I’m sure this conversation takes place in kitchens around the country at this time of year as it did in ours today:
my dad: “These [sweet potatoes] look good. I usually like yams better”
me, sounding like Lisa Simpson: “Well you know, the yams we get are really just a different kind of sweet potatoes.”
Discussion ensues.
me: “I think you can only get *real* yams in Africa.”
Jeff: “I thought they brought them from Polynesia.”
Turns out I was wrong about the Africa thing–according to the Wikipedia article about yams they are commonly available in most of the rest of the world though African countries, particularly Nigeria, are some of the largest producers of yams. They are definitely eaten in Polynesia too, though it sounds like sweet potatoes are popular there as well.
Should you need to educate others about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams you might find the sweet potato awareness flyer(.pdf) from sweetpotatoawareness.org useful. Next year I will be prepared.
Today we were on the road. The turkey got its own seat in the back, right next to the cooler. I know, you’d think it should be in the cooler but, well, it wouldn’t fit. It’s safely back in the refrigerator now.
It’s ok though, the cooler held other important stuff like the filling for the chocolate cream pie and the green beans, and the whipping cream. It didn’t have to hold it for all that long today, but should we have been waylaid, the chocolate cream pie filling and the green beans and the whipping cream would have been just fine because our cooler keeps stuff cold for 3-5 days. It’s pretty amazing, actually.
I almost left this fine cooler on the store shelf for the dumb name alone; as if there weren’t enough missing “e”s out there in internet land, now there’s one living in my basement as well. The other reason I almost did not buy my favorite cooler is because it seemed way, way too expensive, but I’m here to tell you it has been totally worth it.
me, sleeping soundly with the knowledge my coffee will have real cream when I wake up
When we go on vacation it often involves car camping, or sometimes boat camping if we’re lucky. We not only travel with snacks, we travel with bacon and cheese and cucumbers and with 1/2 & 1/2 for our coffee. Other, cheaper coolers meant we were constantly looking for ice, draining water, and trying to revive soggy cheese. The Coleman Xtreme coolers have extra insulation (including in the lid) so a block of ice will keep the contents cool for 3 to 5 days depending on how hot it is outside and how frequently you open it (in other words, you might want to keep your current cooler for the beer.)
This isn’t a paid testimonial or anything, I really do just love my cooler that much. My only regret is that I didn’t get the next size larger because that extra insulation does result in less space inside.
Yeah, gross. Vegetarians can just stop reading now.
I must admit, much as I like cooking in general and as much as I like eating Thanksgiving turkey, it’s still a little hard to manage that much raw poultry. Nobody likes to be elbow-deep in carcass. A good smoked turkey can save a lot of bird wrangling (just heat and eat!), but this year we’re trying Martha’s Dry-Brined Turkey so this afternoon I found myself rinsing and patting dry 22 naked pounds of the stuff.
I’ve done the surgical-style scrub to the elbows with hot water and soap to no avail. I think I’m going to have to shower to get the smell off.
Did you see this post about Mark Bittman’s kitchen? Granted, it’s not his only kitchen, but he obviously cooks there fairly regularly. Like many of the commenters I can identify with his tiny patch of counter space, his unusable fourth burner, and his shortage of storage. Of course there are a few pieces of kitchen equipment that can make a big difference, like good knives and heavy pans, but good ingredients trump fancy equipment every time.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I somehow got on some mailing list that has clearly mistaken me for someone else; today I received a catalog in the mail called Frontgate and on the cover it says “outfitting America’s finest homes.” Heh. While most of the catalog is devoted to items like $1000 fake Christmas trees and $700 “luxury pet residences” there are a few pages in the middle dedicated to the appliances you never knew you needed. In this category falls the Tahiti Margaritaville frozen drink maker that blends three pitchers of beverage at one time, as well as the “cinema-style” countertop-sized popcorn popper which is, I must admit, about the size of my countertop.
