Lisa Shock

I kind of wondered this myself. The asparagus at my parents' house was already in the garden when we moved there, and the house had been unoccupied for about 15 years prior to us purchasing it. That section of the garden, which also had rhubarb, was always treated with care and respect.

The scandals involving worthless counterfeit medications made in China that were flooding the world markets (including supposedly reputable drugstore chains in the US) in the early 2000's were very frightening. For me the final straw was learning about the pet food then dairy products made in factories where it was SOP to add melamine to the product. The factories and machinery were designed to deliver, measure, and incorporate poison into food. That's different from lax hygiene practices and other foodborne illness outbreaks. I have never seen a case of a US manufacturer deliberately formulating a food with a known poison, at least during my lifetime. And, the most recent infant formula scandal was just one in a long series of incidents where Chinese infant formula factories deliberately poisoned consumers. One head of China's FDA left in 2005 after a series of scandals over 7 years that involved deaths from poisonous infant formula and other medications.

I have only heard of the dry root being used in Chinese medicine. We had some in the garden when I was growing up, we never did anything with the roots since the plant is a perennial. I always figured that since the bases of asparagus stalks are woody and undesirable, anything lower down on the plant would be similarly tough. You may have to try steaming a small amount yourself and see what seems to be the best option. My personal vote would be to plant this gift and receive an annual harvest for years to come.

I stopped buying any food from China in 2008. The only thing I miss is a mushroom soy sauce I used to get, but, I console myself with the knowledge that I am now consuming less aflatoxins. I simply don't trust that the ingredients statements on the packages have any basis in reality -literally anything could be in that can or box instead of the real food.

I found this home candymaking book with some recipes. I have never used it in candymaking, I've just seen it in commercial candies as a coating, similar to the nuts referenced above, or in jujubes and such.

I started soaking when I read Madhur Jaffrey's instructions in her World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking, when I was in college. I have run little tests here and there on various rices, and soaking (up to 45 min for brown rice) really gives a better overall result. The grains cook more evenly, and there's no breakage. It's just beautiful rice. Your issue may have something to do with your water. It may be too mineral-laden, or, there's an acid present somehow.

Gin Daisies are very tasty. I have used both liqueurs and Italian flavor syrups to make a variety of Daisy flavors. (IMO, creme de cassis is very, very good) If all you have is booze, some fruit and sugar/syrup, what about some classic, non-frozen, Daiquiris? The basic lime is nice, if you have bananas or frozen berries you can make the more popular iterations.

It's used to make gomme syrup for cocktails, I like it as a general sweetening syrup for cold non-alcoholic drinks, too. It can be used to thicken royal icing, and, some people use it as a substitute for gum tragacanth in making gumpaste for sugar flowers, etc. but, the texture is not as good. It is occasionally used in commercial ices creams. A few candies use it as well.

I like having a few of these strainers on a handle for draining smaller pots of pasta, hard boiled eggs, etc. where maybe I don't want to put the food into a colander, but back into the original pot. These strainers are easier to wash, and, at home, they fit into the dishwasher and kitchen drawers more easily than a colander.

You can always get a device like a Kill A Watt electricity usage monitor to find out exactly what's going on.

The rolled out crusts work because the ice water activates some of the gluten in the crumbs, which then creates structure. My guess would be that people having issues are using salted butter which can wildly differing amounts of water in it at any given time, or are heating the butter up too much and evaporating off the water content. (or sneaking in water-free margarine) Adding a half teaspoon of water should help.

Usually a Martinez or Gin & Tonic (Hendricks and Fever Tree) with lemon. Occasionally, I'll do a Rum & Tonic and I usually go through a phase of making a lot of ungarnished Dead Dates a week or two a year. -Well I buy the bottle of blackstrap rum and drink it til it's finished before moving back to my usual gin based drinks.

You can also dip/paint strips onto large balloons, like the sort used to make animals, for different shapes. This blog has a step by step of the acetate procedure. (scroll down)

I'd like to point that you can make homemeade margarine but, I haven't tried that recipe, so I have no idea how good it is. I do use butter, because it tastes better. I do try to use monosaturated fats for salad dressings, mayonnaise, and general cooking. But, beurre noisette is one of my favorite sauces...

