Saturday, 13 September 2014
As we devastated this pie, I thought about the term Florentine appended to a dish usually means that it contains spinach and cream (in a sauce), or appears to—at least that’s the convention on this side of the Big Pond. Without a doubt the cooking style of Florence is far more complex and interesting, however….
Thursday, 11 September 2014
King Arthur Flour calls these 50 lb bags (the two outside ones) “professional flours.” They have cutesy names like Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot, and Queen Guinevere. What I’m not sure about is the Gold Medal bag in the middle from General Mills, which says: DO NOT EAT RAW DOUGH OR BATTER. Why is this on the flour bag? Not that the advice is flawed, but why the concern by General Mills (not to be confused with another General, General Motors)?
Monday, 1 September 2014
So, Labor Day in the US of A dates back to the 1880s. Today, the gains in labor conditions and workers’ rights during the interim seem…like a given; they actually represent a huge shift in top-down attitudes and governmental policy. Still, I’ve worked several Labor Days, but not this one—not punched-in work, anyway.
We got wild and opened the PAMA this evening to celebrate…. It’s too yummy to just keep around, though….
Monday, 18 August 2014
If today had been sunnier…(this was yesterday).
Sunshine eluded us today, and after midday we enjoyed (??) precip.
Most of the time, I’m a fan of precip. In moderation…. Today I could groove on it…listening to the pitter-patter on the roof, and watching out the window….
This evening, we wrangled the kitchen’s leftovers…not the usual leftovers, but merely those foodstuffs already purchased but not yet consumed…into a dinner to share with friends…. I called it pot-roast-noodle casserole, and in Peg Bracken style, I gussied it up with bacon and mushrooms (but not, shiver, any creamed canned soup), served it with stellar (yet simple) apps and dessert, accompanied by some fine red wines…and, pfft, fine fine fine!
* Not the usual social-science core-periphery, but the gustatory version, with a core of roast beef, and a periphery of…whatever else I thought could fit into an orchestral accompaniment, gastronomically.
Saturday, 16 August 2014
[Raided (with permission), the gardener-gatherer-hunter’s garden for peas, picking about a quart of pods…which produced a bit more than a half-cup of peas.]
I noticed that pods in this sample tended to contain nine peas, sometimes ten, once eleven, and sometimes eight…and, if they didn’t all make, fewer. Since they’re attached to the sides of the pod alternately, there tended to be four on one side, and five on the other. I did not examine further to see if it tended to be the same side.
Note that fresh peas, as opposed to machine processed, have that extra bit of tissue attached, the bit that joins them to the pod.
Thursday, 14 August 2014
Dill pickle day over at the neighbors. We just watched. Well, I did. The Guru did trouble-shooting on their…connectivity*. [Note the REAL Mason jar!]
* The fine connectivity we had with our me-fi system this spring has given way to less robust service, which the Guru attributes mostly to the leaves on the trees and the increased humidity (if I followed the discussion accurately). Likewise, their satellite dish system is…slowed, I think due to the same variables.
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
The other day, courtesy of our fine fisher-neighbor, we had fishes. Today was loaves. Made with hard white whole wheat, if I’m remembering correctly. By the lovely K. Sad that our visitors are to leave tomorrow. Cold and rainy, like today, is not conducive to beach-time, which was a big part of what they were looking for….
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
A long time ago, we used to brunch here regularly. Tonight we tried the half-off-Tuesday burgers. Yum. And I like the beet-and-greens salad, too!
Food three posts in a row…what does it mean? Yes, I spend too many brain-cycles considering whether patterns are emerging, and what they might mean…. Training, you know….
Monday, 28 July 2014
Tonight was breakfast-for-dinner night….
A bit of discussion recently with KW about bacon; had to put bacon on the menu (with scrambled eggs and pancakes)….
Sunday, 27 July 2014
We celebrated Pie Night (just made it up!) over at the loft, witnessed by The Kittens.
Pie Course #1 was pizzas. Take out. Brought in. Three varieties.
Pie Course #2 was key lime. Tried high-end organic pre-squeezed juice, and there was just the shade of a difference, too minor not to try it again. Still used the zest of two limes, and the juice of one that didn’t come from the bottle. Otherwise, this recipe….
Please note that the Pies were all for the people, and the Kittens’ role was entertainment alternated with napping. They were very good at both.