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Food in the time of a pandemic


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1 hour ago, chefmd said:

Today is my birthday.  During the normal times it would mean fancy dinner.  Michelin, here I come.  Or something like that.  Today it means Russian salad that I used to make with my family for many years while living in Russia.  In Russia it is called salad Olivier.  It used to be made in vast quantities as far as I remember from my youth that happened to be in the 80s and 90s.  Potatoes, carrots, eggs,hot dogs all boiled together and mixed with pickles, herbs if you have them.  And of course obscene amount of mayo.  This is to my mother and grandmother who survived Perestroika.  

0069C5EB-2F7B-47DE-8337-0D5AFB1E5668.thumb.jpeg.a89876d709d6a5f2ad0842bdb6f6ee2e.jpeg

 

@chefmd You OK?    Is this a cry for help?

 

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1 hour ago, chefmd said:

Russian salad

Lol. My Danish mother-in-law made a Russian salad. It was actually quite good. Peas and carrots and lots of mayonnaise!  

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

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I have a vague recollection of having it somewhere but a long time ago.  What I do remember is that I really liked it.  A church picnic maybe?  My mom never made it so it had to be something like that.  Do you just wing it or do you have an actual recipe?

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4 hours ago, chefmd said:

Today is my birthday.  During the normal times it would mean fancy dinner.  Michelin, here I come.  Or something like that.  Today it means Russian salad that I used to make with my family for many years while living in Russia.  In Russia it is called salad Olivier.  It used to be made in vast quantities as far as I remember from my youth that happened to be in the 80s and 90s.  Potatoes, carrots, eggs,hot dogs all boiled together and mixed with pickles, herbs if you have them.  And of course obscene amount of mayo.  This is to my mother and grandmother who survived Perestroika.  

0069C5EB-2F7B-47DE-8337-0D5AFB1E5668.thumb.jpeg.a89876d709d6a5f2ad0842bdb6f6ee2e.jpeg

Happy Birthday, The salad looks good. An honour to your Mother and Grandmother. Thank you for sharing.

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4 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

@chefmd You OK?    Is this a cry for help?

 

Thank you for asking.  Not a cry for help.  I am sad about this whole situation but who isn’t.  Food makes me happy.  Enjoying little things makes situation bearable.

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On 3/30/2020 at 10:05 PM, BeeZee said:

Would be helpful if we could actually purchase Lysol spray or wipes. All I have left is Windex. No bleach, either. I have been washing my apples with soap and water, though. And I did follow that protocol when we got takeout (hot) food the other day.

Check you local pool supply store.   The liquid chlorine is almost 2x the strength of household bleach.   You can dilute accordingly.  I imagine powdered chlorine can be dissolved into a liquid but unsure of the concentration 

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On 3/31/2020 at 10:21 AM, Shelby said:

Sigh.  Wish me luck.  I gotta venture to the store and liquor store.  I don't wanna :( .


I know the feeling.   Went into a grocery store this week for the first time since this pandemic.  Really didn’t want to buy  Liquor I have  enough for a few life times.  But I really wanted some produce and walked away with a bit of frozen vegetables and some apples 

 

Not big on frozen vegetables except corn, black-eyed peas and some greens but will make it work 

Edited by scubadoo97 (log)
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37 minutes ago, MetsFan5 said:

Am I the only one using a vegetable/ fruit cleaner spray and rinsing them? I’ve LwYs done that. 

It's one of those "can't hurt" kinda things.

 

The USDA and FDA find no tangible benefit from using those products, but if they make you feel better about the food you eat that's benefit enough.

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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15 hours ago, Smithy said:

In the interests of avoiding unnecessary waste, what can I do with these tough asparagus stem ends? I started by peeling them before snapping them off, but they kept snapping at the natural break point of the stalk. Finally I lost patience and snapped them without peeling.

 

20200402_141327.jpg

 

I've read about tricks to use that part of the asparagus, but I'm drawing a blank. I'd rather not get a mouthful of wood from simply chewing them. Cut them into finer pieces, bag them in mesh like a bouquet garni, then use in a soup or stew?

just use them in vegetable stock or which you will then use to make an asparagus risotto.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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13 hours ago, chefmd said:

Today is my birthday.  During the normal times it would mean fancy dinner.  Michelin, here I come.  Or something like that.  Today it means Russian salad that I used to make with my family for many years while living in Russia.  In Russia it is called salad Olivier.  It used to be made in vast quantities as far as I remember from my youth that happened to be in the 80s and 90s.  Potatoes, carrots, eggs,hot dogs all boiled together and mixed with pickles, herbs if you have them.  And of course obscene amount of mayo.  This is to my mother and grandmother who survived Perestroika.  

 

 

12 hours ago, Anna N said:

Lol. My Danish mother-in-law made a Russian salad. It was actually quite good. Peas and carrots and lots of mayonnaise!  

 

Available in literally every pintxo or tapas joint in Donostia - San Sebastián, where it's more likely to be called Ensaladilla Rusa.  And much more likely to be made with tuna in lieu of hot dogs!

 

My Basque version...

 

27596989_BasquePotatoSaladIMG_0267.thumb.JPG.3f614d6b1ed21ffa53cac0a71d1c9444.JPG

 

 

 

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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2 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

Am I the only one using a vegetable/ fruit cleaner spray and rinsing them? I’ve LwYs done that. 

I use dish soap and a sponge, as I've always done.  As well as removing outer leaves from things like cabbage.

 I blanched the green leafy veg I received the other day; broccoli and escarole were washed, blanched and stored.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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12 hours ago, Anna N said:

Lol. My Danish mother-in-law made a Russian salad. It was actually quite good. Peas and carrots and lots of mayonnaise!  

