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

[snowangel]

Pam, the filling is coarsely ground pork, finely diced napa cabbage, some ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sherry. For the cabbage, I salt it in a collander and let it sit for about 20 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid. My favorite thing to use for the squeezing is a flour sack dish cloth. Just lay the cabagge down, roll it up and wring it out.

And, yes, there is a sauce:

They really are very easy, and my recipe is modified enough that it is mine, so I'll get into RecipeGullet.

(edited to add: Pam, there's be no reason not to use ground turkey or chicken -- although I think you'd want to add some fat to keep the filling from being dry -- or other ground meat)

[Pam R]

Susan- I was thinking the same thing. I could use chicken - do you buy the skins/wrappers?

[snowangel]

Diana is feeling better, and one of her best friends just got her driver's license today, and the first thing a 16 year-old does is need to drive. So, Brianna just picked up D and they went off to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream (hopefully, she'll be hungry for dinner), but they were both wearing capri pants and rubber thongs on their feet.

[Pam R]

Diana is feeling better, and one of her best friends just got her driver's license today, and the first thing a 16 year-old does is need to drive.  So, Brianna just picked up D and they went off to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream (hopefully, she'll be hungry for dinner), but they were both wearing capri pants and rubber thongs on their feet.

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Ok. I'll go with the logical questions.

Ice cream - today???

Capris and thongs???

[dockhl]

they went off to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream (hopefully, she'll be hungry for dinner), but they were both wearing capri pants and rubber thongs on their feet.

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teenagers !

[snowangel]

Diana is feeling better, and one of her best friends just got her driver's license today, and the first thing a 16 year-old does is need to drive.  So, Brianna just picked up D and they went off to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream (hopefully, she'll be hungry for dinner), but they were both wearing capri pants and rubber thongs on their feet.

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Ok. I'll go with the logical questions.

Ice cream - today???

Capris and thongs???

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She is 16. At 16, one is invincible and knows everything!

[Rebecca263]

Pam, I don't know what your meat supplies are like up there, but we use ground lamb in our potstickers. It's very fatty and flavorful, so the meat stands up to the other things we tend to add to our potstickers, scallions, ginger and soy sauce.

[rooftop1000]

We never called it "leftover soup"---it was always "fridgerator soup," and started with a quart or two of home-canned tomatoes. 

We call it the 'kitchen sink soup' - everything goes into the pot, but the kitchen sink.

Anybody else?

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nail soup... just start with what you got, and be surprised with what you get.

personally, i stopped calling them leftovers years ago. they're makeovers, because i always find something new to do with them.

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That is called country style Minestrone...

although that started as a specific pot of soup that included sausage and peppers and lasagna

tracey

[lovebenton0]

Judith, if it wouldn't be too off-topic or personal, why did you move to Wisconsin from Texas?  ....  I couldn't imagine moving to a place that has winters with really long periods of extreme cold, except for a really good job.

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no, not too personal... and in a blog on our daily food and lives there's not much that's too off-topic.

my life abruptly changed with a divorce from my ex in tx [there is a song... ]. anyway, when i decided to change it in other ways, i began thinking new locale, easier climate for quinn and for me to get around in. we have to walk everywhere, including to grocery stores, farmer's markets, appts etc.. i started thinking north. that may sound strange, but the heat was killer on us walking. you can bundle against the cold, but when it's 100 plus and the heat factor is 112 or so, you've got a pack on your back... there's no way around that kind of heat stress if you must get outside.

kenosha was the obvious choice because my son and his family live here. i liked the town [not small, close to 100,000 now] during visits and have lived not far from here in the past. it was the right choice. i'm very glad we're here, despite the potential frostbite.

[lovebenton0]

And Lovie, I SO want to be there to drive you to the market (or just go for you whilst you stay warm and get well), and to make soup for you and Quinn.

Please take care of you both, and get your rest.

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thank you, rachel.

[lovebenton0]

Judith, I know that creamy/milky things are out right now (too mucousy!), but there is a wonderful "loose but creamy" garlic soup in Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwest France which is thickened with eggs. 

