Katie Meadow

The term "foodie" simply makes me squirm, and I'm not even sure why. If someone calls me a foodie I take offense; it is infantile, I agree. I like eating tasty food. I like reading recipes and saving a recipe until I either make it and toss it, make it and love it, or don't ever make it and eventually wonder why in hell I ever clipped it in the first place. I cook all the time, mostly because I don't have the money to eat out a lot, or rather I chose to use the money for something other than restaurant meals. And I'm pretty happy with the food I cook and often disappointed in restaurant food, especially when it comes to value. My diet has changed in many ways over the past twenty years. Partly because I am more aware of what can be done with food (become a better cook?), partly because I have some health restrictions and needed to adjust the types of recipes I rely on and lastly because of environmental issues. If pressed, I would say my philosophy of food comes down to this: why eat a lousy tuna melt if you have the time, ingredients and the means to make a good one? I enjoy looking at the food photos on eG but I have no desire to photograph anything I make or eat in a restaurant. I only like reading about food if the writing is good.I admit that I think about food a lot. That's because I love eating and because I'm the one who does all the cooking in my house. And I wouldn't be happy eating the same old thing day in day out and because I'm always looking for ways to make something good even better. I rarely buy or cook expensive ingredients. I want eating to be fun, and mostly healthy. When it is treated as a competitive sport it's a turnoff. The word "gourmet" is also a weird word. What does it mean? It comes with a ton of baggage and never seems a very useful term. Also it is devoid of any political intent and therefore becomes a slippery slope. If you are going to eat bluefin tuna sushi you should know that soon you may be eating the last one. If you are going to eat foie gras you should know how it is made. It irritates me no end when I hear people say that cutting a shark's fin off doesn't hurt it, or that geese like being overfed by a tube or that fish have no lips so they don't feel the hook or that lobsters have no nerve endings or whatever. Okay, I'm done. Not sure why I went on such a rant. Now I'm going to finally go down and eat breakfast. If anyone cares, it will be coffee with chicory, leftover multigrain apple pancakes popped in the toaster and served with butter, maple syrup and whatever fruit has not yet been consumed by my husband. Bon appetit.

My hope is to be able to say one or all of the following: "Make mine a Manitoulin" "Honey, while you're up, get me a Manitoulin!" "Man o man i toulin" "I'm coolin' with my 'toulin" Is it cocktail hour already in Manitoulin? What is the time diff, say, vs west coast?

I wish I could come for a visit! I love this thread. How you get so much baking, cooking, shopping, eating out and working at the hospital done on a daily basis amazes me. It's time for you to invent a cocktail called The Manitoulin, to celebrate the fact that cocktail hour must be very long in the late daylight hours. That way we can all follow along in spirit and in spirits.

Okay, thanks for all the clarification. I get it. You want to recreate the "pure" texture of Velveeta (perfectly melted plastic) and "purity" of taste (no actual earthbound cheese products from 4-legged critters) but using real cheese and one chemical and you want to do it in a romantic chemistry lab-style white tile kitchen where the tables are beautiful black slate (in your dreams) and your middle school heart-throb is next to you, cool as a cucumber, while you are sweating bullets trying to melt--in this case--$35 per pound organic artisan cheddar. Kidding aside, I do get it. Sounds yummy and gooey and melty and above all, nostalgic. Never gonna happen in my house, but invite me over, please! I'm trying to imagine how sodium citrate can seem sexy, but by candlelight or bunsen burner, many things are transformed.

Forgive me for this question. I just can't help it and I am clueless about modernist cuisine anyway. What is the point of modernist mac and cheese? I mean, how is the final product different or better than traditional baked-in-the-oven-til-crispy? I wish someone would make it for me, because I can't imagine it.

