Text 15109, 114 rader
Skriven 2007-05-07 18:17:38 av Carol Shenkenberger (3:800/201)
     Kommentar till en text av Glen Jamieson
Ärende: Re: E: FALAFEL - 70506
==============================
*** Quoting Glen Jamieson from a message to Carol Shenkenberger ***

 -=> Quoting Carol Shenkenberger to Glen Jamieson <=-

 CS> I am not a major tomato fan so dont use them all that often, but when
 CS> I do, canned works fine.  At home in Virginia, I grow my own in the
 CS> back yard.  Just 3 plants will provide far more than we can eat so I
 CS> gift the neighbors with the excess.

GJ> I like to always have fresh tomatoes on hand, as I usually slice them
GJ> onto my breakfast toast, with Vegemite and cheese, mettwurst and
GJ> Indonesian sambal or canned sardines.

Sambal *or* sardine?  I'd have said the 2 match so not omitted one when using
the other.  Now mettwurst is a liver tasting almost pate item right? I'd omit
that for sure.  I simply do not like liver though I can make one dish of
chicken livers that i find good enough to eat.


 CS> I've noted that with many dishes of the type *I* make, canned is a
 CS> better match than fresh ones.

GJ> Certainly for cooked dishes, the canned is usually better.

Yes.  Thats how I use them more and more.  nce I get back and can grown my own,
I might use more fresh, but someting in my soul just refuses to pay 4$ a lb
for 'fresh' here when they arent very good.  Oh they drop to 2$ and even a bit
less in season, but they arent very good even then.  They look pretty.

The only local ones that are 'good' are the wierd shaped ones and the season
for them is quite short.  Kinda look like twisted 'romas' and i get those when
they come in season if I am inport to see it.

 CS> knows I do it but pretends to not notice in that one dish. 

GJ> I often do the same to youngest son, who is living with me at present.

Evil Dad <g>.

 CS> the water so we use that to flavor things. You'll see I do that in many
 CS> of my recipes too and I learned that from Navy cooks.
 GJ> That would certainly serve to keep as much flavour as possible in the
 GJ> dishes made using canned vegetables.  I have sometimes wondered if the
 GJ> liquid from canned kidney beans could be used.  Usually recipes call
 GJ> for that to be drained.

 CS> I use the liquid from canned beans too but I dont often use canned
 CS> beans.  I make bean pots so often from dried, that this is not a needed
 CS> thing for me.  Recipes that drain the canned beans normally dont add
 CS> much water right?  I'd save the 'water' (bean juice really, should be a
 CS> bit starchy looking) for a thickener in something else, like the
 CS> drippings from a roast to make a thin gravy?  Would work with pork or
 CS> beef. 

GJ> Young Jim warned me off using the bean liquid, out of consideration
GJ> for anyone near me.  He may be right; I shall experiment...

Grin, most o fthe 'fart potential' is in the water.  The folks who eat beands
all the time, do not have that same effect unless they stop for a bit then go
back to it.  Kinda like sambal lips.  Folks who eat that all the time, do not
get that effect much.


GJ> In response to your suggestion of using Australian bacon with beans, I
GJ> found 500g packet of lima beans and with that and 300g of bacon
GJ> decided to try it out in the pressure cooker.  Fried the chopped
GJ> bacon, a chopped onion, garlic, some cumin, black pepper, then added
GJ> the pre-soaked beans, a bit of smoked chipotle, raw sugar, maple
GJ> flavoured syrup (!), a squeeze of lime juice, and water and pressure
GJ> cooked for 15 minutes.  Unfortunately I put in far too much water, so
GJ> although the flavour was excellent, it was too runny to be called
GJ> baked beans, so I re-named it "Bean and bacon soup", and served it up
GJ> with bread.   Wonderful!

Sounds it!  I'd not have thought to try that same spicing (Chilipote and the
sugars) but it sounds like a mix that would work well.  Humm, calamansi beans?
Thats my variation on the lime.

My fresh french bread at the bottom of the bowl would be perfect.

GJ> If the big ones are fresh, with tight skins and white flesh, peeling
GJ> is easier. Or just slice and leave the skins on for diners to remove
GJ> or not, depending on their fussiness.

(eggplant) Yes, that would work.  For me though, this is a seasonal crop, to be
enjoyed in seasonal glut then fast forgotten until the next year's crop shows
all anew.

 CS> Of course!  ;-)  I'd advise those not used to bitter melon, to use 1/2
 CS> the volume compared to the rest of the ingredients.  It's somewhat of a
 CS> developed taste.  Aso to use the non-bitter smaller eggplants or if
 CS> they used the bigger ones, and a ful measure of bitter melon, it might
 CS> be a bit much. 

GJ> Yes, I suppose some would prefer less bitter melon, although I like
GJ> it.  I have heard from several sources that it is an old Chinese
GJ> remedy for treating or preventing diabetes, and is sold in powdered
GJ> form in Asian stores.

I've heard that but possbly mostly from you?  Not really sure. It used it
spareingly in Hawaii and then California (and a bit in Vriginia) but fell
mostly out of habit with it here. Odd that.  I moved to asia and stopped using
it so much?

GJ> dragon fruit (white flesh), persimmons, custard apples, freshly picked
GJ> Asian eggplants, bitter melon and okra, so I bought more of the
GJ> pinakbet ingredients to work on.

Humm.  What is a 'custard apple'?  The rest I know bit that one I am not sure
of.
                                       xxcarol

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