eG Foodblog: lovebenton0, Pam R, snowangel - North of the 30th paralle

[lovebenton0]

No soup tonight folks.  Sorry.  I did cook though.

With some swiss chard sauteed in olive oil with garlic, it's dinner:

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lovely non-soup meal, pam. looks delicious.

we each had non-soup evenings... unfortunately mine was taken up by eating nothing at all that night. i like yours and susan's [steak or even salami and mustard] much better.

[lovebenton0]

And, 100 points who can guess the reference to "little shop of horrors" (and it isn't a movie!!)!

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susan, who's going to the dentist tomorrow...

and omg, the kao soi looks fabulous. the choice of venison was interesting; i like bambis, a lot. had you made kao soi with venison before or was this a blog week first...

that's it for me, i've had to forego all the creamy and thick soups and chowders i was planning to make this blog week. no more waiting to eat coconut milk. it will be brothy anyway... check in tomorrow.

edited to add comment.

Edited February 6, 2007 by lovebenton0 (log)

[lovebenton0]

ok, finally to tonight's dinner. i live alone, with quinn of course. so, it's not often i spend an evening conversing with family and friends, albeit by phone. tonight was one of those evenings. it brought me smiles and i didn't exactly eat alone tonight, which was different, but nice too.

beef noodle soup, sourdough baguette, and mixed greens with greek olive salad from the deli.

the barm, behaving well.

2 cups barm went into the kneadful thing with half cup of water, 2 1/2 cups bread flour, a dash of salt, and a pinch of yeast.

dough shaped and proofing. this is half the dough; the rest is in fridge to be baked later. i'm thinking pitas right now.

and done in time to cool before dinner.

meanwhile baby carrots and wedged onions roasted in the oven, and the noodles puffed nicely in beef broth from the roast remains.

put it all together...

eat while listening to the far away voices of family and friends. it was a very fine meal.

[Rebecca263]

Judith, that meal looks amazing.

[lovebenton0]

Judith, that meal looks amazing.

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thank you, rebecca.

makeovers can be a very delicious thing. it's so much fun to have fresh noodles to play with. i really do have to make them more often. if winter continues like this i'm sure i'll have more days to spend noodling.

what are we doing still up in this cold... i'm going to bed. see you in the morning.

[snowangel]

Heat wave! It's only -2 this morning, and it looks like we might even get above zero!

It is softly snowing, and I am drinking my first cuppa, which I must have before getting Peter and Heidi up.

But, the snow is very pretty. When it is really cold, the snow seems to come in tiny, glittery flakes. Think falling sparkles.

[srhcb]

Heat wave!  It's only -2 this morning, and it looks like we might even get above zero!

It is softly snowing, and I am drinking my first cuppa, which I must have before getting Peter and Heidi up.

But, the snow is very pretty.  When it is really cold, the snow seems to come in tiny, glittery flakes.  Think falling sparkles.

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Good Morning!

It's "only" -25 up here , (-35 had been forecast), but at least I got the heater in my car fixed yesterday. (A new thermostat installed for "only" $145 ) I guess everything is relative

SB (will be shopping for Fraboni Bacon today. It should keep well in my "trunk freezer")

edited to change -19 to -25

Edited February 6, 2007 by srhcb (log)

[snowangel]

Dangit, Susan, that looks really good! Our boys don't have their "kaosoi legs" yet, and coconut milk isn't very WW-friendly, so we will need to find guests willing to be the subject of a kaosoi experiment. Hmm, I wonder what my bro is up to - he doesn't mind being a guinea pig, especially for Thai food . . .

So, do tell about your fondness for kao soi (beyond the fact that it looks delicious, of course).

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When I was growing up in Thailand, Dottie and Gordon and my folks were fast friends, and it evolved into a family friendship -- one which is still alive today.

