What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Astronuc]

turbo-1 kenobe

Jack of all trades and matchmaker, among other things.

 

[turbo]

No wonder I've never been able to hold onto a man.

Help me turbo-1 kenobe, you're my only hope.

Think of it from the guy's point of view. The perfect lady (not in the etiquette sense perhaps) will share interests and want to share the favorite activities of her mate. My cousin loves to fish and hunt, and is a tough contender at archery competitions, and she uses her days off during October bowhunting for deer. She is a great shot with firearms, and she is also perhaps the sweetest person I have ever known. She might be 120# soaking wet and and has a great figure after raising 3 kids. If something should happen to her husband, I could get her married off without a boat easy! Though if Steve died, she'd have several nice boats/canoes/his-and-hers snowmobiles, a 4WD pickup and all kinds of guns, archery equipment (both competition and hunting) and fishing gear. Hell, I'd have to set up a lottery system with a stiff buy-in fee just to limit the number of applicants who'd want to meet her.

 

[turbo]

oh.. oh dear! I have really got to get some skills. All this time and money I've spent at UCLA and they haven't taught me any of the basics I need for a happy life.

Some of the stuff that makes for a happy life in no particular order:

1. Knowing how to handle a canoe and how to tie flies that are good enough to fool the trout, and how to present those flies to feeding fish in a way that is realistic. This leads to the supreme ecstasy of fighting a wild brookie on a light fly rod, and although I release many, a badly-hooked fish or one that appears stressed might get a quick neck-snap, leading to ecstasy #2 - pan-fried brookie served with some steamed fiddleheads on the side and maybe some potatoes fried in bacon-fat.

2. Knowing the behavior of animals, so you can see and enjoy them. Very necessary is skill at marksmanship, if you want to hunt animals for food. If I can't cleanly kill an animal with a single shot, I don't shoot. I only hunt with either a single shot rifle or a lever-action loaded with a single cartridge. The most sobering part of a hunt is the kill and the period of reflection on the life of the animal afterward. My native-american ancestors would point out that all life is connected, and that if we are to eat animals, we have a responsibility to respect and honor them. This leads to the ecstasy of pan-fried venison tenderloins, once again served with sides of potatoes and fiddleheads.

3. Knowing how to tend to the soil so that it tends to you. Soil is not some dirt to grow a lawn on. That is a perversion of land stewardship and a waste of resources. Learn to amend the soil with organic fertilizers, manure, peat moss, compost, etc, so that you can grow your own vegetables and fruits. There are too many ecstasies to list here, but some are: biting into a fresh vine-ripened tomato still warm from the sun, eating string beans raw from the plant (they are a great source of "crispyness" in a green salad), making bread-and-butter pickles, salsas, etc. There's nothing like a larder full of great condiments and sauces that you just can't get from a store. Best of all is the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your food is healthy, without pesticides, herbicide residue, etc.

4. Learning the night sky. There is perhaps nothing more humbling and mind-opening than recognizing that we are just little individuals living on a minor planet in orbit around a plain-vanilla sun in a non-descript spiral galaxy. There are (OOM) probably as many galaxies in our visible universe as there are stars in our home galaxy, and if the universe is infinite (it may well be!) our insignificance is staggering.

5. Recognizing that there are times when we can do very little to change a particular situation, and that there are times when a little bit of leverage can make a big difference so we can be a positive influence. This one is particularly valuable for your peace of mind and mental stability.

I could go on and on, but these are things that have made me happy (ier?) and might apply to others, too.

 

[scorpa]

Think of it from the guy's point of view. The perfect lady (not in the etiquette sense perhaps) will share interests and want to share the favorite activities of her mate. My cousin loves to fish and hunt, and is a tough contender at archery competitions, and she uses her days off during October bowhunting for deer. She is a great shot with firearms, and she is also perhaps the sweetest person I have ever known. She might be 120# soaking wet and and has a great figure after raising 3 kids. If something should happen to her husband, I could get her married off without a boat easy! Though if Steve died, she'd have several nice boats/canoes/his-and-hers snowmobiles, a 4WD pickup and all kinds of guns, archery equipment (both competition and hunting) and fishing gear. Hell, I'd have to set up a lottery system with a stiff buy-in fee just to limit the number of applicants who'd want to meet her.

