djyee100

Unfortunately, once the cork is popped off a bottle, the oxidation process begins, and the wine no longer matures. You can keep the bottle in the fridge for a couple days to slow down deterioration, but the wine will still go downhill in drinking quality. Reds may hang on for a couple days more, whites a little longer. After that you can keep the wine in the fridge and it's good for cooking. Winemaking suppliers sell equipment for making vinegars with a "mother," if you ever want to go that route. A device out there now, called Coravin, inserts argon gas thru the cork and siphons out wine by the glass. The cork reseals itself when the device is removed. The system forestalls oxidation, and the wine continues to mature in the bottle. The device is new technology, and costs about $300. The replacement argon capsules aren't cheap either. So far serious wine collectors and some restaurants have found this device useful. People I know who have tried it are cautiously positive. There was a repair recall for the device earlier this year--it's new technology after all. http://www.coravin.com/

Try Dragonfly brand oyster sauce. Made in Thailand, no MSG, very good flavor. The last time I bought a bottle, it was at Berkeley Bowl. It can be purchased online as well.

I shd have also included the Cherokee origins of this pickle. (From a different Google search.)

Try googling "appalachia sour corn". The corn is not vinegar-fermented. It's lacto-fermented like sauerkraut. Google shd bring up recipes, commentary, and pix. Some fascinating material about other Appalachian foods also. Apparently sour corn is a classic food of Appalachia. One recipe from the google search: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-05-19/news/0405180027_1_pickled-corn-recipe-requests-distilled-water Another good recipe from the same search, see second paragraph: http://books.google.com/books?id=TjXEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=appalachia+sour+corn&source=bl&ots=DYemp8T11t&sig=XPwXg5cRzgNfEe1PaCDUQHA1Vcs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IPrvU4y9Acj9oASniIEo&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=appalachia%20sour%20corn&f=false Some of those traditional dishes from Appalachia were making my mouth water, especially the pix from the Appalachian Food Summit. Yes, you read that right. Here: http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2014/05/love-beans-pie-luck-appalachia.html

I looked up the menus for Brian's and d'floret online. I noticed that they listed some of their purveyors. Blue Moon Acres, Terhune Orchards, Chesterfield Food Co-op/Honey Brook Farm, Cherry Grove Farm, and Valley Shepherd Creamery are all local to you. They're worth checking out for their produce, cheeses and artisanal products, if you haven't done so already. Their websites say they have farm stores and/or they participate in local farmers mkts. The Valley Shepherd Creamery website says they sell their own pasture-raised lamb. Much lamb sold in the U.S. is imported. Where I live, I go out of my way to buy locally raised lamb. I think it tastes better.

Sometimes a CSA will require you to buy a big seasonal share upfront, in hundreds of dollars. That can be a difficult commitment for many people. Other CSAs are more flexible, permitting you to buy by the month or the quarter, and skip some weeks if you notify them in advance. So keep an eye out for CSAs in your area, one that might suit you. Meanwhile, more likely than not, the same farm with the CSA also sells at the local farmers mkt. You can check out their produce there and decide if you like what they're growing. Or if you encounter a farm you like, ask if they have a CSA. They may be motivated to start one! For years I refused to join a CSA because I didn't want to be stuck with a box of vegs I didn't choose and didn't like. But after I joined, I discovered that when I was hungry, I was willing to eat anything in the fridge. I ended up trying and liking dozens of vegs and fruits that I would normally pass over in my usual shopping.

I wish. Not improvement, though some people claim effective methods to slow down deterioration (e.g., freezing, refrigeration (for the short term), decanting to a smaller bottle). If a bottle is off balance from tannins, sometimes an additional day after opening improves it.

Maybe a day for most wines. Whites will last longer. A ripe cab shd probably be kept in a cool place rather than on the kitchen counter. I was referring to a second unopened bottle in my post. It will go to the back of my wine "cellar" (aka walk-in closet).

I emailed my CSA and asked for seed catalog recs. My CSA's farm supplies some restaurants around here. They replied, "There are a number of really good seed companies. Here is a short list of just a few of them -- there are many others." Johnnys Selected Seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/ High Mowing Organic Seeds www.highmowingseeds.com Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (mentioned upthread) Territorial Seed Company http://www.territorialseed.com/ Snow Seed Company http://snowseedcompany.com/ Vitalis Organic Seeds http://usa.vitalisorganic.com/ White Seed Company http://www.whiteseed.com/ Their price list has all the varieties they sell. I've only eyeballed a few of the sites. These are amazing.

