snowangel

Hie thyself to a grocery! Homemade tapicoa pudding is easy. In the "baking section," you should be able to get Minute Tapioca or Small Pearl Tapicoa. Follow recipe on box, using whole milk. Orgainic eggs, if possible. Real vanilla. Sugar. Pinch of salt. That about covers it. Super easy, super good, super comfort food. (So, how many ingredients were on the label of the packaged stuff??) It is easy and wonderful. I make it at least weekly for a daily special occasion -- the kids coming home from school. It is great warm or cold.

You must live somewhere south of Minneapolis! I'd need hip waders to get to my vines...

Thanks, John. I'll keep tweeking, and if I come upon the magic formula, you will be the first to know. On another note, many moons ago, my dad gave my mom, my sister and me each copies of Simple Cooking for Xmas. My daughter Diana, age 12 (many e-gulleters will recall tales of this budding and talented cook), is currently reading Simple Cooking. It is "I Love To Read Month" in the Minneapolis Public Schools, and this is one of her chosen books, and she is enjoying it (and getting ideas). Come to think of it, I should probably go and get the book out of her hands -- she is probably asleep -- and turn off her night light.

Maggie, that is a great book. I have never really planned anything, just decided at times that "oh, this would look better here" and "I really need something blue here." I'm more in the lines of cottage garden rather than landscaped. I don't have a big veggie garden anymore, so tend to stick those in where appropriate. Before I planted my wisteria, the posts of the pergola had pole beans. Dead plants/things I don't like are often replaced with tomato plants. Adds surprise.

My recent bedtime reading lately has been the seed catalogues! Interesting that I didn't pull them out until we got our 1' blanket of snow (we'd been snow free until early this week). I do take pictures of my various garden areas over the course of the summer (so I can refer back to what it looked like in June, July, August and September), and spend time in the winter looking at them and making plans for summer. Depending on what is budding, in Minneapolis, I'd be a bit nervous because we are still sub-zero at night, which means I probably won't have to worry about it. I'd leave the dang hydrangeas in and see what you have, as you said. In fact, since you moved in during the winter, I don't know that I'd make too many concrete plans until you see what comes up where. We moved into our house in August (1986), so I knew that all I had were four ugly potentillas (two on either side of the front door). In the back yard, we had one sorry rose bush and one horrid peony (it had never been cared for), just sort of stuck in the middle of the back yard. So, I pretty much had a blank canvas, and it has really evolved over the years. The tendency is to want to do everything at once, and I know that now that I've adopted a "let's take it slowly" attitude, I'm much happier with how things are progressing. I remember Christmas of 2001. We went to Berkeley to visit my sister, and the very first thing I did was wander around her back yard and do some weeding. Dirt under my nails and all of the green was a Christmas present in itself.

It's a thread called "stuff they say is easy, but it ain't, and yes, the post was by project. In the cooking category. Click! This is pretty much how I do it, and mine are always flaky. Remember that depending on what you are putting in the crust, it is often wise to pre-bake it somewhat.

How is your quest for the perfect home-baked English Muffin coming along? I regularly make them, but am only moderately happy with them -- full of holes, but there's something that's just not quite right about them. Could you describe your process for tinkering with them?

My local Target (FG must not have made it to Minneapolis yet) had a nice supply. In addition to the 16 quart stockpot, they also have a set with 16, 12 and 8 quarters for $69.00. They also had several of the 3 quart sauce pans, and a 7 or 8 piece set with 2 sauce pans, dutch oven, and a couple of omelet pans. I can't imagine why a person would spend more at Target for their cheap Calphalon. These are very nice; they seem very similar to the Emerilware by All Clad at a fraction of the price.