This thread deserves a bump. With all the cocktail threads on eG I would have thought more people would be shrubbing. I made my first and only shrub recently using mostly plums and a lone peach by the cold-process method. It's very good! My husband has been adding it to our standard Manhattans and that's good too. Now I've discovered a new use for a shrub, although it's not in an alcoholic drink. This spring I've been making a lot of compotes and flavored applesauce, especially with rhubarb, which is terrific in combo with apples. But the rhubarb is going to be gone soon, so I'm experimenting with ways to jazz up my applesauce. Lo and behold.....shrub! Today I cooked apples with just a few strawberries that were getting very ripe, added a stick of cinnamon, half a vanilla bean, almost a half a cup of red wine and a drizzle of cassis. It needed more liquid without rhubarb, (and less sugar of course). Judy Rodgers, in her recipe for roasted applesauce, splashes in some vinegar at the end to brighten it up. So when my applesauce was almost done I added a glug of my shrub. Delicious. Really! I've always added a squirt of lemon juice to plain applesauce, but this is way better. Mmm, a great breakfast, lunch or dinner could be made with shrubby applesauce and potato pancakes. Do you have some novel ways to use shrubs?

Bob's Red Mill med grind cornmeal has been my go-tol for several years. i use it for whole grain pancakes and for corn bread or whenever a recipe suggests adding corn meal, as long as they don't specify finely ground. It makes a pretty toothsome bread, and if you have really soft teeth I can see how it might be problematic, but I really like that gritty texture. The idea of using a medium or coarse grind of cornmeal mixed with finer grind is very interesting, and it never occurred to me for cornbread.

I don't mean to sidetrack the discussion, but just a brief word about Whole Foods. Sometimes WF moves into a neighborhood without other large grocery stores or good produce markets and that can be very useful for those in the neighborhood. For instance, the WF near Lake Merritt in Oakland is is very important for the high density neighbors. Many are older people, many may have limited transportation options, many work in the area and shop there. There's nothing comparable near by. The same was true for my mother in midtown Manhattan. The area around her apt at 57th and 6th Ave had no decent large markets for many years. It's a touristy neighborhood, and the only groceries are small and very pricey. When WF opened at Columbus Circle it was a godsend for her, and for me when I visited. Here in the East Bay I have the advantage of a car, Berkeley Bowl and other great large markets and several farmers markets, so I don't use WF. And I do have some political quarrels with them and how they have run their business over the years. But the one-stop shopping for those in certain areas that WF provides, and the fact that the quality of the meats, cheeses and veggies are high can be a valuable resource for many people.

My name is Katie and I'm an addict. There were a few other fanatics on eG who used to twist up the rhubarb threads every spring, but they seem not to be active now. Here's my recipe for a very basic roasted rhubarb compote. I adapted it from a recipe by Orangette, adding strawbs and bitters. Excellent with or without the berries. 2 lbs cleaned rhubarb, 1/2 lb strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 vanilla bean, split, 1/2 cup dry crisp wine, dash of bitters Trim the rhubarb ends and peel away any tough strings. I leave most of the red outer layer, especially if the barb is tender and fresh. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and pre-heat to 350 or 375. Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch lengths. Stem the berries and cut in half if large. Put all ingredients in a casserole dish (I use a ceramic one) and stir it around. Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes so the rhubarb breaks up easily or until the texture is how you like it. I have used both white and red wine, whatever is open or within easy reach and they both work fine. I have used angostura and orange, and I like the angostura better, but I'm sure there are many other flavors that would be yummy. I eat it without any additions most often, except sometimes I throw a few chopped walnuts on it. I like it hot, I like it cold, with ice cream, creme fraiche or yogurt. Lately I've also been making a rhubarb applesauce recipe I got on 5 Second Rule, and that's SO much more wonderful than just plain applesauce. The ratio I use is approx 1 large apple to 1 stick of rhubarb, which is WAY more rhubarb than the original recipe called for. One thing about rhubarb territory: I too am under the impression that it grows best in the north, not necessarily in a warm climate. I know someone who grows it in the northern Montana mountains. I believe most of the rhubarb we get here in the Bay Area is from Oregon and Washington, but I could be wrong. Two weeks ago I bought some from a local grower at the Berkeley Farmers Market. It wasn't very red. And, surprisingly, it wasn't as flavorful is what I usually get--organic or otherwise--from the Berkeley Bowl or other large markets. Maybe just a fluke?

