just wanted to share tonight's dinner with you guys..

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Originally Posted by gugi

yep, same thing, but I don't trust the soil around my house here so I buy it in dried form:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/en_US.../FNP018_Xl.jpg

Fresh is better though, so you should try it :) I like it in salad as well - you have to salt it and then roll it a bit so that it doesn't sting when you eat it - then I use just oil+lemon juice or may be simply mix it with yogurt and that's it :)

The soup I make the simplest way you can imagine - put a pot of water on the stove, cut half an onion and a carrot in it, threw a bunch of the nettle and some rice and quinoa and 15-20 minutes later it's done and I stirred in an egg mixed in a cup or so of yogurt. Salt to taste can go in at any point :)

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I own an acre or two of this stuff. You are welcome to come and help yourself!

LOL, don't mind if I do if I pass by your neighborhood :)

The local store used to stock some really nice imported cheeses with nettle, gouda and something else from either the Netherlands or Denmark, but haven't seen those in few years.
I think nettle is in the old-timey foods in every culture since it grows everywhere, is edible and very nutritious, with relatively mild herbaceous taste.
Even my american friends who are suspicious and skeptical about anything that isn't chicken/beef and potatoes from a supermarket found the taste pretty ok when I've had them try it :)

Over 40 years ago I remember pulling nettles out by the roots and pretending they were German grenades.....

A lot of the food that i find mentioned here is from the "olden" times. We are trying to survive and I don't care what it tastes like.
Who in the heck would even try to eat nettles unless they had to????

Well, nettles are easy, my big question has always been who though first that eating spoiled milk may be a good idea. And many generations later I cannot imagine life without cheeses :)

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Originally Posted by gugi

Well, nettles are easy, my big question has always been who though first that eating spoiled milk may be a good idea. And many generations later I cannot imagine life without cheeses :)

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They had to eat spoiled milk or they died. Thank goodness it worked out!

Yeah, we'll never know what other things they tried that didn't end up that well.

Oh, and knowing how the wines I am partial to are grown and made, I don't think I'd be much into whatever Jesus was drinking - way too hot in his part of the world to produce the good stuff, the occasional miracle excepted of course :)

I have heard feed it to your pig. Pigs are close to humans in their digestive area. If they can eat it we can.

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Originally Posted by 32t

A lot of the food that i find mentioned here is from the "olden" times. We are trying to survive and I don't care what it tastes like.
Who in the heck would even try to eat nettles unless they had to????

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I would, grows like wildfire here. Spent the last 25 years weed eatin it, and keeping the children, and now the grandchildren away from it. It is funny you say that, the cheap cuts of meat when I was young, like lamb shanks, tongue, sweet breads, liver and kidney are now expensive and sought after. I remember my mother deep frying sheep brains in thick batter quite often, absolutely delicious, impossible to get.

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Originally Posted by 32t

A lot of the food that i find mentioned here is from the "olden" times. We are trying to survive and I don't care what it tastes like.
Who in the heck would even try to eat nettles unless they had to????

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Nettles are very old and traditional food here. Popular as a tea.
But not so unusual in our cuisine. And very healthy they are with lot of vitamin C.
And not only as food. many wild plants have some use as medical purposes too.

Use it as spinach: You can make soup, stew, sauce or pancakes. Very tasty with various fish and meat.
And what is best: it grows almost everywhere and is free.

You need only to treat the nettles in boiling salty water for about 1 minute to stop them from biting.

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Originally Posted by str8fencer

Today's dinner:
Sous vide cod fillet with bacon wrapped italian green beans, vinegared melted butter and citrus foam.
After all the heavy food during christmas it is good to get back on track. We have some of the best tap water in the world here, so that's what's in the glass.

Attachment 189416

I wish you all a very merry new year :)

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You may think me silly but, talking about the clarity of your water makes me want some now !

