Food

[Henry Krinkle]

While I agree with the rule in general, I also have a playful habit of trying to take on tough projects. Home winemaking was one of them, for ten years, on a large scale. A ton of grapes annually, 6 oak half-barrels for aging, crush and bottling parties with many good friends. I stopped in 2011 because we had two cool summers in a row and the grapes weren't ripening, but we still have 30+ cases aging in the basement and it didn't suck!

I guess it's similar to the dozen fruit trees in the garden. When the squirrels let us keep enough, we have the good problem of inundation, and the dehydrator becomes an important tool. The work far outpaces the sense of reward, unless you count the emotional payoff of growing something from scratch, and tasting your own effort in daily meals. You can't exactly buy that.

(Fava beans on the other hand... maybe I'm done with that after a few years. OMG those are a lot of work!)

I get that and I think you and I are very similar in this. There are certain projects that don't add up for me though. Like firm cheese. On the other hand, I only eat homemade ketchup now and I do make some cheese. It's Mrs. Ks birthday weekend. She specifically asked for smoked meat sandwiches for her home cooked birthday meal so I have a cross rib roast that I cured in the fridge developing a pellicle right now. Tonight it'll be smoked and tomorrow I'll steam it will making wood fired bagels.

[Henry Krinkle]

Venezuelan food for breakfast. Cheese, guava and cheese, corn and cheese and plantain and cheese taquelinos and chicken, beef and vegetarian pastelitas. The greeen sauce and the hot sauce were both wonderfully fresh and vinegary and my favouritething of all was the vegetarian pastelitas.



Also, after the Farmers Market a quick trip to one of the Asian markets we frequent saw us coming home with free samples of some new products.

[boatme99]

I'm jealous. Here there just a few small Hispanic markets and all the vegetables and baked goods are so old, they're not worth purchasing.
There's not a single Asian market within close to 100 miles.

In Florida we had separate markets for practically every Asian, central, and south American countries. Continental grocery stores for French, German, English, and other goodies. Just across the street from my marina was a 5 block farmers market every Saturday with anything you could imagine. Veggies, baked goods, cheeses, candy, seafood, anything.
Nearby me in Rhode Island there was a gourmet wholesale company that serviced RI and Massachusetts that also sold retail out of the warehouse.

My cooking now is very pedestrian.

[boatme99]

Pineapple, mango, and watermelon are basically the best fruits. Good choices.

Watermelon doing what it does best.

[geoffbot]

Got it down!

[OhDark30]

Yay, go Geoff!
Looks delish - did you use polenta?

I’m spoilt for food here - eating out I have Bulgarian, Eritrean and Malay locally, as well as the usual suspects, plus Brum is tops for curries, balti was invented here
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/wha...ti-7953973.amp

I like to cook from scratch and have great Turkish, Polish and Korean supermarkets very close, plus the central market is great

Feeling hungry just thinking about it :-)

[Henry Krinkle]

I'm jealous. Here there just a few small Hispanic markets and all the vegetables and baked goods are so old, they're not worth purchasing.
There's not a single Asian market within close to 100 miles.

In Florida we had separate markets for practically every Asian, central, and south American countries. Continental grocery stores for French, German, English, and other goodies. Just across the street from my marina was a 5 block farmers market every Saturday with anything you could imagine. Veggies, baked goods, cheeses, candy, seafood, anything.
Nearby me in Rhode Island there was a gourmet wholesale company that serviced RI and Massachusetts that also sold retail out of the warehouse.

My cooking now is very pedestrian.

You have my deepest sympathies. I couldn't manage.

[geoffbot]

Yay, go Geoff!
Looks delish - did you use polenta?

Indeed I did! And yeast, flour, tomatoes, and oil from Italy.

[Henry Krinkle]

Trying a slightly different method to cure beef. Three hours over the steam bath and the weeks work will be complete.



Also, bagels; black and white sesame or nigella.

[geoffbot]

Nom