Weekly Cooking (and related issues)Thread

[Jamestown1630]

It’s been very humid and muggy here the last few days, and I’ve wanted fresh, crisp, and cold things to eat and drink.

This week’s newsletter from Lee Valley features a kicked–up Bread-and-Butter Pickle:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/newsletters/Gardening/2534/Article3.htm

I’ve been looking through ‘Square Meals’, a delightful book by Jane and Michael Stern which is, as the preface states, "about the friendly foods of childhood and the bygone dishes that were, not so long ago, in the repertoire of every homemaker".

It's a fun book, full of vintage/retro recipes, photos and drawings; and a lot of commentary on the food habits of decades past. In a section on The Cuisine of Suburbia, they describe a 'Luau in your Living Room' which includes this recipe for a cocktail called 'Apricot Slush':

Claire's Apricot Slush

6 oz. frozen Orange Juice Concentrate

6 ox. frozen Lemonade Concentrate

1/2 C. Sugar

6 C. water

1 Pt. Apricot Brandy

Blend and freeze. To serve, scoop 1/2 C. into a glass and fill with 7-Up

Serves 8

Another book I found at the thrift store recently is a tiny 1958 book of French recipes from the Peter Pauper Press: ‘Simple French Cookery’, with recipes compiled by  Edna Beilenson. (You can still buy this little book through Amazon.) It included a dish that I’d never heard of, but which is apparently a classic of French Bistro fare: Celeri Remoulade – and it looks like an interesting celeriac alternative to Cole Slaw. Here is the Epicurious updated take on it:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-remoulade-11069

-JT

[Liz]

Great idea.......a pickle that bites back.

[Aliska]

I especially liked cran raspberry when I could find the juice. Can't any more. I should try my sour cherry juice that way (awful without some sugar though).

Shouldn't hang out on food threads or pinterest when one is hungry ;-)

[Yaelle]

So simple too.

We had a handsome Italian friend named Angelo in Switzerland who made the best tiramisu. I react badly to caffeine so he would make me a little one with cocoa powder instead. mascarpone is about as good as life gets.

[mylife]

Gnight my dear FR friends.

It’s nice to smile and not worry about nukes and antifa LOL

[Jamestown1630]

Sleep Tight!

[Yaelle]

Aliska, I even made gelatin with half beet, half sour cherry juice, and it was still a great source of gelatin / collagen without sweetness. No, kids do not go for it though. :)

[mylife]

I sleep with radio too

[mylife]

It's that whole Asian hot cold yin yang thing ☺

[Liz]

Tiramisu.......my absolute fave.

[Yaelle]

I never did buy celery root and try it. Much harder than the carrots!

And par contre, we’ve had a terribly hot summer here, above 110 even in June. So this is balmy at 80! I know it won’t stay. Sept and Oct will be hot.

[Jamestown1630]

Well, at least it’s safer - and more economical - than going to the grocery store when hungry ;-)

[Jamestown1630]

It’s probably not good for us; but I’m addicted to talk radio sending me off to sleep - a remnant from my insomniac days...

[Aliska]

Well, tonight I have to settle for one of those large russet potatoes baked (and pierced deep with a big fork because they have exploded on me) with butter, salt and my pepper mix.

But I was thinking of a frozen vegetable mix I used to love, Bird's Eye broccoli, red pepper, onion, not sure what else, don't see it any more, mushrooms would work, and with a nice cheese sauce as a topper.

I'm going to try cheddar cheese soup diluted with evaporated milk and some grated sharp cheddar stirred in.

Do either of you cook with that? I used to use Velveeta for silkiness but it tastes awful now so have to make the regular white sauce with lots of grated cheese.

And I like to scrape every last bit of potato I can get away from those skins.

[Jamestown1630]

I love baked potatoes. But don’t you eat the skins? I love the skins.

[Aliska]

I used to eat them but they are too hard to chew now.

I used to make twice-baked potatoes and would stuff them higher with some Hungry Jack stirred in with a little extra milk.

Now I love those Betty Crocker (and Ore Ida) mashed potatoes in packages. I like to stir in some grated cheddar and love the sour cream and garlic kind.

And I need to experiment with gravy made with Better than Boullion or some kind of stock, or boullion cubes, I like the deep roast beef flavor.

[boatbums]

We are swimming in delicious tomatoes.

I heard there's only two things that make life worthwhile - true love and homegrown tomatoes!

Some of my best memories are of summer dinners of fresh picked sliced tomatoes, sweet onions and sweet corn on the cob we picked ourselves!

[boatbums]

You can make a quick pickled cucumber and sweet onion side by combining both sliced thin in a bowl with salt and pepper and white vinegar with a handful or two of ice cubes stirred in. Let sit for about five or ten minutes and you get a crisp yummy side dish. Mom used to make this when we were little.

[boatbums]

You just made my mouth water! Seriously.

[MomwithHope]

After 3 gallons for the two of us we are sick of it now. Everything in it came from the garden.

[boatbums]

A friend just brought us a bottle of extra-virgin (first pressed) olive oil from the Greek island of Samos. Can’t wait to find some tomatoes worthy of it!