apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I received a ton of sugar snap peas from my local produce delivery service. I've never cooked with them before and I've had them since Thursday, so I think I need to do something with them either today or tomorrow. Any ideas?

The Find the Farmer website is one of the coolest things I have come across!

Did anyone else read the article in the NYT this weekend?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/technology/internet/28farmer.html?_r=1&sq=find%20the%20farmer&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=2&adxnnlx=1238421785-mAYLCl7q5xWpaxrQeg89JQ

I think it is brilliant, because I love knowing where our food comes from, who grows it, and what their passions and values are... maybe easy enough with vegetable growers, or ranchers, but not so with the people who provide you with flour. I've always thought that grain farmers battle the almost abstract or generic-seeming quality of their product. Well, no more.

Hope more flour brands follow this example, as well as other food stuff producers.

Check out the website: http://www.findthefarmer.com/

Sugar Snap Peas are great in a stir-fry!

Does anyone have any opinions on Ikea cookware? Specifically the cast iron and stainless steel...

The beginning of spring and basketball almost go hand in hand... in honor of March Madness I'll be making these basketball-themed cookies that I came up with last year:

http://rachelsrecipebox.blogspot.com/

I just began the blog this weekend so its still in the works but I'm sure many basketball fans will appreciate these cookies - they were a hit last year!

Sugar snap peas are great raw. But they are also good sauteed with some carmelized shallots and bacon or pancetta. Yum!

Just tasted my first whole-roasted authentic country ham. Awesome! Will be having a go at it this Easter--for now, enjoying it sliced as-is like prosciutto.

Poached whole oranges---apparently and Italian thing----delicious and very easy too.

Sugar snap peas make a great addition to a pasta primavera. If you have any kiddos in your life, you can endear yourself to them by handing them out raw (and showing them how to pull the string off).

It's really not spring in New York (not in terms of produce, anyway). Still making lots of soup, but just ate a veg soup I made over the weekend with parmesan-rind stock. Ex.cell.ent.

Blondambition-

I made this dish from Gourmet last weekend, but used sprouting broccoli and it was delicious. I wish I had had peas on hand for it.

http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2009/04/pasta-in-garlic-almond-sauce

Thanks for the ideas! The Gourmet recipe sounds delicious

Lol, well, I planted some herbs and things a week ago and it up and snowed on me Saturday...that's okay I guess because it means my plants are hanging out in the kitchen now. My sinuses and I are hating the freak weather, but my microgreens have come up so I'm looking forward to doing something with them soon.

I did make some basil and parmesan waffles late last week, and I have leftovers in the freezer just waiting for me to toast. They're very tasty with lemon curd on top. Even if I did have to borrow my Grandmother's waffle iron. :D

sugar snaps are great in spring rolls

basil and parmesan waffles with lemon curd, wow! share the recipe please!

Just spent a week out of town; first traveling for work to our nations capital and then to beautiful Monterey Bay for a long weekend with the family and believe or not, I am itching to get back into the kitchen. On our way home yesterday we picked up some fresh Ono/Wahoo in Moss Landing and broiled that up for dinner last night, tonight will be the first of the season artichokes as we picked those up at a farm stand in Castroville.

Those basil and parm waffles sound just up my alley. Can't wait to see the recipe on that one-please share!

The waffles were brought about because my local newspaper (the Arkansas Democrat Gazette) has a small food section in it every Wednesday and last week they featured savory waffles. I just combined a few of their suggestions and eyeballed the add-ins. Here's the basic recipe:

2 cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups milk
3 tablespoons olive oil

Heat waffle iron. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add remaining ingredients [with any add-ins], mixing until flour is thoroughly moistened but some lumps remain. Cook in a waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
Makes about 4 waffles

Variations:
curry waffles: add 1 teaspoon curry powder to the dry ingredients
herb waffles: add 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh snipped herbs such as chives, dill, rosemary, basil or tarragon. If using dried herbs, add them to the flour.
parmesan waffles: fold 1/4 to 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese into batter
sweet potato waffles: add 1 cooked and mashed sweet potato and 1 teaspoon dried sage to the milk and mix well before combining with other ingredients. [I think these would be a bit heavy, but good with a maple syrup glazed chicken on top.]

