Katie Meadow

I'm sure this is amazing, but it's a lot of work. Might be worth just pouring stout over ice cream first to see what that's like before attempting the following recipe from Alice Medrich. If you omit the ice cream I believe you would have a Stout Egg Cream. STOUT FLOATS WITH COCOA SYRUP Bon Appétit | February 2011 Slightly bitter beer, ice cream, and bittersweet cocoa syrup make for the perfect adult treat. Any leftover syrup will keep in the fridge for up to one month. Yield: Makes 6 servings Cocoa syrup: 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled) 2/3 cup boiling water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Floats: 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 tablespoons Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur Chocolate ice cream 3 12-ounce bottles or 2 pints (about) chilled stout Special equipment: 6 iced-teaspoons, 6 straws For cocoa syrup: Whisk sugar, cocoa powder, and pinch of salt in small saucepan. Pour 2/3 cup boiling water into heat-resistant measuring cup. Whisk just enough boiling water from cup into cocoa mixture in saucepan to form smooth paste (about 3 tablespoons), then whisk in remaining water. Bring to simmer over low heat, stirring constantly. Simmer syrup 1 1/2 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature. DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 weeks ahead. Cover; chill. For floats: Using electric mixer, beat cream and vanilla in medium bowl until peaks form. Cover; chill. Pour 1 tablespoon Kahlúa and 1 tablespoon cocoa syrup into each of six 10-ounce glasses. Place 1 scoop of ice cream in each glass. Add stout, pouring gently down side of tilted glass to prevent too much head from forming. Spoon dollop of whipped cream into each glass. Drizzle with cocoa syrup, place spoon and straw in each, and serve immediately.

Your favorite vanilla ice cream and the best root beer you can buy. I like my ice cream and my root beer not too sweet. I try to find artisanal root beers made with cane sugar and as few preservatives as possible, and I'm pretty used to HD vanilla (not the vanilla bean flavor). Ice cream first, then pour over beer. I'm not a soda drinker, but a root beer float is a gift from the gods.

Generally I don't buy many snack foods, salty or sweet. I do have a fondness for cheetos and Maui sweet onion potato chips, but for the most part I have to curb my salt intake so only eat them as a rare treat. If I want a salty snack I usually make stove-top popcorn, so I can avoid the oversalted processed stuff, and just add sea salt and maybe some grated pecorino to taste. At cocktail hour we go through the Trader Joe's unsalted blistered peanuts at a fair clip, which I also salt to taste. However, my skinny daughter is home for a couple of weeks and she is bringing in a variety of weird packaged products. Among them are pretzel pillow thingies filled with peanut butter. I never would have bought them myself, but they're not half bad; salty but with a sweet kick. Jaz, I see you are in Atlanta, which is where said daughter is heading for grad school at Emory SPH. I may hit you up soon for some recs for cheap ethnic food stops, if you have any favorites in east Atlanta/Decatur. She likes falafel, viet, thai, etc. and will be your typical frugal impoverished student. She also is fond of brew pubs and trivia nights.

I suppose I'm a "too hot" member as well. Really, I always thought that if you put a large hot object in the fridge or freezer it raises the temp inside and then the result is that the fridge has to use more energy to get back down to temp... In cool weather I've not seen a problem with letting stocks sit out overnight, but in warm weather it doesn't seem like a good idea.

My mother liked salt on watermelon and she also paired saltines with chocolate ice cream. So I grew up salting my watermelon. Seems wrong without. My husband and daughter think I'm nuts. I would salt cantaloupe as well, but don't eat that very often.

If you do end up going through Ashland I second New Sammy's. It isn't cheap and you are probably in for a rather slow evening, so be prepared. I had a delicious meal there last year. Check yelp for the nights they are open, and note that if it is the middle of Shakespeare season you need a reservation there. Not sure if you will need one otherwise. And if you happen to be driving through Ashland but it isn't dinner hour, I highly recommend stopping on the main drag at the big ice cream parlor (Zoey's I think) for an espresso shake. Can't be beat on a very hot day.

I too made my first batch of bacon jam! Two days ago I came back from Walla Walla with a precious 10# bag of sweets, so I used two of those to 1 lb bacon. And yes, bourbon. Percy, did you use balsamic vinegar in addition to apple cider vinegar, or just balsamic? My dinner last night included bacon jam & black prince tomato sandwiches on a rustic baguette. Tonight's dinner will be home made pizza topped with caramelized Walla Walla sweets. I should have gotten the 20# bag. They're going fast.

