stellabella
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Posts posted by stellabella
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I'm borrowing from the "Food Is Your Life" thread under general topics. And I hope not to be too redundant.
Every time my mother-in-law comes to visit, I knock myself out for her in the kitchen. She's physically disabled, and even if she wanted to cook, she couldn't. She's a deeply kind and generous woman, but whenever I serve a meal she begins a monologue about how much she hated cooking her whole life, resented it, even, and how thankful she is she doesn't have to anymore.
At first I thought she was being a bit defensive, because I am able to do what she feels she should she be doing. But I now realize she's at least partly telling the truth, and my husband concurs--she never was much of a cook. Her heart wasn't in it.
I am fascinated by the realization that some people hate to cook. I find it curious, because I NEED to cook in order to stay sane.
When my husband and I bought and renovated our house, we planned first and foremost a large, user-friendly kitchen, with the hope that it would be the social and spiritual center of the house. And it is. It's a beautiful room, to me, anyway. And the more bogged down I get at work, and the more hours I spend hopelessly addicted to eGullet
, the more I look forward to time in my kitchen. Mostly I throw together simple, quick meals, but when I can I like to plan and shop for and cook from scratch an entire supper--best if it's to be shared with friends--but fine if it's just for me and husband.Cooking is meditation. Sometimes I enter a trance. I find it hard to carry on conversations with guests if I am involved in something slightly complicated. It's fine with me to watch everyone else socialize while I cook. Especially after a long week, I find that once the meal is prepared and laid upon the table, I can pour myself a glass of wine and actually feel present in the moment. For me I think cooking is the equivalent of "counting to ten." If I come home anxious, disoriented, angry, cooking is the best way for me to relax.
I practice yoga and have come to understand that cooking is part of my yoga practice. It's really meditation.
Any other thoughts about what your time in the kitchen means to you? Wish you had more? Less? Why? Please share.
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(Full, wracking sobs...) look at this thread, folks. People helping. People starting new threads. People thanking people...(snurfle)...
And guess what? I am going BACK to New Mexico and the same issue exists...anyone having any trouble bringing their knives on board these days?
i started reading this thread and thought, What the.....&^%$#?
then i noticed that it was started in august, 2001.
liza, they ain't gonna let you on no plane with no knives. but i was thinking, maybe i could buy you a nice set of knives and drive out to new mexico with them and deliver them to you upon your arrival, so that you don't have to deal with the hassle of shipping them, or getting hassled by the baggage hasslers, i mean handlers, at the airport. i mean, it's a little thing, but i'd do it. i figure if i leave now i'll be there in time to meet you.
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tommy, for 'que, consider luling city, in addition to goode and otto's.
and tommy, be a man and get you some grips [that's "slang" for cowboy boots, yo]
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snowangel, are you familiar with rick bayless's cookbooks?
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Jaymes,
When I've ordered enchiladas in Mexico they've almost always been "stacked"--and sometimes with a little shredded raw cabbage, which I pick off.
Question: a friend's dad used to love to have enchilada parties--he prided himself on his from-scratch stacked enchiladas, with a tiny quail's egg broken over the top. When I started traveling in Mexico I looked forward to having an egg broken over my enchiladas--BUT have never had it happen once. Who actually does this? Anyone know about this?
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wow
so many great ideas--thanks
i like 'em all, & am most intrigued by "figs" at this very moment.
have already decided to serve cheeses with apple & pear slices after [or before]
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chips: Red Hot Blues, or Tostitos
salsa--depends. always prefer fresh if available.
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I'm serving a tomato/fennel/thyme, etc-based seafood stew at a dinner party, and I need a good salad to accompany. I am coming up with no ideas. I keep thinking beets, but I want color variation, and complementary flavors.
Help?
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my yoga teacher was harvesting sumac berries [we're in georgia] and letting them soak overnight in cold spring water, to make tea. i'm pretty sure we're talking about the same sumac. the result was a very refreshing tart beverage, with, according to her, medicinal properties--i'm guessing from the tartness/acidity it is high in Vit. C.
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suvir, i appreciate your distinction between "kebab" & "kofta"--you're very succinct & your explanantions are always wonderful.
a kofta, then, is not a MEATball--it's simply a ball of minced something...
one more question about koftas, then--they can be served in a sauce/gravy, but not necessarily?
and what would YOU serve them with?
this may sound gross, but i was wondering if i could make something like polenta with a little cardamom in it. what do you think?
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Stellabella,
Would you care to share more about the potato koftas in the Indian forum? They sound wonderful.
