Allfrog68's Profile
Too Bitter Grapefruit Marmalade
Thanks. Sounds like these are good ideas. I'll try this.
Marmalade Came Out Alittle too Bitter
Someone just referred me to your post. I had the same issue. For future batches I highly recommend the Blue Chair Fruit cookbook. My husband has been making many batches of different types of marmalades and they've all come out great with the exception of this one grapefruit one. I chalk it up to use not using pink grapefruit like it says and then also not tasting the juice ahead of time.
East Coast Subs - Where to Find or How to Recreate
Wish there was a "like" button. You all have given some awesome feedback and ideas. Thanks.
Too Bitter Grapefruit Marmalade
My husband has made some really excellent batches of various marmalades using the Blue Chair Fruit cookbook recipes and techniques. He recently made some grapefruit marmalade that is extremely bitter. The lesson learned is that we should have tried the juice before cooking up this huge batch. Anyone have any recommendations for what we could do with all this marmalade (20 jars). Only thing I can potentially think of is mixing it with some super sweet jam like cherry or something along those lines. Surely there is something more creative and nice that we could do.
East Coast Subs - Where to Find or How to Recreate
I lived in NJ for a while, enough to discover all their treasures (subs, bagels, great chinese, etc.). I was reading Super Bowl food recs and got a hankering for a East Coast type sub. I remembering not being able to eat Subway for 10 years after I had relocated from NJ. I'm wondering if there is a place where you could get NJ/NY type subs in the Bay Area, preferably the East Bay. If not, how would you recreate one. I think I remember shredded lettuce and then oil and vinegar w/ salt & pepper. Where would you get the right bread and where's a good deli for meat? Help me with this craving!
Best Cheaper Wine Tastings in Napa/Sonoma
I think the Alexander Valley around Healdsburg is a great area. Lower price tastings, great wineries, beautiful scenery, and little to no crowds. Depending on your location it's not a whole lot farther.
Any place one can buy Kouign Amann in SF?
It is correct on their website but I just wanted to say that they do indeed sell at the Oakland Grand/Lake Farmer's market. We pick these up regularly. I started a thread on Starter bakery a while back. I love these things. First time I'd every had them before.
Winter Squash in Slow Cooker?
I'm visiting a relative who I like to do some cooking for while I'm visiting. Usually leave a couple batches of soup. It's actually a bit warm here so rather than baking some winter squash I'm wondering if I could do them in the slow cooker. I would think I would cut the squash in half or quarters, seed it, then leave the skin. I'm making a soup so maybe add a little liquid (1-2 cups). What do you slow cooker experts think?
Starter Bakery in Oakland - Incredible Pasteries
Don't give up yet. Try the kouign amann (plain) and I bet you'll be pleasantly suprised. I brought 3 over to some friends. Next day I heard the wife complaining to the husband because he ate them all without sharing. I think they are really special.
Hatch Chiles back
I bought a handful of chiles in Alameda yesterday and roasted them on my grill at home. They seemed very fresh. They should be plump and not wrinkled. I roasted them well and then they peeled very easy. If you have a grill at home that's what I recommend doing. That way you have control over how much you roast them. It took me 10-15 minutes to roast 20-30 of them. Probably would have taken me 1 - 1.5 hours to do a whole box.
Oh yeah, these tasted wonderful. - Native NM'n
Where can I find quirky sodas in the Bay Area?
Here's a SF Chronicle news article about local soda makers. This might give you some leads. I've had some really great soda's from Drinkwell, part of my CSA Eatwell. They were very good.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-08-04/entertainment/29849212_1_carbonated-water-traditional-soda-vintage-soda
Hatch Chiles back
I'm glad you are all posting this info. I'm a native NM'n and am glad I checked out this board tonite. I'll be making some special rice this weekend where the roasted chiles will work in perfectly. Wanted to share that one of my favorite way to have fresh roasted chiles is on a toasted tortilla (preferably nm'n) with butter and nothing else. If you have a slightly sweet, spicy chile this is the food of gods in my opinion. Simple but wonderful.
