snowangel

I don't know if it is supposed to be so watery; maybe someone (Chris?) who has made it can chime in! As for the raw texture, there is a little note in writing so small I had to get out my reading glasses that if the beans are tough, parboil them.

Good morning, all! What a pleasure to wake to the talk of larb! And, the sun is shining this morning. Finally. This is where I usually have at least one cup of coffee every morning. But, it is only 30 degrees (F) outside, so I need to get on some warmer clothes and find some socks!

I'm handing it over, Kris. The kids are all in bed, and all asleep. Homework done, backpacks packed for tomorrow. My lists and the note to take my camera are duct taped to the steering wheel of my vehicle for tmorrow. Trust me, it gets easier when they are all in school all day long every day of the week, but I still have lunch once a week (as I will tomrrow) witth one of them each and every week. When you bring the kids back to the States every summer, what do they think? Good night, all! Over and out, Kris.

I really did clean the kitchen counters and stove after I posted the pictures!

Linda, be proud of your green bean recipe. Really. Everyone in the household gave it high honors. And, this ginger was so young and tender it did not need to be sliced before smashed. I'd give m eye teeth to have a field of this available on any given day. This ginger I bought was a true cooking revelation to me. The kind of revelation that only occurs once a decade.

Reviewing this, I realized I meant to post a pick of Peter finishing his tuna salad We only buy Gedney relish. And, if I had my way, very store I shop at would carry Gedney Sauerkraut. Their kraut is of the sour vareity, and very crunchy. The latter product is not readily available. Another Gedney favoriate of mine is Little, crunchy, and nice and spicy (especially when the jar is empty enough that you have to dig the pickles out with a fork instead of clean fingers).

We have dinner. Heidi has had a bath. Peter has done is homework and some prep for lunch tomorrow. Diana is doing her homework. I've abandoned the basement for today. So, for dinner, we had Mac and Cheese with Crumb Topping, Green Beans (Southern Style), and one of my last ripe Brandywines. It was really yummy. Normally, when I make mac and cheese, it is the egg/evaporated milk quickie version. THe kids said "baked mac and cheese?" I was skeptical. But, one taste of the mac and cheese with that crumb topping, and they said "make it again." BTW -- I doubled the amount of crumb topping. crunch and smooth is a good combination. Peter thought the green beans tasted like bacon (he's been trained well). I didn't follow fifi's advice in that I didn't drain any of the bacon fat off. Bacon fat is a good thing. The brandywine was wonderful. I'll probably have my obligatory apple for breakfast in the morning with a side of green beans. Heidi will have mac and cheese for breakfast (at school; breakfast is in the special ed class which does have a full kitchen, including a microwave). Peter wants mac and cheese for his after school snack. But, no one is getting the green beans but me. So, after we got things from dinner cleaned up, I mentioned to Peter that I would have lunch with him tomorrow. Normally, he takes school lunch , but he has a hankering for tuna salad, which is is now making himself. So, he did it. He has mastered the Ekco can opener which I got as a wedding present Then, scrape everything carefully out of the can with a fork, rinse the lid and toss, and then add mayo and pickle relish (no comments, please; he can do this himself and is very proud). So, tomorrow morning, we will make him a couple of sandwiches and have lunch with him at school. He wants me to make the sandwiches so his squishy white breat doesn't get any quishier, add a bag of chips and a couple of apples. We will get milk at school.

FOr me, it was too much rain and too many rabbits. I was pleading, at a certain point this summer, for all of my neighbors to let their indoor cats become outdoor hunters.

No to brussel's sprouts. I never eat brussels sprouts that are picked before a hard frost. My grandmother (a wise and wonderful goddess said never to eat them before a hard frost, and they are even better eaten when one has to "wade" out to the garden in snow boots, snow falling into said boots, when one picks them).

Bingo! We have a winner! But, no on the lentils. I don't think they grow them here nor have I ever seen them at any local farmer's market.

Another hint. The main dish is in the oven. One of the sides is simmering nicely on the stove. The lid on the side will be removed in about 15 minutes so that the liquid can reduce.