Anyway, I had many of my food firsts with them -- that first bowl of kaosoi when I first visited them after they'd moved to Chiang Mai. My 9th birthday was our first day in Thailand, and Dottie arranged a birthday dinner for me, and it was my first taste of larb. When we'd head to Pattaya on Sunday mornings to go scuba diving, Gordon and I would hit a noodle shack for a bowl of guay teo rad na (sp?) with squid for breakfast. Dottie introduced me to gumbo. On our annual trips to Phuket (scuba diving again), we'd go out for dinner with them. Gordon was fluent in Thai, and would spend 10 minutes in the kitchen, talking to the "chef" and ordering (off the menu) some of the most spectacular meals I've ever had.

[snowangel]

What a morning I've had! From the Little Shop of Horrors to the Thing that Almost Ate my Fridge.

The Little Shop of Horrors:

This is my pantry. I just hate it. It is about 30" deep, and does not have pull-outs. And, when these houses were built, these were simply left empty. Which brings me to another complaint. A lot of home improvement. The shelves are scrap 2x4's, which are nailed to the side rails, but otherwise only held together with ugly shelf liner. But, we are working to change this. Paul has built a mock-up of a drawer, and has purchased runners. He, unlike one of the former owners, will get new lumber and do it up right going so far as to dovetail the joints.

So, I'd figured I'd wait to unload the damned thing until we were further along and it came time to plan the height of the roll-outs.

But, early this week, I noticed some flying bug things (they looked like tiny narrow moths) and I've been puzzled as to where they were coming from. Yes, from the Little Shop of Horrors, so I unloaded it today, and this is what my kitchen looks like now:

The culprit was some forgotten potatoes. Now, I never, ever store potatoes in this pantry because it sits right above the furnace, so runs warm (the floor of it is an ideal place to raise bread at this time). Turns out that when I was gone in November, the family tossed some uncooked potatoes in there.

So, the pantry got vaccuumed and completely washed down with a bleach/water mixture with a brush.

Now, onto the Thing that Almost Ate my Fridge. I made bread dough yesterday, and it was wet, so once it has risen, I opted to put it in the fridge for an overnight retard, figuring that it is easier to shape cold than warm. So, when I looked in the fridge this morning, this is what I saw:

But, I'm trusting it will be fine. I have shaped two loaves to bake today.

Then, I sat down and ate 3/4 of a carton of Haagen Daz strawberry ice cream (the label says it is four servings ). It seemed a more appropriate choice than a cocktail after what I've been through.

But, the bugs appear to be gone, and I haven't seen a single one flying around.

So, I'm going to leave the pantry door open and get my shopping done. Then, reload the thing.

It seems that during everyone of my blogs I have had some sort of disaster, and leave it to the last day for one to present itself!

[Pam R]

Pam: Um, perhaps a meteorological Freudian slip? After this winter, I hope you get more than an 8-10 minutes of summer. And thanks for the tutorial - your dinner looks delicious.

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Heat wave!  It's only -2 this morning, and it looks like we might even get above zero!

-34 C, -44 C with the wind here. **

The Winnipeg Free Press headline of the day:

"It's cold. Deal with it."

Sigh.

I woke up with the beginnings of a terrible cold. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and tea. Followed that with 2 Advil and so far, about 6 Ricola.

On my way to work I went to the wholesale - there are people cooking in our kitchen here (not me, of course) and they needed some supplies. 150 lbs. of potatoes, a few cases of eggs, couple of sacks of flour, couple of boxes of canola oil, tuna, and some vegetables. Schlepping that cart across the parking lot in these temperatures wasn't fun. I need a nap now.

** ETA - actually reading that article now, apparently yesterday was the coldest day in 11 years. Obviously a soup blog couldn't have been timed better.

[lovebenton0]

Heat wave!  It's only -2 this morning, and it looks like we might even get above zero!

It is softly snowing, and I am drinking my first cuppa, which I must have before getting Peter and Heidi up.

But, the snow is very pretty.  When it is really cold, the snow seems to come in tiny, glittery flakes.  Think falling sparkles.

