Katie Meadow

Pink Pearl. That's my newest crush. They are smallish to medium size, pearly and creamy on the outside, and the flesh is a mottled red/pink. They are crisp and juicy and tart, very tart. The apple was developed in CA in the forties, but they aren't widely sold as far as I can tell. They are grown in CA and Oregon and probably in WA state as well. For a person like me who grew up on the east coast and who will never forget what it's like to bite into the first early Vermont Mac of the season, the Pink Pearl is Paradise. Lucky for me my husband is not as enamored, so I get to eat them all. Maybe not quite right for a tarte tatin. David, your cousin is just wrong. Although in a pinch creme fraiche on warm caramel apples can be pretty yummy.

I assume there must be a serious nostalgia factor among some vegetarians or vegans who don't eat meat for moral or political reasons that makes them crave the foods they loved as kids or in past lives or whatever. If you don't really enjoy the taste or texture of meat it doesn't seem like you would want to create an imitation. Because most vegetable matter that tries to be a burger doesn't cut the mustard; it's over processed and manipulated. Bulgur wheat or black beans with ketchup and mustard and pickles can't possibly taste like meat. Meat tastes like animal fat. All fats taste different. You wouldn't expect coconut oil to taste like olive oil, and you probably wouldn't put it on a caesar salad or make hummus with it. Unless of course you wanted your hummus to taste like an Indian garbanzo curry. I'm not a vegetarian, but I usually eat meat or fish only a couple of times a week, and the rest of the time I'm happy with vegetables that look like and taste like what they are, especially at the time of year they are at their best. Life is hard enough without trying to make one food tastes like another. If I were starving to death I would eat a tofu dog before I'd eat a real dog, and I'd be awfully grateful for it, but I am counting on never having to make that choice. Food produced in a lab seems so incredibly unappealing. How is trying to make meat without an animal so different than trying to make an eggplant taste like a tomato? But do whatcha gotta do to, and hopefully you can find someone who will do it with you. Lab coats can be sexy in the flickering light of a bunsen burner!

Main meal today came courtesy of the Saturday Berkeley farmers' market, from which we took home, among other things, tomatoes, avocados, red potatoes, sweet onions, Espelette peppers and yellow baby watermelon. I sliced Black Prince and dry farm Early Girl tomatoes and drizzled on a simple avocado sauce of mainly creamed avocado, olive oil, and lime juice. I made a New York Times recipe called Roasted Potato Hash with the cubed potatoes, wedges of sweet onion (tagged as Walla Walla, and delicious, but we all know a true WW Sweet has to be grown in WW soil) and a few peppers that turned out to be really fiery. I must remember to wash my hands about twelve times before I try to take out my contact lenses later tonight. The roast potato recipe is a nice one, very crispy. The potatoes and Espelettes come from a vendor who also sells several varieties of fresh shell beans as well this time of year. The potatoes are unidentified and excellent, the Espelettes are a treat; I've never seen them any where else. They are only available for about a month, and I roast tons of them and freeze them to use during the winter. I work them into Spanish rice salads and chicken with smoked paprika and whatever else I can think of. For dessert, my very favorite watermelon: seeded (always better than seedless, I think) yellow babies are a crap shoot, and not always great, but this one was like candy. Also, sadly, a short season. I. Am. So. Spoiled.

Today's main meal was strictly from this morning's farmers' market, the Temescal / North Oakland market. We usually go to the Berkeley market on Saturday morning but we were busy yesterday. We ate: fabulous super fresh corn, grilled padron peppers, Greek salads with Japanese cukes and two types of tomato, Cherokee Chocolate and Marvel Stripe. Okay, one item not from the farmers' market, a baguette. The Berkeley market has my favorite vendors for peaches and grapes, most vegetables and a variety of other items, but the Temescal market has a terrific pizza truck that hauls around a heavy duty oven and makes awfully good pizza.