Pffft I ride motorcycles, love pretty much anything with an engine, I can shoot and love "roughing it" in the outdoors and it hasn't helped me at all. I mention my hobbies to some of my guy friends and their eyes get all big and they ask me "but isn't that dangerous!?" No either I look in the wrong places or guys want some girl that loves pink and does nothing for fear of breaking a nail *Rant mode off*

 

[Evo]

Pffft I ride motorcycles, love pretty much anything with an engine, I can shoot and love "roughing it" in the outdoors and it hasn't helped me at all. I mention my hobbies to some of my guy friends and their eyes get all big and they ask me "but isn't that dangerous!?" No either I look in the wrong places or guys want some girl that loves pink and does nothing for fear of breaking a nail *Rant mode off*

You sound pretty good to me. I was never one of those foo-foo women with the fake nails. I love gardening and I was always always rooting around in the dirt with manure, blood meal, and other aromatic soil enhancers.

 

[Evo]

Hmmm, this looks good. I'm trying to find new foods to eat.

This is a Welsh cheese.

"Red Dragon, also known as Y-Fenni. This smooth, firm, tasty Cheddar is made with Welsh brown ale and mustard seeds. Red Dragon is a buttery and spicy cheese with plenty of bite, but is not too hot. Not only do the mustard seeds give Red Dragon its marvelous flavor, but also its texture. The brown ale makes the cheese moist and tangy."

http://www.cheesesupply.com/product_info.php/products_id/368

 

[Astronuc]

The perfect lady (not in the etiquette sense perhaps) will share interests and want to share the favorite activities of her mate.

Probably should read - the perfect mate . . . will share . . . .

A healthy relationship has to be mutual/reciprocal. It doesn't have to be the same interests all of the time, but it helps to share interests that allow for mutual enjoyment.

1. Knowing how to handle a canoe . . .
2. Knowing the behavior of animals, . . .
3. Knowing how to tend to the soil so that it tends to you. . . . . That is a perversion of land stewardship and a waste of resources.
4. Learning the night sky. . . . .
5. Recognizing that there are times when we can do very little to change a particular situation, and that there are times when a little bit of leverage can make a big difference so we can be a positive influence. This one is particularly valuable for your peace of mind and mental stability.

Same here.

I ride motorcycles, love pretty much anything with an engine, I can shoot and love "roughing it" in the outdoors and it hasn't helped me at all.

Sounds great to me!

I love gardening and I was always always rooting around in the dirt with manure, blood meal, and other aromatic soil enhancers.

I'm trying to find new foods to eat.

:!) That Red Dragon sounds really good! I like Monterrey Jack with jalapeño or habanero.

 

[turbo]

"Red Dragon" sounds great! Something to eat with hot mustard and sliced chiles on crackers!

 

[chaoseverlasting]

Pffft I ride motorcycles, love pretty much anything with an engine, I can shoot and love "roughing it" in the outdoors and it hasn't helped me at all. I mention my hobbies to some of my guy friends and their eyes get all big and they ask me "but isn't that dangerous!?" No either I look in the wrong places or guys want some girl that loves pink and does nothing for fear of breaking a nail *Rant mode off*

Where DO you live?:!)

 

[Math Is Hard]

Wise words, turbo!

 

[turbo]

Wise words, turbo!

Not so much wise as practical. I try to keep some perspective about the times I have been truly happy and fulfilled, and then do the things that enable those moments. Sometimes we can get detached from reality and forget the roots of things, and that can lead to some pretty unproductive behavior, frustration, and unhappiness.

