Tidbits 3

Ok, here is Tidbits3 that you have been anxiously waiting for.

Oil Sprays - Do you use them... I am not a big fan of vegetable oil or for that matter Canola oil. I do
however keep a can of olive oil spray handy. I also like peanut oil but I have never seen that in a spray
can. I just find the spray can to be very functional and easy to use. I do not have a clue as to what the
quality of the olive oil in a can is.

Curry... I have become very fond of this spice. I have two types of curry that I use and I like them both
a lot. One is Sambhar and the second is Muchi. However I am open to suggestions if anyone has a preference
for a particular type. Also any dish that is particulary good with curry. I tried Robin's green bean curry
dish and it was pretty good. I did add some tofu and other things to the dish. Trader Joes has a Naam bread
that is loaded with curry and spices... not bad at all.

Bacon...I have to freeze bacon as I do not use a whole package at one time. Generally a package will last
me for at least a couple of months. To keep it from sticking together I separate the slices and put them
on a tin to firm up in the freezer. When they are hard enough so they won't stick together I remove them
and place them in a plastic bag. So whenever I need a couple of slices I just pull them out and
defrost for a few minutes on paper towels.

Cardamom... I just recently started to use this spice mostly to go with a shrimp dish. For some reason I like
the Spice Islands brand the most. It reminds me of an aroma that I simply cannot identify... perhaps something
from earlier years. Anyway, do you use this spice at times and in what way.

Brrr... winter is on it's way. What a short summer. It's been raining for 3 or 4 days now with very little
sun so I brought the arugula, thyme, parsley and Brazilian Fireworks plants indoors to put under the grow
lights. I need to order some lettuce and other seeds to put under the lights also. It is nice to see some
green foliage inside.

Tomatoes... a bunch of green ones on various stalks. This will be a race to the finish line before cold weather
sets in. I am going to rethink how many types I plant next year. Total production this year... one red tomato
from the mystery tomato plant and three small amish gold plum tomatoes... a big disappointment I must say.

Things that are green... It is amazing how much of our food supply comes from plants and vegetarian sources.
Even after I subtract those items I can't stand (kale just to mention one) there is still a huge amount of
items left. So what is Peta all tied up in knots about.

Some final thoughts on Rogov... OK, so we had a number of tussles down through the years. Neither of us
could hold a grudge so it only took one or two emails for us to work it out and move on. Truth be told,
I suspect that he rather enjoyed the occasional controversy. I had a lot of respect for the guy not
for what he retained in those little gray cells in his head but rather the disdain that he showed for
certain things. We talked about rum in a couple of emails and I finally bought one he particularly liked.
I have not opened the bottle yet. He asked in his final comment to remember him if we can. I think that on
a snowy night this winter with the fireplace going I will open that bottle and think about him.
Anyway my final thought is this... Smokers have lost a strong advocate for the right to do as they please
within certain reasonable constraints. The good guys are one less tonight.

White Castle Hamburgers... I have always been addicted to these sliders. I live smack dab in the city and
the nearest White Castle is in the burbs so I never buy them from a store. But never could I buy the frozen
hamburgers and make them at home so they were as good as going to White Castle itself. After years of
testing though I think I have found a very good way to make these at home.

First, take the hamburgers out of the box and out of the wrapping and let them sit on a paper towel for
about 20 minutes. Then put a damp paper towel on a tin (not soaking) and place a piece of parchment paper
over that. Then the hamburgers and then another piece of parchment paper followed by another damp
paper towel. I think the package instructions is about 15 to 24 minutes at 350F. Not too bad a result.

Food Channel... yuk. I don't watch any of these programs any more. John Besh comes on sometimes sandwiched
in between two news programs I watch. There is no hype just good techniques... not that I am ever going to
try to make anything that he does. I did make the baked bean recipe from the Pioneer woman simply because
I had never used pork and beans before in that dish. It was interesting and was pretty close to my recipe
except that I add molasses and bourbon to mine. I have some left over calypso beans that I am going to
try next time in this dish.

Simple dishes... You will not get many gourmet recipes from me. I simply don't have the skills or even the
energy anymore to make these. I am going to make this recipe again this week. Last time I thought it was
a pretty good simple dish. Hopefully this is not too hard on the waistline.


*The Wine & Food Forum * > *The Culinary Corner* > *Is
pudding dead?*

Riz au Lait a la Canelle:
(Vanilla Rice Pudding)

3.5 cups milk
1 cup round or short grain rice

4 egg yolks (beaten with sugar)
2 vanilla beans (this can be reduced but try to use beans, not extract)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar

Scrape vanilla into milk, add rice and simmer 45 minutes or so, until
rice is quite soft, but not falling apart.

