idea? Nancy in CO

A few years ago I heard of a business that provided kitchen space and expert assistance for people who weren't expert cooks and wanted help preparing meals. I think people could buy ingredients and prepare meals for the week with the help of trained staff. I believe that this concept was later franchised. My question is--does anyone remember this, or even what it was called? I've been trying to Google it but none of the keywords I've used have been helpful. Thanks for your help--this has been driving me nuts. Nancy in CO

I believe it was Dorothy Parker who said that eternity was 2 people and a ham. My recommendation is to invite lots of people for dinner and send them home with ample "doggie" bags. N.

I find the vinegar and water method (about half and half) to be the most successful. Be sure to turn off the coffee maker halfway through the process and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This really loosens any mineral build-up as well as caked on coffee residue. You'll be surprised at the crud that ends up in the carafe. N.

I save bits of chicken (wing-tips, backbones, necks, and carcasses from roast birds) in the freezer until I have enough for a big batch of stock. Like everyone else I chop up what I call The Usual Suspects (onion, carrot, celery, garlic), cover the chicken parts with cold water and bring to a simmer. I throw in some parsley, whole black peppercorns, a couple sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf or 2, but no salt. This simmers away in my huge stockpot (restaurant size) for hours and hours before I strain out the vegs and by-now completely spent chicken. Then I reduce that stock (slowly) until it's very concentrated. After a night in the fridge I can scrape off the fat layer and begin the freezing process. I freeze my concentrated stock in ice cube trays; store the cubes in big ziplock bags so you can just grab one, turn it into a cup of rich stock, and add to recipes. It's sort of a frozen bouillon cube. I figure, why freeze water when you don't have to? I've done this for years. N.

Find your local Italian community and ask them. Around here, in my old mountain mining town, the Italians would riot if they couldn't have bacala, at Christmas especially. I'm not Italian but I love the stuff--it's wonderfully chewy and savory. I always have some in the freezer. I even found it last year at our Wal-Mart, if you can believe that (sure surprised me). When I asked for it at our local Italian market they asked me how many fillets I wanted. I asked for 2, and they brought me fillets that looked more like long white planks. Next time I'll just ask for one. Who knew cod was so big? Simplest way to do it is to soak it, cut it into large chunks, poach briefly and then smother with a good red sauce and pop into the oven. I also like it as a gratin--if you have a copy of Potager, from Georgeanne Brennan, the recipe is on pp. 92-93. This recipe is particularly good for using up the thin pieces and trimmings because you have to flake it anyway. I'm more in favor of a 24-hour soak rather than longer because I find the salty quality--which I like--is lost with a longer soak. But, you know, different strokes-- And after you've asked your local Italians about salt cod, ask them about where they go to forage for mushrooms. If you're lucky they'll tell you. N.

Years ago our neighbors up the road had a couple of goats for milk for their bum lambs, and naturally there was a lot of surplus milk most of the year. I used to make a soft goat cheese with just goat milk and cultured buttermilk--4 parts goat milk and one part buttermilk. I did it in my crockpot on low until the curds broke and then strained it through cheesecloth. You could freeze it I guess, but the texture won't be as creamy as the fresh stuff. Very tasty cheese it was, too. The more whey you strain off, the drier the cheese, so you can adjust to your preference. I personally don't care for the pressed goat cheeses--somehow they just seem "squeaky" to me, and the flavor doesn't thrill me either. N.

I know this has been discussed here recently, but for some reason I can't find the thread. (Well, I'm pretty sure it's been discussed here--I know I recently read it somewhere...) First--we live at 7200 feet, which I've never found to be a serious problem when baking cookies. However a friend went to Denver (the Mile High City) to bake cookies for her widowed father. The recipe that makes tall, fluffy cookies here at our altitude made flat, lumpy ones in Denver. Any clues about how she can reproduce her usual cookies at lower altitude? Or is altitude not the problem? We always assume that there must be correlation between altitude and baking success, and usually that's true, especially for cakes. Thanks, everyone--you are a great resource. And I apologize for asking a question that probably has been answered before. N.