Last year I discovered The Aprium--that's 60% apricot and 40% plum. (As opposed to the plumcot, which is 50/50 and the pluot which is 60% plum--as far as I know.) Saturday morning at the Berkeley Farmers' market I bought something I've never seen before: the vendor was calling it a nectaplum. I don't know what the percentage of nectarine to plum is but it was delicious. I grew up thinking the nectarine was a cross between a peach and a plum, but according to Wiki, that's not true. The nectarine is some adaptation of a fuzzless peach. They don't taste like peaches to me, though.

http://www.willsavocados.com/index.php/avocado-varieties Here's another site describing varieties. Will's sells avocados at the Berkeley Farmers Market and other Bay Area venues. For a couple of weeks they had an avocado called a Gillogly, which I had never seen before. It is large, with a very long gourd-like neck. It's fabulous, so if you see one grab it. Here's some info: http://avocadotrees.com/discover.htm Will's classifies avocados as Mexican and Guatemalan styles. The Mexican style is less fatty, and includes the Fuerte, Bacon and Zutano. The Fuertes has always seemed watery to me, but maybe I've never had a good one. The Bacon avocados have good flavor, but they aren't creamy and wouldn't work well for guac, I shouldn't think. I've never seen a Zutano. What they classify as Guatemalan style are the higher fat avocados such as Hass, Gwen, Reed and Pinkerton. I especially love the Gwens, but they are all great.

What can we call this? Last night we made a cocktail of 2 parts gin, 1 part Bonal Gentiane, and a dash of rhubarb bitters. It was delicious. I totally love Bonal. Basically I was trying to make a Martinez, but we don't have maraschino anything. I subbed the rhubarb for angostura, since it's pretty sweet, tastes like cherries to me, and I can't figure out what to do with it anyway. So gimme a name for my drink if it isn't a Martinez.

Steven, you make a great case for simply cutting back on animal protein--at least to start with. Maybe eating it only two or three times a week, max? If a vegetarian diet can make a person feel healthier, as your friends say, then it stands to reason that eating mostly veg will make you feel mostly better. Fewer critters will die to grace your table, and being choosy about sources can at least go some distance toward a more environmentally friendly diet. Your body might adjust over time and start to like it. Cold turkey may not be the best way to change a diet that your body is used to. For me, having strict rules just promotes anxiety. Sometimes I find that just knowing I'm allowed to eat something is enough to make me not crave it.

Steven, I would echo Simon. In your original post you identified health, ethical and environmental reasons as all contributing to your desire to try eating a veg diet, and you promised to elaborate, so I would like to know more about what is compelling you to do something that your body seems to be resisting. For me, I find that cravings for various foods can say a lot about those foods and a lot about what your body really needs. I had to give up certain foods/drinks for a number of years, and discovered that I tolerated and grew not to miss some of them, but others I desperately desired. For instance: chocolate, coffee, red wine, citrus, tomatoes. I discovered that my desire for chocolate and red wine lessened as time went by, but my desire for tomatoes and sour fruits simply skyrocketed, to the point that I would look at my husband's pyramid of grapefruits and burst into tears. I was a vegetarian for a number of years, but when I hit menopause my body clearly wasn't happy with that, and I started eating modest amounts of beef, chicken and fish. When it comes to animal protein I have mostly environmental concerns, and ethical to a certain degree. But I find that my general feeling of health decreases with long periods of no animal protein. When it comes to health, I have definite proof in my cholesterol numbers that eating foods high in animal fat like ice cream, cheese, fatty meats etc have a negative impact. I understand that just as consuming less salt lowers blood pressure in some individuals and not for others, I know there are genetic factors that affect cholesterol levels. That could easily be true when it comes to eating meat and fish. Some of us may need those types of protein more than others. The only way I am comfortable with this is to acknowledge my own health needs, and try to eat environmentally sustainable foods. I'm of the camp that believes animals feel pain (and that includes lobsters) so I know that there are ethical issues which I must sacrifice for health ones. If I were like my two brothers in law, who both eat a strict veg diet which includes mountains of dairy fat and tofu, I might be happy eating no meat, but frankly that doesn't seem like a sensible idea, given my particular issues.