Sprouted Bean Trio - Kids Snack Ideas
Probably not a great (nice) question but here goes. I bought a large bag of "Sprouted Bean Trio" at Costco a couple of months ago. I made a serving a didn't love it but did something with it. I have to make snack for my daughter's preschool (somewhat adventurous 3-6 yo's). I cooked up the beans thinking I could make some bean fritters or something. Tried the beans and remembered how funky they are. Any ideas for what I can do with this. If need be I'll blend them up for a bean dip but was wondering if there's some substantial type item I could make like the fritters.
Small winery in/around Healdsburg area?
We are big fans of Seghesio which is fairly close to downtown. Nice family run winery. One of their zins was high on the Wine Spectator list a few years ago.
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Seghesio Family Vineyards
14730 Grove St, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Starter Bakery in Oakland - Incredible Pasteries
I'm not a big pastery person but my husband brought home an assortment of items from the Starter Bakery that he picked up at the Temescal Farmer's Market on Mother's Day. He then brought a few other items home the following weekend. All I could say while I was eating these things (sorry don't know name) was WOW, these are amazing. Absolute perfect amount of flakiness, browning, and sugared crunch. Absolutely perfect.
Vegetarian friendly and baby friendly: Bay Area
I second Vik's and Gather. Especially Gather for a nice, unique treat.
Apple Butter - Crockpot or Stovetop?
Your recipe sounds good. I've read a number of them but haven't seen any w/ orange peel. That sounds like a good addition. You note that stems should be removed. So, does that mean you put the peels, seeds, core in the batch. I've read some receipies that include the cores and some that do not. I like the idea of leaving them in if it's easy to separate. Thanks.
Apple Butter - Crockpot or Stovetop?
I'm in the SF Bay Area so we get a good supply of apples year round. I bought a batch of "cosmetically challenged" ones so it was a good deal.
Apple Butter - Crockpot or Stovetop?
I've been thinking about making apple butter. I looked up some recipies and noticed many of them are made in a crockpot. I'm kind of a crockpot skeptic. Crockpots seem to work with specific things but not all things. I've never made apple butter before so I'm wondering what's the better ways to make apple butter. Thanks.
Kid's Party - Make Ahead
I'm hosting a kid's party this weekend with about 20-35 participants (kid's + participants). Party will be at a gym. I'm looking for ideas for things that can be prepared in advance. I have a 2 yo at home and can't ever plan anything for last minute. Also want some things that are relatively easy to transport and don't need much warming/cooling.
Let me know if you have any great ideas. Kid's have relatively well developed palate.
Some ideas I had were maybe pulled pork sandwiches, flavored popcorn...
Penzey's Spices in Santa Rosa
I'm a big fan of Penzey's. I'm glad to hear about this opening. Someone gave me a gift certificate to Penzey's catalog about 15 years ago. I've been ordering spices from them ever since. I lived in Houston for a while and they had a store. It was really fun to be able to smell all the spices, compare cinnamon, etc. They seem to open in lower rent places as opposed to a place like SF. I'll definitely be stopping here on my way to Healdsburg or when stopping in at Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa.
How to use up excess chocolate? I have a load of good semisweet/bittersweet chocolate.... What would be a good recipe other than chocolate fudge?
I'm making various chocolate barks. I saw this in the Food Network Dec/Holiday? magazine. Basically you just get different kinds of chocolates and add-ins (dried fruit, nuts, spices, etc.). I quickly made 4 different types. Think one of the best is crushed peppermints w/ marshmallows. I also made a spicy one with almonds, cinnamon and a Penzey's red and black pepper mix. They are all good. The trick is getting them out of the house for gifts rather than my consumption.
