eG Foodblog: balmagowry - Back to the future....

[Anna N]

Anna N I love your square plates.

Don't I wish! This is an ancient Cuisineart prep board that comes in handy because it has slightly raised sides so one can prep "juicy" ingredients on it. A garage-sale find!

[balmagowry]

Good morning. Ain't I the early bird!

Have you ever considered writing about some of the wonderfully foods that evolved so close to your home.

I've thought about it, but it's been done.and done pretty well. Newsday, for instance, has put out rather a nice book on the subject. Not to say it can't or shouldn't be done again, but my back burner is piled so high with other projects waiting for me to get my act together that I wouldn't be able to do it any time soon. Also, it's kind of a sad subject at the moment. Blue Point, for instance, is just up the road from me, an easy sail too - and it's closed. (In fact, there's some kind of controversy about selling the property.) The baymen are struggling to survive. We've had good crab harvests, and the clams seem to be hanging in there, but everything else is vanishing. Not just because of overfishing, but also because of brown tide - which I'm sure is going to turn out to be a result of chemical runoff from something. Probably the Guyland's obsession with its stupid Lawns. Sigh. Ah, the sounds of spring - landscapers' leafblowers and lawnmowers in the morning. (Say it three times fast.)

Eek. Sorry, hadn't intended to get into big environmental rant.

I always read and enjoy all your posts, no matter  on what topic.

Thank you!

I don't see any exactly like yours listed, but like I said, I've seen them around. I'll keep an eye out.

Thanks! I have quite a few, but it'd be reassuring to know there's a source of supply out there.

Thank you for that lovely meal. It was delicious!

Some day, Lucy.... Meanwhile, you're entirely welcome. And you would have been - there was enough for you and Loic.

Hope you like Russian food - that's what's coming up for Sunday night.

Mine! I have had too many years to count and still love it for the small jobs.

Sister!!!! And oh dear, look how clean yours is. That's right, I remember your fridge was too.

Later today I'll try to remember to take the camera down to the bunker where I keep the spare ones. I've replaced the bowl on mine once; in the early years I put the original one in the dishwasher, and over time it didn't seem to like that much....

I love the thinness of the end of mine, and the overall slight curve that makes it easier to use it to flip things and scrape down pot sides.

Curve? In which plane? Mine are completely flat - in fact, I don't like the bent ones. OTOH, if you mean the slight curve of the edge, thank you for pointing it out - I hadn't really ever noticed it.

I still have the pieces of the one I broke - I keep thinking there must be some way to splint it. Or at least use it as a template for making my own, if I ever get desperate....

Ooof - back to my coffee. Figuring out plan for the day. The Boy got back at 4:00 AM, and there hasn't yet been an opportunity to determine his availability to be dragooned into helping me with the next stage. And of course there's still the backlog - or as he calls it, the backblog - to work on.

Also - as frequently occurs, he has brought home leftovers from food he made over the weekend. I shall have to investigate. Tonight might be a night for Kitchen Sink Fried Rice.

It's sunny, but chilly. I will check the tide tables, but I'm starting to think the hope of a clamming attempt is a little unrealistic. Perhaps, if the fates allow, I can make a return appearance some time in the summer, when life is all clams and tomatoes and mussels and crabs and blackberries....

Meanwhile, there's plenty of material!

A confession: one reason I was planning to time travel to the Testing Kitchen of another century is that I was afraid I wouldn't have much to show for my real-time food life - that's how erratic it's been lately. Little did I realize...! Well, hell, I've never foodblogged before. Anyway, we shall see - it turns out there is so much real-time activity to document (and yes, I'm well aware that that is partly because I'm totally overdoing it, but hey, that's the kind of guy I'm, and I could invoke Pascal again, but I think I've done that to death :deep breath: ) that I may have to save those excursions for some other occasion. It's not like I need an excuse.

WRM, I have a lecture/signing gig coming up in a few weeks - in Baltimore. Illustrated talk about L&SD, under the aegis of the Constellation Museum. (Shall post on local forum when I can catch my breath.) With slides of all the weird stuff: Floating Archipelago, raised pies, puddings, rats, breadfruit, etc.

Coffee. Need... coffee....

Later.

[mongo_jones]

Fortunately clean new ones can be bought at the restaurant supply house.

You're kidding. Really? Where???? Really the same, completely flat, with the angled edge? I haven't seen a new one like that in at least 10 years. Lots of things that came close, but no actual cigar.