I was always taught that Chef meant Chief, the head of a brigade, like a Fire Department Chief. Generally, one gets to a command position by rising through the ranks and in a kitchen that would mean that the Chef can cook. I have met people who started their own places and ran around calling themselves chefs while not really having a clue as to what they were doing, but, then again, they were in charge of the team. So, while they may have been incompetent, until the business imploded they were the Head Chef.

I got rid of all my non-stick pots and pans a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. That said, I am old enough that when I learned to cook as a kid we didn't own a super-expensive newfangled Teflon pan, so, I learned to turn out an omlette in a regular metal pan.

I actually caught up with this on 'On Demand' and was surprised that it is pretty solid. Yes, the first three episodes have a lot of melodrama with contestant backstories, but, once you get to competition episodes, it's a decent show. (see, I don't rag on everything on tv!) I really like the elimination challenges because they have focused on real basic skills, not some made-up silliness, and are not showcases for a sponsor's product.

Some of your produce would make a nice selection of tempura vegetables, even the leafy ones work -they just become crispy. To make a complete meal I usually make a clear broth soup, rice (the Imperial kind you'd make sushi with), and a cucumber salad. Fruit or sorbet is a good dessert with this meal. If you fear you aren't getting enough protein, you can: tempura some baked/seasoned tofu, serve cold tofu with toppings like fresh ginger/scallions/etc., or add tofu cubes to the soup.

Make the butter into beurre noisette first.

I've been a vegetarian since 1979. I eat dairy and eggs, but very few eggs -mostly just in baking. I've had, and made, all sorts of vegetarian main dishes ranging from horrid slop to sublime experiences. My main advice is to not worry so much about protein, most Americans eat too much of it and it's in all sorts of foods. In terms of making great meals, you're headed in the right direction with the produce. Let the fresh harvest guide your inspiration. You'll get better results thinking about everything you can make with kohlrabi, for example, than being set on enchiladas one night and forcing your food into that structure. Obviously, if you run out of ideas for a quick meal, something with eggs like a frittata is an easy path to take and may be useful at first. But, if you have the patience to cook up some legumes and grains you'll get more variety and better overall nutrition. I like to cook plain dry beans in my crockpot, then store some in the fridge and freeze some in small portions. This way I always have them available to toss into a variety of dishes, like Indian vegetable dishes. Rice also freezes well and can be useful to have on hand not just for heat & eat meals, but for fried rice and enchiladas. Red lentils cook very quickly and can be found easily, they are my fallback legume for quick meals. They can be a soup, or the bean in many Indian dishes. -Not traditional, but, they get dinner on the table.

I got a few silicone molds, little seashells & bonbon shapes, designed for making chocolates (at least that's what the label said) early on and have never been able to get any decent results from them. At first, I thought it was me, then, I realized that there's simply no way to do anything cleanly with them. You can't effectively scrape the tops, so you get messy edges. You cannot tap them effectively to vibrate out air bubbles. You can't flip them easily to pour out excess, so your work area gets messy. And, they're fussy during unmolding; you can't just tap them and have all the chocolates pop out cleanly. Overall a huge waste of time and money. I use the molds I am stuck with for cheesecake bites nowadays. edited for spelling...

Double check that anything you want to see on a Monday is actually open. Monday is the day many businesses and attractions are closed.

I like cutting it off the cob and using it in Indian dishes like Korma, and some of the tomato/onion sauce-based dishes.

As much as I really like canned tomatoes from Italy, I must say that if I shop at the ordinary grocery store I buy the generic/house brand tomatoes. The reason is, to my taste anyway, the longer tomatoes sit on the shelf them more they develop a bitter bad taste. The cheap ones sell quickly and the cans tend to be fresher, so I buy those. At some mid-range supermarkets in mid-lower income areas, the expensive cans are rarely sold so they are rarely replenished. Cook's Illustrated recently did a taste test of canned tomatoes and found that tasters preferred types that have citric acid in them; apparently it keeps better flavor as well as texture.

What about mixing toasted almond butter with a little melted milk chocolate? The filling should wind up like a cross between Reese's and Nutella, texture-wise, with a strong almond flavor and smooth texture.