Ilaine

Found it at a Fresh Fields -- location withheld until I know he got a jar, but they had maybe 6.Ingredients list: water, red peppers, cayenne peppers, rice vinegar, garlic. Much milder taste than sriracha or chili oil but tasty. I have been trying, and sadly failing, to duplicate the sesame dip for steamed eggplant created by gone but not forgotten Peter Chang of China Star fame. Going to put some in the next batch.

The goal -- a plate of cooked kadu from Food Corner Kebab. What is kadu? They told me this was kadu at a Middle Eastern grocery store, but I think it's just some sort of gourd. Flesh is green and a little watery. I think they call all squashes and pumpkins "kadu," even summer squash, but it's clear to me that I am looking for winter squash or pumpkin (NOT Halloween pumpkin). At another Middle Eastern grocery store, they told me to go to Super H, so I did. Found this: Kadu (calaboza). This is the one you can buy in chunks at the ethnic grocery stores. Verdict, it's a little bland, somewhat starchy, and very similar in taste to what is sold in Afghani restaurants. Kept trying. Could it be kabocha? Kabocha. Verdict, too sweet, too dense, to be the kadu I was dreaming about. Tried this one (no idea what it is, some sort of squash or pumpkin): Again, too sweet, too dense. Here's what it looked like cooked (might be the kabocha, I thought I had photos of all of them cut up and cooked but apparently not): The closest so far in taste and texture seems to be butternut squash, but it's still not right. Warning, cutting up and peeling the denser squashes like the kabocha is dangerous, they are tough and hard to cut without cutting yourself, which I did several times. I just read a recommendation to parboil first, submerge in a pot, put another pot on top to hold down if need be, sounds like it would work, but haven't tried yet. Recommendation is to parboil for five minutes, seems short. Then remove, let cool, and then cut and peel. Not sure it would be a good idea to parboil a pre-cut piece of winter squash or pumpkin.

Can't remember what it used to be called last year but the same was true then. But the view is very nice, and my mother, who is in her 70's and never a chowhound, loved it for that reason. Haven't been back yet since it changed -- is the brunch still full of families taking their moms out, dressed to the nines (for moms)?

My younger son, who always wears shorts, Birkenstocks and an Hawaiian shirt and I, at the time dressed in a business suit, ate at Eve's Bistro without any problem, but we were the first people there immediately after it opened that particular day, and it was a week day, maybe a Tuesday. (We were celebrating the last day of high school, ever.) He felt very underdressed after the restaurant began to fill up but they said in the Bistro it wasn't an issue, at least not at that time. Unfortunately there was nothing on the menu he wanted to eat but that's another story. He's not a sweetbreads or foie gras type. Personally, I enjoyed it very much.

I've seen the label you're talking about (for some reason Giant comes to mind, or maybe Safeway) but after intensely googling on the Internet can't find that brand (China Bowl). You can see that Amazon.com used to carry some of their stuff but don't right now. Have you been to some of the larger Asian supermarkets, like Super H or Grand Mart? For example, the Grand Mart at Seven Corners carries many brands of Chinese condiments. If you still have the jar, and write down the ingredient list you can maybe find something similar.

Disagree entirely about Carls. I had some ice cream (well, I call it ice cream) at Carl's a week or two ago -- it's nice enough if you happen to be in Fredericksburg (like, finally blowing your top on I-95 and bailing) but not at all worth a special trip. My younger son is going away to college in a week so we've been hitting every ice cream stand together for the past month or so, increasing our belt sizes as we go, and the boys rate Nielson's highest so far. Carl's has that nice old time ambience, cash only, you can't come inside, just sit on tables near the parking lot. It was a very hot day (over 100) and it really hit the spot. But Nielson's, there are nice wooden tables and chairs to sit on inside, they've got air conditioning, and you can get a sandwich, too. We haven't hit all the high points yet so am not willing to say which is the best -- we haven't done Dickie's or Gifford's -- but so far am leaning towards Thomas Sweet, myself. (We're also doing kebabs. Last year was pizza.)

Poivrot Farci Too funny! I vote that you win the prize. Whatever it is.

Grand Mart at Seven Corners has bags of garlic scapes today. For those not "in the know" garlic scapes are the shoots from certain varieties of garlic, the hardneck varieties, and they are supposed to be delicious. I bought a bag, will report back after I cook it, but wanted to let people know in case they want to try for themselves before I report back. Also, that same Grand Mart has a variety of "pumpkin" that looks as if it may be the echt elusive kadu. They call it calaboza but it's got a bluish skin and a scalloped shell, maybe a variety of Hubbard squash? Sold in cut pieces only. I am still working on my kadu quest, have cut up and cooked five varieties of squash and pumpkin so far and plan to post soon with photos and recipes. Re: garlic beds to come. I've put clear plastic sheets on the ground that will be used for my garlic beds come October, held down with bricks and rocks in order to sterilize/solarize the soil. Hopefully we can have a garlic tasting next year. If others wish to join this quest, let's talk.

