So what have you cooked lately? (Year two.)

This is the first time I've grown chili peppers - how do you know when to pick them? These are bright red and juicy and supposedly cayennes. Also, it seemed pretty hot when I tasted it raw, but was only mildly spicy after cooking. Typical?

Also, it seemed pretty hot when I tasted it raw, but was only mildly spicy after cooking. Typical?

I think so. My experience with cayenne peppers is raw, as above, and in pepper sauce.

Our farmers market has a chili pepper festival in mid-September (actually the weekend you are in Seattle...).

I made two babkas. It's perhaps too much for me to eat alone. They had a brown sugar and cinnamon filling that leaked and made a goopy mess everywhere. I am not complaining. I added some cardamom powder to the dough but it's completely undetectable, which wasn't surprising since the cardamom powder had no smell left. Oh well.

I'm still sorely tempted by a smoker, but the one I want am lusting after (the black one) is out of range for now.

RJM ate 4 though and pronounced them tasty. I still prefer the ones at House of Hong and Mee Sum Pastry. Rock Hardy, make note! Much much wonderful food will be available mere steps from your hotel.

I made these "Turkish sugar and pepper rolls" that came out kinda bland and were very annoying to work with. They were yeasted but the liquid added was 1/2c water and 1c vegetable oil. The dough was a crumbly mess, like certain cookie doughs that you have to pack together, and it completely failed to "rise". Or, say, have any decent flavor. I am growing unhappy with this Jewish desert cookbook.

the eggplant rotellini I made following the recipe in Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen was phenomanal, but a bit messy.

the buttermilk pie recipe I nabbed from Thursday's New York Times food section turned out superbly. The lemon/nutmeg combo works wonderfully, especially if you go a bit overboard with the citrus.

I guess I've been spoiled, having had the Real Thing. When it is made right, all it needs is a good simple tomato sauce and cheese (tho a heart beef ragu is also good. Kinda like a nice stew).

"eat their hearts to gain their courage! Their rich, tasty courage, mmm".

Any suggestions as to what I should cook up?

http://tinyurl.com/86kvp

This is my poor food (I'm saving up for trips to Dublin and Suffolk as well as a new bathroom). When I swallow it I feel dead virtuous because it cost next to nothing and it knocks off three portions of veg in one go. Also, as is often the way with big pot cookery, it improves with age, so days two and three tasted even better than day one.

Some catchup for me, with what I cooked a couple of weekends ago.

First off, the basil ice cream that was linked from allrecipes on these very boards a while ago. Definitely needed the mint liqueur that was described as 'optional' and was really quite pleasant, doing a passable impression of green tea ice cream.

Also, and my tip to everyone to COOK AT ALL COSTS was cassoulet. I'd always thought it would be difficult, but buouyed by the purchase of a half-price duck from the supermarket...

First brown a packet of sausages cut into chunks (I used cheap butchers sausages, 99p cheap) and transfer them to a big pot. Remove the legs from the duck and save them for something else (such as the confit above), then butcher it. Cut the breasts into thinnish strips, and remove as much other meat as you can. Add the duck meat to the pot, along with a packet of bacon (again, I just used cheap 99p stuff) sliced the same sort of thickness as the duck. Add two cans of beans (I used one can of butter beans and one can of mixed beans), a clove-studded onion, and some herbs (rosemary, oregano and a couple of bay leaves). I put in some duck skin (the skin off the breasts and the parsons nose) and both wings to add flavour. Add enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, put the lid on and simmer quite hard for an hour. Turn down, and put on a slow simmer for 7 or 8 hours, stirring now and again. Remove the bits of skin and the wings, the bay leaves and the onion. Add a chopped, peeled tomato and simmer for another 30 mins. Eat with bread. PRAISE GOD FOR MAKING FOOD SO NUMMY.

Amazing sounding. Recipe?

How are you liking that food processor? Did you get a KitchenAid one?

Food processor seems great, and I'm starting to get the hang of it. It is the KitchenAid, 12 cup, with 10 and 4 cup attachments and lots of extras including a citrus juicer! Rah!

