astartenyny

ditto to that. when my partner's mom visits i have to constantly dissuade her from helping with the washing up because i end up re-washing everything she's done. thankfully, i finally have my partner trained. i wonder if it's a uk thing because so many people here seem to forego the rinse and just put dishes coated with soapy suds in the drainer to dry. and what's with the rubber basin in the sink? i still don't understand what that's for.

another good indicator is price. the imitation angulas will be much cheaper than real elvers. about the eyes -- i recal reading anarticle somewhere that there are some imitation ones that have the eyes painted on in squid ink. not sure i've ever encountered that though.

this one made me laugh. last year we rented a self-catering cottage with a couple of friends, one of which loves cooking as much as i do. in anticipation of all the great meals i envisioned us making together i practically packed the whole kitchen into the car! knives -- for definite, a few key pots, my toolbox and more. turns out my friend brought almost as much and we had doubles of lots. also, that particular cottage owner must have liked cooking too because there was pretty much all i could want in terms of pots and pans. there was even a food processor. since i got in trouble with my partner for hauling all that kit i now limit myself to just my toolbox and my knives and maybe my handblender. the rest i leave to fate. the hardest thing for me is adjusting to the cookers.

thanks for the tips mizducky... i'll let ya'll know the outcome

i made lentejas (lentil and chorizo stew) yesterday and kelsie filmed it for our next youtube installment. the last time we were in barcelona i bought 5 kg of brown lentils. they're small, kind of the same size as puy lentils. i love their earthy taste. and when they cook they don't break down into mush like green or red lentils. i also like using these kind for lentil salad. for minestrone i like the larger green ones. and red lentils are also good for dhals as well as puree dips. i think there's a recipe for a red lentil puree in matthew berry's book The New Vegetarian.

i've been experimenting with sourdough too. here are some links to my wee video documentary of the process: i've now been making 2 loaves a week for the past month. have been experimenting with different blends of rye and wholemeal. when i just use strong white flour i find it turns out really spongy -- lots of small to medium air bubbles inside. i had to bin last week's loaves because i left them to rise for too long in a very warm room and forgot about them. when i came back the loaves were spilling over the tins and already had a bit of a crust on them. i tried baking them anyways to see how they'd turn out. YUCK! the recipe i used came from Moro cookbook.

preheat oven to 220C/fan200C dry ingredients (mix together): 450g flour 1 tsp salt 4 tsp baking powder rub together with 100g butter until it resembles bread crumbs (or use food processor) mix together: 50g caster sugar and 150 g dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, currants) in a measuring jug beat 2 eggs with a fork and add enough milk to make it up to 1/2 pint. mix the sugar and dried fruit with the dried mix. stir in the egg/milk mix with the dry mix using a table knife until just combined pat out on work surface until 3/4" thick and use a 2" pastry cutter to cut out scones. brush the tops with milk. bake in preheated oven (fan200C) for 10 minutes or until the tops are golden.

Deuchar's IPA

i have the same question about steamed puddings. the recipe i'm planning on trying this week is called Apple Steamed Pudding with Toffee Sauce. the method is similar to making a cake though you put the mix into a 1.2 ltr pudding basin and cover it with a pleated top of baking paper tied with string. the recipe says to 'put the bowl in a pan and fill the pan with enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the bowl. steam the pudding for 1-1/2 hours, replenishing the water halfway into cooking.' i'll give it a go and let you know results. but until i read thru the whole recipe i was planning on setting the bowl on some kind of trivet that would let it sit above the water not in it. now i'll just follow the recipe and let it sit in the water.

on the subject of potlucks in general, are there any tips you can share about organising them? i had a work friend host one this past weekend. it was him, his 2 flat mates and my partner and i. he hadn't done a potluck before so i essentially told him that each guest brings a dish and it's good to spread the types of dishes around. so i volunteered a starter and a side/veggie main. it was a lot of fun and now i want to host one at our house. i'm thinking of doing one for cinco de mayo. so what guidance can i give my guests without being too demanding? i'm going to stress the mexican theme but not hold anyone to it. should i suggest to each guest which course to bring? should i suggest how many portions to make? ok to let someone bring the 'drinks' course? i just want to make sure that there is enough food and enough variety for people to enjoy themselves. other than vegetarians i don't expect any other dietary restrictions.

a few tips for getting height in your scones 1) make sure your oven is hot. i preheat my fan assisted gas oven to 200C before starting the mix. 2) as soon as you combine the wet and dry ingredients and are about to start cutting work FAST 3) when you use the cutter don't twist it. 4)make sure when you brush the tops with milk it doesn't run down the sides i'll post my recipe tomorrow (don't have it to hand right now. but after a few failed attempts got the proportions right. it's down to a combination of self-raising flour AND baking powder.

i keep butter and eggs out of the fridge. but i only started doing that when i moved to scotland. washing rice before cooking it. i do do that with american long grain rice. i don't do it with basmati rice. here's one i'd love to debunk: when i cook potatoes or pasta i always boil it with the lid off the pan. my partner insists on putting the lid on. other than watching that the pot doesn't overboil, is there really any reason NOT to cover the pot? i just do it that way because i always have.

i like reading cookbooks in the morning, while i drink my morning coffee. sometimes i pull down a book because i'm thinking about something specific and want to know more about it, other times i just take a random pick and delve in. this morning i pulled down The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy. I've had this one for a while and bought it when i had moved to NYC from Texas. i was seriously missing mexican food and wanted to recreate it myself. my fave recipe is for chile rellenos. i was vegetarian when i bought it and only really looked at the veggie recipes. now that i'm living in scotland, and eating meat, i'm rediscovering what a wealth of information she has. there is even a bit about making your own chorizo. since i'm thinking of putting on a cinco de mayo potluck this year i thought it'd be a good idea to pick some things out of that book. the other book i like to pick up and read is European Peasant Cookery by Elisabeth Luard. She's also really in-depth on techniques and descriptions -- there aren't any photos in this book. It seems like she's really done her research. I particularly like the section on sausages and cured meat (do i detect a thread here?).

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? father=russian. mother=filipina. i was the middle of 3 daughters. grew up in the 70s/80s. we ate lots of different food and i remember being familiar with way more tastes and vegetables esp than my other friends. Was meal time important? dinner was always eaten together as was weekend brunch and every holiday the extended family (on my mother's side) would gather at our house for the meal. Was cooking important? very. both my parents love to cook but they are competitive with each other, so it was usually either my mother cooking or, on more seldom occasions, my father. for the holiday meals my sisters and i would pitch in but would only be allowed to do the tasks my mother gave us. it wasn't until we moved out of our parents house that we could actually contribute our own dishes to the table. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? i don't remember any penalties for elbows, but burping was definitely not allowed. Who cooked in the family? during the week my mother. for entertaining sometimes my father. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? only special occasions. getting to eat at mcdonalds or kfc was a 'special' occasion. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? no When did you get that first sip of wine? probably 8 or 9. but i think i was given beer to try first. Was there a pre-meal prayer? always. my mother is a devout catholic. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? fish on fridays (see above about pre-meal prayers). we usually had a nice fry-up on weekend brunches. my mother definitely had a repertoire that would repeat itself, due more to budget than ability. a lot of it was filipino food. sometimes a treat would be pizza from the local pizzeria, but it would always get topped with my mother's fried peppers and onions. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? it's just my partner and i and in general we sit down at the table to eat, tho we do indulge in meals in front of the tv as well on occasion. i really miss the big family get togethers and am always planning gatherings of friends at our house.