I've been buying Fiore Sardo, the Sardinian sheep milk cheese, for years now. It's always seemed like a very versatile cheese, especially to travel with, as it keeps well in a not-so-cold cooler, can be eaten sliced on a cracker, but it is firm and aged enough to grate for soups or pasta. Yesterday I was in a hurry and grabbed a wedge without reading the label carefully. Turns out it said Fiore Sardo Aged, which is not what it usually says. I don't remember ever eating this cheese before. The rind is rather gray, and smells smoky, like bacon or a campfire. It's very hard, and the paste is a little darker or browner than typically. I always thought Fiore Sardo was aged cheese, but this cheese must be aged to a fare-thee-well. It's so hard that when we grated it over hot soup it didn't dissolve or melt at all. If I were going to make mac & cheese (which I no longer do) I might use some of this to turn it into campfire nostalgia food; I assume that baking it would melt it, but who knows. Has anyone else had this cheese?

Okay, it sounds like the IP is pretty useful. In fact, judging from several (not all) pages of this thread it can be used for just about everything except maybe a grilled steak, but I don't really have a sense of what it does best. I don't own a pressure cooker or a rice cooker. Some of the things I might want to do faster and simpler are the following: Cook rice for a crowd (I love the rice I cook stovetop, but large quantities for more than 4 or 5 people when I have lots of other things to juggle is a pain). Cook grits or polenta without all the intensive labor. Make modest quantities of stock quickly for specific dishes if I don't have any frozen stock on hand. It seems like all three of these tasks could be done well with the IP, correct? Oh, and I don't make yogurt nor do I want to. The pricier model seems to involve the yogurt function. Is that good for anything else? It would be useful to hear what your top uses are for the IP; like what three or four chores do you swear by it for?

Wow, are we opening a can of tuna or a can of worms? Once upon a time you went to the supermarket and bought a can of tuna and your biggest choice was packed in water or packed in oil. It was a reasonably cheap source of protein, especially for those without access to affordable fresh fish. They all tasted pretty much the same once you added the standard American amount of mayo. But times have changed. Tuna is a key fish and the choices are a lot more complicated than how does it taste. How was it caught? Is it endangered? How much mercury is in it? Is it fresh or farmed? An excellent read is Paul Greenberg's Four Fish. At this point no one should be surprised that there's a price to pay, whether it be your wallet or your health or the health of the planet. I don't believe you can untangle all the lines. Or turn back time. The original post sets the table.

Thanks for that tip; the Amazon deal for a 12-pack is excellent. Even the 4-pack is a better deal than what I can find in the bay area. I love tuna, but I try not eat it too often, for probably murky reasons. Either it isn't sustainably fished or it has mercury in it or it's endangered. Ortiz claims their Bonito del Norte is line-caught. A good thing, and I am assuming it is true. Someone please confirm my theory about bonito: if they really mean that it is bonito, it should be from a smaller fish than some other canned tuna, which means less mercury. When I googled bonito it seems that some sites say it is actually a tuna, and others call it a tuna-ilke fish. What is it? And is it actually likely to contain less mercury?

Basically I hate the cooking channel and I hate reality shows, but this show is hilarious! I'm a little confused about the weather around the tent, although it only adds to the mystique and otherworldliness of the whole thing: sometimes the contestants are wearing summery clothes and wiping their brows, then you see Paul and Mary in down jackets, all interspersed with idyllic bees in the flowers and lovely black lambs eating their way through the perfect blooming countryside. You never see Paul and Mary in the rain outside the tent, but often it's pouring rain while the bakers are working. It's all good!

My experience is the same as Munchymom's, but it has been a long time since I had a toaster with that automatic mechanism or a toaster with those instructions. This should be an easy one to prove or disprove. Does anyone have a toaster without the auto feature that says "one slice"? If so, some brain cells will be toast by the time this mystery is solved. Toasters. I worship at the altar of their imperfections. Rebellion is admirable.

