cookblog Posts

December 6, 2010

Try This At Home

I accidentally found another use for my now all-purpose bread recipe; besides baking loaves of various shapes and sizes (including the little rolls for Thanksgiving) it turns out that it makes perfect pitas as well. Now I’ve cooked bread dough in the skillet (and on the grill) before, sometimes on purpose, and sometimes because it hadn’t fully risen. This time it was intentional, but I was thinking more in terms of the fluffy naan sort of things I’ve made before, where I cooked flat rounds of dough in butter until they got charred and puffy. But I was in for a pleasant surprise.

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December 4, 2010

Cue The Fail Whale

This post is sort of a response to El‘s comment on the last one. If you’re not familiar with her blog, and you garden, you should be. She’s got an impressive four-season setup in a harsher climate than here, and is self-sufficient in most things. It was a tough summer in the garden; the heat came so early and was so punishing that lots of things got stunted and my timing was thrown off. Among…

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December 3, 2010

Roman Holiday

The ground here is approaching frozen, so tomorrow I’m going out to dig up all the potatoes and most of the carrots before they become inaccessible. The parsnips stay buried, and they are our special treat in march when the soil softens. On the one hand, it’s sad, because apart from some greens it means that there’s no more home-grown food for a while. On the other hand, it’s kind of exciting, because now I can indulge in buying vegetables, and allow myself to include some that were not grown in the immediate vicinity. It’s like my vegetable vacation, and I figure that since I buy almost none from April to December (and what I do buy during that time is local, always) then I can justify such luxuries.

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December 1, 2010

It’s Not Rocket Surgery

A blog is a useful thing for documenting daily matters, among which surely food. But it’s not quite ideal for the sort of ongoing, evolving festival of frugality that comprises the majority of our meals. So this post is a truncated attempt to show how it is that certain leftovers, strategically deployed, can make for a richer repertoire of weeknight dinners with no extra work whatsoever.

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December 1, 2010

Free Markets Solve Everything

This month’s Chronogram piece profiles a remarkable woman and her inspiring battle against hunger on several fronts. I was particularly taken with her passionate motivation to serve restaurant-quality food to those who cannot afford even to cook at home, and her astonishing gift for reaching out and collaborating with anybody in the community who can help her extend her mission into new areas. If you’re looking for some charities as you make your year-end plans,…

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November 30, 2010

Disco Sucks

November 28, 2010

Bring It On Home

November 23, 2010

International Collations

Today was pretty calm, and I made progress on some of the important Thanksgiving steps–mostly those centered around the two ducks. After they defrosted, I took them apart. The carcasses and offal, along with charred onion and ginger, cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, garlic, and peppercorns, ended up becoming two gallons of lusciously deep-flavored duck phở. I kept it at a bare simmer the whole time, skimming often, and the result was nice and clear, but I’m still going to filter it tomorrow. It’s going to appear in a few places throughout the meal; those pie spices work wicked wonder with almost anything Thanksgivingy.

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November 22, 2010

Harbinge

I spent some time going back and forth about how fancy to make Thanksgiving this year. Last year was really simple, but the two before that were 11-course extravaganzas (2008, 2007). We have a wedding to attend on Saturday, so family will be in town, but some of them have to drive over an hour after dinner. So I decided to split the difference and make something in the 6-course range. I went shopping today and got what I think I need; if I forgot something I will make substitutions. And, in typical fashion, ours will be a turkey-free Thanksgiving.

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November 20, 2010

Where Has All The Flour Gone?

Bread season is in full effect. There’s nothing that warms up a kitchen (and by extension a house) like a loaf of bread baking in a hot oven. The smell quickly fills the house, and makes one grab butter from the fridge in anticipation.

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