Peter the eater

Thanks Pam. I use a Cannon Powershot A460, no flash and a quick pass through Photoshop.

I'd buy one if it wasn't stupid expensive. My set up is a big stock pot with a thermometer. I know I'll get 55C +/- 2 from my element at the first setting, 60C +/- 2 at the second mark and so on. Actually there are s.v. products at my grocery store, they're just not marketed as such. I'm talking about "jig's supper" or "ready to boil brisket". It's cryovac seasoned beef or pork, fresh or frozen. Label says to boil for 30 minutes, open and serve. I simmer the bag for several hours at 60C and get much better results. I'm not comfortable leaving the stove unattended for hours at a time, so that right there is a reason/excuse to buy a new kitchen gizmo.

Now that's a toddy I can excited about!

Nice one Jeff, I'm reading your opener while watching the opening ceremonies on CBC. The Auzzies have gone by and I've got back with a drink in time to see China's entrance. I'm enjoying a "Big Beige Cow", it's a skinny brown cow light on the Bailey's.

Susan, happy birthday! Your blueberry sortie is very impressive: the aerial survey, the uniform, the equipment and, of course, the results. We have our spots on the farm that vary year to year. They're all along an established path or railroad track so its never that tricky to get in and get out. In your vase I see daisies, Queen Anne's lace, some ferns, possibly angelica and what the hell wild mustard. I've had candied angelica - very nice. What do you do with a sunfish? I've caught them (unintentionally) my whole life while fishing for other species. Catch and release is usually easy because of those tiny Pumpkinseed mouths, but I've never taken one home. Something tells me I've been missing out . . .

Oh that has really got me in the mood. What bones are they? ← It's the shaft of a leg bone from a Hereford that was cut up for me at the butcher's shop. I saw a big ball at one end but now that I think about it, I guess it could be a femur or a humerus - if cow bones are named like human bones. Each piece is 2"-3" long and yielded a plump plug of marrow bigger than a wine cork but smaller than a marshmallow. Two pieces made the sandwich above. My lunch guests balked when offered the marrow but wanted to know what it tasted like - ingrates! I told them it was like a luxurious beefy jello on the verge of liquefaction. Still no takers, maybe I should have said unctuous.

Forgot to add the before shot, as in before 20 minutes at 400F. Apparently this cow was walking on Friday, August 1st:

That's fascinating Fengyi, the whole world is thinking about Beijing these days and we're getting all sorts of food-related info scattered here and there. I've read that Peking Duck is an official dish at the 2008 Olympiad - does that sound right to you? I've also been following the Beijing Dining topic but so far no specific talk of the Games and its effect at the grassroots level. I for one would be very interested in an on-topic report from the city as things unfold for the summer. Could be a popular new topic . . .

Marrow has come a long way in recent years, at least in my world. As a kid I'd eat the bit from the t-bone but I didn't have any family elders making restorative potions or anything that featured marrow bones. Inspired by Fergus Henderson's famous dish, I roasted some fresh beef bones for an open-faced marrow and parsley salad sandwich: The parsley salad is true to St. John's complete with capers, olive oil and lemon juice. I added horseradish mayo and lots of cracked black pepper and crunchy salt. I love the stuff but only in modest quantities - any more than what's pictured above gets really rich really fast. My butcher charges $0.49/lb so a large femur shaft can be had for a dollar. Outrageous value.

Here are a few relevant eG topics: Lobster Rolls Lobster Roll Test Kitchen . . . Sort Of Lobster Dishes

Is it really worth the effort to remove those things? I've heard some say that gills can taste a bit off, but lips?

Enoki mushrooms look pretty cute when sitting on the shelf alongside their giant grotesque relatives.

Yikes! I'll bet there's at least one eG Society member in that clip. I'd like to hear more about how the cheese actually tastes and how much it costs. It looks quite appetizing - from a distance.

I've looked again - no price and no bar code. The mag comes in the mail, maybe there's more info on the wrapper. A few months ago when the Canadian dollar briefly exceeded the US dollar people were enraged at the bookstores. Understandably so since a flap cover would read "$24.95 U.S." and "$39.95 Can." followed by "printed in China".

