Whole New World

The last few weeks mine eyes have seen the glory of cooking in the
kitchen. Having had a mother who was "Edith Bunker" I never even made a

Sue...

Oh, my! I can't say I blame her.
As for clean up....Stan has been doing a pretty good job.
sue

**Dalin**...

AHHHHHGGGG!!! GAG!!!! LOL!

Marilee...

I'll eat gizzards--in fact, I love them, and would probably not mind pig
tails (although I've never seen them in stores around here. Oxtails, yes,
but no pig tails.), but I'll be darned if I could bring myself to
**knowingly** eat tripe. That stuff is UGLY.

Marilee

Jean B....

Paco.......

It's only because I don't know how to cook any fancier. LOL No but it's
also something I need.

Jean B....

Don't we all! I am trying to be good.... Actually doing
better, but it's going to take a long time. (Joan--the answer
is... fiber, and the need to consume it.)

Oxtails... Yum! And tripe has an interesting texture. One
of my favorite Chinese dishes contains tripe and tendon....

sandwich for myself.

In our High School in the "50's boys were not allowed to take Home Ec.
and girls were not allowed to take shop!

I was very fortunate to find a wife who did/does all the cooking. It's
only lately that I've discovered the world of food preparation. I'll write
more about this later, but first I would like to write about one eye-opening
experience.

BK asked me to pick up some "Bam It", a food seasoning. She said it was
in the "Spices" aisle. It was a whole new world for me.

I always thought spices were salt and pepper, but I found myself staring
a little bottles of spices like; Annatto Seed, Chervil, Ground Fenugreek,
Juniper Berries, Marjoram among others and over 30 kinds of Pepper!

Stan:) (in awe of all in this group who cooks)

Jean B....

Wow! Your store is well-stocked if it carried fenugreek.
When I first started cooking foods from various other areas of
the world, it was quite hard to find such ingredients. THIRTY
kinds of pepper! That is more than Penzey's (major spice/herb
company) carries, I think. I guess if you consider whole,
cracked, and ground, that could mean there were fewer. Oh,
also whole red pepper pods, ~ flakes, and ground...

Marilee...

It was the juniper berries that made my eyes pop. I've read recipes that
called for them, but have never seen them in stores.

Marilee

Jean B....

I would always be willing to send supplies. I actually live
very near a Penzey's. One advantage is that I can scoot over
there and get small, inexpensive containers of just about
anything. (I also have access to ethnic markets.)

Marilee...

I could order them from Amazon, too, I think, if I wanted to try them--but I
don't think I do.

Have you ever used juniper berries? Wouldn't any food taste like pine
trees? (I can't bring myself to taste gin.)

Marilee

Jean B....

Paco.......

Yes but fiber that doesn't have too many calories. Don't fall for those
high calorie whole grain cereals. I like them better but they have high
calories.

Sue...

Roswell is where we went. They are also opening up a Trader Joe's, which I
understand is also great.
sue

Jean B....

Trader Joe's is different. A nice place to browse, with
interesting products at good prices. They don't fill all of
one's grocery needs though. And they have the infuriating
habit of discontinuing things one likes. In fact, on a TJ's
forum I read they have been known to discontinue products
because they were popular!!! Even though that came from
someone who worked for TJ's, one has to wonder about that.

Stan...

We've been to Harry's in Roswell. I was amazed at the selection of food and
drinks. I tend to get absorbed in something new, so I wandered around while
Sue shopped. After a couple hours she found me reading the label on a
spirulina bottle. Great store! wonderful selection of wines.

Stan :)

I was going to say... They taste like gin--or, rather gin
tastes like juniper berries. You could always cheat and put a
bit of gin in what you are cooking. Most recipes use only a
few berries, so you don't end up with that as a predominant
taste. I don't cook with them a lot, and wouldn't like it if
they were the dominant flavor.