C. sapidus

Eje has Taco Tuesday, we have Fried Rice Friday. Very loosely based on the Thai fried rice recipe in Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, fried rice is a great way to use up odds and ends in the refrigerator. Besides, the boys love it. Mrs. C assigned 7 WW points for the fried rice, plus one for a smoothie. Ingredients – fish sauce not pictured. Yes, that is Mexican chorizo. No, Mexican chorizo is not authentic in Thailand (but it gives the fried rice a special something). I sliced up the fixings – cukes, red bell peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, lime wedges. Cilantro tastes like soap to the boys, so we serve it on the side. A “whisper” of garlic and a “hint” of Thai chile bean paste. You can also use red curry paste. There were a few frozen shrimp left in the bag from last night, so I thawed the shrimp under running water before peeling and drying on paper towels. Seasonings: garlic, cayenne pepper, salt, sugar, scallions (not pictured). Stir-fry the shrimp and seasonings quickly in a very hot wok. Set aside when done, and wipe the wok clean. Stir-fry garlic, chile bean paste, and chorizo for a bit. Add cold leftover rice and stir-fry, separating each grain of rice. Make a well in the middle of the rice and add an egg. When the egg begins to set, mix with the rice. Repeat with a second egg. Add scallions . . . . . . and shrimp, and then turn off the heat. Done! Once everything is prepped, cooking the rice takes maybe five minutes - much longer to describe than to do.

Good evening, and apologies for the long delay in posting. It was one of those days. Breakfast was coffee and the last banana. For lunch, we ate at the cafeteria while discussing house addition plans with our architect. Mrs. Crab had white chicken chili and bottled water – 7 WW points. I had a tuna sandwich on rye with Swiss cheese, potato gratin, and a salad containing spinach, mixed greens, mock crab, green olives, and Ken’s blue cheese dressing. Next: fried rice Friday.

SheenaGeena: Sure, we know Hagerstown. We have been there many times, especially since the outlet malls opened up. I have been to Fort Meade (interesting place), but not Odenton (although I've heard the name). Who or what dragged you off to Boston?

Priscilla's comment - a proper noun, even (added underline).

Thanks - I'm feeling better already. I have found the Asian approach to vegetables particularly rewarding. Often, vegetables are prepared simply to contrast with a more highly-seasoned main course. Quickly seared with garlic, ginger, and/or chilies, and doused in umami-laden seasonings such as fish sauce and/or fermented bean paste, veggies have a satisfying meaty/smoky flavor. Hmm, I'm not sure that I addressed your question. Can you clarify? I usually learn a new cuisine by finding a good cookbook or two and trying some recipes. With time and experience, cooking becomes less rote and more natural. I hope to achieve that exalted state some day, but I also want to keep trying new things. I took some evening classes at Hood College – interesting experience being a male minority. Pick-your-own and direct-market fruit and vegetable farms are a huge benefit of living in Frederick. In the summer and fall, a short drive yields strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, and apples of life-altering quality. A brief sojourn in the fields can provide more sweet strawberries or tart blueberries than even our fruit-loving boys can finish. Typically, you get a basket, pick the fruit, and pay by the weight of your basket. A standard joke is that children should be weighed before and after picking. More information: Maryland Direct Farm Market Association We also have a few berry-producing brambles that grow wild in the woods behind our house. Mrs. Crab braves poison ivy to reap the harvest. Orchard, fruit, corn, dairy, and vegetable farming predominate in Frederick County. We frequent two farmer’s markets in the summer. A small market is held on Tuesdays at lunchtime, and a much larger farmer’s market is held on Saturday mornings. The latter features wonderful sweet corn, peaches, apples, pears, tomatoes, vegetables, dairy products, meats, baked goods (Stone Hearth Bakery), and freshly-squeezed lemonade (the lemons are not local, I’m sure). Several plant vendors sell interesting varieties of potted vegetables, herbs, and ornamentals. I bought several types of basil there last summer. Fall activities at local farms include corn mazes, hay rides, and picking pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. Last year, we each carved a pumpkin – I’ll try to dig up the picture if anyone is interested. Maryland has a fledgling wine industry, and several vineyards are located nearby. The vineyards frequently hold festivals with music, food, and wine tastings. A wine-loving friend volunteers at one of the vineyards, and once invited me to help with the harvest. The owners fed us a simple but delicious lunch (with wine, of course), and then we braved yellowjackets to harvest the grapes. I even helped punch down the skins on a tub of fermenting wine. Yup, omnivore. I’ve never understood not eating certain foods just because it’s morning. Weekday mornings are too rushed for cooking, so I usually have some ready-made protein - nuts or leftovers – to avoid the mid-morning munchies at work. I breakfast late on weekends, frequently doing terrible things to innocent omelets. Coffee with cream and sugar serves as breakfast more mornings than I care to admit.

