zoe b

I looked on ebay and there is some there for sale--that may be an option.

my opinion? I can be at your house by lunchtime--I'll bring the bread!!!! Zoe

yeah, the FL episode was great--he found places I didn't know about--that Conch place in Key West, for example. It's so great to have my kind of food tourism validated--the years of forcing family and friends to go to strange little shacks and stores to find and eat weird stuff--someone else is doing it and they even have a TV show ..... didn't i read somewhere that he goes to NJ in one episode? can't wait for that.

make a clafouti

well, I will have to apologise to my Mom for being a Doubting Thomas because she brought up some corn that she said was NJ grown--it was delish, but we thought it had to be trucked in this early. I'm willing to concede that pre-salted LI tomatoes are equal to the jersey ones--they sound magnificent, actually. Which brings us to the wine issue... this made me spit out my non-jersey wine when I read it--even if it is getting better--debatable--it's so darn expensive--I am willing and eager to shell out extra moola for locally grown and produced food , but when i can get Italian and South American and Australian wines for every day drinking that are truly decent for 1/4 of what a jersy wine sells for--it's no contest. there has to be some area of similarity--give me some more time, I know i can come up with something.....

yeah, I know, Jason--i just meant a tomato grown in NJ--a "real" tomato, in other words--not some foreign inferior tomato.....hehe

I have! Picked up my Mom in Columbus on Friday and someone had a little honor stand in front of their house so we got a small basket of tomatoes--was kind of doubtful about the authenticity this early, but they are good. Maybe they have a greenhouse--I don't know what kind they are--a cross between plum and regular--they have a nipple-like bump on the top end. So far we've had them sliced with OO and basil, on english muffins with jarlsberg cheese broiled and melted on top, in a salad, a BLT is next for tomorrow. They aren't the best tomatoes I've ever had, but still, after a year of waiting, I'm not complaining--especially since our plants in NW NJ just have blosssoms on them, still--at least the ones the deer haven't eaten. Zoe

hehe--true and funny! this was a truly fascinating show--what an amazing place El Bulli is--we were thinking it has to be 1000 bucks to eat and drink there per person with such an intense set up. I would love to eat there--and i love AB's struggling with the standing on the head of all he has learned and done by Adria and gang--and loved how important it was to Adria for AB to "get" what they were doing. fascinating TV Zoe

I think the next issue will be on the stands--the first two were mailed out to selected zips (not mine, I got my copy from the mag exchange at the library). Zoe

I just picked up a copy of this--I do applaud the goals--and emphasis on local growers and ingredients. I emailed the editor with a few ideas for articles that I 'd be interested to do for the mag--boo hoo--haven't heard back yet. congrats on your gig!

I second this--there's a fabulous orange cake that i make from Cooks Illustrated that uses this method and it's very intense in flavor

I'm reviving this to comment on the use of butter flavored shortening in the ginger cookie recipe--I've had 2 sticks of it in the pantry since last winter--found them in the Shop Rite parking lot on my way out to the car--fell out of someone's bag, i guess--yes, disgusting, i picked them up, i admit it. And I am prejudiced against regular shortening, so butter flavored is even more iffy for me. But last week i was making chocolate chip cookies for a get together and realized I was low on butter--didn't feel like running to the store yet again--so I used the butter flavored shortening!!! the shame!!! But, everyone raved --this stuff makes super good cookies! I'm making the ginger cookies today, and i bet they will be wonderful, too! Zoe

this is my hub's new favorite TV program--he's just offered to do all the grocery shopping for some reason.....lucky for me he can't cook! Zoe

that is hardly amateur work--just beautiful! Zoe

john said-- this has been my complaint about the whole Munchmobile thing--that there aren't really reviews or ratings of the restaurants visited--so it's almost impossible to decide if a particular place is worth a jaunt. however, the columns are fun, and it would be a dream job to HAVE to try all that food!

Oh, I really like this place--not because the food is so wonderful, but because it's still there, still cheap, still dingy--and still a place where all kinds of people eat --musicians, students, families, old people--and NYC is changing so rapidly into a city only for rich people and tourists that i cherish the old multi culti wherever it survives. I have never eaten the Chinese there--I go for the Cuban side, but the funny thing is that the Cuban always has a tinge of Chinese in it somewhere, and ditto the Chinese. And I love the waiters there--rushed off their feet, stonefaced, but generally patient--especially with kids--it's a great place to bring kids--if they are picky a dish of rice and an ice cream makes them happy.

I guess this is an old thread--but just wanted to say that I made Marks's SC Yellow Mustard Sauce today and it is stupendous!! We smoked a pork roast --a loin roast with bones--not as good as a shoulder but it's what we had--the last roast from this year's pig --and the sauce made the meal. I added just a little too much red pepper at the end so it's a little more bitey than I like, but the blend of flavors is perfect otherwise--sharp and sweet and a little unctuous due to the butter. Zoe

Really, do read the book--I understand the worry about a SMUG ALERT ( I saw the last few minutes of South Park last night and this cracked me up) but I didn't get preachiness from him--he's a journalist more than a moralist. I think what Pollan is trying to do is show just how difficult--near impossible--it is to eat responsibly--his one meal that was totally hunted, grown or gathered by him probably took 100 hours to produce, and he wasn't advocating that anyone else do this. And actually, one of his arguments is about price--and it is hard for us to swallow, but convincing--we spend less on food than any other developed country--because our industrial food is heavily subsidised--the Farmer's Market price for real food, grown responsibly is more a true cost for food. We Americans would have to shift our spending and the way we spend our time --to be able to buy this way on a regular basis--maybe less on fast food and restaurant meals and more on basic ingredients.

the roast chicken really is a good choice--you can do a turkey breast, alsot. you can make a giant chicken salad. Cut up fruit salad a pot roast sesame noodles grilled veggie platter bean burritos

"I dont throw the skin away either, for the same reason (I'm VERY stingy with anything that has a lot of flavour, even if it is a miniscule quantity - does that make me a Flavour Miser?). When the stock is cooled in the fridge you can lift the block of fat off, leaving the flavour behind. " I usually keep the skin on, too--but these smoked chickens were smoked at a little too high of a temp and the skins were really black--not in a good, slow-smoked way, but in a carbonised full of carcinogens way.

thanks, Susan--and you're right--my A&P didn't have it yesterday either- but it's crap for baking supplies, generally, in my opinion. I forgot to look at Shop Rite--but will be hitting it Mon or Tues. Z

no way! really, it's in a box?--jeez... I feel really dumb--i think of myself as a good shelf scourer, but apparently not. But you're right, I wouldn't think to look by mixes--since I only go there for emergency brownie mix "one cup sifted cake flour = 3/4 cup sifted bleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch." that's helpful--I think Joy suggests 1 cup all-purpose minus some number of tbls to sub--but I always blame the fact that my cakes are not terribly airy on not having cake flour--we'll have to see once i find this cake flour--thanks for the info!

none of the supermarkets around me carry it--A & P , Shop Rite, Weis, Stop & Go (or whatever it's called). any sighting of it anywhere? Z

I so agree--love Crystal. have to admit--I detest worcestershire sauce--I sub soy sauce for it generally. and did anyone mention nam pla? or whatever you call your fish sauce.

now you have me obsessing about gumbo--we have a big family get together this weekend--everyone's coming home to build a new dam for the pond.=-=-and food will be a big part of the fun-- a giant gumbo will be perfect for dinner. And that gumbo thread just magically popped up--I love this place! Z