BarbaraY

What became of the tent dress? Preferably in a dark print.

Recently I had a dish in a new restaurant that was waaay too salty. They have since improved this and it no longer happens. Even my daughter, the saltaholic, said it was too salty. I frequently find vegetables to be unsalted. Also incorrectly cooked, ie. carrots and zucchini can't be cooked for the same length of time without one or both being incorrect. How hard is it to blanch some carrots?

Thanks to Pontormo for coming to our defense. I think there are probably more vegetarians in Ca than anywhere outside Asia. Have you seen the Greens cookbooks? They have wonderful recipes and, especially Fields of Greens is lower in fats in many of their recipes. Fake food is fake food so I say avoid the plastic cheeses, phony meats, etc. and keep experimenting. I didn't see Didi Emmons' book Vegetarian Planet mentioned and it has some good and interesting recipes. Another vote for Madhur Jaffreyand World of the East. I was looking at my copy just yesterday and it still makes my mouth water. I'm not a vegetarian but havae cooked a lot of vegetarian foods for my family and in the restaurants.

I made S&B curry a few nights ago. Added chicken, onions, carrots, and red bell pepper. We had it with rice and yellow summer squash. It was very good.

I always cook the meat and remove it from the wok before doing the vegetables. Then add the meat back in with the sauce. Too much food in a wok is also a common problem.

The only time I put things on top of the range are things like cookie sheets or pies that are just out of the oven. Perhaps I might put more things on it but I have a large island and plenty of counter space.

PJ is adorable. I see why the whole room was smiling at him. Your meal at Tabla looks absolutely delicious. Needless to say I love Indian food. You're off to a good start.

It may be bad juju but it does happen. Shameful!

Michelle, thanks for a great blog. Everything just looks and seems wonderful and delicious. I will have to try the chicken and rice dish. All my favorite flavors.

I think many of us who grew up with canned black olives still like them. I do, even though I love almost every type of real olives. Somehow the egg salad sandwich with minced olives wouldn't be the same with Kalamata olives. I say eat what you like but check out other foods.

We recently bought a half gallon of raw organic milk for my daughter to make yogurt. It was without a doubt the best yogurt we have ever tasted with a nice creamy top. Very pricey but way good for a treat. I was raised on raw milk from my grandparents cows. Pasteurized milk took a long while to get used to and I still have never found cottage cheese or butter to compare with the home made.

I hate haggling. I would never think of doing it at the Farmer's Market. I find the prices are fair and the food so much better than "store bought" that it's worth any difference. I even bought my car at a no-haggle dealer.

A very fascinating blog. Love the cheeses and the sheep are so cute. Isn't that an ancient olive tree with the sheep?

I may have to go to town today thanks to you. At last we have a BBQ place here, calls itself Texas BBQ. It has excellent ribs, I haven't tried the sausage yet, no brisket but tri-tip instead. Tri tip was tender and tasty with a nice smoke ring but a bit on the dry side. Guess I was trying to say that even here in CA we have sausage.

If the potatoes are cooked right they shouldn't break up, you should get nicely softened edges though with a bit of meltinginto the sauce. Though it is a simmered dish it isn'tsimmered for a long time at all. I guess if the Japanese didn't want the potatoes to break up they would have used daikon. ← This was my (minor) problem with the most recent one. The first pot I made had russet potatoes and they melted a bit into the sauce and seemed to absorb more flavor. Some of my recipes call for one type and some the other.

I swear to the Almighty I did not do this on purpose. When I came here to stay, there was a glass top electric range. One day I was making Tamales in my huge tamale pot. It simmered away for about an hour and when done I slid it to one side to cool. When I returned, I found the top had cracked and crumbled. I now have a nice gas range.

I agree, get rid of the rack of lamb and do another cut. The rissotto would do well with it a leg or shoulder. Lose the onion soup unless it's required and serve a salad as a first with mesclun and some nice fresh vegetable garnish. I would keep it light this time of year. Perhaps a sorbet with fresh berries for dessert.

The book Keo's Thai Cuisine has recipes for Evil Jungle Prince Chicken and a Meatless version. I don't know if this book is still in print. The recipe doesn't use the traditional curry paste but is made with red chile peppers, lemon grass, Kaffir lime leaves. coconut milk, salt, fish sauce, and fresh basil leaves. The vegetable in the chicken version is cabbage but Thai's seem to be very creative cooks and change things about so long beans would work.

Fascinating. Wish I could have tasted it all. It looks delicious.

Beef again? ← Yes, Hiroyuki, beef again but fattier than the first time. I really will try it with pork soon. I usually prefer pork to beef anyway. Esvobada, I have that book too.

I once again made niku jaga. I found that I liked it better made with the mealy potatoes. All I had in the cupboard was red potatoes and they didn't absorb the seasonings as well. IMHO Still was good, though.

If you toast it before cooking it it smells toasty. I just toss it in a skillet over medium heat until it starts to brown and a couple of grains pop like tiny popcorn. Then cook in the usual way. It may cook faster than completely raw.

I'm finding this blog fascinating. My dearest friend's mother just managed to get born in the USA. She made pirozhki, borscht, stuffed cabbage with pork, and a lovely cheesecake made with cottage cheese. A wonderful cook. Your photos are so colorful. Seems like most of the pictures I've seen of Moscow are so depressing. I'm glad to see all the color.

I thought I had the worst case of this disease possible but I see it could be worse. My freezer is full of a wide variety including a duck, a turkey, lamb shanks, ground beef, chicken pieces, chicken scraps for stock, breads, brown rice, orzo, a whole drawer full of baking supplies such as chips, nuts, dried fruit, coconut, etc. Four pantry shelves with Oriental, and Middle Eastern ingredients. Two with jams perserves, etc. One cupboard with spices and seasonings, one cupboard with dry goods ( crackers, cereal, raisins, prunes, etc), one cupboard with flour, sugar, and baking equipment. There is also a smaller pantry cupboard with rices, beans, cereal, canned goods, and onions and potatoes in a drawer on the bottom We don't even want to get into my fridge. My daughter is always telling me I have too much crap in there and she has no place to put her watermelon.

How small is a mini slow-cooker? I have a very small one because I cook for two most of the time. The mezzaluna disappeared sometime ago and I have no idea what became of it or the wooden bowl I used it in. I use the tea ball to make loose tea. I'm a tea drinker and only rarely drink coffee. Springform pan is used often. I gave the tortilla press to one of my daughters who uses it occasionally. The only thing I can think of that I have never used is a soup toureen and I have four! Three are regular size and one is a mini that I snagged for serving Thai soups. Ah, yes. One of those gadgets for making fried pastries that are sprinkled with powdered sugar. I can't remeber what they're called but my Grandma made them once or twice.