tino27

I don't even bother with milliliters ... I simply weigh everything and record the gram measurements. I've gotten very good with the whole gram -> pound -> gram conversion (having done so much bread), but I agree that the temperature conversion can be a little tricky. If I come across a recipe in non-metric form, the first time I try it out, I will measure everything out, weigh it, and annotate the recipe accordingly. From that point forward, it's all about the grams. What becomes difficult is when a non-baker asks me for a recipe. I don't go backwards for them. If they want to do it themselves, then that's fine, but I usually tell them to go out and buy a digital scale -- they're only $30. A couple more obvious ones ... 1 tbsp of any oil = 14 grams 1/4 tsp of salt = 1.5 grams, 1 tsp of salt (sea salt) = 6 grams 1 whole large egg = 50 grams 1 large egg yolk = 20 grams 1 large egg white = 30 grams

I and a group of other eG'ers (and some local Cleveland folks not a part of eGullet) had a chance to eat at Chrissie Hynde's new vegan restaurant in Akron, OH, Vegiterranean. We converged on the restaurant around 7 pm and left at 9:30 pm, very full from our meal. First, a bit about the restaurant itself. It is on the trendy North Hill property and located more or less directly across the street from Luigi's (I know that will only mean anything to us locals). It occupies the first floor in a building full of recently built loft condos. Visually, the restaurant is very minimal -- clean lines, simple colors. The floor is a varnished concrete. The lighting was unobtrusive and well, kind of just cool looking. That being said, our table had one end that was lit pretty well and the other end was a little darker. One downside of the floor and sharp edges was that the restaurant was relatively loud. It was difficult for me to hear conversation at the other end of our table. Originally the restaurant was billed as a vegetarian restaurant, but from what I've read from other diners who have eaten there, the menu went 100% vegan 1 week before opening. The executive chef Scot Jones (who was there last night) also runs Fedeli Restaurant in Canton, OH which is a more traditional Italian and Mediterranean restaurant. After sitting down and ordering our drinks, our server brought us out a little starter, some bread with a tomato compote. She called it bruschetta, but the bread was neither grilled nor rubbed with garlic, so it wasn't really authentic. The bread wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly noteworthy either. The accompanying tomato compote, however, was marvelously sweet and tomato-y. It had a nice balance between sweetness and acidity. The 7 of us decided to start out with some appetizers and I think between all of us, we must have ordered most of what was offered off of the menu. NancyH grabbed a menu on the way out, so I'll rely on her to correct the names of the dishes. We ordered * Spiced tomato and chickpeas * Whole grilled artichokes with red pepper coulis and an aioli * Marinated olives * Fritto Misto with sweet chili sauce * Banana peppers stuffed with basil risotto and lime buerre blanc For me, the starters were all delicious. I especially like the tempura style vegetables with the sweet chili sauce ... yum. And the spiced tomatoes and chickpeas were delicious and earthy, being spiced with cumin. After our starters, we each ordered a pasta / entree / pizza. Pastas are whole wheat and can also be orderd in a gluten free variety as well. Many of the entrees were served with a meat substitute called Gardein. Both "chicken" and "beef" varieties of this protein were offered. I was the only one brave enough to order something with this item in it, the Roasted Chicken asparagus risotto. I guess my curiosity got the better of me. The "chicken" came already pre-sliced in the risotto. I have to say, it looked like sliced chicken breast and the texture was very similar to a cooked chicken breast. Tasting the protein by itself, I could definitely tell it wasn't actually chicken. However, when mixed with the risotto, it wasn't quite as easy to tell. Overall the risotto was a success, although the rice had just a touch too much chalkiness to it. The plate was garnished with a sprig of thyme, but for my palate, I was having a hard time detecting the thyme flavor in the risotto. NancyH's dish of creamy leek, mushroom, and walnut penne was the clear winner at our table and is probably the dish I would order the next time I go to the restaurant. The loser for me was the linguine with portabella and wild mushrooms. It wasn't bad, per se, but it just had an off flavor profile that I didn't particularly care for. The pizzas were decent, if a little lacking in the salt department. Soy cheeses were featured throughout the meal, sometimes successfully and sometimes not so much. All of us were too full after our entrees to order dessert. Next time! For all of the food we had, the prices were extremely reasonable and the portions were very large. You could definitely go in and have an app and a pasta / entree and get out of there for $25. Overall there were a few things that bothered us as a group. * Surprising lack of certain staples, like lentils and other beans * Surprising lack of roasted vegetables, beets, root vegetables, etc. * The inclusion of Gardein and soy cheeses seemed to detract from the menu for us rather than add to it. It was almost like they were trying to cater to a non-vegetarian audience rather than celebrating the range of cooking techniques for vegan ingredients * While tofu was offered on some of the menu offerings, the lack of variations other than just plain tofu was a little shocking. I expected a grill, marinated tofu for instance. No such luck. I certainly realize that picking Akron, OH is a risky place to open up a vegan restaurant that will continue to be successful, and I can appreciate trying to cater to as wide an audience as possible, but somehow it felt like the menu was trying too hard to convert non-vegans into the vegan way of thinking. All that being said, I enjoyed the experience and will be returning again to try some of the other menu items we didn't have a chance to try last night. Now that I've got the thread started, hopefully NancyH, Edsel, and others who attended last night can share their impressions as well. BTW, their website is http://www.thevegiterranean.com. That being said, I was wholly unimpressed with the information on their website. At least it finally has a phone number so that you can get in contact with the restaurant.

