hummingbirdkiss

I dont know I feel very validated by this thread actually

ground up pork rinds on pork chops parmesan cheese on cutlets coconut on chicken or prawns is good pecans on halibut is do die for almond meal works well too with nuts you just have to watch for burning but they make a wonderful crust mixed with parm or other dry hard cheese and some subtle spices ..

I forgot I had this link ..in my frenzy to empty my "larder" I was looking at some recipe sites to try to use things up in a creative and reasonably "healthy" manner... and found this... I have not used it much...however my friend swears buy it so I thought I would share with you... the bakery recipes look the best ..girlfriend says the tiramisu was a hit with her family and she considered it very good low carb recipes

I made this giant ham hock for my husband and he was thrilled I finally got it exactly the way I wanted it to be!...the skin was very crispy .. the inside stayed tender and moist ...I am not a huge fan of this but he is served it with roasted vegetables and a quick rhubarb chutney

EXACTLY what I would like to acheive in life!! good for you for being so organized and doing it three times a year ..nothing goes to waste that way I bet! ..I only do this twice a year and spring is the biggie ... and I need a lot of self control because as a rule I shop every day for food ...most of what I make is fresh and seasonal ..but February and March are the worst months for us to shop seasonally here so ... I am excited to see everyones lists and hope you will post how you use things up ..recipes? give me some ideas besides soup for all these seaweeds I have? ..I could do a Korean salad I think ...

Well I am doing a pre spring purging of the larder (if you want to join us check out the thread) and using every thing up ..for the next ten days I am not buying anything but Oil and eggs ...no going out to eat either ..I am on a kitchen larder diet!.. .and am using up everything I have ..out with the winter in with the spring I say ..the Hell with that damn Groundhog ..he is across the country anyway what does he know??? yesterday I had this wonderful bowl of boiled peanuts for lunch with a Jamaica flower spritzer ...and had no idea it took three freaking hours to boil these things!!! oh well they are so good it was worth every steamy moment! today I am taking this soup to work it is a spicy/creamy acorn squash soup ...with ground up roasted peanuts in there...I need a new camera badly...(maybe not shopping for ten days will buy me one ) the soup is actually deep buttery yellow not white and fuzzy!

Ok Monday morning here we go! (I started yesterday but who is counting?) Yesterday I worked on the "let's see what we've got here" and the breakdown in my fridg, freezer, pantry and stuff on the counters ... The fridg is not too bad.. the worst thing is all the bottled sauces and condiments in the door I have to get a grip on these and either find a way to be eaten or out they go.. there is a limit to how long they can stay open and be good! (I think if I dont find some way of using them I am gong to take them to work and put them in the breakroom fridg for folks to use) also open pickles marinated artichokes olives 3 open jars of capers..time to rotate those out as well ... and cheese ..I have no problem with too much cheese that is for sure we eat a lot of it ...and will miss while I am doing this because it runs out fast for us I have sausage casings in there as well the Freezer is not too bad chicken, goat, lamb, salmon a few frozen vegetables (we use those up fast and I usually buy fresh so there are not many) frozen cherries, berries and rhubarb from last summer...and fruit purees (from the marshmallow making frenzy last fall ..time for those to be used sure...smoothies for breakfast this week!) I have various containers of stocks and sauces partials of coconut milk, tomato sauce and pastes and lots of frozen habaneros roasted green chiles Pantry and counter plenty of things to make various types of Asian, Indian and Caribbean curries!!! 2984575 herbs and spices (they need rotating badly) fish sauce, coconut milk, Thai curry pastes, fresh ginger lemon grass starchy stuff 1 partial bag short grain rice 1 partial bag sticky rice 1 partial partial bag long grained 1 partial jasmin rice 1 partial of black rice 1 package rice noodles, 1 package of spaghetti a package of semolina, one of polenta. half empty corn meal box 3/4 bag of AP flour 1/2 bag masa all needing to be used on the counter 1 cauliflower 4 avocados more ginger 2 onions 3 heads of garlic back to the pantry a LOT of seaweeds more coconut milk agar gelatin Xanthum gum pistachios, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, basil seeds 3 cans of Callaloo (what was I thinking???? I can get it frozen here and sometimes even fresh! but I have to use it up!) 1 can of Ackees straw mushrooms bamboo shoots water chestnuts capers Cento tomatoes 3 cans NO OIL!!! I am completely out of oil!!!! how did that happen? I found 10 cans of sardines in the pantry not sure how that happened I like them a lot but ?????? anchovies are another story I never run out of uses for those and only have one can left! my Spring BBQ sauce there are about 3 jars left and sweet chile sauce I made as well ..no jam or jellies they are gone gone sadly... reading the posts and what you all have to consume...we have the ingredients for a great series of pot lucks between us that is for sure!!! So I am off for a short trip 10 days from now (and will be food shopping so I need the room when I get back!) so that is my goal ..a kitchen diet for ten days! Short of buying oil and eggs.....Here in public I am pledging that I am not buying a damn thing smoothies for breakfast to use up all that fruit puree soups (seaweed soup especially!!!) and leftovers for lunch ... curries, stews and rice dishes for dinners... thank you all for joining in on this it is so worth it! and like any spring cleaning adventure it makes for a fresh start ..something my sad heart needs right now... please tell what you are making of the things you are finding for the pre spring purge?