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this looks wonderful, says the garlic lover. i will try it soon. maybe not too soon after the soup blog, but this winter.

yet another ingredient that does not transport well in the cold, nor long distances in backpacks at any time, for that matter... fresh eggs. i'm out, used the last for the noodles. when the downtown pantry was still open they carried fresh eggs, as well as fresh meat and produce and assorted locally canned goodies on the shelf. but alas, they closed the week before the blog started. now, there are no fresh eggs closer than 1.5 miles away until the farmer's market opens again in the spring. the nearest market is maybe five blocks from me, on the lake. so i only have another two months to wait for that. amazing tonight to think that in two months the first greens will be peeking out of the stalls.

usually i get a trip to the big gro store with son or dil once a month. that's when i stock up on the things that i can't deal with in the backpack, including a dozen eggs. except for recipes where i need them [and the occasional gotta have it fried, poached or hard-boiled egg], i use the egg whites in a carton to keep the doc happy with my cholesterol level. don't prefer it that way, but i don't mind for scrambles and frittatas. i'd rather have that than no eggs. i love eggs.

[Pam R]

Pam, I don't know what your meat supplies are like up there, but we use ground lamb in our potstickers. It's very fatty and flavorful, so the meat stands up to the other things we tend to add to our potstickers, scallions, ginger and soy sauce.

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My meat supplies are whatever I carry in the store . I do have ground lamb. Interesting, I never would have thought of it. Thanks Rebecca!

[C. sapidus]

Kao Soi for dinner tonight!

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Susan: We're waiting . . . (tap tap tap). If you can, please include pictures of how you make kao soi - I would truly love to learn.

By the way, thanks to all of you for making our morning's temperature of 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C) seem balmy. Keep up the good work!

[snowangel]

Ok, dinner!

Remember, I made it a few days ago, but held the pics back. It was the day when things sort of collapsed around here (as things do with active and involved kids) and ate salami and yellow mustard on toast.

While I often make my own curry paste, I didn't that day, and opted for the stuff at the grocery. Given how busy I was, and given that the prepared stuff is really cheap and keeps forever, I always have it on hand. I also buy canned coconut milk, and my market carries the cans in two sizes. You'll also need curry powder, and a few kaffir lime leaves are helpful, and I have a little tree that is struggling. And, you need meat. Although most of the talk tends to be about Kaosoi is chicken these days, my memories are of beef, so venison seems appropriate. If anyone wants to know about why I am so fond of kaosoi, please let me know!

Open a can of coconut milk and scrape off the really thick stuff (one should never shake a can of this stuff).

Put it in a pan with some curry paste, and "fry" it until the oil starts to come to the top. This takes and while, and you can ignore it long enough to make a glass of chocolate milk.

Dump in the rest of what's in the can(s), add chicken broth, and the whacked up venison. Note that after a long cook, that silverskin on the venison just melts away.

Cook until the venison is tender and silky.

Then, either get things ready to eat right away, or stick in the fridge or outdoor freezer until ready to go.

So, dinner tonight was sort of a dance. I knew right off the bat that Peter and Heidi would not eat kaosoi, but that Diana, Paul and I would. But, when we'd been at the market a few days ago, Peter chose a treat:

So, they got...

But, back to the kaosoi. You need a few other things.

(and since the photo didn't turn out because I was calming a crying child), you need Chinese egg noodles. The ones I get are fresh in a plastic bag. You also MUST have limes, scallions and pickled mustard greens. I don't think that what I get at my Asian market which they make are exactly the right things, but I really, really like them. They are very good on tuna salad:

Then, with the egg noodles, you fluff a mess of them up to be boiled, and make a few "nests" (according to the number of bowls you're going to be serving) to fry. I always rinse the noodles since they have a lot of cornstarch on them. If you rinse the noodles that will be fried, that combo of water and hot oil is a sure fire burn and stained sweatshirt!

Frying the noodles:

Hot oil, you don't need much. These also keep fairly well for a few hours, and I certainly could have done them when I had my nap, but my nap was a good thing!

So, once the boiled noodles are done, a tong-full in a bowl, kaosoi, and the accompaniments:

You can't really see the scallions, which I sliced, or the whole hot peppers (which only I take) that are in the pickled greens from the Asian market), but this stuff can use and can take a lot of lime. I usually figure at least a 1/2 lime per person.

I have plenty leftover, and as always, I will need to add more broth. I always forget that it should be thinner rather than thicker and there should be lots of juice to the meat. At least this time, I remembered to sort of undercook (slightly) the noodles.

