Katie Meadow

I am a major fan of steel cut oats for breakfast. So far I have not found a successful way of cooking them ahead or overnight. I don't own any kind of timed cooker. The size of the cut has a lot to do with how fast the oats cook. My favorite for both flavor and cooking time is Pinhead steel-cut oats from Scotland in the plaid can. McCann's Irish oats are good, but I think they take longer to cook. So do Bob's Red Mill take longer, despite the fact that the package says 10 minutes! I like my oats to have a bit of a bite, but they shouldn't be a struggle to chew. Pinhead oats take about 20-25 min from the time the oats go into the simmering water, and then another couple of minutes just sitting with the top on and the flame off. McCann's takes 40 to 45 minutes and Bob's takes the same, and both seem to need more water to go the distance. After 35 minutes I thought Bob's were awfully chewy and hard to eat; so far the only Bob's grain I don't love. My second favorite is the bulk steel cut oats from the place we do most of our shopping. Not quite as delicious as Pinhead, but they cook in about the same time and are a lot cheaper. I cook my oats with salt at a simmer, uncovered. For the Pinhead and bulk oats I find that The first 10 or 15 minutes don't require any attention. After that, you do have to be in the kitchen to stir. What works for me is 3 c water to a generous 2/3 c oats to make two portions. If you can busy yourself in the kitchen making coffee or getting other breakfast stuff ready or making bag lunches or whatever for the final half of the cooking time, it isn't really a lot of fussing. I like them toasted too, but I find that the Pinhead oats don't actually need the boost, they are so tasty. Perhaps I should try toasting the bulk oats. I used to use regular long-cooking flaked or rolled oats, and I always toasted those. The toasting really improves the flavor and can be done in bulk ahead, and then the cooking time is very fast, compared to steel-cut oats. Not in the same league, but a lot better than Quaker instant, that's for sure.

There's nothing creepier than having a critter fly out of your jar of flour (except having mice, of course.) Before my husband started baking bread regularly that was a problem. If you are looking for modest amounts of various types of grain, try Bob's Red Mill. The packages are manageable and the flours are high quality and seem very fresh. I especially like their cornmeal, semolina and buckwheat; I assume they sell whole wheat. We used to buy a lot of flour in bulk, as Isabel suggests, but I have not found it to be as fresh as King Arthur or Bob's. Truthfully, unless you know it has been recently ground and that you are buying from a source with high turnover, it is more likely to go rancid or buggy. Some bulk flours just seem dusty to me.

This is a wealth of information. I've never heard of many of these chocolates, and now I will keep my eye out for some of them. The Askinosie website is so cute it makes my teeth hurt. Amazing! Apparently they claim to be the only people in America who make a chocolate hazelnut spread from scratch. Now there's an idea for a great gift for several Nutella fans I know and love. My husband would save his judiciously for certain morning toast and my favorite twenty-something (besides my daughter) would probably go through the whole jar in less than 24 hours.

What does that mean, "worst?" Worst tasting or most unhealthy? The other day I ate some Kettle sweet onion potato chips. For dinner. They were absolutely delicious, but definitely the least nutritious thing I ate that day, except perhaps for the glass of Old Overholt that I drank with them. Rye is a whole grain, right? All in all a very good meal. But if my doctor asked me what I ate for dinner I would probably not confess. The worst tasting thing I put in my mouth and chew on a regular basis is assorted berry flavored Tums. There's only so many pills a person can stand to swallow. Now those are disgusting.

I was trying to be tactful, but I would have to agree that Reese's pb cups are some of the least tempting commercial candy bars, and I pass them up in favor of nothing. But I also agree with Chris, that the quality of both parts is all of a piece, and the pasty sweet pb and plasticky milk chocolate probably suit each other. Perhaps a high-end product would be a waste of resources. That said I've never even seen an artisanal pb cup. Maybe there's a good reason for that.

Okay, there is so much adoration at the altar of Reese's among eGers. Am I missing something? I do like the combo of peanut butter and chocolate. For instance I can really appreciate a sandwich of homemade bread with good crunchy PB and a smear of Nutella. Especially when hiking. But. I also don't like Jiff or Skippy any more, although I grew up on them. I like natural peanut butter without the added corn syrup. And I don't care for milk chocolate either. Why hasn't anyone made a treat that combines high quality PB with high quality dark chocolate? Or have they and I just need an introduction? With the numbers of people who are sentimental about Reese's and the numbers of people who prefer better chocolate, this would seem to be a no-brainer.