Well. Well. Well. I found my “Russian” salad recipe on a Danish site but they think it’s Italian. 😂

 

Italian Salad 

1 cup peas -- cooked

1 cup carrots -- cooked

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 dash garlic powder1 dash paprika

 

I won’t swear to it but I am pretty sure my mother-in-law used a can of peas and carrots. I despise canned peas and carrots but I enjoyed the salad. Go figure. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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14 hours ago, chefmd said:

Today is my birthday.  During the normal times it would mean fancy dinner.  Michelin, here I come.  Or something like that.  Today it means Russian salad that I used to make with my family for many years while living in Russia.  In Russia it is called salad Olivier.  It used to be made in vast quantities as far as I remember from my youth that happened to be in the 80s and 90s.  Potatoes, carrots, eggs,hot dogs all boiled together and mixed with pickles, herbs if you have them.  And of course obscene amount of mayo.  This is to my mother and grandmother who survived Perestroika.  

0069C5EB-2F7B-47DE-8337-0D5AFB1E5668.thumb.jpeg.a89876d709d6a5f2ad0842bdb6f6ee2e.jpeg

Happy Birthday ChefMD!  A birthday you'll never forget.  I pray next years is more back to normal.  This salad looks delicious.  I am bookmarking to make it.  Hoping I have some hotdogs in the freezer.

16 hours ago, Smithy said:

In the interests of avoiding unnecessary waste, what can I do with these tough asparagus stem ends? I started by peeling them before snapping them off, but they kept snapping at the natural break point of the stalk. Finally I lost patience and snapped them without peeling.

 

20200402_141327.jpg

 

I've read about tricks to use that part of the asparagus, but I'm drawing a blank. I'd rather not get a mouthful of wood from simply chewing them. Cut them into finer pieces, bag them in mesh like a bouquet garni, then use in a soup or stew?

I wonder if you pressure cooked them if they would get nice and tender?

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19 hours ago, Smithy said:

In the interests of avoiding unnecessary waste, what can I do with these tough asparagus stem ends? I started by peeling them before snapping them off, but they kept snapping at the natural break point of the stalk. Finally I lost patience and snapped them without peeling

 

I've read about tricks to use that part of the asparagus, but I'm drawing a blank. I'd rather not get a mouthful of wood from simply chewing them. Cut them into finer pieces, bag them in mesh like a bouquet garni, then use in a soup or stew?

 

4 hours ago, weinoo said:

just use them in vegetable stock or which you will then use to make an asparagus risotto.

 

Yes, that's right.  I like this method for making quick "micro stock" in the Instant Pot from vegetable trimmings.  Of course, the rest of your asparagus is probably long gone by now so it may be no help. 

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4 minutes ago, Kim Shook said:

Happy Birthday, @chefmd!  I love meal reports that come with stories!  

 

Dinner last night needs no photo.  Leftover Chinese and I made not spicy Bang-Bang shrimp to fill it out.  This seemed to cause a 3 person pile up on the family room couch.  We napped.  

 

Bang-Bang Shrimp is a new one on me. I found this recipe in, unfortunately, an ad-riddled website. Does it look more or less like what you did? I have the ingredients!

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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3 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Bang-Bang Shrimp is a new one on me. I found this recipe in, unfortunately, an ad-riddled website. Does it look more or less like what you did? I have the ingredients!

Very similar.  Here's the recipe I use.  You can customize to how hot you like it with hot sauce.  

Edited by Kim Shook (log)
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@Smithy 

 

I went to the site 

 

and had very little Ad-Anoyance 

 

what ever OS you use

 

for your browser their might be an AdBlocker 

 

which you should install , carefully

 

for Safari  on a Mac there is this  which I use :

 

https://adblockplus.org

 

it might be available for other OS's

 

I highly recommend it

 

that being said

 

I cant see  most embedded vids here

 

doubt it because  of the AdBlocker

 

maybe because FlashPlayer is a  problematic add om

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We take alot for granted. This morning a farmworker report popped up. (not linking cuz a newsletter and political). 

This is tulip season. Not picking cuz growers can't sell now. The people behind our food! 

Most housing situations make a sardine can look roomy.No social distancing.

These 5 live in the single room in a house along with 2 other families

03-scaled-720.jpg

02-scaled-720.jpg

 

The strawberry pickers in Santa Maria are slogging through mud because of the rains,

 

Barrack housing in Washington

 

04-scaled-720.jpg

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In my most recent delivery from Whole Foods I received a bunch of red onions, things that look sort of like round scallions.  I bought them because they were cute and I'd never seen them before.  Unfortunately I have no idea how to use red bunch onions.  Any suggestions?

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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I put them mostly in salads and wraps and egg dishes. Basically they're a scallion, but more colorful.

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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32 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

In my most recent delivery from Whole Foods I received a bunch of red onions, things that look sort of like round scallions.  I bought them because they were cute and I'd never seen them before.  Unfortunately I have no idea how to use red bunch onions.  Any suggestions?

 

They sound like what we get as "spring onions" which are extremely mild.  I do not care for raw onions at all and I can eat these in a salad.  Are they mild?

 

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21 minutes ago, chromedome said:

I put them mostly in salads and wraps and egg dishes. Basically they're a scallion, but more colorful.

 

Maybe Momofuku ranch!  Except, come to think of it, that is only the green part.

 

Speaking of Whole Foods, with only a couple gaps I'd been clicking on the place order button every couple minutes since before 9:00 this morning.  Finally about 5:00 pm my order was accepted.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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