Just feeling the warm NYC breeze and wish I was planting a kitchen herb garden right about now.

As soon as I move into my new space I'm starting one. Any ideas/advice for a first timer? I hope AT runs a piece on cool window boxes...

Kelly, did you catch this?

http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/032906/gardening/kitchen-gardening-101-part-i-planning-your-windowbox-007491

Ask and ye shall receive. That one slipped right past me, thanks Amber!

sandwich of the day:
barrel-aged feta and roasted poblanos
on peasant bread toast

breakfast of the day:
steamed tamales
I cheated with frozen
Buenatural brand, very corny
still haven't made it into TJs to try theirs

future pate of the day:
overcooked french lentils, simmered with garlic + thyme
then
mashed while warm with fresh thyme, parsley, minced shallots, olive oil, barrel-aged feta, vinegar from hot okra pickles, S + P

I was going to make a cold lentil salad, with feta and roasted red pepper but got to talking on the phone . . .
this was a clearin' out the fridge kind of project

today-thanks to a med.appt. at noon, all I've had is an oat muffin and a tuna salad sandwich & will probably have to get something on the run at dinner, cause I have to attend a funeral later.

Bad food day all around! Will report when I have a stellar day, like guido seems to be having.
guido, are you vegetarian? Anyway, your menu has made me hungry! (a lentil salad &/or a tabbouleh sounds good..., maybe make them tomorrow morning!) I put tomato, red onion & fresh parsley in my lentil salad -what else goes in it? Has anyone made eggplant dip with the light purple eggplants?(it's what I have)Ratatouille? Guess what I want to know is if they are interchangeable.

Sara Kate - congratulations on the baby news!! Visited a 1-day old 2 nights ago :)) Sweet!

leeds, condolences

I'm not a vegetarian, but I sure like vegan tamales for breakfast.

I was totally jonesing tabbouleh when the weather got nice yesterday, but I haven't shopped.
Lentil salad...I like chopped fresh tomato, too, but didn't have any. Roasted peppers, lemon (or okra vinegar...guess which was in the fridge), herbs, maybe feta. I prefer shallots to red onion here. Lots of herbs.

All eggplants are interchangeable imho
you just have to treat them a little different
(salt the old ones)
you can use the white ones, or the long japanese paler purple type for anything
without doing some other prep

thanks guido.
Will make salads tomorrow morning for sure now! yes, chopped red pepper, lemon juice..it's all coming back to me! And I'll use shallots as you suggested. Tabbouleh is such a nice fresh taste, isn't it? Luckily I have 3 bunches of parsley to use (will need to buy mint).
Thanks for the eggplant info, great!!
(vegan tamales! you guys...something more to bring back on future trips!)

Guido-

That pate sounds fantastic but I have a couple questions. Can you pretty much use any kind of lentil? What quantities of oil, vinegar, and shallots did you use. And what method do you use to mash everything, like a food processor? I've got a bag of little black lentils in my cupboard that I've been wondering what to do with. I think it might end up pate.

leeds,
if you have a little bit of fresh cilantro to throw in the tabbouleh . . . it's great, in a you-don't-know-it's-there way. just a little, with lots of parsley.

Grant,
I was winging it. I think a mushier lentil would be better for this actually, and I've never cooked with black lentils. I mashed it with a fork, for a chunky texture, but you could totally go smooth with a food processor. The amount of oil depends on the amount of feta cheese -- you just taste as you go.

I've been thinking back to the yummy tamales I made with my mom over Christmas and wanting to make them here in NYC. Problem is, I have no idea where to get masa or cornhusks. For sure they don't have them in my neighborhood (Polish Greenpoint). Does anyone know where I can find them?

guido-wish I could add cilantro-friend doesn't like it, says she's allergic to it! I like it & adding it to the salad does sounds good to me.
Ah, the things we have to sacrifice! We know that in Indian, Latin, Asian etc cuisine some dishes call for it, but...Sometimes I substitute parsley for it or leave it out of recipes altogether.
Thanks for the inspiration!
This could be fun: random food diary submissions-'A day in the life of an AT Cook'!

Anna, head down the main drag in Greenpoint (sorry, can't remember its' name, but it's the street the 61 bus takes before it turns off to head for Queens. At that latter end there was, at least a year ago, a very new grocery that had Latino goods. There is a Latino presence in Greenpoint, I know that; they have a festival out on the pier every year, don't they?

If not, head into Williamsburg (the non-hipster part.)

I don't think fresh masa is available in NYC.
Lord knows I've asked around!

Places mix it up from dry, and of course you can too.
Every bodega in my 'hood has it now.
The corn husks are in lots of regular grocery stores -- all of them that have a certain brand of latino spices/teas/chiles. Which is any average Associated in Bklyn now, thank god.

hey leeds
the freaky music turn of events at my house this am
was
The Magnetic Fields, "69 Love Songs"
volume I

good luck with those cilantro haters
I swear most people just have not had it in the right circumstances . . .

