hummingbirdkiss

Another vote for starting from fresh, then. Never boil ? Is there more to say on that ? PS saffron ? When can I come over for soup ? ← I am the product of an extensively ethnic upbringing and learned to make chicken soup by putting the ingredients I mentioned above and included in that recipe into a pot with some water and standing there skimming the top while it very gently simmers...I have perfectly clear soup in a really short time! My son went to culinary school and came home so exited to teach me how to make chicken soup and get a the nice clear broth I like ....between the pureeing of veggies and what ever the heck else he did in the kitchen to make that "raft" to float on the soup and somehow make a clear broth..was a freaking disaster ..took too much time and made too much of a mess... it is woth it to just stand there and put your hear into that pot for a while ...making sure it does not boil ...skimming the crap off and adding some herbs and stuff as you smell it come to life....I dont know the science ..but I do know this works ..is easy ...only uses one pot and makes perfectly clear soup every time... the saffron ...omg it is the way to just pull it all together and make it just that much warmer as you sip it .... hope this helps I think I need to go shopping for some chickens now it has been at least a month since I made any! ! Thanks for starting this thought...

my thoughts exactly!!

sigh ...I know ....shawarma I have made it at home as well..good yes...but ...not the same ... my son mentioned that there is one tiny Persian joint in or around a friend of a friend mentioned that was supposed to be good but I have yet to get the name from him ....I would love to find any good Middle Eastern food here and know we do have a population that would support it... I would love to find some sour cherry rice!!!

oh wow ...I had no idea what fish you were talking about ...so I Googled it and found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escolar I ate some " butterfish" in Hawaii and wonder if this is what it was ...if I had read this first and knew ...I would not have eaten it ! I somehow am put off by the type of GI distress this can cause and can not imagine wanting to take a chance with it! especially while on a lovely vacation!!!! I have to admit now that I think I may have tried it ..that was really good fish ...whatever it was!

I made a fairly thin crust put the sauce and other toppings on bake it ..and then right before it is done I add the cheese that way the crust is crispy ...the sauce and the toppings can release the steam, dry out a bit, cook into the crust... and not be stuck under the cheese ....does not leave for a wet center ... then the cheese has all its fresh pull when you eat it! since I do not have stones (yet I will this week!) I use olive oil and corn meal on the pan and just before I add the cheese to the top I slip the crust on to the oven rack to crisp up...while the cheese is melting I bake mine at 475F

this is pretty much what I do method wise as well and my family is famous for their chicken soup! we do however add lots of fresh parsley (never dill) , celery (not parsnips) a pinch of saffron threads and a few pieces of fresh sliced ginger to the mix always use fresh raw chickens and never ever boil !!!

with this work I wonder with the quarry tiles? this is a perfectly wonderful idea!!!! I am off work on Wednesday and plan to go shopping for the quarry tile first to see if it works for me ...I love the way the price of it sounds for starting out especially! do I have to do anything to the tiles before putting them in the oven and now on my grill? or just wipe them off and start baking??? this gives me such a carrot to chase during this work week (I am a nurse and it is flu season simple things please me!!!)

simple blackberry crisp (the last of this past summers berries sadly) ..home made vanilla ice cream sorry no picture .....it just does not photgraph well all smashed up in a bowl

side note on tofu all the Korean markets like .. Paldo World, H market, Boohan ... in Federal Way south to Tacoma have fantastic fresh tofu in all stages very very soft to very firm and a lot of them make their own it seems good Korean food and the tofu stops just at the South King North Pierce Co boarder pet peave hmmmmm finding great inexpensive Indian or Middle Eastern(Persian or other) Restuarants as mentioned above ..and finding good Middle Eastern or Indian Markets other than in Vancouver BC ... if there are any ..I have completely missed them in my extensive journey's and I would be most happy if you would correct me!....Pabla's in Renton is ok for Indian but that is it..I have not found a place where I would go out of my way to shop and eat ..so I take about 4 trips a year to Vancouver for just that purpose!

I agree this place makes some very good soups!!!

385 counted so far (but there are more I just got sick of counting) on shelves and strewn about the house

the cack factor of the vision of watching someone pull a hair out of their mouth while eating is enough for me ..hair up always I would die if someone found a hair in something I made!!!!

I don't know about Costco around the world (because to be honest they overwhelm me) ... I live in the Pacific Northwest and every year I go to Santa Fe to visit my family ...we hit Costco for the green chile ..they have very good frozen peeled and chopped green chiles there in travel proof containers ..so I load my cooler for the plane trip back with them ... and no bags here or there either... just cut boxes...I take bags from other stores with me and ask them to use them!!! get strange looks but who cares

this is an awesome idea thank you!!!!

Thank you so much for all this info!!! I appreciate it more than you can imagine!!! Now I am excited about shopping for this I think I will look at quarry tiles, slate and also check into the fire brick splits and just see what they all look like and cost line a rack with them (avoiding any vent holes) Tim: I was wondering if the fire brick splits were smooth enough? ..I have seen them and they appeared quite coarse...but maybe what I had seen is not what you mean? do they have smooth fire bricks? I will go see anyway there is a brickyard not too far from here JasonTrue: Thanks I am going to avoid the round ones ..I have a large double oven and one can be just for baking bread and pizza now with out a problem.. while I build my skill at this...so I want to make sure I get the most efficient use of it! thank you all so much again your advise is so valuable! anymore advice or pictures of how your oven looks with them in so I am sure what I am thinking is correct would be appreciated I adore baking breads and pizza's (I am from Providence RI and know the good stuff) am really excited to make the best crusts I can here where I live in the Northwest ...my friends think I am such a snot when I roll my eyes at the pizza here..we have fantastic foods from all over the world here ..but as far as bread, bagels and pizza go ...not even close imho.. I would like to recreate some more of my home here for my friends and family!

