heidih

It has a celery like taste and aroma. The stem is fairly thick and hollow. We market the plant as "Bloody Mary plant" noting that the stems can be used as the straw in the cocktail.

One of the weekly advertising flyers yesterday included dried seafoods on sale. The market caters to a Hispanic buying base and is bilingual. I was wondering what traditional dishes are made with these and if they were perhaps prepared primarily during Lent. The founders of the chain of markets (Northgate)are from Jalisco. The advert had fish listed as Charal Seca @ $8.99/lb (dry smelt) - whole fish, Robala Seca @ $11.99/lb(dry snook fish - whole fish), and Bacalao Seca @ $9.99/lb (dry cod fish - headless in maybe 12" lengths). They also had Camaron Molida (dry ground shrimp) and Camaron Seca (dry shrimp) @ $9.99 and $19.99 respectively.

My initial reaction is that the sour (lime juice) belongs in the dipping sauce along with a sweet element. The traditional Thai fish cakes are made with a mild white fish, red curry paste, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, egg, and very finely sliced green or long beans. Panko or any bread strikes me as "off" - but - you are going more for a fusion style I imagine, and using a stronger fish. A green versus a red curry paste appeals to me with salmon. I have always found the lime zest too intrusive as a sub for kaffir lime leaves. At any rate I think the traditional cucumber sauce/relish would be lovely with salmon.

I will second that suggestion. I am a garlic piglet, but have friends who are not and they have been very happy with using elephant garlic. I understand that it is not true garlic, but in the leek family; however, it carries the garlic note first.

All lovely Paul - did you dip the kale in very hot oil or? Makes an inviting presentation.

Huiray - I really like the look of your bittermelon egg dish. How did you treat the melon before the eggs were added? Seasonings? Serious craving coming on....

Where is Kim Shook's Evergreen Dip? From her recipe site - perhaps this is it? http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Kimberlyn/DIPSSPREADS/Evergreen_Avocado_Dip.html

Ann - what is your preferred scrambling method - looks low & slow? And are there little treat bits of smoked salmon among the curds? Of course your bagels seal the deal.

Blether you have nice bits on your potatoes - did you "rough them up" before the final roast?

David - that is still a pretty huge goal with enormous depths to plunge. Hope to see reports of your progress. A helpful approach can be to taste as much great stuff as you can so that you have comparison baselines.

So why are you discounting "bolognese" and looking for "meat sauce" - what do you see as the difference? In much of the world they are interchangeable terms. An ummm kinda thought spaghetti was a pasta?

Norm - your creamed spinach is calling me. It looks like you used mature spinach and left it fairly whole? Can you summarize your method?

Is there a reason you think the brown rice won't work?

Oops another thought for you robirdstx - though the reviews are not great I found a nice hang-out spot at Market Cafe on Decatur http://www.marketcafenola.com/ It sits on a busy funny Y intersection with a large covered outdoor eating area open on three sides. The musicians set up in the outdoor area. I found it a great place to wind down after a long day of walking and site-seeing and never felt rushed. I stayed several hours over the few days I was in NOLA and already treated like a "regular". The people watching is good there without the manic quality of Bourbon St. or Jackson Square. I enjoyed the shrimp po-boy and then discovered the market price boiled shrimp on the appetizer menu after seeing it being enjoyed on another table. Big fat succulent shell-on suckers that were a pleasure to peel and eat while enjoying the people and the music.

robirdstx - You might find this older topic helpful for casual. As you can read I thoroughly enjoyed Cochon. I walked there from the FQ. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/140981-new-orleans-2011-casual/

Thank you for the great week Smithy. I have been "sauerkraut inspired" !

Maybe I missed it above, but my inclination would have been to use some simple white or brown buttons, sliced and slow cooked in a tiny bit of oil. When they got a nice caramelized edge on them I would have added water and simmered until the liquid gave me a nice flavor. This only makes sense if including actual mushrooms was not acceptable as part of the prep of the soup or stew. Otherwise it seems like an extra step that does not add much more than futzing time.

Googlemaps shows Spokane has numerous "Asian" groceries - perhaps one could pick up short-cut pork spare ribs from one of them for next time? (If they are not offered in Western-type markets/butchers) Yes- I buy mine at the big Chinese market (99 Ranch) and they saw them for me to the size I want in less than a minute.

djyee100 - my lemon verbena looks the same- sort of "bald". I love it as an iced tea as well as with seafood and chicken and in SEA curries. My mint all looks like it is time to start over but a neighbor has a great mint patch going as he waters more than I do. I just need to confirm he is not using any unfriendly products. I know he is cool with my harvesting for cooking use. I do need to try to revive the chocolate and the orange mints since they are more special (as with your lavenders) - so will pot up bits of them and "nurse" through this miserable weather - 50 overnight lows with mid 80's days and no moisture in the air at all. (yes roses are in full bud mode.....)

Healthy looking tomato Kenneth. What type is it? Of course your set-up is fodder for the gadget-guys/gals here! We generally start our tomatoes in the greenhouse in February. As soon as they look sturdy we "harden them off" outside (which in Los Angeles is not exactly a brutal thing). Planning on my Berkeley Tie-Dye, and an orange volunteer that was fabulous and I have the seeds from. I will probably wander over to Laurel's Heirloom Tomatoes when she has an on-site Sunday sale in March to pick out one or two interesting new ones. Oh and tomatomania will be at our local botanic garden in April - this could be a tomato heavy year. This may be the year I start making ricotta and finding good fresh mozzarella to complement the tomatoes. I sowed seed for some winter greens but our weather is so freakin bizarre it was a disaster. We are in 80's daytime and mid 40's at night in January (see also raging wildfires) Will wait till/if weather settles into a reasonable pattern before starting anything else.

2014: Smithy (2014): Notes from the land of Cheap Refrigeration: January 11 - 19, 2014

On the bamboo cutting board - I have one I got as a gift a few years ago and never used. It still has that sort of vegetal bamboo smell. Like the bamboo steamer always releases that same smell. Perhaps that is the nature of bamboo? In the past I have never sealed wooden boards. Currently using plastic.

Back up on the salad post you noted that you each have your preferred dressings. Made or bought? Care to share? I think both of the pre-preps of vegetable and fruit for handy inclusion in meals is a concept that can be adapted and adopted by many busy folks. My current "ready to grab for a quick meal/snack" are lacinto kale already dressed with olive oil, wine vinegar, shallots and shaved asiago, and an overabundance of Lebanese cucumbers in a spicy yogurt dressing.

Until I read Kim Severson's Spoon Fed I thought Rachel Ray was just a media creation. Amazon Link Reading the former NY Times food writer's take on the woman was eye-opening. She has worked her fanny off starting with food demos in markets and has not claimed to possess mad skills. Of course the media hype and marketing machine kicked in at some point. My gut feelings echo many above - who in this day & age cares about uniform pieces? I think flavor has become the bottom line criterion. As to mashing up a fish or piece of meat in an attempt to debone or the like that of course is horrid.

Is the loaf the dish you refer to in this post? http://forums.egullet.org/topic/139557-breville-smart-oven/page-5?p=1949136#entry1949136 If so the salmon is already cooked so isn't it just a matter of the binding ingredients being set up to your liking?