Katie Meadow

Clearly I need to get off the couch but it's 11 pm here, so my exploration will have to wait. Are you like my close friend Naomi who is a fountain of information but who also, if she doesn't know the answer makes up something? She's very convincing, and often on the right track. I trust you both, regardless!

I'll have to look more closely, but the ones I usually see don't look exactly like the ones you picture. I have a recipe for Chinese pickled mustard greens that specifies Chinese mustard greens and I want to try it, so I'm curious. These days I've not been shopping in Oakland Chinatown like I used to before the pandemic, so haven't had a chance to see what's what.

I never heard of spring rolls until I started eating Vietnamese food. Our favorite local Viet place has both spring rolls and egg rolls, but they certainly aren't served with a side of hot mustard; typically in the Bay Area they come with nuoc mam for dipping, although spring rolls sometimes come with a chunky gloopy peanut sauce, which I don't much care for. Growing up in NY all our local Chinese (i.e. Chinese-American) restaurants served egg rolls, with two dips, mustard and duck sauce. All this talk about them is giving me a terrible craving for exactly that retro combo.

Are Chinese mustard greens a different plant from the mustard greens we usually see here in the markets?

I've made Andrea's pickled daikon and carrots many times and not found the smell very intense. The watermelon radishes were far worse for some reason.

The one time I pickled watermelon radishes that odor was strong when the jar was first opened, but it dissipated and was a non-issue.

Using the French green lentils, Lentilles de Puy, goes a long way to making a better soup. Tastier, smaller than brown lentils, hold their shape. Elegant little things.

Already tried the recharging type. Pathetic, I agree.

My counters are dark blue. So true about seeing dark items. Some of my spice jar tops are black and if turned upside down are virtually invisible. My cheap solution is to use a white label on the top and remember to to put the tops right side up on the counter. Yes, a light colored counter might have been a good choice, especially given that I am lacking under-cabinet lighting.

A dark chocolate Easter Bunny would work for me. I like my chocolate unadulterated. No raisins, no chile powder, no strawberries, no rabbit.

I swear by the Manhattan clam chowder of Jasper White. I'm not a fan of New England style, but I would trust his recipe for it. Easy to find on line.

We have a big kitchen with lots of cabinets and a good deal of counter space. Two of us still can't figure out how to stay out of each other's way. The one thing that might be helpful is an island, where one person who is chopping or kneading can be isolated, as if they are on, well, an island. My husband doesn't want one; he is partial to deprivation, and perhaps the very fact that it remains an awkward space works to his advantage. He bakes bread about once a week and does all his kneading by hand in a counter space with a cabinet overhang which seems really annoying to me, The other thing I would improve if I were designing a new kitchen is lighting. The older I get the more light I need to cook. Good lighting under the cabinet overhangs would be nice. So far, whatever the motivation needed to fix this problem hasn't reached the tipping point.

I like them pickled. I like them raw, sliced paper thin and salted, and I like them in a mixed vegetable pancake or fritter. Very nice grated the same way as zucchini and kohlrabi; I use about 50 percent zucchini or more, and the rest equal amounts of radish and kohlrabi. Throw in a lot of cilantro, dill or chives, minimal amount of flour, egg, etc, fry till crispy. Serve with a salsa or creme fraiche. I'm pretty happy with them just plain.

Happy b'day to you too, @weinoo; an excellent day to be born. Are you pregnant with twins too? She would swoon over your dinner, since she isn't allowed raw fish.

Looks delicious. I haven't had sushi since lockdown. Was SE's birthday yesterday the 10th? Or was it yours? My daughter turned 33 yesterday!

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 for service. I lived three blocks up the hill on the cable car route.

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 Pepper Shrimp Chinese style.

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 among the patrons. So much for that tradition in 2021, although I admit we haven't done it for several years. My only enduring tradition is to hate Tom Brady, so even though I have allegiance to no team, I root against him. It is my personaI shame that I know what is number is, and a testament to how he has colonized our lives. I didn't even know there was a team called the Buccaneers until this year. I most likely will be eating during the Superbowl, but it will be an early dinner. Duck fat roast potatoes and a Caesar salad, which we would be eating on any other day. As far back as I can remember it has been referred to as the STUPERbowl. I grew up in a household that watched two sports: tennis and baseball. I also grew up in a household supported by a Madison Avenue career. My dad was Don Draper, without the angst or the affairs, as far as I know, and also, as far as I know, lived his whole life without stealing the identity of a dead man. So I will be watching the ads. During the actual game time I will tune out the sound, read the Sunday paper and curse the Spelling Bee. The game will be on, because my husband does understand the rules and reads much faster than I do, so will be done with the paper for the most part and also is much more flexible person than me. Okay, my pathetic rant is done. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Please everyone be careful. Stay home, don't accidentally inhale your beer through your nose or choke on a wing tip. For all of you who love football I hope it is an exciting game, not that I would know what that looked like. Cheers!