I can't tell you how many times I've left the lid off the popcorn pot! No idea why. Usually I notice when I hear the popcorn shooting out all over the kitchen, but not always! Then there was the time I started a batch of simple syrup, when one son said he needed a ride someplace not too far away, so I thought it was safe to leave for a few minutes, then realized I was almost out of gas on the way home. Luckily for me DH came home before it burst into flames, but it was deeply charred and the pot completely ruined. I am just forgetful! And dangerous!

Actually it's less than a mile east of Fairfax County Parkway on Rt. 29. Relatively close to the Fairfax Wegmann's, a block or two west of the intersection of Monument and Lee Highway, actually, but on the other side of Lee Highway. That's a newish shopping center, glad to see there's an interesting place there.

OK. I did not see any shell beans when I foraged there last week, nor at Han Au Reum in Merrifield, nor Great Wall in Merrifield, nor at the Annandale or Burke farmer's markets. So I agree it's probably just too early yet.

No more Super Fresh in Fairfax! Nearest one is in Washington, then Maryland. Dunno where they went. I don't know where to buy fresh shell beans -- the ones in my garden are tiny, few and far between, but I am picking green beans. Our first trip to the Dupont Market, and was just thrilled by the garlic ladies (Solitude). Most impressed by the quality of the garlic but also by the fact that they have individually stamped bags for each variety. Bought two or three heads of each variety. They say they won't be back until next year but probably will be at the Garlic Festival. Virginia Wine and Garlic Festival 2006 One thing they pointed out, which I hadn't thought of, is that their garlic is already acclimated to Virginia weather so I should plant some of theirs. They even have Creole!

Black tupelo, nyssa sylvatica, grows all along the Eastern Seaboard from Florida to Canada. We have a stand in our back yard, which is bottom land and can get quite wet in a heavy rain (it's wet right now). Very closely related to the swamp tupelo which is the tree that was in Ulee's Gold. Bees get honey from trees in the early spring, when they are starved, so beekeepers usually let them keep most of it, especially now that the bees are so stressed from mites, although they do collect the honey from tulip poplar because the bees make more of that than they need. Black tupelo honey is very sweet, with a light color. Sourwood honey is something you either like or you hate. I don't care for it, myself. I like wildflower honey, especially late summer wildflower honey, which is very dark. Beekeepers Association of Northern Virginia Montgomery County Beekeepers Association Virginia Grown Guide - search for honey here Virginia Beekeepers Organization (links for local associations) Honey Locator from National Honey Board In NoVA, my understanding is that all beekeepers are hobbyists, so you need to contact them directly to buy honey or else buy it at something like a county fair. If you are allergic to a flower then it seems to me that you could try eating honey from that flower in order to get over the allergy, but not if you're prone to anaphylactic shock.

You can use honey in savory recipes, like barbecue sauce and marinades, baked beans, instead of molasses or corn syrup. We put honey into a teriyaki style marinade for pork tenderloin or chicken thighs. Equal parts soy sauce and hoisan sauce, half as much honey (if you use a half cup of soy and hoisin, use a fourth cup honey), same amount of toasted sesame oil as honey, minced garlic, minced fresh ginger, all poured into a zip lock. Put the meat in the bag, seal and mix well, marinade overnight in the refrigerator. The next day drain the meat, discard the marinade, roll the meat in sesame seeds, and bake. My favorite honey for this purpose is local wildflower honey.

Beer in gumbo? Dear God. Why? (No, I don't have a recipe for gumbo. No more than I have a recipe for making love. But here is a good place to start: http://www.gumbopages.com/ Drilling down to the actual recipes: http://www.gumbopages.com/food/soups/index.html Taggart is from New Orleans, not Massachusetts.) (My grandma always made her seafood stock from frozen gumbo crabs -- little bitty suckers, broken in half -- and dried shrimp, and the liquor from drained oysters. And magic.) Forgot to mention -- never use file powder and okra in the same gumbo. In fact, I don't actually know anybody who uses file powder at all, we all use okra. But somebody must use file, they still sell it.

The place I was thinking of was on Spring St. in Sunset Business Park. Long gone. Today I tried to find Bamyan on Elden St., in KMart Plaza, and it appears that it's been replaced by a nail parlor. As a consolation prize, I decided to lunch at Panjshir II in Vienna, but after waiting 15 minutes in an almost empty restaurant without a waiter in sight, only a busboy who spoke no English, I gave up and came home to a Trader Joe's green chile and cheese tamale. Not at all what I had in mind, but my experience with Panjshir service is that it's always too "relaxed" for lunch on a work day.