There are more than enough threads about ubiquitous, easily available chocolate candy, whether milk or dark, and we've all eaten all of the usual suspects at some time or other. We all have our "favorites" but to me, discussing the best drug store chocolate is like asking which one is the least awful. Yes, dark chocolate M&Ms are a little better than the regular milk chocolate ones, and if I am stuck at the airport I'm thrilled to find them. They're still nothing to write home about. What about your favorite artisanal or high quality chocolates? My only criteria here is that it be something you really like eating straight, and not just for baking--bars, not filled chocolates. Right now, for my money (okay, you have to assume that good chocolate doesn't come cheap) my favorite bar is Michel Cluizel Noir au Grue de Cacao: that's dark chocolate with cocoa nibs, 60% cocoa. I'm also very fond of the Belgian brand Neuhaus, but that's harder to come by. Although I would never turn down dark or bittersweet chocolate up to about 85% cocoa, I prefer something between 60 and 70%. What do you love?

Speaking of Asian style soups, the other day I made a Chinatown run for fresh pot-sticker skins and thin egg noodles. On a whim I bought a half of a roast duck, chopped. It comes with a little container of some kind of dark soy/duck juice thing that is always useful for something. At home I picked off most of the meat and set it aside (of course I ate one of the crispy skin legs right away.) Then I threw all the skin and bones into a pot with a little lemon grass and a modest amount of water and simmered it for close to two hours. After separating out most of the fat, voila, duck soup--about three good portions, mild but pure tasting. I cooked the thin wheat noodles separately and then poured the broth over them, adding a few tsps of the salty juice from the little container (which maybe I could have added at the beginning), tossed in some shredded duck and sprinkled on some scallions. Not bad for very little effort--that is, for not prepping and roasting a duck myself. Next time, if I wanted to dress it up a bit, I would buy a whole roasted duck, and save out the best, least fatty parts before adding the rest of the bones, etc. Then I would add back those pieces to the finished bowls. There's just something about the flavor of duck broth.

This is pretty much my perception of crockpot cookery. Or crackpot crockery, which is even harder to say. However, in cleaning out my kitchen this weekend I discovered that I owned one. It is so endearingly 70's I'm going to see if there is any reason to hang on to it. I don't even remember when or why we acquired it, but it has that nostalgic beige/orange/brown color scheme, and the simplest of controls: off, high and low. The only indication of maker is "Rival." Forgive me if I am repeating much or any of this thread; I don't have the heart to read 12 pages. I stopped reading after the above on the first page. What should I do with this sucker? Most all of the stews or braises or beans I eat are happily made in one or another cast iron enamel job. Most entail rendering or searing or browning of meat, onion, garlic, whatever, and so I can just use one pot for everything and lose no flavor. I'm not looking for a major change in lifestyle; I love my pots and I love my Viking stove. I'm just trying to figure out if there is a good reason to experiment with the crock-pot or if I should just give it away to my daughter or my nephew, if either of them wants it. One thing I do remember from my years in New Mexico in the 60's and 70's is that most everyone who made posole (including people who grew up there) used a crockpot. The red chile sauce was made separately and added at some point, and the pork was also added at some point, although I don't know if it was seared first. It made sense, since posole can take hours to become popped and tender. The way I make posole now, I could see using the crockpot for the first few hours of cooking if it saved substantially on energy. Now I just cook it in two stages on the stove. What about duck confit? I've never made it, but I'm curious. Since the crisping of the skin takes place in the half hour before serving and the initial slow-cooking is basically just a poaching in fat, would this crockpot be useful? How slowly should the duck be cooked in the fat? Should you see bubbles? If anyone out there uses a crockpot for duck confit I would be interested to hear your technique. Thanks!