I spread some store-bought lemon curd on top of my waffles, and that was good at both breakfast and dinner. I have some leftover in the freezer, and they seem to have frozen well, but the true test will come when reheated.

Ah, here's the whole article:
http://nwarktimes.com/adg/Food/255734/

Those savory waffles sound so interesting! Especially the herb ones. Could be great with bacon!!

I baked a flourless poppyseed torte over the weekend, adapted from a recipe on Chocolate & Zucchini. Here's my version: http://www.pithyandcleaver.com/?p=364

Next, some experimentation with grilled cheese for National Grilled Cheese Month!

Do you ever find that when you "have absolutely nothing in the kitchen" you come up with the best meals?
I just made a dish with 1 leaf of chard, about 4 mushrooms, a can of organic chick peas, a little bit of frozen sweet corn and garlic. I added butter, lemon juice, Annie's worchestershire (amazing stuff) a dash of golden mountain soy sauce, a tiny splash of rice wine and sauteed it up til the chard was soft. It sounds a bit odd, but it was so good. I'd totally make it again (but next time add more mushrooms and greens.)

I've been searching online for a recipe for something my grandma used to call Ladyfinger Cake. It's pretty simple, bakery-style ladyfingers assembled on a plate, drizzled with kind of chocolate ganache-y syrup and frosted with whipped cream.

The closest recipe I found calls for melting chocolate and adding 6 tablespoons of water and 6 tablespoons sugar. Then you add 6 eggs, whites and yolks (separately).

My question: isn't mixing chocolate with water a big no-no? I'm wondering whether I should try milk instead of water? Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

man, i just made kale chips yesterday. I was a little put off by the way the cooking amplifies the earthiness, but after a while, i found it delicious. going to make a lot more today.


Also, I found some carrots at the farmer's market that have renewed my faith in carrots. I usually don't like them raw, but these are sweet and crisp. I am eating crudite for breakfast. Shoulda got celery when it was in season because this bunch is pretty meh.

Question on Easter hams (if I missed a previous post on this please re-direct me). I really want to make a ham for Easter but wonder if it is foolhardy to do so for only 2 adults and 1 toddler. I've never seen hams come in small sizes and have no idea what to plan for: bone-in, "country", boneless, etc. I don't mind leftovers as I know we'll put them to good use but I don't want to be inundated with leftovers either. If it isn't feasible for such a small number of people, I'll go with lamb chops. Any advice is appreciated.

I'm supposed to cook lamb for Easter, probably on a grill, for somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 people. What cut would be most economical and what should I do with it? I've never made lamb before so I'm a bit scared!

Rosebud -

I always made a ham, even for just 3 of us (now 4).

Try this recipe from Nigella for Gammon (cured but not smoked, so not yet "ham") in Coca Cola. The leftovers go quickly, and you can make a great black bean soup (the recipe is there somewhere too) with the leftover gammon liquid. It is amazing!!!

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/nigella-lawson/ham-in-coca-cola-recipe_p_1.html

rosebud; freeze the extra ham for later use. it freezes well as slices or chunks and makes perfect additions to left over rice or stirfry.

For those who love savory waffles, one of my favorite things to do is to fill the iron half full, then lay down two slices of crispy bacon, topping off with the rest of your batter. Yummmm.

