Darienne

Chiles en Nogada sounds wonderful and I've never eaten it or made it but now it's on the menu for that date which is also the birthday of our female Spoiled-Rottenweiler and the 5th anniversary of falling and cracking open the back of my head...a sort of a mixed holiday you might say. I hope no one will mind if I use walnuts from North Carolina, a gift from a generous eGulleter. Otherwise, I'll be good to go. Thanks for the recipe Jaymes. My favorite Mexican dessert to date is Capirotada pudding...the one with sugar syrup and without eggs or milk, traditionally served during Lent. Love it. And thanks gulfporter for reminding me to mark the date on my calendar.

I'll use this duplicate posting to add some gardening news. We've lived on our farm now for 20 years this year and during that time the apple trees in our backyard have been pruned exactly once by my B-i-L about 8 years ago. One Macintosh and one Northern Spy. We actually have more than 20 apple trees on the property, some of them heritage apples and not too tasty by our standards. But then no one has cared for them for decades. So, just found an article in a local newspaper with instructions on how to prune your apple trees and so, that's exactly what I am going to do today. With help from DH I hope. Last year's crop was exactly 7 apples. The year before was hundreds, none of them appetizing. The year before that was a BUMPER crop and we had trouble just dealing with the abundance. So here we go again.

First of all, allow me to say I am no doubt among the world's worst gardeners. Followed up by I have planted tomatillos for the past few years with some success. They are one thing you cannot buy in my area. Ever. I plant seedlings from a local grocery store first of June. You don't plant in East Central Ontario until June 1st. Rule. No need now to plant Poblanos. They have been in two grocery chains for about three years now and these two chains have expanded their 'exotic' products greatly. Thanks heavens. This year, Cylexa has very kindly sent me some epazote seeds which I intend to plant immediately indoors. And hope for the best. Thanks again, Cylexa. Any information on growing epazote welcomed. ps. I think, I hope, I pray that the snow is finally over.

Good for you, Shelby. It snowed here this morning....

Fun to look back five years ago and watch the ganache videos again. Thanks for the reminder.

My go-to is to cover anything with a chocolate ganache. Hides a multitude of sins and everyone thinks you're so clever and wonderful! :laugh:

Well, I am gobsmacked. Looked again through my stuff for another all-Asian type cookbook and found a very small Thai cookbook. Tucked way back in my Chinese section. Obviously bought it second-hand. Probably in Moab, Utah. Your Favourite Thai Dishes by Wandee Na Songkhla. 1999. Printed and published in Thailand. No memory of it at all. I'll have to look at it carefully. Half-hour later: Quick look through. Doesn't look like what I am looking for in terms of curries.

Thanks to all so far. Next time we are in the city I'll look up those books. I did find a section on Thai food in one of my cookbooks. No, I didn't get galangal. I forgot to ask. And yes I do know about galangal and have used it before in a candying process which was not a wild success. and also I have tamarind. Of course I have ginger in the freezer for easy grating. I am heading to this Thai dish for Saturday noontime meal so I still do have some time.

Thanks to eGullet friend, Deryn, I now am equipped to cook my first Thai curry (I hope.) Yesterday I stopped at our go-to Asian grocery store and stocked up on Thai specialities. I have pretty much all the ingredients I need such as: lemongrass, kaffir leaves, turmeric root, palm sugar, coconut cream, seeds of a variety of spices, rice noodles, tamarind, long skinny eggplant, etc, etc, and etc. I already cook some Indian, Arabic, Mexican and Chinese so I have a good variety of ingredients for these on hand. I could spend three hours now googling Thai curry recipes and come away confused about where to start. Please, someone take pity on me and supply me with a starter's type of curry. (No seafood please and thank you.) My thanks for any and all help.

You really are an amazing M-i-L. I hope his company is at least paying for the ingredients.

What? No one has purchased any more cook books since June 2014? Amazing. While I was at Laser Therapy yesterday, my DH went to a local second hand store and bought me the coffee table cookbook to end all coffee table cookbooks. It weighs 7 pounds and is huge. Can't sit in bed and look at it...too big and too heavy. But it looks fascinating: Italy: Pasta, Pesto, Passion put out by Culinaria. 2000, English edition. Lots of recipes, but also lots of photos, stories, features, history, geography, etc. I'll have to keep it in the living room. (And we don't eat Italian food very often.) I have no idea why he bought it. :wub:

Thanks for the information, Shel.

If you have trouble sticking to it, what is the sticking point? Lack of coffee?

How did your anti-jet lag preparations work for you? Were they successful?

I can't imagine that I could buy Lentilles de Puy in our small city and I also can't imagine that they would fit into our snack bracket.

Shel. According to David Lebovitz, only lentils marked Lentilles de Puy are the real thing and that they cost much more than the plain ole green lentils which I am accustomed to buying. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2006/11/cheap-caviar-1/

Thanks Shel. I've printed out your recipe. Nancy, we really like Cumin too. Really. And I'll probably go for the cayenne. I thought the Thai curried soup was pretty hot while I was making it (and tasting it) and then I added the coconut milk and that changed it greatly. DH thought it was really as hot as he thought it would be and asked for more heat. We're eating it tomorrow and besides putting an amount of chickpeas in it (to make me happy), I shall also add to the curry paste to make him happy. ps. Just googled Lentilles de Puy. Don't know where I could get them in my area. I'll just have to use plain old green lentils.

Maybe we need a new topic: Recipes I'm Going to Try. Or probably it's already been done.

This sounds good, Nancy. Googled it and found the recipe toute suite. Any changes that you make to the recipe? Thanks.

Puerco Pibil, a household favorite here. Here's Roberto Rodriguez' recipe: Sorry, I don't know where I got the actual recipe. It predates my careful noting of provenance.

Thanks Jaymes. Actually, that's exactly what DH does. If he doesn't like something served...he douses it with curry powder. Especially if it's Brussels Sprouts which I love.

Bon Voyage, Kerry.

In my long years of life, never before have I had or made a curried soup. I found a recipe which appealed to me in a free vegetarian magazine distributed by our local bulk and health food store: Alive . I bring it home to read every time I go in there, although mostly to see what recipes might appeal to me...and most don't I have to admit. It's not that I don't like vegetarian food, which I do, but this is just a tad 'too' healthy for me usually. But this recipe was for a "Spicy Thai Yam and Lentil Soup" and I made it for lunch today. I have to admit that I did add shredded pork leftover from the last Puerco Pibil. If the recipe is traditionally Thai I have no idea, but adding pork from the Yucatan region certainly did not add to its authenticity. It was a huge success and now I am definitely in the market for curried soup recipes. All regional cuisines are welcome. Just found the recipe online: http://www.alive.com/recipes/view/1563/spicy_thai_yam_and_lentil_soup

I'd just be happy to see the end of the snow.

Once met the owner/chef of a Mexican restaurant which didn't last long in Peterborough, Ontario, and asked him why Mexican restaurants didn't offer pork on their menu in this area. He said pretty much the same thing.