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we are having the same day here. coffee, tiny sparkly flakes, looks like it will get up to 5 or 7 today. we're on a heat wave now. by tomorrow we may be out of the single digits.

[Pam R]

At the wholesale today, I was inexplicably drawn to a box of Kozy Shack rice pudding.

Lunch today, a 4 oz. cup of rice pudding and a large cup of Rooibos tea with cinnamon and vanilla.

[snowangel]

It's "only" -25 up here , (-35 had been forecast), but at least I got the heater in my car fixed yesterday.  (A new thermostat installed for "only" $145 )  I guess everything is relative

SB (will be shopping for Fraboni Bacon today.  It should keep well in my "trunk freezer")

edited to change -19 to -25

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Up in these parts, how well the heater in a car works is far more important than the A/C!

Winter grocery shopping tips. If you must have greens, and know you'll have to trudge through the parking lot for a long way, take some newspaper. Does a nice job of insulating. And, if you are running a bunch of errands, buy the produce last stop. You don't need to worry about the ice cream.

If they haven't plowed the parking lot, try not to buy more than you can carry in your arms or you're going to have one mean upper body workout.

Beware of those parking lots. The lines disappear!

Oh, and Steve, I'm anxious to hear about Fraboni's bacon.

[Pam R]

If they haven't plowed the parking lot, try not to buy more than you can carry in your arms or you're going to have one mean upper body workout.

I tried to carry the 150 lbs. of potatoes to the car - it just didn't work. And wouldn't you know? The one spot that isn't completely flat in Winnipeg is where I parked the Jeep. Pushing the cart up the little hill in the snow almost killed me this morning.

[snowangel]

Ta Da! Pantry project is finished, and it gave me a very good idea of how I will want the pull-outs. I may actually add another one, that's got low height for spices.

But...

And, the rest of the kitchen, nice and clean, with only the essentials and my bread dough sitting out:

The pictures above the peninsula are artwork my kids have done in school. I change it seasonally.

And, another small improvement:

The old phone cord barely reached the stove, much less the fridge. Yes, we do have a cordless phone, but it's not always convenient.

The new one reaches not only the fridge, but the pantry!

Oh, and below the cord, a shot of my kitchen broom, which was a gift from my folks. Any ideas where it is from?

[srhcb]

The pictures above the peninsula are artwork my kids have done in school.  I change it seasonally.

I love the construction paper moose/deer with the "handtlers"!

SB

[lovebenton0]

But, early this week, I noticed some flying bug things (they looked like tiny narrow moths) and I've been puzzled as to where they were coming from. 

It seems that during everyone of my blogs I have had some sort of disaster, and leave it to the last day for one to present itself!

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susan dear, do beware those tiny moth things. i don't know what else to call them either... but they hit my little pantry in tx last winter. i think they came in some bulk rice i bought. they are tiny devils. they will eat through plastic bags, squirm their way into what you consider to be sealed containers [clamped gasket sealed jars, tins with tight lids, etc.]. amazingly voracious, they'll go after everything grainy or dried/fresh veg you've got. along with the bleach route, i had to toss dried peppers from my garden, oh the heartache... rice, barley, cereals and more, before i managed to get rid of them all.

hope your diligence with the bleach got rid of your invasion.

susan, your disaster hit the last day, mine the first. what would a blog be without at least one... from each of us...

and now, poor pam.... i promise i didn't give you this crud. you're drinking the same tea i was days ago. back to tea again today. i can breathe and talk again, fairly regularly, but it's shifted down into my chest now. so chamomille and spearmint for me today seems to be most soothing. yep, lots of the ricolas have passed this way too.

still another good night for soup. and i have a lb of head-on shrimp looking at me when i walk into the kitchen. may have to change my plan for indian-style sweet and hot seafood chowder [from james peterson's fish and shellfish... still judging whether i can indulge in just one bowl of coconut milk chowder. if not, i'll still stick with the shrimp plan, and an indian soup, but will try goan shrimp soup from monica bhide's the everything indian cookbook. both of these will be new for me. i would have loved to try hot and sour shrimp soup, but am unable to get all the ingredients i need for that right now.

