blue_dolphin

Thanks for the quick responses! I'm a newbie to the ecookbook world and I was curious if the iPad Kindle app was dumbed-down in some way or if there's just a range of features, depending on the book. I noted that within the River Cottage book recipes, there are active hyperlinks to common methods, etc. which is very helpful but the index (on my iPad) is just a list. Sounds like it depends on the book and the device since @Smithy's tablet shows a hyperlinked index but my iPad and @rustwood's Kindle do not. A brave new world!

@rustwood, I have a question for you about this one. Is the index hyperlinked and if so, are you viewing it on a Kindle or another reader? I also got this yesterday and am somewhat disappointed that the index appears as just a list - no page numbers (obviously) but no hyperlinks either. I don't have a Kindle and am using the Kindle app on my iPad. The other two ebooks I ordered appear on my iPad with hyperlinks in the index, something I find quite beneficial in ebooks.

@Anna N, not sure if you noticed this in reading the Eat Your Books review that @chefmd linked to but if you go to the main EYB listing for Taste & Technique, you can view a list of the recipes that includes the ingredients for each. Basic pantry items are often not listed but it should give you a little data for your decision process.

Very lazy person waiting for the Sunday NYT to be delivered. No homemade bread nor homemade cultured butter. Trader Joe's frozen pumpkin waffle with goat cheese, walnuts and maple syrup. Black coffee.

Thanks for the tips, guys! I don't have a Kindle but I've been reading a lot of ebooks from the library on my iPad so I figured I should try out some ecookbooks to see how I like them. I bought Dorie's book, the Masumoto Farm Perfect Peach book and the River Cottage Preserves book.

Please thank the hunters for taking us with them via the photos. I love getting a sense of the place and especially seeing your sweet Chum at work (food-related work, at that )!

Scrambled eggs, tomato chutney, broccoli, roasted red potato.

Interesting. I look forward to seeing it when they get around to publishing some images. This led me to some Amazon browsing that turned up a couple more observations: Amazon has an Instant Pot-branded circulator listed for using the IP as a sous vide vessel. I think we all know that @Anna N published that application here some time ago. Perhaps royalties are in order??? Amazon is presently offering the Instant Pot replacement silicone rings (for $6.99) and the little red silicone mitts (for $5.21/set of 2) listed as "add-on items" for Prime members. I find the mitts very helpful. I probably use them as much for the Cuisi steam oven as the IP. Finally, I noticed Instant Pot has a blog post on their web site titled, "Unapproved Sealing Rings Sold By Unauthorized Dealers." I have no idea whether there is any actual risk in using them or not. Instant Pot could be trying to protect their market or felt they needed to issue a CYA statement but I thought it was interesting.

Free backyard citrus comes in handy sometimes

Thanks, @scubadoo97! I have a Blendtec, so I should be able to approximate that.

Sounds like an excellent lunch - I would have to add some cornichons.....and, ideally, champagne but I realize it is mid-week! That said, I appreciate your mention of this recipe. Do you follow it as written or make modifications with the spices or the use of a fine sieve at the end? I have not tried making liver pate but would like to give it go.

I'm certainly not an expert with that recipe. I think the flavors would work very well with green tomatoes but I wonder if all the spices and long cook time would result in an unpleasant grayish color? Depending on how tart the tomatoes are I might use less cayenne and give it a taste to see if it wants a little more sugar. I've been getting some lovely yellow tomatoes from a local farmstand. They are very sweet and I was thinking I might use some to make a less-hot version but had the same concerns about the pretty yellow tomatoes turning muddy. Maybe I'll just get enough for a small batch and try it out.

I wasn't able to find it with a quick search. I do recommend the book, if you happen to see it. Here's the basics of the plum liqueur recipe: 1 lb small dark plums (I used Dapple Dandy pluots, also marketed as Dinosaur Eggs) 1 bottle Chilean Sauvignon Blanc ( I used an inexpensive dry Chilean rosé) 3/4 cup sugar (I used ~ 1/2 cup because those pluots are so sweet) 1/4 teaspoon allspice berries, crushed a few black peppercorns, crushed 2 cups gin (for the pluots I used, I was very tempted to use tequila and substitute a de arbol chile for the allspice and peppercorns, but I stuck with the gin and it worked very well) Optional: the cracked plum pits or 20 blanched apricot kernels. (I set the plum pits aside, got lazy and threw them away) The recipe calls for halving the plums (I cut them up a bit more, as you can see in the photo) and simmering them in the wine for 5 min, along with the sugar, allspice and peppercorns. Add the gin (and cracked pits, if using), cover and set aside for a week. Double strain (the recipe says to use a colander and fine mesh sieve, I used a colander and nut-milk bag) and bottle. The recipe says the liqueur will throw sediment so I just put it in larger bottles for now and will strain it again before bottling up small gift bottles. There's a note that suggests replacing the gin with Irish whiskey and the white wine with something like Cabernet Franc. I plan to check out today's farmers market to see if there are any late-season plums left or maybe just try the black plums from the grocery store.

