BarbaraY

I love a good, homemade Menudo. Canned is not fit for human consumtion. Maybe it's because I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood of Mexicans, Italians, and Anglos.

My grandmother made Shepards Pie with leftover roast lamb, the gravy, and mashed potato. No vegetables in the pie but served on the side. If it has beef it isn't Shepard's Pie IMHO but something else. Cottage Pie, I suppose.

I came to Thai food rather late in life since I had read the bad publicity on fish sauce and shrimp paste. Made it sound really disgusting. Then some friends took me to Thai Cuisine in Berkley, CA and I was hooked. Came home and dug through all my foody magazines and cooked Thai food for the whole next week. I think it's amazing, tangy, spicy, sweet, hot, and intense flavors are addictive. Now have ten Thai cookbooks and the correct ingredients to make it myself, including my own Kaffir lime tree.

Shiokara, Japenese squid guts! I'll pass.

500+ here. I'm not sure of the exact count since I just weeded out the bookcases. Got rid of some really bad ones. There's a reason "Forgotten Foods" were forgotten.:D Where did I get all those microwave books?

One of my biggest complaints is understaffing and neglectin the staff training. When we took my aged Mom to brunch on Mother's Day the place, one of the better ones in the area, was way understaffed so service was very inefficient. The wait people were being run ragged trying to keep up when one more waiter on the floor would habe made for a much better experience. I have quit saying, "We're not guys", because it's a waste of energy. We're all "guys" now days regardless of gender or age. I guess we're going to have to learn to live with it.

I made another stir-fry like the first one but added a bit more oyster sauce, blanched the Gai Lan and it turned out great. Definitely a keeper.

Thanks everybody. Here's the plan. I bought another bunch today and will use it tomorrow. Same basic recipe but will blanch in salted water as Tepee suggested adding leaves at the last. If the stems seem to be extremely coarse I will peel them but I put a thumbnail into one so I don't think it's as tough as the first bunch. No olive oil in my Chinese food either. I don't use baking soda in things like beans or peas. It gives green peas a ghastly, poisonous appearence and makes the dry beans mushy and unpleasant tasting.

I found only two of my books that use chicken livers. I never do because I don't care for the liverish flavor that it gives the sauce. What I find surprising is the variation in the amount of tomato that is used.

Now you made me do it, too. I made a small batch each of pork and shrimp. Will post a pic as soon as I figure out how to do it on this site.

Never neglect to taste the pie filling before assembly. I had recently changed jobs and sugar and salt bins were in opposite positions. You guessed it. Salted Blueberry pie. Took while to live that one down.

Thanks, Rachel. Will try that if I find it again. I loved the flavor.

I bought a bunch of this at the Farmers Market. Last night I prepared it in a stir-fry with pork made in the usual manner. Stir-fried marinated pork shreds with garlic and set aside. Then stir-fried the Gai Lan, added a splash of water and covered it to steam. When I uncovered it, it didn't look like it was done so I tried a bite and couldn't even bite through it. Continued to steam it with a little more water for a good 5-7 minutes. The tips were getting tender so I returned the meat to the pan, added the sauce (chicken stock, soy sauce, wine, oyster sauce, and chile-garlic paste.) It was very tasty but the vegetable was only edible on the tips. Has anyone had this problem or did I just get a bad bunch?

Seems my collection is about the same as most: White distilled is for cleaning and pickles. Balsamic White Rice White Rice Seasoned with Basil and Oregano Black Rice Cider Red Wine White Wine Malt Champagne Raspberry Tarragon

Thanks Susan. I don't know where this tree was purchased. My late hubby got it for me from a mail order source.

I have a small Kaffir lime tree. It lives in a huge pot in the house in the winter. When I put it out next week it will start putting out fresh leaves. These are the ones that I use for cooking since I find the old leaves are way to strong, almost acrid. After bringing it back in to the house in the fall, it will start growing again for a short time. Seven years old and has never produced fruit. Maybe because it has to be housebound all winter.