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Originally Posted by TheGeek

I bought a new cast iron Dutch oven the other day, and I've been using it on the stove to do a lot of browning. So far cooked two steak pies in it. Today's dinner also prepped in it, a sort of mushroom stew. Served with brown rice. Also ordered a new cast iron skillet, I always loved cooking on cast iron and am rediscovering the awesome wonder :)

Geek

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Cast Iron is and always will be awesome !

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Originally Posted by gugi

Well, nettles are easy, my big question has always been who though first that eating spoiled milk may be a good idea. And many generations later I cannot imagine life without cheeses :)

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Either the extraterrestrials helped us out or....a lot of foods were invented on a dare.

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Originally Posted by 32t

I have never heard of this before I would be interested in your review when used. From what I read heat it up really slow.

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Yeah thats what I read too. I think I will be trying it out tomorrow if it doesn't rain, maybe with some thin sliced flank or something.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Looks interesting, where do you get them?

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I got it as a present but the person who got it for me said they got it from home depot. I am sure you can get one from other places as well.

We also have really good water. Much better than in England in my opinion. Can't even get a good cup of tea down there lol.

I was wondering, can you boil and poach in bare cast iron?

I wouldn't boil and poach in a cast iron skillet or pan... too much risk of losing the nice layer of seasoning. In a cast iron pot, I wouldn't hesitate but I would fully dry it as soon as I'm done.

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Originally Posted by 32t

I would sure like to see your results. I will have to look more into guanciale.

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Here's my last batch of bacon, one of the last things I did before it got too cold to enjoy a bbq here. This one turned out a little low on salt, but it cured fine and smoked well. That's around 5lb of bacon between those 3 pieces. I cut it to 1lb pieces and vacuum it, and store it in the freezer. I've got some even and thinner pieces of meat this time, it will make even salting and curing easier.

Attachment 189467

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Originally Posted by gugi

I wanted something simple and fitting the snow outside and so it was nettle soup.

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Oh man, that looks good. But nettle soup in the winter? Did you use dry nettles? It never occurred to me, I have only ever made it a few times, when the nettles are really fresh in the spring. Just a few days, 2-3 weeks max here, that I've thought to pick them.

Edit: I see you posted the answer to my question in a later post. I shall have to look into dried nettles, only place I know you can get them here is from the specialty shops and they are way expencive. I'll look online :)

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Originally Posted by str8fencer

Here's my last batch of bacon, one of the last things I did before it got too cold to enjoy a bbq here. This one turned out a little low on salt, but it cured fine and smoked well. That's around 5lb of bacon between those 3 pieces. I cut it to 1lb pieces and vacuum it, and store it in the freezer. I've got some even and thinner pieces of meat this time, it will make even salting and curing easier.

Attachment 189467

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Looks great,I love making Bacon,better than anything store bought by far.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...cone/bacon.jpg

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Originally Posted by str8fencer

Here's my last batch of bacon, one of the last things I did before it got too cold to enjoy a bbq here. This one turned out a little low on salt, but it cured fine and smoked well. That's around 5lb of bacon between those 3 pieces. I cut it to 1lb pieces and vacuum it, and store it in the freezer. I've got some even and thinner pieces of meat this time, it will make even salting and curing easier. Attachment 189467

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When you are down in the dumps: Bacon.
When you are up in the sky: Bacon
Having an argument? Share some Bacon.
Trying to win her heart? A bouquet of Bacon.
Asking for a raise? Share some Bacon.
Just had the best shave in months? You know the answer 'BACON'.

Bacon makes everything better, including bacon... fact! Corollary self-improvement tip: wrap yourself in bacon! :hmmm:

Sweet fancy Moses...:dropjaw:
The last few posts with photos of bacon just won the internet today.
:idea: Maybe I need to start making my own bacon...
Anyone have any good recipes?

