Darienne

So then why were we taught to start with cold water and heat it to the boiling, not just for pasta, but everything pretty much? We do it in our house because our country well water is very hard and is run through a water conditioning process which uses salt. Only our kitchen cold water tap bypasses this treatment and has water straight from the well...which explains our constantly plugging coffee machine.

Thanks. Sounds like good advice. These are noted as ready to eat, with instructions on how to heat them for straight eating. It also suggests making ice cream, cookies, etc, etc. I'll look for fresh ones next time I am in the city. It's a small townlike city so they may not be readily available...but then I never looked for them before. In the meantime I am loathe to make anything out of an ingredient which tastes like these taste.

Bought my first ever roasted chestnuts the other day at our local bulk/health food store. Imported from China, peeled and ready to eat, vacuum sealed, distributed by an established Canadian company, Aurora. Followed the heating directions to try one. And immediately spit it out again. Now I know I can buy tahini which I like and some which I think tastes awful...ditto for coconut oil. And probably ditto for many other products. Last month I even bought some ginger which I had to toss. Question: do I have cheap, second rate chestnuts or is it an acquired taste which I haven't acquired?

Aha! Popsicle Toze second recipe just reminded me of something I saw in a Longo's booklet the other day: all sorts of uses for pizza dough. Besides making a pizza, you can make calzone, stromboli, garlic breadsticks, cheesy bread, buns, appetizers, even a dessert pizza. All the other ingredients can be on hand in the fridge or in cans or jars.

Mr friend gave me this recipe called 'Impossible Pie' which she believes was first handed down using hamburger and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Now that goes back. It's very flexible and has categories of ingredients, rather than ingredients. Into a small casserole dish or 10" deep pie plate, put a)a layer of cooked meat of any kind: bacon, sausage, ham, chicken, etc, b)a layer of vegetable: canned artichoke hearts, spinach, canned mushrooms, sauted onions, parboiled broccoli. Any number of things which go together. Any herbs or spices you want. c) add a lot of cheeses: grated cheddar, jack, cottage cheese, sliced cheese, commercial shredded cheese, asiago, parmesan, etc. d) top with a biscuit dough. Either use 1 1/2 cups Bisquick or use your own recipe, plus 3 beaten eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk. It's quite thinnish. e) into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. I have made this pie out of everything and anything. My friend lives about 45 minutes from a store and we live about 35 minutes so to make it at the last minute for unexpected company, you have to have canned, frozen, etc stuff on hand. The last time I made it I used: chopped cooked pork, fresh spinach and mushrooms, thyme and parsley, grated cheddar cheese, mozzarella and parmesan, and made the biscuit topping from scratch. There is no end to what combinations you might use.

All good points. However the grapes were at room temperature. Perhaps the density is the problem, but I did follow the recipe. Hmmmm...it called for 8" pans, which I used, but it did not specify how many. Rats. I did use two. Three would have been overkill to me, but it would have made the cake/bread flatter. Your two cents much appreciated. ps. Can someone please give me the pronunciation of the word schiacciata? She...ash...she...at...ta? 2nd edit: OK I am going to come clean about something. I did not follow the recipe directions to a 'T'. "Pour the water, olive oil, sugar, aniseed, and eggs into a bowl and beat with a fork. Add the grapes and baking powder to this mixture, and then gradually add the flour". I have never heard of adding baking powder directly to a huge wet mixture, and so I added it to the flour first and then added the flour/baking powder mixture to the wet mixture. Could someone please comment on this?

Thought I should finish off my Schiacciata con l'uva rant. Sudden thought...what if we split it in half horizontally, toasted and buttered it and presto, very delicious. Of course, like raisin bread which I like when toasted, not untoasted. Finis. ps. Not quite. Going to roast the rest to see what they taste like.

Made the Italian Ice Cream...sort of...that I asked about several messages ago. Some changes...what else is new? Used dried cranberries instead of maraschino cherries. Used cashews instead of pistachios. And made the entire thing on a cornstarch base instead of ricotta. And churned it in my Cuisinart instead of simply pouring it into a loaf pan. Hey! We live at least 35 minutes from everything and you work with what you have. Well, it was scrumptious anyway. Served it at a lunch to us and our South African guests. And it was gone in a New York minute. NOW, I have all the proper ingredients and I am going to make it strictly according to the recipe.

Looks good to me!

I am curious. Does anyone check up on you about your labeling? The label inspector? The USA is way ahead of Canada...I live in east central Ontario...in their labeling which is so great when I am buying something in the States but obviously a total pain when you are selling casually, as in fairs. We don't appear to have any laws governing selling in shows and fairs...someone will correct me immediately no doubt...except to have a government-approved kitchen which is no biggie to get...and a lot of casual sellers don't even have that. I have a friend with a government-approved kitchen and an inspector does drop in without notice to check up. But then I know of another who does not have an inspector drop in. ???? So, about that labeling thingy? Who makes sure it is correct? And how much does it vary from state to state? I seem recall a water factor in some other states.

