Text 14947, 58 rader
Skriven 2014-07-20 00:33:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: Recent tastes
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The weather here has been ideal for Mediterranean type herbs, hot
and dry. Our oregano, marjoram, thyme and rosemary are all really
flourishing. And through some bartering with a couple of other gardeners
Roslind now has at least one plant's worth of over a dozen different
things on the go including garlic chives and cilantro. We have been
clipping them daily and using them generously in almost every dish
we make. Now, even the simplest of old standards tastes really
special, from scrambled eggs to potato and pasta salads to soups and
stews.

We did have one cool day that I took advantage of and I oven roasted
a chicken, a duck and a smoked pork shoulder. We have been utilizing
the rendered fat, pan drippings, bone stock, skin and meats in all
sorts of dishes ever since along with an assortment of fresh herbs
in stir fries, pasta sauces, potato paprikash, white bean soup,
cassoulet, mac and cheese, chili beans and rice, black lentils and
rice, and stewed butternut squash.

I had nearly a quart of mixed chicken, duck, smoked pork and bacon
fat that is out of this world delicious for frying things in.

As well I turned my hand to making my own homemade curry powder. I
had a few teaspoons of fenugreek seeds left from that pound I bought
in bulk in Edmonton years ago. After toasting and grinding them I
found they were still quite fragrant after all this time. I read a
bunch of recipes for inspiration but didn't exactly follow any of
them, using more fenugreek, white pepper and ground chilies but less
turmeric than most of them called for. I liked the results a lot.

Summer cocktails ... President's Choice has a wide range of
sparkling sodas; pink grapefruit, pomegranate, lychee, black currant
etc. Cross any of them with a white liquor, whether it's vodka, gin
or rum, add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, and you have a simple
2 part refreshing hot weather cooler. Add a complementary fruit
juice or liqueur if you want for as more complex blend of flavours.
Its really hard to go wrong here.

Roslind discovered Andrew Peller's Copper Moon shiraz while out
drinking with the girls. At the bar is was $6 for a 6 oz glass and
at the store it was $16 per 750 ml bottle. She liked it a lot and
considered it good value. Well last week she attended a two day
conference in Vancouver and discovered that in B.C. where it is
made, it is just $9 per bottle but also available in 3 L kegs for
merely $15! She managed to stuff 3 cartons into her checked luggage
on the trip home. Kevin thought that was still too expensive but I
was impressed. It's a typical shiraz deep ruby red, with plums,
black cherry and spice, good with grilled meats and burgers, quite
drinkable.
             

YK Jim


... St. Pat's Day: show me your boobies and I'll toss you some corned beef

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