One of my most satisfying moments was when my wife caught her first wild brook trout on the fly rod that I built just for her. She was whooping it up and grinning from ear-to-ear. Since then, she has been the driving force behind our camping trips and they always have to be in the vicinity of remote trout ponds. There isn't a person alive who could talk her into a cruise or a trip to some tourist-trap. It's so much nicer to spend a few quiet days camped in the woods with our tent, portable gas stove (so we don't need a fire permit), coolers, and some folding chairs. She brings mystery novels and I bring my fly-tying equipment for the times when the fishing is slow. You can't buy that kind of privacy and serenity, you have to seek it out. Once you've experienced it, you're hooked. I like the fact that she likes to "sleep in" while I get up at first light for some early morning fishing. If the breeze is right, I can smell frying bacon, onions, peppers, mushrooms, potatoes, etc from out in the canoe, and I know she's going to holler "breakfast" pretty soon. Heaven at sunrise!

 

[turbo]

Where DO you live?:!)

You see, Scorpa, you're just not looking for men in the right places. When I was your age, I would have been swept off my feet by a lady who loved motorcycles and camping, and who would take a summer job operating heavy equipment. You would fit right in at Unity College here in Maine. It offers courses that lead to degrees relevant to employment as game wardens, biologists, foresters, marine patrol, etc. You'd have no problem finding a decent guy there! My second cousin graduated from there and is now a state game warden. He and his wife recently sold their Harleys so they could buy a big sea-worthy fishing boat and indulge in that passion. His father (retired as chief of the warden service) owns a Road King and is a good friend, so we ride together frequently.

 

[scorpa]

You see, Scorpa, you're just not looking for men in the right places. When I was your age, I would have been swept off my feet by a lady who loved motorcycles and camping, and who would take a summer job operating heavy equipment. You would fit right in at Unity College here in Maine. It offers courses that lead to degrees relevant to employment as game wardens, biologists, foresters, marine patrol, etc. You'd have no problem finding a decent guy there! My second cousin graduated from there and is now a state game warden. He and his wife recently sold their Harleys so they could buy a big sea-worthy fishing boat and indulge in that passion. His father (retired as chief of the warden service) owns a Road King and is a good friend, so we ride together frequently.

Haha well maybe I should transfer!

 

[turbo]

Back on-topic (so soon?) The back deck was sunny and in the high 50's yesterday afternoon, so my wife and I grilled cheeseburgers and loaded them with our hot green tomato salsa. That stuff is going so fast that we might be out before the summer BBQ season gets here. We've only got another 5 jars of that left, but with about 20 jars of various red-tomato salsas, I guess we'll get by. This garden season, when folks are ripping out the tomato plants, I'm going to see if I can scavenge their green tomatoes and make more of the green salsa, so this doesn't happen again. Anyway, we've still got lots of jars of the 100% pepper batches. Some are 100% jalapeno, some are 100% habanero, and some are 50:50 blends of the two types.

Well so much for yesterday's spring-like weather. It is snowing heavily and has been for most of the morning.

 

[Evo]

I made ham jambalaya last night and it was incredible. I made it with Rotel tomatoes for a little extra kick and I will never make it any other way from now on.

 

[turbo]

I made ham jambalaya last night and it was incredible. I made it with Rotel tomatoes for a little extra kick and I will never make it any other way from now on.

I've never see Ro*Tel tomatoes and chilis up this way, though I haven't been inside a supermarket for years, and I suppose that they might be featured in with the ethnic foods. No matter, really, since we add our canned (or fresh in season) chilis to practically every casserole-type dish, anyway.

 

[turbo]

I just polished off a vegetarian dagwood. My sister-in-law makes sandwiches at the local grocery store, and her sandwiches are killer. She bakes a pizza crust, cuts it in half and splits it to make a pita-like pocket, then loads that half with tomato, onion, green pepper, black olives and sliced cheese with a little lettuce (not much!). She always loads mine with jalapenos, too. I don't even bother with mayo or oil or seasonings - it's just a big double-handful of great-tasting vegetables in a big but thin pocket of bread, and she always gives me enough jalapenos to make my scalp sweat.