The most seasonally appropriate item in this fine publication is most certainly the “Infrared Oil-less Turkey Fryer” though, I’m sorry to note, it is not available until next week so you cannot have all 32 pounds of it overnighted to your house in time for Thanksgiving. I guess that’s ok though, since it can only hold up to a 16 pound turkey and the smallest one I could find at Costco was a 22-pounder.
Noodles with broccoli and peanut sauce, pickled radish salad: I’ll mix both leftover whole wheat spaghetti and a bundle of soba noodles (cooked separately) with the broccoli stems and green onions that have been waiting patiently in my refrigerator. Some hearty radishes will finally find their calling too.
Migas: even after last week’s tortilla soup we still have a surplus of corn chip detritus but this perennial favorite should take care of some of it. We also have half a leftover avocado that needs to be eaten right away.
I do have a big list of ingredients for the pies and other side dishes I’m bringing for Thanksgiving dinner, but my dinner grocery list is refreshingly short this week. Even shopping carefully we eventually seem to end up with enough odds and ends to make something edible. It will be nice to use up many of the things that look forlornly at me every time I open the refrigerator. Aside from the big day, the rest of the week will probably involve a burrito stop on our way out of town, leftovers, leftovers and more leftovers, and at least one meal that involves crabs, clam chowder, or other beach-worthy foods.
We’re having one of our first real cold spells, so after an errand in the dark this evening it was definitely time for a hot drink. I know this time last year I was singing the virtues of Swiss Miss but tonight I was in the mood for something a little more substantial. I broke out the last box of Mayordomo chocolate we toted back from Mexico almost two years ago and made some real Mexican-style hot chocolate.
We’re lucky enough to be visiting our southern neighbor again in January and I’m already looking forward to the warm weather, of course, but also to one of my favorite tourist activities: grocery shopping. The grocery stores in Puerto Vallarta were our main source for souvenirs the last time we went, and we toted back fun finds like “salsa en polvo,” a salt/chile/lime mixture that tastes great on sprinkled on popcorn and corn on the cob, and cajeta, goats’ milk caramel candies. We also brought back a tortilla press and a gift for my brother of a really fine bottle of tequila (really, you could sip it like scotch!) I searched for a molinillo, the wooden tool used to froth up the hot chocolate, but I didn’t know what it was called (and didn’t have much of a voice, thanks to a nasty cold I managed to catch on the plane there) so I’m not sure if I couldn’t find it because we were in the wrong region of Mexico or because I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. I’ll certainly try again this time!
We do have a few Mexican grocery stores here in town and even our regular grocery stores carry quite a selection of Mexican items both local and imported, but nothing beats deciphering labels and exploring the aisles of other peoples’ markets, shops, and stores. Any favorite grocery finds from your travels? Anything we shouldn’t leave Mexico without?
I’m on pie duty this year and I’m taking my job very seriously. Or maybe I’m just really in the mood for pie. At any rate, I’m expanding on our normal 2-3 pie varieties. Here’s what I have on the lineup:
Pumpkin: not messing with tradition here, I’ll just use the regular recipe off the pumpkin label or maybe the One-pie recipe I used last year.
Pecan: again, traditional, but maybe with some dark chocolate chips tossed in the bottom.
Cranberry mince tart: this is a family tradition that my mom came up with I don’t know how long ago. Just use the food processor to mix the best prepared mincemeat you can find with a cored apple, a cup or so of fresh cranberries (right mom?), and some sugar to taste. Bake in a tart or quiche pan and serve with whipped cream.
Chocolate Cream: I’ve never made a chocolate cream pie before, and I’ve certainly never associated them with Thanksgiving, but for some reason I’ve really been wanting one and figured it would make more sense to wait for a festive occasion so I wasn’t tempted to eat the whole pie myself. I think I’m going to use this recipe but will make a regular pie crust (as did many of the reviewers.)