The potato salad least likely to win my heart is the one where you can't locate the potatoes; and that's the most common kind in delis, BBQ shops, and potlucks. I love potato salad, but it should be all about the potatoes! I can't think of another dish that lends itself to so many variations, except maybe slaw. In summer, when good yukon golds or fingerlings are abundant I make a lot of potato salad, and I rarely make it exactly the same way twice. When I look at recipes for potato salad my main criteria are as follows: 1) Russets are best in latkes, not potato salad 2) If the recipe says it feeds 6 it shouldn't require a cup of mayo. I swear by this: potato salads benefit from the following step: when the potatoes are still very warm, cut them up and sprinkle generously with salt and vinegar. Let them sit at least 10 minutes before adding the rest of your ingredients, and then don't forget you already put in some vinegar. Lately I am liking various types of pickles in my potato salad, not just standard bread and butter types. Japanese style pickles can work great. I added some pickled kohlrabi to a potato salad recently--also yummy.

Go for it, Darienne! About the mango pickle: I have now tried a couple of others, but I am liking the Pakistani one best. I found an Israeli one that is soupy and salty and another one I didn't care for either. I'm now pretty attached to the National brand peeled mango pickled in oil. Some of the jars say Kasundi, which means peeled mango as far as I can tell. I found mine in a dusty middle eastern grocery store. Amazon does sell it as well, but it's cheaper if you can find a local source or even a different on line source. I find that the flavor is good, it isn't too salty, has a medium hot factor that works well. The chunks of mango are a bit big and sometimes I just chop them up a bit. Of course the mango pickle is only one of many elements in the sandwich but the flavor is pretty forward, so it's a personal choice. I think my jar cost about $2.99. Making my own mango pickle would be nice, but that's the price of a couple of mangos right there! And I suspect it would take a lot of trial and error to come up with one that I really like. I'll wait until eG is clamoring for a mango pickle cook-off.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a mango tree in the back yard here in Oakland? I'm open to making my own Amba but haven't investigated sources for green mangoes. Nor have I tried yet to find a bakery that turns out good pita bread that's local; my experience of pita bread in restaurants isn't encouraging. Perhaps the toasting of pita bread is most useful for mediocre product. Love the idea of turning the ingredients into a salad--warm eggplant with cool salads and various pickles and a drizzle of tahini dressing. So looking forward to real tomatoes this summer!

I'm in love! This is my new favorite sandwich. And to think that I could have been eating this for the past six decades, if only I had heard of it. Does anyone else adore this? It is cooked or fried eggplant in a pita pocket along with the usual falafel suspects and some of the not so usual. Word has it that Iraqi Jews who emigrated to Israel brought some of the stuffing ingredients and adopted the pita to put them in and it evolved as a street food alternative to falafel. But I like it better, and cooking the eggplant is easier than making your own falafel. Additions to the eggplant include an Israeli-type tomato and cucumber salad, tahini sauce, hard boiled egg slices, Israeli pickles, hummus and most interesting of all an Israeli version of mango chutney or mango pickle called Amba. And to top it off, zhoug or schug, a fiery green sauce made from cilantro, parsley, chiles, etc. We used to have a great falafel place that served zhoug on the side, but alas, no more. For lack of options I have made my own zhoug (easy and messy) but finding the Amba has been a challenge. I found a mango pickle imported from Pakistan that's pretty tasty, and I've been using that. For the record, I can live without the egg slices but my husband liked them. And I don't see the need for hummus if you have a nice tahini dressing to slather in. The extra step to grill or heat the pita is worth it. I used my comal and treated my pita like a tortilla. For the eggplant several recipes just call for frying or sautéing it without any coating, but I found the best way is how you would do it for eggplant parmesan: a dip in egg and then a light coating of seasoned flour. That way you really don't need a lot oil. Anyway, this is about the most exciting and exotic sandwich; the mango pickle just knocks it out of the park.

When my daughter was little she adored that TJ's cinnamon roll bread toasted with butter. Very rich! I prefer my cinnamon toast to be just plain toast with a dusting of cinnamon sugar, but for those craving something a bit more sinful this bread does the job and then some.

Life is short and getting shorter! Find another use for it or give it to the Goodwill or toss it. A free dangerous $13 cutting board isn't worth what's left of your precious brain cells.

