Pantry Items

Tomato Conserve

August 15, 2016

Why tomato conserve and not paste? Excellent question. This comes fromThe Art Of Simple Food II, where Alice Waters explains it is conserve because the result is more jammy than paste-like–at least, I think that’s what she means by “The tomatoes are concentrated into a paste that is more like…

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Kitchen Note: Upheaval

August 10, 2016

  John and I live in a 1000 square foot house. It’s fine for two people, only one of those people has four wheelchairs (two regular powerchairs, one soccer chair, one manual chair). These take up much space, as does his standing frame. Still, we manage well enough, most of…

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Some time ago Shauna James Ahern wrote a long post about negative commenters, including some of the most vicious and/or irrational remarks she’d received. These were startling in their ugliness. Yet the piece was remarkably level-headed, even kind. Ahern wasn’t seeking revenge or attempting to expose certain commenters. She wanted to shine…

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Steak Fajitas

July 27, 2016

Home Cooking includes an essay entitled  “Flank Steak: The Neglected Cut.” In it, Laurie Colwin extols the virtues of a cut that, since the essay was written, is no longer neglected. Indeed, like lamb shank and short rib, flank steak has become popular and therefore expensive. Much of said popularity…

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Okra Pilau

July 12, 2016

Thursday evening the doorbell rang. Our visitors were two boys who live in the apartment building next door. Their basketball had sailed over the fence dividing our properties, landing in our yard. This is not an infrequent occurrence. These are nice kids–well-behaved and remarkably polite. I retrieved the ball, then led the…

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Potato Parsley Cakes

July 1, 2016

  Before getting to the recipe, this: On June 24th, Popmatters.com published my review of Kim Addonizio’s Bukowski In A Sundress.  She read it, was really pleased, and said so on Twitter, which thrilled me.  It’s a fantastic book, and I suggest you run to your nearest Indie bookstore and buy…

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Plum Liqueur

June 7, 2016

So, plum liqueur. I know, we just made cherry bounce. Why more booze? What gives? Do we have a problem? Well, yes. We have many problems. Who doesn’t? But this is a food blog, and we’re discussing the steeping of fruits in alcohol, not our various woes. Why so many?…

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Cherry Bounce

May 27, 2016

As Memorial Day draws nigh, I may be the only American blogger who isn’t discussing grilling, dining al fresco, or nattering on about the joys of summertime eating. Not that there’s anything wrong with grilling or the foods of summer. But if you’re hankering for yet another rib recipe, or…

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Wait a minute…didn’t we already discuss wonton ravioli? Well, yes, we did, back in February. But that was a different ravioli. And midway through Sunday’s filling and folding marathon, I happened on a new and, to my thinking, improved fill n’ fold method that saves time, energy, and wontonnage. Doubling…

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Tell people you preserve food–specifically, can it–and get a mixed response. People never know how to react to this information. Are you an adherent of some strange religion? Do you belong to a cult awaiting the end of days? Does a trapdoor in your yard lead to a bunker stocked with glittering…

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