 

[turbo]

Tonight, my wife and I had stir-fry of tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and green peppers with pasta and some tossed salad on the side. I opened a jar of our canned jalapenos (much hotter than the commercially-available stuff) and added some to both the salad and the pasta dish. I'm hooked! I don't think I'll eat tossed salad again without jalapenos. I can cut 'way back on dressings that way. My wife has stopped using dressings on salads and adds some of our bread-and-butter pickles instead - now she's going to start adding our canned jalapenos, as well. We'll have to raise a LOT more peppers this summer to keep up with the demand.

 

[Astronuc]

http://www.thepastrygarden.com/index.html

 

[Ouabache]

How about some nice healthy cashew nut butter cookies?
With the magic of internet video, we can watch how they're made.

How about making your own maple syrup to go with your next batch of buckwheat pancakes... video clip Turbo & Astronuc, perhaps you can appreciate the aesthetic appeal of this method.

 

[Evo]

Apparently it's turkey season? The limit is two. The guy that works across from me shot a turkey on his way to work this morning. I have pictures. It was pretty.

Most of the guys I work with shoot their own meat. Not that I'm complaining as long as I get my share of the goodies. These guys are great cooks.

I think we should erect an Alton Brown turkey frying derrick.

 

[Astronuc]

shot a turkey on his way to work

Hopefully he was well off the road. I would think that someone getting out of a truck (I presume a truck with a gun rack) with a gun might freak out other drivers if it was on a well-traveled roadway.

 

[Astronuc]

How about making your own maple syrup to go with your next batch of buckwheat pancakes... video clip Turbo & Astronuc, perhaps you can appreciate the aesthetic appeal of this method.

Hah! That's great! The narrator even sounds like me, although my voice is perhaps a little deeper. Nothing like a homemade fireplace. When I was very young, we had a 55 gal drum which served as a backyard furnace. I spent a lot of time building fires. When I visited my maternal grandparents, I'd spend hours chopping wood. It was fun as well as being good exercise.

 

[Evo]

Hopefully he was well of the road. I would think that someone getting out of a truck (I presume a truck with a gun rack) with a gun might freak out other drivers if it was on a well-traveled roadway.

He was hunting out in a field near his house.

I know the first thing I think about on my way to work is to stop and shoot a couple of turkeys.

 

[turbo]

He was hunting out in a field near his house.

I know the first thing I think about on my way to work is to stop and shoot a couple of turkeys.

I worked for years with a woman that hunted before and after work, weekends, etc, and arranged her vacation time to coincide with hunting seasons. She routinely brought in pictures of herself with turkeys, deer, grouse, and one time a bear that she had shot. She and her husband are avid hunters. I have a petite cousin who is deadly with a bow and she bags deer regularly with it. She's a teacher's aide.

 

[Astronuc]

I worked for years with a woman that hunted before and after work, weekends, etc, and arranged her vacation time to coincide with hunting seasons. She routinely brought in pictures of herself with turkeys, deer, grouse, and one time a bear that she had shot. She and her husband are avid hunters.

There are a number of people in the nuclear industry who hunt and fish. Outages at some plants have to timed before hunting season.

I have a petite cousin who is deadly with a bow and she bags deer regularly with it. She's a teacher's aide.

And she enjoys Indian wrestling, right?

 

[ZapperZ]

The Food of Chicago

In anticipation of the upcoming unofficial PF Gathering in Chicago this summer, I'm going to list some of the food that are identified with Chicago. In case anyone is visiting the city some time soon, this would be a guide to some of the things you might want to try.

1. Deep dish pizza

This, of course, is probably the most popular food identified with Chicago. It was invented here at the first Gino's restaurant. It isn't your typical pizza. It is more like a pie. And unlike New York thin crust pizza, the sauce is pilled on top of the toppings, not at the bottom. And you don't eat it with your hands - you need a fork and knife to handle this one.

While Gino's is credited with inventing it, my personal favorite (and the favorite of many Chicagoans) for deep-dish pizza is http://www.loumalnatis.com/" . I know of many transplanted Chicagoans who would mail-order Lou Malnati's deep-dish pizza. It is THAT good.