When I larb, the larb topic will be the first place I'll go. Twenty-one pages of posts about larb - who woulda thunk it.

Dejah: Excellent! Credit to Andrea Nguyen for the recipe, of course. Yes, I would love to have Majra's outdoor wok setup (click) from your Chinese eats at home, what did we cook? (click) thread. Might be a little rough in your climate, though. No problem - as long as you keep enlightening me about Chinese food.

Hmm, I don't really have one go-to cookbook. The boys would be delighted if we cooked from All About Braising and The Barbecue Bible every day. Cradle of Flavor by James Oseland has incredibly clear directions, and I love Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop. Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet has a ton of family favorites, as does Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. I have high hopes for several recent acquisitions that are sitting on my nightstand. The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diane Kennedy and Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni are sentimental favorites – those were two of my first cookbooks.

Thank you, rachel. You may be emeritus, but I love your writing whether it strays from the path or not.

little ms foodie: Thank you! Of course our kitchen is always spotless - NOT! Nah, it's a working kitchen. We do try to keep flat surfaces as clear as possible. Here is a lousy picture of what the kitchen looked like when I came home this evening - a bit more lived-in. The pictures upthread were taken several months ago, when all of the major renovation work was finished.

I love shrimp with Panang curry. My favorite way to make it is to make the curry, stir-fry the shrimp separately, and then mix everything together. I have talked up Austin's Panang beef curry (clickety) before - it is the bomb, and good with shrimp, too. The larb was good, but I prefer it a bit juicier. I like a healthy dose of chiles, lime, and fish sauce, with just enough sugar to round out the taste. I'm hesitant to admit this - I have eaten a ton of larb, but I've never made it. Unfortunately, I am the only one in the family that likes larb. I probably need to make it for lunch on the weekend - that is when I get to play with food.

That was hilarious! I have always had a soft spot for cafeteria food. Our cafeteria is pretty good - they had crab cakes yesterday.

Great pot - I looooooove my Staub (much prefer it to the LC pot I own). Are we going to see it in action? It's the perfect time of year for a rich, slow braise, a slow-simmered curry, a pot roast ... okay, now I have to go and plan something like this for dinner, I'm making myself hungry. Actually, that chicken dish of yours looks pretty scrummy, and I've just defrosted me some chicken ... ← Hey, you made me hungry, too, and I just ate. The Staub will probably see its first action next week. So, what did you do with your chicken?

That is wonderful - how did we live before the internet?

Thanks, Michael!

Where in Wisconsin? Any specialties in their area? Do you drive or fly? ← We have relatives in the Milwaukee suburbs and up near Chippewa Falls. Area specialties include venison and other game, beer-soaked brats, walleye, Sprecher beer and root beer, cheese curds, hot dish, and some excellent Mexican food and groceries. One sister-in-law is a former pastry chef, and other relatives make delicious game, fish, Spanish and Mexican food, soups, and cookies. We have always eaten very well in Wisconsin. We usually drive to Wisconsin. Last trip we rented a big honking SUV and packed up the boys and dogs. On the return trip, we hauled a very nice bar, a gift from my SIL. Flying would be really expensive, and finding someone to watch our old dogs can be a problem.

We have not cooked much with Asian noodles, so I did not notice the ramen section. A few weeks ago I made a stir-fry with rice noodles – the family did not like the texture at all. Younger son does like ramen noodles, so I should try again. I’ll look out for Mama brand ramen when I do.

can you go on about this a little more? what made you get a rangetop instead of a range? which blue star model did you get? i've been looking into them for an upcoming kitchen redo, and have read the raves on the garden web forums, but it's hard to get a good handle on things when your only options are (a) nothing or (b) that place where everyone is gaga. also how powerful is the hood, and why is it not enough? ← mrbigjas: We chose a separate range and oven to save money. We don’t do much baking or roasting, so buying a smaller, more basic oven left us enough funds to get the rangetop we really wanted. We have the Blue Star RGTNB366BSS. This is the 36-inch, six-burner model with two 22,000-BTU burners. We are absolutely delighted with it, although I do recommend checking into service coverage in your area. For those who may be interested, here is the Prizer-Painter website (click). The 42-inch wide hood pulls 600 CFM – “equivalent” to 900 CFM because Vent-A-Hood uses centrifugal force rather than a filter to keep grease out of the ductwork. You probably already know this, but a 600 CFM hood pulls less than 600 CFM because friction in the ductwork reduces airflow. Filters add a lot of friction, reducing air flow even more. We were also concerned that pulling more than 600 CFM might have required us to install an expensive supplemental air supply. Without sufficient supply air, negative pressure from the hood can cause backdraft from furnace vents and fireplaces. This can potentially cause overexposure to carbon monoxide. The hood does a great job except when we do Sichuan stir-fries. These typically involve heating up the wok, adding garlic and dried chilies, and then adding the meat and searing over very high heat. This process releases capsaicin fumes, big time. We have had a few meals marred by vigorous coughing from breathing capsaicin fumes. To reduce resistance and improve our hood's airflow, we will probably put a new louver on the roof with a bigger opening. Until then, I think that an occasional bout of uncontrollable coughing is a small price to pay for good food.

