memesuze

Tonight I made the country ribs with mango, ginger, chile and coconut milk - delish and I can hardly wait for the leftovers, of which I have multitudes since I'm cooking for one. I'm storing the meat and sauce separately. I do concur with snowangel's green garnish and I might have upped the chile a tad - this is Texas, after all. [i was reminded, though, that my next kitchen HAS to have an exhaust fan - despite my spatter guard, there are tiny grease globules all over my glasses....] Last week I devoured her prune, green olive, and chicken dish - I love prunes and I'm a sucker for olives [one of my favorite easy baked chicken dishes is from Donna Hay, placing a halved garlic clove face up under each chicken piece, and strewing the pan with green olives and cherry tomatoes after coating the chicken with a mix of lemon zest, parsley, and olive oil] I think we have a Molly Stevens fan club going here - it's my favorite new cookbook, now that I've broken in Suvir's....there's so much information leading us to success every time out.

I think that's the Jaffrey I just saw as a remainder at an Austin Barnes and Noble in their bargain book section for about 8 or 9 dollars

I'd suspect this is matcha - an entirely different form of the brewing ingredient. I believe it's "frothed" by twirling a bamboo whisk in the water with tea. I'll let those who are more expert in Japanese greens chime in.

On Paula Wolfert's website, she has a recipe for Creamy Farro and Chickpea Soup which calls for farro "rinsed, then soaked in water overnight." It's then drained and added to the soup which cooks another hour. Perhaps she will chime in here with further information. Elsewhere I found the instruction to soak for 12 hours before incorporating into stews.

To get back to the many lentil variations, this is my favorite from the original Moosewood cookbook, so it's completely vegetarian: Start 3 cups of plain ole lentils in 7 cups of water with 1 tsp. salt and lotsa black pepper. After they've simmered a half hour, add these which have been sauteed/steamed to tenderize: 2 tsp minced garlic, 1 c. chopped onion, 1 c. chopped celery, and 1 c. chopped carrots. Simmer for another half hour, then add: 1.5 c. chopped tomatoes [since it's winter, canned is fine - I just drain one of those small 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes], 2 Tbs. red wine, 2 Tbs. lemon juice, 1.5 Tbs. molasses or brown sugar, 1 Tbs. red wine vinegar. Add fresh herbs - my favorite is thyme. Continue simmering about 15 minutes and serve.

Last Sunday I threw a "thank-you" dinner for eight friends, and went totally nuts with recipes from Suvir's Indian Home Cooking. Although due to time contraints, I left off the Black Pepper Rasam with Tamarind and the Warm Potato Salad, I had buckets of fun and was busier than the proverbial one-armed paper-hanger on Saturday and Sunday hunting and gathering [after my third visit to the Indian grocery in less than 24 hours, the proprieter said: "back again?"], chopping, measuring, making up little and big packets of ingredients and then cooking the feast which consisted of: Green Chutney Tamarind Chutney Empress Dal Simple Lentil Dal with Fresh Ginger, Green Chiles, and Cilantro Sweet Pepper Biriyani with Cumin and Fennel Seeds Cumin-Scented Rice Chickpea Salad Stir-Fried Carrots with Cumin and Lime Stir-Fried Mixed Summer Squash Stir-Fried Green Beans with Coconut Both chutneys are dynamite - I had to add water back into the tamarind one because I let it reduce down too far and it could have bounced off the floor - but it was repairable and is stunning with its heat and flavors. The Empress dal was a bit blander than I might have expected, but I'll try again. The other dal with ginger, chiles, and cilantro was complex in subtle flavors. I've enjoyed living off the leftovers from the rest of the menu - the chickpea salad has potatoes and enough heat to satisfy us Texans. I got bonus points from my vegetarian friend for a v-friendly menu. With this extensive a menu, I had a two-paged game plan that helped immensely to ensure I didn't miss any ingredients or any steps. Everything had wonderful textures and colors - do try to find this book and cook from it - you won't be disappointed.

In the Thai Cooking at Home thread today, ScorchedPalate cites Kasma Loha-Unchit's choice of coconut milk and tells of her mnemonic to remember which to choose - and it isn't Chaudoc: mnemonic Seems we have a difference of opinion from the experts....

don't forget one of the older editions of Joy of Cooking....

I just had a dinner party with everything from Suvir's book: cumin-scented rice, sweet pepper biriyani, empress dal, simple lentil dal with ginger, mixed summer squash, green beans with coconut, chickpea and potato salad, tamarind chutney, green chutney - all were scarfed up - but my faves were the tamarind chutney, simple lentil dal, and chickpea/potato salad next to try from is Stevens' braising...

that's been my grinder of choice for several years now - just had an urge for one of the big puppies for some heavy pulverizing, and I get a bit frustrated trying to get all the last little dibs and dabs out of the suribachi's ribs

fifi - I've been eyeing similar ones at my local Asian groceries - but they don't have the pestle - is it hidden behind some counter so shoplifters don't make off with them? After a trip to two groceries and Central Market, I'm without kaffir leaves tonight - used the last ones yesterday for a giant bowl of larb that I ate all by my lonesome - no leftovers - I think I'll have to hunt up a plant for my front porch...

on the subject of staying power: how long should I safely be able to use roasted garlic when kept in the fridge - is it a rank smell or growing stuff question?

