Katie Meadow

Yes. It seems like a major misstep redesigning those labels. The new ones are cheesy looking.

I agree that a bit less time in the oven would have been better. And I also agree that if you add twice as much salt it's closer to the original. But these days I am finding most commercial products and most restaurant food way too salty. I'm desperate for take-out that isn't over salted but I keep being disappointed when we try new places. So, it's back home on the range.

I don't know why I read this thread. I don't get any CSA or boxed veg/fruits delivered and I am pretty sure now, after looking at the many items received in a box, that I would be responsible for more waste rather than less by participating. Dandelion greens would stupefy me. That tiny little celeriac, after peeling, looks like it would make enough Celery Root Remoulade for half a portion. One fennel isn't usually enough for a two-person salad in our house. Also I guess I'm not that creative a cook, or I don't have enough pantry supplies to make up the difference. Just the thought of trying to use items I wouldn't buy makes me want to take an Ativan. I'm a planner; like a week's worth of meals. I'm also blessed with a husband who seems happy to mask up and shop with a list, mostly because he himself designed the list according to how he moves through the aisles at our favorite store. And now we've both had all our vaccines! Very grateful for that. Being over 65 has its benefits, once in a blue moon. Also I'm grateful that the places we shop here in the East Bay are consistently careful about how many shoppers are allowed in at a time as well as providing sanitizer at checkout. My daughter, who lives in Decatur, outside of Atlanta, is only a few minutes drive from one of the greatest markets I've ever been in, tells me they don't shop there now, since the place doesn't regulate anything and it's a madhouse, like it's always been. Oh, and why am I writing an essay on a Sunday morning when a fat New York Times usually takes up most of the day? Because it wasn't delivered. Oooh I'm grouchy.

Okay, here is the Copycat Stouffer's. 1 cup heavy cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2) 3 large eggs 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeeze out water (2 10 oz packages) 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (I used 1/3 cup of Piave, which I had on hand) 2 tablespoons flour 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8x8 baking dish or spray w/ oil. With a whisk or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the heavy cream and eggs 2 to 3 minutes until foamy. Add in the spinach, cheese, flour, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper and whisk until well combined. Add the mixture to your baking dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until it is set in the center and a toothpick would come out clean. Note: you can use whole milk or half and half instead of heavy cream. The heavy cream seems like overkill, frankly. I was happy with using less than a half cup of grated cheese; I didn’t want it to taste cheesy. This is a pretty fair approximation of the taste and texture of Stouffer’s, at least in my mind. After all, Stouffer’s isn’t something to write home about, is it?


Scraping the bottom of the barrel for dinner, we are trying to postpone a major shopping until Monday. What we had on hand was home made white bread, eggs and two packs of frozen spinach. We made Indian Railway Omelet sandwiches and a faux Stouffer's spinach souffle which is actually better (less salty!) than the original if only a few minutes extra work. Pickles, cucumbers, kohlrabi on the side. Never made either before (and I'm not partial to breakfast sandwiches either), but both sandwich and soufflé were very good for an emergency meal. Tomorrow will be either brilliant something from nothing, or take out.

In no way did I mean you were judging. I just meant that when faced with ambiguous instruction like those everyone has to make their own judgment based on common sense, or what works for them. "Pinch of salt?" "knob of butter?" "Handful of parsley?"My husband's idea of a handful of herbs can vary wildly any given day!

Don't be fooled by the truffle pate. It's spam.

Smaller than you might think, maybe? Big enough to pick up one piece with chopsticks and put it in your mouth? Happy to provide the instructions if you like, but no help with that judgment.

Various slaws and stir fries are my most frequent uses for regular cabbage. I've never liked steamed cabbage much. I do like cabbage rolls, simmered in a tomato broth and filled with rice and dill, but I'm far too lazy these days. Lately I've been making a relatively mild quick Asian pickle that uses one med-large head of cabbage for a quart of product. Super easy, refreshing, takes only one night in the fridge and works equally well with Asian dishes or Mexican. I find one little de Arbol red chile is enough, and if it's a hot one it can be removed from the jar at any time. Ingredients are: 2 pounds cabbage (900g, hand-pulled into large pieces) 2 carrots (about 6 ounces/170g, cut into bite-sized pieces) ¼ cup salt (plus ½ teaspoon salt, divided) 2 cups water 1 cup sugar 1 cup white vinegar (5% acidity) 3 cloves garlic (smashed) 2-3 fresh chili peppers (optional, to taste)

A mushy potato just won't do, I agree. My preference for potato salad is one that still has a bite. And when you cut into it there is no "ragged" edge. In the winter I find yukon golds are the most reliable and most flavorful. In the summer when the fingerlings are happening at the farmers' markets I like to use some variety of red potato. My favorite is the simple French fingerling, since it has the texture and taste I look for, but others have proved interesting too. But for most purposes I like yukon golds: Winter salads, fritters, in soups, roasted with duck fat, Potatoes Anna. For latkes I actually like a combo of russets and golds.