After dinner, I drank a Russian imperial stout from our latest batch of “home” brew. Mrs. Crab and I made two cases at the Flying Barrel, and the boys helped with the bottling. The beer tastes delicious, all roasty and toasty, but the microherd is taking its sweet time making bubbles. Here is the stout in the glass. Please use your imagination to picture the rich, creamy had that will probably develop eventually. The Flying Barrel is a brewing supply store in town. They also teach brewing classes and, best of all, they have all of the equipment for folks to brew on premises. This is the lazy person’s way to brew beer – the good people at Flying Barrel do all of the prep and cleanup, and provide as much or as little help as you want.

Making sambal udang – ingredients: Candlenuts thicken the paste. They can cause nausea if eaten raw, but are safe after cooking. Shrimp paste toasted in foil (definitely turn on the hood when toasting shrimp paste); chiles, garlic, and shallots roughly chopped: Ground up in the food processor to “the consistency of cooked oatmeal.” We like big shrimp – easier to cook, and peeling small shrimp takes way too long for a weeknight. Not too expensive at Sam's, either. Thaw shrimp under cold running water, peel, and dry on paper towels: Fry the paste over medium-low heat (this was a bit too high – I lowered the flame after taking a picture): After a few minutes, the paste changes color and the oil begins to separate. Add the raw shrimp, raise the heat to medium-high, and stir-fry until done. Done! I love cooking shrimp in the wok – you can feel their texture change when they are done. Mrs. Crab wilted the spinach (and the container it came in) in the microwave: “What, spinach doesn’t come in a microwave-safe container?” Served with Key lime vinegar, the spinach was delicious. I need to concentrate at when I fire up the wok, so I usually warn Mrs. Crab. Dialogue tonight: Me: “Honey, I’m wokking now” Mrs. C: “In those shoes?” Baddabum. Note: I checked with Mrs. C before posting this, and she continues to have an excellent sense of humor.

Tonight’s dinner: Malaysian shrimp sambal (sambal udang), wilted spinach, jasmine rice . . . . . . and eternal cucumbers. I'm off to upload some pictures showing how we made tonight's dinner, and then I'll answer the excellent questions posted earlier (and of course any new questions that might pop up). I really appreciate the questions – I prefer to talk about things that people are interested in, rather than just rambling aimlessly. Back in a bit!

Quick post, gotta get back to work. Two of my favorite places to eat in Frederick, side by side. Clay Oven has a nice Indian buffet, and they don't water down the spicing of their buffet items. Another time . . . Mrs. Crab couldn’t get away for lunch, so I ordered take-out from Thai Rice. The family that runs the restaurant is very nice and I love their monthly specials – som tam and stir-fried eggplant have been particularly delicious. Until recently, Frederick had no decent Thai restaurants. Two have opened up the past year or two, so I can satisfy a Thai food craving without breaking out the mortar and pestle. Larb gai and shrimp Panang curry from Thai Rice:

Good morning! Breakfast was leftover lemongrass chicken with a little Sriracha. Coffee, of course. Upon reflection, I will definitely make the chicken again, but with more red bell peppers – they added a nice contrasting crunch. Perhaps a mix of red and orange bell peppers, or red bell peppers and Poblano chiles. Any excuse to use Poblano chiles is a good one. I need to feed the dogs, drive younger son to the school bus, and get to work. The excellent questions from mrbigjas and snowangel deserve more than a hurried response, so I'll answer this evening. Still not sure what we will do for lunch, but it probably needs to be quick. Perhaps we will explore the culinary glories of cafeteria food. If we come home for lunch, I'll try to post. Otherwise, see you this evening!

I’m still feeling lousy, so I will turn in early tonight. If the pathogenic microorganisms cooperate, dinner will be shrimp sambal, stir-fried Asian greens, and rice. Lunch is up in the air. If you would like to see or hear about anything in particular – kitchen gear, Frederick restaurants or history, more about the family – please let me know. Goodnight, and see you all tomorrow!

That is exciting news! My Wisconsin in-laws live near a Penzeys store, so we visit once a year or so. Going to the store, shaking the apothecary jars, and savoring the delicious aromas is a noteworthy experience.