I was just thinking last night how long it had been since I've been to CC. This inspires me to perhaps make a journey up there for the next Blue Egg ravioli night in January. Yum! BTW, lovely pics NancyH!

My crockpot instructions say that the "buffet" setting is 165, the "low" is 185 and the "high" setting is 213. I do know that only on high will chili / soup / etc. actually come to a boil.

Not knowing exactly how gross the microwaves are at your workplace, I think you'd be okay if you could nuke the gumbo in batches to bring it to the correct temperature and then transfer to the crockpot to hold it. However, I think you are overlooking one very important point here: No one but you is going to be considering food safety rules. Plan on eating only what you brought. Not trying to be a downer, just a realist. Having been to my fair share of work potlucks, this is always my concern as well.

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a web presence. There is a new restaurant that just opened up in Akron, OH and their web presence up to the date of their opening was not just a bad web page, but NO web page. Plus, the restaurant opened 2-3 months after they were originally supposed to open. I mean, come on, it costs how much to buy a domain name, $10-$15? And it costs you how much to pay some college kid $100 to put up a rudimentary page that has things like: * Latest News * Address * PHONE NUMBER?!?!? I finally have reservations to eat at this restaurant next week and am looking forward to the experience, but geez! And had they actually tried, they could have built up even more tremendous buzz about the opening than they did.

I always fill the jars hot. Especially if you are looking to actually preserve the food in the jars.

You can also try cracking the oven door for the last 5 minutes of baking to help evacuate any moisture in the oven. I've yet to find a good home oven that gives that nice thick crust.

Eggplant is also notorious for soaking up oil when pan-frying ... might this also be a good candidate?

That. Was. An. Abomination. I couldn't agree more. I literally sat there last night, dumbstruck, as to how it could possibly get any worse. Was it me or did the judges seem WAY TOO lenient when it came to the judging of the dishes? Tyler's Buche de Noel was a complete disaster and the thought of combining processed cheese food with chocolate had me gagging.

I can attest to the "orangeness" of the old kitchen. And having to try and bake bread in the old oven was a guessing game, and a bad one at that. The new kitchen looks GORGEOUS -- I can't wait to see the totally completed project (and I'm sure you can't wait either, Randi).

Symon won with a score of something like 51 to 43. shel ← Sometimes I think it's unfair to even comment/judge based on a 2-D observation with no olfactory or gustatory input. Last night, Symon's food was so obviously superior to Moore's, unless there was a giant coating of umami on the latter's and the former's was poisonous, there should have been no doubt. I just don't think the challenger had the chops - not to take away from Michael's food, mind you - just a clear-cut victory if ever there were one. Symon didn't laugh enough to suit me, though. I know he was taking it all seriously, not wanting to start out with an "L" but I do love his almost-maniacal cackle. ← "Screaming Mimi" as Anthony Bourdain calls it. And having had the fried chicken livers at Lolita ... I was about ready to lick the screen when I saw he was preparing them. Goodness those dishes looked good.

How funny! I have been back several times for the Phad Thai and specifically asked for a lime wedge if they didn't provide one. Maybe they finally got the hint! BTW, I asked for it 3 '*' last time and I'm thinking my comfort zone is somewhere between 2 and 3 '*'. Oddly enough, I stopped there for lunch yesterday without realizing that they were closed for lunch yesterday. If it wasn't for some errands I had to run today during lunch, I might've come back today and actually run into you guys! edited: for clarity

Donuts, eh? Your trip to Akron won't be complete without a trip to the one spot that makes all of the Krispy Kreme donuts for the Akron area ... and the store is literally 5 minutes from downtown Akron. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts 354 South Maple St. Akron, OH 44302 Your sugar coma will not be complete until you indulge in one of these sugar-glazed beauties as it comes fresh and hot right out of the fryer. Truly an ethereal concoction. It's not for everybody, but they can be so addictive. They make other kinds of donuts as well (cake, sour cream, etc.), but take a box of fresh, still warm glazed to any office and watch them fly out of the box. They used to give free samples to anyone who wanted one, but they stopped that a few months ago.

Be forewarned about Luigi's ... depending on the time of day, the line just to get in can stretch around the corner of the building. I've never had a problem going for dinner during a weekday, but on the weekends? Fuggeddaboudit. Incidentally, the Chrissy Hynes restaurant that CaliPoutine referred to earlier is across the street from Luigi's. If you don't mind driving a little bit (maybe 15 minutes) from downtown Akron, there are a number of nice restaurants in "The Valley". In fact, my family and I took my grandfather to Papa Joe's (Iacomini's) for his birthday on Saturday. There are also several Japanese places, a new Middle Eastern restaurant, an Indian restaurant (which I don't particularly care for, but others have liked it), and some other nice places.