A fruit bomb from northwest Spain, 2010 Bodegas Aalto Ribera del Duero. 100% old vine tempranillo (aka tinto fino). Rich deep fruit, excellent structure, nice finish. Red berry jam, in a good way. Drinks OK now, could be superb in time. A little too much tannin for now. I estimate at least 2-3 more yrs of aging. The remaining bottle will be put away for a while.

A cookbook you could check out. http://www.amazon.com/Noodles-Every-Day-Corinne-Trang-ebook/dp/B0077B9G6Y/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407872013&sr=1-8&keywords=corinne+trang

I have no idea what will grow in your locale. These are vegs and herbs that might be of interest to you. I've encountered them through restaurants, farmers mkts, and my CSA (which also supplies some local restaurants). gypsy peppers, Jimmy Nardello peppers (difficult to de-seed), padron peppers watermelon radishes, black radishes (very spicy), French Breakfast radishes, daikon rainbow chard, broccoli raab, sugar snap peas (the short fat kind with plump peas inside, like this pic http://www.thekitchn.com/5-ways-to-eat-sugar-snap-peas-144936 ) karinata kale, mustard greens, mizuna, tatsoi Tokyo turnips. Harvest them when they are small, tender, and cute. Greens taste good too. chiogga beets, very showy and sweet savoy cabbage, my favorite cabbage for cooking French haricots, my favorite kind of green beans Sorrel, chervil, celery root (for remoulade of course, also good in mashed potatoes). Little Gem lettuces (see them everywhere in local restaurants), frisee (curly endive), red endive, Belgian endive, treviso radicchio, escarole. I think escarole is often overlooked. It tastes great with duck. Lemon cucumbers, Persian cucumbers Purslane. I'm not sure I like purslane. It's trendy and showing up in restaurants perhaps more than it deserves. Thai basil, holy basil, lemongrass, shiso Salsify, or oyster plant, if you want to grow something really unusual Meyer lemons, if you can grow them in containers in a protected environment. Lemon verbena, also in a container and protected. Lemon thyme, lemon balm Culinary lavenders (lavandula angustifolia). I'm growing Melissa, a peppery pink variety, and Buena Vista, a sweet-tasting blue variety. Green garlic, fresh onions and new potatoes always say springtime to me. As for Asian herbs and vegs, Andrea Nguyen has very good descriptions of common varieties in her cookbooks. good luck, keep us posted!

The best vegs for your salads are the ones that are grown close to you, fresh and local. Have you checked out farmers mkts or CSAs where you live? I googled "princeton new jersey csa" and noticed a couple results. The farms that participate in local markets and CSAs are most likely to grow unusual and heirloom varieties that Big Ag does not, because Big Ag is more concerned about shelf life and shipping hardiness. As you get to know your local CSA farmers, they will tell you what varieties of vegs they like, and why. Listen to them. They know what grows well where you live, and tastes good. That said, these are some varieties I like in my salads. I recommend them if you can find them locally for yourself. I used to live on the East Coast and bought California produce there. Believe me, a 5-day 3000-mile trip cross-country does nothing for salad vegs, especially the more tender, unusual varieties. Persian cucumbers. Long, light green, with many ridges. Very mild and crunchy. Japanese eggplant, small, fewer seeds than the big Italian globe eggplants. Gaeta or Nicoise olives. Lettuces. I like a combo of red and green lettuces in my salad. Any of the red lettuces are worth trying. Don't overlook the chicories, either. I like a frisee salad with mustard vinaigrette. Red onions rather than yellow onions for salads. Yellow onions I like for cooking. I actually prefer green onions or scallions in salads, rather than conventional onions. Also try a chopped shallot in a vinaigrette as a substitute for garlic. Any of the heirloom tomatoes. I especially like red- and yellow-streaked Marvel tomatoes for their fleshiness and sweet/acidity balance. I like Cherokee tomatoes for their sweetness and low acidity. Not an heirloom variety, but very good, Early Girl tomatoes. I'll say it again--a beautifully ripe Early Girl tomato grown 20 miles from where you live, picked yesterday, will beat out any chi-chi variety that has serious mileage on it. Avocadoes ship pretty well and they will ripen after harvest. I prefer Hass avocadoes, as opposed to the Fuerte avocadoes. Gwen or Reed varieties are also worth trying if you see them in the market. good luck!

