Food in the time of a pandemic

[liamsaunt]

On 5/26/2020 at 6:10 PM, robirdstx said:

Could the ramp butter be portioned and then frozen?

 

Definitely!  That is what I do with mine.

 

5 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Does this mean you have 2-way communication with your shopper?

 

Yeah, that is a cool feature of Instacart, they almost always text when something is out of stock and offer subs.  They even send pictures of what is actually there to choose from.  Well, at least usually.  Occasionally I get a rogue shopper who just goes off and does their own thing.  Earlier this week I ordered a piece of Parmigiano Reggiano....I got five pieces!  With that same shopper I ordered paper towels and they gave me six boxes of tissues instead.  It's allergy season here, so OK with me.  

 

I did not take a picture of today's CSA, but I got local asparagus, which I am really excited about.  I also got lots of greens: arugula, baby spinach, mesculin.  And another bunch of green garlic, yum.  Plus, of course, potatoes, sigh.  The speciality item this week was a jar of dilly beans.  I assume these are pickled green beans?

[chefmd]

CWent to Aldi in Falls Church, VA today during lunch.  Very few people in the store, very full shelves.  Eggs are $1.30.  Bought this prosciutto for $2.56 for 4 ounce package.  Also what kind of cheese is Borgonzola!  Stay tuned

 

[weinoo]

I was doing a little rearranging of closet space in order to make more room in the apartment for current needs, moving stuff downstairs to my storage cage, when I came across a box that I'd put there years ago.

 

 

In said box, a set of 3 wooden bowls ( yeah, I know this is only two of them), might've been my grandmother's. I oiled them last night...they're gorgeous and have a million chop marks from making, no doubt, chopped liver, egg salad and other weird chopped things. And today for lunch, I made endive alla Romana for the 2 of us. Perfect size, and well - just perfect.

 

 

[nickrey]

An Australian comedian was so incensed by people buying pre-bought pasta sauces for lockdown that he did a video showing how easy it was to prepare it from scratch.

 

He is a "sweary, ranty you-tuber" (see this article for a journalistic write up  ) who has fans around the world.

 

Worth a watch but I need to issue a parental guidance warning about some of his language.

 

The you tube channel is here.

[heidih]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

I was doing a little rearranging of closet space in order to make more room in the apartment for current needs, moving stuff downstairs to my storage cage, when I came across a box that I'd put there years ago.

 

 

In said box, a set of 3 wooden bowls ( yeah, I know this is only two of them), might've been my grandmother's. I oiled them last night...they're gorgeous and have a million chop marks from making, no doubt, chopped liver, egg salad and other weird chopped things. And today for lunch, I made endive alla Romana for the 2 of us. Perfect size, and well - just perfect.

 

 

OMG I am in lust

[Katie Meadow]

14 hours ago, weinoo said:

I was doing a little rearranging of closet space in order to make more room in the apartment for current needs, moving stuff downstairs to my storage cage, when I came across a box that I'd put there years ago.

 

 

In said box, a set of 3 wooden bowls ( yeah, I know this is only two of them), might've been my grandmother's. I oiled them last night...they're gorgeous and have a million chop marks from making, no doubt, chopped liver, egg salad and other weird chopped things. And today for lunch, I made endive alla Romana for the 2 of us. Perfect size, and well - just perfect.

 

Now dig up the mezzaluna that went with! My mother must have gotten rid of her bowl and blade when she moved to a small apartment because I sure never found them. In my seemingly endless coronavirus nostalgia fugue I made chopped liver a few weeks ago and it is impossible not to think of her set-up under the circumstances. Never did a bowl take such a beating. 

 

And speaking of nostalgia foods, last night I made Manhattan clam chowder with canned clams, (basically your fault, Mitch.) It was a first for my husband of 33 years and he was thrilled, as he should have been, given that our main meals have consisted of Bloody Marys and Root Beer Floats with grilled cheese sandwiches for two days. (Not that that's a bad thing of course.) He stepped up to the plate and made excellent biscuits to go with, a skill worth my encouragement which is paying off -- for me at least -- big time. No oyster crackers, but really, biscuits fresh from the oven with clam chowder?  

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

Now dig up the mezzaluna that went with! My mother must have gotten rid of her bowl and blade when she moved to a small apartment because I sure never found them. In my seemingly endless coronavirus nostalgia fugue I made chopped liver a few weeks ago and it is impossible not to think of her set-up under the circumstances. Never did a bowl take such a beating. 

 

And speaking of nostalgia foods, last night I made Manhattan clam chowder with canned clams, (basically your fault, Mitch.) It was a first for my husband of 33 years and he was thrilled, as he should have been, given that our main meals have consisted of Bloody Marys and Root Beer Floats with grilled cheese sandwiches for two days. (Not that that's a bad thing of course.) He stepped up to the plate and made excellent biscuits to go with, a skill worth my encouragement which is paying off -- for me at least -- big time. No oyster crackers, but really, biscuits fresh from the oven with clam chowder?  

Oh it's down there in the with the 3rd bowl, and they're coming up after my next trip down.

