Peter the eater

I love salmon in all its forms. I regard it as one of those uberfoods, like broccoli or almonds or blueberries. I often buy the farmed Atlantic salmon, but I'm made to feel dirty by the seachoice people. I respect their mandate but I also respect the high quality farmed product and its benefits. Until David Suzuki overpowers me during a Potlatch, I'm not changing my ways. This guy was around four pounds: I poached him, then made omega three jelly: Served with quinoa tabbouleh: and again with ramen, shrimp, dashi, and steam-clean-your-donut hot peppers:

That is a big steak list! Very interesting -- many are vaguely familiar to me from flipping through the Larousse. Have you made them all, and do you have a favorite?

I puffed long black wild rice last Hallowe'en, and wheat berries. Tonight we made egg rolls and puffed all the leftover wrappers. I would love to see before and after photos of all the puffables. What happens when you deep fry popping corn?

I missed that detail the first time round -- circular trampoline restaurant is unorthodox, but if you're drinking the good stuff, anything's possible.

In Harry Potter jelly beans, I believe.

I've made Michael Smith's ketchup recipe and liked it. He goes on to say that nutmeg is the key to a good ketchup -- I'm not sure I agree. What I did learn is that it's virtually impossible to replicate Heinz ketchup at home, or a factory hot dog for that matter.

I like the minimalist peel and steam approach, with a little sea salt. I almost always remove the outer lower two thirds with a peeler then stick them in the bamboo steamer. Rolling them in a thin slice of Westphalia ham or something similar is nice, or with melted sharp cheese. I love asparagus.

I thought this topic was going to be about Zsa Zsa Gabor. One of the pig farms I go to has a few curly-haired varieties. I've not tried the pork yet -- please let us know how it goes.

I've never seen flounder roe face-to-face. So far this year, I've seen only haddock, shad, salmon, trout and lumpfish.

Great stuff, Rona. Your words and photos make me want to travel to a warm place. You know its time to go, through the sleet and driving snow . . . etc. Hey, the Green Peter started it.

Pate a la Rapure or Rappie Pie I have a summery Prince Edward Island memory from 1989 where I ordered, ate, and loved rappie pie from a delightful rural diner somewhere in King's County. Maybe it was the company, or maybe the fact we were traveling by bicycle, but I'm struggling to get back to my happy rappie place. I tried a frozen rapure pie from the Sobey's Grocery Store . . . it was a four out of ten. I've done some recent experimenting at home, here's what I came up with: My ham-fisted approach to Chicken and Grated Potato Pie tasted fine, but the traditional texture I desired was nowhere in sight. My alabaster potatoes turned amber, which I'm pretty sure means "proceed with caution". I'm thinking the key to this proud National Dish of Acadia lies in potato manipulation. So if you have, or if you are, a qualified Grandmother to set the record straight -- please do.

Klary, please make something colourful and sour, and then photograph it for us to admire. It's looking like a tough week ahead.

Erin, after seven rhubarb-free years you must be itchin'. I've got tons in the yard, but it hasn't sprouted yet and it's under 10cm of snow.

I feel slightly sad when I buy salad dressing in a bottle from the factory. I agree, the greens and everything else are better served by a vinaigrette built from the ground up. I've done the math for my grocery store and I'm afraid the Kraft Blue Cheese or Russian Dressing cannot be made at home for a comparable price.

Thanks ptdc, I didn't catch that very good topic because I didn't realize sea beans = rock samphire. The title of this topic is faulty because Sea Fennel doesn't belong, as Adam Balic points out. From The Cook's Thesaurus: and I'll add = sandfire, which seems to be a local thing. Magictofu, I'll try to forage some from my beach across the road, and some from more brackish waters to see if there's a difference. I keep reading about a woody pith, is this a "you'll know it when you see it" kinda thing?

Wow. That product is new to me. I saw the link briefly, the site's goofy arcade aesthetic is hard to look at. Is the peanut butter cold, or frozen? Has it been chemically altered to remain between two slices of plastic from factory to table?

Bob, what name do the RTM vendors use for the stuff?

You said what we-all were thinking, and in a very amusing way. I bought a good lazy product -- concentrated tomato paste in a fat toothpaste-like tube. Considering how much work is involved getting a thick paste from actual tomatoes, and the only ingredient is tomatoes, I like it.

Perfect! Thanks, Sabine. Is there anything Bill Casselman doesn't know? He's helped me a lot on this topic. I love the word samphire -- it's sounds so mysterious and mystical, like a cross between sapphire and Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute. Mouse nipples is also good.

That's a vivid description -- I can't wait to try some. Have you actually tasted aloe vera?

nickrey, that's just the kind of link I needed to see -- thanks. I suspected there would be some recipes from elsewhere in the Commonwealth. You know you have an old folky ingredient when there are so many synonyms, and because Shakespeare wrote in King Lear: "Half-way down, Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!" This apparently means that gathering rock samphire requires climbing skills. The marsh samphire I'm after merely requires bending-over skills.

This is an example of a local ingredient that I've never seen, never tasted, never seen for sale, never seen on a menu and nobody (that I've talked to) seems to know anything about. Apparently it's delicious. Marie Nightingale's 1989 recipe from "Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens": In early Spring these greens appear on the fertile marshes of the Bay of Fundy and are delicious. Cut off the roots and wash well. Cook until tender in small amount of water. Cool enough so that they can be handled, and remove woody centres by grasping stem and pulling gently. Reheat with butter. Add a few drops of vinegar, if desired.

Makes sense to me. The ducks I buy fresh from my nearby farm have never experienced winter, but the duck eggs come from more senior birds who've endured at least one winter. Same goes for the chickens. I'd not considered what happens to the stewing hens of the duck world -- confit must be the way to go. Or sous vide.

Available in Seattle. ← Cool. Are they any good? I got all worked up after making a tasty batch at home using collagen casings, farmed Atlantic salmon and lots of dill. Then I learned about a local fish link enterprise that folded before it really got going. The other guy's were pretty good -- small and spicy but with an unfortunate color, sold frozen.

Salmon sausages.