mudbug

bleudauvergne, Thanks for sharing the pics! Keep us updated on how you're using them. Also, take some pics of those heirloom hardneck garlics too... and let us know what your vender tells you...

helenas, Are the stems hollow and round or solid and flat? Is there a bulb at the base?

Here is a wonderful source to find area farmer's markets: USDA Farmer's Market Web Site

You can cut them up and add them to soup. They act much like a noodle thru this method.

Jaymes, You may be surprised if you give it a chance. There are excellent Thai, Japanese, Chinese (Springfield is the originating home of Cashew Chicken, the Bam Boo Inn was the first to ever start selling it and it is still in the same location, has been for 30 years), Italian, Greek, and more restarurants. The Brown Derby International Wine Center is ranked as one of the top 10 best Wine Centers in the entire country and they carry a wide selection of gourmet food and ingredients including gourmet cheeses, gourmet meats, fresh vanilla beans, fois gois, truffles (canned or jarred but better than none), currants, cloudberries, fleur de sel, Dean & Deluca spices, cookware, etc. There are at least four Asian Groceries which carry fresh produce including fresh taro root, crosnes, fresh lotus root, water spinach, live blue crab, and more. And a Latino store which covers just about everything the Asian ones don't have. There are more excellent restaurants in the outlying cities of Springfield. It'll just take time to find your favorites. Don't assume that people don't have taste in the area. There are plenty of people with plenty of money to spend on good eats.

Recipe without sugar here.

I agree, I think of this one by Gloria Bley Miller

It can likely be frozen I'd imagine.

Really need to hire a new "floor guy" who knows the ingredients. It should be a non-issue and I think it makes the guy, and the show look bad. It was bad enough in the first one. At the beginning of the second, the "floor guy" asks Batali about the sun dried tomatoes and oil he has in the pan... and Batali responds... Uh, that's tomato paste and bacon fat. No excuse for going to the lengths they have only come off as clueless, even if it was done intentionally. Ridiculous. As for the battle, was a good one to watch. My main pet peeve even with the original IC is that it's 50/50 hit and miss whether they identify the usually Asian greens they use, often cooked and used for color, flavor, and texture contrast. Sometimes they just completely leave it out of the commentary. What was the green that Morimoto uses to top off one of his dishes that lookes like a succulent? Was that purslane (which contains a natural form of omega 3 fatty acids ) or was it something else? I'm not a vegetarian, but I have a particular interest in Asian Greens and appreciate that they are incorporated into the dishes for a reason.

Sammy, Exactly how did you search? Look here and here, and your best selection... here.

I voted for Sakai. Would have loved to taste the crispy fish in the spicy soup especially! As a person somewhat involved in the industry... That type of editing is done intentionally. Pay attention during 95% of all the reality competition shows. They can take things completely out of context, (especially on the other shows like Survivor, The Bachelor, Fear Factor, etc to make a person's personality appear completely different than who they completely are, ie... someone "drinks and gets drunk" three out of thirty days but when they do drink, they're agressive or lovey dovey, etc. and they edit it so that the most of what you see of that person is out of those three incidents. Then you think that person has a serious drinking problem which is totally untrue. Rest assured that if they keep following "The Formula" for editing these shows, they'll lead you one way so they can suprise you by the other. I scoffed when they didn't go ahead and show Flay chop the head off the fish... come on...! Where do Americans think their food comes from? God forbid we see that someone has to kill the animal. I was also surprised that the person on the floor came off as a little clueless. Come on... hire someone who knows what a daikon radish is.... geeeez, they sell those at Wal-Mart! As for where he was logistically and being able to see what he was commenting on... there is absolutely no reason I can think of as to why he wouldn't be able to see the ingredients. That's assuming the directors and producers didn't plan on that person being able to logistically do his job and I find that impossible to believe since they built the thing from scratch. At least Flay appeared to buckle down and focus on cooking. I rather prefer that he not talk, and just cook. sanguinella, "The chef with the grunge hair?" I assume you mean with the longer hair? He was actually an Iron Chef Competitor when FoodTV had their goofy all american iron chef battles when William Shatner was the host. Talk about overdone. As for the ice cream, are we sure they didn't enjoy it? Some of thier glasses were completely devoured. enrevanche, It was not Alton who did not know the daikon radish, it was the guy "on the floor". Alton saved his a**.

When my other half and I were young and completely ignorant... we came across an entire set of Le Crusset at least nine bottom peices (blue) with lids in like new condition. We had no idea what a steal they were at $35.00 FOR ALL! The woman told us they were good... little did we know... we missed out on the deal of a lifetime. Never again. Since then I've become much more educated on what to look for. Short of a culinary blow torch, I've found many of my kitchen equipement, utensils, and appliances at garage sales, including a professional Kitchen Aid for $50 like new from a young couple who decided to get out of the restaurant business because of their children, they also had gourmet coffees... Sometimes they just don't make them like they used to. Sometimes people are getting married and getting rid of stuff and sometimes getting divorced, still having to get rid of stuff that's of high quality and incredibly less expensive than in the stores.

