heidih

We look forward to seeing them plated. I made it through my tomato summer just on gifted from a gardener or grown myself and it gave be a better honed appreciation for them.

I would love the recipe as well. I only tried this twice long ago and just went back to phyllo. I did feel somewhat empowered making my own dough I have no idea where the recipe came from: 3/4 cup warmish water and 1/2 an egg, 1/4 tsp vinegar, 1T melted butter, 1/4 t salt, 1-1/4 cups AP flour/ The instruction was to knead and slap till elastic, cover 1/2 hr to rest in warm spot, roll out and start the stretching process. It was noted to let the weight of the dough pull itself and to trim the thick edges with scissors.

It is not magic (I do not eat per the health reccs anyway) I like it (the softer Lacinto) as a salad and use all types as i do any other green. It is a big green world out there.

I am not going to address disregarding a law because you don't think it makes sense. What I can't quite wrap my mind around is the implied notion that putting your food dollars to these types of establishments or venues does not hurt the vendors that follow the rules. If I buy tamales from the guy going door to door whose wife makes them in the family kitchen, am I not in effect snatching the financial opportunity from the rule adherent vendors at my farmers markets? The cost may be lower or it may seem more "authentico" but the rule disregarder has a much lower cost of operation and time investment.

Wapi - it looks like the potatoes were sliced almost through thinly. If so, was it to get more of the roasting juices into them? Is this your standard method? I had not seen that technique.

No I think she is growing per this site for seed & fibre: http://www.hemptrade.ca/

With the inexpensive and good quality portobello mushrooms I have been getting, stuffed shrooms have become a regular. Norm - what was your stuffing? I like them with a combo of sausage, shrimp, garlic and egg white & just a bit of breadcrumbs to bind. Cheese gets into the mix as well.

I had to think a moment and then realized you meant "down under" South. I live in a very temperate climate (Los Angeles) which has had odd weather. We had an extraordinarily cool summer until just this past month or so. The tomatoes were not particularly pleased. Now as our days are getting shorter but the possibility of an "Indian Summer" looms, I am vacillating on new plantings. I have pulled all but one tomato (can't wrap my head around the winter tomatoes being promoted). I often get hot pepper year round as well as herbs, though parsley seems to prefer cooler weather. So....I am sort of watching the forecasts and planning on some seed plantings of parsley, lettuces, radishes and mustard greens once I see if we are past the high 80's in temp (F). On the fruit note the apples and pears are falling from the trees- unfortunately usually with nibble marks from the #$%@ squirrels. Don't get me started on the avocado damage. I really really hope we get some decent rain this winter as the drought has been going for a while.

Is that young ginger huiray? Do you treat it almost like a vegetable rather than a seasoning? I have only been able to get it already trimmed and clingwrapped.

Well huiray just told my story. The only person I could stand to food shop with was my son in ethnic markets. He would wander and get entranced by unusual items; no foot tapping or constant glancing at the time.

Enjoying To each his own: http://www.gocomics.com/overboard/2013/09/18#.UjzlkIasifM and like some humans making a gastronomic mountain out of a molehill: http://www.gocomics.com/overboard/2013/08/19#.UjzmuIasifM

The pain is subsiding after several hours. No idea what I am going to wear tomorrow in public. Yes, once again I burned myself with boiling water. The first serious time was really steam - I pushed the lid back on a Le Creuset pan that had carrots boiling and wanted to drain the water. Of course all the steam rushed up onto my wrist and I stupidly was afraid to drop the pot into the sink. It was ugly. But not as ugly as a big pot of boiled eggs that I tried to maneuver from the stove to the sink with a cast on my arm. That one was a full on belly slosh. I mean all over mid section. That area is a bit hard to run cold water over unless you jump into a cold shower. I had many guests (none in the kitchen) and tried to motor through as the shower was not an option. Today it was small elbow macaroni in a pan with only 3 inch sides and the pasta was glomming onto the bottom. I wedged the wooden spoon under the offenders and got a lovely slosh of boiling water on my midsection. I had walked away while the water was going to boil and the level was too low when I put in the dry pasta. As a bonus I was wearing a gauzy top which absorbed nothing. Stubbornly I completed the dish though I was inclined to throw the bewitched pasta into the trash. I say lesson learned; sure hope so.