Planning out the week's menus (more or less) provides the following advantages for us: it pretty much guarantees that my husband does the bulk of the shopping, which means the Berkeley Bowl run. This saves us money and wastes a minimum of food. And it usually means that I don't have to fret about what to eat for dinner; there are some options and all ingredients necessary. Meals with fish always happen on shopping day, and generally chicken or beef meals happen within the first two or three days of the week. I figure in leftovers and repurposed meals, and vegetarian or mostly veg meals happen later in the week, which usually includes a pot of beans. If there are ingredients that are okay languishing in the fridge I sometimes change things around. We often have a "kitchen sink" night at the end of the week to use up odds and ends. Nothing is written in stone, so if I miscalculate or just can't abide cooking for some reason, we treat ourselves to dinner out, but that doesn't happen very often; we are pretty frugal. Once in a while I get inspired and shop midweek for a few things that either don't keep or can't be had from the farmers' market or Berkeley Bowl. We have good friends, a couple, who alternate every week. Week one he plans the menu, does all the shopping and cooks all the meals; week two, she does it all. That's great if both partners are adequate cooks with flexible schedules and neither of them has anything close to a panic attack at the prospect of going to Berkeley Bowl. I can survive it, but shopping in Chinatown is more my speed.

Here are my criteria for purchasing Halloween candy: It has to be something kids like (no granola bars, lifesavers, peppermints, fruit roll-ups, raisin boxes or apples). It has to be professionally wrapped and sealed so parents don't worry their kids are going to get poisoned (other than by the normal toxicity of drug-store candy bars). It has to be relatively cheap, like 2 packs for price of one, or coupon-friendly (spending money on mediocre or worse candy is painful). There has to be a certain percentage my husband likes so he won't be disappointed (butterfingers or baby ruth or Kit Kats). It has to ALL be stuff that I don't like; that isn't too hard because the only commercial candy that really tempts me is M & M's or sour skittles. It can't be too pathetic, because if any is leftover you don't want to be embarrassed taking it to work. And finally it has be mostly chocolate, so that the parents will have something worth stealing and the kids will have to learn to be clever about hiding it. Learning to hide candy is an important skill for everyone involved in Halloween, whether before or after the event.

No one in my household has EVER cooked besides me. In fairness, my husband bakes great bread and various types of pie crusts, but doesn't mess with protein or vegetables as a rule. There's nothing he won't eat (I'm the picky one) and he has a hollow leg, plus he thinks using the gas to heat the house is a waste of energy. So my goal when alone is to light the stove as infrequently as possible, usually only for coffee or tea in the morning, and to raise the general house temperature and shed the sweaters. I eat leftover beans and rice, tuna salad on crackers and lots of cucumbers, celery, fennel and fruit or whatever is left in the fridge or freezer when he leaves. I plan some meals out with friends, and sometimes dinner is just a nice warm bowl of popcorn. Or I skip dinner entirely and go straight to my favorite late snack: a glass of scotch and a chunk of dark chocolate. Instead of spending time shopping or cooking I have a "paint the dining room vacation," or some other room. No arguments about color or waste of paint, and I get the added benefit of seeing someone really REALLY surprised. He either always forgets it's what I do, or just never believes I would do it again. Very satisfying. And after a few days of that, I hand him a long shopping list and I'm good to cook again.

Given a choice, I prefer apple pie over cake, but if my husband is unavailable for crust-making and I'm on my own, I like the Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze from Peacock & Lewis' Gift of Southern Cooking. It's simple to make, doesn't require a big mixer, and is a little bit gooey; sort of a cross between a tarte tatin and a caramel apple. Only it's a cake. Okay, tarte tatin is a bit of a stretch. And if there are kids around, poking wells in this cake and trying to drizzle the glaze down the holes is a party all by itself. Good warm with ice cream, just as good the next day straight from the fridge. I have cut back on the sugars to make it less sweet. Uses five fresh apples.

The only way I know to make satisfactory toasted cheese is to toast the bread first in the toaster, then put the cheese on and slip it under the broiler til melted. The cheese melts very fast, so the bread remains crispy. A little film of butter on the toasted bread before melting the cheese can't hurt. I have no experience with toaster ovens, but unless you toasted the bread as a first step, wouldn't you just have warm bread with melted cheese? For a perfect marriage to tomato soup I'd have to go with grilled cheese done in a cast iron skillet.