And I shall dig up a recipe for lamb koftas if you need one... Though it may be very similar to Madhurs. Let me know if you still want it.
sure....
all the food at the supper was vegetarian. one of my students described this dish as koftas--though the recipe i found called for beef or lamb. instead of meat these were primarily potato and a few peas. but the sauce they were in seemed like the one described in the recipe. it was a bit creamy--the one distinct flavor and texture was fresh ginger--otherwise i'm not sure what it consisted of--and the students didn't know--they don't cook! can you believe!
i've read through the other posts here, and madhur's recipe does sound more like a kebab--the koftas are served as appetizers, with toothpicks.
i'm so new to indian cooking, and at times so overwhelmed--i'd love any recipes.
ialso like to hear the variations on this dish--clearly there's not just ONE type of kofta.
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honestly, malawry
how DO you do it?
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very kind, all. it was fun.
i can't stop thinking about the rodeo. i really want to go.
and this recent trip brought back memories of my first trip through Texas in 1982, when my family pulled our holiday rambler trailer on a 3-week exploration of the desert Southwest. the first time the van broke down in Hueco, about 30 miles east of El Paso. We parked the trailer in the lot in front of Fay and Fran's diner. nothing would do but this kind couple had us join their family for the three days it took to get the van running. Fay served gigantic burgers with hand cut fries--different from any i'd ever tasted. i asked her to show me how she made them [i was 16]--she was so proud. later we got together with a bunch of young kids [in their 20s] who lived nearby at the ranch [8 miles up the dirt road] and ate stewed antelope and swam in their unchlorinated pool with their giant black lab. Fay had a really dirty mouth. it was so wild and free.
texas.
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I think one of the reasons many of us are here is that we're starved for the company of people who love food.
amen
ladybug, i laughed out loud. all i can think is that the girl who got first place is perhaps the pastor's neice?
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i had potato koftas at a diwali party last week--they were really good, but then i was reading the lamb recipe in my madhur jaffrey book afterwards. it sounds intriguing, but i have never cooked with ground lamb before. tighe, your description sounds great--do you have the recipe?
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Jaymes insisted that fritos work great, and i was skeptical, but now I know better than EVER to doubt Jaymes!
Nonetheless, if I have the time, I fry the tortillas myself. It's true that they can be a little old and hard and work even better than fresh. I get some veg. oil real hot in my deep skillet and fry the quartered pieces for 1-2 minutes on each side, til the edges curl, then let them rest on brown paper. They shouldn't be hard--they should be stiff but chewy. The last time I made them I added some cooked pinto beans and crumbled faux "sausage" [it's called Gimme Lean and made from TVP and it sounds gross but I'm WILD about it], adn used up cheese on hand--including some chevre; you can use just about any combo of the basic ingredients and produce a fairly soul-satisfying dish.
Snowangel, I don't know what to say about enchiladas. I've been most satisfied when I've baked them in a casserole dish--simply fill the corn tortillas with whatever you like and layer them in a greased dish, then pour bastante mole over all and crumbled queso seco on top and bake.
My husband has made mole. But he doesn't post here.
I can't comment on it, never having done it--I will tell you it is LABOR INTENSIVE--but you can make large amounts and freeze it. -
I admit it: I am prejudiced. I haven't been able to get my mind past Texas as the home of the Shrub family and Huntsville Prison. I've dismissed the country's geographically largest [?] and second most-populated state as a conservative wasteland of beef-headed oil magnates.
But I am wrong, so wrong. And I now love Texas.
I visited last weekend for the third time, to spend a weekend with good friends in Houston. I had two objectives: to eat authentic Tex-Mex food, and to buy top-o-the-line cowboy boots. Missions accomplished, and how.
Friday we ate a late breakfast at La Mexicana on Fairview at Montrose. Loved the decor--high, dark ceilings and stiff, heavy wooden chairs, lots of brightly-colored pottery and middle-aged, gracious servers with waxed handle-bar moustaches. We dined on migas, chilaquiles con crema, and machacado con huevos--scrambled eggs with very spicy sun-dried shredded beef. The tortillas in our dishes were very freshly fried-- crispy around the edges but with enough chewy body to absorb the salsas. There's also a to-go taco bar and bakery at the front entrance--we sampled a chicharrone --a long slab of crackly pork skin and back meat, cripsy outside and tender inside. Mm-hm.