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Originally Posted by str8fencer

I shall have to look into dried nettles, only place I know you can get them here is from the specialty shops and they are way expencive. I'll look online :)

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You should have fresh ones soon. Instead of buying them just dry some fresh like you'd dry any other herbs/leaves (spread it on thin layer in a shade, or even just hang the plants, and few days later it's dry and not stinging) and you'll be set for the few winter months while the snow is too much. The young sprigs are way better, so you still may want to dry it in the spring and not wait until later when the plants are older.

I only buy it because of chemical spills/contamination history around where I live and I don't hike too much anymore so whenever I do picking nettles isn't high on my list :)

Spaghetti with clams.

Attachment 189519

Very nice, haven't had clams in a while, so I'm going to do this on wednesday when the store stocks the seafood.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Looks great,I love making Bacon,better than anything store bought by far.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...cone/bacon.jpg

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Hmm, your bacon seems a bit low on fat

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Originally Posted by gugi

Hmm, your bacon seems a bit low on fat

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Getting a good slab of pork belly is a tough one. It's what keeps me from making bacon more frequently.

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Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Spaghetti with clams.

Attachment 189519

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That looks way good !....but...remember to eat that away from the window.Every good fella who eats that by the window ends up face down in the clam sauce y'know. Seriously though that looks great !

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Originally Posted by Nightblade

That looks way good !....but...remember to eat that away from the window.Every good fella who eats that by the window ends up face down in the clam sauce y'know. Seriously though that looks great !

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Only if he eats 'spaghetti alle vongole', the 'spaghetti with clams' guys usually are taken on a ride.
It is very important to know one's position on the totem pole ;)

Luca Brasi would know !

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Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Getting a good slab of pork belly is a tough one. It's what keeps me from making bacon more frequently.

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Best place to get pork belly IME, is asian meat markets.

Best place for Pork is right inside mah belleh !:)

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Originally Posted by gugi

Hmm, your bacon seems a bit low on fat

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It is,Thats why I consider it better than store bought.
The Bacon flavor comes from the brining and 4 days in the smokehouse.
The other upside is you can cut real thick:)

I was doing a reminisce of old posts on this thread, and one of the first posts I made was about going for a picnic with a young lady. I'm now married to that lady, and have an amazing family. The picnic food musta been good :)

That's my random for the day.

Geek

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Originally Posted by TheGeek

That's my random for the day.

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But what alovely story! Stay happy! :)

Today's dinner:

Sous vide fillet of kangaroo (!) with root veggie mash and pan seared white zucchini.
That's about as much effort as I'm willing to put into it on a regular work day. Still, it was tasty.

Attachment 189548

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

It is,Thats why I consider it better than store bought.
The Bacon flavor comes from the brining and 4 days in the smokehouse.
The other upside is you can cut real thick:)

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I submitted this thread some time ago on one of my bacon batches.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...ml#post1044496

Funny experiment... I redid the seasoning on my cast iron skillets last night, two skillets with goose fat and two with flaxseed oil. I used one teaspoon of goose fat for 2 skillets and that seemed to have made them very non-sticky. I've cooked 3 dishes in one of them, with minimal oil and nothing sticks so far.

Tonight, I cooked a creamy chicken, bacon and mushroom sauce and finished the dish with some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano. Now, the wife normally doesn't care for cheese stronger than gouda and I usually can't stomach more than a pinch of grated parmigiano... she ate a whole serving and I actually added some more on my dish :) A quick swipe with a paper towel made the skillet clean.

The flaxseed seasoning will take some extra work as those skillets had been neglected for more than a year. I expect to start benchmarking those next weekend.

I had read that lard was superior to vegetable shortening/Crisco for season cast iron. Thanks for sharing your experience, MichaelP.

I think the key to keeping Cast non- stick is to never wash them with dishsoap.
I have a few that are well over 100yrs old and are like glass.

Still waiting on my skillet :(

All this chat of cast iron is making me jealous.

Geek

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Originally Posted by TheGeek

Still waiting on my skillet :(

All this chat of cast iron is making me jealous.

Geek

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You gonna love it.