Darienne

Thanks you two. Yes, there are instructions on the bag and in English, French and Spanish. Looked up the home website. Lots of different things available. Still no idea of why the Canadian import says 'Instant' on it.

Making eggplants cutlets in the oven for Moussaka and Eggplant Parmigiana.

"Is what is sold as "masa" up there prepared dough (that's what we would call "masa") or dry meal? The standard brand around here for dry meal is the Maseca brand, although generics and store brands have made some inroads in the past few years. I'm not sure I've ever seen prepared dough in a store. " It's dry meal, Maseca brand. Ingredients: selected corn treated with lime. Milled in Irving TX. That's it. Hmmm...how does that get to be a mix?

Took the mister from post #1 back from whence it came. Today, on a whim, bought a Paderno brand mister half-price and thought what can I lose? I'll keep the receipt and take it back if it doesn't work. OK. Fill half full. Pump several times to get it started. Well, several times was exactly 31 times. Picked it up again after three hours and it is still pumping. Who knows? Thanks for all the helpful posts.

More on Tostadas (now I know how to spell it). Can't recall the brand of the last package I had bought but the tostadas were quite thick and the package did not rip (identification only) Bought a package today finally, Charras, made in Mexico, very thin and crispy, thinner than any corn chip I have ever seen. The disc completely broke and fell apart as soon as I bit into it. They were packed in a cellophane package which ripped from one end to the other upon opening it. Tasted good tho... So there is much variety in what is called tostada? BTW, I would guess that Charras might well be the only brand I'll find in Peterpatch. Not too useful. Forgot to mention that DH bought me a package of what I thought was masa and now I discover that it's not plain masa, but rather instant corn masa mix. Now what? Should I take it back or use it?

I assume you mistyped and meant 'momofuku miso'. In simple words, please, what exactly is that? Too much info on google. Thanks.

Antipodean...ya gotta love that word. Thanks Sandra. Also the spinach angle. I do love spinach so it's no problem. A home favorite is Spanakopita (with Moussaka). I'll try the Paneer dishes very soon. First, of course, I have to make the Paneer. No problem from what I can see.

Reporting back on the Shortbread Cookies with Cacao nibs in them. I chopped the nibs quite finely and so far so good. The cookie dough...oh do I love raw cookie dough...is great. My question re the Vietnamese Ice Cream is for DudeI'mHungy...how much nib did you use in the recipe and how finely did you chop it? My guess is that a) I used too much and b) it wasn't finely chopped enough. ???

Lovely. Looks delicious. And I learned something new...Lambic beer. You go, Rodi.

I'll try the cacao nibs next time. Sounds good. Tried the cocoa nibs, finely chopped, in the Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream but did not like it. Too bitter and intrusive for me, DH, and company. Might try them again as Caramelized Cocoa Nibs (Recchiuti, Chocolate Obsession, p. 140. In the meantime, we'll eat the ice cream with homemade Magic Shell, which is kind of kidlike, but still good. Somewhat off topic but if I might be allowed. I recently found a recipe for Cacao Nib Shortbread on Pastry Girl's "Dessert First" blog. 1/3 cup nibs to 2 cups of flours and wonder how that can taste, given my negative (and surprised) response to the nibs in a sweet ice cream. Any thoughts?

Speaking of jar openers. Here's a Lee Valley jar openerI could not live without. A true little treasure. Have bought them for all my friends. Another little wonder that I haven't seen for a while is the 2-tablespoon measuring cup. I bought these for friends and then when I went back for more...there were none. And it remains that way.

Silicone spatula by Trudeau, the smaller sized one, yellow only. It's a one piece spatula and I have three. Love it as only a woman can love a perfect spatula.

Fascinating variety of idea and recipes, Snadra. I am now up to my ears in new recipes to try.

a lot to think about and a lot to look up online. Thanks. Also I did look up a recipe for carne Apache to see what it is and found one on tostadas. The tostadas did not look like the ones we can buy in our local town. These ones are about 6" rounds and completely rigid. There's more than one kind. My confusion stems from how to eat anything on the rigid tostadas we can buy. Of course, I never could see eating anything in a taco shell either.

Thanks, Jaymes. I have some sopa de albondigas in the freezer and I'll try them there.

I am grateful for all the information, and just now from Pierogi, answering my question about actually eating on the tostados. The only thing to do is to buy a new package of tostados and try them out. The old one went into the bin...it was so old it had whiskers almost... If I can't make them work as described for some reason, I can always cut them up and use them for chips. Thanks.

Thanks Stuart. I immediately dismissed the fritter notion, until I read the recipe. Sounds like a good idea and I'll try it. I don't do any deep frying at all...but these are not deep fried. Good one. Soups are good unless they are 'soupy'. We eat soup for supper (we eat our big meal at noon) and so soup for lunch/dinner is less than exciting. Make it thicker and you have stew. Thanks again.

Thanks to all. I am overwhelmed by the response. I'll be cooking for weeks with all of this. Not to mention that I got out some of my Sainsbury cookbooks and found some lovely recipes to try. Merstar: all I can say is WOW! SobaAddict70: as always your photos represent your lovely dishes ElsieD: yep, downloaded it just fine. Thanks, as always, for your help. Glad you liked the pups. Lapin d'Argent: love your eG name. And thanks. And I don't avoid bread, pasta, etc. I just don't want them to be the center of the dish, as in say many spaghetti dishes.

Thanks Katie Meadow. Lots of good ideas there.

Forgot to mention it. We eat a lot of it, roasted I like best, with rice or quinoa or couscous.... Without eggplant, my life would have little meaning. Oh, and Brussels Sprouts too. Roasted summer vegetables and roasted winter vegetables too. Thanks judiu

My exciting find was back a few months: kumquats in Peterpatch. Woo Hoo. Candied kumquats in the ice cream!!!

Time to get back to Indian food. Ed loves curried anything. We used to eat a lot of Indian food. Had forgotten about it. And ya gotta love a dish for which you can buy the ingredients several days (weeks, sometimes) ahead of time. Thanks.

Learn something new every day. Even two or five times a day. Thanks.

We are not vegetarians nor vegans. We are Less-Meatarians (Mark Bittmanism)and I am on the lookout for delicious main dishes consisting of only or mainly vegetables. Hot, cold,lukewarm, whatever. Perhaps with a bit of meat...sort in the Chinese style. We eat a lot of Chinese food...but right now I am off this cuisine...Ed never is...and love Middle East, Mediterranean, North African dishes, Caribbean. Please: not too HEAVY or reliant on grains, rice, legumes, wheat products, etc, if possible. I do make moussaka, lasagna with cabbage (not too yummy), and a mishmash of this and that. And next I'll try Mark Bittman's latest recipes: grilled corn; roasted vegetables assembled in a springform pan (can't recall the name of the dish). Thanks.

In another lifetime, before moving to the farm, we used to make a 2-week menu ahead of time, while allowing any changes that we felt like making within the time. We still eat breakfast, when together, according to a kind of menu. Ed is the short-order cook in the family and Wednesdays and Saturdays are bacon and eggs. As for the grocery list: I have worked out a grocery list over the last few years and it's on computer. I simply generate a bunch of copies, 'magnet' it to the fridge where there is a red pen hanging, and we circle what we need. It works very well.