An interlude at Central Market--originally from Austin, this Texas chain has just opened its first store in Houston. A bit over-whelming, and the kind of place that makes me wistful for big-city life--if you want it, they've got it: French breakfast radishes, Russian banana fingerling potatoes, Valrhona baking chocolate, Belgian lambic, chocolate pots du creme in the bakery. Upscale upscale, and then some, very reasonable prices. I'd become an addict.
Friday night we had reservations at Hugo's, the new and noteworthy authentic Mexican upscale dining experience. My husband and I drank Oaxaca Ritas--Cointreau, lime juice and simple syryp with MONTE ALBAN MEZCAL--a smoky margarita, mixed and served from the shaker tableside--what fun. For starters we tried tamales de mariscos served in banana leaves--real masa harina and tender, moist roasted red snapper; the trio de ensalada, julienned roasted poblanos dressed in lime and cilantro, julienned jicama with lime and a touch of salt, and julienned fresh beets with salt and a touch of citrus, orange and lime I'm guessing. My husband had the chiles en nogada--this is a traditional dish served at the onset of the holiday season--ground pork and stewed fruits stuffed inside poblanos, topped with walnut creme and fresh, juicy bursting pomegranate seeds-- in the past I've eaten this dish and wondered why the seeds--and now I know--they have to be fresh and red and burst in your mouth as you chew--a mini-celebration for the palate. I ordered rare grilled beef tenderloin with red mole and pork tamales. I was skeptical at first--red mole can be bitter and overpowering, but it beautifully complemented the sweetness of the meat--outstanding. For dessert we shared the almond-crusted coconut tort with dulche de leche ice cream. By then I was so full I could barely move. Hugo offers an extensive wine list, but I stuck to the Rita--the sweet/salty/smoky complexity was perfect with the flavors in my meal. Hugos is a beautiful place--the beverages, even the water, are served in heavy hand-blown Mexican glassware--it's not expensive, but they have to go to some trouble to keep so much in stock. The servers, also middle-aged handle-bar-moustached-wearing muchachos--wear beautiful smocked blouses.
Saturday we headed out after coffee in search of boots. Our hosts decided we should hit Stelzigs, The Famous Houston Westernwear Institution, first, to check out their going-out-of-business slae--the city, by right of emminent domain, is reclaiming the land and the building on it TO BIULD MORE ROADS! The Stelzig family, instead of relocating, has decided to move on--to their undoubtedly gigantic mansions. My friend said that if it's boots I want, I have to have Luccheses--they're the best. It should surprise no one that I headed straight for the most beautiful and the most expensive pair in the house, hand-tooled, burnished ostrich and cow-hide. My husband exclaimed, "They're $2000!" The salesman explained, "But they're marked down to $1500!" The women's rodeo attire sp[arked my imagionation as never before. Apparantly no self-respecting Oil Field Cowgirl, while having no aversion to treating her coif with gallons of petro-chemicals, would dare step out to the radio inFAUX fur--only the finest beaver for the Modern Patsy Montana. Seeing the stunned expressions on our maws, a kind salesgirl with very gigantic hair suggested we try Turner's Western Wear down the road. Of course, Turner's caters to the middle-class cowgirl, who doesn't mind polyester blends or pleather chaps. Can't you just hear the hens in the powder-room? "Would you look at that vest? Tsk-tsk. Must've come from Turner's." As if somehow a real fur collar is LESS tacky than fake fur.
But somehow even Turner's was out of my league, and I ended up at Cavendar's Boot City, where I was swarmed by handsome cowboy salesmen who plucked boots from among the thousands on the shelves and responded to ALL my questions [is this practical? Can I really wear these? Does this color go with ANYTHING?] with one response: "Waaaal, why not?" Sold--on a pair of considerably less expensive low-heeled, round-toed retro cowgirl tan Luccese's. But I passed on the gol-screened "rodeo" t-shirt--I'm kicking myself now.
Lunch on Saturday at Taqueria Goode Company: each of us ate a 1/3 lb. mesquite burger with any or all of the following: fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, thick vidalia onion slices, and on the side fries and onion rings, and a trayful of tortilla chips with hot queso ["We no use no can cheese"], more guacamole, and hot chipotle salsa. I drank the weekend special bloody mary-- thick with cracked pepper and hot sauce. What a place--I was sad to miss the barbecued bob white and cinnamon chocolate shake, but that's for next time.
After Goode Co. we ate some Malox and rested.