Hi Anna, I soak bulgur when making tabouli or when adding a bit of grain to a meat loaf (no one would ever guess it was in there). But most other times I treat bulgur much the way I do rice, and precook it like so: toast in saucepan with a little butter and salt. When it smells toasty good (really only a few minutes) I add the water, let it come to a boil, turn it way down to a low simmer and cover for about 15 minutes or until it just starts sticking to the bottom. Then I let it sit for five minutes covered to de-stick itself. If I plan to use it room temp or baked in the oven with other ingredients then I take the cover off, let it cool a bit, fluff it with a fork and maybe put it on a larger surface to cool faster. When cooking, I use 1 cup of bulgur to 2 cups of water, or a bit less water if I want a lot of bite or if I am going to bake it in a casserole. Although I've never noticed that a casserole cooked with minimal liquid softens the texture of the bulgur. Whichever I do I try not to use any more water than necessary. Trying to drain bulgur or other grain is a pain, and using soggy wet bulgur doesn't do it justice. I can't imagine what an hour and a half do to bulgur. That just seems bizarre. My two current favorite recipes for bulgur are a room temp salad with wilted chard, green olives and pine nuts, and a casserole that is baked with roasted or sautéed cauliflower and sautéed chard, a little tomato and optional modest amount of cheese, as desired. I like less cheese, my husband likes more, so usually it's with....less. Super low tech, super comforting and just as good the next day reheated. Always part of the plan. Hope this helps some!

Also worth considering are the thin flat lasagne noodles ( no ripply edges) that you DO boil, but which take about a quarter of the time to cook and are relatively easy to handle. Not typically a super market item, but they are often very high quality. Found in Italian delis or specialty stores that stock a lot of imported pasta.

I just chalk it up to the category I call "Recipes with Lobster." In that dump go all recipes with truffles, more than a pint of whipping cream or anything using ramps, which don't live in these parts. I grew up on the upper west side and I never once saw an outdoor grill until I moved to New Mexico for college. Okay I will admit to a high level of crankiness when it comes to the Times food section. I used to enjoy it, but these days I find it out to lunch most weeks. Am I deluded or are there fewer useful recipes? Where's Dexter Wells when you need him? Please don't tell me he's closed his bedroom door and plays video games all day. A column by Dexter would be most appreciated! In the interest of full disclosure, our (very basic) Weber gas grill succumbed to old age and we have been without a grill for two years. The prices are so scary! Plus we recently had to choose between a lobster and a replacement for our leaky roof. Hence the crankiness. High five, Jo!

Shain, thanks so much, planning to make them soon!

Looks lovely. I'm into making biscotti lately, especially made with olive oil. Can you post the recipe?

When a recipe calls for cooked or barely tender cauliflower I find that sautéing florets in butter or olive oil is always superior to microwaving or boiling or steaming. Add salt and pepper halfway through, add minced garlic toward the end. If you set heat at medium or medium low you can get golden cauliflower that is still has some bite and rich flavor. The recipe for the kugel above sounds like you are almost making cauliflower rice, so the pieces are very small, but I think you could still sauté them and get better flavor.

At this point Korean tacos are probably considered traditional, but I still love them and they are what I usually do with gochujang. There are many recipes on line, most derived from Roy Choi's celebrated LA taco truck. They are infinitely adaptable and you can use the hot paste straight or mixed into a "BBQ" sauce. I've made them with beef, pulled pork and chicken. Equally good toppings include kimchi, kimchee slaw or a quick cucumber pickle. Actually I am partial to a Korean burrito, which adds rice to the mix and wraps up with a flour tortilla rather than corn.

At the risk of repeating myself after posting in the Pistachio ice cream thread, I highly recommend the Sicilian Villa Reale paste. I ended up eating it out of the jar and I won't say how long that jar lasted, so I can't attest to how it bakes or what ice cream made with it is like. Would love recipes for shortbread or cake etc. using this stuff!

I ordered a Sicilian product, Villa Reale Pistachio spread, from Amazon. It comes in a trendy thick glass square jar. For approx $15 you get 7.5 oz. I did not make ice cream with it, although I had every intention of baking with it. In fact, I didn't make anything at all, because by the time I was ready to make something I had eaten up most of it by the spoonful. It was delicious. If anyone has a good recipe for cookies or shortbread or cake I would be into that, but until I have a recommended recipe I think it unwise to order more and see it disappear the same way. I'm tempted, though.