Okanagancook

I use MacGourmet to organize recipes and notes. I just copy the information or picture and paste it into the program. The recipe section is quite flexible so for example you can put several versions all under the same recipe. I.e., "Pork Belly": SV or conventional.

I have a ton of parsley that I want to use up. The new Le Pigeon cookbook has a recipe for Parisian Gnocchi which is made with butter, bone marrow, parsley, eggs, water and flour. Once I cook the gnocchi will they freeze well? I should think so because it's basically pasta dough and has no potato.

Looking at the Nutrition Information: 540 calories of which 46.6% is from fat not to mention the sodium load at 1440 mg is a whole day's worth. For alot of people this represents a significant percentage (approx 25%)of their daily caloric requirements. Some "snack". Just say'n.

I have put books that I think I can part with in a box and put it in the basement. Later when I come across that box I look through it again. Seeing there is no more room on the shelf and I have not missed the books I usually take the box to the big second hand book store in town . Then at the counter if I have any regrets I take the book back home. That does not happen very often.

I used the injection brining, 6%, method and cooked the unstuffed bird at 325 degrees F with the breast and legs covered with double foil then uncovered the bird with 45 minutes to go. I also split the legs away from the body of the bird about half way through cooking to help them get done before the breast was over done. I cooked the stuffing separately as I usually do. If you make a nicely concentrated turkey stock and use that to moisten the bread in the stuffing it makes the stuffing taste like it was cooked in the bird...a little of the fat drippings from the bird also helps.

I have all put one, also splattered with sauces and little hearts of 'oh, we love this'

Our Saeco coffee machine of about 12 or 13 years has packed it in and we in the hunt for a replacement. The Jura machines offer many options and a wide price range. I've been searching for reviews about reliability and haven't seen much that has been helpful. What are your experiences with these machines? Any help would be appreciated. We want a machine that does not need a lot of service because the nearest service centre is around 250 kms away.

You might find this interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DASH_diet

Forgot about pot stickers, all crispy on the outside and gingery on the inside served with vinegar/soy sauce/chilies in chili oil dip.

Nachos with lots of cheese and jalapenos all bubbling under the broiler.

Okanagan, Thank you. My oven is nothing special. Main range is Whirlpool. And I have a counter top Waring Pro Convection oven that I use a lot, especially in the summer months. The biscuits were baked in this oven. . But also great for high heat roasting. Heats up to 500°F.Must be the convection oven that gets your baked goods so nice and evenly browned.

AnnT, all your baking looks extraordinary! What kind of oven do you have?

I like to pick my zucchini when they are a little bigger than a hot dog. I'm getting about 3 or 4 a day at the moment. What to do with them. I needed an little something to take to a happy hour. I cut coins of zucchini about 3/4 inch thick. Hollowed out part to make a little cup. Steamed them for about 3 minutes to soften slightly. Then filled with a crab mixture spiced with old bay, lemon juice, mayo, ground chili, chopped chives, minced red pepper and topped it off with a little square of marinated red pepper. Everyone ate them up, pretty tasty and healthy too. Forgot to take a picture of the finished product, duh.

Found this little bugger hiding in amongst the plant leaves! I took out the nasty pithy middle, shredded the firm flesh with some onions and made the curry squash soup in the current Bon Appetite. I had to adjust the amount of curry powder to suit our taste as well as add in a few cayenne peppers from the garden. Served it with crushed poppadums and dollop of greek yogurt. The Vitamix really does a wonderful job on pureed vegetable soup. This turned out very well.

Made the braised lamb shoulder last night. Mine was just over a pound compared to the 6 pounder called for in the book. So I cut down on the other ingredients but followed the method. It was quite nice, not earth-shattering.

I took a picture of them for you FP. It's the sauce that makes these a little different and that sherry vinegar is really nice and tart. April suggests to eat these with roasted roma tomatoes which I didn't have so we had them on top of a mixed green salad and cherry tomatoes. Tomorrow I'm trying the roast lamb shoulder which I'll try to remember to take a picture of.

Made the marinated red peppers with peppers from my garden. Excellent. Nice and tart with the use of sherry vinegar and the sauce gets to a nice consistency using her method of massaging the peppers with all the other ingredients.

I too am swooning over the Naan bread. Makes me wish I had a tandoori oven. The veggie samosas look nice an fat too.

These are excellent for an appetizer with cocktails: http://acozykitchen.com/zucchini-fries/

Last week I found a large zucchini that was hiding down in amongst the leaves. Found a veggie lasagna recipe on page 125 of the original Moosewood Cookbook. It's a variation using zucchini and/or eggplant instead of noodles. I had an excess of eggplant also so made it with both veggies. I baked the vegetables rather than breading and frying because there is enough richness from all the mozza used. It turned out very well. Most of the time I pick the zucchini when about the size of hotdog and use them raw in salads. I have three plants so I get about 2 or three little beauties a day!

We like garlic scape pesto on pasta.

I use the wheat flour tortillas recipe from Diana Kennedy's Recipes from the Regional cooks of Mexico I use this one because it has much less fat yet still produces a nice tortilla. It uses all purpose flour and no baking soda. I usually make up a recipe and the extra dough that is not cooked can be frozen in balls which can be quickly defrosted.

I always make my own dough for wontons and asian dumplings because they taste so much better and they freeze very well. Here is a wonderful site and the author has a book just on dumplings which I use all the time. I have a pasta roller and use that quite often to get consistent thickness of dough or they can be made by hand with a little rolling pin: http://www.asiandumplingtips.com/

I was making the Pho recipe from Heart of the Artichoke and after the meat which had simmered on the bone for 2 hours was tasted, it was dry. I packed the sliced meat in some of Pho broth and vac sealed it. Put in the fridge overnight. The result was a much more moist meat...I kept a couple of non-vacuumed pieces to compare.

I had the same trouble getting a good uniform browning. The meat was lovely and moist using the slow cook method. My brother made it again and cranked his oven up to as high as it would go and got a nice brown but he said it made one heck of a mess in the oven. I will be doing a slow cooked bird again and finishing it off in the BGE to get a nice crispy skin.