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my mom canned some peaches
my friend has an ice cream maker
anyone have tips for making these work together?
the peaches are incredible, canned in a VERY light syrup

I don't make ice cream, and I especially don't know how the syrup with throw things off. I thought a basic vanilla recipe would do it, but I'm interested in sorbet with an apple base too. Thoughts?

I think I'll drain the peaches and make cocktails out of the peachy syrup . . .
; )

hello nice kitchenettes. i'm a little strapped for cash right now (ah, the life of a freelancer) but am sposed to make dinner for six on sun nite. any suggestions, friends?

lisa -- try a curry with roasted root vegetables and rice.

Lisa - I'd take advantage of the farmers' market. Check out what is bountiful (and cheap!) and make either a huge amount of pasta or else a ratatouille-inspired vegetable stew, served with rice or couscous. Accompany with a great big salad, nice crusty bread, and spend a few extra dollars on some nice cheeses and fruit for a light dessert. With the weather inching toward Fall, comfort foods are really hitting the spot.

Hmmm...I might have to have a dinner party now.

Guido - Drop some of those peaches straight into a bottle of vodka and make some cocktails out of that! Mmmmm...iced oolong tea with peach vodka.

On Monday, I'm headed to Belgium and the Netherlands on a (desperately needed) 2 week vacation. While northern Europe is hardly famous for its cuisine, is there anything you foodies can think of that I shouldn't miss out on?

i also heartily recommend a curry.
I make the cauliflower curry in the new edition of joy, although I substitute carrots for the potato and tofu for the chickpeas.

It comes out wonderfully, makes enough for 6-7 servings and isn't expensive at all.

serve it with brown rice, and a salad- you can really pep up a normal greens salad by adding watermelon, as well

lisa, something i've been doing lately is garlic fettucine with sliced yellow squash and zucchini, fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. it's simple and really pretty to serve. add some good bread served with olive oil and cheese and a big salad and i think that would be delicious.

remember that no matter what you serve your friends, it is always just nice to have someone serving you a meal made at home. my husband and i had dinner the other night with a friend and she made some fresh frozen ravioli that she had picked up at garden of eden along with a jarred vodka sauce and served it with a big bowl of fresh tomatoes with basil. honestly, it was delicious! oh, and lots of wine always helps. : )

this rainy weather makes me want to nest and cook. i think i'm going to try out those small lasagna tins this weekend and freeze a few for the upcoming fall. love that idea to use those smalll foil containers!

lisa, something i've been doing lately is garlic fettucine with sliced yellow squash and zucchini, fresh tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. it's simple and really pretty to serve, and i love that everything (except the pasta) comes from the greenmarket. add some good bread served with olive oil and cheese and a big salad and i think that would be delicious.

remember that no matter what you serve your friends, it is always just nice to have someone serving you a meal made at home. my husband and i had dinner the other night with a friend and she made some fresh frozen ravioli that she had picked up at garden of eden along with a jarred vodka sauce and served it with a big bowl of fresh tomatoes with basil. honestly, it was delicious! oh, and lots of wine always helps. : )

this rainy weather makes me want to nest and cook. i think i'm going to try out those small lasagna tins this weekend and freeze a few for the upcoming fall. love that idea to use those smalll foil containers!

MichelleoM- Re Belgium: Dark chocolate spread (delicious on toast or on ice cream...) You can buy it at any supermarket. Have a great time!
Don't forget to let us know about all the wonderful goodies you tasted on your trip.

I like peaches paired with lemon verbena or anise hyssop. Here's a peach, verbena and banyuls sorbet recipe of mine to give you ideas...

http://www.tiny.cc/lWF4v

I can't believe that was 7 years ago...sigh.

regards,
trillium

Lisa, for dessert:

White Peaches Baked with Syrup. (I did this a couple of weeks ago: it's simple, elegant, great summer to fall dessert)

Buy some small to medium size white peaches at Whole Foods or favorite market. (Note: They may need to ripen for two days).

Peel skin with a small sharp knife but do not cut them in half, leave whole. Roll carefully in lemon juice to prevent browning. Refrigerate till use (but probably best to prep no more than a couple of hours' before baking).

Make a simple syrupy caramel (using brown sugar) by boiling down 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar. I like to let the syrup cool with a blanched bit of lemon peel.

30 minutes before you are ready for dessert, heat oven to 375. Place whole peaches in a shallow ovenproof dish, spoon on the syrup. Bake 10-15 minutes uncovered and baste once or twice.

Serve with knife and fork--one peach per guest with extra spoon of syrup .

Canned vs dry beans...

Can anyone provide commentary about the gustatory virtues (and prep tips) of using dry instead of canned beans?

With the onset of cooler temps, I'm moving into BEAN SOUP mode. But other autumnal bean preparations (canned or dried) would be welcome.

Hi Jen, you'd asked the bean question in June, OT39, to which some of us gave opinions:
http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/open-threads/open-thread-39-008843
What do you put in your bean soup?

Yeah - I remember vaguely asking before - thanks for the link.

I'm facing a mental/culinary block in trying dried beans (for some unknown reason). I guess I'm looking for some overwhelming compelling reason to stop being so lazy and plan ahead a day before I cook!

There's a simplified cuban black bean soup from Cooks Illustrated mag that I really like.

