Knicke

I agree with this; it's not just this book, though, it's the Minimalist books (one of which I own) as well. I've tried a couple from "Minimalist Cooks Dinner" that were edible but really BLAH...'tandoori' chicken with maybe 1-3 spices in miniscule amounts? C'mon now... That said, I like just reading Bittman's books for: 1. basic techniques/cook times/etc. Esp. veggies/large cuts of meat. I like the way he includes helpful hints and things to look for, and sometimes even what NOT to look for or what not to worry about. I don't know how helpful these reminders would be for the complete novice, but for memory helps or for trying out a new vegetable, Bittman's a good place to start. 2. sometimes, new ideas. Not brand-spankin' new, but sorta...and written in such a way as to (at least for me) encourage tweaking and adding. Since seasoning is such a personal thing and can be done (somewhat) on the fly or without strict measurements, I appreciate that a lot of Bittman's recipes give me the freedom to experiment with and learn about seasoning/spices on my own. Best way to learn!

Lovely!

Ditto. My sister can't stand to be around me when I rip into these, as I have to bite off the end and slurp out the slimey sugary white (with spot of yellow yolk). Yes, definitely a perversion best enjoyed in private. I was all set to snag a few of these last week...walked into the candy aisle and they were nowhere to be seen. Only wretched caramel eggs, though I searched high and low. I almost cried.

Bloody Maria Chicken breasts (yes, I know, I know; they were on sale, ok?) with the last of the pears, onions, maple syrup, grainy mustard (thanks Lynne R-K!) Mixed greens with a (different) mustard vinagrette

Maybe it's just a demand thing? People just don't want them or know what to do with them? I admit that I would not have thought of eating them until seeing this post...now I really want to try 'em!! Dang. I haven't seen them at any of the run-of-the-mill groceries here in the States...I don't know why so many folks are squeamish about attacking the innards; a lot of them will eat hotdogs without a second thought (shudder).

Icing cakes. I think there are various issues involved here - icing that's too thick/not the proper consistancy, cake that's too crumbly/warm/stubborn, impatience and lack of finesse on my part...if I can manage to keep it together and keep the crumbs out of the icing, it still ends up looking like it's been spackled by a mentally ill chimpanzee... Which is why I stick to un-iced cakes, thin glazes, and light dustings of powdered sugar for decoration. Who needs mortar-like buttercream anyhow?

You're probably right and some day I'll probably regret it (hepatitis, anyone?), but it's on my plate, touching my food already(!), so I've probably already taken the risk by ordering... I don't like when the pickles get my sandwich bread all sodden either, but this can happen with even the best of the briney bunch....

Phaelon, It's still a pretty nice looking kitchen even if the space is exaggerated. At least you've got quite a few windows, that's always a big plus. - a wistful apartment dweller

Hear hear! Can we get a "puckery" smiley, please? I always eat the pickle, even the bad kind. I actually have a soft spot in my heart for the really cheap, yellow 5 enhanced, alum-soaked kind. Definitely an emotional attachment; I used to steal half the dill chips out of the jar during family burger fests. An excellent, crisp kosher crunch is fabulous too, but it's like comparning apples and oranges... As for the slaw, I usually at least take a bite of it. If I'm hungry or bored or just munchy, I may eat it - it doesn't have to be good, just not noticably fermented. Not always, though; if it's in one of those wacky little paper cups I don't even bother... I always eat the parsley sprig if there is one! But never the wilted lettuce leaf. Weird...

Tasting, Smelling, Touching, Nibbling...throughout! Getting to play with the ingredients is key for me. When you cook for yourself, the food seems more real. You get to see the transformation from fridge to fry-pan to fork. It's hard for me to fathom NOT wanting to be in on prep as well as eatin'!

