Nyleve's Profile
GIETOST (brown goat cheese)
What else can you do with this cheese - I mean, besides eating it. A friend left a big hunk of it here at our house and none of us actually likes the taste of the cheese straight. Any other way to use it?
Rhubarb sorbet amazingness
My rhubarb is out of control so I've been looking for ways to use it. The other day I made this rhubarb sorbet and it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. Made exactly according to the recipe, it's creamy (without dairy) and doesn't become crystally even when completely frozen. Absolutely perfect. Might be even more perfect served with a strawberry puree but really doesn't need it. I picked the most red coloured stalks for this so the sorbet was a dusty pink - but I'm sure it would have been just as delicious if it were green.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rhubarb-Sorbet-1072
Baked chicken in BBQ sauce
I meant to post but forgot. Lunch was a huge hit. We had almost 100 chicken leg quarters which I seasoned (salt, pepper, garlic powder), laid out on baking sheets and roasted until cooked through with crispy browned skin. Had to do this in batches but it all worked out fine. Refrigerated the cooked chicken in foil pans overnight. The next day I tossed the chicken pieces in barbecue sauce and placed them in large baking pans to reheat on site. The sauce caramelized and the chicken was much tastier than it had any right to be, considering what went into making the dish. We served it with scalloped potatoes and salad - everyone loved it. Thanks for the help, folks.
Trans Canada road trip
Actually, I thought the roads were surprisingly decent. There were a few potholes, sure, but on the whole when you think about the terrible winters we have the roads were in pretty good shape. Only one (really) stupid truck driver in 5 days of driving - it was a great trip. Sorry to disappoint.
Baked chicken in BBQ sauce
Actually I may spread the chicken out on my biggest flat pans so that there's room for air to circulate. Good reminder - thanks. I'll bake them with sauce in the foil, though.
Baked chicken in BBQ sauce
Ok great - two votes for what I thought would be best anyway. Just needed some confirmation. Will let you know how it turns out.
Baked chicken in BBQ sauce
For next week's meal at the soup kitchen where I volunteer, we've managed to get a whole pile of chicken leg/thigh quarters for not very much money. I'm thinking of doing them oven baked with barbecue sauce. (Probably about 35 lbs of them, so no fiddly prep). From the recipes I've dug up, there are two ways to approach this: bake first, drain fat, add BBQ sauce and continue baking OR just bake from scratch in sauce. I'd appreciate some help on this - which do you think would work better? I'll be doing them in large foil pans a day ahead. I'm thinking that it might be best to bake them lightly seasoned but without sauce until cooked through and refrigerate overnight. Add barbecue sauce and reheat on site before serving. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Trans Canada road trip
Ok so the trip didn't turn out to be the gastronomic oddysey that I'd imagined but it was still an excellent thing to do and I now fully comprehend how freaking gigantic Canada actually is. We did the drive in 5 days, and only had dinner in the places where we stopped for the night. Otherwise, we picked up reasonable car food to eat during the day because it would have taken way too long if we also stopped for lunch every day.
We left Kamloops mid-morning and stopped to pick up some very good sandwiches in Salmon Arm at the Blue Canoe. That day they had some kind of grilled sandwich with asparagus, prosciutto and goat cheese which was delicious. From there we drove to Canmore, Alberta. Had dinner at the Bear's Paw on the main street of town. It was fine pub food - I had a good bison burger which was amazingly not overcooked. Next stop was Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Not a lot of choices there but our skuzzy motel gave us a $2 discount per person at the Buffalo Brew Pub - so when in Swift Current... We both had a really unexpectedly delicious steak sandwich which consisted of a thick strip loin steak, cooked perfectly. Other than that, not much to say about the place except that it has 6 TV screens. After that to Winnipeg. Our only fine dining of the trip: Mise. Dinner was good - there's an emphasis on local ingredients, which I liked. I had the cornmeal crusted pickerel which was served over a bunch of vegetables and was very nice. My son had some kind of chicken (sorry the trip has fogged my brain) which he also liked. The place was a bit pricey for what it was but since we'd been cheaping out so far it was ok. Loved the server who told us that all of our choices were perfect! and awesome! In the morning I had hoped to pick up some smoked goldeye but it was a Sunday and we needed to get on the road - nothing was open by the time we got going. From there, our next overnight was Wawa, Ontario - a long day's drive and no dinner (trail mix and carrot sticks from the car). On our last day - I know this is no longer the prairies but I'll finish up - we picked up some smoked whitefish and lake trout from Clarence's in Blind River. VERY smokey, very delicious.