After watching two hours of the ex-royals last night I've had enough cold toast. I hope Harry and Meghan have a good toaster within walking distance in their new digs in warm sunny southern CA.

And I should take advice from the people who invented the toast rack, a way to make sure that toast is stone cold before anything spreadable ever gets near it?

Mine is the same standard popover pan. My MIL inherited it from someone and didn't have any idea what it was, never used it and then gave it to me. But I knew what it was for.

Our microwave is now 33 years old. We got it when our baby was born, thinking it might be useful in case we needed to heat up milk or whatever. Its main use has remained heating up a cup or coffee or tea or a leftover bowl of soup or beans or grits. I use it once in a great while if I need to defrost frozen spinach or melt some butter. We used to make microwave popcorn but I really couldn't stand the smell or the product, so we always do stovetop. I find defrosting stock or sauce really annoying, so only do that in an emergency, preferring to just take stuff out of the freezer the night before. I don't believe I've ever actually "cooked" anything in it and it remains in a corner of the kitchen that's a bit dark and blends into the shelving. I'm hoping to never have to buy another. It isn't very fast, but neither am I.

Sounds intriguing. More like a snail than a bivalve. With a mythology that's made them cling to the edge of extinction.

Our solution, when our daughter was young, was to have roasted hot green chiles in the freezer in small packages that could be added to the finished meal, whether a curry or a pot of beans, upon serving as desired. I know it isn't exactly the same as a blend of hot spices, or as subtle, but at least we had some tasty heat when really needed.

Perhaps the beans were the Frijol Negrol Santanero from Oaxaca? I have one package, and they are quite small. I actually forgot I had them, so I am due for some black bean soup.

I like eel, in Japanese restaurants and fresh caught sautéed in butter. I read that New Yorker article when it came out, and decided that I didn't want to read the book. That article was just enough to get the....flavor.

A quote from the article cited by @Tropicalsenior: "The salty, fatty mass that is spaghetti carbonara is a dish that’s about exploring the outer limits of salty and creamy indulgence within a pasta framework. " Gag me with a spoon. If that's supposed to be an appealing description of carbonara, well, maybe a tomato wouldn't be such a bad thing. Those three chefs from the Roman kitchen? I don't need proof that they sit around drinking expensive wine and making fun of their own staff. The truth is I've never even eaten Spaghetti Carbonara; it just isn't something I would order or make. I have no doubt that if a talented person made it with farm fresh eggs and good guanciale and pecorino and freshly ground black pepper and put it down in from of me I would happily eat it.

The height of elegance: the dining car seduction scene in North by Northwest. He's having a glittering martini. She recommends the brook trout..... she's playing with a full deck....and so on.....oh, they are SO pretty!

@liuzhou, just out of perverse curiosity I search Amazon and there are indeed several "Chinese Mustards" or "Oriental Mustards" for sale. The comments are hilarious. Most people don't like these products because they don't taste like "real Chinese Mustard!" Here is just one example: https://www.amazon.com/Ty-Ling-Mustard-Chinese-Hot/dp/B008VSYACW/ref=sr_1_13?

As far as I know flour tortillas are not pressed. They are stretched or patted or rolled. I like the old fashioned heavy duty metal press for corn tortillas. I think mine is an eight inch; a larger corn tortilla might be unmanageable for tacos or enchiladas, or for dishes that require the tortillas to be crunchy (fried) or dipped in sauce as for enchiladas. Flour tortillas, if used for burritos, can be larger if desired, and a large comal can accommodate any size.

Well, there must be plenty of ice on a shrimp boat, no? So keeping the butter cold might not be an issue. But I agree about the butter/shrimp ratio. I've made some version of the BBQ shrimp many times but never with a cow's worth of butter like that.

Maybe apocryphal, but I was told that LA BBQ shrimp originated as a quick one-pan dish on the shrimp boats.

I'm a Fallot fan. The basic original is always within reach. Today for our main meal we are having a wacky hybrid which only gets made if we have leftover flour tortillas. A hot dog gets the blistered grill treatment and then is swaddled in a warm tortilla along with a very mustardy (heavy on the Fallot!) slaw and a few pickled jalapeños tossed in for good measure. Yes, it is kinda weird. Baja State Fair addictive weird.