Thanks for the reminder that this series has started up again. I watched the first 2 episodes of season 4 and spent quite a bit of time catching up older episodes that I'd missed. Maybe I wasn't paying close attention but I don't recall anything terrible in the new episodes. Over the years, I've heard a few cringe-worthy comments from Vivian and Ben when they've voiced frustration about restaurant staff related issues. What in particular caught your attention? Vivian's cookbook, Deep Run Roots, will be out in a few weeks. I enjoy cookbooks that explore individual ingredients, assuming it's well done and I appreciate that this her own book and not strictly a TV-series tie-in, although it will certainly benefit from her exposure. I think she's very ambitious and comes close to biting off more than she chew so I hope she had the time to do a good job of the book. I thought that sounded interesting, too. I wonder if there is still good watermelon around....

This is from a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot to post then. I used the last of the Dapple Dandy pluots from the farmers market to make some pluot and ginger jam. I love the brilliant color of these fruits. I used both grated, fresh ginger and little cubes of candied ginger in the jam. On the left is a jar of pluot liqueur that I made using the same fruit and a recipe for plum liqueur from Kevin West's Saving the Season. It calls for a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, 2 cups of gin, a few allspice berries and black peppercorns and some sugar. Sounds like a hangover waiting to happen ! Its supposed to sit for at least a month but I tried a little the other day and it's pretty smooth already. I need to find some pretty little bottles for it. I wish I had made more of both of these. The jam is tart and sweet and goes really well with cheeses. I've already given quite a few jars away.

Yesterday, 8 lbs of tomatoes became 8 half pint jars of tomato chutney: I hope the seals will hold up OK. I have never processed something so oily and was worried there was some oil on the rims of the jars, even though I wiped them before putting on the lids.

Apparently the Coffee Nut flavor bested Honey Nut and Chili Nut and has been declared the winner. This morning's breakfast of champions: Edited to add: This is not a breakfast I plan to repeat but they did go well with a cup of hot black coffee.

Thank you for sharing your kitchen .... and field and stream ... adventures with us! I look forward to seeing what you get up to!

Sadly, my neighborhood is lacking in pasticcerias of any sort so I'm very envious of @HungryChris but appreciate the glimpses of the trip. Here at home, I'm having multigrain toast with goat cheese and some pluot and ginger jam that I made a couple of weeks ago:

@Anna N, this sounds great! Scrubbing out the pot wasn't all that bad but I'd rather not do it either. Plus, it's a waste of whatever sticks. The IP polenta recipe I used called for bringing the stock to a boil using the sauté function before adding the cornmeal. What temp was your stock when you added the cornmeal?

Quiche du yester-jour: zucchini, mushroom and onion. Lightly toasted ciabatta and a few Thomcord grapes.

I like beans. I saw your dish of beans and greens and thought it looked great - assuming I had some crusty bread to go with it. I'm not sure I could come up with anything better so I don't imagine I will change your mind That said, bean dips or spreads - hummus and the like - come to mind. I would certainly start a bean hater on Heidi Swanson's white bean spread with rosemary and toasted almonds. I love the way the garlic and rosemary are warmed gently with the oil to impart flavor but are strained out to avoid bitterness. Continuing on the white bean theme, I've had a number of bean haters try and and come back for seconds of white bean and pesto crostini. Toast some rustic bread, rub with a garlic clove, top with white beans tossed with pesto and either drizzle with olive oil or sprinkle with grated parm and broil or toast to melt. Some people who don't like a dish full of beans will go for them in a salad. The Christmas lima, beet and quinoa salad from Rancho Gordo's cookbook is really good, with or without the avocado. Finally, the black bean seems to be a gateway bean for many. The black bean chili from the Greens cookbook is so, so flavorful and can be served as a soup, a spread or smashed onto a quesadilla or crusty bread.

That menu was a fun read - thanks for sharing! I know ! But with a menu like that, I like to share the burden with my liver and wash it down with a beer or some wine but I don't see anything alcoholic listed under "Beverages" Well, you might spy a little green on the fried okra if there was a gap in the batter or breading, not to mention the jalapeño popper

You want the pan or the flan?

Wow! Great score - I'd go back, too!