And, I've got a host of cookbooks with other recipes (drawing a blank right now) that I often make.

I guess I'm transitioning back into cooking mode after being on hiatus for a while.

Jen,

I had a why-bother block about using dry beans also and then I tried them. Yes, they take a long time, but the flavor difference can be worth it. I love the Beans and Greens recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. That cookbook also explains in detail the pros and cons of dried beans since, lentils for example, behave nothing like kidney beans.

Also there are some interesting, unique beans at Kalustyan's in Curry Hill, NYC. You might want to check them out.

Oops, sorry, I'm not Jen, I'm Chris. I meant to respond to Jen's question and was typing head of myself.

On dry vs. canned beans. There is a world of difference in flavor and texture, but only if you can find FRESH dried beans. Beans that have been dried within a year from when they are cooked are a different creature then those that are not. For starters, they take a lot less time to cook, and you can salt the water at the very beginning. They have a nice texture (I find canned to be more gummy and soggy) and delicate flavor that gets lost in tinned beans. If your dried beans take all kinds of crazy soaking, precooking, etc. then I can totally see why it wouldn't seem worth the bother. I also think firmer beans like garbanzos or kidneys do a lot better canned then softer ones like Northern Whites, black, pinto, etc.

Fresh shell beans are nice to keep in the freezer too. Fresh shell beans cook up in 20 -40 minutes depending on the variety.

I think the best beans in Pdx are from Ayers Creek Farm.

regards,
trillium

Regarding Belgium and Netherlands:

I was there about 18 months ago, and have to say, the local food is nothing to write home about. Belgium is more about snacks, the frites, the waffles, the chocolate. But most of all THE BEER. It's fun to sit around a pub for hours sipping on the strong Belgian brews, ordering plates of meats and cheeses.

Hope you're visiting Brugge.. so beautiful.

In Holland, the best goodies are the baked kind.. when in Rome.. ;)

Seriously, though, in both Brussels and Amsterdam, I was way into the international foods. We had a great asian/middle eastern meal in Brussels, awesome cheap falafel in Amsterdam (free toppings bar, which you can re-fill and get a day's worth of veggies for like 3 euro), and awesome ethiopian there as well. They're also really big on Indonesian, if you want to eat a big meal.

Feel free to email me at cheflaura at gmail dot com if you want any more specifics or advice!

Jen, I know about mental blocks, I have one about working with yeast-still can't get past it.
In case it helps: you just take a pot with boiling water, add 1 or 2 cups of dried beans and allow them to cook to desired tenderness (take a bean out & test it). That's it, easy. Then some containers can go into the freezer:)

I used to know a Cuban woman who made black bean soup, adding chunks of beets, cabbage, sliced carrots, onion, a bit of vinegar--it was good.
(some cumin & a bay leaf too went in if I remember correctly). I wonder if the Cooks Illustrated recipe is similar?
btw, I don't like kidney beans, I recommend the smaller red beans as kidney beans have a thicker skin on them.
Garbanzo beans are the only ones my grandmother used to soak overnight, rinse out, and make an amazingly good soup! The beauty about cooking beans yourself is that you can start to flavor them by adding- onion & garlic for instance, into the cooking liquid. Makes a difference.

Michelle,

Enjoy the Dutch Pancakes! They are simple delicious... both the savory and sweet kinds, though I loved the savory eggs-and-tomatoes variety! Kinda like french crepes, but have a character all their own!

Have been looking for a Dutch Pancake house here in NY, but have had no luck so far.. any suggestions?

I'll second Laura on trying Indonesian food, esp in Amsterdam.. I remember is lovely place called Indrapura at the Rembrandtsplein in Amsterdam.

Do check out the museums in Amsterdam!

If you're going to Brugge, I'd highly recommend eating away from the main Square... oh drat can't remeber what it's called for the life of me, now...

...Speaking of beans, do folks know about, hold onto your crock pot, HERITAGE BEANS? I'm pretty skeptical, but the names--"Flor de Junio," "Christmas Lima Bean," "European Soldier Bean"--sound irresistible.
I saw bags of these beans for sale in the Bay Area and discovered this web site: Ranchogordo.com for mail order.

Oops, I meant HEIRLOOM BEANS.

Yeah, Rancho Gordo has been getting a lot of great press recently in the Bay area and on high profile weblogs like 101cookbooks. I met the owner at the farmers market when I was in SF this summer and he was very enthusiastic about what he does! He sources heirloom bean varieties in South America and brings them back to be grown locally in Northern California.

I have a bag of his Good Mother Stallard beans, and I am just waiting for it to get a bit cooler to cook them up simply with some garlic and chiles!

They sell some interesting grains and spices on their website as well...

I like buying heirloom beans, because you get a bigger range of textures and flavors.

Look out for sulfur beans (so named because they have a yellowish color, not because they taste of sulfur) like zolfino (as in, the sort of beans they cook in a bottle in ashes in Italy) and China Yellow. Almost any sort of borlotti is good, I like borlotti Lamon (best for dried beans), Saluggia and Vigenago (best for fresh eating), not that cannellino aren't delicious too. Black turtles are good for a black bean that holds its shape. Some others that are great for winter braising dishes are Tarbais and Coco Blancs.

regards,
trillium