Apple: Another pie that’s been on my crave list recently. I’m going to try to hunt down some interesting combination of apples for this one. Many people swear by varieties I doubt I’ll be able to find like Northern Spy or Cortland, but I’m pretty sure I should be able to track down Jonagolds, maybe some Gravensteins or Empires, and certainly Granny Smiths. This will be my only pie with two crusts.
I’m going to use this pie crust recipe, which has never turned out anything but flaky for me, for all of them.
Tonight we had the mushroom soft tacos with succotash for dinner (and let me just add that they were awesome! and Jeff ate six!) As I chopped the pound of mushrooms it called for, it occurred to me that tonight’s post would be a good excuse to look into something that I’ve been wondering about recently.
One thing I have always felt a little silly buying at the grocery store are organic mushrooms. In fact, if they had conventionally grown ones at my natural foods store I probably would have chosen those instead, but they don’t. I assumed that organic mushrooms simply meant they were grown in organic matter. I mean, mushrooms don’t get pests, do they?
I’m not sharing this to convince anyone else they should be buying organic mushrooms, but because I was feeling a little gullible for buying them myself. I’m happy to know there is an actual difference in the growing conditions of the organic mushrooms compared to the conventional ones. What difference does it make? Sounds like the topic of another post!
More than once I’ve heard someone say that “no one really likes scotch, they just drink it because they think they should.” To that I say “don’t waste scotch by drinking it if you don’t like it!”
Scotch is something that has no business in a budget-conscious kitchen, but I really enjoy it once in awhile. Luckily (?) we have a bar here that, in addition to having outdoor fire pits and the Grateful Dead on continuous loop, has quite a wall of scotch. If that sounds like a weird combination to you, all I can say is it’s very Oregon. Though there are many to choose from I always end up choosing one I know I love, the one with “the smokiest flavor in all of Scotland,” Laphroaig.
Someday I will go to Islay and witness the introduction of the barley to its “famous companion peat” myself, but in the meantime this little video is fun to watch. Like I’ve watched it six or seven times in a row fun. Mmmmm.
A few years ago someone was nice enough to share this pumpkin pound cake recipe on Chowhound. For some reason I always have a hard time tracking it down again; now I’ll always know where to look. I usually make it for breakfast and snacking on Thanksgiving, but really it would be great for any fall occasion. It makes a lot of cake!
Pumpkin Pound Cake
3 c. extra fine sugar (I’ve used regular granulated sugar with no problems)
3/4 c. unsalted butter, room temp
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
2 3/4 c. sifted flour
1/4 c. turbinado sugar
1 T baking powder
1 3/4 t. ground cloves
1/2 t. table salt
1/8 t. ground allspice
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
5 T heavy cream
1 T honey
1 T vanilla
preheat oven to 350
Cream together sugar and butter, then add eggs and yolks one at a time.
Mix remaining dry ingredients together in a bowl and wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Turn the mixer on low and alternate adding wet and dry ingredients to the butter, sugar and egg mixture.
Pour the (thick) batter into an oiled and floured non-stick Bundt pan, and smooth the top. Bake the cake at 350° for about an hour or until a skewer comes out nearly clean (I usually have to bake it longer, but elevation plays a role in that.) Let the cake cool some in the pan (the recipe says five minutes, but I leave it until I can handle it without potholders) then turn out onto a serving tray and cool to room temperature.
I have, as the original poster suggested, made a simple glaze of powdered sugar, water, and cinnamon to pour over the top, but the next time I make it I’d really like to make something a little less sweet and a little more creamy, like some kind of cream cheese or sour cream glaze.
It keeps well but will dry out, so wrap it tightly if there are leftovers.
I have no doubt that two people can eat for less than $75 a week, but can they eat well? More about this blog...
Here looking for menus & grocery lists?
I try to post a menu and accompanying grocery list each week that will feed two adults for $75. See all menus and lists.
You also might be interested in my "tools I use" posts that discuss how I put together my lists and try to stick to my budget. I will be adding to this list somewhat regularly.
I'm still working out some kinks in the menu posts, so if you have any questions about the posts or suggestions to make them more useful, please let me know.
