nelumbo

Last night - dinner with friends: braised beef with hand-pulled noodles (an attempt at X'ian style noodles). Moderate success, noodles need a little work but the beef turned out well. Dessert of baked alaska (Mt. Vesuvius version for friend's belated birthday) - yellow cake with Talenti vanilla gelato, meringue with half-eggshell of brandy on top, flambéed. Operation Cushaw update: non-dairy cushaw bread currently in oven, cushaw pie in preparation. Plans for cushaw custard early next week.

This week has been a slow progression through a large vat of leek-potato-chard-kielbasa soup, using leeks and chard from the garden. And a not very successful chili experiment which seems to have spent too much time in the crockpot resulting in a mealy texture to the ground beef (I was hoping to be safe with 80% lean, but no such luck). Tonight there was a squash emergency, wherein I discovered several small soft spots on my large cushaw. Past experience with the exponential growth of rotting patches on winter squash resulted in a large chunk of evening going to the transformation of the squash into a 4+ qt bowl of cushaw purée. The last piece is still in the oven about to go into my tiny food processor. I had been considering working with one of the cushaw (I have two) this Sunday, so now I just need to find space in the fridge for the Sunday cushaw pie and bread baking plus maybe a curried cushaw soup, and space in the freezer for baggies of purée.

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I need to transfer it to one of those jars with the eyedropper inset into the lid to avoid accidental overdosing of flavor.... Hmmmm, I am planning an experimental Shaanxi pulled noodle escapade this weekend with some friends, maybe a smidgen would work there....

Kimchi pancakes (kimchi from Number 1 Sons at the farmers market last weekend) - halved the recipe and was much more successful than previous attempt Grilled cheese with edam found in back of fridge Espresso brownies

Leftover pork and tomatillo stew. Also made a blackberry pie to make more freezer space - my apartment stove/oven has really weird heating properties, and it took about two hours to cook the pie even though I heated the blackberries up on the stove a bit first. And yet I can't put a digital thermometer on the back of the stove because the plastic melts...

Pork and tomatillo stew, with corn chips. Did not use up as many tomatillos as I'd like. Also made a cream of Chinese celery soup using a new type of celery that I have not grown before for lunch tomorrow. I've grown Chinese celery before and found it pleasant in soup, but this variety has reddish stems and very skinny stalks and is quite different from what I grew before. It smells strongly of celery but has a strange aftertaste kind of like anise. I may need to revert to Plan B for lunch (pork and tomatillo leftovers).

There was a pair of tea related articles in yesterday's Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/tea-might-become-your-favorite-hot-beverage-if-you-ditch-the-little-bags/2014/10/20/426d03c4-4ff3-11e4-aa5e-7153e466a02d_story.html including a list of tea brewing times and temperatures: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/tea-how-to-steeping-loose-leaves/2014/10/21/f6727f86-526c-11e4-892e-602188e70e9c_story.html

Dinner on Saturday night with vegetarian friend: Fried Tofu appetizer consisted of very delicately fried soft tofu, plain with a dipping sauce of chili sauce with crushed peanuts. Liked the texture of the tofu, would have preferred a different type of sauce as this one was too sweet for my taste. Yen Ta Fo soup with wide rice noodles, shrimp, squid, fish ball, fried tofu, crispy wonton, and bok choy with a reddish tomato base broth. Loved the broth, which was kind of sweet and sour without the cloying qualities found in chinese takeout; also the bok choy stayed crisp and did not devolve into a stringy, mushy mess as so often occurs. I am not quite sure what my friend ordered, but it involved tofu fried to an almost crunchy state with chili paste. Dessert of fireball ice cream was a large scoop of vanilla ice cream with a hot fried dough shell and a slightly salty sauce that might have been coconut. Liked the combination of the salty sauce with the ice cream. Intend to go back and try more soups and some of the street food dishes.

I went a little overboard when making tea-infused liqueur earlier this year and infused a pint of vodka with szechuan peppercorns. The infusion is really, really, really strong. Way too strong to use in any kind of beverage, unless I use an eyedropper, and maybe not even then. Anyone with creative ideas on how to use this concoction in cooking? I could just try substituting it for infused oil, but there might be some more....intriguing....experiments possible.

Yes, some will likely end up in the freezer if there is enough space (if last night didn't kill off the tomatillos, I might get a few more pounds in this season). I have a 3/4 size fridge and freezer space is at a premium after summer berry-picking season, plus I have three massive squash to slaughter in competition for the same space. Maybe a blackberry pie needs to enter into the upcoming baking rotation...

