pansophia
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Posts posted by pansophia
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Wow!! I knew I'd get some great responses and y'all blew my mind!!
You know, I don't think I've ever eaten a poached egg, much less cooked one. Growing up I would only eat scrambled and hard boiled. Oh, and those "toad in the hole" toast & egg things.
I think carbonara definitely has to go on the meal list this week, I have a linguini/angel hair pasta cutter that needs trying out as well. I'll have to look up recipes for some of the other ideas and get better at my egg cooking - but I sure am hungry now!
We are so lucky that our suburb still allows two chickens without getting a permit or anything. I think it cost us $25 for two chickens and a 50-lb bag of feed that we still haven't run out of. Hubby built the coop out of spare materials and voila, now we have organic eggs just waiting for us every day.
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A few months ago my hubby and I decided to be the wacky neighbors with chickens in our suburban backyard. Thankfully, only one side of neighbors thinks we're wacky, the other quite adore the chickens!
Last Sunday the older of our two hens started laying and though the first egg was barely more than bite sized, the second one got soft boiled (rather soft was attempted but it was so small we went straight to mostly hard), then last night's egg was a jumbo! (pics on my blog)
The first few went in the fridge as we adjusted to the magic of having a fresh egg just waiting for us every day. Now I want to start taking advantage of this amazing resource in the backyard. I love hard-boiled eggs but it seems like slightly older eggs are better suited to that task.
What would you do with eggs laid just a few feet from the kitchen they'll be cooked in?
Thanks!
Kate
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We use the cooks illustrated method as well but I thought they recommended leaving just the last thin layer or two of husk. That's what we do and it's been a hit.
Mmmm...Minnesota sweet corn season!
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I used to work across the street from the Mill City Farmer's Market and did a lot of veggie and fruit shopping there before work. But I'm not a morning person and getting up early enough to go out of my way to a farmer's market just never seems to go as planned!
One thing I did like about the veggie bag is that it forced us to figure out something new - the garlic scapes. Hubby thinks these are awesome now but I would likely have skipped right over them at the market!
Haven't tried the breakfast sausage yet - will have to remember to add that to the next order.
Edited to add: I'm pretty new to this whole "real food" thing in general. It wasn't that long ago I was single and living on the Kraft blue box. Considering that earlier this week we bought a giant bag of fresh sweet corn that I husked, blanched, and froze - I think I'm making progress! Most days I'm still too lazy to go searching out fresh natural local foods, with the coop, it's easy even for me.
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What products have you tried so far?
Off the top of my head I know we've purchased flour, rolled oats, cornmeal, cookies, bread, popcorn, a variety of meats (the middle eastern lamb brats were out of sight!), cheese, eggs (until our two hens start laying), frozen and fresh veggies.
Hubby and I opted not to join a CSA as we knew we'd never get through all those veggies. Instead we ordered a veggie bag from the coop where you can pick your size. We did the $15 bag last month and it was still a LOT of veggies! Rhubarb, radishes, lettuce, garlic scapes (new to us), strawberries, and I think I'm forgetting something. We opted for the $20 bag this month as I think we'll prefer mid-summer veggies and my mom wants to share. I'll find out tonight what's included.
Yeah, sometimes they are out of stuff for a season but then, that's the way nature works.
Their website has info about how much more of your dollar gets back to the farmer and it just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside as I bite into that delicious brat, or strawberry, or cheese.
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I just want to give a shout out to one of my new favorite things, the Whole Farm Coop.
I can't even remember how I found them, I think it was back when I was researching CSAs. Now I'm so in love that my husband and I have been encouraging everyone we know to give it a try.
Supporting local farmers and producers is great but I can't always get to the farmer's markets and when I can, I often don't find/know what I'm looking for. With the Coop I order online from what is currently available and then pick a drop off site (local churches mostly). They gather up all the goodies from the farmers and then deliver once a month. Meat, fruit, veggies, grains, bread, dairy, eggs, etc. All local and sustainable.
So far I don't think we've been dissapointed by anything and when I did a price comparison on similar organic products at the grocery store, they came out WAY cheaper. Plus the best part so far is that one of the farmers had a "customer appreciation" day on his farm where we got to go out, pick Nanking Cherries, collect a dozen eggs straight from the coop (still warm!), and he sent us home with a frozen chicken. Didn't charge a dime - just wanted to get people out to see what he does.
Anywho, I'm just a happy customer, not a paid spokesperson. We're picking up this month's order tonight!
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I have about three or four cups of little Nanking charries that a local farmer let us pick for free but no clue what to do with them. the pits are too small and the fruits too soft to use a pitter at this point. But they taste really good!
I was going to just pit and freeze but now I don't think I can. Should I do a syrup?
Any ideas?