???? I felt I was going back in time when I read these recipes. They sound like snacks from the 1950s or maybe 1960s, before the health food and natural food movements gained traction in the U.S. in the 1970s. I don't know any American parents who would feed snacks with this amt of fat and sugar to their kids now. Conventional instant mixes (sugar, preservatives, synthetic flavors) and high-sugar snacks like twinkies are more likely off the table rather than on it. At a minimum, many if not most parents are asking questions about these foods. Even if these snacks are "popular" choices, I wouldn't call them informed choices. Admittedly, I don't know every parent in the U.S. But I don't see recipes like this in cooking magazines either, except in ads by the food manufacturers themselves. Even then many food manufacturers seem aware that parents are concerned about excessive sugar and fat for their children, and the need to encourage kids to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. I can only say, don't believe everything you read on the web. This post and the next were moved from the discussion of ideas and suggestions for snacks for little kids, to this one, which debates healthful food choice for kids.

CatPoet, pls clarify what you mean by "sweet stuff." Cookies? Candy? Sugar sprinkled on cinnamon toast? Fauxpas, it's true that fruit juices contain fructose, which is a sugar. However, some people consider that fruit juice is more healthy than a soda since it contains some vitamins, and may substitute for eating a whole fruit (without the fiber, though, which is desirable). The chart doesn't make those distinctions, but the website does elsewhere http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/ . Yes, guzzling fruit juice means lots of calories and sugar intake. As with all things, moderation is key. It also helps to consider the context in which sugar is being consumed. I have no problem with kids eating a certain amt of sweets or fruits. Normal kids are very active with higher metabolism than adults, and that's why they need the snacks that are the subject of this thread. Their bodies need that sugar and should be burning it up.

My mother had various snacks set out when my brother and I came home from school, but the one I remember best is jello, because it's so much fun to play with and eat. My mom usually gave us the Reddi-Whip container to swizzle on some topping. More fun. But sometimes we only got some milk to pour on the jello. These days commercial jello is out of favor, with good reason, because it has so much sugar in it. So how about a simple homemade gelatin made with fruit juice? You could put some fresh fruit in it when you're cooking it. My mom always made the jello in little dessert cups or custard cups, so my brother and I had individual servings (less fighting). You could also make homemade whipped cream and keep it in the fridge for topping. I have to say, though, that aiming the Reddi-Whip nozzle at my brother and pretending it was a fire extinguisher--and he was on fire--was an important part of my early gastronomic experience.

I thought they were Thai eggplants also when I first eyeballed them. Asian markets in the U.S. can be creative in how they label produce, and I wouldn't bet the house on their accuracy. I've eaten this kind of eggplant raw on some Thai appetizer platters. They are served with very spicy tidbits (e.g, hot sausage), along with herbs, lettuce, and various cut-up raw vegs. I don't think the eggplants taste that great raw. But when my mouth was burning up from some spicy Thai food, I was willing to try anything to quench the flames. Anyway, taste a piece or two raw and decide if it does anything for you. Marinated and added to a salad?

Kasma Loha-unchit has a complicated recipe for fish or shrimp dumplings in a Thai green curry with these eggplants. I've cooked it, and it's great. I winced when I reread the recipe just now, though, because you might have to send your husband back to the Asian market for ingredients. Also clear out a wkend afternoon for cooking. Here's the recipe anyway: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/greencur2.html An easier possibility is a Shrimp Curry from Southern India. I've cooked this one also, and liked it a lot. A friend cooked it for his wife, and she loved it. Southern Indian food is spicy, so adjust the chiles and spices to your taste. You can sub your Asian eggplants for the eggplants in this recipe, they'll taste fine in this coconut milk curry. http://acornadvisors.com/2009_KNews/09-10-22_Curry_Cuisine/Recipes/CW_Shrimp.html -- Note: the salt in this recipe is kosher salt. If you're using sea salt, halve the amt of salt in the recipe, then adjust to your taste. I like the idea for this thread, too.

I was eating a blueberry corn muffin the other day and noticed how well the acidic fruit matches sweet corn. Maybe try raspberry corn muffins?