Goat cheese, swiss chard, and bacon pizza. Swiss chard and a few very overgrown bunching onions harvested from the garden; crust dough and tomato sauce from Giant because I am both lazy and super busy at the moment. Also harvested a ton of tomatillos and some chinese celery, need to make plans to deal with these asap.

Eating leftover mapo tofu, but cooking like mad for a weekend camping event - 15th century style. The event closes to the public by 5 pm on Saturday, then we embark on a 6-course meal partially cooked on-site and partially premade. I am premaking doucetes (a sort of flan pie) for breakfast, onion tarts for dinner, and wafres (aka pizelles, using a 'vintage' cast iron mold on my gas stove) for snacks. About half a dozen people work on the food before and during the event. We have a large fire pit with spits, grills, and tripods used to cook and reheat foods. The fire pit works all day, then at night it acts as a small bonfire for marshmallows (mostly for the kids) and sitting around with beverages (adults). This year some industrious folks have made an experimental clay beehive oven onside, we are going to play around with fresh rolls, pretzels, and such. The spices used in this period tended to be mixes similar to "pumpkin pie spice", ie ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and some combination of galingal, grains of paradise, and black pepper. The plan (Saturday dinner for roughly 17 people) course 1: roast onion salad (onions cooked whole in coals from the fire, then chopped and served with a vinegar and spice dressing) squash and pork ("squash" in our period were really closer to gourds, most of what we now consider squash were not available) course 2: cheesy tarts with onion and bacon fresh hot rolls homemade camembert (one person has taken up cheesemaking as a hobby) course 3: caudle almonde (a kind of almond milk made with wine or ale) funges - mushrooms sautéed with leeks and spices Course 4 Roast of Pork (on the spit) with sauce/ mustard Course 5 Carbonata (Candied Bacon) Course 6 (desserte) Cheesecake, candied ginger/ nuts (cheesecake is not the same as modern cheesecakes, and uses fresh homemade chese) Sliced apples/ pears One of the questions we are most frequently asked by members of the public during the day at these types of events is "Are you going to eat that?!?". Why yes, yes we are.

We used to have alcoholic milkshakes for Sunday breakfast during the summer when I was in grad school. My housemate was usually the instigator, and he didn't make them all that strong, because it was Sunday morning after all. In the winter it was spiked cappuccino. I have not tried this, but my parents swear by it for holiday parties: to make a hug batch of eggnog, let a large container of vanilla ice cream completely melt. Add in a whole bottle of Kahlua (or whatever you want). Mix, and you are done. None of their guests would believe them that it was just melted ice cream.... (I prefer the raw egg kind with cognac myself for nog).

Mapo tofu with rice, swiss chard sautéed with shallot and balsamic vinegar. The heat is not yet on in my building, so there may be "hot spiked cocoa for one" for dessert.... The swiss chard in my garden is finally producing happily and without overwhelming insect interference. I forgot that I had picked some stalks this weekend to try out, so this was a make-do-with-what-you-have side dish. Also accidentally grabbed a container of soft tofu instead of silken (my preferred for mapo tofu) and didn't notice until after I'd drained it in the sink, oops. I am having trouble finding the brand of hot bean sauce (glass jar, blue label, red lid, from the "Har Har Pickle Food Factory") that I prefer for this dish, tried a different brand tonight and it is saltier than I'd like.

This small ice cream store is located on the first floor of a residential building just off of Rt. 1 in Mt. Rainier, a few blocks from the border with the District near the silly "traffic circle". Metered street parking is available along 34th. The sign out front indicates that the ice creams are organic; they are also made personally by the owner, who told us that he was in the middle of making a new batch. We arrived about an hour before the official close time on a Friday, but he was in the midst of closing down, possibly because the previous batch of ice cream was almost gone. The regular flavors include a few "standards" such as cookies n cream and mint chocolate, as well as grape nut, coconut, sour sop, mango, stout, and a few more tropical fruit flavors. We were able to each get a cup of ice cream ($3), I had the grape nuts while my companions had mint chocolate chip and cookies n cream. The grape nut had a soft, creamy texture and a definite taste of grape nuts; my companions reported that they enjoyed their selections as well. I think there is a minimum for credit cards, and you might want to call ahead to see what the selection is like if you have a craving for a particular flavor.