A long long long drive but really worth doing once in a person's life. Thanks everyone for your suggestions, even though I mostly didn't go to any of them. But maybe another time - if it ever happens.
Fiddlehead Ferns?
They are lovely - enjoy them without consuming. Glad I was able to step in front of the bus for you.
Fiddlehead Ferns?
I don't think those are the right ferns. From the look of the leaves, the appear to be a different type of fern. I've been picking fiddleheads for about 30 years so I do know what I'm talking about. There are so many different types of ferns and some of them aren't safe to eat. Actually what is interesting is that quite a few of the pictures on the link you posted are not proper fiddleheads at all - they may be called fiddleheads from the shape of the sprout, but they are definitely not all edible fiddleheads. Sorry.
pasta bar left overs [moved from General Topics]
Yeah I know regulations vary. We accept everything as long as it comes from a dependable source - it's a pretty loose system, I admit. But it works.
Trans Canada road trip
Yeah well too late really. We'll be flying by the seat of our pants more or less. Currently in Kamloops - lift off is tomorrow morning!
pasta bar left overs [moved from General Topics]
If your alternative is to throw it out, why don't you just layer the cooked pasta with sauce and some kind of cheese and bring it to a soup kitchen or shelter for them to bake. You could freeze in smaller foil pans or make several large foil roasting pans worth of this. I'm not sure what is done in other places, but the drop-in center where I volunteer would gladly accept something like this.
Trans Canada road trip
Would love Winnipeg suggestions. I've posted a duplicate of this on the Prairies board so you can add yours there. Anywhere to get smoked fish?
Trans Canada road trip
Ha! We'll see about the roads. It's been a mild winter so maybe not as bad as usual. Thanks for the suggestions.
Trans Canada road trip
I'm doing a cross country drive - starting in Kamloops, BC to (more or less) Toronto. We'll probably take 5-ish days to make the trip with whatever short diversions look worthwhile. Anyway - looking for any recommendations for decent (not fancy) food along the way. We'll follow the Trans-Canada highway through the prairies, then north of Superior through Kenora and Thunder Bay toward sourthern Ontario. Suggestions, please, so we don't end up eating nothing but potato chips and gas station food! Thanks.
(Also posting this on the Prairie provinces board...)
Trans Canada road trip
I'm doing a cross country drive - starting in Kamloops, BC to (more or less) Toronto. We'll probably take 5-ish days to make the trip with whatever short diversions look worthwhile. Anyway - looking for any recommendations for decent (not fancy) food along the way. We'll follow the Trans-Canada highway through Calgary, Medicine Hat, Swift Current, Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg, then north of Superior through Kenora and Thunder Bay toward sourthern Ontario. Suggestions, please, so we don't end up eating nothing but potato chips and gas station food! Thanks.
(Also posting this on the Ontario board...)
Hazan's "Roman style" fava beans... shelled, and then the skin?
Actually I was about to ask you to let us know how it turned out. I've planted a row of favas and need to be prepared for the results. In the past I've always skinned and then skinned again. But if I don't have to do that I'll be very happy.
Authentic Coq au Vin
Holy cow - I just read that recipe and I am just dumbfounded. I was about to post as to how I've cooked old retired laying hens and that they just turn out dry, tough and stringy no matter what I do with them but this recipe leaves me speechless. Please - oh please - post if you do make it because I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. Not that I'd ever do it myself, mind you. But it sounds pretty delicious.
Parboiled Rice [moved from Home Cooking]
Really the only rice I absolutely will not keep in the pantry is instant or minute rice. In my world, there is no place for it. The product is so inferior in every way to regular rice of any kind without even the redeeming quality of being a true time-saver that I can't ever think of a way that I would use it. Proper rice - white, brown, basmati, jasmine, parboiled, whatever - never has seemed to take so much time to make that you'd really want to settle for such a crappy substitute as instant rice. And yes, I know that parboiled rice is supposed to contain more nutrients than other white rice, but I can see why the texture would be off-putting to some people. It has its place, like most other ingredients, and doesn't deserve the scorn heaped upon it. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this but I think parboiled rice is preferred for some Caribbean cooking - I always see it displayed by the other West Indian groceries in the store.
