Katlian's Profile

My husband loved King Oscar crosspack smoked sardines in olive oil (black wrapper). No other sardines will do. He was completely distraught when they were discontinued.

Always. For two reasons: my husband is a very messy eater (you would think he had been raised by wolves) and we bought a new table and chairs last year (handmade in Minnesota) and we're trying to keep the dishes from scratching up the finish. I have two sets of bamboo placemats that we use for everyday because they're easy to clean and some nice linen ones for special dinners.

In the kitchen freezer: mostly the same list but also butter, because it's so much easier to make biscuits and pie crust with frozen butter, and sandwich bread because it takes me a long time to eat a loaf.
In the garage freezer: extra stock of summer fruits and veggies, the last few pieces from last year's hog, about a dozen chickens from the csa that we're rationing until they start delivering in the spring.

Technically shepherds pie should be made with lamb (lamb > sheep > shepherds) not beef. Pie made with beef is cottage pie. But, ground beef is cheap and abundant and ground lamb is not so beef has taken the place of lamb. I'm still disappointed when fake "traditional irish pubs" make their shepherds pie with beef; they could at least use the right name.

I like to make it with a pastry crust on the bottom, it gives the dish a nice variety of textures.

You also get coconut sugar as a by-product of making coconut crack.

Buy a fresh coconut, drain the water and crack it open (not as hard as it looks, I just tap them on my concrete patio until they crack). Remove the meat, peel the brown skin off it, and slice the meat into thin strips (no more than 1/8th inch thick, a mandoline works great for this).

In a large pot combine 1 cup sugar (organic or raw works best) and 1/4 cup water. Heat on medium and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the coconut and keep stirring over medium heat until the water evaporates and the sugar crystallizes. Transfer to a baking sheet and toast at 325° until golden brown.

The sugar that doesn't stick to the coconut will turn into golden flakes. I like to use it in my chai latte or hot chocolate. Okay, it's not as easy as the recipe above but you get delicious strips of sweet, toasted coconut too. We first bought this stuff at a fruit stand in Maui and they charged $5 for about 1/4 of a coconut worth.

I use parchment and/or butter for flat pans but for the intricate designs I use a baking spray with flour in it very sparingly. I have the bug pan and it collects too much butter and flour in the bottom corners.

I couldn't help but notice that all of your favorite bundt pans are made by Nordicware. I have several Nordicware pans and they are awesome. They're a little more expensive but the metal is much thicker and the cakes release perfectly. Nordicware's website has lots of bundt cake recipes and an annual contest.

That's funny Molly, I too ate a lot of cereal, dry salad, and b&c (no slimy stuff) burritos in college, and not just because of my budget.

I was a picky child and teenager and my mother said "If you don't like, cook your own dinner." She had final veto over my dinner choices (no ice cream for dinner) but wouldn't spend a bunch of extra time to cook me a separate dinner. I think some people just take longer to learn to like new foods.

We have made several batches of this conserva this fall and it's fabulous. It's super easy to make it with our kitchenaid food strainer attachment and it saves so much space over storing the regular sauces. Thank you for sharing this technique!

I'm a girl with an incurable sweet tooth and I like whiskeys far more than wines. My favorite style is in a wide old-fashioned glass with a single large ice cube or neat with a glass of club soda if the bar only has crushed ice.

I wanted a bottle of Macallan 12 year from the locked case at the local liquor store and the clerk seemed a little surprised. She asked if it was a gift for someone. I said "Heck no, if I'm going to spend that much on alcohol I'm going to drink it myself."