E.S.James

Yes, always worth it. If not just for therapeutic reasons. Uninterrupted, I could chop, mince and do prep work standing @ the counter for hours ... But preparing meals, snacks and food for consumption away from home is not just helpful and healthy, but economical. My husband works weekend and some nights and requests things [anything] to take in, rather than to be purchased from take-out. It's fresher and better, a way to stretch your $100/week in groceries, rather than add to the cost.

As my backyard Rhubarb grows as I type [originally a division from my grandmother], I'm thinking I have to try this. Fortunately, I married someone who A) at least knew what Rhubarb was and B) Loves it. I HAVE to try this. Now that I think of it, I need to check my freezer for any of last year's harvest that may be hidden deep in the back. It won't be for candying, but I may have enough for an individual tart.

One comes to mind right now, and the title says it all: "A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove" Also, "Something from the Oven" was a fun read as well. Check your library's non-fiction stacks, Dewey system number 641.0. Leaf through or even pick at random. That's how I've come across lots of hidden gems, including the two above.

The book is very good and informative - with the usual "never would've thought of that one!" peppered throughout. I was given a CIA Boot Camp class as a gift last fall, and chose "food pairings" as the afternoon lecture. Just when I thought I couldn't eat yet another bite, the games began, with that book cited throughout.

This is an interesting thread, and I'm eager to see how it develops. I am not a restaurant chef, but when asked, I am always hard-pressed to give measurements. I always suspect that they think you're holding back, as if you're keeping your secret ingredient from them. You just Make Things. Or invent a dish with what's on hand or what was good @ the farmer's market (or in the garden ... I can't wait for Spring. But that's a separate post.) Your "recipe" with the eggplant, concasse of tomato, etc. was pretty elaborate step by step when it comes down to things. Cooking is intuitive. But people always demand "How many cups?" or "How long to you cook it?" Until it's done.

Try Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff. It is on Goffle Road right as you exit Ridgewood and before you pass under 208 and enter Hawthorne.

Pimaan on Kinderkamack Road in Emerson (Bergen County). We've never been disappointed.

I believe water content may be a good measure to consider. I don't buy strictly organic and try to grow my own when the seasons permit, but H2O is what comes to my mind in the produce aisle. Think about it: The food plant drinks in a lot of its weight, hence growth, through its roots. Soil soaked in God-knows-what is bound to leach in and yield a lot of that muck into the produce. I would note that Celery is No. 2 on the above list of items most likely to contain pesticides. Although a good point is made in another post as well, about root vegetables & soil contact. BTW, after reading and leafing through for quite some time, I just joined eGullet - and am glad I did.

The above post sums up one big thing I've been thinking. I've been to Daniel in a VIP situation. I've been to Le Bernardin just as a couple on an odd weeknight. It was nice to be fawned upon at Daniel, but Le Bernardin delivered one of my meals "of a lifetime." Beginning to end.