Yes, this palm sugar is soft (like the consistency of very packed brown sugar), it had separated into a a goo and solid, but the liquid goo is easily mixed into the sugar. I don't remember where I bought it, but I most frequently shop for such things at New Grand (formerly H&A) in Langley Park. I have the opposite problem with the bricks - I've tried different kinds but the flavor is odd and unpleasant, some of the tamarind pastes are also off, but sometimes I find a kind that I like. Maybe I am using the bricks the wrong way. Have been trying to find Maggi Tamarind Sauce (seems to be like a ketchup made from tamarind) locally, no luck yet.

I frequently drive back and forth to southern Maryland along route 5 on the weekends, usually returning in the evening after a long day outside. We like to stop for dinner along the way, which means that the options are a long wait at a chain restaurant in Waldorf, or stopping off in Charlotte Hall at one of the handful of local restaurants. Charlotte Hall usually wins, and so I am pretty familiar with just about every non-fast-food option in the area. AJ Hibachi is located in the back of a strip mall near the Food Lion on route 5. This little strip mall features some of the better options in the area (Chinese, Japanese, Mexican and a newly opened outpost of Sweetfrog). It took me a while to realize that AJ was actually an open restaurant, probably because the window blinds are always closed and the shop next door was (is?) vacant. Inside, there is a line of tables along one side and a glass fronted food prep area where I think the sushi is prepared. There are two televisions usually showing sports and news mounted on the wall. The long wall has a huge mural of a presumably Japanese market scene from some historical period. They do offer takeout, but it is mostly sit-down service as far as I can tell. Which is to say that this is one of the fancier establishments in Charlotte Hall. While the name would imply that one might find table hibachi here, that is not the case. The menu consists of a few appetizers, soups, several pages of sushi options, and then a handful of steak and seafood entrees. They also carry Ramune sodas, advertised prominently with table cards. Not being one for sushi or slabs of beef, I always opt for the soup. There are two kinds of soup broth (dashi or coconut curry), with three or four noodle options (udon, egg, something else), and four or five types of meat and vegetable toppings. I find the curry broth to be bland and disappointing, so I instead always go for the dashi soup with udon, the options for which include shrimp tempura, chicken, beef, and something vegetarian. The soup size is huge, with generous noodle portions, mung beans, and large squares of cabbage. The shrimp tempura lands you a side of three large prawns, yam slices, broccoli, and something else to add; the chicken version has a side of chicken slices with some kind of soy sauce? marinade which is tastier than I anticipated. I am not an expert on Japanese soups, but I think the version at AJ is pretty good. The spring roll appetizers are fair, reminiscent of the frozen spring rolls from Safeway. My carpool companion usually orders one of the steak or sushi options, and seems to like them well enough. IMHO, this is the best option in the area if you are looking for a non-greasy, hot, filling, semi-healthy dinner, along with a pot of decent hot tea, especially after a long cold day outside in winter.

Hijack for palm sugar question: I have a plastic jar of palm sugar that I opened for the first time (wrapper and all) last week. It had a weird top layer that looked like some kind of mold, which I scraped off of the goo. Is that normal or should I toss the whole jar? I've only used those little palm sugar lozenges before, not the jarred kind. Also, how long does tamarind (the gooey paste in a jar) keep? I have a really hard time finding unexpired tamarind paste/goo locally (and don't like working with the pods/bricks), it is usually a year (or two or three) past the date stamp when I find it in the store.

Leftover turkey chili (much better than the recent attempt at vegetarian chili), and a single sautéed wine cap mushroom from my garden (because only one was the correct ripeness and I haven't tried any before so I wanted to minimize the chances of dying, haha). My community garden plot is heavily shaded (don't get me started), so last spring I put in two beds of wood chips with wine cap spawn, and another bed of straw/manure with shaggy mane spawn. This week both beds of wine cap started fruiting, but they are fast suckers and I don't visit every day, so most of the mushrooms are overgrown by the time I get there. Will need to try and stop by on my way from work while they are fruiting. I plan to keep adding wood chips and making new beds, so I can get additional fruitings later.

