Peg's Profile
"Least Favorite Vegetable" Poll
Cooked root vegetables (carrots, turnips, parsnips etc.).
Raw they are fine - but the more they cook the stronger the 'bad taste' increases - I think there must be a chemical that is released or something. The taste is bad enough to make me retch.
Buying champagne/sparkling in Paris
Can anyone give a review of Wine and Bubbles on Rue Francais?
Is it open on Sundays? (googling gives different info on different websites)
Thanks!
Diets for Gout
My father has gout, and his doctor told him to drink soda water. He finds it helps - although he does dilute it with scotch.
Want to make bread but don't understand ingredient. Please help!
You can 'make' wheat gluten by washing the starch out of flour (mix with water to make dough, wash under running water till you're left with the stringy gluten) - maybe it's sold by commercial bakery suppliers?
Opening times
Head for the Marais area. Most shops are open into the evening, including groceries.
2012 Confessions
Only if you're dunkin' boiled shrimp into fat-free yogurt with a chaser of oat bran.
2012 Confessions
I can't believe how people don't realise how bad the diet is for you - I'm only risking it because I've recently had a battery of medical tests that show my liver and kidneys are healthy so I reckon they can take a bit of stress. Before I tried this 'regime' I scanned the net and found some pretty misguided blogs - one person proudly said they'd not eaten vegetables for 6 weeks. Then their blog entries stopped. I can only hope they're not on dialysis now, or worse.
Anyway, I'm now slowly reintroducing carbs to see at what point my original symptoms show up - that'll be somewhere between my old diet (pulses and wholegrains at every meal) and Dukan (no pulses or grains at all).
2012 Confessions
I don't 'do' diets but I'm trying the Dukan diet for a month.
Not to lose weight of course, but to sort out some digestive issues that medical science has given up on.
So far I have lost 8lb in 10 days and have quadrupled my food expenditure. (I usually eat vegetarian, I'm now eating fish twice a day). But the digestive issues HAVE disappeared.
Next stop is liver failure - this is one seriously unhealthy diet!
Dried Beans - What's is the trick?
I start the soak by bringing the beans to a boil and then leaving them to soak in the cooling water overnight. It seems to help - but some still take approximately forever to cook - it varies by batch.
Maybe I should just eat buckwheat and tofu- New Food Allergies
That sounds a bizarre list - but even more bizarrely it matches the list of a friend of mine (though she can't eat bananas either, nor onions nor leeks). She carries food with her when away from home - and when she dined at my house I had a hard time persuading her that I could cook food she could eat. For that meal I used a lot of goat dairy (the butter is lovely), and used polenta as the starch. I found the biggest pain was not being able to use onions or tomatoes, but none of the other guests even noticed the absence of so many ingredients.
I'll ask her if she has ever found a useful cookbook.
First time in Paris - need help choosing restaurants (can't read menus!)
Try using Google Chrome - it can auto- translate most on-line menus. Badly sometimes, but well enough to get an idea of what to expect.
Paris - noteworthy traiteurs?
I have decided to forego restaurants for my trip to Paris (in May) and will be focussing instead on buying local produce to eat at the apartment and on picnics.
Can any of you lovely Hounds point me in the direction of Parisien 'traiteurs of note'? Either market stalls or shops. I'll be shopping on a Monday and Tuesday, plus Wednesday early morning for food to take home to the UK on the train. I'll also be there Sunday afternoon, but I imagine everything will be closed except a few Kosher places in the Marais?
I am particularly interested in cheese based tarts and seafood - though I do adore a well made oeuf en gelée too (yes, I know they contain gelatin). I will have access to a microwave only, so ideally any spécialitiés de la maison must be ready to eat and suitable for eating at ambient temperatures.
I will be staying in the 3rd arr (in May), but my shopping could take me anywhere in the pursuit of savoury goodness. (I have minimal interest in sweet foods).
Merci!
Funniest Thing a Server Said to You
To me 'warm up' means 'add heat'.
But I'm British, what do I know of your exotic American ways.
(what is a 'top off' anyway?)
Theory about rise in gluten sensitivity/celiac?
I'm not coeliac (the test result tells me so), my liver is OK (amazing, but hurrah!) as are my kidneys, blood count, bacterial whatever etc etc... next week I get told if I have cancer following a few biopsies.
