Katie Meadow

Coleman's plus hot water plus a small amount of vinegar = home made Chinese-American mustard. Or something like that. No idea why I tried to make it a zillion years ago, but that's what I remember. Replace your Coleman's every year. The way to use it up is to make a nice Italian mostarda. That would be various fruits preserved in a bath that includes LOTS of powdered mustard and LOTS of sugar, among other things.

The illustrations by Eugenie Wireman are just fantastic!

I don't remember ever being served ketchup as a sub for duck sauce. Duck sauce involves vinegar, soy sauce, apricot or other fruit jam and maybe garlic and ginger or something that approximates that combo. It was sweet, but not tomato-like. As for books the two I relied on when just learning to use my wok living in SF about 40 years ago,were Regional Cooking of China by Margaret Gin and Henry Chung's Hunan Style Chinese Cookbook. Those were the days when the original hole-in-the-wall Hunan Restaurant had just opened in Chinatown. I don't think there was much more than a counter fo

I haven't thought about that little dish of hot mustard in years. But during the 50's and early 60's in NY it was really common to be served egg rolls with duck sauce and mustard. I used to mix the two. It was good! Those were the days of sizzling rice soup. Shrimp with lobster sauce. Clams with black bean sauce. Orange chicken. That would be a typical Sunday night family dinner out. And xmas day. It was more American to me than hamburgers and fries.

Agreed, it's really beautiful. I like lemon meringue if the lemon layer is nice and tart.

Cleaver accident. Her expression is a bit disturbing too. She definitely knows something we don't.

Those look fantastic.

I used to do it without a problem, but the older I get the more squeamish I get about handling raw protein, whether shrimp, chicken or fish. I would prefer not to.

Deveining shrimp is my least favorite chore. Thankfully my husband is willing to do it now. I've tried the toothpickie thingie to abject failure. I just make a slit the depth of the vein and then remove the vein, so the shrimp is virtually whole. In recipes that require the shell on, most suggest cutting the shell with a scissors along the line of the vein, then doing what I do and keeping the shell almost intact. I have no idea if said husband would be willing to fuss with that, so I typically don't make dishes that require the shell on. Too bad, because I adore tearing into messy Salt and P

Hear my confession. I have never once in my 73 years sat through a complete football game. The times anyone has tried to explain the rules they come out just as the went in, undigested. Even though I suspect the rules are fairly simple. It's a dangerous game and the outfits are, frankly, very weird. I have been to a Superbowl party once, against my better instincts, but spent most of it in the kitchen. I have never considered what to eat during a Super Bowl. The food usually sounds awful. My husband and I used to go a movie during the game. Never crowded and always a feeling of camaraderie amo

@Smithy, my favorite treatment for cauliflower is similar to what you made, in a curry, with potatoes or just by itself, served with a refreshing raita and a mango pickle. But I do have an emergency recipe for when I literally have nothing in the fridge but a lonely cauliflower. The only other ingredients are spaghetti or some other pasta shape, and a couple of cups of marinara sauce. I make mine and freeze it by the pint, but emergency implies alternatives, so your preferred store bought would work. Mine is meatless, so this qualifies as a vegetarian meal, or a side. Works for two as a main,

That was a fascinating article. I saw it yesterday in the Wed Food section. Visiting Portland OR during an unusually cold and snowy week a few years ago I drank a lot of Hot Applejack cocktails at a restaurant we went to a few times. Now I always have it around. I make a very nice apple cake that calls for either Applejack or apple brandy. Local applejack is something I will pay attention to next time I am in Asheville NC. Damn this f-ing virus. My daughter is pregnant with twins in Atlanta so I'm hoping to make a southern trip in June. Who knows what will be going on then. I need

I'm pretty sure most all my friends, if I still have them, don't wear shoes over bare feet. Everyone I know wears socks, so I don't feel bad asking them to take off their shoes. Wow, it's been a while. And people don't live in flip-flops like they do in really warm climates. Although now that I think about it, when and if we can ever have guests maybe I'll provide a basket of clean socks just in case. After our dog died and our daughter left home we carpeted the entire upstairs with beautiful New Zealand wool. After that I became pretty serious about the indoor shoes only thing, or

@JoNorvelleWalkerI knew you were awake!

@Franciyou make me laugh. In my house if I made gnocchi and someone didn't want to eat it one of two things would happen. If it was my kid II would tell her to make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich . If it was my husband I would tell him to go his room and stay there.

Several years ago, while shoeless in the kitchen, my husband backed into me, stepped on my foot and broke my toe. Yes, it could have happened somewhere besides the kitchen, but the stove, sink and dish washer are all spaces from which people back up before turning around. So from that day on I decided I needed to wear in-house-only shoes, especially when in the kitchen. So there you go, another broken toe story. And then there's this. What if you are barefoot and someone shatters a glass on the floor? If you manage to make it out unscathed after the event, the next day you could e

I'm not much of a baker, so if I wanted to learn a particular type of crust I would start with Julia Child's recipe. My husband does most all the baking in our house. Mostly he bakes bread, but when challenged to make pie he started with Julia Child's pate brisee. I assume her recipe for pate sablee is easy to find. Oh, and welcome.

Maybe contact David Lebovitz? He probably knows someone who knows someone who knows the recipe. Or if he himself eats the stuff he could probably come close to naming the ingredients and even ratios.

I lived among a loose farm collective for a year during the late sixties. Rabbit was occasionally on the menu; I can't remembered if we raised them or shot them. I don't remember any of the group being a particularly memorable cook, but I suspect the rabbit was grilled outdoors. I do remember that rabbit kidneys were generally agreed to be a special treat. I wouldn't be tempted to eat them now. But way back when on a hippie farm....yep. We also had a cow and made our own butter. Maybe the kidneys were pan fried in home churned butter. Okay, I haven't thought about that in a long long time. Ra

Awful news. I'm having a hard time believing it.

Jello has legs.

You're the expert!

For @Kim Shook and others who are fond of saltines, I've just discovered a saltine-like cracker that ups the ante: It is Westminster Bakers Square Hearty Crackers. Apparently the brand is an old New England Company. They are a sort of like a saltine and an oyster cracker had a baby. I can't explain it, but I love them. Of course ordering from Amazon I somehow was in denial about the price and didn't realize when I started to re-order how ridiculous the mark-up is. It doesn't matter, because they are out of stock a week after my first order. I'm sure that this brand can easily be fo

Found this recently at my favorite Japanese/Asian market. Tokyo Market is up in north Berkeley and has the freshest fish ever, and a huge selection; it's a shlep, so we don't shop there routinely. This rice is very good! Shorter grain that my usual Kokuho Rose Sushi rice, and a bit more of a bite if the ratio of rice to water is the same, no? Last night we cooked the rice for a hybrid Cajun/Asian shrimp dish, and tonight I'm going to do a simple veg stir fry with cabbage, chinese chives, kohlrabi, choi sum and egg. Fun having a new rice!

Ideas for a crazed old ugly enamel coated cast iron frying pan: Buy a baby turtle at the circus and make a cute pond environment for it. Just don't keep it on the stove. Make a mini rice paddy and grow rice for home consumption or artisanal gifts. Make some crazed marbles in it and then arrange them inside it for an art project. Hang it on the inside of the front door in case of intruders if you don't have a baseball bat. Although statistics say that heavy frying pans are most often used by the intruders against you. Put the pans out on the street in a box that