We have just been through this. With three kids, eating out all of the time was not an option. I got some great tips from Rachel on the thread on the remodeling of their kitchen. What we did: Diana and I went on a real cooking binge beforehand, and really loaded up the freezer. I made lots of stock, and we made and froze some pasta dishes (Rachel was right; plain pasta just doesn't freeze very well). I used those small disposable casserole dishes, and they fit in the toaster oven (I have a Cuisinart one which is pretty big). My microwave isn't convection, but I learned that if one reheats one of these dishes in the microwave to finish it off in the toaster oven. Indespensible during this time was an electric skillet (you can usually pick them up at places like Goodwill) and the crock pot. Crock pot for soups (if you put noodles into the soup in the crock pot, they take forever to cook, but if the pasta is really small -- like those mini tubes and orzo, you can boil them in the electric skillet) and stews, skillet for chicken cutlets, pork chops, etc. I cooked chickens and we added them to salads, etc. We often ate great sandwiches. Don't forget about the take-out/deli area of your grocery store. We ate a lot of eggs. Frittata, omelets, scrambled, whatever. You can do a lot with eggs. Someone also lent me a stand-alone burner, but it wasn't beefy enough to handle a big pot, so I didn't use it much. We did a little baking -- cookies and 8" cakes, but the toaster oven isn't quite big enough for a pie. We made a lot of ice cream with the Donvier. Someone also lent us some plastic plates (I've seen them at Target now that they are gearing up for summer), which sure beat washing pottery dishes in our cement laundry sink. It is hell, but it is worth it. Keeping the kids out of the tools that were laying around just about put me over the edge. I love my kitchen. Mine was an extensive cosmetic remodel; we did keep most of the cupboards and counters, since they are beautiful, and the layout is great. My kitchen was an explosion of harvest gold -- and whoever did this originally really liked paisley. I did the work myself, with minimal help from my husband, and successfully did some major plaster/drywall patching, rewired light fixtures to handle halogen, added light fixtures, built in a dishwasher, laid a new sub-floor and floor, refinished two pocket doors, reworked the interior sheet metal to "sleeken" two old, big cold air returns. My husband manufactured (on a Bridgeport, out of delrin) new wheels for the obsolete hardware on the pocket doors (instead of tearing out a lot of plaster to put in new track). It looks fresh, updated, and most of all, clean and plain. I am loving my new off-white walls. Most of all, I am very proud because I did it myself (I know where everything is at Home Depot and my local hardware store), and brought it in under my $2,000 budget!

Everyone loved it. It is now in my repertoire of "what to fix with little time and just about nothing in the larder. And, why can't you include something like bacon or pancetta in the recipe every week?

Have you goggled with what recipe you're looking for? (Like Buttermilk Pancake Recipe; be sure and put recipe in there). Often have good luck with this.

Black Bean and Rice Salad Great for potlucks. 2 c cooked rice 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed 10 oz corn 2 red bell peppers, diced 1 red onion, diced 1/2 c chopped cilantro 2 T balsamic vinegar 1/4 c lime juice 1/2 c oil to taste Combine black beans, rice, peppers, onion, cilantro. Combine remaining ingredients; whisk or shake to blend. Toss dressing with salad. This is best made a few hours in advance, and served not directly from the fridge. I usually cook my own black beans, and often add a bit more rice. Can use frozen corn (thaw in colander under running water) if fresh sweet corn is not in season. Keywords: Salad, Vegan, Easy ( RG129 )

Chocolate Cake with boiled frosting This recipe comes from my great grandmother. Any notes in quotes come direction from a 70+ year old recipe card, hand written in beautiful cursive with a fountain pen. 1-1/2 c butter 2 c sugar 2 eggs 1 c buttermilk 1 tsp baking soda 2/3 c cocoa 2-1/4 c flour 1 c cream 1 c sugar cocoa Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, "beat well." Add buttermilk "beat well." Add baking soda, dissolved in "a tidge" of hot water. Add cocoa, which has been mixed with 1/2 cup boiling water. Add flour, "beat well." Makes three 9" layers, one 9x13 or a number (depending on how full you fill them) cupcakes. Bake at 350 F until done; don't overbake. Frosting Mix 1 cup sugar with enough cocoa "so it looks right." Stir in cream. Cook over med. low heat to soft ball stage. Remove from heat, and beat by hand "with wooden spoon" until amost spreaking consistency. If you beat it too long, and are frosting layer cakes, it will be too hard on the top layer. If too hard, beat in a drop or two of hot water. Advice on frosting. At least 1.5 the recipe because you will want to have plenty of frosting -- enough to lick the pan. Keywords: Dessert, Intermediate, American ( RG128 )

