laurel

I don't know about outside, but I have spearmint in a pot indoors that tried to take over another plant next to it when I wasn't paying attention. Then it got eaten by spider mites and a sundew started growing in its pot, so now they're sharing.

Has anyone ever cooked/eaten softshell crabs any way other than fried? Not that there's anything wrong with fried..

It might help if you gave a dollar amount. I've had people call mid-priced anything from $5 to $50...

Oh, joy! This is Mammounia (or something like that, I've almost certainly misspelled it), the Morrocan place that, IIRC, used to be where Apocalypse Tattoo is now. I had a wonderful meal at the old location in around '87, and I never made it back before it closed. I ate there last week. The place was almost empty (it was 9:30 PM on Monday, which I'm sure didn't help), but I enjoyed the food. My only other reference for Morroccon food is Marrakesh, and I think Mamounia is actually a bit better.. the flavors seem richer and more subtle.

I wonder if the stackstones could be used for an herb spiral? I'm thinking of building a small one in an approximately 4'x4' space behind my new place..

I was at the tilth sale too.. I volunteered there Sat morning and Sun afternoon. I got 8 different herbs, a few tomatoes, and two artichokes. I haven't planted any of them out yet, but I built a trellis for the tomatoes last night. They were giving a presentation about season extension for tomatoes, and they suggested making a cloche out of plastic sheeting draped over hoops of pvc pipe. I've never grown tomatoes here though, this is the first season I've had a garden in seattle. In Pittsburgh I grew tomatoes by burying rotten tomatoes in the garden and waiting until July. They also grew by themselves out in the yard where the pipe to the septic tank got backed up and made a big puddle. Does anyone have any advice about the artichokes?

The smoked duck on the menu sounds interesting...

I noticed these on the same site as the thermapen: http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/index.html Anyone have an idea of whether they would work in a stick-it-in-the-oven-and-close-the-door way?

edit: meant to be a pm. shouldn't be taking up space here.

Yesterday's dinner for 9: Garden Radishes: Rapini with Garlic, Sun Dried Tomatoes, and Pine Nuts: Roasted Carrots: Saag Paneer: Tofu and Pea Vines in Black Bean Sauce: Braised Leeks and Sorrel:

Seattle tilth has a list of vegetables on their site. Looks like there are about 40 kinds of tomatoes, including a whole "odd colored" section.

And the weekend after is the Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale. More info at http://seattletilth.org/

Is "Cog" short for something? And what exactly does it mean?

Last Friday for 2: Souffleed Omelet and Apple Arugula Salad: Last night for 4: Scallop, Blood Orange, and Avocado Ceviche with Garden Radishes: Scallop Ceviche Close Up: Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Vinagrette: Stinging Nettles with Sesame Ginger Dressing: Stuffed Collard Greens:

Why there isn't one in Capitol Hill this year:

It was great.. Just being able to use their well equipped kitchen was fun, and we got to try lots of less typical Indian dishes. We also got a pretty well researched handout describing the different cuisines in regions of India, and a short lecture beforehand describing the spices and ingredients we would be using. I think my favorite part was that they weren't really strict about following the recipe exactly (even though they gave us the recipe), and encouraged us to taste and adjust seasonings. One drawback is that with the large group (9 for my class), you don't really get to participate in everything.

Talk to Gabe at Culinary Communion. At the class I took there, they had a few inches thick box of full sheet pan sheets of parchment. I have no idea how much parchment is in a few inches.. they probably take a lot less than a lifetime to consume 1000 parchment sheets though.

I've made nut butters in a big Thai granite mortar and pestle. I like it chunky, but I imagine if I had the patience to pound for another 15 minutes or so, I could get it pretty smooth...

Dinner for 5 with a Green Theme: Arugula Salad with Cumin Caraway Farmer Cheese and Apples 3 Ways: Mustard Greens with Fermented Tofu: Kale-pini and Leeks with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Lemon: Rapini with Anchovies, Garlic and Fennel: Steamed Nettles with Baby Greens: Roasted Purple Cauliflower: Halibut with Sorrel Sauce Baked in Parchment

Wednesday, dinner for 5: Black Bean and Mushroom Dip: Roasted Asparagus: Lentils de Puy: Sauteed Morels: Apple Salmon: Poached Pear and Pineapple Bread:

I've never done anything like this either, so I can't help much, but a friend rented out the back room at the Capitol Club for a party, and it was very nice (I have no idea about the cost though). The room is probably about the right size for you. Their website is here.

I'm going to be doing coat check on Sunday, so stop by and check your coat :)

Yeah, the sawagani was interesting.. kind of like fried shrimp heads that you sometimes get with sweet shrimp (Side note.. They don't give you the heads from sweet shrimp in NYC, and some peolpe from Japan have said that they don't do it there either. Is this a Seattle thing?) I'm kind of annoyed that they gave us 4 pretty uninteresting rolls in our omakase after we said we only wanted at most one roll...

I think I liked the peanut sauce at seven stars better, actually (last time I was there, I think our table of 8 got 2 refills). I don't have a clear preference for the broth or quality of in thingredients at either place; but I did like the greater variety at Lo Sichuan. I'm not a big fan of the thick skinned Sichuan dumpling; I prefer Shanghai style, like xiao long bao (soup dumplings). I got the Chinese Snacks cookbook for Christmas but I haven't made anything out of it yet.. maybe we need to have an egullet dumpling party...

A lot of the stuff there is pretty interesting to me too, especially the "Home Chef" ones. Joe and I bid on a class at the auction at the Shellfish Celebration in January, so we're taking the Indian class next week.. we can let you know then :) Has anyone taken any cooking classes put on by other organizations? Uwajimaya's class schedule looks interesting too, especially the sushi classes taught by the owner of Mashiko.