Random Food Thoughts

With the hot weather settling in, our Kirby cucumbers are taking off like rockets. Between yesterday and this morning I made 1 quart of cornichons, 4 quarts of kosher dills, and 4 quarts of half-sours. I almost can't wait four days to try them!
 
With the hot weather settling in, our Kirby cucumbers are taking off like rockets. Between yesterday and this morning I made 1 quart of cornichons, 4 quarts of kosher dills, and 4 quarts of half-sours. I almost can't wait four days to try them!
Two more quarts of kosher dills yesterday. It looks like I will be picking enough to make a few jars every 3-4 days for a while. Pickles all up in this place!
 
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That's not that odd, historically. Kitchens (professional and home) for hundreds of years would generally have an enormous pot on the slow burner at the back corner of the stove with water in it. All the vegetable peelings and bone scraps would be tossed into it creating an ever changing flavored broth which was then ladled out or pour from a bottom spigot. Water was added to top off the pot as needed. My grandmother had a pot like that on her stove when I was a kid.
The only thing I find interesting about that article that it's for the same soup, never changing.
 
Late August means one thing: making tomato sauce. I cooked down and made about 24 quarts today and we picked two enormous bowls of plum tomatoes that will be transformed into sauce in a day or two.

Winter is going to taste wonderful.
 
I was watching a cooking show last weekend and the host used a squeeze of umami paste from a tube. He said it was the best thing ever to add to everything to boost the flavor. Sounds like something I need in my kitchen.
I found it on Amazon. Around $15 for a 2 oz. tube. :oops:!!! Fuck that. Some googling on teh intranetz and I cobbled together a few recipes for my own version. I just made about 1 cup of it for probably around $3. It smells fantastic and is going to be a marinade smear on a skirt steak tonight before I grill it.
 
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