 

But - it's not called a mezzaluna - it's called a hockmesser. Looks like this...

 

And let's have that recipe for Manhattan clam chowder via canned clams!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Heard on the street*:  "Mangos are my favorite fruit, but apples in maple syrup aren't bad."

 

Four children were having a pandemic dinner party -- or at least a pandemic dessert party -- on four blankets generously spaced about ten feet apart.

 

 

*literally, during  last night's walk.

 

[Katie Meadow]

@weinoo, if hockmesser is Yiddish for a one-handed curved blade, then that's actually more like my mother's, only hers had a wooden handle. Maybe mezzalunas are usually two-handled? My mother would have likely not known either name for her curved blade until later in life when she acquired an Italian boyfriend. Chopped liver he would never have eaten. 

 

I don't know where the recipe came from, exactly, but it has been edited by me. The ingredients list is very much like the one for Jasper White's recipe, which I have made with fresh clams, and which is good but overly complicated if you ask me. I don't see why any recipe using canned clams should be fussy. This is really basic. I think it can sit around and then be reheated. All that's missing is my mother's favorite dessert in the summer on Long Island: driving to Howard Johnson's for pink peppermint ice cream cones.

 

MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

3 or 4 slices bacon (or pancetta, etc.) 

1 tablespoon olive oil, opt.

1 small onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced or cut in small cubes

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1 or 2 bay leaves

14 ounces of canned tomatoes, chopped, with juices 

12-14-ounces of clam broth or juice* (that would be bottled if using canned clams)

1 pound waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized cubes (about 3 medium yukons)

2 6.5 oz cans of baby clams, juice reserved*

Salt and black pepper to taste

Tabasco or other hot sauce

 

*If using fresh quahogs, scrub clean a dozen or more quahogs. Place clams in a small pot and add two cups of water. Bring water to a boil. Cover the pot and steam the clams until they completely open, about 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove clams from pot and set aside. Strain the clam steaming liquid through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth to catch any grit, reserving the liquid. Remove the clams from the shells, chop. Use chopped clams in place of canned. Use steaming liquid in place of clam broth.

 

Slowly cook the bacon with the olive oil (don’t bother if your bacon is fatty) until the bacon is crispy and its fat rendered. Remove, chop and set aside, leaving a tablespoon or two of bacon grease in the pan if you want to cook your vegetables in it.

 

Sauté the onion a few minutes on a low flame in bacon grease or oil, then add celery and carrots for about another 4-5 minutes. Do not brown the vegetables. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the herbs, chopped tomatoes with juice, clam broth and the juice from the canned clams. Mix and bring to a simmer, then add the potatoes and chopped bacon. Cover and simmer gently until the potatoes are done, about 30 minutes.

 

When the potatoes are tender, add the canned clams, cover the pot, turn off the flame and let sit ten minutes. I can’t imagine that cooking any further will make the clams more tender; they are what they are. Add salt as needed, serve with salt and pepper and Tabasco or Crystal hot sauce if you like.

 

 

[heidih]

38 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

@weinoo, if hockmesser is Yiddish for a one-handed curved blade, then that's actually more like my mother's, only hers had a wooden handle. Maybe mezzalunas are usually two-handled? My mother would have likely not known either name for her curved blade until later in life when she acquired an Italian boyfriend. Chopped liver he would never have eaten. 

 

 Any chopped liver I'm there.  I was gonna offer a trade - my mezzaluna for a bowl - guessing answer would be a sharp NO.  Just in case...

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by heidih (log)

[pastrygirl]

Consequences of the general public shopping at restaurant wholesalers - There's one where I don't have a delivery account but do will call for some ingredients.  They're always super nice, you just call ahead and pay by credit card, easy.  2 weeks ago I tried to get yeast but they were reserving it for their restaurant accounts, today they said you had to show a copy of your re-seller's permit.  Not a problem because I have one, but interesting that they are limiting it to business customers when they never did before.

[weinoo]

16 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

@weinoo, if hockmesser is Yiddish for a one-handed curved blade, then that's actually more like my mother's, only hers had a wooden handle. Maybe mezzalunas are usually two-handled? My mother would have likely not known either name for her curved blade until later in life when she acquired an Italian boyfriend. Chopped liver he would never have eaten. 

 

I think mezzalunas are usually two handed, and sometimes two-bladed!

However, when you think about it, what sounds more like something you'd use for chopping the shit out of stuff?  A half moon (i.e. a mezzaluna) or a HOCKMESSER? A word which sounds like exactly what you're doing - hacking things up and making a mess!!

 

Thanks for the recipe!

Edited May 30, 2020 by weinoo (log)

[rotuts]

@weinoo 

 

Im guessing that the hockmesser does not involve a rocking motion.

 

thus one handed and requiring a bowl , so that the full length of the blade

 

" Hocks " w each blow

 

the Mezza  rocks , thus two handed , and on a flat surface.

 

can one imagine the direction of HomeCooking if people had an 11 cup Cuisinart

 

and electricity back in The Day ?

