SylviaLovegren

I like just enough water to give plenty of mobility, so the individual pieces don't stick together. Too little water and it's hard to get that movement.

Get one of these and you'll never regret it. I agree, the best for one or two quick cups. I am thinking about getting a coffee maker for making more than that, tho, after all these years, so this is an interesting discussion.

When we lived in NJ we had the same experience. The Saturday "farmer's market" had much cheaper produce than the highway robbery supermarkets, although I don't think much of it was from small farms. In Toronto, there are a lot of farmer's market but so far we've only been to the St. Lawrence Saturday morning market. Some of the organic produce is higher than standard supermarket fare, but a lot of the in season stuff is very competitively priced. The organic meats, eggs and cheeses (fantastic cheese and grass fed sirloin, yum) are quite a bit cheaper than Whole Foods or the health food stores. Obviously, the grass fed sirloin is more expensive than the weekly special sirloin at Price Chopper.

Perola's and a couple of other places whose names I cannot recall, on Augusta, in Kensington Market. Mexican outlets in Toronto a good start. Thank you! Great information and looking forward to making the trip to see. Haven't been to kensington yet (keep hearing about it, of course), just been busy at the Lawrence farmer's market every Saturday morning.

Absolute. Although as Rancho Gordo and others have noted about the CONACULTA... it is hard to get recipes out of people... they just don't have them, and think everything is obvious. Fortunately, I have learned to cook like my ancestors and you might think I am crazy but, just like them, I smell every ingredient (including dried chiles) and intuitively adjust based on its particular characteristics on that given day. You really have to prod people because they give very vague instruction.. its like they believe you should make the dish your own. It will take me a while to post (possibly re-develop) most of these recipes but I will start you off with the local table salsa that is astonishingly delicious, you will want to drink it as a smoothie. 2 Handfuls of Tomatillos (smaller fruit the better) 4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled with papery husk Blacken them over a grill (preferably) until the exterior is fairly charred and the flesh has dulled in color (alternatively use the broiler method) Meanwhile quickly toast 2 Anchos, 1 Guajillo & 4 Arbol chiles then submerge them in lukewarm water & cover, letting them rehydrate for about 30 minutes then drain & place them in a blender with the tomatillos & garlic (peel the garlic after it has blackened & shriveled a bit)... add a few pinches of salt & give it a whirl.. taste & adjust for salt.. then add in a handful of cilantro leaves and give it a few whirls until each cilantro piece is the size of a lentil. Let the salsa cool down & the flavors blend for a few hours.. voila. You may also stir in finely minced white onion if you desire. It is fantastic with steak tacos, corn tortilla based quesadillas, spooned over freshly boiled whole beans with some Queso Fresco. Aw dammit... I forgot a dish.... Frijol con Quelite... yesterdays boiled beans are blended with leftover salsa (in the recipe above) & chopped wild greens (a wide range of greens are acceptable)... simmer for 10 minutes or so... grate lots of queso seco (aged, very dry "fresco" cheese) into the soup... it is very delicious, soulful & nutritious. I'm dying here. We're moving into a new house this week and once we're settled, I'm going to find sources for Mexican foods in Toronto and make this. Will have to clean the drool off my laptop first.

Sorry... I guess that description is probably less useful than clotted cream i.e., th layer of milk fat & skin that rises to the top when warming up milk (I believe to make Requeson / Ricotta).. is collected used to make anything from simple tacos - a spoonful of clotted cream & blackened jalapenos for example.. to baked goods. Ah. Makes sense. I was thinking more along the lines of ghee. Clotted cream and blackened jalapenos in a taco, oh drool.

Sounds like a wonderful project and my stomach is jealous of that list. I want that food! Now! By the way, what is "scalded milk fat"?

The digital clocks on the oven and microwave to tell the time, but an analog clock on the wall so you can see that you've still got 15 minutes left before you need to get the beans on. I want Pierogi's red and white 40s clock.

Thanks for an interesting link.

The first thing a new mother does is cuddle her baby and feed it. It's all we can do at the beginning and at the end, touch and feeding are primal.

Can be legit? They aren't GOOD, at least the ones I've tried. But if you need something non-caf and you don't like herbal teas, why not drink decaf tea if you don't mind the taste?

My mom used to make the most sublime dish, but the ingredients have to be first class. Fresh peas, fresh new potatoes, both steamed or boiled until just cooked, then tossed with warmed cream, salt and pepper. The pinnacle of Spring.

Used to dislike when they had the old texture. With the new texture, they're better, but still not wild about Breyers. Except for their Dulce de Leche, which is sublime.

Or really ripe armpit. The other day I accused my poor husband of bad hygiene...only to discover it was the box of guavas on the countertop.

Really? In the States El Paso is a solid but unremarkable brand of prepared Mexican products. I always liked their refried beans but the other stuff was kind of "meh".

On a hundred and eleventy billion trout fishing trips when I was a kid (fanatic dad, anyone?), my mom's method for cooking the fish was simple and unbeatable. Have a wood fire and a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. Cook some really good bacon in the skillet and leave the fat. Clean the fish and roll it in some good corn meal. Fry in the hot bacon fat. Eat the fish with the bacon on the side and a cup of fresh hot coffee made in an old tin pot. If the weather is chilly and a bit gray, the fish, coffee and bacon will taste even more delicious. If there are some homemade biscuits on the side, even better.

I've had Great Lakes walleye grilled with butter, which was delicious. Another method which I use for meh supermarket fish with good result: Cook an onion in some butter until soft. Add juice of 1 lemon to the pan and herb of choice -- I like tarragon. Butter a good sized piece of foil, put half the onion/lemon mixture in, top with fish fillet and top that with rest of onion/lemon. Salt and pepper. Fold foil around fillet and seal. Bake in preheated 350 oven about 10 minutes. You can change seasonings as you will but the basic idea works very nicely. Oven poaching. Fish is tender and not overcooked.

Been to that same A&W. Wonder if their hamburgers are as good as I remember. (Root beer floats are better than I remember...)

When I was young and carefree I moved to L.A. and bought a VW convertible, stick shift. For some reason I then thought it would be a good idea to buy an ice cream cone and drive around while eating it. Two handed driving + ice cream cone + hot L.A. sun = disaster.

Made this yesterday. Delicious. Even I who don't usually like bitter melon loved it. Thank you!

Well, you could always send it to ME.

We used to be able to get unadulterated pasteurized heavy cream at the Whole Foods (it was about 40% as I recall), but now the ones near me only carry ultrapasteurized (hate the off taste that has) with stabilizer gums.

Current tiny rental has a smoke alarm that goes off if the big electric burner is boiling water, so we've got very practiced with the towel and open door routine. We're moving into a full-sized house next month and I'm hoping the smoke alarm set-up is better there!

Exactly how I grew up eating it. then, squeeze the juice into the spoon, drink, repeat. Yes, this is right. Although there are variations: with honey is yummy; powdered sugar is fun, too. Or with brown sugar and broiled, with a splash of sherry if being swellegant.

Maple syrup.