Margaret Pilgrim

19 years on eGullet. My experience was one of early and kind shepherding by Robert Buxbaum, who encouraged me to persevere as an outlier from California with a single focus on French food and travel. I drifted away as I found more active French conversation on another forum, and was only recently encouraged to take a look at the Cooking Forum on eG. Good advice. Good people, good shared input.

First, portion it into maybe 3 parts. You have a better idea of its size or the number of servings you look for. So, #1, I’d make zucchini latkes. #2, a Med stew, faux ratatouille, tomato, onion, garlic, red peppers if available, basil. Serve room temp or as pasta sauce. #3, cut into battons, fried as tempura.

Unless fruit (and tomato is after all a fruit) is on the verge of overripe, I find that leaving them out at room temp for, say, 48 hours greatly improves the flavor. And of course, we never refrigerate tomatoes.

No bingo.

Naw, your're a tike!

You didn't miss much. You have to be away from home and pining for sweets before they seem like a good idea. Messy, to boot.

And the winner is.....Liuzhou's daughter!

Yup. Still wet behind the ears.

Years ago, the Italian deliveryman from my local super brought my order into the kitchen. "Angelo" sniffed and hooted, "What's cooking? It smells wonderful!" I told him caponata. He stopped in his tracks, and yelled at me, correcting my pronunciation , "CAH ponata! CAH ponata!" Then mocked in a soprano voice "CA ponata!" He whirled and shaking his head left the house, but with a big grin.

All of the recipes posted so far work. There is huge variation that still create a great sauce. But more important is the difference between paste and whole anchovy.

I stand next to/over the tall kitchen garbage bin and shuck directly into it, grasping a handful of husk and silk at the same time, and rotating around the ear. A final check for residual silk and they're clean. No silk on flour or in sink.

Husband in for two extractions today. Started making soft food for afterwards. However, he found and has "tested" the custard that was for later. Saga to follow.

I can handle and in fact love raw salmon, but can't handle cooked salmon which is just too rich for me. Possibly the result of my father's chasing me through the house to administer cod liver oil, in those days thought to be a health booster in young children. I can't handle any oily fish.

One vegan in a group should be no problem. Our son seemed to date a series of vegan young women and to a person they were able to find a full meal at our table. And we traveled inj France with a vegan who was able at every restaurant to order and consume a suitable meal. Serious vegans are resillient; those less so are probably beginners and will learn.

And a portion of that luscious pasta, please, for this non-salmon eater.

Hear, hear!!

Sunday NYT rec: pasta e ceci stew

Bravo! This is called conversion.

Personally, I’m with his mother. We love all those things but in moderation. (I have all my 32 original teeth.)

Those look great. If you (continue to) pick them at 2 to 2 1/2 inches, you shouldn't be too swamped. At that size, they are excellent grilled, even in a frying pan, a shower of Maldon salt ad eaten like popcorn.

re food memories and cravings, my brother married a girl whose parents were from Genoa. The father made wine and grew seed vegetables, and mama cooked. How she cooked! As a child visiting, I remember and can recall today the scent of her "pantry" where we would find cold (room temp) stuffed zucchini, baked pastas, saltimboccas, just left over dinner that was mind blowing to a Wasp kid. There was a special scent that is both evocative and elusive. Perhaps the cheese. Her granddaughter, my niece, says she was too tight to buy Parmesan so always used dry Monterey Jack. Or the home grown tomatoes, or.... but it is what I crave when I think of soul food.

Meanwhile, tonight we enjoyed "planned over" roast pork loin and vegetables dressed with tonnato.

Being "a tad" older than you two, I well remember white margarine during WWII rationing when butter was not available and the dairy lobby forbade colored margarine. My mother saved "top milk" which she laboriously beat into the white glark, along with the coloring capsule. A relative just served it as had, like a slab of lard. My mother just shook her head. I remember her joy when she was able to buy Imperial, and finally butter.

Which parts of it? Oil? Egg? Maybe just whir tuna, anchovy, capers, chicken broth etc to an emulsion? It’s the flavor you’re after.

Tonight we'll have Tonnato sauce on beefsteak tomatoes. Try on blistered green beans, broccoli, old shoes...