No to broccoli. The prize is the obligation to enter a few new recipes into RecipeGullet!

Good morning, Kris! I had a most successful afternoon in the basement, and think we need to rent a dumpster! Anyway, as soon as I was got rid of the last vestiges of harvest gold in the basement, I got to work on dinner. This is one ingredient for the main dish. It also contains some things that are always on hand, as well as something I picked up at Costco yesterday, plus something else I got today at a stop I got today. Any guesses? I should mention that the wooden spoon thing in front of the box is my favorite spoon for cooking. Making sauces. Stirring batters. Whatever. My MIL gave it to me as a stocking stuffer back when I was a newlywed. The other thing the main dish requires is bread crumbs. Since I polished off the rest of the baguette today (slightly stale, but very good with an obscene amount of butter), all the bread remaining is squishy white bread, which is what Peter favors for tuna salad (stay tuned, you will see it) sandwiches. It was quite fresh, so I had to get inventive on drying it somewhat. I figured that if I heat up the burners, and turn them off, it would work. And, it seems to be doing so, quite well. Necessity is the mother of invention. Next, I set to get going on a side for this dish. This side calls for 5 strips of thick cut bacon. Well, I don't have any. The only sliced bacon I had was frozen. But, these bacon ends from Hackenmueller's meats in Robbinsdale are the cat's meow (no cat in this household -- I am allergic -- but figured the word needed to be mentioned). I'm fonder of the bacon that comes from Lenny's Meat Market in New Ulm, but Hack's bacon ends can't be beat. They are one of the very few meat markets I've found that sells them -- $1.49/lb. I'm not sure if this equates to 5 thick slices, but this is what I am using The other ingredients in this dish involve a green thing my mom got me at the St. Paul Farmer's Market on Tuesday morning (in Falcon Heights), and onion and chicken broth. Any guesses? Reminder, it's cold outside, and tonight is RecipeGullet night for me! Time to take care of my breadcrumbs and help Peter with his story board!

You can find the hot skinny on smokin' butt right here. There is all kinds of info in Klink's class on Smoking Meat at Home. Check it out! It's way easy to do.

My Asian market has a pretty good selection of "treats" which I never look at, nor buy. They are on my list for my excursion tomorrow! It's interesting. They have a VERY limited selection of Japanese cooking ingredients, but as I recall, a fairly large selection of these kinds of treats.

Thanks for fixing the link for me! Like I said, this soup was super simple, easy to finish at the end, and the ingredients are those which I always have. I was disappointed this morning that that wonderful aroma had disipated. Let's not forget the tornado of just two weeks ago! 20" of rain in two weeks is a bit excessive, I think. And, getting the house ready for 30 people on Saturday. So, I'm calm, but wasn't particularly together this morning. I blithfully assumed (without checking the weather) that it would warm up today, so I jumped into shorts, a long-sleeved T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and donned my Birki's. After my initial post, I went downstairs, coffee in hand, and resumed my demolition process. So, I was on the late side of leaving for my writing class. I remembered my notebook and coffee, but forgot my camera. I was almost late because the Traffic Light gods were not shining on me. But, after writing class (a breath of fresh air on a day like today), I hit the farmer's market again today. Had I had my camera, I would not have taken a single shot. It was cold. 40 degrees, howling wind. I was wishing for a jacket, hat and mittens! The farmer's market was much smaller today that it was on Monday or last Thursday. Only one of the lanes was occuppied. I saw only a handful of tomatoes, which just didn't look great. So, this is what I got Chinese broccoli. More long beans. Thai basil. Eggplants; I'm not sure if this is what I should have gotten, but the sure are pretty and there were hardly any eggplants to be hand, other than the big purple ones, and I was pretty sure I didn't want those. More cilantro -- check out the roots on this bunch!. And, the tiniest green onions I've ever seen. Detail of the last two items: And, I'm just realizing I forgot to take a picture of the pumpkin I got. Each item was a dollar, except for the pumpkin which was $2.00. The ginger lady had no ginger today. So, I headed off to the Asian market, and as I was pulling into the left hand lane, I realized that not only did I not have my camera, I didn't have my list. So, I continued on home. The traffic lights continued to be against me, so I have missed lunch with Peter. So, tomorrow late morning I will head to the Asian market, and get myself something for lunch, take a mess of photos, and have lunch with the 4th graders at L. O. Jacob Elementary. When I arrived home, I was starving, so I ate the last piece of leftover chicken while standing over the seat, and am now happily munching on more of those pretzels. I'll probably need a mid-afternoon snack, something warm. I'm fighting the urge to turn on the furnace. So, now, back down to the basement, and then a break in about an hour to start some dinner preps. Dinner tonight from RG!