A summer berry pudding from David Lebovitz. I've never made it, only admired it in his cookbook, Room for Dessert. It's like an apple charlotte, or a bread pudding filled with fruit, and it's no-bake. You press it and leave it in the fridge for the ingredients to meld. An adapted recipe here: http://www.womensnook.com/?s=david+lebovitz&x=0&y=0 I also suggest making some raspberry vinegar. I haven't made this recipe, but one much like it. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Raspberry-Vinegar-366721 I first tried raspberry vinegar with this recipe for a dinner salad with roast chicken, something I've made over and over, especially in the summer when the weather is hot. You can sub other blue cheese for the stilton, walnuts or almonds for the hazelnuts, and good-quality olive oil for the walnut oil. I use leftover roast chicken for this salad or a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kitchen-Remodel-Was-a-Labor-of-Love-3001126.php#page-4

Last fall I took a class about matching cider with cheese at the Cheese School of SF, and tried some good hard ciders then. (As for cider paired with cheese, not so sure about that.) We did try one of the Tieton ciders, NV Tieton Blend Cider (Tieton, Washington). I also thought these ciders were noteworthy: - NV Dry English Draft Cider, Aspall Cyder (Suffolk, England) - 2013 "Save the Gravenstein" Devoto Cider (Sebastopol, California) - NV Clos Normand Brut Cider, Cidrerie Duché de Longueville (Anneville-sur-Scie, France) I sat next to a guy who had just returned from Normandy. He went there to learn about cidermaking. We put our heads together and figured that the English cider was like champagne; the Tieton cider was like beaujolais (young and juicy); the Devoto cider was like a crisp white wine; and the Normandy cider was like...burgundy. Good burgundy. The Normandy cider was the best of the bunch, and in its own class. Americans are playing catch-up with the French when it comes to hard cider. A couple months later I met Stan DeVoto at the farmers mkt, I mentioned his cider from the class, and we fell into conversation. He told me that he's planting heirloom "spitter" apples, specifically for making hard cider. These apples are quite sour, even bitter, not meant for eating out of hand, and guess what happens if you do take a bite. I gather others in the U.S. are planting spitter apples for hard cider also. It will take years for those orchards to bear fruit, but you can see how American cidermaking is coming along these days.

B Patisserie is known for its kouign amann, but really, everything I've tried there has been good. Outerlands Cafe has had a change of chef. The rising star chef who caused so much buzz is no longer there. I haven't been to the restaurant since it reopened, so I can't tell you anything more. http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2014/05/13/outerlands-reopens-in-the-sunset/ Outerlands is located in my old neighborhood. Across the street is Other Avenues, a worker-owned food coop where I used to shop. http://www.otheravenues.coop/ I tell people, the song should go, "I left my sto-o-mach in San Francisco...."

My suggestions... Cheese Plus on upper Polk St, for its selection of American artisanal cheeses, other fine foods. http://cheeseplus.com/ Dandelion Chocolate on Valencia St in the Mission, for its single-source chocolate bars, other chocolate goodies sold in the cafe also. https://www.facebook.com/DandelionChocolate Littlejohn's Candies on Market St X Van Ness Ave. I love the English toffee, a friend is a fan of the salted caramel marshmallows. Very good chocolates also. https://www.littlejohnscandies.com/ Next door to Littlejohn's is a new-ish trendy restaurant, one of Daniel Patterson's, named Alta Cafe. Signature dishes, beef tendon puffs, hen of the woods mushrooms over cracked wheat porridge. I've only tried the porridge, and remembered I don't like oatmeal. But this dish tasted good and I appreciate the concept. Kamei Housewares and Restaurant Supply on Clement St in the Richmond district, especially for Asian cookware. A friend is in awe of this place, I'm less enthusiastic due to the uneven quality of the goods. Nevertheless, the place is huge and worth visiting if you're in the area. Green Apple Books, mentioned in SobaAddict's blog, is nearby. http://www.yelp.com/biz/kamei-restaurant-supply-san-francisco?sort_by=date_desc Your mention of Korean acorn liquor reminded me of St George Spirits in Alameda in the East Bay. They don't have acorn liquor. They are, however, an exemplary craft distillery and worth a visit for that, if you're willing to cross the Bay. You can take the ferry from SF. http://www.stgeorgespirits.com/ ...and while you're in the East Bay, you can check out Spun Sugar on University Ave in Berkeley, aka pastry chef's heaven, which stocks an immense amt of ingredients and equipment for baking and confectionery. They also sell candies made in their on-site kitchen, always very good. The Photo Gallery on their website tells the story. http://spunsugar.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index have fun in SF!

Hi Vencislav, I was looking up Bulgarian food on Wikipedia, and most of the dishes were unfamiliar to me. I have cooked some dishes from Turkey and Georgia, the other side of the Black Sea, but never anything that is distinctly Bulgarian. I hope you will tell us more about Bulgarian food as you settle in here and participate on the different msg boards. Welcome!

I make the recipe for fattoush from Joanne Weir. Here: http://www.joanneweir.com/recipes/salads/middle-eastern-bread-salad-summer-vegetables/ I prefer the bread toasted rather than simply stale.