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Well, my parents both grew up Mennonite (my mom's dad was Amish). So, there was some of that "Menno-cuisine" : verenike or kuchen on special occasions, lots and lots of home canning and preserves. There was a Mennonite movement (and cookbook) put out in (I think) the 70's called More With Less, which was sort of in the Diet for a Small Planet vein...not cutting out meat entirely, but learning how to live without it some nights or use it for flavor instead of an entree. So we almost never had chops or steaks or similar items. Lots of casseroles, some good, some awful. The "less meat" thing was both good and bad; sure, I missed out on a lot of good steaks, but we also got to eat strawberry shortcake with milk FOR DINNER (not just dessert!). We always had a garden wherever we lived, and we'd usually go to the "Pickin' Patch" every summer...it was a pick-your-own place with almost every kind of vegetable you'd want, plus berries and orchards. My first taste of hard-but-fun work: all morning in the hot sun picking peas, and watching the sheller go through 6 5-gallon buckets of them in the space of 15 minutes. Our 'food culture' was also subject to the constraints of the schedules of two busy teachers and their over-involved children. Summer vacation = canning time! Was meal time important? Yes. Unless it was completely impossible, we all sat down to supper together every night. Other meals, though, we were usually on our own. Was cooking important? Not unless there was time to putter around in the kitchen. My dad was a great improviser, for better or worse, and liked making things up, with mixed results. I discovered recipes around 12 or so, and started making whatever sounded intriguing, with mixed results (much to the amusement of my family). What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? None. Our mealtimes were quite informal. Knees up, open-mouthed chewing, and plate-licking were all discouraged, however. Who cooked in the family? Everyone. Both parents; whoever got home first started dinner. My sister and I were occasionally called on to help, but we mostly made treats and experiments in the kitchen, not so much meals. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Only once in awhile, usually Sundays after church. Almost never a fancy restaurant; my parents are more partial to seedy-looking ethnic restaurants with good food and no ambiance. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? Only if there was a huge group and we couldn't all fit around one big table...and then, only if there were many kids there. When did you get that first sip of wine? Oh boy. My parents were not wine drinkers; actually, I thought they were non-drinkers until my dad started drinking beer again every so often when I was 8 or 9. I guess they were afraid they'd corrupt me? Well, they were too late! I'd already tasted alcohol! One of my clearest memories from when we lived in Puerto Rico (I must have been 3 or so) was a dinner party at another house; the adults were somewhere, looking at something, and I sampled the dregs from all the cocktail glasses! I didn't like it then...but at 10, on vacation in the Florida Keys, I got Dad to give me a swig from his can of ice-cold Budweiser. And I DID like it. But didn't tell HIM that. Now my dad and I drink beer together a lot, but I am more of a beer snob than he is. And my mom likes a glass of white wine now and then. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Always. Sometimes my sister or I had to say it (very embarassing). Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? No...lots of stir-fry, because it was 'different', could be meatless, and quick. Lots of sliced tomatos in the summer. But no rotating schedule. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Food is more important/exciting to me than it is to my parents, perhaps because I don't have a family to feed; they see it as mostly fuel, not something to be revelled in. But my general distaste for large hunks of meat (except for some good steak now and then), and my love of all fresh and home-canned vegetables, and my frugality, are all from my parents, and I expect to feed my children that way when I have them.

Which ingredient do you think was mean to your poor throat? I almost never get sore throats...colds always skip down to my chest instead. The ginger is particularly good 'pre-cold'... Oh! Just thought of another remedy I love! Thyme tea; just a couple sprigs with the leave stripped, then bruised/muddled a bit. Pour boiling water, steep ten minutes. It actually DOES help sore throats (so I've heard), and I've found it to be awfully useful in relieving dry coughs. Somehow it relaxes all that chest tightness...seems to make coughs more productive, too, but that may be all in my head.

Once I've actually come down with a cold, many of the above suggestions apply. However, if it's just creeping up on me (fatigue, that little throat tickle), I will drink a big double mug of ginger-cayenne-garlic potion with honey. Grate a bunch of ginger root, add 2 c. water and 1/2 t. cayenne, simmer 5 min or so. Take off heat; add 2 crushed garlic cloves. Cover and let sit a few minutes. Strain, add honey, drink as soon as you can stand it. It can be hard to get through, even for someone who likes her spicy food! But it throws off the chills, clears up the nose, and warms up the joints. Follow with a hot eucalyptus bath and a nap. This usually heads a coming cold off at the pass, and if it doesn't, seems to shorten the duration...

