Text 34743, 166 rader
Skriven 2016-01-01 14:04:48 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: Re: aged 749
====================
>  ML> Someday I'll evolve a new set of procedures that will
>  ML> let me do so again - right now I still haven't found a
>  ML> satisfactory text search that properly negotiates
>  ML> subdirectories.
> Someday.... 

Still no love. The thing is all my old files have
no extension, which means that all the 64-bit programs
ignore them.

>  ML> wanted to maintain at least the simulacrum of anonymity,
>  ML> but that would have gone away with the first moderation
>  ML> anyhow. If there should be a disruptive series of posts
>  ML> from someone new, I might use it, but I don't really see
>  ML> that happening.
> Yeah, that was a nice idea, while it lasted...  ;)

Dale convinced me to keep the account, to keep 
options open for circumstances beyond our imagination
that might come upon us someday.

>  ML> My last pot of chili was sludgelike, with carrots, lamb
>  ML> trimmings, ground beef, and leftover boiled onions. Good
>  ML> fresh spices redeemed it, though.
> The sort of thing I'd tend to refer to as one of my "messes"... :)  May
> not look like much but are tasty enough... ;) 

I think nobody would be able to distinguish it from
any other pot of chili.

==
>  ML> A place I really hate gets gone to once. I figure if the
>  ML> food and service are such that I hate the place, there's
>  ML> an increased chance that something awful will happen at
>  ML> the cashier, as well.
> There is that.  :)

Last night's dinner bill was paid sight unseen, but I
woke up in the middle of the night with the unmistakeable
feeling that the restaurant had long-changed us. It turns
out (after a bunch of cogitation) that they had charged 
Annie for one crabcake rather than two. Doesn't matter,
the restaurant closed after dinner for two weeks' vac,
so probably they would have thrown away at least one
crab cake anyway.

>  ML> Remembere that dinner that Annie had auctioned off as a
>  ML> benefit for the SPCA? We met with the winning bidder, and
>  ML> we agreed on a completely different menu - shrimp either
>  ML> coconutted or satay-style, Annie's vegetable soup, chicken
>  ML> with cashew nuts, Annie's lamb tagine, beef rendang, and
>  ML> Annie's trifle: so that's three things for each person, a
>  ML> somewhat equitable distribution of labor. 
> Ah... that sounds better... :)  

I think it'll end up being a pretty decent meal after all.

>  ML> she had never heard of such a thing. By my calcs, we are
>  ML> putting down $100-125 in food PLUS wine for the occasion.
> She gets to claim it all as a charitable deduction though, no...?

Turns out the winning bid was $250.

>  ML> stressed about that, but there are 5 quarts of beef-and-chicken
>  ML> broth in the fridge that she refuses to use for the purpose.
> How silly... ;)  The beef-and-chicken broth in the fridge is probably
> both richer and better suited to the vegetable soup

Annie has another bee in her bonnet and says the stuff
stinks - it smells rather like the consomme, actually.
I'll get back at her - I won't help her make her
vegetable soup, so there.

She wanted me to make this for the meal, but I convinced
her that plain white rice would go better -

Javaher Polow
categories: Iranian, Persian, starch, jeweled, rice
servings:

3 c long-grain white basmati rice
2 Tb salt, divided
2 lg oranges, preferably organic
1 c whole dried barberries
- or chopped unsweetened dried cranberries
1 ts loosely-packed saffron (about 1/2 gram)
- or 1/2 ts ground tumeric
1/3 c granulated sugar, divided
1/4 c orange blossom water, divided
2 Tb oil, butter or ghee
1/2 c sliced raw almonds, toasted
1/2 c chopped raw pistachios, toasted
1/2 c golden or green raisins
2 lg carrots, peeled and cut into 2" matchsticks
4 in whole cinnamon stick
2 ts freshly ground cardamom

Wash the rice in a large container of water, swishing it 
around with your hand then draining off the water and 
repeating until the water runs clear, about five times. 
Cover again with water, add 2 Tb of the salt and soak 
between 2 and 24 hr. Drain through a fine-mesh sieve 
and set aside.

Set a small pot of water to boil. Use a vegetable peeler 
to take thick strips of rind off the oranges, including 
a little of the white pith. Slice these strips crosswise 
into very small slivers. When the water is boiling, drop 
the slivers into the water and cook 1 min. Drain and 
rinse with cold water. Set aside. (This cuts the 
bitterness of the orange rind.)

Clean the barberries by removing any stems or debris. 
Place them in a sieve set inside a bowl. Cover with 
cold water and soak for 20 min. Pull the sieve from the
 bowl and rinse under cold water to flush out any 
remaining sand. Set aside. (If using cranberries, 
skip this step.)

In a mortar and pestle, crush the saffron threads with 
a few pinches of sugar until a powder forms. Stir in 
3 Tb orange blossom water and set aside.

Heat 1 Tb oil in a large skillet (12" or more) over 
medium heat. Add the almonds and the pistachios, and 
saute 1 min. Add the raisins to the pan and toss with 
the nuts. Empty the mixture into a bowl and set aside.

Heat 2 Tb of the saffron orange blossom water mixture, 
1 Tb sugar and 1 Tb oil over medium heat in the same 
skillet. Add the carrots and orange peel and saute 
2 min. Add the remaining sugar, the remaining saffron 
orange blossom water mixture, the cinnamon stick and 
the cardamom and saute 1 min. Add 1 c water, bring to 
a boil over high heat, then lower to medium heat and 
cook 10 min or until the carrots lightly caramelize 
and the liquid has reduced to a syrup. Drain the 
carrots and orange peel, and reserve the syrup.

In a large heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, bring 10 c 
water to a boil. Add the remaining 2 Tb salt, and then 
add the rice to the pot with the remaining 1 Tb plain 
orange blossom water. Boil briskly until the rice has 
risen to the surface and when bitten into, a grain of 
rice feels soft, 6 to 10 min. Drain the rice into a 
large fine-mesh sieve, rinse with cold water and turn 
it out into a bowl.

Gently mix the remaining saffron orange blossom water 
and the reserved carrot/orange syrup to the parboiled 
rice. Take a large spoonful of rice at a time and gently 
spread it over the bottom of the pot. Give the pot a 
shake to even out the base. Add more spoonfuls of rice, 
one at a time, gradually shaping it into a pyramid. 

Wrap the lid of the pot with a clean dish towel and cover 
firmly to prevent steam from escaping. Cook 20 min over 
low heat.

To serve, arrange on a serving platter layers of rice, 
then the caramelized carrot mixture (discarding the 
cinnamon stick), then the barberry/nut mixture. 

After Najmieh Batmanglij
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