Katie Meadow

Very beautiful. I hope I look that good when I'm 300. Really, how did they get into a 300 year old pot?

My local TJ's is selling grapes that are a cross of a thompson seedless with a concord. They are round, smaller than a concord grape, with seeds that are minimal or non-existent. They are delicious and not pricey the way concords often are. The down side is that they are not organic and they have the very unfortunate name of Thomcords. But they are worth it and I am thinking they will probably have a very short season.

With all due respect to traditionalists, green bean casserole using canned products is one of those dishes that was never good, even when soaked in nostalgia. Not that I would really remember, since I haven't had it in probably 40 or 50 years. Being responsible for the turkey and never for the vegetable at our Thanksgiving, I've never had the opportunity to try Smitten Kitchen's updated but still faithful version of the infamous casserole which entails making your own crispy onions, making the mushroom component from fresh shrooms and of coarse using fresh green beans. But if ever asked to provide it, that's the one I would tackle. What this topic has to do with the original post is a bit murky, but there it is. Not only is GB casserole as invented by Campbells (or whoever) over the top, as gfweb notes, but it is also under the table. As in "I can't eat this but I don't want to insult my hosts so maybe this nice dog will help me out." Fresh made crispy onions on the other hand, is a good trick that would elevate a wide variety of dishes. Yum!

Frankly it's hard to imagine successful car-drying in Berkeley. This might work better in a drier climate. Yes, we are in the middle of a drought, but the air is not really dry the way it is in the southwest. I moved into a house in New Mexico one autumn (a million years ago) and discovered that someone had put several bushels of peach halves on the roof, spread out to dry. I am assuming they were from that summer, because, in fact, they were delicious, in a rustic rooftop kind of way. Leathery, not very moist, but really flavorful. Given the weird stuff I ate in my twenties I'm surprised I'm still alive.

A lot of culture and tradition and habit goes into food like the food at SO. Some restaurants make an effort to accommodate customers with special needs, others don't. Not everyone deals with change the same way, and most likely that's a case by case situation. It so happens that I don't eat a lot of wheat. I'm not allergic or celiac, but it just doesn't do my body good. I also don't eat much cheese any more to keep my cholesterol down (which it does) and I also have to limit my consumption of tomato products. Guess where I don't typically go out to eat: ramen joints and Italian joints and places that serve nothing but pig fat and mayonnaise. I also find that I get buzzy and dizzy after eating Chinese food that has lots of MSG. So I have learned which places not to patronize if I consistently have that type of reaction to the food. There are plenty of restaurants that most of those on limited diets can eat in without holding it against the owners who are not able or interested in the challenge that challenged diners present. And owners exasperated by fussy customers have every right to say in the most polite way possible, "I'm so sorry, our kitchen just isn't able to do that for you." If that means the customer won't be back, so be it. So chill out, angry patrons and owners. There are way more important things to be angry about. And think how lucky we are in the Bay Area, where just about any kind of food you can imagine can be had without much difficulty.

I love the Marcella tomato with butter sauce, but the sauce I make in bulk and find most versatile is an old Mario Batali recipe which uses simply olive oil, onion, garlic, half a finely grated carrot, fresh thyme and good quality canned tomatoes chopped or briefly blitzed in a blender if you want it smoother. A bit of red pepper flakes depending upon my mood. All juices go in of course. I too like the Italian Marzanos marked DOP. In half an hour or a little more, depending on how you like your sauce, it's done. I make it in large batches and then freeze it in smaller ones so that it's a no-brainer for a quick meal. It's an easy and good sauce for a lasagne or eggplant parm. When I make a batch (at least 2 or 3 28oz cans) I usually leave about a third of it in the pan and simmer it down further for use as a pizza sauce. I've used the sauce as a basis for many toppings. I especially like sautéed cauliflower or sautéed artichokes tossed on top or thrown into the sauce at the end, but I think it's a very versatile recipe and doesn't involve ingredients I don't keep on hand.

I suppose this falls under book size and handling: good binding! Publishers need to remember to spend money on the binding so that the book stays open as necessary and can take the abuse that a useful cookbook must survive.

