ashipley

Fried fish. I cannot do it in the house. Luckily, I have an ancient electric fryer that I take outside to do my occasional fish fry.

How about falafel? Instead of using soaked chickpeas and fava beans, perhaps you could sub soaked soy grits?

You know, I actually like them "overcooked" too...

I like to cut them in half and place them cut side down in a bit of oil/butter to caramelize. Then add a bit of water to steam and finish cooking.

I cook because there is almost nothing worse to me than eating a bad meal. The only way to have a good meal (outside of a great restaurant) is to make it myself. I like knowing exactly what is going into my food - controlling the quality, fat, seasoning. I like knowing that my family is eating healthy, delicious food that is made with love. I like that I am teaching my son about how food is made, where it comes from, why it is cooked in a certain way. But mostly... I like to eat good food.

I bought the goat a few weeks ago -- a couple of shoulder chops and a bit of leg. I seasoned them with lemon, garlic, and rosemary and grilled them. It was absolutely delicious. Do not fear the goat!

Or "Dump Cake": http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Dump-Cake-I/Detail.aspx

I tend to be pretty improvisational with my cooking and I use recipes as inspiration rather than direction. That being said, I will discount a recipe if it involves the following: demi-glaces or reduced stocks lard or shortening (where butter can't be subbed) more than 2 or 3 pots and pans instant mixes and "cream-of" soups insanely expensive ingredients deep-frying

Salt Cod "Plaki" - Soaked salt cod baked with sliced potatoes, carrots, celery, tomato, onions, garlic, and parsley.

Handmade orecchiette tossed with shaved serrano, peas, onion, and tomato. I followed this recipe to make the orrechiette - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/242012. Topped with grated pecorino and served with a mixed salad of lettuce and arugola (which is starting to bolt and has gotten very spicy!). Washed it all down with a cheap Argentinean malbec.

No, no pets -- and the yard is fenced. I give the greens several good soaks in the sink before I use them to get off any bugs and dirt. When the weather gets warmer, I also like to gather purslane for salads. There are definitely some advantages to having a lawn that is primarily made up of weeds!

Gathered a grocery bag-full of dandelion greens from the back yard this weekend. Sautéed them in olive oil with garlic. Delicious!

The first time I heard about Let's Dish, I honestly had to have the concept explained about 4 times before I understood what the deal was and why on earth one would want to do this. It seems to me that the real value here is for people who don't like to grocery shop and who need to work from a recipe in order to assemble a meal. If you are an intuitive cook and can create a quick meal from pantry staples and refrigerator dregs, you will probably not find this service useful. I have eaten a few of the Let's Dish meals with some family members, and all I have to say is, "Meh". One dish was some sort of chili-marinated steak, and another was a sort of asian-y shrimp dish. The sauces seem kind of heavy-handed and salty, and frankly assembly and cooking of the dishes takes about as long as making some sort of quick pasta dish or grilled steak/chicken/fish + steamed/nuked veggie + steamed/nuked rice or potato. It's not for me, but I can understand why some love it.

Somewhat related to this... I just found a lonely forgotten Madagascar vanilla bean in the pantry. It is completely dessicated -- is there any way to refresh it? Steaming? Gentle microwaving wrapped in a damp towel? Steeping it in some vodka to make extract? Ideas?

Funny you should mention cornmeal pancakes. I just made a batch this past Sunday. What I usually do is just make a cornbread batter with a bit more milk than usual - cornmeal, flour, eggs, oil, baking powder, salt, milk & yogurt, and a touch of sugar. I usually use a 1:1 ratio of cornmeal to flour so that the batter has enough gluten in it to not fall apart when being flipped on the griddle. You can try going heavier on the cornmeal for a more crumbly mouthfeel.