THANKS!!! I have 2 lbs. of this pasta (de ceccho; I got it at a local place and was intrigued by the size), a mess of scallions, eggs, but not much else in the larder, and almost a foot of snow on the ground, so no trip to the market tomorrow. I was just thinking of what I could put on the table tomorrow night...

What's brulee-ing?

As I posted on the what would you bake on a cold and wet day thread: Wild Rice Pudding. Made it today. It was not a cold and wet day; it was an almost sub-zero and snowy day: 2 cups half & half 4 eggs 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp gound Cinnamon 1/8 tsp salt 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 1-1/2 cups well-cooked wild rice 1/2 cup golden raisins 1/2 cup chopped almonds Preheat oven to 325 deg F. In a small saucepan, scald half & half; set aside. Beat eggs and sugar until frothy. Stir in cinnamon, salt, vanilla, wild rice, raisins and almonds. Gradually stir in half & half. Divide mixture evenly between six 6-ounce custard cups. Place in large metal baking pan; fill with hot water to within 1-inch of top of custard cups. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove custard cups from pan. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

Thanks for the info; it's nice to know that I've been doing it right. Just as soon as I get the snow shoveled of the weber, I'll do a side-by-side with country ribs and spare ribs. The fattier country ribs sound great. My butcher does a nice job of trimming them up -- he even removes the membrane!

In southern Minnesota, they call them "Morel Mushrooms." Not just morels. Must be a midwestern thing.

Me, too. Just last night I said to Paul "I need ribs." So, assuming that our above zero weather hits, I will get ribs. So, the question. We have Weber kettle, have smoked stuff before (my, that comment is leading ). Hints on smoking ribs, please, from the General. I prefer "real" ribs, not those baby backs with virtually no meat to speak of (not to mention the why pay more for less idea).

I won't even ask what kind of smoke...

This was only my first time using it, but since there's a hinge in the handle and I don't have a permanent place for the stuffer (i.e. so I can mount it), it would be difficult to control with a pipe. But using a towel over the handle worked just fine. I was actually thinking of just pipe insulation -- that dark gray, foamy stuff that comes in shaped like that tubular spaghetti, only bigger. I think it comes in many diameters. It is slit on one side, and seems to have enough "roughness" on the inside to do a good job of staying put.

Have you tried pipe insulation around the handle? Question: why do sausages bend and not lay flat once they are cooked?

If it's crusty, I want it room temperature. If it's soft-crust, I want it warm. I want my butter cool; not hard, not soupy. And, I don't want a quantity that will fill me up; I want to enjoy the rest of the meal.

How much of this thought has to do with the emotions and feelings one associates with eating this "traditional American food" in a home; the experiences one had as one watched this food being cooked in a home kitchen, consumed with family around a generations-old kitchen table? For example, no fried chicken, to me, will ever be as good as that cooked by my Aunt Laura, now deceased. A large part of that had to do with how she cooked it, but another part had to do with the experience of being with her, at her house, her standing on the front stoop waiting for us, the Franciscan Desert Rose dinnerware, the smells, etc., etc.

Although not bbq'd, my favorite St. Paul (Minnesota) dim sum joint serves some little ribs -- riblets (I think they are called), but they are meaty, which indicates they are not baby backs. What's different is that they are not bbq'd -- they come in the little steamer tray thingies, and are almost white. I've tried and tried to recreate, but no success. I get the impression that they have been fried, but then "braised" or steamed. I think garlic is the predominate spice, but they have been cooked long enough that it isn't like garlic is when it has been fried. They are absolutely sublime. How do I recreate these things? ??????