Shelby, those beans are lovely, whatever they are. The beans that I have liked best from RG are the Good Mothers, Yellow Indian Woman, Black Valentines and recently I tried the San Francisciano or whatever they are called, which were very good. Where have the Black Valentines gone? Missing for a while, so sad. Sometimes I can find my faves at various outlets in the Bay Area, so I don't pay shipping, but rather pay about fifty cents more per bag. From Purcell Mountain I order the organic dark red kidney beans and my all time fave, the rattlesnakes. Purcell's red kidneys make the best red beans 'n' rice ever. I would guess the black valentines would make a very good southern style bean pot, since they are more like a kidney bean than a turtle. Purcell does carry black valentines, but I have never ordered them. The Rattlers I use as I would in any pot of beans that you might consider using a pinto; they are the pinto bean of my dreams: more flavor, creamy, rich pot liquor, and they keep their shape. Perhaps for refritos a bean that melts the way pintos do is a good idea. Rattlers may be a distant cousin of the pinto, but for my money, they are in a class by themselves. And I lived in NM so I've eaten a lot of pintos. The beans from both RG and Purcell are very fresh. I find that overnight soaking isn't necessary. If I start the soak by 9am they are ready to cook by 2 or 3 pm. Most of the beans above seem done to my taste after simmering for 2 to 2.5 hours at the most. I suppose that depends on type, size and freshness but I've never been very scientific about it--I just taste them. I've never salted my beans in the soak. Typically I cook my beans until I think they need another 15 or 20 minutes, then salt, and cook a bit more. I like to add a little gray salt at the table.

I'm in the organized minority. Shopping for us means getting into the car for a purposeful trip, so saving time and gas isn't insignificant over the long run. Here in the East Bay we are blessed with Berkeley Bowl and great farmers' markets. My husband does the Bowl run, usually about once a week. As much as I appreciate its existence, the Bowl makes me claustrophobic and my desire to get the hell out makes me a bad shopper. I usually do the mid-week errands for misc stuff as needed. The farmers' market is an outing we do together on the weekend. I plan menus for 5-6 days. We eat fish and chicken about once a week, otherwise we mostly eat vegetarian, although I do use meat and poultry stocks for soup. On major shopping days we eat fish that first night. I don't always cook my meals in the order expected, and sometimes I scrap my plans because I just feel like something different. Toward the end of the week our meals are kitchen sink: using up bits and pieces, being creative or deciding that organic popcorn and a G&T is a perfectly respectable dinner. Especially if there is some good chocolate around for dessert. Surely shopping habits don't just depend on personality type, but on where you live and how walkable your markets are. But yes, we are organized by most standards. You should see the pre-printed Berkeley Bowl shopping list my husband designed according to how he moves through the store and what we most frequently purchase. No, you probably don't need to see it, since you might think we were insane.

[Host's note: this topic forms part of a longer discussion that grew too big for our servers to handle efficiently. The discussion continues from here.] Trip to stock up on gin and wine and Laird's applejack. Came away with an enormous family size bottle of Bombay Dry and a smaller bottle of Hendrick's, both on sale. Perusing some cocktail recipes this morning for drinks that use Fernet (which I do have) I noticed several appealing drinks that also use Chartreuse, which we have never had around. So I checked that out at the store. The bottle is big, I admit, but it's $50. I had no idea. There was space on the shelf marked for a smaller bottle but there were none, so we passed this time around. I take it that's no surprise to most reading this thread? I do so love that color, though.

Thanks Arey and Norm. Anything that makes fun of CI gets my seal of approval. Chris Kimball with his homespun routine annoys me no end. I hope his ex wife got the farm and the maple trees and everything else. CI blocks access to all their on-line recipes yet have the nerve to send out unsolicited emails to me for various things. After you "unsubscribe" to their unwanted attentions they wait a year and then start again. Aaargh!

Mmm, that would be yummy. One of my favorite apples is an early Vermont Mac. Can't get that here. CA gravensteins are a very good tart apple and make wonderful sauce, but like the mac, they have a very short season and the texture loses its magic quickly after picking, so getting good gravs is a matter mostly of luck if you don't have your own tree. I'm looking forward to Arkansas Blacks; I'm guessing they will make great applesauce. They are another favorite of mine, also not local (duh) and with a short season, but they are often excellent for the few weeks when they are in the stores here.

Love to have your adapted recipe for that swiss chard artichoke pie. Just curious: if I am cooking for gluten free person can the filling be baked without a crust? Will it hold together and be sliceable or is the crust necessary to keep it from slumping?

Boring mediocre apples just cry out for an addition of some kind of tart fruit in the mix such as rhubarb or plums and a splash of red wine and whatever spices you like. I prefer a small cinnamon stick and a vanilla bean. You can always add some lemon juice or lemon zest to perk them up, and a splash of good vinegar at the end doesn't hurt either. I prefer a tart apple. I did have a tree, way back when, but now I just buy my apples for applesauce. Since I have to buy them and I am not trying to use up my own crop or a neighbor's gift I like to use a decent tasty apple. Sometimes at the farmers' market the vendor will be selling interesting varieties that are blemished and I go for those.

