kayb

Sent me Googling for katchapuri. Which had me copy-and-pasting the recipe. They had me at runny eggs and cheese.

Unfortunately, Wegman's does not extend down to my part of the world; I've shopped in them when visiting the northeast. They're NICE. I love Publix, here, but the closest ones are in Nashville. A St. Louis chain, Schnucks, made a foray into the Memphis market a few years ago and I liked their stores, but they didn't last long. Kroger, and of course, WalMart, are the 900 pound gorillas in the room around here. Fortunately, Kroger is generally pretty good, and the "upscale" ones have a decent selection of meat, seafood and deli.

I have no quarrel with Colavita for cooking. I use a "good" olive oil (from the olive oil store) for dressings, drizzling.

Thanks!

@ElsieD, when you say "curing salt," are you talking about Morton's TenderQuick or something to that effect, a salt with nitrates (or is it nitrites?) included? How much did you use, and how much jerk seasoning?

Kroger has 2-liter bottles of Colavita olive oil on for $15.99, with a $2.50 off coupon hanging around the neck of the bottle that's redeemable at checkout. Pretty good price. I presume it'll go until Wednesday.

Did my grocery shopping today and loaded up on fruit and veggies. As Monday is generally a kitchen day for me, I may cook several different kinds of grains, cool, package in half-cup servings in plastic bags, and freeze. Speaking of which, what's the difference in a Mandarin orange and a clementine? Other than the fact one was a lot more expensive than the other at the grocery today? And are either of them the same as tangerines, which is what we always called them when I was a kid?

Here's another one I forgot about until I found some in the fridge; because of the high preponderance of vinegar in it, it keeps forever. Lightly blanched asparagus, cut in one-inch chunks Raw sugar snap peas, cut in 1/3 inch slices crossways Whatever other raw thing you want to throw in; I have added slivered carrot, and cauliflower florets cut up small. Should not be a watery vegetable. Dressing: 2:1 some sort of relatively light vinegar (white wine, distilled white, etc.) and sugar, heated until sugar dissolves and poured over veggies while hot. You can add whatever herbs float your boat. I will sometimes throw in fresh tarragon, but I love just the crispness of the vinegar with the crunch of the veggies. You can also adjust the sugar to your liking.

@shain, do you have a recipe link or text you can share for that pudding? I dearly love Indian style rice pudding, and that looks marvelous.

H'mm. Interesting. Thanks!

@Anna N -- Inquiring minds want to know. What constitutes Danish style remoulade?

Welcome home. As always, enjoyed the trip! Hoping you'll come through my part of the world some day.

We've had "local," if by local you mean from the central and southern part of the state, berries since about the first of April. These were about the first I've seen from up here in the "frozen northeast." Color balance on that pic is horrible, but they were WONDERFUL berries, for which I'm grateful, as I bought two quarts of them. Need to make some fresh yogurt and some more granola tomorrow. These came from the Farmers' Market in Memphis, as ours up here doesn't start until next week. The good news is they way they're staged, I can eat Central Arkansas berries until they play out and then have more for a good while up here! And then it'll be peach time!

LoStrawberries, yogurt, brown sugar. Wanted something sweet, but light. First trip to the Farmer's Market, as we were Memphis bound anyway. Also scored asparagus, baby bok choy, and goodies from my favorite Lebanese vendor...grape leaves, hummus, pita. Dinner tomorrow.

I think I may have to order the dead tree edition of this book.

And made even better by the view.

While we're on that bean salad kick...one of my summer favorites has always been cooked, drained and rinsed black beans; fresh corn kernels, cooked just a little; red onion, quartered, sliced, and soaked in ice water for 30 minutes, then drained and patted dry; chunked avocado; chunked, drained tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes. Dressing of lime juice, a neutral oil, and smoked paprika. Love it with any kind of grilled meat, or just by itself with a side of tortilla chips.

Score another one for @Toliver. Since the local Indian restaurant closed, I'm reduced to either cooking my own or going to Memphis or Little Rock.

I had hoped to get out and garden with my grandson this afternoon...bought my tomato plants, pepper plants and herbs yesterday, as well as some asparagus roots, onion sets, seed potatoes and, for the first time, horseradish root. But a stomach bug, which we shall hope will be of short duration, has laid me low, so grandson has gone home and gardening is put off until tomorrow.

Having learned how to ferment my own half-sours, I can assure you I am never without them now. I can and keep a variety of pickles, but half-sours, to preserve the great crispy snap, I make fresh all year long and keep in the fridge. Recipe here.

So glad you ordered their rice grits. I love rice grits; a different taste and texture from corn grits. Soon as I need some more, and a few more varieties of rice, I need to order just so I can add Sea Island red peas to the list.

Ooohh. I hadn't thought about drying pineapple. And I love dried pineapple. On my list for the next time Aldi puts them on sale for 99 cents apiece.

Don't know that I can go with the sports car metaphor, but I really do like farro. Particularly when it's toasted first in a butter/olive oil mixture.

I have not, though I understand they are the gold standard for dehydrators. I have an off-brand (Ambiano) that I bought at Aldi for $19.99 that works fine; how much better the Excaliburs are, I couldn't testify. But there ain't much more humid than the Mississippi River Delta in the summer (we hover in the upper 90s), and the cheapie worked well.

Only fell for one this time. Ginger Pig Farmhouse Cookbook.