Search no further than the three part ECI course on Stocks and Stock Making. Once you've read this one, click on the link by day 2 listed at the top of the course for the basics on simmering. From day 2, you can click on the link to the course on straining defatting and reducing.

Good morning, Kris and all! It is a nippy morning here (38 degrees f). Once again, coffee and chestnut crabs for breakfast. In about an hour and a half, I will leave for my writing class, followed by another trip to the farmer's market and a stop at the Asian market. If the timing is right, I'll have lunch with Peter at his school. One of the dishes from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet I'm contemplating calls for "Asian eggplant." They are long and skinny, right? On Tuesday, I saw some skinny eggplants that were purple and white striped. Would this be them?

Time for bed. I have had a martini and the other end of that baguette, with an obscene amount of butter. Most of all, I will go to bed with a house that still smells divine after making that soup.

Dang. To bad I had no ripe tomatoes last time I smoked, but, if there are still tomatoes at the farmer's market tomorrow, I'm smoking on Friday or Saturday (a nice 16 pound brisket), so do tell you how did them. Whole? Halved? And, how did you consume them? As is? As adornment/accompaniment for something else?

I've had a "slight" homeowner disaster in the form of a basement flood. So, my roasted tomatoes. I did the Scarlett O'Hara thing, put them in a tupperware in the fridge and said "I'll think about that tomorrow." Dramatically wiping back of hand across brow.

Dinner tonight. Dinner on the run. It's Paul's birthday, but as most parents know, our birthdays take second stage to the kid stuff. We will celebrate on Saturday instead. Evening Garlic Soup in the Manner of the Correze from Paula Wolfert's brand new The Cooking of Southweat France: Recipes from France's Magnificent Rustic Cuisine , baguette with Hope Butter, and a wedged Brandywine. Note that I got the heel. My kids know better than to take the crusties parts of the bread! The soup was spectacular. For something so simple (onions, garlic, chicken broth, a bit of butter or duck fat, two eggs and a bit of red wine vinegar), is was very rich. I wondered if that amount of soup would feed all of us, and it did. Especially good was baguette crusts dipped in the soup! Best of all, once we got home from Diana's parent/teacher conferences, it was only 15 minutes to finish the soup while I got everything else ready. Note that Paula will be participating in an eGullet Spotlight Conversation November 14-18, 2005. The accompaniments were perfect.

Are my tomatoes pooped enough? And, if so, what do I do with them now? They are not in the plans for the next few days... And, what about all of that oil that is on the parchment paper? Dinner report to follow soon.

I have just waded through the back yard and picked the last of my ripe brandywine tomatoes At least a couple of these will be cut up and featured at dinner. The front two tomatoes have splits. I'm sure it's because of the 20 or so inches of rain we have had in the last two weeks (let's not even talk about the leaky basement or the trench I will dig next week to lay drain tile). The one top left I'm sure is hail damaged. The back center is a perfect specimin. Right back is typical, at least for me. Deep, creviced shoulders. These seem easier to wedge than slice. They are so tasty they need no adornment, at least IMHO. Perhaps a bit of pepper, perhaps not. It is supposed to get cold tonight, and there are a couple left that show promise, if we can avoid tomorrow nights freeze. So, tomorrow, I should probably go and pick the rest of the tomatoes and contemplate something with green tomatoes.

Oh. I always remember the cilantro, even if I have not intended purpose for it. But, I always forget the parsley. So, tonight's soup will NOT have a garnish. Did you check out the photos above of the cilantro roots at the farmer's market?