Not so! Love mayo w turkey, lettuce and tomato sandwich, but my turkey sandwiches never have cheese in them. Love mayo for egg salad, chicken salad and tuna salad/ sandwiches. Love mayo for a BLT which is called a BLT and not a BLTC for a reason. And I don't remember ever eating a turkey club with cheese in it, just bacon and toothpicks. Never ate a cheesesteak. Don't eat cheeseburgers. When I grew up in NY mayo was really not typical on any hamburgers, just ketchup. But now I actually DO use a little mayo along with ketchup on a hamburger, although I rarely eat hamburgers any more. I'm wracking my brains and realize there is in fact one instance where I eat something with both cheese and mayo, and that's a tuna melt. So you got me there.

I ate Pimento Cheese once, a couple of years ago, when I went to visit my daughter in Atlanta for the first time. Once was enough. I just don't think the combination of mayonnaise and cheese is in my DNA. Growing up, if cheese was in a sandwich we used mustard, not mayo. That article was interesting; and I always thought Pimento Cheese was a form of revenge exacted by the South on the rest of the country. Who knew it was originally a weapon invented elsewhere and that the South tried to improve it? Apologies, y'all!

We looked at several Continuing Care Retirement Communities for my mother a few years ago. CCRC's are residences that have tiered housing and care, including independent living units, assisted living and skilled nursing. Most of them are pricey. They all have dining plans. They are a far cry from your basic nursing homes and looking to attract a different type of resident. Some are now using the food in the dining room as part of the marketing package, and my guess is this is really the focus of that NYT article. We can probably agree that many baby boomers on the cusp of retirement are now searching for options and some who have money may, in tune with the culture and the food in the big cities, put a priority on good food. It would make a difference to me, that's for sure. We checked out two places in Oakland and one in Portland. One place in Oakland had good food, and the place in Portland, which was the newer and more modern facility with a spectacular dead on view of Mt Hood had pretty bad food; better than most nursing homes or rehab facilities but not anything I would want to eat every day. That kind of surprised me, because the Portland place seemed to have a very progressive outlook and you might think the local prospects (and their offspring who are making decisions) would have pretty high expectations when it comes to food. The whole thing is very interesting, and I expect there will be more choices in the near future. Let's hope so, anyway. Given the cost of some of these places and the access to good chefs you would hope the trend would be upwards.

When I lived in NM some people roasted them and then tossed them into freezer bags--whole but not peeled. I used to do all my prep up front: roasting, peeling and chopping coarsely or just packing in strips. I don't remember seeing anyone toss them in the freezer before roasting. Seems like you would end up trying to roast some pretty damp flabby peppers once they were defrosted. Often now I roast my chile, peel it, and then dice it with salt and a little garlic, then freeze in small containers so I don't have to think about prep at all when I want to throw a handful into something.

Thanks, Rafa!

My latest favorite hot weather drink is a Gentle Persuasion. It calls for Lillet Rose, but so far I've been making it with Blanc just to use up a bottle. Now I'm going to buy some Rose and do it up proper. What other drinks call for Lillet Rose?

That contraption is beyond me, but then I've never had an Egg Mcmuffin. But what stood out from your post is that Kerry believes it is reasonable to pay for something specifically destined to be a drainage saucer for a potted plant. Well la-dee-dah!

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/features/la-fo-herbrec11b-2009mar11-story.html This recipe can be found all over the place--I guess Nancy Silverton's Chopped Salad with Oregano Dressing has been a big hit for several years. It's a great rendition of an Italian-American classic--- sort of a sandwich without the bread. Very satisfying, and I think it meets the criteria for a nostalgic Italian salad/dressing. As usual, adjust the oil and vinegar to your taste. The original recipe is awfully heavy on the vinegar. Italian red wine vinegar can be very acidic, and I prefer generally a ratio of 1 vinegar to 4 oil. But it is kind of a fun throwback salad. I also don't use iceberg lettuce in my version, but it would certainly be appropriate. You try buying iceberg lettuce at the Berkeley farmers' market!

Sweet Maria's (in Oakland, btw) also carries a very good aromatic chicory, which I believe they import from India. Inexpensive and, for those of us who like a little chicory in our coffee, yummy. We grow chicory here in the US in the midwest, but the two places I know of seem very disorganized and I gave up trying to order. Of course, easy for me to say, I am a 10 minute drive from Sweet Maria's. They are oh so nice, too. And when I say aromatic I mean that a zip closed plastic bag that I keep in my cabinet emanates lovely perfume every time I open the door. The last time I bought Jamaica Blue Mountain it cost about $10 per pound. Okay, so I'm old. But I don't remember anything earthshaking about it. The best coffee I ever had was cowboy coffee boiled in an enamel jug when camping in New Mexico. No doubt it came from a can, since that was around the same time.

This is fascinating. One thing we notice about the root vegetable cake I make is that it can sit out for several days (draped in cling-wrap) and get neither dry nor gummy. It disappears before it needs to be refrigerated usually. I love the term "death recipes."

Chili and worcestershire and sugar are three ingredients that come to mind.