I can only speak for beans, since there are plenty of good local sources for grains, dried fruits and nuts. The type of bean you want, the freshness factor, the price per pound and shipping costs all figure into what determines an on-line buy, doesn't it? Some types of beans are hard to come by or unusual. For me, that's where Rancho Gordo comes in. The beans are always super fresh, and if you order several pounds the $8 flat shipping rate is a good deal. The beans are not cheap; if I wanted to buy pinto beans I probably would look elsewhere, but uncommon varieties such as Good Mother Stallard and Rebosero and other occasional beans have been worth the extravagance. I know enough now to order at least 2 bottles of RG's Mexican Oregano with every order. Purcell has about the largest selection of beans I've ever encountered, and they have a fair number of organic beans as well, if that's important to you. Most of their beans are a little less pricey per pound than RG, but their shipping costs can really add up. For a while they were my only source for rattlesnake beans (now I have no source.) Purcell's organic dark red kidney beans are the best; fantastic for Red Beans 'n' Rice. Their beans seem very fresh and are as clean as RG's. Barry Farms is new to me, so I went on line to check them out. The bean varieties seem to vary in price more than other suppliers. The more common beans like pintos are under $3 per pound, which is pretty good for mail order I think, although if you live in an area with some good Mexican markets the bulk pintos have a high turnover and are a better deal than mail order. I didn't get far enough to figure out Barry's shipping costs, but if other bean freaks on eG like their beans, I would assume the stock is fresh. After all, with RG and Purcell, the bar is set pretty high.

Scotch on the rocks or just rye, neat. Martinis and muddled drinks were invented after God invented the playdate where both parents stay; that way there's always one person to mess with the drinks and one to keep the kids away from the computer cables.

In New Mexico, where I cut my southwestern teeth, what you made would be more traditional than the Taco Bell-like contraption you describe. In fact, that standard American taco with ground beef, yellow cheese, limp lettuce and ersatz salsa was rarely served anywhere in New Mexico EXCEPT Taco Bell. We pretty much called anything wrapped up in a flour tortilla a burrito. Basically what you made is a chicken burrito with no rice, just beans, with your own version of a red chile sauce (as opposed to a chile verde.) When I think of a traditional taco, it can be soft and warm or fried and crispy, but it's always made with a corn tortilla. And rather than ground beef, it would be some type of deeply flavored long-cooked shredded or chunked pork, or grilled beef.

Those years when I worked full time AND had a smallish kid at home are a blur, actually, and I can't really imagine our meals were super exciting. I am sure there were plenty of leftovers, such as lasagne or mac and cheese or other casseroles made over the weekend. There was a lot of red sauce made and frozen in pint containers for pasta, and there were a lot of green salads rather than cooked veggies. The most versatile meal was burritos. That used up leftover meats of various kinds and beans. I discovered that leftover rice keeps really poorly in the fridge if it is unsauced, but is passably useful the next day if put away with a small amount of sauce mixed into it. If you have a source of good tortillas on hand (shame on me, I never made my own, but Trader Joe's "homemade" ones are not bad) and a variety of potential fillings it allows small kids to play with their food and everyone to customize. Chicken breasts cut into thinnish fillets saute quickly in butter and make tender shreds if you have no leftover roasted or grilled chicken. Fresh fish or shrimp can be sauteed in a few minutes and make great burritos with a cabbage slaw and plain white rice (Maybe it's just me, but I never liked seafood and beans together.) My husband and daughter preferred to load on the condiments: cheese of various kinds, avocado, crema or an approximation, salsas of different types, shredded romaine, whatever. Fresh salsa is pretty easy to whip up, and keeps for a few days, with or without a hot element, and Tapatio is always an excellent back-up. Those picky eaters can simply omit the vegetables or whatever. And I discovered that if I wrapped my daughter's burrito half-way up in foil, she found it more attractive and much easier to manage when younger. And burritos can usually be put together in the time it takes to cook fresh rice and quick-saute the protein source--20-25 minutes. Since we don't buy bacon very often, everyone was thrilled to have BLT's for dinner once in a blue moon.

