C. sapidus

Klary, no surprise but I second Peter and Mark’s Asian suggestions (especially Thai meat salads with citrus segments or apple eggplants and crushed peanuts and . . .). We usually have shrimp in the freezer, so we often default to salt and pepper shrimp when friends turn up unexpectedly. Having friends help peel the shrimp promotes a sense of shared purpose. Yep, that’s what we tell them. You have more options if the get-together is planned, of course. Steamed, stir-fried, or sauteed seafood can produce a quick and delicious meal. I love to find at least one dish that our guests will enjoy, but that they have never tried before. Giving friends the gift of a new favorite dish makes the occasion special. I am hardly one to give you dessert advice, but Campton Place hot chocolate (click) is delicious and easy. Exploit the shared purpose angle again by having your friends grate the chocolate.

Thank you, Heidi. Ahh, we didn't think of toasting the nuts - that would have been even better. Regarding "health experts": we are talking about a salad full of spinach, how healthy can you get?

Mrs. C and grandma made a delightful salad with spinach, tomatoes, slivered carrots, cucumbers, pecans, walnuts, blue cheese, and raspberry vinaigrette. I adore the combination of blue cheese, nuts, and a fruity salad dressing. Continuing the scallop theme, I sauteed bay scallops a la Provence (dredged in flour and sauteed with parsley and mashed garlic). The scallops turned out sweet and tender, but next time I will cook them in two batches for a better crust. Served with Italian bread to sop up the sauce.

Pierogi, congrats on the bread and biscuits. Tonight's dinner: pork, stir-fried with bacon, Poblano chiles, red bell peppers, garlic, fermented black beans, and fish sauce. Broccolini, blanched and stir-fried with garlic, fish sauce, and fermented bean paste. Jasmine rice. Returning from basketball practice, elder son complained that “his shirt smelled like dinner.”

Emily, I almost made green rice so we were definitely on the same wavelength. Apparently, some folks prefer carnitas in big chunks and some prefer shredded carnitas – more crispy surface area in the latter. Doddie, I was reading the carnitas thread and saw the lovely batch that you made.

Not BG, but I can answer this one. Mexico City = Ciudad de Mexico, D.F.. The abbreviation D.F. stands for distrito federal (federal district) according to Wikepedia (click). Like Washington, D.C., Mexico City is a city as well as a federal district. Perhaps you will find a carnitas recipe that you like in the eight-page thread titled "Carnitas" (click). I am also hoping that Blissful Glutton gets time to visit.

Doddie, Billy looks dangerously close to violating the advice to “never eat anything bigger than your head.” Two firsts tonight: carnitas and ganache (no, not in the same dish). Dinner was pork carnita tacos with guacamole, salsa, and home-made corn tortillas. Pork shoulder simmering with onions, garlic, chiles, and Mexican oregano makes a wonderful air freshener. Details on Making Mexican at Home. For dessert we made “Campton Place hot chocolate” (click). The boys declared it “too chocolaty”. As if.

Stephanie, your dinner party sounds great. I hope you had a chance to take pictures. Tonight we made pork carnita tacos, guacamole, and salsa roja picante from Cocina de la Familia, served with home-made corn tortillas. We simmered cubes of pork shoulder with onions, garlic, pickled Serrano chiles, and Mexican oregano, and finished the carnitas in a hot oven with orange juice, orange zest, black pepper, and Coca-Cola. Good stuff, even it I overfilled my taco.

If you like Mexican flavors, try shrimp (fish, zucchini, etc.) with garlic and lime - see camarones al mojo de ajo. If you like Thai food, there are tons of garlic-laden dishes such as stir-fried chicken with holy basil - see gai pad grapao. If Korean food appeals to you, perhaps Doddie or Peter Green could chime in with some ultra-garlicky recommendations. We routinely go through two or three garlic cloves when cooking a Mexican or Asian dinner. Edit: not cloves, heads of garlic. Two or three cloves is what falls on the floor, unnoticed except by the dogs.

She grows a variety of chiles, so unfortunately the seeds would be cross-pollinated.

Our friend from Trinidad orders Trinidad Seasoning and Trinidad Perfume plants from Cross Country Nurseries every spring. They sell plants rather than seeds. Good luck! ETA: Whoops, just realized that a U.S. source might not work for you. Sorry.