I have agree with the first sentence and disagree with the second, everyone is different. My other half does a lot of cooking and likes to read at that time. I make sure there's a cookbook or two in amongst the magazines and inevitably new dishes in the kitchen will result from the time spent reading the recipes outside of the kitchen. If it's a cookbook - first and foremost, quality recipes are certainly the number one priority... as for pictures, history, personal comments, etc. Everyone (both writer and reader) is different. Some learn by reading, some are visual learners, other auditory, etc. Experience also has a lot to do with it. Someone who's been cooking a wide variety of foods for a number of years is more likely to be able to read a recipe without pictures and be able to accurately assume what it's going to look and taste like and what adjustments they might make themselves. Others need photos to see what their goal is. Assuming that the recipes are universally perceived as "good", I don't think there's a right or wrong way to embellish additional information as long as it's pertinent to the recipe and the recipe is accurate and easy to read. We all present ourselves in different ways and learn in different ways and we're all at different levels of cooking experience. What's important is that there's something for everyone.

Another vote here for :: mum-mum :: eat-eat ::

Pickels, We try to always watch the prices as they are scanned, being aware of how much they're supposed to be. That way, if something goes thru and is rung up incorrectly, we can tell them right away and they can easily correct it. If a particular item is consistently incorrect, a friendly comment to the manager may greatly be appreciated. If for some reason we're talking to someone at the time, we'll quickly glance at the receipt as we're leaving to make sure everything was correct. Just being aware while you're standing there in front of them anyway will prevent your irritations of being overcharged for something you didn't buy. As for young people not knowing what every item is, we're all human and we all learn different things at different times in our lives. If they don't know what something is, we'll inform them and also volunteer some information on how they're cooked or what they're good with. Who knows, you may encourage them to try it, or at least they'll have the opportunity to pick up some reference of what it is if they care to retain the info. ;) Natural Light Labeling, Thank you for your elaborations. Looking forward to seeing this system progress. :)

Bogon & Ben Hong, Exactly how long do you scald with boiling water? 10 seconds? 30 seconds? etc? Store in a cool, dry, place... ok to store in a covered container in the fridge?

I'm in total empathy with you.... refer to my username and avatar.... :(

Homecooked Crispy Chicken Skin.... lightly sprinkled with salt and MSG. You'll never go back to Doritos again.

Mrs. Renfro’s Green Salsa Can't have taco's without it. Deeeelish!

I always figure that if someone came up with it in the first place, that of course someone else can do it... I haven't made it yet – but it looks easy enough... ;) Creole Ceram Cheese Recipe Creole Cream Cheese Recipie 2 Creole Cream Cheese Recipie 3

I think most world travellers who have eaten "local" food around the world and not just "restaurant" food in each country would universally agree... Thai overall, throughout the country would be the hottest/most spicy, as mentioned above, due mostly in part to those unassuming tiny Thai chili peppers.

Trim away... This goes for almost every herb. You can trim up to 2/3 of the plant (stems, not just leaves), leaving the bottom 1/3 to still allow for photosynthesis. It encourages new growth, don't be shy. It is likely that your plant is young if all the stems are green, it could also a trait of the specific variety, with over 400 varieties of thyme, there's room for variation. When it get's woody, that is usally "last year's growth" but new shoots will come from that woody stem. Stems, woody or not can be used in cooking. Usually the stems are discarded as they are unpleasant to chew on...

Where do you live? You may be surprised at local sources...

JennyUptown, I agree, I highly recommend growing them yourself. You can go to most places like Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, local greenhouses (especially this time in the seasons) and buy plants which will continue to produce for you all summer (or longer) for less than the cost of buying cartons at grocery stores. I've found that the best way to dry them is actually your refrigerator - which due to the process of refrigeration, is a form of dehydration. Take some tuile (like wedding veil fabric, extremely inexpensive at a fabric store or fabric department or Wal-Mart). Lay your leaves on top in one layer. Loosely roll it up. This will suspend each leaf in mid air with circulation all around. Keep in a paper sack in your fridge for about a couple of weeks. This also keeps them dust free. Your herbs are best dried by this method because it preserves the integrity of their color, shape, and flavor of the oils. If you want to freeze dry, put them in the fridge for a couple of hours. Get dry ice from any grocery store and place it in the bottom of an empty cooler. After the herbs have cooled in the fridge, put them in a shallow bowl and then into the cooler with the dry ice. Wait about 15 minutes. Using oven mits, remove the bowl and empty the herbs into a plastic baggie. Press out the air or use a straw to suck the air out of the baggie and seal. You may now store your flash frozen herbs in the freezer.

jackal10, Thanks, but that's the opposite of what I'm looking for. Tungpo pork has skin that can be cut with a spoon. I'm looking, for skin which is crispy, crunchy - more crunchy than Krunchers Chips. The skin is usually blistered. As mentioned in the thread you link to... known as "siu yook" in Cantonese.