I am eagerly awaiting it's opening as well. However, mum's been the official word. I haven't even been able to find a website related to the restaurant yet. So much for a good marketing plan. I do know where the location is though. It was supposed to open in September, but last I knew, the doors weren't open yet. There are some upscale restaurants in downtown Akron which I'm sure are good, but I really enjoy eating in Highland Square, about 5 minutes from downtown. There is an Aladdin's Eatery, The Two Amigos, and a few other good places.

I'm confused. You want all of the flavor, but don't want to add any of the ingredients that give you the flavor? True, a light rye won't have the coffee/cocoa additions to it, but a dark rye has to get the color and the flavor from somewhere. Is there some reason you are looking to avoid certain flavor additives? Note ... I am not a big believer in grocery store breads. They add way too many additives and preservatives for my taste. But adding things like coffee or cocoa powder in a homemade loaf doesn't bother me if those are the colors/flavors I am looking to highlight in the final loaf.

In a similar vein, take zucchini and squash and slice it length wise on a mandoline. Grill these slices on the grill to give them some color and flavor. Spread a nice flavorful spread of your choice and roll up into little roulades.

When to say, "When!"? If I invite you to my house for a meal, I'll directly ask if there are any allergies or aversions. If you don't tell me then, or god forbid you bring along an uninvited guest who has any such problems, too bad. This actually happened to me once at an adult dinner party I hosted. One of the adults brought along her 11 year old son. He was quite well mannered and the mother insisted that whatever I was making would be fine for her son, but watching him pick through truffled mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus was a bit frustrating for both of us. Otherwise I try and be as accommodating as possible. If I find out in my little pre-dinner interview that my sublime roasted chicken with roasted shallot jus won't work well for a crowd of vegetarians, then I'd rather do something else than try and shoehorn the roasted chicken onto the menu.

Wasn't the drop on the right a cinnamon flavored maple syrup?

Wow! Thank you all for responding. I'm glad this is generating some healthy discussion. I will absolutely agree with a lot of the sentiment I've read so far. * Salt is necessary for bread (for flavor and for control of fermentation) * My friend can and should look at cutting back on processed and prepared foods to cut back on his salt * Low sodium bread isn't the cure-all That being said, I wanted to address some of the suggestions that the gracious posters on eGullet have made ... * Even this simple recipe only uses two teaspoons of salt for an entire loaf. According to my container of La Baleine sea salt (which is what I use for my breads), a 1/4 tsp of salt contains 580mg of sodium. Therefore, 2 tsp would be 580 x 8 = 4640mg sodium. 4.6g of sodium for a single loaf of bread is significant if you are looking to cut back. Two slices of the loaf and you are looking at consuming 400mg of sodium. As one poster pointed out, that is nearly 20% of the daily recommended sodium intake for someone WITHOUT a salt problem. So, while I do understand where you all are coming from, my original question still stands. Is it possible to do a good low-sodium bread that doesn't taste like poo (I do love that description, K8memphis!!!)? BTW, I like the idea of using Ms. Dash ... but I wonder if the herb blend would overpower the bread. I like the suggestions happening though ... keep them coming!

I specifically make my meatloaf and meatballs a day in advance to develop the flavors. But then, I'm no food safety specialist. ← As long as you keep the final meatloaf is kept below 40 deg F or above 140 deg F, you are considered safe. So, if I were you, I'd mix everything together straight from the fridge and then immediately return it back to the fridge once it's molded.

Typically, most bread recipes contain about 2% salt in relation to the amount of flour in the recipe. For 1kg of flour, that's 20g of salt. While it's certainly not a lot, if can still add up. I agree with you that he will need to moderate the amount of pre-processed foods he eats, but as with most dietary changes, I think he will be most successful if he can incorporate / replace items over time. I should also note that I am asking this question not only for the benefit of my friend, but maybe also from an academic standpoint as well.

I have a friend who was recently informed me that he had to cut back on his sodium intake. And his biggest regret? Having to cut back on the breads. And since I do have a love for the breads, I told him that I would help him tweak his aunt's bread recipe. I know that salt plays two important roles in breadmaking: 1) Flavor ... no salt bread just tastes flat 2) Controls fermentation So, my basic question is this ... if I reduce the salt by, say, 50% in my recipe, would I reduce the amount of yeast needed by that amount, too? Anyone have any experience in doing reduced-sodium breads? Also, is there something I can use in place of salt that could also help to reduce the amount of sodium, but still keep the flavor?

I laughed my butt off when I saw the meatball shapes. That ROCKS! Wow, Nancy, what an amazing effort on your part! I'm glad my small contribution to the event was well received. ETA: In case anyone was wondering, the bread was a braided bread consisting of one strand of roasted red pepper and black peppercorn bread and the other strand was a basil pesto bread.