It's a complicated story, but I wound up with a dozen or so bags of frozen green peas. So far, I have made a pea and blue cheese salad, a pea and rice salad, and peas with pancetta. I fear that I will run out of ideas before I run out of peas. Does anyone have a favorite green pea recipe that they want to share?

oh arin you lucky dog you!
might i humbly suggest a recipe i adapted from the last issue of gourmet, mashed peas and potatoes
it is goooooooooooooooooooooooooood
so good, and yes, it requests the peas be frozen!
click on my name and look for the post about meat and potatoes (if you want!)
also wonderful is risi e bisi, basically, pea risotto (if you want more detailed directions, i'd be happy to provide!)
you could also do pea and lettuce pasta which is delightlful (its basically just caramelized onions, peas, slightly wilted lettuce and lotsa butter and cheese)
you could do peas in your mac and cheese
peas sauteed with garlic and served with fresh mint
pea puree risotto
pea soup
anything with cheese and peas rules
man, i'm kinda jealous... i think you can tell from this, i really, really like peas!

i like peas in tuna casserole and in tuna salad...

also, samosas with peas and potatoes are yummy: just wrap peas, diced boiled potatoes, maybe a little onion, and curry powder in puff pastry. i bet you could make them with just peas and it would be delicious.

I lived in Northern Italy for a spell and my host Mom would make risotto with ham, peas & parmesan. Nothing you would ever see in the states but boy was it good; in that comfort food sort of way.

Anna, there are certainly lots of Latin American food stuffs in NY, you'll find your way around. A few years back I got off the subway at Jackson Heights & walked around thinking I could easily be walking in Colombia (I've only been to Cartagena). It was great! (I don't live in NY.)

Can you give us any tamale making steps/hints? I've been too scared to tackle it myself but I'm preparing myself mentally to do it this year!!

guido, I did buy Rick Bayless(Mexican Everyday+ One Plate at a Time) & D. Kennedy, My Mexico. 2 of those books have tamale recipes. I think I'm a 'hands-on'/visual type for this kind of dish.
Any help will be appreciated though, Anna!

guido, Magnetic Fields etc., it's wild, how do you get wind of all these titles? If you're on a cool music mailing list, I want to get in on it! will try to check it out..

I only made lentil salad & tabbouleh this morning
(see that's what happens when young Mr. Marley is not cheering me on...)
cilantro hater still hating, didn't like the tabbouleh because it had too much bulgur-only 3/4 cup soaked bulgur for a big bowl, not much!with arabic pepper and sumac, mm! Oh, well, my office get-together today will benefit!
Next time we'll fix it together so there are no complaints. (the chopped cilantro on the side idea works too!)

or
you could give that hater pbj and be done with it!

sorry, an old childhood rule popping up . . .
one of my best friends can be childish in her eating
so I'm sympathetic

Magnetic Fields are nothing like the other stuff we've been talking about...quirky good writing, yes, but musically . . . you'll see.

Grant,
more info from the lentil pate lab
now that it set up and we ate some

I put in a shake of cumin, forgot to mention that
the okra vinegar had habanero in it, so there was a
nice slight undertone of heat
a small amount of chili flakes would work too

I saw a Molto Mario where he made brushetta with
chopped fava bean topping -- I think that's where this pate
came from. Beans on bread, go figure. I'd never seen the show -- he was pretty great.
might have to get his book...

tamales, leeds, tamales
I'll dig up my bookmarks on them
remember, I'm just steaming the frozen ones,
and buying them fresh from nice people in Brooklyn

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamales_Recipe_.htm

lots of photos - I have not tried the recipe
but you get a very clear sense of what's involved

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/tamales.htm
is a nicely designed site that tells you what delicious lump of masa comes from where and
everything everything everything else

We made the pumpkin seed green mole in Bayless OPAAT - pretty great stuff, kind of velvety elegant

I love the pasilla/tomatillo salsa too
or is that from D.Kennedy . . . ?

okay, I'm DONE.
There's probably a whole new thread out there . . .

Thanks liz, ann and jd for all the great recipe ideas. I hope to try at least one of them this weekend.

guido re PBJ, LOL - cute! ..thanks for the sympathy.
I'm now totally curious about the music (tomorrow prob.)lunch at Portuguese rest.today.

You're a 'bundle' of tamale info today!:)
Thanks! will take me a while to catch up...

Chard o Rama! Each week, I get these huge leaves of red chard in my Urban Organic box. It's pretty but I never know what to do with it.

Does anyone have suggestions on what to do with chard?