We live just outside the Beltway near I-66, so no, that's not the case for us, at least for going to something on or near Rockville Pike or anything else in MD reasonably close to the Beltway. Likewise, Dupont Circle, K St. or Georgetown, and anything else reasonably close to I-395 or I-66 or Key Bridge and so forth. But I like to drive. Will happily drive to Culpeper, Fredericksburg, or Richmond for chow. Also, Baltimore, Annapolis. Like Zora, I am not from here. (Louisiana.)

Down in Louisiana, we braise wild ducks. Some prefer a red wine sauce but for me, duck and sausage gumbo with a very dark roux.

Maybe you're right that there were "growing pains" when we tried it the week it opened. Will try again and report back. But, since you bring up Shamshiry -- I think the various rice dishes at Shamshiry are wonderful. The rest of it is only OK. (Clarification -- by "OK" I mean "good enough". On a scale of 1 to 10, OK is 6.) There used to be a wonderful Afghani place in Herndon that is the standard against which I judge all Afghani restaurants in DC. Wonder where that went. I hope the owners are living large in Kabul. As you know, Shamshiry is Persian. Not that I think this is significant, the overlap between cuisines from Lebanon, Egypt, Iran and Afghanistan, etc., are very close. For Middle Eastern chow/cuisine, without limitation to nation, in the DC metro area, Lebanese Taverna is my own gold standard, and I enjoy the ambience at the one in Tyson's Galleria the best. But usually shop at the takeout Market in Arlington and make my own rice at home. We adore Middle Eastern food so this is a subject dear to my heart.

Got some very tasty apricots last week at the Annandale Farmers Market. Didn't get the name of the grower but she's from Pennsylvania, probably does the rounds. Also had nice Santa Rosa plums. Which reminds me, Vintage Virginia Apples is having a summer fruit tasting this Saturday, August 5. I've never made it to this before but intend to make it this time. http://www.vintagevirginiaapples.com/ We manage to make it to their apple tastings and other apple events most years. I bought from them an Esophus Spitzenberg, a Roxbury Russet, an Albemarle Pippin and a Hewe's Crab -- it will be three years this autumn. The Hewe's Crab is bearing now, the Esophus Spitzenberg has a couple of apples, the Roxbury Russet is still tiny and pathetic, and one of my kids mowed down the Albemarle Pippin, so I need to buy another. They do have very nice trees, very nice apples, and are just lovely people, very generous with time and advice, and give good value for money. Planning on making crabapple jelly this week, will report. The people at Edible Landscaping are good people, motivated and honest. Their nursery is not too far to drive if you want to make sure what you purchase from them travels in your own gentle care. I have never used their shipping, so can't advise there. If y'all want to talk nurseries, I've used many. The two above are excellent but, as I said, never used their shipping. I am willing to discuss other nurseries if anybody wants to, and it's not off topic. What variety of figs do you have, and like? We have tried Hardy Chicago, Celeste, and Brown Turkey. Hardy Chicago seems to be the best producer here. We have them growing against a brick wall facing south and they do not die back in the winter.

That sounds really good! Wish I could get Creole garlic here, which would probably be perfect for this. Bought some Chinese garlic today at Super H that has red streaks in the skin sort of like Creole garlic but peeled smells the same as white Chinese garlic. Maybe I can talk my dad into sending me a care package! (BTW, Super H today has really lovely collards, on the tender side and well washed.)

I have been wondering how Koreans make pickles, since I just started making pickles myself. Only cucumber pickles, using a recipe from the Ball canning book, but with lots more garlic than they suggest. Do Koreans use Ball-style jars with the two part lids? Or refrigerator pickles? Or fermentation? Inquiring minds want to know . . . .

hank you for the explanation. I was wondering about this.

I have become ridiculously addicted to an Afghani dish, sauteed kadu (the Hindus call it kaddoo). The restaurants call it "pumpkin" but it's not your Halloween pumpkin. After intensive googling, it seems as if it's either butternut squash or kabocha. Or are these merely substitutes?

We ate there shortly after it opened. Thought it was a very pretty place that was obviously intended for social gatherings like wedding receptions. The food was OK, but overpriced, unless you enjoy spending up for fancy surroundings. A nice place to take a date or your non-chowish friends. A quick look at the comments to the WashPost review bear me out -- one comment says it's good but pricey, the other says they like "fine French restaurants" but enjoyed Bamiyan. I've been much happier with the vegetables at the Food Corner Kabob shop in Annandale, and the meat at Kabob Bazaar in Clarendon. http://foodcornerkabob.com/ http://www.kabobbazaar.com/ But that's just me. I'm there for the chow. One a side topic, if they serve alcoholic beverages, how can the rest of the food be halal? I don't think it is, the menu doesn't say it is. And if it's not halal, who is the intended customer base? The population in Afghanistan is almost 100% Muslim. Westernized food is not what I am looking for when I go to an Afghani place.