Sunday we had dim-sum at Ocean Palace [capacity :1000] on Bellaire Blvd.-- and walked through the Hong Kong City Mall and giant market afterwards. Our last stop before leaving for the airport was TeaHouse, in the Market food court--where we tried flavored teas and tapioca shakes: the bottom of the cup is layered with gelatinous tapioca balls, and then the shake [Honeydew Tapioca Cream Tea, for example] is poured on top. The cup is sealed and then punctured with a 15mm straw for "sucking" up the "goo"--all and all a unique, refreshing, if disturbing, experience. Houston's Asian population is considerable--and the tea house/tapioca bar is supposedly the newest rage, though probably not-so-new in other large cities--but it was a first for me. And maybe a last.
So we're home again, until our next trip--we go every other fall. And my wannabe-cowgirl imagination is sparked like never before: promises of Pappasito's barbecue, grilled quail, and fringed leather vests.
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my usual chocolate chip cookie recipe. This recipe is incredible and it yields an big, fat, chewy, dense chocolate chip cookie
omigod, please, would you post your recipe? could you?
your servant,
stella b
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a friend of mind made an incredible vegan pesto:
EVOO
fresh basil
walnuts
almonds
pumpkin seeds
sea salt
smash together, in blender or mortar/pestle
so simple, but the flavor was so complex. pumpkin seeds are pretty amazing.
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someone mentioned earlier the "same old cloying sweet potatoes"....i used to feel the same--i hated the whipped casserole my mom made and now feel i was riped off of sweet potatoes my whole life, til i got this recipe. i now make it every year and watch my husband and his brothers shovel helping after helping onto their plates.
Sweet Potato Casserole
3c. mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 t. salt
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/3 stick soft butter
1/2 c. sweet milk
1 t. vanilla
add all ingredients and pout into buttered casserole; top with:
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. melted butter
1/3 c. flour
1 c. chopped nuts [pecans!]
cook 35 mins. @ 350F.
this is the best sweet potato recipe.
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This is a puerile and undignified game and I will have no part of it.
and i love it. i traveled outside the US for the first time in 1994 and since then have been spending all my savings and using all my vacation time to add countries to my list. eating & traveling are the loves of my life:
Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Egypt.
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i use the lindt 70% cocoa mass bar, or another brand of 70%, like Green and Black, because I prefer the hot chocolate to be more on the chocolate side as opposed to the sweet--i find the bittersweetness very pleasing. i add no sugar.
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Good lord.
yes
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#1 Okay, this has gotten me to thinking: maybe I shuld mail order some chocolate, say, when the semester is over, and spend my break playing around with it in my favorite recipes. So, what should I order and from whom? Your suggestions? I want to get enough to make it worth the shipping, but not so much that it'll sit on the shelf forever.
#2 Last week while visiting friends in State College, PA, I tasted Sharffen-Berger for the first time. My friend [ a foodologist like myself] and I spent $2 on a tiny bar of dark chocolate. Neither of us liked it very much. We wondered why, since we know it's supposed to be so good, and since so many credible people recommend it. It tasted chalky and bitter. We wondered if maybe it had been sitting on the shelf forever?
#3 I'm not going to argue with any of you who claim that there are some chocolates that are better than others and that some chocolates which might seem decent are in fact crap. I spent a week wandering around Belgium eating chocolatre from every chocolaterie I passed--really. From the chains to the local mom and pop joints, I bought 100g boxes and sampled EVERYTHING. It was truly one of the happiest weeks of my life. I experienced chocolate at a different level. Since then I can't even think about Hershey's, for example.
But I do cook with Ghirardelli, Lindt, etc. They are available in Atlanta. The turnover is high, so i know what I'm cooking with, while not fresh, is at least not moldy. My Belgian experience made me realize that freshness is a big part of what makes chocolate fine. It's simply impossible for me, in rural Georgia, to get chocolate of the quality I had in Europe. If I had lotsa money I might have it overnighted to me straight from the shop, but that's not an option
So I settle for what's available, and Ghirardelli is good enough when it's the best thing I can get. But now I know I need to break down and try mail order.
#4 My favorite chocolate is Ecuadorian. You can find cheap bars of Superior in many large Ecuadorian groceries. The chocolate is dark, rich and sweet, with a liquor- and liquer-like flavor and texture. And there are some superior chocolates manufactured by small companies, one in Otavalo but I can't recall the name of the top of my head. I've eaten the fruit in cocoa pods, picked the pods off trees. I've had raw cocoa beans toasted and salted like popcorn. Cocoa is a magical food with so many incarnations. I agree that a chocolate exhibit needs to show the process--how that tropical plant becomes a European confection.
Cooking
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
"going to the Indian dinner"
*sigh*
here I am down here in Georgia, about to leave my office to go home for my humble bowl of gruel.