Good for you! and good for me if you join me because as I said this is fun in the beginning but for the hard core resolve I have the honeymoon will wear off I am sure when I have nothing but bamboo shoots and sardines I found a smoked salmon today in .my mania over this...it was in the bottom of my freezer not sure what the heck I wil do with it but ......

I look at it this way Anna...I am going to buy the minimal amt of items I can over the next few weeks and use up all my good intentions...I aquired all this food with the intent to cook it when it was not available during the winter ..and spring is coming ...soooo ....this should save me some cash and help get my kitchen in order .... Besides to be perfectly honest..when I have this mindset we do eat a lot healthier ...everything is thought out for a change ...good exercise.. I love the suggestions for the peanuts thank you Judiu ...you gave me a head start on tomorrow ..I have a very lonely acorn squash that may just turn into a stew with roasted peanuts on top! .....that could be my lunch for the next two days... HUGE BOWL OF BOILED PEANUTS FOR LUNCH! YAY!!! only took three hours to boil them!!! I have the menu for today down just to give you an example all the veggies are tossed in to roast now with the dried mushrooms crumbled up salt and pepper the pork hock is parboiling in a bunch of odds and ends of last seasons dried herbs .bits and pieces of garlic whatever I found that blended well.....half the merlot ..the other half is inspiring me in a glass hopefully the hock will finish off in a hot oven and become crispy and not dry this is my goal ....I have some partial bottles of sauces in the fridg I am going to try to mix up a chutney of some kind ......then a rhubarb fool for dessert ...I think I may put some salted peanuts on top just to see I will try to take photos as this progresses ... tomorrow there is a cauliflower...some frozen vegs that need facing ...habaneros.....garlic .ginger....cocnut milk ....hmmmmmm vegetable curry is where I think I will head with that... I am going to do this with or with out you all ..but I am hoping someone will join me!!!

Every winter at this time I am nuts about the food in my house ..kind of getting sick of wintery dishes ...and just knowing there are going to be fresh things around the corner ...spring mushroom season starts here soon ...salmon....Yakima asparagus....fresh eggs......it is all just about a month away for us right now ... every year at this time I demand of myself to begin to purge the larder...completely! I wonder do other people do this? It is like any other spring cleaning ...can be tedious ....but the point is ...the search for spring is just ahead! today I am going to start for myself and have a bunch of stuff going ..it is always easy the first few days because you have a lot to choose from! I use the foods in order of decline to save on waste that also limits choices ..also I dont want frozen rhubarb in my freezer when I can start picking mine next month ...I dont want frozen green beans when asparagus comes in ...and I am not into missing out on salmon season because I have something I need to use up first... I am happy to keep anyone interested posted and if there is anyone out here who wants to join in on this ...down right fun and sometimes frustrating tradition ...please do todays self challenge is: raw peanuts 6 red potatoes 1 cabbage 1 big assed winter onion a few dried porcini mushrooms a giant fresh frozen pork hock garlic rhubarb 1 open bottle of decent merlot I am not an organized person just a seasonal one

make some sofrito and freeze that

one more thing then I will shut up ..maybe mesquite beans make a good flour ..so do the acorns there ... and ETA People in Oklahoma make absolutely perfect sweet ice tea

Fed Ex ...good Lord I will convert you yet!!!

there are crawfish in every creek and pond all you need is a string with bacon tied on it ..a strainer and a pot ....oh yeah I took a shot gun just in case a snake jumped out to attack me ... the crawfish cooked on a city park table ..with a propane stove...and a wok ...garlic white wine and olive oil ..... very lovely memory actually Mexican food is good and readily available in markets and Mercados ..you can also buy great meat from the Mexican butchers ... the one thing that made OK my home for a year was it really was fun doing honest to goodness hunting and gathering there I even cooked a rattlesnake considering how terrified I am of them ... that was HUGE for me!!

I lived in that area for a year my father in law moved there and it is the birth home of my mother in law ... I became known as "The Yankee who eats strange food" ...and really know there must be something good to eat in "The City" as it was referred to all over the state..as far as upscale food I never found a place I could say "OMG YOU MUST TRY THIS!" but a few years have gone and my brother in law assures me the food scene has blossomed! things I know about Oklahoma and am happy to share: ...tornados (so find a place that does have a shelter near by) ..food prices are decent there and lots of fresh in season produce to be found locally .. "Indian tacos" a huge piece of fry bread with pinto beans dumped on top ..then all the "taco" type garnishes for like $3 (my go to food while living there) pond fishing and fishing by dams can be fun and there are plenty of fish... but there are also snakes in the water that chase you and that scared the Hell out of me! Pecans are EVERYWHERE for the picking up ..in city parks on the side of roads all over the place....they are the tastiest little buggers and worth the trouble or buy a pecan sheller if you will be there for a while Osage oranges ..are not food that is where i was given the recipe for TaterTot casserole and was told it was the best recipe ever! and learned about Frito pies ...dump canned chili in an open bag of Fritos on a paper plate.....serve... Catfish freshwater clams are awful Ostrich farmers are all over the place so if you like it you should be able to find that at a very reasonable price .. end of my Oklahoma report ...Lord knows I did try!!! I hope you have better luck!