Thank you so much for that info it is just what I wanted to know! I plan to use it for bread and pizza making and don't need handles if I am going to leave it in the oven ..will it affect convection baking or roasting leaving it there? (perhaps a silly question but I really dont know!) also where do I purchase unglazed quarry tiles? are they the same as unglazed smooth terra cotta tiles? when I get one do I just put it in the oven or does it require special cleaning? ok one more question...if I want to steam the bread to improve the crust can't I just put a pan of hot water under on the rack under the stone or will that crack it? ok really last questions for now ..how much sould I plan to pay? and should the stone fill the entire rack of the oven? or should there be a flow space around it?

I have been putting this off for ages and just flipping my bread /pizza on to my oven racks to crisp up the crust..it is satisfactory at best...not great ... and can be messy but has worked for years.. .... now I want to take the step and actually get my own stone... will you please help me with some suggestions as to wear and what type I should buy? Also tips on using it? Size options? I have one oven I can dedicate to baking so I would love to just put the stone in and leave it there ... I have done a search and found a lot of info that includes mention of them ... no where could I just find a thread about buying and using a baking stone ...is there one? I would love to see pictures if possible of how you have yours set up, what you bake on them and what type of oven you use? thanks so much in advance for your help

I agree make your own ..I buy curry paste in containers but it is unpredictable in heat and flavor..even with in the same brand. If you have a food processor ...there are endless recipes for good Thai curries ...red, yellow, green Panang ...you just toss everything into it and voila you got it going on.... It does keep well in the fridg or freezer but I tend to make a batch for each time I make curry ...from what is fresh and available at the market... I find even my own recipes are however is also a bit unpredictable heat to flavor wise due to the variable heat in the chiles I use. But it is easier to control as well ..when you make your own you can increase flavors you like with out increasing the heat. good luck in your adventure

I like to braise them with lots of good red wine, kosher salt and whole black pepper corns (about 1/4 cup actually) and plenty fresh sliced garlic ... that is it just braise until it falls off the bone and the peppercorns are tender... serve with mashed potatoes

I love both and when I make them at home I like to leave the wing whole ..I know I know ... it is not the authentic way to eat them ....I deep fry them until all parts are extra crispy toss them in sauce and then love the mess of tearing them appart and enjoying each section ....and my fingers as well yummmm I think I need to make some!

I have seen duck eggs in Farmer Markets all over the country!...the larger egg venders will usually have at least a few boxes of duck eggs ..also I have seen them at produce venders where they might a few boxes as well off to the side... ....in my opinion based only on a extensive history of egg consumption... it is worth it to me to search out eggs chicken duck or even the giant goose eggs from people who sell produce and just have a few chickens ..those eggs are a big score to me..usually dirt cheap ... those chickens, geese or ducks have been eating the trimmings off those veggies ..have insanely beautiful yolks and taste wonderful...

Always love home made chunky peanut butter ...however I just discovered marshmallow making so I have been putting a marshmallow on top of the peanut butter and toasting it under the broiler!!! Freaking stick to your face scrumptious!

I want to make some with maple syrup in place of the corn syrup next has anyone done this? I saw mention of it but not sure if I missed it if anyone had success? I would appreciate the feedback also I have some rosewater and thought of rosewater marshmallows with pistachios stuck to them would be very nice! is there something wrong tthat I woke up thinking of these today I wonder

I am shamelessy excited to share these with you!!! I am just so beside myself with this! the first one I made the most yummy New Mexican red chile marshmallow and the taste alone was to die for ... just enough heat to push through the sweet and bite you! the wonderful flavor of the (real mind you I obtain 10lbs a year from a friend in Chimayo so they have killer chile flavor!) chile was enough to carry this marshmallow alone I think ..but since it is Valentines day I had to do something special ..so I dopped them in dark chocolate and put crushed salted roasted peanuts on top voila' a Mole Marshmallow ...talk about tasty!!!! I cut one in half so you could see (and sorry my camera and photo techniques kind of suck) they are actually a pretty light almost tomatoy red and if you look close you can see chile specks then we have the Coconut curry ones ...these are by far the best textured marshmallow out of all my batches so far!.. they look kind of like coconut cream pie ..and like the chile they could have stood on their own ..but the last second I opted to use up the rest of my dark chocolate and put a foot of it on them ...they are really tasty ...and for a very special friend of mine ...I hope he loves them as much as the love I put into them ... finally my first ones the wonderful Nightscotsman's recipe all three flavors ..all perfect thank you so much for my new addiction! You can not see the chocolate in the bag for some reason they must all be in the back? I used just a little less cocoa powder and some coffee instead of most of the water ..they are fluffy and very tasty

I feel so validated here and am so glad I found this board!!! seriously I have friends with pristine cookbooks and wonder how they do it!!!...when they come over and I am cooking their eyes roll...pages are stuck (I think making it easier to find my favorites mind you!) they just look at me in disgust sometimes ..or tease me relentlessly ..In my "curry drawer" (I have one huge drawer of curry spices and blends) ... I have a curry cookbook I love and a folder of pages of recipes I have gathered from interpreters at my work covered with" history" ...in my "baking cabinet".... I do the same thing keep pages of recipes and my favorite reference book ...I keep my recipes and books handy with the spices and stuff I use for making my favorite dishes...of course I have shelves of books in the hallway where I took over a closet to keep my books handy (and so I would not drag my mess all the way to another room looking for a recipe) ...I wash my hands constantly but during the use of my books food gets all over them ...my kids laugh and say when they inherit my cookbooks they will have the food right there to make sure they are doing the recipes correctly .. so to answer your question ...my favorite books are trashed!!!!