[laurel]

I'm with you foxie, looks delicious.........

[Sven2]

What, Foxie, you only LOOK at food? Oh, my, what a nerves of steel you got! :D

What is your "comfort food"?

[Sven2]

Few of my cooking tricks.

When grinding coffee beans in a grinder, use the espresso setting and grind it twice, that way you can use the simple and inexpensive coffeemaker. Some of them cost hundreds and don't make better coffee.

If you like vegetarian soups, add a tablespoon of good, aged well, balsamic vinegar at the very end, right before turning the heat off, it gives the soup some zest and light sweetness.

Experiment with herbs, the best trick is to use fresh ones and at first put a little. The flavorful dish will surprise you, some unexpected results transpire in such combination.

In addition to any fresh mushrooms use dried wild, especially porcini, it produces rich flavor. Cultivated mushrooms are tasteless in itself.

Maybe will remember more next time.

What are your secrets?

[Sven2]

Don't know how's Skor surviving without her Monday oyster night....
Soft shell lobsters are now for $3.99, so here is just one recipe, not necessarily the best.


Ingredients (serves 6)

    * 2 cooked lobsters, split lengthways (ask your fishmonger to do this)
    * 1 tbs olive oil
    * 1.25L (5 cups) chicken stock
    * 30g unsalted butter
    * 1 small onion, finely chopped
    * 250g grape tomatoes
    * 2 cups (440g) arborio rice
    * 200ml dry white wine
    * 1/2 cup torn basil leaves
    * 1 tbs lemon juice
    * 1/4 cup grated parsean, plus extra shavings to serve
1.
Remove the meat from the tail of the lobsters and cut into bite-sized pieces, reserving the shells.
   2.
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the lobster shells and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the stock and return to a low simmer.
   3.
Heat the butter in a frypan over low heat. Add onion and cook for 1-2 minutes until soft. Add tomatoes and stir for 1-2 minutes until they start to soften. Add rice and stir to coat the grains. Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes until absorbed. Add stock a ladleful at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. Continue: stirring constantly, for about 20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked but firm to the bite.
   4.
Gently stir through the lobster, basil, lemon juice and grated parmesan, then season with sea salt and black pepper. Divide among serving dishes and top with extra parmesan shavings.

[Sven2]

Labor Day weekend, may Earl miss us!
Your suggestions for a cookout?

My BBQ bible Tried and like many recipes.

[skordamou]

The pictures are gorgeous. Once I get settled into my "it's not summer any more" mode, I do hope to contribute here. But for now I will post a link to a blog that I really love. Domestic Daddy is a sweetheart, and very talented. There are some excellent cocktail recipes here, including the "Aviation" which  I have (just!) one of most Friday evenings. Though last night I tried the "tequila mockingbird" and it was so delicious I just may have to switch off now and again. (I tried to get the picture to load, but it doesn't want to do that, so here os the link.)

http://www.domesticdaddy.net/about/

[Sven2]

Thanks, Skor. Did you see "Julie and Julia"? Food and food again, plus a certain actress resembling a certain someone, sans hair color  8) I bet you did!

[OceanFlower]

hey check this out... i have all the indicators of an underactive thyroid! this may explain the dramatic weight loss/gains i've experienced throughout my life... the blood test says i'm borderline and my own investigations and certain online tests i've taken all point in that direction (granted my menstrual cycle hasn't changed and i haven't had any miscarriages, but nonetheless!) anyway apparently i'm supposed to lay off all soy products and eat seaweed and algae foods! LOL! what am i a goldfish! so any recipes for kelp, seaweed and algae would be greatly appreciated! straight up!

[Sven2]

Thyroid problems not diagnosed for years? Have you never been to an MD, what, all who treated you were candy stripers?
Powdered kelp is sold in every health food store, use it like salt or spice, check if it's free of mercury etc. 
Afraid for the recipes you're asking the wrong people, you got to talk to vegans or Asians. I hope it's not a racial slur or something offensive, they just have different traditions and could really be of help.
Take care of yourself, Flower.

[OceanFlower]

that's what i said! i gotta wait until i'm 63 years of age to find this out? as long as i stay "active" i seem to be okay... "active" meaning running 20-50 miles a week but i'm slowing down i can't do that anymore... the doctor before this last one was totally unconcerned with my rapid weight gain... and told me he was only concerned with weight loss not gain... when i told my present doctor this he was flabbergasted... right now i've got kelp drops, kelp pills, and barley grass tablets as well... anyway i'm due for my annual soon so we'll see what's what then... i've also been reading this book by a doctor named Azziz i think it is... and he has a diet plan that addresses the hormones in the body... i was reading up on the underactive thyroid and i've got just about all of them.... sheesh! c'mon svennie not one good seaweed recipe?

[Sven2]

Sorry, Flower, I am an omnivore with propensity to Mediterranean cuisine with the inclusion of Eastern European. Taste buds!
I will try to find something in online collections, give me some time, OK? Meanwhile, don't chocke on kelp pills, some of that stuff doesn't even get digested.

[OceanFlower]

LOL! no i only take two a day and the drops... i'm gonna try this dr azziz hormone diet just for kicks... 1st 3 wks no carbs! yikes! no macaroni, rice, cookies, pizza and all the other fun stuff... hey your diet sounds like fun... personally i think alot of it is mental... we Americans especially the urbanized ones have a totally screwed up perception of what real food and eating actually is... fast food = fast eating... i know you'll probably groan when i say this BUT the way Americans in general view food/eating is much akin to the way we view love/sex.... the two are very strongly connected if you ask me... I think non-Americans have a much more relaxed perception of the two... i don't mean that they are necessarily promiscous or gluttons far from it... but have a much more realistic handle on the whole thing and have a much greater propensity to enjoy what they are doing while they are doing it.... capite? one quick anecdote: when i was still in NY i frequented the noodie beach of course and yes of course i enjoyed the scenery no doubt... but the freedom of walking about and swimming in the ocean sans clothing was exhilarating... anyway i used to see this Russian woman there alot... and like AC/DC says she wasn't exactly pretty she wasn't exactly small but man she had it all! the vibe she put out was so non-American... kinda hard to explain... the one little fly in the ointment? she was always there with her husband! LOL!   :'(

[skordamou]

http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com/

[Sven2]

Flower, cool down, imagine a nude beach in winter :o ??? :D

Scor, that's some title.... ! Good recipe, thanks. Another version would be to replace feta with Chevre with white balsamic and few tangerine segments. And another one:

The link: http://oceancrestresort.com/2010/08/spotlight-on-chevre-salad/

I have a still unopened box of Panko, Japanese bread crumbs,  should match the color of Chevre.

[skordamou]

Each time you click you get a different recipe. I find i a very useful site, I love reading recipes, hahahaha. And it is funny.

Ocean- At Whole Foods they sell Japanese cracker sticks wrapped in seaweed and they are really delicious.