Katie Meadow

Okay, not owning a rice cooker of any kind--and not seeing one in my future--I'm just curious. Does a rice cooker allow you to toast the rice first the way you can stovetop? Because that flavor is really yummy. I eat a LOT of rice (mostly basmati) and have been cooking it the same way in a saucepan on the stove since I moved out of a dorm about 45 years ago. I have a number of challenges in the kitchen, but rice isn't one of them. To me it's like breathing. So, Patrickamory and Weinoo, that makes three of us with a little extra counter space.

http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2009/03/10/curried-red-lentil-carrot-and-sweet-potato-soup-with-ginger-and-root-vegetable-cake/ The above recipe is from Dinner with Julie and is called Root Vegetable Cake. I'm feeling sorry for all the kids out there whose parents don't let them have any sugar. This is about the healthiest cake I have ever eaten, and it's actually good. Yes, it does have sugar in it, but you can cut back a little on the amount (I did.) If you happen to have a few carrots and a stray beet (I did) it's perfect. I also bought a sweet potato for the occasion. And I happened to have some homemade apple-rhubarb sauce which I used as the applesauce in the recipe. I used a combo of coconut oil, which I thought would have good flavor for this cake, and mostly grape seed oil. I also cut the recipe in half and baked it in one 9-inch cake pan. I threw in some chopped walnuts, but clearly lots of things could be added. Oh, I cut way back on the cinnamon, but that's because I really don't like cinnamon to dominate anything. And I subbed a little buckwheat flour for AP, because I love that flavor. My daughter self-selected the white diet during her 2-6 years; that is she only ate white food: rice, pasta, potatoes, butter, bread, etc. No green or red or orange veggies would dare come near her for fear of her scorn. She grew out of it, and I really think it happened naturally. True, we don't eat a lot of junky foods in our house and we have always cooked and eaten dinner together, but kids' weird ideas about food come from a source we really can't control, ultimately, and the best you can do is be a good model, as some above have suggested.The only thing I learned about the food wars: pick your battles. There is nothing more cringe inducing than watching relatives or strangers or friends having public food fights with their children. And there is nothing simple about restricting certain foods (or non-foods); it will always bite you back. Seeing your kid eat a year's worth of candy after a Halloween score is painful. Seeing them hoard it and let it rot in a drawer and not let you have any of it is just as worrisome. Anyway, try the above cake if you want the satisfaction of knowing your kid is eating a beet. Well, okay, it's still cake, but at least it has some praise-worthy qualities. My husband loved it with creme fraiche and he loved it with ice cream, but it's pretty good served with fresh fruit.

Lucky then to be in Atlanta where you can shop at Your DeKalb Farmers World Market near Decatur! The variety in that place is staggering, and I'm pretty spoiled living in the Bay Area. I'm assuming you have already discovered it. My daughter lives in Decatur and took us there when we visited. Just amazing.

Just a word about health upsides and downsides. If you read various testimonials by doctors, homeopaths, seemingly level-headed people and nut cases it is clear that no one oil is going to be all purpose useful or healthy. There is one site in particular that cautions against rice bran oil, as it has no omega 3's and lots of omega 6's, suggesting that if you use rice bran oil a lot, you might want to supplement your diet with omega 3's. I have no idea if this should be taken seriously; at a certain point my mind fogs over and I just concede to the benefits of moderation and variety. For baking it seems that any oil that has a flavor you like (or has no detectable flavor) and no objectionable transfat, corporate or GMO factors--if that matters to you-- can be appropriate, and you don't have to worry about a high smoke point for that. There's a lot of swooning over coconut oil for baking these days, touting its health benefits, but it seems to me the benefits might be sweet taste and the fact that it is solid at room temp, so often suggested as a sub for butter, although we all know nothing tastes like real butter. For high-heat cooking such as stir fry or deep fry, it sounds like refined vegetable oils work well, as do rice bran oil and peanut oil. I always assumed that the best oil for wok cooking is peanut, but maybe that isn't a slam dunk.The most recommended peanut oil around these parts is Golden Lion, but it does have a distinct flavor, so you have to like that. Rice Bran oil is suggested for tempura. I don't like peanut oil (or olive oil) for popping corn, so I am going to find myself some rice bran oil and see if I like it for stir-fry as well or for whenever I would have reached for corn oil, which I don't want to buy any more. Truthfully it has been so long since I bought safflower or sunflower oil I don't even remember what they taste like; I associate both of them with the 1970's and tasteless salads and casseroles. Unless I start baking a lot, my oil money is tied up in olive. This has been a very useful thread.