I want to eat the furniture today this is relentless!! ..but settled for something stupidly healthy with lots of fresh vegetables blah blah blah......just a couple of months and I should be back to my normal wt and I will be able to indulge my needs again! in the mean time I will live and long for everything you guys eat ...and a package of Oreos dipped in Kalhua spiked coffee with lots of cream

I tried this once and ended up with a very firm layer of caramel that wasn't at all easy to eat. I'm hesitant to try it again. ← me too I have no idea what I did wrong but you needed a saw to cut the cheesecake when you got to the crust part!..the caramel hardened like a rock!

my son does not mix food ..he eats his food clockwise and does not like them to touch unless the food is like a curry or something that is good on rice ..or a bowl of Pho is fine with stuff mixed up in it ...but do not mess with his clock wise order of putting the garnishes in!!!...he mixes the soup and then settles each garnish in a clockwise fashion then eats them in order that way.... on a plate with several items they will be in piles all alone and they are consumed one at a time in a clockwise order so he can taste each thing alone .. he also does not eat mushrooms because they have "vents" not because he does not like them just because of the "vents" this child grew up went to culinary school and is a fantastic cook but God forbid you interfear with the boys neurosis!!! My worst and it drives other folks (not me though) nuts is I can not eat off a fork with bent tines ...I have rejected fork after fork in life and would rather eat with plastic than put a fork in my mouth that has bent tines...or three tine forks (shudder) ...I also like my food in odd numbers of three..do not ask ..I know there is medication but it would stiffle my creativity and this is livable because if my food is not in odd groups of three I just eat less until it is! my dad will not eat bananas ..he is not allergic says he loves them has not specific reason except that someone said it was "bad luck if you eat that banana" one time in his life ...not even banana extract ... it goes on but I think you get the drift ..everyone in my family is neurotic as Hell ...none are driven nuts by these thingsand we wear it proudly ..but it does make other people crazy sometimes! I am very accepting of other peoples neurotic tendencies because I really understand!

your photos are amazing the sunshine...blue skies ...your everything ..it is a perfect time of year to share your blog for us who are in the midst of winter especially the pile of artichokes looked like the Northern California harvests ... where I too pack a a suitcase full and take them back with me!!! I have a long walk way and patio area ...am getting ready to pave..I would love to do something like you have only perhaps with ferns and trillium thanks again it is just a joy to read through this

congrats on the strawberry beds Eden how exciting!!! I did not even think of sweet peas I am going to go get some and plant them all over my tiers!!! thanks! I see regular old blackberry vines for sale and can not believe that is legal in WA LOLOL

yes I used to make them all the time ..with any fresh fruit added to an apple puree for a base .. ..my kids loved the blackberry, green apple and apricot the best you just make low cooked thick fruit puree ...getting a lot of the water out ....it is worth it to go slow because in the end that will lesson the time drying... a little sweetener of choice (I used just enough sugar to accentuate the fruits not much at all)... and then spread it in a think circle and dry it on plastic wrap that has been spread out on a drying screen..... when it is completely dry roll it up in the wrap and store it in a plastic bag... could not be easier .. ..when I lived in AZ I could just do this in the sunshine with a screen over it ..now I use a deyhydrator tart, unsweetened ..or very little sugar ..and rolled up with a creamy cheese they are really good imho

sneak peak: back entrance. My paving has all the traditional symbols, I did not photo all-will get to that later: fish- good luck, pommegranate-may we do good deeds like the number of seeds in the fruit and the ancient high priests had them embroidered on the cloaks according to very specific directions in the bible. I also have an olive branch and a KHamsa- a hand for good luck also! ←

anything current anyone wants to add? I am heading up in a couple of weeks and would really like to eat some Persian food thanks

sometimes I think I am afraid to move to a bigger more functional/comfy kitchen..I want to do this new one but really I have cranked out some meals from the one I am in ..some times ranging up to 40 people ..I replace appliances they distruct ...(sometimes min before a huge gathering )... here is usually some kind of discomfort behind the best of kitchen creations people suffer for thier art/science or what would be the challenge? DarcieB if you want to start a support group for people who DIY while living in a house......I am your woman !!! I am going to pledge to finish this kitchen in 2008

when I need to make a midweek meal for my friends I do a quick Indian or Malaysian boneless chicken curry serve it with roti or tortillas andit is really easy..what everyone asks for ...then serve with bowls of toppings like cucumber riata, coconut flakes, roasted peanuts, chiles, if you have frozen mangos available there (this is the only dish they are good in I think) just mix them frozen with a can of unsweetened pineapple.. lime juice and cillantro serve partially thawed .. then folks can eat the curry in the roti with the toppings..they like and beer you can also do a slow cooker curry of a more durable meat like lamb or if you can not find some good meat do a veggie curry ..same idea