If I am hungry, no aversions that I know of. If my crappy-boxed-lunch sandwich fills me up enough, though, I will probably skip the mushy Red Delicious. Things may get left on my plate...I hate feeling too full...but they always end up in the doggie bag and in my mouth 2-3 hours later. And I look on any food considered "weird" or "gross" by anyone else as a challenge. There's a lot that I don't particularly care for, but nothing I will not eat. I have a really strong gag reflex (gotta be careful with the toothbrush) but I don't think it's been activated in regard to food since age 12 or earlier. At my house, we all served ourselves from the dishes on the table. I was always expected to take at least 3 bites of everything served, and to finish everything I had dished out onto my plate. I can think of only a handful of times where eating became a power struggle...anyway, I learned to eat food even if it didn't please me, and to be aware of my stomach's capacity.

YES. YES. A thousand pods yes...

MMMMMmmmm. Play-dough. I used to eat this. Then again, it was the homemade play-dough my mom made (which is all we ever played with): flour, water, a bit o' salt, dash of alum, food coloring. Not really very tasty, but seemed 'food-y' (considering I'd just seen it made on the stove) and fun to nibble on, on occasion. Don't think I would have eaten the 'real' stuff - who knows where it has been?

Judging by the above definitions, I think both music and food have the potential to be either an art or a craft. Here's my reasoning for music (at least, performing it) as craft: well, popular music theater, at times. And my string quartet doing music for weddings. Trust me, when you play Canon in D for the thousandth time, only the most fanatical might call it 'art'. Really, you're there because music 'needs' to be there, accompanying the bride down the aisle, and some/all musical considerations are subsumed by the need to get the timing absolutely right. I guess the cultural need for wedding music is not exactly equal to the physical need for sustenance. But can you see where I'm going with this?

Guavas bother me for some reason. Wait, I know why. My Puerto Rican aunt used to serve slices of cheese (can't remember what kind) and guava paste together, and while I can see how this should be good, it really made me gag as a kid. Looked cool, so I would always try it, but I always gagged. Now I can eat guavas without gagging, but they still taste 'off' to me. JAZ, I am with you on a few of these. I had a banana that was too ripe this morning. It smelled great, but it was mushy and had that 'fermented' taste that I don't particularly care for, either. Has anyone else experience that 'fermented' taste? I don't think it's straight-up over-ripeness, that's not what I mean at all. Instead, it's the bad mushiness that happens when you ship fruit hard and try to ripen it up after buying. Sometimes it works. But sometimes the fruit goes from rock-hard to 'BLECH!' instead of ripening...this is when they taste fermented to me. When we lived in San Juan, we had a mango tree in our backyard. Boy, do I miss that tree. Those mangos never did the 'hard-to-mushy' thing, and always tasted good as long as they weren't flat-out rotten. They just kept getting softer and mellower...

Talked to my dad the morel-fiend. His tips: look in woods with old trees, especially ash trees. Also apple orchards. Occasionally you will find some great takes on land that's been strip-mined and covered with brush/small trees. Morel season is from late March thru April in Ohio; I guess you'd have to adjust your hunt accordingly for different regions... Happy Hunting!

Hey, Rick. I was mostly kidding about you sending me some , but I may have to order a case of those! I went to college in Newton, KS, and have a couple of friends out here with me. . .one of them mentioned just the other day how much he was pining for the perfection of Art & Mary's... I think I just got an idea for his next birthday present!

Oh my gosh, I moved from KS 2 years ago and miss Art & Mary's chips sooooooo much. They really are the most perfect kettle chip I have ever come across. Care to send a couple of bags across state lines to help quell the cravings?

I'll report back with pointers as soon as I hear back from the man himself....

Yum, yum, yum!!! The mushroom which broke down my former utter aversion to mushrooms... I myself am not a big hunter any longer (Colorado's too dry), but my dad back in Ohio is a morel-hunting FIEND. He teaches in Amish country, so he often drives down there during the spring, gets permission from various students' parents to gad about on their farmland, and generally does quite well. I'll call him and ask for his secrets if you wish - he'll give some pointers, but he won't give away the good spots. We usually don't bother with the eggs or breadcrumbs. Just slice 'em up and saute with a little fresh butter. Heaven.

I'm with you. Another addition to the 'baddies' (and only marginally a 'food product): non-dairy creamer! The little floaties that form on top as it dissolves in coffee really give me the shudders.

I'm with you, sequim. Unless I'm eating a raw vegetable and come across a worm-y (in which case I'll just eat around), it seems like the logical plan would be to cook the hell out of 'em and chow down. Then again, I was one of those children who got a kick out of chocolate covered ants, etc.