Eww, eww and eww, but that's just personal. There appear to be several modifying factors here. One is how much protective fat is involved. Another is that not all rotten or rancid foods cause problems. And another is that some people (my husband for instance) don't always perceive food as being "off" when others do. I'm super sensitive. I can detect milk that is barely starting to go, so I'm of the school that errs on the side of caution: when in doubt throw it out. My husband is a risk-taker with a poor sense of smell, a forgiving palate, an iron stomach and an abhorrence of waste. Luckily for his own good he does not make a study of what's in the fridge and has no idea how much stuff I simply throw out without telling him.

Recipes calling for neutral oil often suggest canola. I thought it was just me until this thread, but clearly there are others who detect a fishy odor and/or taste. I found that some brands were fishier than others, but gave up on canola totally when I discovered grape seed oil. I can't see using olive oil for any cooking that involves very high heat or massive quantities, not only because the flavor seems to get lost, but also because good quality olive oil is pricey, so I too find it wasteful that way. Lately I have been into baking cakes that use oil instead of butter; I'm not experienced enough to sub oil for butter, so I look for recipes that specify oil. Some recipes specify olive oil, such as various Italian style semolina cakes, etc. Others just say "vegetable oil," and leave it up to the baker. In that case, when I feel like a little flavor, I use a mix of olive oil and grape seed, which seems to work pretty well. I do like corn oil for things like pancakes and popping corn, but it would be nice to avoid the GMO's as Andie suggests. I don't find corn oil to be neutral and I like the taste of it, so what might be a good substitute for that corny taste? What do you use for popping corn on the stove top? What do you use in baking?

Two years ago I got a terrible stomach virus and couldn't shake the aftereffects. Finally, after lots of research and talking to my doctor I went on the low-fodmaps diet. I was pretty strict about it for at least six months, and then I started slowly and carefully adding back in certain foods, one at a time to see what I could tolerate, and there are now very few things I can't eat, at least in moderation. So don't lose hope! It may not be forever. I found the low-fodmaps diet to be a very healthy one, since all food groups are in the diet, even for me, as I have to avoid high-cholesterol foods as well. For anyone who confuses it with a paleo diet, you are very mistaken. The only grains off the table are wheat and rye. Many cultivated agricultural foods are fine, and they include the spectrum of green and orange foods. I don't eat a lot of meat any more and would be miserable on the paleo diet. Just about every substitute food for wheat products I find pretty awful, so I just don't bother trying to find gluten-free breads that are tolerable. We started making our own corn tortillas and that was a godsend. They are so good! And I finally got a great recipe for wheat-free pancakes. I eat those or steel cut oats for breakfast. I also make grits (or coarse polenta). I love it out of the pot, but also formed into cakes, and sautéed for breakfast or whenever. I eat a LOT of rice: mostly high quality organic basmatti, because I love the taste. I've discovered fried rice, which is friendly for all kinds of veggies. When I finally re-introduced beans I discovered that some were not a problem, and I make a pot of beans once a week, which I eat over rice. Some things you always eat over pasta can work over rice. Tomato season is almost upon us, and just making a sauce of fresh uncooked tomato with either butter or oil (no onion!) is awfully good on rice. I still have to limit wheat--it seems to be the worst offender, although I can cheat a little. For me it has nothing to do with the gluten, just the wheat. And remember, everyone is different when it comes to these kinds of diets, so all the low fodmaps charts will eventually end up being personalized for each user. When I miss noodles--and I so much do--I go out for Pho or Bun or spring rolls at Viet restaurants. Rice noodles are awesome, although I wouldn't want to eat them in lasagne. A cautionary note about soba: if you read the ingredients for buckwheat noodles you will discover that they are not just buckwheat, but also have regular wheat in them. I know, that's a tough one, because buckwheat is on the good list.

For asian stir fry or asian-style pancakes I use peanut oil. When a recipe calls for an essentially flavorless vegetable oil I use either grape seed or corn oil, although I do think corn oil has a slight corny taste; in some things I guess I like that. I don't deep-fry anything, so quantity isn't an issue. I would say olive oil is my go-to for most everything else, or butter, although I have cut way way back on butter. I never use safflower, sunflower or canola. I find canola to have a fishy taste, which I know sounds weird.