Mmm, Reuben. Russian dressing or Thousand Island? Marcia, I hope that comforting chicken soup cures the stomach bug. Mrs. C requested tuna, so we pan-seared tuna steaks, topped with ginger-lime dipping sauce (from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen). Green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and leftover Mexican rice completed the meal.

Thank you very much, Stephanie! Here is the recipe - jicama salad with lime-cilantro dressing. I hope you like it more than Susan liked my other recommendation.

Susan, I am so sorry to have steered you wrong. The last time we made that dish we jazzed it up with Thai basil and some other stuff, and it was delectable - poblano beef tips (post 20186). We did use ribeye, so maybe the dish needs a good fat-laden steak?

Pescado al mojo de ajo con calabacitas, with roasted Poblano chile strips. Another good 'un from Mexican Everyday.

After a week out of town I can’t possibly comment on all of the beautiful dinners, but percyn’s scallops and MiFi’s carnitas and steak salad jumped out and grabbed me by the taste buds. Last night we went to a restaurant for crab cakes, cream of crab soup, and steaks – our way of thanking grandma and aunt for watching da boyz. Tonight we cooked Mexican red rice (arroz rojo – not pictured) and catfish sauteed with zucchini, garlic, lime, cilantro, and roasted Poblano chiles (Pescado al mojo de ajo con calabacitas).

What to do with leftover coconut milk? Skim the cream, reduce, and make pseudo-Thai curry sauce with nam prik pao, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Mix the remaining coconut milk liquid into a two-egg omelet. Top with chiles, scallions, and cilantro. Serve with eternal cucumbers and Mayer lemon wedges.

"What is it that is not poison? All things are poison and nothing is without poison. It is the dose only that makes a thing not a poison." Paracelsus (1493-1541) In other words, anything can be poisonous if consumed in sufficient quantity. This is the basis for the science of toxicology. The term "poison" is reserved for highly toxic compounds - typically those capable of causing 50% mortality at a dose of 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. This would translate to a lethal dose of 4 grams for a person weighing 80 kilograms (about 176 pounds). For comparison, 3 grams of sodium chloride (table salt) per kilogram of body weight is considered 50% lethal - equivalent to 240 grams of table salt for an 80 kilogram (176 pound) person. Most would consider a serving containing 240 grams of sodium chloride to be seriously overseasoned. Quick googling did not turn up anything specific on the toxicity of uncured olives. Based on numerous reports of consumption by birds, farm animals, and dogs, we can confidently surmise that the toxicity of uncured olives does not qualify for the "poison" designation.

Why thank you, Ann, you are very kind. I have a sudden craving for pork carnitas and Sangria, thanks to you. ndy, thank you! Our local Asian market carries palm sugar, but you can also order palm sugar online (click). Your guess at origins was good – the salad was Vietnamese, and the curry was adapted from a Thai recipe. Beautiful lamb, percyn.

Coconut cream is cracked so that ingredients can be fried in coconut oil at rather than boiled in coconut milk. The coconut oil can reach a higher temperature after the water is gone. This is similar to clarifying butter. Some northern Thai curries are fried in rendered pork fat or oil, but coconut milk solids add wonderfully rich flavor.

Mmm, wings. With leftover prik king curry paste from last weekend we stir-fried chicken thighs, blanched long beans, slivered ginger and chiles, pickled green peppercorns, fish sauce, palm sugar, basil, and cashews. Pickled bean sprout salad, green salad, and jasmine rice completed the meal. Chicken prik king curry, pickled bean sprout salad, jasmine rice

Pan-fried trout with Asian-style mushroom sauce; asparagus and mushroom stir-fry (both with reconstituted shiitake mushrooms); and jasmine rice.

A) It sounds the meat just needed more time. “Stewing beef” can be made of odds and ends, so you may want to try something like chuck next time. B) When browning the meat, you want dry meat, high heat, and an uncrowded pan. Try pre-heating your pan for a longer time, patting the meat dry with paper towels, and browning the meat in smaller batches. You want the pan to stay very hot. The meat should sizzle loudly and brown quickly.

Anne, can you expand on the basis for this statement? Thanks in advance.

Plants respire carbon dioxide as well as converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. To a first approximation, the amount of carbon in the plant’s tissue equals the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere. When the plant is eaten or harvested, its tissues decompose and most of the captured carbon is released back to the atmosphere. Consequently, plants that are harvested annually have little net effect on atmospheric carbon. In contrast, woody plants can hold carbon out of the atmosphere for decades to centuries.