On the side, for me, a vodka tonic with a whole mess of lime. Although you could add cilantro with this dish, I prefer it with just tons of lime.

This is one of our favorite dishes, and I can't wait for Peter to get his kaosoi legs. It's not far away, because he did eat what I couldn't finish. BTW, this is a one dish meal, and great for hungry teenage boys, Bruce!

[snowangel]

Judith, could you elaborate more on the chocolate bread? The cherries were dried, right? How tart were they? (sometimes the dried tart cherries are quite sweet!). While flour? Sour dough? Inspiration? A story, please!

[snowangel]

My Monday night list. I did not use the slip that came home from school with Heidi because it had a note that she is on the A honor roll, based not on academics, but attitude, partipation. She is apparently a very popular little girl, who does not display the attitude that is so often accompanies budding teens!

So, to my list:

Based on the short list of foods, can you guess what soup I am making tomorrow?

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

[maggiethecat]

Snowy Dear, I'm guessing One of Each Soup is up for tomorrow, or in its fancyypants name: Potage a la mode de Kalamazoo.(Fancypants name given by me. I like it.)

No clue about the Little Shop, but I know that the brighter of us will get the connection.

[snowangel]

Pam, tomorrow, when I go shopping at Cub Foods and to Target (I love Target, btw), I will cross Coon Rapids Boulevard.

We chose our new neighborhood very carefully. It is an area that has a mess of 1970's houses, and a mess of 1950's one. We are also in the largest school district in Minnesota, which means good opportunities for special ed and the brightest of the bunch. And, we targeted a very narrow area that had this mix of houses and was close to the river.

But, when Paul spent some time on the computer tonight, he found this about Coon Rapids Blvd.!

[Pam R]

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

First, everything but the kitchen sink Israeli cous cous. Heat olive oil, add mushrooms, peppers, celery, onion and cook a few minutes. Add couscous to 'toast' (I used toasted cous cous . . .), then stock, s&p. Summer 8-10 minutes, covered. Let it sit and absorb the liquid for another 10 minutes or so.

And chicken schnitzel:

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

[snowangel]

Snowy Dear, I'm guessing One of Each Soup is up for tomorrow, or in its fancyypants name: Potage a la mode de Kalamazoo.(Fancypants name given by me. I like it.)

No clue about the Little Shop, but I know that the brighter of us will get the connection.

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Yes, Maggie, you are right. And, yes, I promised that I would take one for the team!

But, I'm not buying a speckley banana!

[Pam R]

By the way, thanks to all of you for making our morning's temperature of 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C) seem balmy. Keep up the good work!

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If we've done nothing else this week, Bruce, at least we've done that!

Have no fears, the temperatures tomorrow will make you feel just as balmy!

[Pam R]

BTW - there will be soup tomorrow. I've already done some of the prep for it tonight. Couldn't end the blog without soup, could I?

[Pam R]

Bedtime here folks. Good night and stay warm!

[C. sapidus]

BTW, this is a one dish meal, and great for hungry teenage boys, Bruce!

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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).

Summer 8-10 minutes, covered.

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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.

[lovebenton0]

Judith, could you elaborate more on the chocolate bread?  The cherries were dried, right?  How tart were they?  (sometimes the dried tart cherries are quite sweet!).  While flour?  Sour dough?  Inspiration?  A story, please!

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i wanted something slightly sweet and i had two squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate. i have made chocolate bread for years, with many variations on the theme. i love dried fruit, usually start every morning with some. my current fav is dried cherries. last week i had bought two bags of the red jewels; not sweetened, but yes they are a bit sweet while still tart. i also have an assortment of nuts on hands. i like almonds with cherries.

and... i wanted to try something else in the kneadful thing. it kneaded the basic dough for me, with the slivered chocolate. before shaping and final proofing i dimpled the dough into a rectangle, sprinkled on the [cooled] toasted almonds and dried cherries. rolled and pinched, rolled and pinched, sealed the log of dough with fruit and nuts inside. formed into a ring, laid one end over the other, gave it a tuck and let it rise. baked at 350, cooled overnight, sliced toasted and buttered for brunch. this bread is good with nothing on it, toasted or not and great with hot black coffee.