The weather or season is usually not right for this breakfast, so when there is a cold-spell here in July or August (last week) I jump at the chance to have this treat: steel cut oats with a fresh ripe peach as a topper. The last half of the bowl is best: by that time the remaining peaches have settled in and become warm and melty. Nice with plums or pluots, too.

Spoiled, I am. My husband is getting better and better at cocktails, so if I am alone I'm likely to drink something straight up. Like rye, these days. If the weather is really hot I might pour Martini & Rossi Red over ice; it reminds me of my week in Venice.

I always think of green tomatoes as a late fall harvest, when there are still unripe fruits on the vine, but the weather is threatening a frost and you want to salvage them. Faced with that problem, you need to come up with inventive ways of cooking them, since they aren't worth much raw. Hence fried, pickled, green tomato pie, etc. At least that's when we ate green tomatoes when I lived on a farm. But I suppose if you love fried green tomatoes there's no reason not to pick them that way on purpose.

Not the liquor store, in fact Trader Joe's. Bulleit Bourbon! $19.99 a bottle. That's good, right?

Clearly the signs are legion. Many of the above can be a tip-off. For me it's when I look in the refrigerator door and see either or both of these: a row of commercial bottled salad dressings and/or a plastic lemon squeezy.

Okay, day six. By the time we finished breakfast (toast and marmalade as usual) it was late morning, so today was clearly shaping up as a linner day. Around 1pm I was staring at a picture in the SF Chron food section of a peach with caramel sauce, so I had exactly that for a snack, with a little salt sprinkled on. Excellent. By the time we got a meal together it was almost 5pm. We had more burrata (I bought two of them, and splitting one works well per meal) and one of my favorite grain salads: bulgur wheat, blanched chopped swiss chard, chopped olives, a little tomato if we have some, shallots, parsley and cilantro, garnished with toasted pine nuts. Dressing is simply lemon and a little olive oil. I've determined that what I don't like about most deli grain salads is that there is often too much dressing; that ends up being wet and usually too vinegary. Less is better, for me. Great with the burrata on the side. My husband also finished up what remained of the babaganouj and we had a fresh baguette as well. I suspect he has in mind a late mint julep (what else can be done with a pint of mint simple syrup?) and a bowl of popcorn. What's the takeaway for me? I'm thinking four or five days is about my comfort level for a vegetarian diet; I'm happy enough, but after that my body wants a real hit of animal protein. Tomorrow I have plans to make red beans 'n' rice, but I can't see making it without the ham stock that's calling to me from the freezer. So, legitimately I can't claim to have eaten strictly veg for a week, but I can claim not have had any actual chunks of meat or fish. It's hard for me to imagine life without chicken stock, at least. When it comes to food, I'm very much in favor of moderation in all things. On Tuesday two of my favorite 20-somethings are coming over for dinner and I'm working up an appetite for grilled shrimp. Two more appreciative guests I've never encountered; they eat a ton and they appear to like just about everything that walks or grows. I like a challenge cooking for picky eaters or people with food issues, but these omnivores are a kick to cook for.

The funniest part of this whole experiment is that my husband hasn't noticed yet. Typically we go two or three days without animal protein at dinner, but this is day five. Our lunches are often haphazard, so he's had a couple of turkey sandwiches, but hasn't said a word about the fact that dinners have been strictly veg. Lunch today for me was leftovers from the fridge: green beans and babaganouj with crackers. Dinner was a nostalgia casserole of rice, zucchini, tomato with fresh basil and Mexican oregano, and a very modest amount of cheese mixed in; a holdover from seventies cooking. On the side was some delicious burrata, a fennel and radish salad, and a taste of pickled mustard greens which I made from a recipe my brother uses for his homegrown greens. A bit strange all together, but no one could say it wasn't healthy.

I would expect that a vegan diet is lacking the mouthfeel of fats, but most vegetarians I know eat plenty of omelets, brie, ice cream and chocolate. Dairy and eggs is a way of getting protein on a vegetarian diet. Although most whole grains and legumes have some protein, vegans need to work hard to find sources of protein beyond tofu. And, among many of the people I know who are past 50 and who have been strict vegetarians, many are now eating fish and chicken, because they just find their bodies need it. As for very little cooking, one of my all-time favorites is uncooked tomatoes on pasta. If you cut them up and add salt and basil and let it sit for half an hour, then dump it with added butter or olive oil onto a plate of hot pasta, sprinkle with some pecorino or whatever, it's awfully satisfying. Of course the tomatoes have to be great to begin with, or it's ho-hum.