2. Chicago-style hot dogs.

This is not what you would call a "minimalist" hot dog. Made with 100% "vienna beef" (whatever that means), Chicago-style hot dogs is famous with not just the dog, but what goes on on top of it. You get lettuce, sliced cucumber, sliced tomatoes, chopped onions, hot peppers, and celery salt. But the most unusual topping that makes it really unique is the fluorescent-green relish.

The best places to get good Chicago-style hot dogs are the various hamburger/hot-dog stands around the city such as Byron's. Many people swear that the hot dogs at Wrigley Field is one of the best. Popular TV sports commentator Bob Costas has been known to have some flown over to him.

3. Italian Beef sandwich

Again, another Chicago invention, and has no connection whatsoever with Italy. It is thinly sliced beef, cooked in seasoned broth, and then served in between a good french-type bread. You may ask for the optional hot/sweet/mild peppers, and a spinkling of parmesian cheese. There are also various ways to have this sandwich. You can just have it "dry" (the meat is still a bit wet since it was fished out of the broth), or you can have it medium to super juicy. Medium juicy is when they ladle a bit of the juicy broth onto the bread, whereas super juicy is when they quickly dipped the entire bread into the broth. Either way, this is as messy to eat as Philly cheese-steak sandwich. Expect the juicy to want to run down to your elbow or it isn't a good italian beef sandwich.

4. Stuff-crust pizza

A Chicago variation of the deep-dish pizza, which many has credited Giordano for the invention. Here, you start almost like a deep-dish pizza where you pile the "toppings" at the bottom. Then, rather than cover it with a thick layer of tomato sauce, you actually put down another layer of pizza dough, and then, cover it with a thick layer of tomato sauce and grated cheese. Again, you can only eat this with fork and knife, and you probably won't want to each for the next week after finish one of these beast.

The most favorite ingredient in the stuffing at Giordano is spinach.

5. Pizza Pot Pie

Purely an invention of the http://www.chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com/menu.htm" restaurant, and it is the only place to get it. Literally, it is a pot pie with pizza ingredients and sauce, surrounded with the pizza crust.

The restaurant had a very old-Chicago atmosphere, and rumor has it that Al Capone was a regular back during his days. If you don't have a reservation, don't even think about going there for dinner on Friday and Saturday.

As a side note, one of my most favorite places to eat in the neighborhood, especially for breakfast, Nookies Tree, has gone all trans-fat free! Hooray! I can have their thick onion rings again!

Zz.

 

[turbo]

My wife and I just came in from our first real summer cook-out. The temperature was 82 deg F and we grilled cheeseburgers on the back deck (served with our home-made green tomato salsa and canned habaneros) and a side dish of potato salad with Molson Goldens on ice. Maine's summers are short, and the evenings that are free of black flies and mosquitoes are precious. Glory!

 

[Evo]

I was weeding the garden the other day and I have TONS of wild garlic. It always smells so good I decided to look online to see if it was good to eat. I read a few recipes with it and decided to give them a try.

I chopped up enough to make about 2 cups, and chopped an onion, I sauteed the wild garlic and onion in butter until they onion was transparent, then tossed them with some freshly made hot couscous. OMG! That was the best dish ever! Now I fear that my craving for wild garlic will soon deplete my supply. To think for years I would throw pounds of them into the trash.

 

[Astronuc]

I chopped up enough to make about 2 cups, and chopped an onion, I sauteed the wild garlic and onion in butter until they onion was transparent, then tossed them with some freshly made hot couscous. OMG! That was the best dish ever! Now I fear that my craving for wild garlic will soon deplete my supply. To think for years I would throw pounds of them into the trash.

I don't suppose you saved any.

So is garlic, as opposed to wild onion? And did you make the couscous with semolina wheat and/or pureed chickpeas in addition to onion and garlic?