I'm with you in terms of the wooden spatula. The only one that I like to use is one I "borrowed" from a former employer about 15 years ago. Mrs JPW brought 2 into the marriage (one of the many reasons I said yes!), but I hate them. They're just not quite right. I love the thinness of the end of mine, and the overall slight curve that makes it easier to use it to flip things and scrape down pot sides. I don't know what I will do when it gives up the ghost.

Guard it well!

are wooden spatulas really so uncommon in the u.s? in india they are a fact of life--and i have a few dozen in my kitchen drawers. perhaps this is yet more proof of the ancient civilizational wisdom of the indians--or perhaps sign that we came a little later to the age of plastics...

[Marlene]

are wooden spatulas really so uncommon in the u.s? in india they are a fact of life--and i have a few dozen in my kitchen drawers. perhaps this is yet more proof of the ancient civilizational wisdom of the indians--or perhaps sign that we came a little later to the age of plastics...

It's not that they're uncommon in the States or in Canada. It's finding the right one. I have five or six, but there's only two I really use that feel just right.

[mongo_jones]

yes, i can only use wooden spatulas made in india. the american ones don't sit comfortably in my hand and are often too thick. there's a business opportunity here somewhere.

[bloviatrix]

I'm another one with a wood spatula that I absolutely adore. Afraid that it was wearing out, I started on a quest for replacements/supplements as I haunted the restaurant supply stores on the Bowery. Nothing compares with the one I have.

[JPW]

Balmagowry,

Yes, I love the one that has a slight curve from tip to tail - so that you can just roll a pea (but nothing bigger) under it when you place the ends flat on a counter.

It's one of those things that I think is profoundly personal. Everytime I go into any store that has any cooking tools, from Williams-Sonoma to WalMart to my local hardware store I look to see if they have one that I like, but I just can't find the perfect fit.

[Toliver]

Not to hijack this thread but I am enamored of the new OXO wooden spoons. Their tapered handles made me think "now why didn't anyone think of this before?" You can really get some good stirring action with it.

They also make a wooden spatula.

eGullet-friendly Amazon link to the OXO wooden spoon

The picture doesn't do the spoon justice. Go to your nearest Bed, Bath & Beyond to see them for yourself.

Lisa, the paring knife you have looks quite short, which they just don't seem to make anymore. I did a search on Amazon and found a lot of "bird beak" paring knives but they don't look anywhere as short as your knife. Yours is a classsic!

[balmagowry]

Lisa, the paring knife you have looks quite short, which they just don't seem to make anymore. I did a search on Amazon and found a lot of "bird beak" paring knives but they don't look anywhere as short as your knife. Yours is a classsic!

Don't I know it! I have another the same size (will take/post picture later), but it's crude by comparison, though of course I'm grateful to have it. And :sigh: now I have two of each of them - one here, one in Gilgo.

[ms. victoria]

Oh, what I would give for my father's now mother's Galloping Gourmet spurtle from the 1970s. It is a thing of beauty. Dark, dark with use and still going strong. None of my newish wooden spoons and spatulas ever make it to having that patina before they break. I broke the last olive wood spatula I had and have yet to find its equal.

[balmagowry]

POSSIBLE KITCHEN CRISIS!

Uh-oh. How often does a conversation begun with ":sniff:... :sniff:... uh... what's... that... SMELL????" end happily?

[mongo_jones]

if you're cooking bombay duck or jackfruit it might...

[balmagowry]

if you're cooking bombay duck or jackfruit it might...

Yeah, but if you're not cooking anything....

So here's what happened. I'm sitting in the living room with The Boy, and suddenly I get a whiff of something. Then a stronger whiff. For half a moment I think fuel oil. But the truck hasn't been here and there's no invoice at the front door. The smell gets stronger. "That's not fuel oil. That's something burning!" Sure enough, there's smoke in the kitchen and the smell there is really noxious. It isn't until later that my fogged brain retroactively identifies the familiar smell, not just as burning, but as burning rubber.

The Boy's brain is fogged too, but not for the same reason - because he's not fully awake after his all-night drive. This is why it takes him a few seconds to make the connection: he was heating last night's coffee in the microwave, and....

well, let me put it this way -

last time I saw this mug it didn't have a pedestal base...

nor was it covered in black charcoal.

Oy vey!

The damage on-site:

Most sinister of all, the coffee in the cup wasn't even remotely warmed.

I'm not sure exactly which thing had which effect on what, nor do I really want to know. I think I wouldn't ever have put that kind of mug in the microwave - maybe The Boy wouldn't either if he'd been paying attention. OTOH, maybe sane people wouldn't keep a paper towel in the microwave - in brilliant hindsight I can see where that could be risky - but hey, I've done it for 10 years and never had a problem - and if you don't... well, the bottom of the microwave can get so yucky, especially if you're not as good about cleaning up after yourself as Anna N.

