dockhl

Crispy potato Pancakes topped with a fried egg, smoked salmon and creme fraiche/sour cream with finely diced red onion..........

Petit Pois Peas cooked with lettuce leaves. INGREDIENTS: * lettuce leaves, rinsed and left moist * 1 package (10 ounces) petite peas, partially thawed and broken up or about 1 1/2 to 2 cups shelled young peas * 1 teaspoon sugar * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper * 2 tablespoons butter PREPARATION: Directions for petit pois Line a heavy skillet or Dutch oven with 3 to 4 large lettuce leaves. Add peas; sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Dot with butter over the top of peas. Top with another lettuce leaf or two. Cover tightly and cook over medium low heat for 8 to 10 minutes (a little longer for fresh peas), or until peas are tender. Check and add small amounts of water if the peas are drying out. Lettuce may be chopped and served with peas, if desired.

Indian Cheese with Peas (Mattar Pannir) For the pannir: 2 quarts (2 L) milk 1/2 cup (125 ml) plain yogurt 2 Tbs (30 ml) fresh lemon juice For the peas: 1/4 cup (60 ml) ghee 2 Tbs (30 ml) finely chopped fresh ginger 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 medium onion, finely chopped 1 cup (250 ml) reserved whey from the pannir 1 Tbs (15 ml) garam masala 1 tsp (5 ml) ground coriander 1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric 1/4 tsp (1 ml) cayenne pepper, or to taste 2-3 tomatoes, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) fresh or frozen peas, thawed 1 tsp (5 ml) sugar Chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) for garnish To make the pannir, bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan over moderate heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt and lemon juice - the curds should form almost immediately. Pour the contents of the pot into a sieve lined with several layers of cheesecloth (muslin) set over a large bowl. Let drain until cool enough to handle, then wrap the cheesecloth around the curds and wring to extract as much whey as possible. Reserve 1 cup of the whey for the recipe and discard the rest. Place the cheese, still wrapped in the cheesecloth, on a baking sheet and place a heavy skillet and several heavy cans or heavy pots on top (total weight should be about 15 lbs, 6 Kg) and let rest at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours, until the cheese is firm. Remove the cheesecloth and cut the cheese into 1/2-inch (1 cm) cubes. Heat the ghee in a heavy skillet over moderate heat until very hot and fry the cheese cubes in batches until golden brown on all sides. Transfer the browned cheese cubes to a plate. Add the ginger and garlic to the ghee remaining in the skillet and saute for 30 seconds. Add the onions and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and simmer partially covered for 10 minutes. Add the cheese cubes and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serves 4 to 6.

And? Was it good? (It looks awesome )

Ditto. Haven't had these in 20 years, I'll bet. Sounds kinda good, esp with fresh salmon.............

You don't remember "Nobody Walks in LA" by the Missing Persons, circa ?? No wonder they thought you were suspect K

Ummmmmmmmmmmm...............??????? K

Being from Encinitas, I think there is a huge difference between driving 45 minutes to (already well established) Mille Fleurs in lovely Rancho Santa Fe and driving an hour to .......Temecula. I think you'd have to be pretty fantastic (and have GREAT marketing) to get SD people to do that. That having been said, no question that they need a good restaurant. Just how do you get going and get the word out? Good luck (sincerely), JWest~ Kathy

Shea~ If you haven't read timh's fascinating account WORLD OF A PRIVATE CHEF you might find it intriguing. We all certainly did! Kathy

Or when you chop off the tip of your finger while slicing preserved lemons........ lemon+salt+raw flesh=

Hey Raoul~ Does feel good, doesn't it? After all the missed storms this winter... My wisteria is just about done, irises are going crazy, lilacs are almost through. My tomatoes are confused and haven't grown one bit, just sit there. Radishes are coming up nicely, herbs seem happy enough (parsley, sage, dill, coriander, beginning basil). The rain just paused~I hope it continues all night Good luck on the tree planting--are you on 46W? Kathy

Marlene Can you tell me about those lovely potatoes? What makes them crispy?

Darn it! And I threw that 1/3 of my left index finger nail/nailbed away Oh well. It'll grow back

How do you keep it from getting soggy in the crockpot? Do you brown it first in pan? Also, could I use chicken parts for something like this? ← Normally what I'll do is pour off the juices when I get home and crank it up to high. It doesn't brown like in the oven, tho. (Frankly, I usually pull the skin off and fry it up in a pan to eat ! ) If you used parts, you could brown them first and then put them in the crockpot. I guess you could brown your whole chicken, too.... ??

On a happy note~ My local nursery ordered both the basil and mint for me! I'll pick them up tomorrow Thanks to everyone for their help. I'll let you know what I think. And thanks, kitchenmage, for the inspiration. Kathy

Congratulations ! What a wonderful opportunity. I hope you blog lots of detail and pictures What is your itinerary and when do you start? Kathy

But, Steve, those are the ones you need to learn...........who else will make them?

exactly

Whew! I feel better now I replenish mine by pulling out the old (preserved) and washing the jar, putting new lemons, salt juice in the bottom and topping with the old again. Top off with more juice. Always have some ready and available

I do a whole roast chicken with preserved lemons and olives that is good, esp if you have a good presalted or brined chicken. Great leftovers, too.

Here's a new question. I've made several batches of lemons, wonderful, delicious. The lemon juice/salt brine gets really thick over time. Since they came out fine I am assuming that's OK but I've never read anything from anyone else about this happening. Any input? Kathy (who loves to eat them straight from the jar, in small quanitites )

Small Planet says: Storage Tips Gone are the days when storing tofu was a hassle. Storage isn't such a big deal anymore. You used to need to immediately open the tofu and place it in fresh water, and replace the water every day to get any real shelf-life out of it. We vacuum pack our tofu, which means you can keep it in the refrigerator without touching it until you're ready to use it. In the rare case that you don't use the whole package of tofu, you can find a Tupperware or cottage cheese container to store it in. When storing leftover tofu, you will need to cover it in water, and try to change the water once a day to extend its shelf life to seven to 10 days. Try not to touch the tofu with your bare hands. If the tofu has a rotten smell or if it's become pink or orange, that means it’s gone bad and should be discarded. If the tofu has turned a yellowish-brown, it’s sort of like cheese that’s been exposed to air; simply cut off the affected part. Tofu with a sour or lemony odor has come close to the end of its life but is still usable if cooked, steamed or parboiled.

# Espagnole # Béchamel # Velouté # Hollandaise (butter sauces) # Tomato

OK, great! Can't wait to hear your reports

petite~ thank you ! There are several that I've never seen before ! I'll get some ordered Kathy