Peter the eater

Oh my, what a bold thread to start. I'm guessing the men and women of eG won't let you down . . . My answer is: No way, not a chance, gender has nothing to do with it - unless the preparer wants it to.

I worked one summer in rural Vermont doing bicycle tours. I ate a lot of cheese, maple products and Ben & Jerry's. Mmmmm.

Do you cook them with their little white bonnets on or off? (sorry Susan) I'm also counting on the on-line Amish community to be very small.

I have never made sauerkraut primarily because the nearby German community in Lunenburg does it better than I ever will: I have been thinking (fantasizing, really) about pickling some mussels. Anybody try that?

Those look fantastic! I regard eggplant as an ideal pickling food. I've had long strips of spicy pickled eggplant, feels like pasta in the mouth. I'll look forward to your taste test.

Isn't this the heart of the matter? Almost all these confessions are time and/or energy savers. Life is too short for . . . lots of things. I once made a passable puff pastry which was a big deal for me since its beyond my normal culinary comfort zone. Now I have no problems buying the frozen stuff. If I had to make all the mayo and ketchup I eat from scratch, well, that would be a problem. Anna N, I'm buying some canned potatoes this week!

There's nothing wrong with a little canned corn, especially when it is February. Canned potatoes however is a different story - who buys those things? There should be some form of punishment for purchasing the ideal storeable food in can form - some kind of grocery jail. Mind you I've never had them - they're probably delicious.

I have a fancy tin of high-end instant coffee which I keep refilling with the jumbo-sized generic stuff. When its time for instant coffee (eg. rushing into the car at 7am) I see my travel mug as purely a caffeine delivery device.

Went to the Ikea in Ottawa and picked up 12 colourful prep bowls for $4. Microwave/dishwasher safe, too - unlike melamine which seems to be everywhere.

Nice looking dinners, as usual. C. sapidus your soup looks irresistible. Last week, tonight's dinner looked like this: Tonight, it looked like this: Slow-roasted turkey (raised by in-laws), small local potatoes, brussel(s?) sprouts, turnip mash, sweet potatoes with nutmeg and molasses, homegrown leek and onion stuffing. I feel sleepy . . .

I'm pretty sure I have a Chaenomeles hybrid. There are a bunch here in my neighborhood and people have been long been using them for preserves. One "village elder" says as a kid she ate them in jam form with rose hips. "Loaded with vitamin C" she says.

Grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities, I'll go several times a week. Usually its the supermarket, sometimes specialty shops and when possible from the farmer' market. We used to do the Costco thing but found we came home with too many things we didn't need. If I go too long without a grocery shopping trip my primal hunter-gatherer urges overwhelm me.

I'm considering raising some boneless chickens, and wondering if it can be done hydroponically. ← Hydroponic chickens - brilliant!

I would serve deep fried chicken "scrumsticks" with "flanker steak" and a Muscovy "ruck confit" accompanied by large mugs of "maulled cider". "Props" to you if you forgo the "hookers". (I'm sorry, that was really hard to type. My old coach Mr. Jones is rolling over in his grave)

Yes, I read that this morning, thanks for sharing online. Makes total sense to me. I cannot believe people eat 220 lbs of meat each year - that's practically my target weight!

This brings to my mind Canadian author (and national treasure) Margaret Atwood and her dystopic vision of engineered poultry in her book "Oryx and Crake". I can't find the quote and I lent my copy but here's the idea in her own words from this site: "ChickieNobs are chickens that only grow the most desirable chicken parts, for example drumsticks and breasts. They have no beak, eyes, or brain functions other than digestion, assimilation and growth." I highly recommend the book, it may be her best, and it is full of black humor regarding GMO's among other things.

We celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend and had a big turkey. Although my mother-in-law strongly discouraged me from making stock (it was her house) from the roasted carcass I defied the esteemed elder and went ahead with it anyway. I understand her POV - there must have been a dozen frozen bulging plastic containers of stock in the deep freeze. Half of the new stock went into pumpkin soup and the other half became turkey pot pie. No recipe from me, just don't throw it out. If you make it, they will eat.

Growing up in Toronto, Canada I had some close friends with mothers and/or grandmothers who grew up in the Caribbean and always had some goat meat in the freezer if not on the stove. I fondly remember sweet and spicy goat recipes from Kingston, Jamaica.

Well that sounds like an eGullet test kitchen challenge to me! I happen to have a medium-sized whole chicken defrosting in the fridge as we speak, and I now feel compelled (and just a little excited) to do do the surgery with the scale by my side. I will post my findings as they become available. Next to whole birds, a big tray of quarters/thighs/drumsticks/wings is the way to go around here. The skinless/boneless breasts are probably twice the price, but they go on sale for 50% at least once a month.

Now that is interesting. I maintain that most pickled eggs are only pickly-tasting on the outside. I'll bet the albumen pin-prick technique mentioned earlier would help quite a lot. I have always associated pickled eggs with English pubs. I wonder what the story there is . . . how they came to be on a rack at the bar . . . anybody?

The side of the quince that faces the sun goes red by early October, the ones on the north side of the tree stay totally green. I tend to pick the redder ones but it doesn't seem to affect the colour of the mash, the way red skin apples do for applesauce. I replaced the HP camera with a $150 Canon Powershot and I'm likin' it! BTW just checked out FRENCH LETTERS - very nice. It reminded me I keep not-visiting my cousin in Aix. Now that I've seen your blog I think I'll float the idea for a one-month home-swap.

I get the odd thing from restaurant suppliers, things I can't find elsewhere. I like to browse the clearance shelves with no sense of urgency, there's not much worse than being in a time crunch and getting hosed at the register with a full retail price tag.

Lamb is especially under-appreciated around here, thank goodness for the Greek and Lebanese communities for contributing to the demand. I think goats could have a great future, as food for people that is. We do have access to some fairly "exotic" mammalian meats like boar, venison, goat and bison. I don't know the number's but I'd bet dollars-to-donuts that beef and pork are over 95% of the mammal meat market.

My father gave me his "carbonator" back in the early 1990's. It dissolves co2 in whatever liquid you have. I went nuts, unfortunately I took no food & drink pictures in those pre-digital days. The device is long gone (you have to buy their co2 cartridges) but I have some fond memories: 1. carbonated ruby porto with Spanish blue cheese - this was the best! My personal tribute to Iberia. 2. carbonated hot chocolate and amaretto with peanut butter cookies - a close second. 3. carbonated prune juice and vodka with a bran muffin - it will clean anyone out.

What Jack said is correct. When boiling eggs, it's the one time where fresh eggs are not the best thing to use. As for the blue garlic, it's still edible. Here's a previous discussion on the phenomenon: My Garlic turned blue! ← Thanks for that. Now I'm dreaming up some creepy Halloween food featuring blue garlic.