Margaret Pilgrim

I agree with most of what you write, Chris. But trust in food sourcing is not too different from trust in most other sellers. The antique guy tells you that something is 18th Century. You believe him? Why? Or why not? You have a sense of his integrity. You get a sense of the integrity of foodstuffs from certain growers, even certain areas. And one has a personal choice in deciding whether or not to consume factory farmed animals. Perhaps honesty is the wrong word. There must certainly be honest factory farmed animals. But I need to make a conscious decision as to whether or not to eat these chickens or factory pork.

Interestinly, just made it yesterday for husband's lunch. Had to pull out a book to re-enforce "how to". Was told to fry the cooked rice, then add separately scrambled egg and top with green onion. Worked quite well.

I guess my question is "Bought what?" If it's cooked, then I really have to take the market's or producer's word for what's in it. It I put it together myself, I have better sense of what I'm eating or serving. Of course, unless I grow it myself, which I don't, I have to trust someone's certification as to where it is grown and whether it was grown with pesticides.

We do.

For me, honest can be defined by my daily compost contributions: unusable skins, peels, pits, etc. I cook from scratch. Honest food, to me, is that that is created without resort to anything prepared, packaged, canned, frozen, precombined...you get the picture. Stuff that came off the plant or animal or from the udder. Secondary stuff we made from the bean or bone or the milk or...

As someone who grew up on the California central coast, garlic is synonymous with Gilroy. If is ain't from Gilroy, it ain't garlic. I am deeply insulted by Chinese garlic and refuse to buy it on both socio-economic and quality bases. I regularly go to produce managers and ask where the garlic was sourced. If China, I walk and tell him why, insisting that they return to local garlic.

I would guess that "no flavor" and "taste(s) good" are in the cultural tastebud of the beholder.

If quality is your issue, as in "this is good enough to give my kids", you can't buy preserves with more integrity than Pim's. Small batch, extraordinarily well sourced produce, and a perfectionist at the stove. Cannot buy better. Someone else I trust and have bought lots from is Eva Gates on Flathead Lake in Montana. Amazing wild hucklebery jam. FYI, blackcap is like a blackberry. Also, sigh, amazing.

I can't resist our midnight desperation solution from the era before we learned the words " heartburn" and "insomnia": onion puffs. Cut the crusts off Wonder bread. Chop up several slices of onion. Mix with mayo. Spread on bread. Broil until bubbly. Cut into squares and enjoy. Oh, the joy of youth!

I will vouch for your recipe, Jaymes. It's a stunner. I used to make it with either Grand Marnier or Frangelico, both lovely. Thanks for the reminder.

When you come right down to it, you can make salted butter caramel sauce in under 5 minutes, assuming you have sugar, butter and cream or even canned milk in the house. Ice cream and you're in big business. Bananas and you're sinful.

Brilliant comments, Jaymes. I've been cooking for many decades, but when I am cooking for a group, dinner party, etc., I avoid like the plague anything that requires cooking at the last minute, other than just finishing off a dish that is well under way. Your best friends are braises or bakes, etc.

Indeed! And as mentioned before, excellent reheated for breakfast. My favorite farmer's market treat used to be a hot, baked sweet potato...until the board of health made my adorable seller stop bringing them because he didn't have a license to sell cooked food.

Here is a really over-the-top instant dessert from David Lobovitz: Gruyere double cream on meringues. Only problem is sourcing the cream and having the meringues on hand. But once you find the one, it behooves one to stock the other.

Toasted coconut sundae? Spread out some flaked coconut on a baking sheet and broil for about half a minute. Move to a shallow bowl. Roll a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it. (If you can wait that long, move it to a nice dessert dish. If not...) Drizzle with decent or even Hershey's chocolate sauce. I mean, this is FAST.

Cut into wedges. Brush cut edges with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill in grill pan or barbeque until somewhat colored. Serve with gribiche sauce.

How about pumpkin lasagna? I'd heat some chopped garlic in oil, add some crushed sage, then mix in the pumpkin. Layer with lasagna noodles (vegan), drizzling each layer with browned "butter" (vegan margarine), ending with noodles. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and browned butter. Or Thai-seasoned pumpkin soup: Saute some onions and garlic in oil, some Thai green curry paste, add pumpkin, heat and thin with coconut milk and vegetable broth (cubes or powder or your own). Serve with croutons, cubes of sauteed tofu and cubes or slices of sauteed sweet potato. (In your shoes, I'd try to turn all (scrubbed) vegetable trimmings into broth.)

What a sensible solution to the "guess how many are coming to dinner" dilemma. It also gives the finicky the opportunity to join in on palatable sounding menues or forage for themselves.

I have several times created separate and appropriate dishes to suit a diner's special "needs" at dinner parties only to have the person with restrictions ask for a "just a spoonful" of the majority plate "because it looks so good".

Amen, Sister! FWIW, here is a recipe from the classic "Diet for a Small Planet" that has pleased even carnivores for decades, a casserole of brown rice, black beans, green chiles, ricotta, jack cheese, etc.. Wish I had some now...

Oh, my! You take me back to Girl Scout camp where we dropped dollops of Dromedary gingerbread mix (prepared by instructions on the back of the package) into simmering applesauce. Can't remember what we called it, but I'm sure there was some camper name.

Thanks so much for this treat from my childhood. Just last year I wandered into a Harry and David shop and asked the early 20-something salesclerk for Applets and Cotlets and was met by a stare of incomprehension such as one would get asking a Safeway butcher for a dinosaur steak.

This is truly a "sipping gin". It would be criminal to add anything to this lovely elixir. Well worth searching out, and probably easier on the East Coast than West, at least as far as my research goes. Disclaimer: this stuff could be habit forming. Delicious!

Note that when you add the butter, the mass will harden and separate. Just keep stirring. In the meantime, heat the cream, which will make it combine easier. At several points, it will look like a disaster, but it will soon come together into a luxuriant, silken sauce. You can determine the thickness by the amount of cream you add and the amount of time you let it boil down. Enjoy!

You can make some killer ragu (see recent thread on eGullet) with ground pork and/or chicken thighs. Rather authentic tasting taco or burrito fillings; enchiladas. Swedish meatballs and noodles. Pad Thai.