I am growing (well trying to at least) some garlic. The one of two original plants (which survived the winter) have been divided and distributed. It's my first experience/experiment growing garlic.

 

[mathwonk]

wow is this thread popular. my browser couldn't even find the last page.

i like a nice fresh plate of pasta with maybe arugula salad, pepper and good parmegiano, and a glass of red wine, maybe regusci, or 2000 la cardonne, or andrew will, if i could find it.we also enjoy the worlds most expensive blackberries once a year, by picking them from a view lot we own in washington, facing the olympic peninsula. that's all we use the lot for, so that why the berries cost tens of thousands of dollars a pound, so far.

 

[mathwonk]

heres a real recipe, but i am not really a cook.

take an egg or two and mix them up with a lot of really good parmegiana cheese, grated yourself from the good gourmet store, not out of the green can we used as a kid.the mixture should look heart stoppingly cholesterol laden. then cook some bacon, actually in extra olive oil, drain and set aside.

then make the pasta, with lots of water. as an italian friend says "foreigners never use enough water for pasta."

it is ready when it tastes as if it is ("al dente"), or as some people prefer, when it sticks to the ceiling when flung, but my wife frowns on this method.

then drain the pasta, and pour into a thingy with holes in the bottom (collander?), and add the egg parmegiana mixture and mix it up. the hot pasta cooks the eggs enough.

then add the crushed bacon and mix further amd serve.

have freshly ground pepper and more freshly grated parmesan for people to sprinkle.

although not a cook, actually even i have had a success with this. oh yes, serve good red wine and preferably a salad if you have someone with salad skills.

 

[Astronuc]

the mixture should look heart stoppingly cholesterol laden. then cook some bacon, actually in extra olive oil, drain and set aside.

Breakfast - coffee and cholestrol -

 

[Evo]

heres a real recipe, but i am not really a cook.

take an egg or two and mix them up with a lot of really good parmegiana cheese, grated yourself from the good gourmet store, not out of the green can we used as a kid.


the mixture should look heart stoppingly cholesterol laden. then cook some bacon, actually in extra olive oil, drain and set aside.

then make the pasta, with lots of water. as an italian friend says "foreigners never use enough water for pasta."

it is ready when it tastes as if it is ("al dente"), or as some people prefer, when it sticks to the ceiling when flung, but my wife frowns on this method.

then drain the pasta, and pour into a thingy with holes in the bottom (collander?), and add the egg parmegiana mixture and mix it up. the hot pasta cooks the eggs enough.

then add the crushed bacon and mix further amd serve.

have freshly ground pepper and more freshly grated parmesan for people to sprinkle.

although not a cook, actually even i have had a success with this. oh yes, serve good red wine and preferably a salad if you have someone with salad skills.

Ah, pasta carbonara. In Italy they use a type of cream which can't be purchased in the US and pancetta. It is to die for. :!)

 

[turbo]

I was weeding the garden the other day and I have TONS of wild garlic. It always smells so good I decided to look online to see if it was good to eat. I read a few recipes with it and decided to give them a try.

I chopped up enough to make about 2 cups, and chopped an onion, I sauteed the wild garlic and onion in butter until they onion was transparent, then tossed them with some freshly made hot couscous. OMG! That was the best dish ever! Now I fear that my craving for wild garlic will soon deplete my supply. To think for years I would throw pounds of them into the trash.

That's awful! There is a lot of wild stuff that is delicious and it's too bad to waste it. If the wild garlic divides well like the cultivated kind wait until fall, dig up a bunch, divide the bulbs into cloves and replant the cloves. Maybe you can get a patch going that will keep up with your demand. One of my neighbors raises garlic and last year he gave us some purple Russian garlic that tasted wonderful, so we put some in a batch of our habanero sauce-Mmmmm I may have to beg some bulbs of that from him and start my own patch this fall.

Fiddleheads (immature ostrich fern) will be out this weekend, and though we still have gallons of them frozen from last year, there is nothing like steaming some fresh-picked fiddleheads and serving with a little butter and cider vinegar.