snowangel

It would have been my 9th birthday, and my first day in Thailand. My dad's peers cooked a special meal for us. Included was a squid salad (think larb squid), with lime leaves, lime juice, cilantro and a mess of slivered bird chilis. I will add that up 'til that point, my life had been pretty much cream of celery or mushroom casseroles. I was ripe for the picking!

For someone who does not regularly eat sweets, a repeat of breakfast!

I just realized that I haven't posted photos of Heidi and Diana! If you want to see Heidi, scroll midway down this post or go here. And, if you scroll down to the last four pictures in this post, you'll see me. I can't seem to find a good picture of Diana!

Yes, it was good. Making pasta was fun, especially once I figured out that Flour Is My Friend. It is more fun than Heidi's poison ivy and ripping moldy drywall out of the basement. One of the thing about using leftover smoked meat is that I usually just try and use it pretty much straight up. Reheated on buns or in tortillas. This was more of an attempt to "incorporate it" more fully into something else. Reminds me that I should really smoke me some butts soon so I have leftovers for smoked pork pozole!

I should add that I used the recipe from the new Mario book for the pasta, as well as his method (except that I kept forgetting how many times I'd folded and rolled!). The only change I made, per a post in the pasta cookoff topic, was to use 1/2 AP flour and 1/2 that "Duram Seminola flour for pasta" that I got at the coop. I will definitely make pasta again, and this gave me the courage to try stuffed pasta sometime.

OK, Kris, just a few minutes and you can take them to the video store. I learned two things today. Flour is a friend. And, leftover smoked brisket has more uses than I knew. OK. Back to the pasta. I tossed the first sheet I made. For the second, I cut the ball in half, so it was much more manageable. I was a little unclear on how many times a person normally does the fold and roll thing, and on how many different setting. But, I persevered. And, once I was done with the fold and roll thing, I realized that a very light dusting of flour on the bottom of the pasta kept it from sticking to the pasta maker as I ran it through, etc. Actually, this was Peter's suggestion as he dashed out the door for an inpromptu neighborhood football game (no doubt more exciting that watching mommy swear under her breath). I quit rolling at level 3, figuring I didn't want to push my luck, as as luck would have it, it was the perfect thickness (thinness) for the sauce I chose). So, I rolled it all out without a single problem. Yes, flour is my friend. Peter and I chose to cut the pasta in wide, short strips. Now, I had given some thought to sauce ahead of time (but had to get through the pasta first to know that's what we'd really have!), and looked over the new Mario book. But, I didn't really use a recipe from his book, just a few ideas. I had a couple of cans of those whole Italian tomatoes, I had garlic, and I had onions. I also had fresh thyme. I also have those roasted tomatoes. And, I have leftover brisket. I made a simple tomato sauce with both canned and a few roasted tomatoes, and whizzed it sort of chunky with my Braun immersion blender and added some whacked up brisket. Viola! I'm so proud of myself. Kris will attest to the fact that tonight is the one we were most worried about. The pasta was great, and the sauce perfect for the shape of the pasta I chose. Smoked brisket does go well both in a tomato sauce and with pasta. I made sure to leave quite a few of those crispy, extra smoky parts on the pieces. Now, I'd have posted this earlier but I had to run to the drug store for a mess of stuff because Heidi has a nasty case of poison ivy all over her body.

Kris, how much do these loaves of bread cost? My local market sells 1-1/2 pound loaves of squishy white bread for $1.09. I won't touch the stuff! I work hard at sourcing local, great bread, and my favorite thing is when my parents return from Berkeley, CA with a duffle bag of ACME sourdough rounds! I cut them in half, wrap them very carefully and freeze them.

Still, compare the presentation against what I took to Peter's school today! Taking a break from pasta making. It's going much better.

I have rolled out my first sheet of pasta. It was not sticky, and I am not covered with flour. But, there is an odd thin streak, and I should have cut the dough in half as I got to thinner settings. I cut my ball of dough into six pieces and I'm wishing I had cut it into 8. I need an assistant, and Peter will be here any minute! Advice in the next few minutes before I proceed would be appreciated!

Yep, I kaffir lime tree! And, I regularly pick the leaves for larb and curries. It hasn't gotten much taller in the past year, but is certainly wider!

I have lunch with Peter at school once a week, and today was the day. He wanted me to bring lunch this time. We often eat school lunch, so if we're going to eat school lunch, I plan which day of the week based on the menu. They always offer two entrees with sides, or a salad (which are usually quite good, although I usually bring my own vinegarette). Anyway, I decided this morning that I had to have larb, so I made it. I used pork, and my recipe for Larb. Whenever I need kaffir lime leaves, I get them from my lime tree It sits on the deck during the warm months and in our sun room during the cold months. The little pot in there is one of my orchids which I am nursing back to health after a hail storm. So, I made larb and trotted off to the school lunch room. Peter's lunch: He wanted tuna salad, a piece of cheese cake, cheetos. He bought milk at the school cafeteria. Chocolate milk is favored by almost all of the 4th graders. The cheesecake. Our church receives a donation of bakery goods every Saturday night from a local bakery, and the deal is that we "sell" these to church members for a free-will donation, and then the money goes to local food shelves, etc. So, I did not bake the cheesecake, but Peter saw it on Sunday and had to have it. What's interesting is that most often, people will put more into the free-will offering than the bakery charges for the items! My lunch Larb, a couple of apples and some slices of Eichten's tilset cheese. Since I ran out of time to slice the apple and put lemon juice on it, I just took the apples and had bites of apple along with bites of cheese. I couldn't buck the trend of the kids, so I, too had chocolate milk. I love chcolate milk, and it certainly made for an interesting counterpoint to the rest of lunch. I stayed for recess, ran the three laps with the kids, and was heading back into school to leave when I got caught in a firedrill. I can no longer put off making pasta. Wish me luck.