Take off heat, let sit for 2 minutes and gently stir in butter,
then yolks and sugar.

Leave over night to chill. It's great warm too.

*Post Title:* Re: Is pudding dead? (The Dude)


Soft shell crabs... I had the last frozen crab yesterday. It was a tempura battered shell which is not one of my
favorites. Does anybody have a source for frozen soft shell crabs.

Well, time to cut this tidbit off and move on.

Tim

I think that on a snowy night this winter with the fireplace going I will open that bottle and think about him.

I can't claim to have known Rogov beyond exchanges on this board, but I am positive that this is exactly the kind of thing he'd have wanted.

1. Use oil sprays all the time.

2. Make all curries from scratch at the time of meal prep.

3. We freezed bacon too. We get ours now exclusively from Cracker Barrel, so we get a couple of 2 lb packages at at time.

4. & 5. Agree

6. Tomatoes. After you vines get zonked, bring all green tomatoes in and put them in a breathable basket in the kitchen. They will all ripen.

Remaining tidbits: Mixed feelings.

If you want to know the quality of the olive oil you are spraying -- or if you want to be able to spray peanut oil, grape seed oil, whatever -- buy a spray bottle. Not hard to find. Williams Sonoma has a good one. I didn't realize you were talking about buying commercial cans of spray oil until the end of what you were saying. I spray olive oil a lot -- the "Keller Toast" is a good baguette, sliced on the bias, sprayed with olive oil and salted, and browned in a hot oven on cookie sheets.

If the scent of Cardamom is familiar to you, I bet you grew up eating Christmas cookies that have cardamom in them. I like those a lot and I'm fond of cardamom in general but of course there are a limited number of ways to use it.

[Jenise]

One of my two favorite uses for cardamom (as a primary flavoring ingredient) is adding it to the grounds in drip coffee that you're going to have after a well-spiced dinner. It's magic, a Lebanese thing. And crushed and cooked with brussels sprouts.

-- buy a spray bottle. Not hard to find.

Great ideal... perfect solution. The store cans are not cheap so this will be a better bang for the buck also.

I have another spray store can which I haven't used in a long time. I don't remember what was so highly touted about it. It is used primarily in baking preparations as it has flour in it. Does anybody use that type at all.

Tim

6. Tomatoes. After you vines get zonked, bring all green tomatoes in and put them in a breathable basket in the kitchen. They will all ripen.

I've heard that one should wrap the green tomatoes loosely in (news)paper to help prevent rot from moisture; (Never done it myself however).

I'm also a big cardamom fan. I use it in lentil/bean dishes.

One of my two favorite uses for cardamom (as a primary flavoring ingredient) is adding it to the grounds in drip coffee that you're going to have after a well-spiced dinner. It's magic, a Lebanese thing. And crushed and cooked with brussels sprouts.

Funny, I was going to post the same thing! I don't think I've ever served you this, but next time you are over look above the coiffee mill and you'll see a jar of each of cardamom and cinnamon. Ready for when I am in the mood!

People tend to think of cardamom in desserts and baking, neither of which I generally partake of, but it is also excellent used in curry style sauces. I've had asparagus in cardamom infused butter, lots of soups that utilize it, and I love it as part of a rub on meat.

Oil Sprays - Do you use them.. No, never have. Just use extra virgin Italian olive oil for most cooking and neutral sunflower oil for asian dishes.

Curry... I have become very fond of this spice In my understanding curry is not a spice but a catch-all term for a gravy flavoured with mixed spices and herbs. I make a vegetable curry from time to time but now cheat by blending a couple of the commercial bottled curry sauces.

I'm no help on the others either, never having had a White Castle burger or watched the food channel, tho' I caught part of a Emeril programme one time and continued to watch it to see why he is such a famous cook in the US.

tho' I caught part of a Emeril programme one time and continued to watch it to see why he is such a famous cook in the US.

If you figure this out, please let me know. And I am "in the US"

The talk about oil sprays has gone somewhat off course. I agree with all about what oil and by what technology you put into something such a recipe. Oil spays in cans are handy for greasing pans for breads and pastries, or grill pans, or grill surfaces; or for that matter anything that just needs a minimum of oil; or needs protection from sticking. I have never noticed any alteration of taste as a result of doing so.