bloviatrix

I'd like to further the idea and have bathroom attendants enforce handwashing for everyone.

Reading about the native spices and herbs, I'm thinking about taking advantage of my friends who just moved back home to Sydney. What should I request they send me?

At home we drink tap water. We keep a one gallon jug filled in the refrigerator. For when I carry water with me, I keep a 1 liter Poland Spring bottle three-quarters of the way frozen with tap water. Before I leave, I top it off with more tap water. I like my water ice cold.

Blovie goes through about 2 liters of liquid a day. This can be water, ice tea, or juice. When we're in restaurants he always asks for a pitcher. Otherwise, he's downing the contents of my glass as well as his. I try to drink at least a liter a day. But, I'm not always so successful.

What type of races are conducted at the Melbourne Cup?

Tommy is the new Fran Liebowitz. Which means he'll be resting on his laurels for the next 20 something years.

For a soup that has apple cider, what about dried apple rings?

What about pieces of chestnut?

Finally, I know the true purpose of high heels.

We also had a mouse who lived under our stove. He liked to show his face at the most inoportune moments - such as when we were entertaining. Usually, mice are shy, but ours was so brazen, he would run over my slipper-clad feet. I swear he once stuck his tongue out at me. Fortunately, the glue traps worked, and we got the sucker. He was actually kind of cute, but annoying as all hell. Anyway, our mouse came in through the a gap in the wall where the gas pipe was. Call your super -- have him pull your stove away from the wall and fill the gap. Steel wool works, as mice can't gnaw through it. But they should be able to seal the gap with plaster. Good luck.

Well, I managed to rescue my soup. I was loathe to add additional water, as I figured it would dilute the flavor (I used mushroom broth), so I rehydrated some dried porcinis. I strained the liquid and added that to the soup. I also added the chopped porcinis. This way I kept the rich, mushroom-y flavor, but had a good liquid to stuff ratio. Next time I'll try toasting the barley first. Thanks all.

Friday night Mushroom barley soup Brisket, parnips, and turnip braised with aisan flavors (soy sauce, ginger and star anise) Kasha Apples

Oh man, this past week I just ate and ate and ate. And then, I ate some more, just for the hell of it. I'm disgusted with myself.

Throw the brussel sprouts into a pot of boiling water for about 4 minutes. After they cool, shred them (not through the stem the end). In a saute pan, sweat some onion and garlic in olive oil until they start tuning golden. Then add the shredded sprouts and saute they start to brown. Then add some balsamic vinegar and cook all the liquid out. Add some toasted pine nuts to the cooked sprouts. For the butternut squash, you can dice it and toss with a bit of olive oil and a mixture of cinnamon, corriander, salt and pepper and then roast.

Toasting never occurred to me. I'll try that next time.

Although the weather is nice and mild, I found some lovely mushrooms at the greenmarket today and decided to make a pot of mushroom barley soup. My problem is that that as the barley cooks, it absorbs most of the soup liquid leaving very little broth. I've tried cooking the barley separately, but I wasn't happy with the soup when I did that. The barley was a gloppy and added an unpleasant flavor. Any suggestions?

Bought some really good bread at the greenmarket this morning. So I had tuna packed in oil on a roll (the roll is square and has tomatoes baked into the top) smothered with basil mayonaise. Mint ice tea to drink. Yummy.

My copy is all frayed and splattered. The pages are sprouting post-it note flags. And I have lots of written notes stuck between the pages. I regret not buying it in hardcover. I frequently refer to Madeline Kammen's The New Making of a Cook. I never cook from this book, but when I'm looking to learn about a specific technique, it's a great resource. And, although not a cookbook, I use the Oxford Companion to Food all the time. It's another great resource book (and since it's really expensive - hardcover- try to have someone give it to you as a gift)

Seth, I've got to disagree with you on that one. My mil has the 7 cup, and when I use it, I find it too small. Most of the time I have to do things in two batches. I have the 11 cup at home which I find perfect. (Admittedly I frequently entertain in large groups, but most of the time, I'm cooking for 2)

I love how in many articles about the Time Warner Center's 3rd and 4th floors (where the restaurants are located) as a "food court."

It's quite understandable that Sephardic Jews have dishes similar to samosas. The Jewish diaspora spread as far east as India. The were sizable Jewish communities in Bombay and Calcutta. The Jewish community of Bagdad goes back to about 550 BCE. And there was a longstanding jewish community in Persia as well. I'm not sure when it originated. I'm not sure if this clarifies anything, but I found this in Gil Mark's The World of Jewish Cooking:

I was at Fairway uptown this morning. The bagger put my groceries into 3 bags. Keeping this thread in mind, I asked if she could combine everything into 1 bag. So she put two of the bags each with groceries into the last one. I returned home with 3 bags, when all I wanted was one.

Blovie bought some talapia. So tonight I went with an indian theme: pan-fried curred tilapia and basmati rice scented with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

Sounds good. Can you share the recipe?

We go to my cousin's house. They will have somewhere between 50 and 60 guests. It's all extended family on both sides, such that my in-laws will be there. In the living room will be 6 rounds, sitting 10 people each (they have a huge living room). And dinner is served buffet style. I think the last time I attended a sit-down Thanksgiving is 1984. There are always sweet-and-sour meatballs and chopped liver set out for snacks. Hired staff will pass around hors d'ouevres. The dinner menu varies from year to year, but there definitely will be turkey and brisket. Dessert is pot-luck style and all the guests contribute. My mom will inevitably make a fruit compote and a coffee cake. I normally make a flourless chocolate cake but this year I'm thinking an apple-pear crisp might be good. The food is ok, not great. But it's fun to see everyone and catch up.