heidih

When I was pregnant, the mommy-to-be drink (while stuck in a smoky Vegas casino) was club soda with a generous squeeze of lime and an ample dash of Angostura bitters. I imagine other bitters would be interesting and refreshing as well as would playing with the citrus - being sure to include some zest for that oil packed flavor punch. (Yes I know the bitters are alcohol based but not in significant amounts in this application)

I let a passion vine go because it was not strangling anything of import and the Gulf Fritillaries are attractive. (plant hosts this butterfly). I recalled them being just a flavorless seed filled pod. I pulled one off today and it had a mildly sweet and floral taste and a not unpleasant crunch. I just popped some of the flesh coated seeds in my mouth. I know there are many varieties of passion fruit. Has anyone had any remarkable, in a pleasant way, with this type?

In terms of seasonings I am partial to furikake (ebi is my go-to). I also like it tossed with a grated or shaved Pecorino/Romano/Parm blend. I somehow cracked my flea market Catamount laboratory grade glass microwave popper and discovered that the simple Pyrex bowl and lid (lid oh so slightly ajar) works perfectly. It's my no-brainer, no dishes to wash, late night snack of choice. I generally buy my kernels from Whole foods at $1.49/lb in the bulk bins and have been getting a good popping percentage.

I had been eyeing that product at TJ's. Let us know how it works out. In terms of the coconut milk I find the low fat one at TJ to be on the bland side. I want to smell coconut when I open a can and usually grab the brand Hassouini mentions as it is almost always on special sale at the big Chinese market - and tastes good.

Looks good to me PC - is that oregano or margoram or?

Chris - it is just flavored sugar water. Many Koreans use 7-Up in their marinades. The folks in the Southeastern part of the US having been on this cola thing for years and years. The salt plays with the sugar and the cola flavor add a caramel-like tone in the samplings I have had.

We are getting heat now so the wild fennel will be finishing in the canyons. I keep reading about the loveliness of fennel pollen. Is this captured from the wild variety or from the domesticated garden one? Have any of you collected it, and do you have tips?

I am a shrimp fiend and have prepped and cleaned many many pounds. Some shrimp seem to have a more annoying "vein" than others which I attribute to their diet and living conditions prior to harvest. When the veins are fat and full looking, I de-vein even for myself. In saute preps I also remove the vein for looks. If serving whole shrimp like liuzhou presented above I prefer to keep them intact. I posted about an odd deveining issue in this topic http://forums.egullet.org/topic/141028-issue-with-de-veining-shrimp That I did not want to see or eat.

Shel - I have no clue but my first thought is that there is a lot a hydroponic stuff going on.

Steve - I just looked up the fig tart recipe. My neighbor's figs are hanging over the wall and begging for a great treatment. Though I generally avoid baking sweets these days this looks like a must-do especially with the almond element.

Hassouini I think he means cooking it either in the crock pot or in some sort of clay vessel - at least that is what google thinks http://www.thefrugalette.com/2013/02/how-to-make-crock-pot-biryani/ (crock pot) (clay vessel) Not sure what distinguishes it in a positive way from "regularly cooked".

I always had it in my head as rabbit as a child though I saw it written rarebit. Saw it recently as a bar snack with the bread alongside to dip into the cheese mix. Nick do you enjoy it, make it, and have a favorite prep?

Wow - meats are a tough one as there are so many variables, notably fat content, between samples of the same "cut". In addition, and please correct me if I am mistaken, I imagine the animal's diet also influences those trace minerals and other elements. A consistent and accurate number seems elusive.

My first thought was "garbage in - garbage out" as in where you get the data matters. My second thought is that the person eating the food would need to be hyper careful about an accurate weight of the portion to make it matter. As asked above -what is this for? If it is a volume measurement for the portion you may as well not go past the first decimal if at all.

Well thanks for the spoiler - there went my Sunday night - (just kidding!)

You must explain the octopus - is that a carved mushroom?

Just re-enforcing that it is almost a fool's errand to do a list like this - the locals can't even agree! - then to present it as a consensus is not valid..... Duh... poutine! No, not seriously. Tortiere of course!Sacrilege! It's obviously back bacon with saskatoonberry bannocks, drizzled in maple syrup.... That, or a Montreal bagel covered in smoked meat. Just re-enforcing that it is almost a fool's errand to do a list like this - the locals can't even agree! - then to present it as a consensus is not valid.....

None? Cutthroat Kitchen and the love one don;t even seem like they would be mildly amusing. But honestly I have caught bits of the Next Food Network Star so will have it on in the background

Augmenting what Porthos noted, cherry tomatoes remind me of juicy tomato orbs while grape tomatoes are more thick walled and less luscious - more like a Roma (not a great one)

Shelby - I like the blossoms fried after a a quick pass through a very thin batter of rice flour or cornstarch rather than wheat flour. They are so delicate and you want to be able to taste that sweet hint of the squash in progress. I am also fond of them in a frittata; and they are so pretty. In Mexico they are often found in quesadillas, and frequently without cheese. An employee raised in Mexico who grew up with very little in the way of material goods said his mother rejoiced when they were plentiful. Many prefer the female flower as it is more robust. Since you have such a bounty you can afford to select the girls.

I have always enjoyed the zucchini in a frittata dcarch and yours looks delectable. I particularly like getting the squash a bit browned before the eggs are added. Are those cucumber flowers?

Anne - did you make the chickpea flatbread?- that sounds like something I would enjoy

Kerry - at what point was the kimchi added?

Oh my - would you be good enough to tell about this? What filling? Cooked how? etc...thanksfurzzy - Franci explained it a bit further up:

It means lid - makes sense.