Unexpected Food Gifts

[ElsieD]

Today some more largesse from my neighbour, an olive oil cake.  Nicely wrapped in parchment and tied with ribbon.

[heidih]

Nice gift. I really enjoy a lightly sweetened orange olive oil cake

[ElsieD]

3 minutes ago, heidih said:

Nice gift. I really enjoy a lightly sweetened orange olive oil cake

 

I haven't cut in to it yet as it is still warm but it smells a bit of lemon?

[Katie Meadow]

Mulberries this time, from a friend's tree. Not enough on their own, but luckily I had a bunch of plums. So more jam! Different that straight plum, just as good.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

A totally different angle:    In these days of sequestration, limited exposure to outside experiences, what is the protocol for offering food to people outside your bubble?    We don't consume food cooked outside our home, aka any kind of take out.    How do you offer food to others who may be similarly restricting their food?

 

Reason for asking, we made peach ice cream today and considered taking a pint to neighbors down the hill.   We know they are being very conscientious about exposure.    We worry that even if we express our understanding and general agreement of their concerns, they might feel the need to accept and the toss it.

 

Thoughts?

[heidih]

Not the food itself but if ya may have contaminated in a short window before gifting.  I have seen the spray analyses - shocking. So  I just let the gifting impulse go for now esp here in a hot-bed. But that is me.

[blue_dolphin]

31 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

A totally different angle:    In these days of sequestration, limited exposure to outside experiences, what is the protocol for offering food to people outside your bubble?    We don't consume food cooked outside our home, aka any kind of take out.    How do you offer food to others who may be similarly restricting their food?

 

Reason for asking, we made peach ice cream today and considered taking a pint to neighbors down the hill.   We know they are being very conscientious about exposure.    We worry that even if we express our understanding and general agreement of their concerns, they might feel the need to accept and the toss it.

 

Thoughts?

 

After a while of not sharing, I've been giving out popsicles again.  I ask in advance and say that I completely understand if they'd rather take a rain check on a future batch.  I'll usually text a photo of the pops and ask if they'd like some.  We coordinate a masked hand-off via text. 

I wouldn't surprise anyone by showing up at their door or dropping off an unexpected package. 

A lot of my friends are scientists and understand this is a respiratory virus so contracting it through food isn't an enormous risk. 

They've all eaten my food before so they trust that I'm using appropriate kitchen hygiene. 

I've been sticking to cooking my own food and haven't done any take-out either, saving my splurges for indulgent ingredients.  I wouldn't hesitate to accept reciprocal offers of food from friends.  Especially peach ice cream!

 

Bottom line:  If the choice you offer is now or later rather than yes or no, I think you'll avoid having anyone accept and toss.

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2020 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

54 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

 

Bottom line:  If the choice you offer is now or later rather than yes or no, I think you'll avoid having anyone accept and toss.

 

well said.

[teonzo]

You can give away canned stuff:  jams, preserves and so on. That food has been pasteurized (or sterilized) inside the jar, so the risks are infinitesimal. If people are skeptical they can sanitize the outside of the  jar before opening it.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[pastrygirl]

We had a little family bbq yesterday and my sister surprised me with this

 

I’m a spice fiend and cant wait to eat it!  I do have some Lao Gan Ma, will try them side by side. 

[Katie Meadow]

Bodega Red Potatoes are back from the brink of extinction! Our neighbors are gardening in a small lot my husband and his siblings own out at Dillon Beach. He gifted us a few potatoes he grew from heirloom seeds purchased at the Petaluma Seed Bank. The best potatoes I can remember eating! Just a lumpy looking brown potato, but the inside is pristine white. I parboiled them, cut them into large chunks and sautéed them in butter until there were a few crispy bits. Incredibly good. But then I do like potatoes.

[Katie Meadow]

In service to truth telling my husband says they are actually red. My sense of color must be altered, since the sky in the west is now red. It must be throwing me off. In so many ways. My SIL sent me a long article from the Press Democrat (local paper) about the Bodega Red. Long story short, one guess is that a South American sailor jumped ship in northern CA with a couple of Bodega Reds in his pockets. But there is a definite movement to bring them back. All good!

[suzilightning]

anyone have any yellow squash and zucchini you can drop off on the porch?