Quesadillas--you can use almost anything in them and they're perfect for using up that last little bit of something--you know, not quite enough to save but too much to throw away. I find the combination of cooked sweet potatoes and black beans is very appealing with sharp cheddar. N.

Boy, toasting those chiles can really clear out your sinuses. Make sure the exhaust fan is on, and open the windows. I have a recipe for Pasqual's red chile sauce (of Santa Fe) that requires toasting a lot of chiles, but I can't make it during the winter. I seem to remember a recipe in Eating Well a few years ago for brownies made with ancho chile powder. I believe they were called Aztec Brownies, and probably could be found on the Eating Well site. N.

The Hotel Virrey de Mendoza in Morelia--a venerable hotel on the main plaza--has wonderful breakfasts. However the best thing on the menu is jugo verde--pineapple, celery and nopal. No slime, possibly because the interaction of pineapple and nopal neutralizes the slime. I also like nopalitos in scrambled eggs. I haven't tried the nopalitos in a jar--would the canning process destroy the flavor? I guess I'll just have to get some and try it. N.

I can still taste the chicken breast with huitlacoche sauce in a restaurant in Zacatecas, a silver town in the mountains of central Mexico. It didn't hurt that the restaurant was beautiful, in the lower level of a building near the cathedral, with a fireplace and arches and white table clothes, and-- Right about now I'm thinking of asking my spouse, "How soon can you pack?" Congratulations on finding this lovely stuff in your home town. Now, if only you can convince the local corn producers to allow some of it to ripen on their crop. Not all of it should go to ethanol. N.

Many years ago I found a recipe for cherry tomatoes that is a splendid accompaniment to grilled meats, especially chicken-- a bunch of cherry tomatoes, whole a dollop of good olive oil a chunk of unsalted butter lotsa minced garlic some chopped basil S & P Toss the tomatoes into a baking dish with the olive oil, butter and garlic--swirl it all around to coat the tomatoes. Place in a hot oven (I seem to remember that it was 450) and roast until the tomatoes are soft and the skins are beginning to split. You can swirl the baking dish around once or twice if you want (should take about 10 minutes). Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper, scatter the basil over all, and devour. Hmmm--I also have a lot of cherry tomatoes. And I also like the idea of piping goat cheese into them--very nice for drinks with friends. N.

Our nephew, who is a vegetarian, would like to know if there's some form of tofu that can be taken on a multi-day backpack trip, and if so, will it still be healthy (as in non-poisonous) after a couple of days? This is a big 28-year-old with 2 hollow legs, so getting enough calories is hard for him. I've only bought the refrigerated type, but I think I recall seeing shelf-stable packs as well. I also have seen dried tofu, which might be an option. Thanks, all--N.

Be sure you pick it before it blooms. It makes a undistinguised yellow flower, and then the purslane becomes tough and too bitter for my tongue. Otherwise I love it--a bit of raw leaf in a salad is very tasty. But the best is with of egg in a taco. N.

I apologize to you all--I just started reading this topic. As someone who's had parents in both assisted living and nursing homes, I can tell you that the food is the one thing they complain about the most. Part of the problem is that the food is unsalted, for obvious reasons. You can make the most succulent dish, but if it has no salt it's pretty much tasteless. Our taste buds have been dulled by the use of salt over our lifetimes, but there's a reason salt was so highly prized (and priced) when it became available. It makes food taste better. It also is implicated in high blood pressure, and as a result food in these environments are pretty much salt-free. In our community there are significant populations of Italians and Hispanics, so the food at the local nursing home features things like lasagna and enchiladas, which pleases my mom. I think it would be a great idea to ask them what they want to eat. It will probably be the first time that anyone (other than their spouses) wanted to know. By now I'm sure you have, and have gotten wonderful ideas from them. N.

Jeez--I thought you guys were talking about baking soda... My bad. N.