That garlic soup reminds me of Martha Shulman's garlic broth used as the base for minestrone - several heads, peeled and cooked in a heavenly house-filling melange

"I go out for Mexican!" - that does include the requisite number of margaritas, right?!

And just when I got a copy of Molly Stevens' All About Braising - guess I'll have to shift to Suvir Saran's Indian Home Cooking

made my first batch this weekend - divvied it into three jars, one for me and two for gifts. Then to help with the gifts, I cut-and-pasted the following list of suggested uses pulled from this thread: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Onion Confit Uses accompany grilled meats base for Alsatian onion tarts (pate brisee topped with onion confit, gruyere cheese, perhaps a few Nicoise olives, and/or anchovies) accompaniment to baked brie or fried goat-cheese. heat up some canned beef bouillon and add a tablespoon of confit for "instant French Onion soup." mixing a portion with some blue cheese (Stilton is good in this) and smearing it on a baguette. killer topping for pasta after adding some balsamic vinegar on a baked potato in some sort of heavenly sandwich or a ploughman's lunch kind of thing, with some exceedingly ripe cheese over scrambled eggs with runny cheese, crackers, and a salad with a crumbly cheese of some sort and pears poached eggs crowned with the confit as a topping for bruschetta with gnocchi on a pissaladiere on top of focaccia portobello mushroom tarte tatin, optional chopped anchovies added near the end atop a french bread slice, of which has been liberally spread with boursin cheese, and then topped with about a tablespoon of confit - toasted until the bread is crunchy onion confit mixed with 2 tab of cream and 2 egg yolks as a filling for an onion tart with pork chops burgers off the grill topped with confit and sharp cheddar over pirogis on some rustic style pizza with roasted peppers and a sprinkling of gorganzola over some smashed red potatoes with butter with brie and crackers eaten by the spoonful a couple of all beef hot dogs, lathered a layer of onion confit along the bottom edge of a toasted roll, and topped the upper half with housemade sauerkraut as a garnish on some sliced-steak canapes scoop of them spread over some rare london broil slices with some wonderful bleu cheese crumbles over top duxelles in combination with the onion confit and shredded meat to make a filled bread roll combine the onions with loads of garlic (perhaps up to several heads) and several crushed and chopped tomatoes... could take on a very nice garlicky oniony saucy texture the onions, garlic, some cayenne, and maybe an assortment of fresh and dried chiles in mashed potatoes ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Wow, anyone drooling yet....

carrots glazed in maple syrup and Squeat Mungry's shave parmesan intrigues me

FWIW - a plumber once told me that the hot water only lasts a few feet down the pipe and that once the water with grease/fat gets cool as it plunges further down the pipe, it has a tendency to cling to the pipes and attract like globules.

Couldn't we make ornaments out of refrigerator magnets somehow? Rip off that magnet and then drill a little hole in the top for a wire or string? When I saw andiesenji's list, I thought of all those refrigerator magnets I've seen through the years.

I'd also suggest Zarela Martinez' two cookbooks, The Food and Life of Oaxaca and Food From My Heart and Diana Kennedy's From My Mexican Kitchen - the latter takes the basic ingredients and makes them into the basic recipes - great pictures as well

definitely not a Chilhuacle - which resembles a dried purple brown tiny bell pepper in shape - too bad

Could the "Chile Huaque" be a chilhauque negro - the one that's difficult to find even in Oaxaca, that is the favorite chile for making Mole Negro - if so, it's a real find and goes for "$20+ a pound when happened upon....it's short and squatty - about two inches across at the top and about two inches long, dark purplish brown.

I can't speak to doors for Metro shelving, but I took a five-foot length of shelving, cut two six-foot poles in half to make four corner poles, added a second shelf midway up the poles above the one that sits a few inches above the floor, and topped the unit with a solid stainless shelf, so I now have a 5x2 ft work table with two shelves below. Easily portable, can go to the next house, and gives me easy access to oft-used bowls, tools, and appliances. I don't know about topping it with a heavy countertop surface, but someone else may....

My oregano must be close to ten years old now - I just prune it harshly come February, and a few times throughout the year and it rapidly spreads to a three-foot wide swath. My thyme sits out there just waiting to be snipped for a winter soup - lentil's one of my favorite matches. It too gets pruned back before spring hits - and I think I've only protected it once or twice when it got down to single digits. Just be sure to water them all well before a hard freeze and most of your herbs should survive. I guess the over-thirteen inches I've had this week will keep most of them going for a while....

for a good all-round eating apple at a reasonable price, I tend to stick with the Pink Lady - I did enjoy one of the advertised 99 cents/lb Empires recently. Be sure that you're picking an eating variety, and check the bottom of the apple - some varieties show a bit of green as a clue to being not over-ripe - over-ripe means mealy. And I also have found that by cutting an apple into about six slices, the resulting bite of a somewhat mealy apple seems not to be mealy - some sort of brain fart, I'm sure, but works for me....what about the new crop of Texas Cameos - you know they haven't been sitting in a warehouse for months [not that CM would do that - but other chains do]