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The chicken site I belong to (have two laying hens in the backyard) has several posts about this - apparently the meat needs to age at least four hours before eating. Some people keep the meat in an ice bath overnight before cooking or freezing.
The theory posited is that the enzymes need time to start breaking down the meat.
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I haven't made any Marshmallows since the holidays but I am going to try to bring some up north for the 4th of July and need to start playing with flavors - so far I've only done vanilla and peppermint.
One of our new favorite treats is strawberries soaked in balsamic vinegar with a little sugar and black pepper. If I made a puree of this mixture, do you think I could use it the same way as a straight strawberry puree?
Hubby is also requesting cardamom marshmallows - I'm thinking my best bet is to put cardamom pods in with the syrup to steep.
Hmm, maybe this would be a good way to use up some of the chocolate mint that is taking over our garden.
Isn't it great that such a simple treat can be made so many ways?
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Surdyk's in Minneapolis also has a great selection of olive oils and usually has several available to tasting. You might give them a try.
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There are simply practical uses to adding milk to poultry feed as well. Hubby and I just got two laying hens for our suburban backyard and are trying to raise them as organically as possible. One of the recommendations we've received is to use powdered milk 50/50 with their feed as a coccidiostat. Since we've seen the results of coccidia first hand in our dog several times, we're willing to try anything!
Granted, since they aren't crammed into a little box surrounded by hundreds of other hens, our two have stayed pretty healthy naturally so far. Four weeks til egg laying should begin!
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Thank goodness for this thread!
I actually started some vanilla extract last November, hoping for Christmas presents. By Christmas it was obvious it needed more time and it's been practically forgotten ever since. (Oh yeah, and I was insane enough to use Grey Goose. What was I thinking?!)
I can't remember what recipe I followed but I only put in four beans for the whole bottle. It's still pretty pale and I'm going to add more. It has been successfully used in drinks though.
Thanks for the reminder!!
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My first taste of foie gras was at Puck's 20.21 here in Minneapolis on my wedding anniversary. My last taste will be anywhere but as I agree that Puck caved and have informed them as such and that I will be voting with my dollars elsewhere.
I applaud any move towards ethical producers of food but I feel it would have been better for him to find an ethical source of foie gras and support a change in the entire industry.
Stop making my dining choices for me!
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Okay, so we leave on Monday and I am far less planned for this trip than usual, but hubby claims that is a good thing! We've just dug ourselves out of two feet of snow so I will be happy to see the sun!
One question, how long should we set aside for our dinner at L'Atelier? Would it be safe to buy tickets for the 10:30 Jubilee show at Bally's after a 7:00 dinner reservation?
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I actually tried one of the whole wheat donuts at KK and was pleasantly surprised. The texture was similar to their original glazed but the taste was a bit more natural and seemed to have a hint of honey.
I try not to make a habit of KK, they aren't the best, but I get the occasional craving.
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You wont serve anything to guests you havent done a test run on?
Oh, maybe if it's something basic, but not if I'm at all nervous about it! And hey, it means hubby and I got to eat VERY well two weeks in a row!
Thanks for all the compliments. I love impressing and surprising people with food, especially my parents. I lived off Spaghettios and fast food for several years so this new love of real food is a major turn around.
Being able to list and pronounce every ingredient in a meal, well, it's priceless really.
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We kept it simple for V-Day as we're going out for a fancy dinner tonight instead.
Since we got a chest freezer, I've been meaning to do more big batch cooking so last night we made a "Loaded Baked Potato" soup and ate some then froze the rest. It was basically like eating thin mashed potatos with bacon, cheese, and sour cream (we were missing the green onions). Perfect for this crazy cold weather!
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My hubby the Coffee Master has asked me to point out that the CR article doesn't say WHICH Starbucks coffee was brewed for the test. There is a huge difference between "the ash tray like notes of French Roast (burnt and lacking in complexity)" and "the slightly floral, well balanced, slightly earthy notes of Ethiopian Sidamo."
Personally, he likes the more earthy and well balanced flavors of the African coffees as opposed to the acidic and bright notes of South American coffees.
It's really all down to personal taste and finding an area you like.
(Yeah, he's a coffee geek.)
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My husband works for Starbucks and even he will admit that few of their "coffee of the day" brews are all that great. But they have some good beans they don't serve often but we use at home and like.
Like many in the Upper Midwest, I started on Caribou Coffee which now seems more like candy than coffee (and no surprise since they offer Andes mints, Snickers, Oreo, etc as mix ins).
Then I moved into my "Corporations are evil, I will only go to small coffee shops" phase. Fun, but unreliable - every barista made my drink differently. I'm adventurous, but not at 8am.
Once I settled on a regular drink (grande vanilla non-fat latte) I found that I could get it more reliably at Starbucks than elsewhere.