I started this topic in November 08 from our home away from home in Moab. Well, I finally did it. I made my own Gianduja. Not I'm not saying that it was 'good' and it certainly wasn't according to Hoyle but it got done. I have only a food processor, so of course the resultant hazelnut paste was grainy. 150 grams paste mixed with about 350 grams combined milk and dark chocolate. Hmmmm... pretty grainy. Added some chopped walnuts to disguise the graininess and it worked. Poured it out onto a silpat, sprinkled Fleur de sel on top, cut it up. Yummy. Just had another piece to make sure it was still yummy today. And it was.

Was just relating this morning's posts about fast food, Thurmanators et al to the DH and he replied...what about those 'free if you can eat it all' 40 oz steaks you see advertised on the billboards in Texas and other States? Yummm... Not a burger, but still worthy of mention.

Omitting the olive oil or not, my acid of choice is fresh lemon juice.

There. Just because I finally remembered to take a photo of something I made. Guess I'm not a true eGulleter yet.

Made Schiacciata con l'uva (Recipe #1) and either I made a gross error...immanently possible...or I am not in tune with this recipe. Not to mention baking it for twice as long as called for. Have to test the oven this morning. It is to me neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring. Too sweet to be a bread and not sweet enough to be a cake. The grapes taste just fine...it's the crumb. However, DH likes it and that's good enough for me. Fooey. Actually took a photo of the bread and cannot upload it on 'edit'.

I stand corrected, but only innocently at fault. I rechecked the article in alive, and it does say 'million' in the first figure. Now, you don't think that Reuters could be at fault??? An eighteen-fold increase over 30 years.

I'm not sure about the 'worthy' part exactly seeing as I am quite new to the whole realm of cookery, but I do like the Sainsbury cookbooks. I picked up a lot of them in a second hand store in Utah for mere pennies.

Our health food store gives out a magazine, alive. This issue features a new book: The Slow Food Story: Politics and Pleasure by Geoff Andrews, McGill-Queen's University Press, about the Slow Food association founded in Italy in 1986. Well worth reading I think. One statistic from the book: American expenditures on fast food rose from US $6 million dollars in 1970 to $110 BILLION in 2001.

Thanks, Lisa, but these ARE seedless.

We used to have breakfast every now and then at a little local...I do mean 'local'...diner. All local folks. The breakfasts were great, inexpensive, local eggs, homemade this and that. And the most delicious gigantic, moist, tasty Morning Glory Muffins. I loved them. I adored them. Got a few dozen every summer for the Dog Weekend folks. They were part of the local mythos. Come stay at McAuley's farm and eat these wonderful muffins. Oh, make sure you get those muffins again this year... Imagine my chagrin to find out they came from a tub of mix from a local distributor.

Wonderful. There is the pie which I considered making last fall when my neighbor/friend/landlady in Moab had such a crop of various kinds of seeded grapes, including Concord. DH would not consider eating a pie with crunchy seeds in it. Hey! He brings me coffee in bed every morning. He gets to pick what he wants to eat. Haven't quite decided which one to make but I need your advice on what booze to use? A wine? What about a liqueur? I have a goodly assortment of liqueurs. And always vodka is on hand. Thanks.Baroness

They looked lovely in their big clam-shell, all 2 liters of them. And I had never tried them before. A sort of Concord variety I thought. From Canada's grape and wine producing area. And no seeds. Two liters of tasteless grapes. DH said 'throw them out'. Any ideas for that many basically tasteless grapes? Should I make a grape juice? sherbet? rustic grape pie? ...or just toss them?

Calipoutine (Randi) sent me a wonderful bean salad recipe this summer. I've never really liked bean salads, but this one is a real winner. The dressing has no fat. Lots of sugar. I cut down the sugar by one cup. Still I can't imagine putting it on a green salad...maybe a rice salad or a pasta salad??? But you asked for no fat, and here is no fat. Sauce 3 cups white sugar 2 1/4 cups white vinegar 3/4 cup water 1 1/2 teaspoon salt Boil sauce and cool 1/2 hour. Pour sauce over bean mixture and let stand 24 hours

We buy only large and locally. Our small local grocery store became part of a chain a few years ago...in order to survive I guess. They were carrying a local farmer's eggs. Then they were told they could no longer carry those eggs but had to switch to the national (or whatever) brand. The clientele raised the roof and the chain headquarters backed down and we still buy Scully's eggs, large, there. AND there is SUCH a difference between Scully's eggs and all other grocery eggs. They are just as cheap, but I would buy them even if they cost more. Also, our dogs eat eggs for breakfast every fourth day.

Hello Jenni. I seem to be following you around this morning. So kadala is chickpeas, my favorite of all. Next we'll add this curry to our growing list. Thanks. ...maybe not for breakfast at this time...