Here in Atlantic Canada, produce is very cheap but it's that time of year: - a giant cauliflower head is $2.00 - fresh corn cobs are still $0.50 each but it's just now coming in - 4L milk is $5.50 to $8.00 depending on how close the competition is (ie. Loblaws vs. Walmart vs. Shopper's Drug Mart) - pork is absurdly cheap, tenderloin is $3.99/lb - potatoes are essentially given away but rice is like everywhere else - going up and up - a dozen eggs is $2.50 - beef is super pricey but whole live lobster is 3.99/lb!

I wonder what it is about flatfish heads that makes them not the same, besides that whole migration of an eyeball across the skull during maturation thing. Barbara Kafka is right to suggest 20 minutes is ample - I believe that goes for just about any fish. Please let us know how it tastes!

Shrimp, monkfish, some crabs all could work. Also try pollock aka Boston blue, coal fish.

I've had amazing Polish sausage made by people who live in Chicago (the Kendziorskis) but the best ever was from Glace Bay, Nova Scotia made by 5th generation Canadians of Polish descent. They freely admit the best is still from the old country. What's you travel budget Mike?

Is this because you couldn't find any, or was there someone who said to avoid them? I've bought halibut heads in the past and been very pleased with the results when making stock. The fish guys here usually gut them and then cut steaks, heads and fins get bagged and sold for cheap. As for the oily fish mentioned above, I've never tried to make a mackerel stock but Atlantic salmon - heads or otherwise - make for deep rich broth in my experience. At a wedding a couple of years ago I poached eight whole fish - five pounds each - and the resultant liquor was beyond description. Made a luscious pink chowder to feed a hundred.

Ya, that makes sense. I was remembering a moussaka with soft cheesy bechamel and rind bits that were very nice - a bit like noodles. You could probably skip the microwave.

Two years ago there was a red tide (PSP) warning for parts of Nova Scotia. The DFO (Fedral Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans) said: Two years ago is a long time for science and research, but I'm not yet prepared to pass up the delicacy within a delicacy: ETA full DFO text: click

I got asked "what do they taste like?" and all I could think of was "tastes like chicken". They're certainly smaller - and therefore cuter - beyond that, they just seem like mini-chicken eggs to me. Has anyone tried making a cake or souffle with them? I'm familiar with the richness of duck egg yolks, but I didn't get any of that from these little guys. Are all quail eggs made equal? I think they're well suited to dishes where a small intact egg is suitable, like bento, banchan, deviled, pickled, salted or scotched (my next project).

I like soft cheese rind in general but I suppose it depends what you're doing with the bechamel. It must be difficult if not impossible to liquefy a chalky white skin from a Camembert or Brie, but something like a ripe Oka skin will melt. I've microwaved a whole wheel, poured out the contents and made a chiffonade of the skin. Just make sure there's no wax, foil or paper in the mix because one time I . . .

I finally found some quail eggs in my city - thanks for the tip, Mallet. Unfortunately I hadn't found this thread before I hardboiled a bunch. Rachel Perlow's tinkering notes from post#1 are very useful, although I suppose the supporting images are long gone. A pinhole at the big end would have saved several of my eggs from cracking and spilling under heat. I should also have scrubbed them a bit better since the brown stuff on the shell shows up really easily on the cut whites. I got 18 for 3 bucks, product of Ontario: Compared to a large chicken egg: Hardboiled on a garden salad: And for dinner tomight with soft cheese, almonds, tomato salad and new potatoes:

Yes, the August cover is a dark chocolate dipped cherry cone. The recipe calls for 3 pints premium cherry ice cream and store-bought sugar cones. That's not cooking, that's assembling! Looks pretty good though. The patty protocol is simply shaping the ground beef and sprinkling it with salt, so that's what we had. I neglected to show June's cherry pie: Sour cherries are very hard to find around here. BTW I haven't made any of these covers, it's my wife's project. I just shop, eat and photograph. And post.