Way less meat, more fish. Most meals now are vegetarian or include only small amounts of animal protein. My diet has changed from wheat-centric to rice-entric. Less butter, more olive oil. Almost no cheese. Way more soup. I have a taste now for salads that have fruit in them, and mix up fruits with veggies, such as tomatoes and watermelon or tomatoes and peaches, oranges and fennel, kohlrabi and apple, etc. I no longer can stand broccoli, but I eat a lot more cabbage--cole slaw and also in stir-fry. Less wine, more brown liquor. Some of these changes are for health reasons, but many are just a matter of what tastes good now. No more scones or sweet bread things. Lots more straight dark chocolate. And not for health reasons. The bigger change in my eating habits is that I eat a bigger breakfast than I used to and my husband and I get around to lunch so late that we often don't eat dinner--we just have linner, and then maybe a late cocktail hour with popcorn. Weird? Maybe, but it works.

Thanks for the many suggestions. I will make it again, with some adjustments and increased seasoning. I believe I took the recipe from Sweet Amandine's blog. She does not note that it is too wet, nor does she comment on lack of flavor, but she does note--and I agree-- that it is indeed better after a day or two. We are still eating it. There seems to be endless amounts of it, but of course I think that's because it is less than perfect. She warns that the recipe makes more that will fit into a deep dish 10" pie plate, which I also found to be true. I would say it would easily feed 8, maybe 10, depending upon how central to the meal it will be. I don't know if DL's original recipe calls for a sprinkle of parmesan on the top, but Amandine does. It could be that some added to the puree would help boost flavor as well. I did use a generous grating of nutmeg. Yes, what looks like a crust is a thin layer of egg that forms on the bottom. I'm after a fairly simple vegetarian pie (I have a lot of vegetarian relatives, so I'm always looking for stuff I can feed them) so I wouldn't add pork to it. I suppose I eat lot more chard than I do spinach; the flavor of fresh baby spinach is pretty delicate and might get overwhelmed by meat or smoky flavor, but once the kinks are worked out, it could be a very nice side dish. It is an incredibly lovely color, and does hold its shape well, and appears flexible when it comes to serving temp--always useful.

It isn't that I've never eaten terrible food cooked in a home kitchen--we all have. But this thread is kinda mean. Agreed, it is sad that so many people have never had the opportunity to pick up basic cooking techniques, but frankly I don't think most of the cooking or food shows that have multiplied like mice on the food network or elsewhere are even really trying to help anyone learn anything. You have to assume that those people who are poor cooks and yet still invite friends over are either very brave or really so used to their own cooking that making changes is simply not on the horizon and they are comfortable with what they know. So it goes. You just hope that if you invite them over to your place they enjoy the food and have a good time.

Yep, that's totally the recipe.

Remember Stouffer's Spinach Souffle? Good, right, in its processed and salty way. And then there's the southern classic Spinach Madeleine which was more homemade and easy, because all recipes called for frozen spinach, but not very healthy for those of us trying to limit our butter and cheese. So now I've been trying the David Lebovitz spinach cake recipe that's all over the place; food bloggers must really like it because an awful lot of them have a verbatim or slightly adapted version. It is healthy, and looks beautiful on the plate cut in emerald wedges. I've made it twice now, once from the original and once from an adapted source, and both times found it rather bland and watery. I want to really like this recipe. Does anyone have success with it and love it? I'm going to try one more time, perhaps not use so much of the cooking juices or make sure the spinach is totally dry after washing or add some tasty herbs. Has anyone tried it using chard or other greens? Maybe spinach just has a lot of moisture?

Ah, the arrogance of right handed people! Including my husband. Although secretly he is in awe of us lefties. I rarely have kitchen accidents of any kind and I do all the cooking in the house. My husband can bake bread like nobody's business but his knife skills are pretty bad. Left handed people have a long history of learning to adapt to less than perfect tools and that is a plus when it comes to solving kitchen problems of all kinds. I use left handed scissors, which make a big difference. The single most important left handed utensil I own is a ladle, with the lip on the correct side. A right handed soup ladle is a worthless piece of crap! It occurs to me that my husband, when he dishes up his own portion of soup, has never complained about the ladle, so he earns my admiration for either a brilliant adjustment or being silent in the face of adversity. I don't remember seeing an ambi soup ladle, with two lips instead of one, but they must exist for mixed hand couples. But the worst decision we ever made (he convinced me it was a great idea, and I never imagined how inconvenient it would be) was a right handed FAUCET arrangement. The stem of the faucet was actually left of center at the back. Just think about that for a minute. I was always having to work AROUND the stream of water and my left sleeve was often soaked as a result. Such a great day when we got rid of that thing.