[weinoo]

16 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

 

 

I don't know where the recipe came from, exactly, but it has been edited by me. The ingredients list is very much like the one for Jasper White's recipe, which I have made with fresh clams, and which is good but overly complicated if you ask me. I don't see why any recipe using canned clams should be fussy. This is really basic. I think it can sit around and then be reheated. All that's missing is my mother's favorite dessert in the summer on Long Island: driving to Howard Johnson's for pink peppermint ice cream cones.

 

Not really that far off from the Jacques/HoJo recipe for New England clam chowder...https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/clam-chowder-howard-johnson-jacques-pepin-way/ subbing the tomatoes for the creamy stuff.

 

3 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@weinoo 

 

Im guessing that the hockmesser does not involve a rocking motion.

 

thus one handed and requiring a bowl , so that the full length of the blade

 

" Hocks " w each blow

 

the Mezza  rocks , thus two handed , and on a flat surface.

 

The hocking was mostly up and down, with the occasional rocking and scraping of the bowl for additional fiber.

[chefmd]

Neighbors gave me some early bounty from their garden.

[chefmd]

@weinoo I bought this bowl at thrift shop.  What oil did you use on yours?  Your bowls look gorgeous!

 

[weinoo]

1 minute ago, chefmd said:

@weinoo I bought this bowl at thrift shop.  What oil did you use on yours?  Your bowls look gorgeous!

That's the same manufacturer as my bowls! I did a little research on the company, which went out of biz in 1955.

 

The Munising Wood Products Company.

 

I use a food-grade mineral oil, currently the John Boos product, but also have in inventory the Snow River product. Same stuff I use on my cutting boards, wooden spoons/spatulas and the wood countertop section. I'll also use the stuff that is beeswax mixed with oil, from John Boos as well.

 

 

[chefmd]

4 minutes ago, weinoo said:

That's the same manufacturer as my bowls! I did a little research on the company, which went out of biz in 1955.

 

The Munising Wood Products Company.

 

I use a food-grade mineral oil, currently the John Boos product, but also have in inventory the Snow River product. Same stuff I use on my cutting boards, wooden spoons/spatulas and the wood countertop section. I'll also use the stuff that is beeswax mixed with oil, from John Boos as well.

 

 

Thank you.  I have mineral oil.  And thank you for the Munising link.  Thrift shop finds can be a lot of fun!

[dtremit]

On 5/29/2020 at 1:04 PM, weinoo said:

Oh it's down there in the with the 3rd bowl, and they're coming up after my next trip down.

 

But - it's not called a mezzaluna - it's called a hockmesser. Looks like this...

 

"Hockmesser" is awfully close to "hackmesser" which I think is generally used in German for a cleaver -- though literally it's just "chop knife." Also cf. "hackfleisch" for ground meat.

[heidih]

22 minutes ago, dtremit said:

 

"Hockmesser" is awfully close to "hackmesser" which I think is generally used in German for a cleaver -- though literally it's just "chop knife." Also cf. "hackfleisch" for ground meat.

 

I kinda think the word Mitch used is more Yiddish which is my sorta dialect. 

[JeanneCake]

22 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

Consequences of the general public shopping at restaurant wholesalers - There's one where I don't have a delivery account but do will call for some ingredients.  They're always super nice, you just call ahead and pay by credit card, easy.  2 weeks ago I tried to get yeast but they were reserving it for their restaurant accounts, today they said you had to show a copy of your re-seller's permit.  Not a problem because I have one, but interesting that they are limiting it to business customers when they never did before.

 

I'm still able to get SAF red label and I have extra; in fact I bought a case specifically to send to pastry chef friends around the country because they weren't able to get it.  So if you need some (in the future because I'm assuming you have some now) just message me.  Our mail carrier can pick up a priority package from the shop so I don't have to go to the Post Office!

[blue_dolphin]

Interestingly,  my Trader Joe's had SAF gold instant yeast in 1 lb packages. Lots on the shelf this afternoon.  

[pastrygirl]

1 hour ago, JeanneCake said:

 

I'm still able to get SAF red label and I have extra; in fact I bought a case specifically to send to pastry chef friends around the country because they weren't able to get it.  So if you need some (in the future because I'm assuming you have some now) just message me.  Our mail carrier can pick up a priority package from the shop so I don't have to go to the Post Office!

 

Thanks I did get some of the SAF from Peterson, where I have an account and get deliveries.

 

I'm going ahead with my mini grocery store, trying to figure out space and supply chain for a decent number of skus so someone could actually get a couple days worth of meals.  Not really sure what I'm getting into, two other businesses in the neighborhood are also pivoting to grocery.  A coffee/brunch spot has rearranged and added shelves and a cold case but wasn't stocked yet as of Thursday.  Not sure how I can compete, besides my desserts.  And parking, that's important. 

[haresfur]

On 5/30/2020 at 3:04 AM, weinoo said:

And let's have that recipe for Manhattan clam chowder via canned clams!

 

My mom always did: a can of clams, a can of Campbell's tomato soup, a can of Campbell's vegetable soup. But she was from upstate.

[chromedome]

https://www.theverge.com/21267669/instacart-shoppers-sick-extended-pay-quarantine-leave-coronavirus