We've been enjoying berries too, rasberries and strawberries, with vanilla sugar and maybe a dash of cassis. I love summer.

littleneck clams stir-fried with coconut milk, garlic, and jalapenos; giant sea scallops poached with butter, cream, and capers; grilled bluefish with mustard/lime marinade; grilled squid marinated with garlic, ginger, lime, and jalapenos; bibb lettuce/argula salad; kirby cucumber salad; asparagus broiled with olive oil.

and i made burgers the night before. they were wicked. i think that smoked paprika is the key secret ingredient.

The X factor seems to be the rice, having used leftover rice from Thai takeaway the other night. They add a touch of saffron and somehow give it a sticky consistency. V. num.

Anyway, all I added was a slosh of olive oil in the pan, threw in the rice, then some dried mixed herbs, before finally adding 1 tbsp of soy sauce. So so good.

Dinner tonight: roast cornish game hens rubbed with coarse salt, cayenne, and 5 spice; sauteed asparagus; fresh raspberry clofoutis with whipped cream.

Silly pic of my first baked bread. Kind of turned out okay...

I have not made a damn thing in ages. Sigh. I need to find my groove back. (By which I probably mean: I need to have someone to cook FOR.)

Yesterday I made poncy ballotine of guinea fowl and was all nonchalant about it.

Wow, Matt, you too! What did you bake? I'm very tempted to get some more ingredients. After the raisin bread, I'll probably try a wholemeal (?) bread. I'm gonna do one a week. Don't want to overdose on bread(making). :-)

I warmed up with some flatbreads before making a great big wholemeal loaf, very nice it was too. Chris is the man to talk to about baking, I think.

Did you make a smaller loaf than the recipe said? If so, then yes, you'd have to reduce the amount of baking time. The other possibility is that your oven is not accurate (which is very common) -- a little over thermometer would let you know and are not very expensive.

(This feels like I'm the only one cooking here.)

btw, I had a job interview today - it went well, but suddenly the guy says "So, what's the deal with The Lone Biscuit???" Hey, you - Reality? Stay away from my cyberself, okay??

Guess who's just got a new job?

Sorry, I think I just came.

;-)

We just ate duck ham, oh my

Duck ham you say? Goodness me.

Craftbar here serves a lovely pressed sandwich of duck prosciutto, taleggio, and hen-of-the-woods mushrooms.

http://static.flickr.com/98/220213979_4aae053bfa_m.jpg

fuzzy pic of muffin.

gonna try a simply spaghetti w/julienned zuchini olive oil & fresh parmesan tonight.

Matt's new job feast (congrats) sounds fantastic and I'm in utter awe over the ambitious menu.

my nightmare job interview: Oh so you're lovebug from ILX?

I was craving a Thai hot/sweet combo tonight, so I made this:

Started some farfalle boiling. In another pan, I started frying some minced garlic and ginger in a Tbsp. each of butter and olive oil, then added half a thinly sliced vidalia onion. When the onion was soft, I added a teaspoon of hot chili paste, then a dozen large peeled shrimp. When the shrimp just started to go opaque, I added a palmful of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1/4 cup of vegetable stock. Drained the pasta and threw that in, tossed it all together, and then added one rough-chopped ripe peach just as I turned the heat off. Tossed it all together for a few seconds to let the peach get hot, dished it up, and climbed in. Pretty yum.

Made a pretty standard chicken stock in the afternoon (chicken thighs, onion, garlic, carrot, celery, topped with water, simmered for an hour), strained the stock, shredded the cooked chicken.

Sauted spring onion, garlic, LOTS of ginger, and chiles in groundnut oil. After they're soft, added about a tablespoon of ground coriander, let that cook for a minute, then dissolved whatever stuck to the bottom of the pan with the juice from half a lime, a bit of fish sauce, and a spoonful of sugar.

Poured in my chicken stock and simmered for an hour, to let all the flavors integrate. At the end, added the shredded chicken, some cooked rice noodles, and tons and tons of chopped cilantro. A squeeze of lime at the table and you've got a hot, fresh, life-giving soup. Mmmm. I just had the leftovers for lunch.