The answer being 'no' (which I rashly assume will happen) will tell me that I am sensitive to something or other. So I will go on a self-medicated exclusion diet to see what ails me.
Let's just hope it isn't coffee or alcohol, or there will be hell to pay (I will be the one paying).
But we do have to face (as a species) that we ingest much that we have, as yet, not evolved to ingest.
Such is 21st century human life.
Are you a dessert person or not ?
I'm not a dessert person at all and have been known to pre-order the cheese to ensure it is not too chilled when it is served!
Purim Mishloach Manet
I knew the US and UK were 2 lands separated by one language but... what are you asking? In English? What is a 'London soldier'?
Paris - in search of wine bars with great cheese/small plates at lunchtime/early afternoon
Thanks all for your replies especially the recs.
I may just leave it to chance and just look for somewhere that looks pleasant wherever I happen to find myself.... but of course I'll do loads of research (that I probably won;t use) before I go, as that is half the fun!
Paris - in search of wine bars with great cheese/small plates at lunchtime/early afternoon
I'll be in Paris in May, Sunday - Tuesday - travelling alone (female, 50).
I'm staying in an apartment in the 2nd Arr, but will be out and about in all the usual places.
Whilst big multi-course meals are always appealing, I know from experience that at lunchtimes I'll be more in the mood for a leisurely glass of wine somewhere quiet, preferably outside, with a plate of bread and cheese to nibble.
If I were in Spain I'd go for a few tapas - but not knowing quite what to Google I don't know if there is a Parisian equivalent.
Does anyone have any recommendations?
What mistake do you always make when you're cooking in a rush?
I used to regularly forget to serve something at dinner parties - often it was something I had taken great pains to make. Nowadays I make notes, lots of notes. The notes include sketches of everything I plan to serve - and now I never forget anything!
That would be too easy.
Single cream in the UK - I've no idea what that is in American. The truffle paste is Italian, purchased in Selfridges London. It is labelled 'I Tartufi Bianchi in Crema, 98%' It is in a plain white tube (like toothpaste) and I can't see a brand or logo.
It could be the one listed here http://www.theitaliangusto.it/prodotti_list.php?lang=1&sottocat=53 but there is no photo.
That would be too easy.
Um - seasoned thin cream plus truffle paste. Warm gently et voila!
That would be too easy.
Somewhat off topic, but a couple of weeks ago I cooked a meal for a few friends - the first course was a trimmed thick slice of white toast with a section scooped out and filled with egg yolks - then the toast was baked till the yolks were just slightly thickened. I served the toasts with poached asparagus and warm white truffle cream.
I'd not even considered that anyone wouldn't like it - and indeed it was a total foodgasm and wiped clean plates all round.
Had I considered that people may not like runny yolks I'd have cooked something else - so I'm very glad I was so inconsiderate!
That would be too easy.
As a Brit I think toast should be buttered when hot then allowed to cool a liitle. Then, when the butter has soaked in, one picks up ones toast and (noting the absence of a buttery coating) one then adds more butter.
Is sherry vinegar worth the expense?
I think it's worth it - but only you can decide if it is worth it to you. Try it and make up your own mind!
Adults that have been "sheltered" from cooking?
My dad was 75 when my mom died - I don't think he'd ever cooked before.
Suddenly a whole new world opened up to him and now he adores spending hours cooking complicated dishes. This last weekend he bought Seville oranges and made marmalade, and he cooked a rabbit dish that I didn't really hear the details of. When I phone him the first thing he tells me is what he's cooking and what he's planning to cook and as a non meat eater I don't pay attention to the gory details!
You've won the lottery - what will you be eating?
I'd follow the food seasons round the world with some close friends in my private carbon-neutral jet.
Name Brand Or Generic?
Generic unless the brand on offer and is cheaper.
I worked at a supermarket in a previous life, and we'd occasionally receive the wrong brand of goods from the manufacturer - sometimes it would be the wrong supermarket, sometimes a 'Brand'. It was all the same stuff.
What would make my wet curry turn blue?
Pureed onions with garlic turn blue. It's a chemical reaction - I forget exactly what, but I'm sure it's Googleable.