[jm chen]

Oh, and below the cord, a shot of my kitchen broom, which was a gift from my folks.  Any ideas where it is from?

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It looks something like one my family picked up years ago in Berea, Kentucky... do tell.

[snowangel]

Oh, and below the cord, a shot of my kitchen broom, which was a gift from my folks.  Any ideas where it is from?

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It looks something like one my family picked up years ago in Berea, Kentucky... do tell.

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My folks picked up as a gift for me on a trip through the smokey mountains. Somewhere in my file cabinet, I have the brochure, which tells me how to send the handle back to "re-broomed." I love this broom. The bristles have a nice angle and are soft, yet hard enough, for sweeping The Ugly Floor.

[Dave the Cook]

No soup tonight folks.  Sorry.  I did cook though.

. . . . chicken schnitzel . . . .

You call it schnitzel. The name I know is Supreme de Vollaile Anglaise -- the first dish I made from Pierre Franey's incomparable 60-Minute Gourmet. The lemon is essential, and a revelation. I'll never forget the day I took one of my boys to McDonalds and offered him a slice of lemon, swiped from the iced tea setup, in exchange for whatever sticky-sweet packet was being offered with McNuggets that week. To this day, he still tries whatever the current offering is, but always asks for a few lemon slices, just in case, and often uses them.

Regardless, inspired by your post, tonight I made Halibut Schnitzel, jazzing the breading up with home-made sausage and ground smoked almonds. Lemon slices on the side, of course.

. . . . The Ugly Floor . . . .

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technically, "cracked ugly-ass linoleum" aka "objectively an excellent flooring material."

[mizducky]

With all the beautiful soup-making going on, you all have succeeded in enticing me to soupify as well. Last night I made a messy, unsightly, but definitely delicious fish head soup. And right now I have a couple pounds of chicken feet, plus appropriate veg, working in a brand-new crock pot I bought yesterday. (Man, chopping all those toenails off of all those footsies was a trip!)

[Pam R]

It's so nice to hear that so many people are making soup this week.

I made a pot of roasted pepper soup tonight - very easy. Simply roast a tray full of bell peppers (I used orange and yellow tonight) at 375 until they were nice and black (well, black and yellow - good colour combo). Into a bowl and covered with plastic to steam for a while . . .

Then I peeled them, discarding the skins and reserving the juices. Saute an onion in olive oil until softened - add a couple of potatoes, peeled and sliced; the peppers and their juices and cover with stock. Add some salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are soft - then whiz everything up. I use an immersion blender. You can add a little cream at this point, but I didn't. Served with some garlicky croutons. Sorry there are no pictures.

[Pam R]

Regardless, inspired by your post, tonight I made Halibut Schnitzel, jazzing the breading up with home-made sausage and ground smoked almonds. Lemon slices on the side, of course.

Everything is better with lemon. I'm so glad you posted about the halibut. It sounds delicious . . . I even have a bag of smoked almonds . . . Thanks for the idea!!

[Pam R]

Folks, I'm afraid I'm calling it a night.

It was such a pleasure blogging with Susan and Judith this week - and sharing the week with all of you. Thanks for spending the time with us - happy cooking.

[snowangel]

Regardless, inspired by your post, tonight I made Halibut Schnitzel, jazzing the breading up with home-made sausage and ground smoked almonds. Lemon slices on the side, of course.

Everything is better with lemon. I'm so glad you posted about the halibut. It sounds delicious . . . I even have a bag of smoked almonds . . . Thanks for the idea!!

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Hmmm. Everything is better with LIME! As soon as the kids are done with homework, you'll hear about dinner, which was surprisingly good. And, I was a skeptic!

Heal soon, Pam!