 

[TdeV]

I was just gifted with 2 pounds of Chanterelle mushrooms and a pint of heavy cream. Ideas?

[heidih]

Surely you jest! That is what I call FRIENDS Add a touch of butter, saute,  and top any carb - pasta, toast. Lucky you! Sometimes a touch of black pepper but garlic can overwhelm - we all have preferences. Who just had an A$$ load? checking.  Ahh here https://forums.egullet.org/topic/160121-dinner-2020/?do=findComment&comment=2272004

 

Edited November 12, 2020 by heidih (log)

[TdeV]

So, I sent the BF friend who gifted me the mushrooms this Chantrelle Soup Recipe where Hank Shaw discusses Better Than Sex mushroom soup. BF asked: "Do you know much about French cooking? I’m wondering about what you can make in advance and what you should not make in advance. Or, can you make the soup, put it in the fridge, reheat another day?"

 

I said I would ask.

[heidih]

9 minutes ago, TdeV said:

So, I sent the BF friend who gifted me the mushrooms this Chantrelle Soup Recipe where Hank Shaw discusses Better Than Sex mushroom soup. BF asked: "Do you know much about French cooking? I’m wondering about what you can make in advance and what you should not make in advance. Or, can you make the soup, put it in the fridge, reheat another day?"

 

I said I would ask.

 

Love Hank.  The veloute may break. I would make to eat immediately until you drop and if saving any (doubt it) leftover - reheat very gently (double boilerish). What would you want to "do ahead" ? Such a straightforward prep. 

[liuzhou]

This lot rolled up at 8:30 pm last night. A gift from a friend in Guangdong Province.

 

Top: L-R: Crab flavoured broad beans, Macadamia nuts, Melon seeds, Walnuts, Beef flavour broad beans, Almonds.

Botton: L-R: Peanuts, Pecans, Japanese chestnuts.

Edited November 14, 2020 by liuzhou (log)

[Alex]

On 11/11/2020 at 8:50 PM, TdeV said:

I was just gifted with 2 pounds of Chanterelle mushrooms and a pint of heavy cream. Ideas?

 

Invite me over for dinner?

 

My go-to chanterelle recipe is the dead simple chanterelle and dried apricot sauce from The New Basics Cookbook, by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso. Instead of serving it over toast as an app, or on its own as a vegetable, I use it as a sauce over meat from a local farm (usually pork tenderloin or boneless chicken breast or thighs, although I imagine it would be stellar over turkey). The recipe doesn't call for cream, although I imagine it couldn't hurt.

[heidih]

20 minutes ago, Alex said:

My go-to chanterelle recipe is the dead simple chanterelle and dried apricot sauce from The New Basics Cookbook, by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso. 

Yes Apricots (concentrated via dried) sounds like a lovely echo of the chanterelle essence, Thanks for the idea.

[liuzhou]

A visiting friend brought me this 300 gram bag of 花菇 (huā gū) or "flower mushtrooms" - prized dried shiitake from 田林县 (tián lín xiàn) - Tianlin County of 百色 (bǎi sè), a prefecture in Guangxi near the borders with Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. It also borders Vietnam. Tiamnlin is a forested, mountainous area inhabited by the Yao and Miao ethnic minorities and well known for its wild mushrooms.

 

 

[Shelby]

We got TWO unexpected gifts yesterday!  What a treat!  The first is from my mom and step dad.  She said I could wait until Christmas to open, which normally I would, but it's a pandemic so I say open the gifts now 🙋‍♀️.

 

This is all from a place in Durango, CO.  

 

 

Along with it came this CUTE hand sanitizer.  I love that they got creative and used what would normally be filled with honey for the container!

 

 

And, our hunter friend from GA sent us a ton of venison sausage!  He's very sorely missed around here.  Rifle deer season began on Wednesday....it feels very wrong to not have him around.

 

[heidih]

Cooool!

[rotuts]

@Shelby 

 

wow

 

 

[liamsaunt]

I got a giant chocolate bar in the mail from Wegman's yesterday, as thanks for being one of their "top customers" (whatever that means).  I don't like chocolate (so am planning on sticking it in my niece's Christmas stocking heh heh), but they also loaded a gift card and a bunch of digital coupons for various free food on to my Wegman's account that I can redeem via online shopping.  That, I will use.