Hey apartment therapy-ers,

I don't comment very often, but every time I've put something out to the community I've gotten great answers. So here's the question; I'm trying to build a menu around a shrimp and scallop ceviche for a dinner party for 4-5 people. I'm already putting a lot of effort (and angst) in for the ceviche, so I was thinking some easy tapas, but I'm really sensitive to spicy foods, so a lot of traditional tapas don't work for me. I was thinking of starting with the ceviche and the feta tart that was on the website a few weeks ago, and adding from there. Any ideas for delicious, not-too-spicy, easy things to add to my menu? Or even a great main dish?

My two favorite tapas dishes are the cold garlic potato salad, and the mushrooms sauteed in sherry with garlic. Another great one is slices of manchego with slices of membrillo (quince paste.) All are fairly simple, and possibly make ahead.

I love bowls of slice olives, with or without some orange zest, and perhaps some hummus and pita chips. Easy and different textures to compliment the ceviche.

Here's a question for all of you: what is your largest cooking vessel w/lid that fits in your oven for braising/etc? I'm considering an 8 qt cast iron dutch oven, but they are so heavy. Is it better to get a low stainless pot that won't weigh so much?

This Staub cocotte is lovely, in 8qts
http://www.surlatable.com/product/cookware/casseroles %26 ovens/staub pesto round cocotte%2C 2%26%23189- qt..do

but heavy.

Does this stainless Rondeau make more sense?
http://www.cookwarenmore.com/display.php?cartid=200904161929656&zid=1&lid=1&psku=5510&mode=sp

Is there another option that I'm missing? I have a 6 qt cast iron dutch oven, but need something bigger for big groups.

Whoops, here's the staub link again:
http://tinyurl.com/dyjpn5

I'm making Dolmas with (gasp) a rice cooker! After doing a lot of experimenting, I came up with a way to make this less of a daunting task. Middle eastern grandmothers can scold at me for “cheating”, but I call making a time consuming task more practical - “ingenuity”, thankyouverymuch!

My story is here:
http://www.quitecurious.com/not-your-grandmothers-dolmas/

These are so great when the weather is warm, and perfect for summer parties :)

@maggie (p/c),

since you are cooking for big groups have you considered one of those electric roasters? Big volume and you don't have to lug it to and from the oven.

Hi Art,
Interesting idea! But probably can't add another appliance to teeny kitchen...

homemade granola...so easy and delish! recipe on my blog!

http://pearlsandgreentea.blogspot.com/

...I just purchased a George Forman Grill to use on my balcony,any advice?

We just made shark steaks for dinner. Something weird happened and we need your help. The steaks were two days old, kept cold until cooktime. They were seared with soy sauce and then broiled. When we went to eat the steaks there was a noxious assault, almost like ammonia, up close. What happened to our dinner?

i am eating WAYYYYYYY too much takeout!!!!

this is because i have to put a kitchen into my (fairly) new apartment. now... i'm a bit confused as i'm new to the apt therapy scene. this is the only posting place i've found (guidance is welcome!), so i thought i'd ask about my latest obsesssion....

is it unwise to use ceramic penny round tiles as a backsplash? i (will) have a galley kitchen. i like them. but i've heard here and there that i should use larger tiles that require less grout. any thoughts or advice? can i finish it in a certain way to make it more easily cleanable? or should i avoid it altogether?

help?!! thanks!!! :-)

@LacyBones,

All fish is prone to becoming ammoniated. You know that smell when chicken starts to turn--it's kind of the same thing with ammonia in fish. It's what happens when fish turns :-(

However, I always remember shark being high in ammonia. My mom used to prepare it quite often and she would soak it in milk.

If the ammonia was very strong only after smelling it up close, it doesn't sound like it was that bad. If you caught the ammonia while handling it and your house smelled bad of ammonia that would be another story.

Some seafood is highly volatile. Skate wing is highly prone to becoming ammoniated. I'm a cook and I've experienced skate turning within the course of one dinner service.

It's best to smell all of your fish filets at the market before you purchase them. And ask how fresh they are as well. If they're a few days old, ask the fish monger if they have anything fresher. I'll always ask if they've got mussels in the back for instance--why not?