I have been buying loose teas from Baltimore Coffee and Tea for ~15 years after I discovered they carry a Hazelnut tea in loose form. They both import a wide range of teas and also have a house brand (or maybe two, as I think they also produce a separate line as Eastern Shore Tea). I've only dropped by the roasting plant in Timonium to pick up tea leaves (usually I mail order, but I also lived out of state for 12 of those 15 years), although they now have several locations (Frederick, Annapolis, Odenton), they do serve brewed tea but I am not sure how many kinds are available. The house brands include both flavored teas and straight black/white/green/herbal teas - my longstanding favorites are the Hazelnut black tea from Baltimore Fine Teas, and the Eastern Shore Gunner's tea (black tea with spices and autumn fruit flavors). They have a lot of fruit flavors, but I am usually not a big fan. Also fun: homemade tea-infused liqueurs. The tea infuses into the alcohol in an hour or two, add a little sugar syrup and you are done. Lapsang souchong has given the most interesting flavor so far, with a hint of smokiness. Chai turned out completely vile, btw, the spices and tea did not infuse at the same rate.... And a short rant: restaurants that charge as much for tea as a good quality coffee, but bring you a lukewarm tin of water and a tea bag. This is like serving someone a mug of hot tap water with a side dish of Folgers instant crystals when they ordered coffee at $3.50 a cup. The ones that bring out a wooden box full of uninspiring tea bags (mostly herbal) as if the fancy presentation makes up for the low quality especially annoy me. I expect that at a diner or similar I will get stuck with a mug of lipton, but at the higher price point they need to at least brew it correctly even if the tea isn't high quality.

Late Saturday lunch, half a dozen tables occupied and at least 3-4 waitstaff. Service was not problematic, dishes came out in a timely fashion, and servers were easily flagged down for assistance. Only hitch was probably the server misunderstanding our order of scallion pancakes as yam pancakes - we were confused when a plate of fried yam slices arrived. The server offered to bring the scallion pancakes instead, but we opted to skip them at that point. We ordered several small plates: mouth-watering chicken - this seemed to be pieces of cold cooked chicken hacked into pieces (bone-in), floating in a lake of chili broth. This was one of those tastes-better-as-you-keep-eating it dishes. With broken bone shards in the chicken, you have to carefully nibble the meat off, so I think this is similar to pork knuckles in dim sum where the idea is to enjoy the tasty sauce coating the chicken while extracting tiny bits of meat from the bone. wontons in chili sauce - this dish was nice, but I wouldn't classify it as excellent (have had better wontons at Hong Kong Palace, frex), good flavor to the chili oil sauce Shanxi handmade noodles - this was the favorite, we ordered a second bowl after consuming the first. I think these are hand-pulled noodles, but much thinner and more delicate than the soup noodles at Xian Famous Foods in NYC (my attempts to make this type of noodle at home have also resulted in giant noodles). Mix the noodles to integrate the chili oil at the bottom with the spice mix sprinkled on top, great flavor combo. fried yam - seemed to be thin slices of yam dipped into some kind of batter and deep fried, considered a dessert. Pretty much just tasted like a hot fried starch disk

Friday night: Gong bao tofu a la Dunlop (using pressed tofu and mushrooms); roasted broccoli; ice cream "sandwiches" using hot from the oven chocolate chip cookies with a dollop of Talenti chocolate-peanut butter gelato in between. Sunday night: cheese omelet, kabocha coconut soup with curry, cold coconut custard.

It was meh, marginally better the following day, but I'm not sure if there are any vegetarian chilis that I would like all that much. For beans, I tend to like baked beans or bean dishes with a strong sweet/sour flavor, while I very much dislike refried beans, red beans and rice, and similar (they are just like eating wall paste to me). Vegetarian chili is kind of midway between the bean dishes that I like and those that I dislike, so "meh" might be the best possible without moving out of the realm of chili. There are some meat chilis that I like, but the spice may just not be able to overcome the pastiness of the beans... I was mostly testing this recipe out to see if it would work for potlucks with vegetarians in attendance, but I may keep looking. Tonight: ciabatta rolls split and topped with mozarella and those little golden cherry tomatoes, popped under the broiler for a few minutes. Future plans: scored a large cushaw and small blue hubbard (small for a hubbard) squash at the farmers market. Freezer space is at a premium due to summer pickings of blackberries, sour cherries, and raspberries, so I will need to plot out exact plans for pies, soups, and stewed squash before attacking either squash.

Earlier this week: Lentil-swiss chard-baby red potato soup, with "butterscotch" pudding (a la Betty Crocker cookbook 1980). Need to find a better butterscotch pudding recipe, the vanilla and cocoa puddings from the BC book are good for a quick "I want pudding" fix, but the butterscotch just subs in brown sugar and the texture of the pudding is off. Tonight: experimental espresso black bean chili (with some kidney beans too), a la epicurious; side of hot cornbread drizzled with fancy grade maple syrup since I am out of honey. If the chili turns out terrible I'll just eat the cornbread....

Mapo tofu with a side of sukjunamul (Korean mung bean dish). Pre-dinner snack of stovetop popcorn and korean barley drink.