I make fruit and nut bars adapted from the Alice Medrich recipe, using mainly dates, but also a mix of apricots and cherries. I add just a little cocoa powder to the mix, but basically it is a pretty healthy grab-and-go kind of snack--great for air travel or long drives. And best of all, you can slice it up and freeze it in packets and it doesn't seem to suffer at all for being frozen. Am I late to the party? Every restaurant in Portland offers bacon-wrapped dates, some more celestial than others. Pitted dates get stuffed with an almond (marcona in some cases) and a dab of either goat cheese or blue cheese. Then each date gets wrapped in one slice of bacon and either grilled or roasted or broiled in some fashion. Fabulous for a party, very dangerous if you are alone.

Thanks Dan. At my next opportunity I will try another Fernet, but perhaps the subtlety of Jelinek is what keeps me drinking it; you take one more sip just to figure out what it tastes like. There's a mysterious medicinal quality to it, but the menthol isn't dominant, at least to my tongue.

In Portland I had a rye cocktail made with Fernet Jelinek. I liked it so much they gave me a freebie of straight Fernet Jelinek as an after dinner drink. I can see how people could love or hate this stuff. I'm crazy about it, and just located a bottle of FJ here at home. I've never tasted Fernet Branca.....can anyone compare these two Fernets?

I no longer have veg duty, but when I did, I often made a warm mixed vegetable plate: very simple, vegetables steamed until crunchy-tender and dressed with a basic garlicky, mustardy oil and vinegar or oil and lemon, parsley, etc. For the starchy part I like waxy potatoes. String beans, cauliflower, carrots etc all work well. Roast a bunch of scallions and garnish and you are good to go. I prefer the veggies not mixed, just organized next to each other. That way if people hate cauliflower or something they can avoid it. The bonus is that this can be served warm or room temp.

Yes to the Pane Guttiau, very addictive. They are very salty, in my opinion, but that's part of the attraction. I love salt but I've cut back in the last few years. Anyone watching their salt intake should be careful to read the label before scarfing them down with abandon. I don't leave TJs without them these days, along with my Valrhona, Bulleit Rye and Puffins.

Usually I make Bittman's recipe which is a very traditional simple hummus, but last week I came across a recipe for artichoke hummus and was intrigued. This one called for draining and rinsing jarred marinated chokes and just tossing them into the processor along with the other ingredients. It was good! I suppose you could use as much of the marinating oil as you like if that flavor appeals, or you could probably use plain canned or frozen. I considered using fresh artichokes but once I have taken the trouble to peel, dechoke etc. I would rather sauté them or do something to them that doesn't dilute the flavor. Besides, the great thing about hummus, from my perspective, is that it is super easy and by the time you add lots of lemon and olive oil and garlic using garbanzos from a jar results in almost as good a dip as going to the trouble of cooking dried beans. One thing I find that makes a small difference: using the jarred garbanzos rather than canned. They really taste better, at least to me. Same goes for chokes: I am not fond of canned, and prefer them in a jar. I admit to never having tried frozen. I find that hummus keeps at least several days, but that doing a couple things before serving it helps improve the final result if it has been refrigerated: taste for lemon and possible add more to brighten, take the chill off in the microwave, add a drizzle of oil.

I'm a heavy consumer of the 71% Valrhona that sells at TJ's for about $2.99. Seems like a great chocolate bar for the price.

Slaw, of course--I eat a LOT of coleslaw. But it's also very good in Chinese stir fry with other veggies and in fried rice. Also in Okonomiyaki, which are Japanese Pancakes: http://food52.com/recipes/12352-okonomiyaki

Right! Loulou's is the bomb! Try the Plum Lavender some time, it's really a treat. Also her lime marmalade is great. Definitely a splurge, but at least you will be supporting a very nice enterprise.

Cost and lack of reasonably priced good product drove me and my husband to start making our own marmalade, so I get your frustration. I second June Taylor's jams, but there are also several very good jam makers who sell at various east bay farmers markets that you might want to try, although this time of year apricot may not be an option. And of course you will pay more for artisanal jam than you will for commercial. There are some really great preserves out there. I'm especially fond of Lulu's Garden jams and marmalade, although I'm not sure which markets she frequent these days. Robert somebody sells his at the Saturday Oakland Lakeshore market. Sorry I can't recall his last name!

It might be worth checking out Golden Gate Donuts and Doughnut Dolly. They are within several blocks of each other on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. GG is traditional and well liked. DD is completely different--artisanal doughnuts are hand-pumped with filling to order. I'm not a doughnut person, but the doughnuts are fresh and the fillings are exotic; I wanted bergamot lemon cream, but it was seasonal and I just missed it. Over the top and pricey, but a new way of looking at doughnuts. Although maybe the point of doughnuts is that they are the old way.