The cure may depend upon the reasons for your non-inspiration. Mine always has to do with the fact that since I cook just about every night (only for two now, which is actually less inspiring than cooking for three) I just get sick of it and need a break. My solution is to cook large pots of very easy things (to create meals of left-overs) and supplement them with raw vegetables, coleslaws, tuna melts, popcorn and, when totally desperate, cold cereal (usually lunch, not dinner, unless I happen to be alone.) I make a big pot of beans, a simple mac and cheese, etc; whatever I can do in my sleep, essentially, and lay in a good supply of stuff for sandwiches, cucumbers, radishes, carrots and fruit that needs nothing more than washing, peeling and salting. After about a week of this I am rested and ready to contemplate cooking interesting food again.

Chris, I have no idea. It's one part of the original recipe I never messed with. It kind of disappears, but I think it lends body to the chili. Not particularly relevant, but the only other recipe I have that calls for shredded carrot in a sauce is a Mario Batali recipe for a simple quick vegetarian tomato sauce for pasta.

The recipe below is family recipe that has been tweaked by a variety of family members for years. Most of my husband's family were strict vegetarians for many years, and this was a staple for big get-togethers. This is a good time of year to make it, since there is still corn around and you could sub fresh tomatoes for the canned. It's very forgiving and could be changed in an infinite variety of ways. VEGETARIAN CHILI Approx. 2 T butter or oil if you prefer 1 large onion, minced 2 green peppers, or 1 green and 1 red 4-6 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp Mexican oregano, 1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. thyme, 1-2 T chili powder 1 large can Italian style tomatoes (1 lb. 12 oz), roughly blended with their juice 2-3 oz. tomato paste 2-3 ribs celery, diced 2-3 carrots, shredded with the cuisinart fine disc 2-3 ears of corn, cut from the cobb raw 2- 4 cups cooked black beans handful chopped fresh cilantro salt to taste Garnish each portion with a squirt of lime juice, finely shredded napa cabbage, avocado, fresh green chiles or salsa, sour cream, grated cheese or lime cream: combine lime zest and lime juice with sour cream. Let mellow in fridge at least an hour. To make the chili: Heat half the butter in heavy bottomed pot. Add onions, saute a few minutes. Add garlic, saute a minute more. Then add peppers, saute til softened, about 10 min over a med-low flame. Add dry spices, saute a few min more, adding more butter as necessary. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, plus 1-2 cups water, depending on how soupy you like it. Bring to a simmer, cover, cook 5 min. Add celery, simmer another 5 min. Add shredded carrots, and simmer covered 25 min. Add corn, beans and cilantro and continue cooking another 5-10 min. (The shorter time if corn is really small and tender. Add salt, serve. For more heat and a different flavor: add with the tomatoes canned chipotles in adobo sauce to taste.

Yes, this post is depressing, and a little naive. The numbers of people who suffer from a wide variety of illnesses that are affected by foods is huge. Having a food allergy runs the gamut from annoying to life threatening. Being allergic to one or two foods may seem like a picnic to those people who have to give up one or more whole categories of foods. I would venture that there are many of us here on eG who have one of the following conditions and don't post about it beause it's too personal or they don't want to gross anyone out: IBS, IBD, GERD, Lactose intolerance, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac, Crohns, Candida, Interstitial Cystitis, Sjogrens, diabetes, pancreatitis and kidney disease. And I'm sure there are plenty more, I just can't think of them or haven't heard about them yet. The people who suffer from any conditions affected by food or drink are just as likely to love cooking and eating as those lucky enough to have no food-related issues. In fact, there is every reason to believe that many eGers are here because they can find fresh ideas for foods they can actually eat. I'm sorry if I seem preachy and don't at all mean to minimize anyone's deprivation.

Doesn't Paul Newman drink an egg beer for breakfast in "The Verdict?"

Thanx, I'll watch for rattlers on the Marx Foods site. Surprisingly Marx has never come up on any search I've made for dried beans.

Whatever can't be had from RG I order from Purcell Mountain Farms. Purcell is my go-to source for dark red kidney beans--they are excellent quality, seem very fresh. They used to regularly stock the rattlesnake beans that I adore, but have been out of them for over a year now. The only place I've found that still carries rattlers is Urban Herbs; not as fresh as RG or Purcell beans, but better than no rattlers at all. If anyone knows another source for rattlesnake beans, don't keep it a secret, please. I've pestered RG about them several times, but no luck! Are they an endangered species, Steve? Get the Hidalgo granny interested in saving them too. Meanwhile tell her the Reboseros are delicious, and to keep 'em coming.