Parboiled Rice [moved from Home Cooking]
I keep parboiled rice in the house for two specific uses. I like to use it in arroz con pollo, especially when I'm making it in the oven in a large amount. The rice retains some integrity, even if slightly overcooked, and the grains remain separate. It's also almost indispensable when I make large pans of Mexican/Spanish-style rice to serve with burritos at the soup kitchen where I volunteer. Again - it's very forgiving in large quantities and doesn't go all to mush if overcooked or reheated. For pretty much everything else, I use either jasmine or basmati, depending on what I'm making.
How much lamb?
Oooo sorry! I guess I was so glad to have all that behind me that I got amnesia. Anyway I did only use the one large leg and it was plenty. Had a momentary conniption when it was defrosted and I discovered that the "boneless" leg was actually not boneless. Don't know why I assumed it was - it wasn't mis-labelled. But whatever - we deboned it, and it was still more than enough. As I said, my son cooked it using a recipe from Molto Italiano, with prunes, shallots and green olives. It was probably just slightly overdone to my taste (seder meals are hard to predict), but it was still really delicious. Served roasted asparagus, new potatoes, salad and the other usual suspects for Passover (kugel, matzoh ball soup, etc.). I did warm up and serve the leftover brisket but it was left almost untouched. When will I ever learn that there is always more than triple the amount of food at a seder dinner than what is actually needed? Desserts were a coffee cream filled banana roll cake and fresh fruit. I sent home a big package of leftovers with my son and we still had plenty to eat for a couple of days. There were 14 of us at the table but one was a vegan (unbeknownst to me beforehand) - we convinced her to eat a vegetable patty that contained egg because the eggs were from my own chickens and I assured her they are very happy chickens who voluntarily give up their eggs without any coercion.
Cannot tell you how relieved I am that it's all over. So much work, so much company, I feel like I had PTSD after everyone left. But, as I explain to my non-Jewish friends, this is our version of Christmas madness. You love it but it's really too much of a muchness. At least there are no gifts involved.
Pop-up garden centres in Toronto
Great to know about Fiesta Farms. I've never checked their garden centre - so I'll definitely do that this season. I'd love to get a heads-up when anyone sees one of these places open. I expect they'll be doing so in the next 2 or 3 weeks.
Pop-up garden centres in Toronto
Right. I'll be planting seeds outdoors - hardy things only, like snap peas, chard and arugula. I've started some poblano seeds indoors (but they're not up yet) and I'll get the rest done as the weather warms. We have a really wonderful farmers market in Peterborough where I can pick up a great assortment of heirloom veg. plants but the garden centre at the Dufferin Mall (yes, the one on Dufferin south of Bloor) always has some interesting ethnic varieties. So I'll be checking there in early May as well.
Pop-up garden centres in Toronto
Nah. Too early - for tomatoes and other tender stuff definitely. Won't be ready to plant outdoors for at least another month or more. They will have more stock as the weather warms - I'm not worried. I'll put in the cold-tolerant stuff now but tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash has to wait until much later. Even if I bought plants now - which I won't - they'll suffer from being held indoors in those small seedling pots in my less-than-greenhouse conditions. I've been gardening for 35 years so I've learned my lesson about being over-eager.
Pop-up garden centres in Toronto
Picked up a bunch of seeds at Angelo's on Hwy. 7 since I was up in the area. I can get more seeds around here when it's time to plant them. Got my garden tilled today so I may put in chard and arugula this weekend.
Pop-up garden centres in Toronto
I know it's early. So most of them won't be open yet. But I do a lot of my plant-shopping at a few pop-up garden centres around the city. My old favourite is probably permanently gone - on Keele St. just north of Steeles - I drove past today and it was completely derelict, possibly slated for some development or other. My other fave is at the corner of the Dufferin Mall parking lot. Both of these have unusual - Italian, Asian, weird European - varieties of vegetable plants and great flats of mixed baby lettuces. There's another one on Keele, north of Wilson, that sets up in front of a barber shop on the west side of the street, run by a very quirky old Italian guy. Anyway, since I don't live in the city, I'd love to hear when the Dufferin one (especially) opens this season. Or if you know of another good place to pick up odd plants, I'm open to exploration. So please post when you see something good.
(Mods: I'd put this one the gardening forum but it's so specific to Toronto that it wouldn't make sense.)
Eeek! Mouse-proofing my pantry?
Please no glue traps. A horrible, torturous death. Snap traps baited with Nutella work very well.