What's the good looking crusty carb in the middle?

I have to admit the concept does not appeal to me at all, but......it is fun to watch others have a go at it. Today Serious Eats featured ramen as pizza crust - using the word pizza more than loosely http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2013/09/how-to-make-ramen-crust-pizza.html?ref=excerpt_readmore

As others have noted, and based on experience - predators can be an issue. As noted with any animal under your care you can't just decide to stay out after dark and not have an arrangement for someone to get the hens into the coop. If you buy chicks they may say all hens but can't guarantee so you have to deal with getting it down to one rooster or no rooster. This is hands on "animal husbandry". The internet is full of chicken coop ideas like the tractors - but it is work.

EatingAsia's Turkey posts are worth checking out http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/turkey/

i have the same experience as gfweb - 15 minutes from the bay but the seafood is from far far away. Granted the bay is polluted but there is fishing further offshore. There are some places to get good fresh local fish but it requires a bit of effort and often driving outside the usual shopping zone. I really appreciate this tour of your available fish. I also like your food pairings - treating fish like the protein on the plate and not having some standard "fish goes only with.."

It struck me recently that there seems to be a bizarre emphasis on having perfect cross-hatched grillmarks; particularly on chicken breast. A friend gave me some magazines to thumb through today and every piece of allegedly grilled protein looks like it was branded with something like diamondplate. I have seen it in frozen prepared foods that I am sure never saw a grill. Have you noticed this? Do you care about grill marks?

Oh yes! The only reason we dusted with powdered sugar was for looks. Occasionally we mixed confectioners sugar, lemon juice and a bit of water for a very very light glaze. I love it plain.

I had a similar situation with my mother-in-law. She was a Registered Dietitian in a well regarded hospital, gave lectures to docs and nurses but had no interest in preparing her own meals. I always did the cooking when we visited (she was 8 hours away by car) and she stayed in the recliner. I had no idea how poorly she was eating until she had a health crisis and started to try to cook more. She mentioned some frustrations with food prep and was receptive to taking some pointers. The two things that had the most impact on her were realizing that the microwave could do more than cook a frozen dinner, and that frozen veggies are pretty good. On the MW - discovering cooking a potato in the microwave that she could have with some toppings like cottage cheese, cheese, and green onions was a revelation to her. As were kitchen scissors. The whole cutting board and knife thing threw her. As to vegetables, she had a combo "aha" that she could take what she needed out of the bag and nuke it and assemble a balanced meal with not much fuss and few dishes. Quesadillas are also a verastile simple skill to put in a rotation; alleviating the sandwich monotony. As I type I realize that learning how to shop may be the gateway skill to better eating.

dcarch - can you provide some detail on what the dishes are - images look tasty but I am unclear

That massage thing has been going around and I have never done it. Really with the lacinto kale I do not find it an issue. I don't feel like it is a chewing workout. I dress it, leave on counter for maybe half hour tossing when I walk by, and serve. Have you used the black kale?

Raw kale salads have been all over the internet for a few years, I first tried the one in Melissa Clark's In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite. I was impressed. I prefer this raw salad with lacinto (black or Tuscan) kale. Recently Whole Foods has been featuring decent sized bunches of a variety of organic kales for $1.50. Though a bunch is too much for one person, the salads keep well. I have varied the dressings and add-ins. I don't do the bread crumbs with a batch I am saving, but sometimes add them when serving Have you been on this train and how have you tweaked it? The one today was dressed with a lemony hazelnut oil and cider vinegar dressing with garlic and lots of cracked pepper. Dried cherries and some shaved cheese is also in there.

Hard to describe. It holds on but right at the bottom. I just run my hand lightly across the bottom and pull it off. The bristles are so fine that it does not get up into them

They usually have an expiration date stamp. I do not find them to be fragile. In some markets they are available in the freezer section.