Text 24336, 130 rader
Skriven 2012-05-02 15:10:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av RUTH HAFFLY
Ärende: economy/ies 587
=======================
 RH> My mom loves to eat too but I guess, from the sound of it, is easier
 RH> to get along with than your mom was.

I felt sorry for her, as she had no friends, but to be quite
frank, avoiding her was the easiest thing - same with my brother.

 ML> Hah. I lived all my life without a wok or ice cream maker
 ML> and most of it with two or fewer cutting boards.
 RH> She had an ice cream maker when I was a kid but only used it a few
 RH> years. It was one that was more hassle than anything else--and she
 RH> usually made only vanilla when she did use it.

Vanilla is one of the nicest of ice creams. I had a taste of
Breyers French the other day, and it was remarkably bland -
worthy the description "plain vanilla." Though it had egg
yolks, there was no significant benefit in flavor (which owed
to vanilla extract) or texture (tara gum). I didn't go for a
second taste, which would have necessitated taking a pill.

I understand nothing can beat chocolate, we needn't discuss it.

On the rare occasion I made ice cream or sorbet, I used the
laborious freeze partially, crush up, and then beat method
or the freeze and scrape method, neither much fun.

  As for cutting boards,
 RH> she rarely uses one and her counter tops are all scarred up. We've
 RH> lived in so many rental (or military housing) places that use of a
 RH> cutting board is automatic for me.

I've seen counters like that. And the knives that go with them,
all blunted and sometimes scarred themselves.
 
 RH> My parents like shoe leather steak too. (G)
 ML> As I said to someone once, you certainly know you're
 ML> eating meat.
 RH> Are you sure? Some of it tastes like it came from an old pair of
 RH> shoes. 

Bill (see below) is also of the school where a little pink
in the middle of the steak and a glass of wine is the height
of raciness, and I've eaten here enough to have encountered
such, mostly with pork, where as you know if there's the
slightest trace of juice when you cut into it, you will no
doubt die in terrifying agonies with parasites coming out
your nose.

Does anyone remember the New Yorker article a few decades
back that featured an unknown chef in the upper Hudson
Valley (I think) who scandalized the writer by tasting a
bite of raw pork as he prepped it?

 ML>  Her beef stew is very
 RH> basic; just meat, potatoes, & carrots seasoned with salt & pepper.
 ML> Which can be pretty good. A little thyme and a bay leaf, that's
 ML> not too much of a leap of faith. And an onion. For sure an onion.
 RH> Rarely at my folks house. Me--always.

I'm back at Bill's, where a recent echo picnic was held.
Most of our bridges are mended, especially after the removal
of the bizarre Nancy to housing for the incapacitated - it
appears she 1. stole stuff and blamed it on me; and 2. said
that I'd assaulted her (ugh) and terrorized the cats. Bill
was of course disinclined to believe her but has gone on the
really bogus premise that there are always two sides to every
story (this irritates me almost as much as "the exception
proves the rule").

Anyhow, Bill's companion Paul eats only certain things. A
mutual buddy who's mostly vegetarian was dining with us, and
scanning the stuff left in the fridge for me to cobble
together - my life is largely a set of mystery ingredients -
I decided to make a lovely tofu-mushroom stir-fry, only Paul
won't eat anything with tofu or mushrooms. Another find from
the bowels of the fridge was a half pound of lamb tips (Bill
bought them, according to the label, at the end of March for
14.99/lb - he's not a great shopper or kitchen manager), which,
owing to their condition, I had to pack in salt for a while to
render them edible. Paul eats lamb, and the salt treatment
worked, otherwise he would have gone hungry. So I made him a
little stew of these lamb tips (rinsed), half an onion, and
some celery and green pepper in tiny mince, almost a paste,
so he wouldn't notice them. That's it. He doesn't have any
truck with herbs or spices. Four hours of cooking to make
sure no microbe could possibly survive, and there you have it.
It was pretty plain, so I added a tablespoon of ketchup at
the end to round out whatever flavors there were. I ached to
put a quarter teaspoon of basil, thyme, and rosemary in. It
didn't taste bad, but just a little something could have made
it all that much better.

 ML>       Title: Deep Dark Chocolate Sauce
 RH> Looks good but the energy required to make it isn't there yet.

Ug, sorry to hear.

Of course, in your case, the "to taste" on the liqueur
would be zero. One could double the cinnamon or sub
coffee syrup or extract in the appropriate proportion:

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.02

      Title: Spiced Chocolate Fondue
 Categories: Dessert, Fruit, Easy
      Yield: 6 servings

     12 oz Semisweet chocolate chips    340g
    1/2 c  Light corn syrup             120mL treacle (I'd omit anyway)
    1/4 c  Milk                          60mL
      2 tb Coffee flavored liqueur*      30mL
    1/8 ts Cinnamon*                    probably about 300mg

  * or to taste

  Place chocolate chips and corn syrup in 4 cup measure.  Microwave
  uncovered on 50% until mixture can be stirred smooth.  1 1/2 - 2 mins.

  Stir in milk, liqueur and cinnamon.  Microwave uncovered on medium
  setting, stirring every minute, until warm. 2 - 3 minutes.  Pour into
  fondue pot or chafing dish to keep warm.  If mixture becomes too
  thick, stir in small amount of milk.

== Courtesy of Dale & Gail Shipp, Columbia Md. ==

MMMMM


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