Hell of Frappucinos aside, I think Starbucks is more about espresso drinks than straight coffee. Granted, at their current rate they will be more about CDs, books, and movies than about any coffee!
My (potentially biased) two cents.
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Well, the big dinner is over and went off without a hitch. I ended up not doing as many different things as planned due to time, but I think that was good. I may have been trying to overstretch a bit.
Either way, Mom said it was the best birthday present ever so apparently she approved!
Here are some photos of the prep and the dinner:
When we did our test run, I forgot to read the whole recipe carefully and we cut the boar in to nice sauce sized pieces before we marinated it with wine and veggies. The next night I noticed that the veggies all got discarded...which meant I had to pick out all the bits of boar. Fun.
This time we cut the meat into strips to marinate:
I took any stress out on the sage and juniper berries. I'd never used our pestle and mortar before, was kinda fun!:
Homemade fettucini hanging over blue cheese and walnut stuffed figs wrapped in prosciutto (waiting to go in the oven):
The boar, second installment of veggies, pancetta, and peppers all cooking away. This was just before adding the second half of the bottle of white wine and pureed tomatos. Of course, I started feeling rushed and forgot to photograph the final stage:
Mmm...vanilla bean panna cotta with a strawberry-balsamic sauce. Mom said my panna cotta is better thand hers and she and dad had never tried balsamic with fruit:
Here's my "tablescape" - not very Italian but I just fell in love with that tablecloth:
Oh, and here's my garbage disposal, reporting for duty!
So yeah, I'm missing a photo of the actual finished dinner but it was darn good! It was a fun evening and I think we finally impressed my folks by being able to have a clean, comfortable house AND put together a great meal from scratch.
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I did a test run of a special dinner the other night and this was a vanilla bean panna cotta with a strawberry-balsamic sauce. The sauce has a touch of black pepper that just made it pop!
Now if I can just make a prettier plating for the big dinner.
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Well, we did our test run last week but I haven't had a chance to post pics.
Boar sauce over homemade pasta
Vanilla bean panna cotta with a strawberry-balsamic topping
Next time I'll do a slightly different pasta shape and probably toss it all together instead of just topping it. We played around with the leftovers and tossed worked better.
I still have tried my crostini toppings but I'm less worried about those.
Yum!
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Okay, well we're booked for three nights at New York, New York and will have most of four full days. I have to say, if you have a Costco membership be sure to check out the Travel link on their website. I tried a dozen or so travel sites and saved a couple of hundred by booking through them. Whoda thunk it!? More money for food!
We've got a reservation at L'Atelier for the night we arrive, show tickets on night two, and I just called Bouchon and they don't take breakfast reservations so we will just have to get there early. As if we'll be going to sleep!
Next up, reservations for FIX and track down an old school Vegas showgirl act. Cheesy but a must do! (And hubby will be happy so long as it's topless)
Thank goodness our own Chris Cognac's Vegas show is available On Demand!
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Hubby and I are planning our first trip to Vegas for March 5-8. We'll likely gamble a little but on a very low and set budget, more for the experience than the money. He's from England and my parents think Vegas sounds boring so I am starting from scratch on planning.
This trip is kind of my treat to him before he goes back to college. We'll have three nights and most of four days. (Unless we stay someplace cheaper and can afford a 4th night.)
First question (not food related) - are we better off spending money to stay someplace nice (I found a GREAT deal for Bellagio, Paris, or Wynn) or stay someplace okay (New York, MGM Grand, Mirage) and have more money for food and entertainment? With the package I found we could do three nights at Bellagio for about the same as four nights at MGM Grand.
We have to get tickets to The Amazing Johnathan at the Sahara and maybe Penn and Teller.
Foodwise I'm leaning towards the following:
-Breakfast at Bouchon
-Lunch or dinner at Lotus of Siam
-Lunch Buffet (Bellagio or Spice Market?)
-Dinner at L'Atelier
-Dinner at FIX
-Lots of other goodies like crepes at the Jean Philippe Patisserie
We're pretty adventurous when it comes to food and prefer to spend a lot on a good meal once in a while than eat crap frequently. Provided we don't spend much on wine, is it realistic to think we can get out of L'Atelier (tasting menu) for about $300? How about FIX?
This whole trip is a splurge for us but we have earned it!
Thanks,
Kate
How to Showcase Super Fresh Eggs
in Cooking
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I suddenly realized that my photos of the girls were from when they first came home so I took some more. Sadly, I have the crappy camera and my photography trained husband is at work.
Eddy is the friendlier of the two, always comes over and says hi!
Patsy is a bit older, she's the one laying the lovely eggs.
Enjoying a bit of "free ranging" (if my mangy backyard counts as a range!)