New Local Tea
I saw an article in the Chronicle a month or so ago about a new tea maker from the Bay Area (I think). I think the tea was currently only available on-line and in a few restaurants. I thought I remembered it being Silver Mountain but I looked for that on the internet and couldn't find it. Anyone else happen to remember this article and know what I might be talking about? I checked the SFGate archives but it was pulling up a lot of articles when I used the keyword "tea". Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Need to find a place to Roast Chilles or sells big quantities of Roasted Chiles
You can do these on a backyard gas grill. I'm from NM and I have done big batches many times on the grill. You just lay them side to side and turn them as they roast. You can do the chiles ahead of time and freeze them if you need. They freeze very well. It can be time consuming. I can't remember the size but I would do a bushel or so but it would take me a day to do the roasting and peeling.
In NM you can buy different type of tubs of green and red chile. Unfortunately, I've never found them here. Some of the popular brands are Bueno, Hatch, and Albuquerque Tortilla Co. I bet you can have them shipped but it sure would be nice if you could get frozen around here. In NM they use green chile in all kinds of things (burgers, soups, stews, with eggs, etc.).
Mom's Night Out Location in Berkeley
Not necessarily N. Berkeley but here's a couple suggestions for MNO places:
Gather - not the right season but I went there w/ a group where we sat on the patio.
Sea Salt worked out great for a MNO.
Jupiter - again, not the right season but that could be a nice place when the weather is nicer. Outside only though, inside is super noisy.
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Sea Salt
2512 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94702
Baby Food Making Device
I was a baby food making fiend. Just loved to do it. There are only a few devices that I think are really necessary. A food processor. I just used a blender for the first babe but the food processor was much faster and easier. I did still use the blender for the 2nd babe for blending grains for cereal. Next is ice cube trays. For smaller babies the normal ice cube trays are perfect. Silicon trays work the best but standard trays work as well. When the baby is larger +8 months I used silicon muffin "tins". One of the reasons it's nice to make your own is that you have much better control over portion size and don't waste the food a much as with jars.
I think the Super Baby Food book is very useful in getting a handle on how to make batches of food and what "equipment" is useful. I like the cereal recipies and some of the toddler snacks. The Wholesome Baby Food website is very complete.
In summary, no special equipment is needed & with a few resources you can make whatever you need. My last tip is that if you have Farmer's Markets near by use them as a resource. In CA during stone fruit season I will go to the stands and ask if they have bruised fruit. I pay about $1-2/lb instead of $3 and get excellent, organic fruit that just doesn't look as good as the full price items. A while back I calculated that $3/lb was the comparison point for homemade food vs. jarred organic. For the most part it was easy for me to find items for -$3/lb.
I really like the freedom of making my own cereals per the Super Baby Food Book. I still regularly make cereal for my 2 yo using a mixture of grains (brown rice, steel cut oatmeal, barley, flax, etc) that I rough blend in the blender.
Have fun & congrats on the baby.
frozen hominy for posole....
I don't know but I'm going to be watching this thread. I currently "import" frozen when I'm returning from visiting relatives in NM. In my opinion, frozen is the best way to go.
small winery recs in healdsburg? alexander valley? been to dry creek
I would highly recommend Seghesio. Not walking distance from the square but very close. Great zins. I went to Stryker a while back and it was a very beautiful place. I wasn't tasting, dealing w/ kids. My husband, more of the wine guy, liked the wine.
Sonoma Farms to Visit for Bulk Fruit and Tomatoes
Does anyone know of any Sonoma County farms that would be good to visit this weekend or next that might have lots of fruit and maybe tomatoes for canning. Last year I stumbled on some fun places just prior to Halloween when I went pumpking hunting.
I found one fun farm that had lots of tomatoes & misc produce. Can't remember the name right now. Wondering if anyone knows of any hot ones right now.
http://www.farmtrails.org/
What to do with quinoa?
I recently made some for a family get together and everyone loved it. I cooked the quinoa on it's own per the package. Laid it out on a cookie sheet to cool and dry a little. I added sauteed onions & a little garlic. Added chopped tomatoes, good amount of chopped fresh parsley, and avocado. Then added olive oil and some vinagrette dressing. I think the fact that the quinoa was room temp helped quite a bit. It was great and simple.