Steven I admire your ambition--and your ability to keep the ingredients straight for three types of legumes and three pots at one time. Your omelet looks yummy. I've been thinking I should probably get more protein, since most of my veg meals have had little cheese, and no eggs. Being a dedicated vegetarian would be very hard for me, since cholesterol is something I have to limit. Some of my husband's family are diehard vegetarians and they eat mountains of cheesy entrees. I have to admit, I am starting to look forward to some shrimp in a couple of days. Today's lunch was an avocado salad with red onions and a peach smoothie. This evening we made mint juleps for the first time. Really tasty, but they made me wish I had some cheese straws to go with. That bottle of Bulleit Bourbon is disappearing quickly. The rest of the meal was sort of southern too, but only if you mean southern Europe. As you noted Greek and middle eastern food lends itself to a vegetarian diet. I grilled eggplants on the barbie and made Baba Ghanouj. I love it when it's still warm. Along with that we devoured most of a baguette, Greek salads and some surprisingly flavorful blue lake beans from the farmers' market, dressed only with a squeeze of lemon, olive oil and salt. My husband is chowing down on the leftover rice pudding, but I'm too full.

This was one of those disorganized days in which I can't really figure out how to make lunch and dinner, so we have linner. Linner happens usually somewhere between 3 and 4. We might have a late cocktail hour and/or a snack or dessert later, it's rarely planned. Today there was a snack around 1pm: smoothies, made from peaches, sorbet, a little bit of vanilla ice cream, and milk. Excellent, and very peachy. I've been craving rice pudding, so I made some of that. Linner was one of my stand-by summer salads: french fingerlings, snap peas and radishes with a creamy mustardy curry dressing, served warm. It was accompanied by a very simple avocado salad, with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and some fine shreds of red baby onion. Also there were crackers and my new favorite cheese, something labeled Pecorino Classico, and which makes lovely thin curls and can also be used as a grating cheese. Surprisingly unsalty. The rice pudding is chilling, so I am guessing there will a late-night snack. And since my husband recently went on a business trip to Louisville and came back with a new-found fascination with bourbon, a shot of that may be called for as well. I'm still on a Bulleit rye kick, but now Bulleit bourbon is challenging it to a duel. Not at dawn, in case you were wondering.

Cut and run. Maybe it was just a lousy recipe. Wouldn't be the first one.

Let me be the first to admit (in this thread, anyway) that zucchini bores me to tears. However, I feel it's my duty to eat it every so often. In my gardening days I learned after the first year never to plant any of it because it pops up anyway, regardless of intent. I do love the blossoms, although I've never been that successful frying them myself. My favorite way to eat zucchini is to make pancakes. In season I add fresh corn. A generous amount of grated zukes, a little flour and minced herbs, some egg, scallion, etc. There are scads of recipes out there. They lend themselves to dress-up, and are equally good with a dollop of dairy based or tomato based stuff. Best if you grate the zucchini and salt it, let it drain, then squeeze it out before mixing into the batter. I prefer them very vegetal, and not too eggy and they don't need much more than a thin film of oil or butter to get a little crispy. You can use up a LOT of zukes this way.

Tuscan and the ubiquitous curly kale I prefer to use in soups; you can throw in the raw leaves and they cook in 20 minutes or less. Tuscan--and I assume that's the same as Cavolo Nero or Black Kale--is more delicate, so doesn't need quite so much time, I don't think. The only kale I like for a braise or quick saute is baby Russian kale, but it isn't easy to come by. For lunch we had sandwiches and slaw. A cabbage in the fridge had seen better days, but a spicy dressing hides a multitude of sins. The slaw was unusual, but very good. I used about 50/50 mayo and Fage, and added a big dollop of left-over chile salsa, plus some minced dill pickle and celery seeds. It sounds a bit weird, but it was addictive. My sandwich was cheese and pickle, once again. Okay, enough pickles already. I'm having a gin and tonic now with some TJ's blistered peanuts. Dinner will be simple: a quinoa and corn melange, with roasted green chiles. The corn is from yesterday's market, just sauteed with onions in butter, then mixed with the cooked quinoa, with chile and cilantro folded in. On the side we are having Greek salads with none of the fixings; in other words just cukes and tomatoes, olive oil, squeeze of lemon, since we have no olives or feta.