We made an interesting iced tea yesterday using a peach-plum shrub I made last week. Just a splash of vinegar shrub added to sweetened black tea and some bruised mint. My husband thought it was great. I liked it, but not as much as he did.

I love Hamlyn's Pinhead Oats and never found McCann's very appealing. But Bob's is cheaper and more available at most of the retail places I shop, and I like it fine. So I go with that, but out of nostalgia still keep it in a Hamlyn's can. Shel, I have also bought the bulk steel cut oats at Berkeley Bowl, and found them not good enough.

This is a subjective question, but do those of you who have cooked from Jerusalem and Plenty find that the recipes in Jerusalem are a bit more accessible? I don't have either book, but have perused Plenty and just reading the recipes and lists of ingredients made me tired. Last night I made Swiss Chard Fritters with Feta, which I believe is from Jerusalem. It was fantastic, and not overly fussy. I didn't have the same herbs as listed, but used what I had on hand-- dill and chives.

Peets Coffee and Tea has their own black tea blend called Summer House Ice Tea, and can be had loose or in bags. They advocate making a double strength batch, then adding the same amount cold water; for some reason, even if you over-steep it doesn't get bitter. In the old days when I lived in NM I made a lot of sun tea, which was wonderful, but the weather here isn't the same and I find this Peets blend and method makes an excellent brew. If you don't live near a Peets you can order from them or even get this blend on Amazon. After spending time last year in Georgia and North Carolina I admit to getting hooked on sweet tea, although I learned to ask for it "half and half" which was plenty sweet in my opinion. Sometimes I add a splash of lemonade or fruit juice, but usually I just crush up some mint and toss it in. I keep a jar of simple syrup in the fridge so we can sweeten our tea to taste by the glass. Needless to say I prefer this method to the giant pitcher of sweetened Lipton's.

I love salted cashews with a Manhattan but peanuts always seem wrong. Go figure. Marcona almonds might be good too. I rarely eat pate, but a nice mellow pork or rabbit pate on crackers is yummy with a Manhattan, and, along with some lightly salted paper thin slices of kohlrabi, in a pinch constitutes a complete meal.

Can it be called a Manhattan variation if it contains some shrub? I just made a shrub! My appetite for stone fruit is once again (happens every year this time) greater than my ability to eat it, so I took a combo of peach and plums that were very ripe and juicy and made my first shrub. I haven't tasted it yet, as it is mellowing in the fridge, but I don't see how it can not be yummy. But what do I do with it? We love a standard rye Manhattan, so what can we do to add some shrub and come up with a good drink? We have a variety of vermouths, Cocchi di Torino, Bonal, Fernet Jelinek and Amaro CioCiaro. We also have a few very basic bitters: peychaud, angostura, Regan's orange. Also I kinda need a name for my hybrid fruit shrub: It is one peach, one black plum and one Santa Rosa plum. Peplum? Peachum? Plump? Make me a Plump Manhattan, please!

I use low-fat buttermilk all the time, often ignoring instructions to use full-fat. I can't really tell the difference in baked goods or pancakes, honestly, but then I'm so used to it maybe I'm a bad judge. My other solution would be to sub a small amount of low fat buttermilk with whatever full-fat product is around, whether it be yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche to add a bit of richness.

When I make rice I throw a little knob of butter into the saucepan, and when it melts, toss in the rice with a little salt. I toast the grains first, in other words. After several minutes, when they start to smell delicious (you know, that basmati popcorn thing) I add the water. I think it enhances the flavor of the rice. It's been a while since I made a risotto, but yes I guess I toast the grains in butter before adding the first ladleful of wine. Although perhaps I toast them a little bit more when I make a simple pot of rice.

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.