Anyway, the paper towel definitely caught fire and burned to a wisp, the mug melted, the coffee stayed cold, and... watchman, what of the night? What of my poor microwave, only 24 years old?

For a wonder... peace, and all's well. Took a while, and much cross-ventilation, before one could stand to enter the kitchen. (And please do not tell me what I probably inhaled in the interim; I really suspect I don't want to know.) Then The Boy bravely attacked the mess, cleaned it out thoroughly, ran it a couple of times with a cup of water, and then tried it for real... and... it still works!

The Boy then wisely brewed himself a fresh pot of coffee.

Thus endeth the crisis.

[balmagowry]

Lisa, the paring knife you have looks quite short, which they just don't seem to make anymore.  I did a search on Amazon and found a lot of "bird beak" paring knives but they don't look anywhere as short as your knife.  Yours is a classsic!

Don't I know it! I have another the same size (will take/post picture later), but it's crude by comparison, though of course I'm grateful to have it. And :sigh: now I have two of each of them - one here, one in Gilgo.

Fuzzy picture, I'm afraid, but at least you can sort of get a sense of scale - here are both knives:

As I said, the second one is quite crude - but it's distinctly better than nothing.

[Toliver]

Thanks for posting the picture of the knives next to the ruler. Of the blades I saw on Amazon some got down to 2.5" but no where near as small as yours.

The short blade must make for...intimate paring, for lack of a better word, giving you a good sense of control. Wait, "Wieldy", I think, is more appropriate.

Thank goodness your microwave still works. I have a microwave and a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker both going on 18 years and both still working (knock on wood) quite well. May mine last as long as yours!

[balmagowry]

Thanks for posting the picture of the knives next to the ruler.  Of the blades I saw on Amazon some got down to 2.5" but no where near as small as yours.

The short blade must make for...intimate paring, for lack of a better word, giving you a good sense of control.  Wait, "Wieldy", I think, is more appropriate.

Wieldy - yes, I like that. It is indeed both wieldy and intimate, cozy even, as demonstrated in this picture of its wielding:

(sorry, the picture really isn't all that wieldy: one of the lessons I've learned this week is how difficult it is for a very right-handed person to photograph herself with a digital camera while doing anything requiring even moderate skill!)

Thank goodness your microwave still works.  I have a microwave and a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker both going on 18 years and both still working (knock on wood) quite well.  May mine last as long as yours!

Hear hear! This microwave began its life as a wedding present to my ex-husband - on his previous marriage. I love it because it's simple - a dial for settings from low to high, a dial for setting the time, and that's it; no fancy electronics to get screwed up. And I love it because I've gotten four years' use out of it since he decamped. (I think it's happier with me. ) Long may it wave!

[balmagowry]

OK, here's the plan, so far.

The Boy did bring home some roast pork - I had a hopeful feeling he would - so tonight it's going to be Kitchen Sink Fried Rice. (He also brought home lunch - I'll show you that when we get there.)

Need to pick up a few things at stores, which works out well because now is the perfect time to sally forth and get pictures of some of the local food joints, as promised.

So off I go, list and camera in hand. More later....

[ms. victoria]

One of my former coworkers made the same mistake of putting one of those mugs in the microwave. Those of us chatting about the water cooler got a lovely show of blue sparks and flames licking the window on the oven.

I am fully convinced older microwaves will last on into the next century. When my father bought the one my mother has, he called her from the appliance place down the road to tell her she could either have a turn table or a digital readout because the ones with both were too expensive. Twenty years later it is still going strong but you have to time anything under two minutes with your watch.

[Susan in FL]

Lisa, I'm just popping in to let you know I'm reading this and enjoying it very much. We were away, sans computer, and I missed the beginning of it, but I'm with you now. As always, great writing, and real fine photos, too! Thanks for sharing your world.

[Toliver]

Hear hear! This microwave began its life as a wedding present to my ex-husband - on his previous marriage. I love it because it's simple - a dial for settings from low to high, a dial for setting the time, and that's it; no fancy electronics to get screwed up. And I love it because I've gotten four years' use out of it since he decamped. (I think it's happier with me. ) Long may it wave!

Exactly like mine. No digital doodads or whoozits. Two dials, one for cooking time and one for cooking temp (high, medium, etc). The interior light did go out and seems to be hermetically sealed within the innards, so I make do without. Besides, I know what's cooking...I put it in there.