Next time I make the Rendang, I'm tempted to microplane the stuff into a glass bowl and use the head of the stainless smasher. I don't think that stuff will stain a pyrex bowl (but I could be surprised!

I almost never eat anything sweet for breakfast. In fact, outside of fruit (and I much prefer a fruit with tang), I almost never eat sweets. But, for breakfast, I had a scoop of vanilla ice cream with some great chocolate sauce that we get at the farmer's market. It's by the River Chocolate Company (they don't have a web site). This one was called Mexican Chocolate sauce, and the ingredients are Belgian chocolate, cream, sugar, light corn syrup, Vietnamese cinnamon, organic coffee exracts, vanilla, salt. It is very thick, and very rich. I heated the sauce so I could spoon it out, and put it over a scoop of incredibly hard ice cream so that the sauce hardened up. I'll post a photo later when I can find it (lost in computer space). Since I don't have drying racks, I'm figuring that my dining room chairs will be covered with flour!

Good morning to some of you, good evening to others of you. The sun is just now coming up here in Minnesota, and I'm already on my second cup of coffee. Diana is at school, Heidi leaves in a few minutes and Peter in about 45 minutes. Kris, impressive job with the pasta! Looks wonderful. How long did this take you? How long should I allow from start to finish. And, I will wear shorts so I can just dust off my legs! Good plan to go barefoot, too.

Kris, I'm handing it over to you for the night. In six short hours, I must be up (but I'll admit that Heidi and I do take a 1 hour nap every afternoon when she gets home from school). See you tomorrow!

If I were doing this soup again, I would mash up some cilantro roots and add it to the soup, but not add the cilantro, as you suggested, until the end. I would take my new handy-dandy braun immersion blender and blend the soup slightly, reheat (if necessary) and then add the cilantro. It didn't say anything about chopping the cilantro, and once I added it, I fished out what I could and chopped it slightly. Some of my leaves were huge. (I ended up adding 3 generous tablespoons of nam pla, but then again, I really like it.) It's hard to read recipes when one is doing laundry, helping with homework, etc.

Elaborate, please on uses for this paste (or direct me to a topic...). Would the Malaysian shrimp paste be similar to Thai shrimp paste which lists "shimp, fish and salt" as ingredients? It comes in a small hard plastic jar with a screw on lid. The paste-on nutrition label says that 1 tsp provides 72% of the DRA of sodium!

I'd mentioned the pumpkin pasta idea to my family tonight. They all rolled their eyes. (I think they are tired of the blog!). But, Diana and I mused tonight that the meat on the point of that brisket is certainly reminicent of braised meat -- soft and sucullent, and the middle portions are not smokey..... Meantime, I just put the pumpkin in plastic and it's resting nicely on my outdoor fridge. Once again, like Scarlett, I will think about that tomorrow.

Over here, you can see that Kris and I are both making pasta. Given her recent experience, and my lack of experience, help over on that blog is appreciated! Toward the end of the topic, I have some questions...

Now, I'm starting to think ahead to tomorrow and pasta day. Again, I think both Kris and I need best wishes on this one! So, as I mentioned way upthread, I bought some flour from a bin at the coop that was "duram seminola for pasta." Is this what I should use? I've abandoned my quest for stuffed pasta, figuring that just getting pasta out of the maker is a good start. So, when I look at what I have for sauce. I have roasted tomatoes. I have tons of garlic. I'd better check the basil plant, but I know that the tarragon, sage and rosemary are still going well. I also have leftover smoked brisket, but I'm wondering about that and pasta (). But, first, advice on the flour. Naturally, nothing at the coop or the grocery store comes with any sort of note about protein.

I think you are right. It is an unbelievably strong orange/yellow color. I'm thinking I'll freeze it, and when I use it, microplane it into a glass bowl. Strikes me this might be a good dye for Easter Eggs!

Should I stick the pumpkin in the oven? Wrapped in foil? Open?

One more question! I have over 1/2 this pumpkin leftover and sitting on the kitchen counter. What should I do with it?

One more thing. I bought this at the Asian market. Not, it is not carrots. What is it? Since I don't know what it is, I don't have any plans for it. How do I preserve it? Stick it in the freezer?

You're not the only one! I spent hours cleaning before and after the party last night. Dinner tonight was pretty labor intensive, and my floor is littered with bits of cilantro, Thai basil and the stray bits of minced this and that. Do I mop now or after there is flour everywhere tomorrow?