I am looking forward to seeing your "out & about" pictures.

[balmagowry]

That sneaky Boy. He never even showed me the other side of the mug.

[balmagowry]

Well, today was one of those "may you live in interesting times" days....

Oh, but first I have to confess about last night, don't I. Yeah, I guess so.

Remember how I said sometimes I'm not very good about lunch? getting distracted and all that? Yes, well.... Last night I was so busy with Bloggerei that... well, the next time I looked up it was too late to call up for the threatened Chinese takeout. So - well, I scrounged a bit. I had finished all the cold artichokes (all six of them! with another batch of the same sauce, yum) for lunch. There was still leftover broc rabe, so I inhaled that. There was a pear. Inhaled. There was a bit of bread and cheese. All in all, I didn't do too badly, but it wasn't as who should say a meal, you understand. The Boy will be shocked (but also triumphant) when he reads this; he's always telling me I never eat anything. He's mistaken, of course, oy is he, but he will certainly view this as proof. :sigh:

So. I was very good about lunch today, thanks to The Boy's ample provision of leftovers. And his leftovers also fueled tonight's KSFR. Two minor miscalculations on that front; I thought I had some raw shrimp in the freezer, and I thought I had some cooked rice waiting around to be fried. The former was simply a false assumption, but it was not a dreadful hardship to make do with cooked, which I did have. The latter was not so much false as out of date: cooked rice there was, but it was some time since it had stopped waiting to be fried and had gone ahead and "cooked" itself, so to speak. So I had to make some up fresh. Big deal, that should be the worst. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, the frying of rice was a difficult matter - not.

I will post pictures and brief narrative in due course.

Psyched by today's discussion on the Desserts from Canned Fruit thread, I had also planned to make an old favorite, peach and blueberry Grunt; that plan, however, had to be sacrificed in the aftermath of this afternoon's microwave crisis. Not that I couldn't have done it; but it was late and I was tired and there's still some residual smell of the fumes in the kitchen and all sorts of charky black stuff on the floor - I clean it up and I clean it off my feet, but somehow I always manage to miss a bit. So - we finally decided it would be the better part of valor to skip the dessert plan for tonight. Want dessert? hey, just have another bowl of fried rice!

We did go out and get pictures - a bit later than I'd intended, so the sun was at a slightly impractical angle, but I will have something to show for the effort and will show it.

Hi, Susan! Welcome to a week in the life of a loon.

Oh - did get the violets put away in vodka. Hope I didn't weaken their essence any by leaving them in water overnight, but I walk my dog where they grow, and I'm not the only one, so I thought I'd better do something in the name of cleanliness. I wonder if godliness can be far behind....

[snowangel]

I, too, am enjoying your blog. Very much. I am in kitchen hell so haven't had a chance to respond earlier.

As to Kitchen Calamaties. In the words of the late EZ (her's applied to cutting a sweater) "...lay down in a darkened room for fifteen minutes to recover."

These are wise words.

I, too, graze for lunch. Every day. Am almost annoyed on the weekends when the kids are not in school and actually want a prepared lunch. Not leftovers. I do believe leftovers were created for lunch. Of the inhaled sort.

[winesonoma]

So what is the state of the food scene in Babylon? I remember the Seafood places in Bayshore Captain Bill's and Gil Clarks also Flynns. Don't remember any places in Babylon or West Islip except that place at the end of Higbee Ln.

Blue Point closed??? They had the best way to do clams , 1 iron ring 2" high,8-10 feet in dia,wet newspaper on ground, add ring pack, clams muscle side up until full, Add 5 foot high of twigs 1/2 " dia or less. Light on fire. When burned down sweep off the ashes and give everyone a fork with a lead ball cast on one end and a welders glove. pick up a clam, smack with the ball ,extract with the fork, enjoy crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Don't miss winter though.

[balmagowry]

I, too, am enjoying your blog.  Very much.  I am in kitchen hell so haven't had a chance to respond earlier.

So sorry about your kitchen hell - dare I ask?

As to Kitchen Calamaties.  In the words of the late EZ (her's applied to cutting a sweater) "...lay down in a darkened room for fifteen minutes to recover."

These are wise words.

She was a very wise woman.

I, too, graze for lunch.  Every day.  Am almost annoyed on the weekends when the kids are not in school and actually want a prepared lunch.  Not leftovers.  I do believe leftovers were created for lunch.  Of the inhaled sort.

Yes, or the savored sort, or both. Leftovers are half the fun of cooking!