gina_w, I made your poached salmon with chimichurri for supper tonight -- right down to the garnish. My husband and I both LOVED it! It is a definite contender for the party. Do you think that it would be good at room temperature? I don't want to be cooking during the appetizers or the soup course, but I am afraid if I keep it warm in the oven it will dry out, and even a reheat in the microwave might overcook it. Here is how I did the chimichurri and poached the fish (I'm sure you know how to do both, but just in case some other reader wants to know): I took a big handful of flat leaf parsley, 4 cloves garlic, and a bit of onion and minced them in the food processor. Then I added about 1/3 c of arbequetta olive oil, a little red wine vinegar, a little lemon juice, about 1/2 t of dried oregano, and S&P. That's it -- and it was really terrific. I poached the salmon by putting it in a deepish pan with water to cover, added some mirin, some peppercorns, and a bay leaf, as you suggested. I brought it to a boil, and then immediately took it off the heat, covered the pan, and let it sit about 10 minutes. eandhl, here is my recipe for stir-fried tofu. It was my first stir-fry. Many years ago, when I was about 22, my aunt gave me a wok. It just sat there until one day in the newspaper's food section, in the "kids in the kitchen" column, I found this recipe for stir-fried tofu and vegetables (I've rewritten it to leave out all the super-basic instructions like "peel the onion and put it on a plate"). I figured if kids could do it, I could, too! Now I love to cook all kinds of Chinese dishes, but this is the one that got me started. My kids always loved it. I make all kinds of modifications now, depending on what vegetables I have on hand, and I use sherry, dark soy, hot oil, etc. This is the basic; you modify it the way you want (use more or different vegetables; include water chestnuts and bamboo shoots; add or substitute chicken or beef for the tofu; etc.). Enjoy! Stir-fried Tofu and vegetables ¼ pound mushrooms 1 large carrot 1 small onion 1 small green pepper 1 - 2 pkg tofu (firm works best) 1 clove garlic 2 T water (I like sherry or mirin instead) 1 t cornstarch 2 T oil (I like to use peanut) 3 T soy sauce 2 t honey Prepare vegetables. Mix water and cornstarch in one bowl, soy and honey in the other. Stir fry vegetables 1 minute, add soy/honey mixture, cover and cook one minute. Stir in water and cornstarch and tofu, stir gently until heated, about 1 minute.

I like this thai cookbook a lot.. Real Vegetarian Thai. I particularly like the fact that her directions are very detailed and she has great recipe for the basics from scratch - red curry paste, panang curry, various stocks etc. I realize that if I understand the logic of the cooking style, I can cook better. So the curry pastes are basically like a thick pesto that can be diluted as needed for various dishes. Like pesto, they also freeze well in icecube trays. So I can make various curry pastes in one sitting (most of the ingredients are similar except chilli color) and "assemble" the dish in a short time for dinner with just some chunks of tofu, veggies etc. The other thing I realized is using the right ingredient makes a huge difference. I live in the hub of asians in SF bay area and have several chinese grocery stores near me but some ingredients from a thai grocery store gave it that special flavor. Thai soy sauce (much thicker.. almost like a reduction of balsamic vinegar), thai palm sugar, thai red rice, thai sticky rice, also kefir lime leaves, thai chillies, galangal (ginger is not quite the same), lemon grass, tamarind (not paste). Most of these freeze well as well.

I have a copy of, "the NEW Fannie Farmer-Boston Cooking-School COOK BOOK", 1953. My father, in his retirement, took on the care of several Summer homes in Southern Maine. He would check on them during the winter, board up windows against storms, uncover rose gardens when the time was right, deal with emergencies...that kind of thing. During the Summer, when people were in residence, he was sort of a general, all around handyman. His largest client was old money...there was a beach named after the family, a road named after the family, and a huge home, loaded with antiques that had been the original furnishings. An elderly Black woman came up every summer from South Carolina to be their cook for the season. Little bittie thing, set in her ways and stubborn as heck, but since she'd been cooking for the family for decades, she knew what they liked and how to manage them. I had been separated from my father at age 5, and when I found him again in my early 30's, I went out to stay with him and my stepmother for a year to get to know them. He took me down to meet Marguerite. She was a kick, and we got along...several years later, when she knew that she wouldn't be able to make it up again the next season (or ever), she gave my father her Fannie Farmer for me. It still has a bunch of book marks in it, some with shopping lists, some with her name, some with cryptic notes I can't decipher, all in the same, slanted hand. I actually use the book quite a bit, but I don't disturb the bookmarks. I sometimes puzzle over the marked pages, wondering which recipe she had marked... I also have my mother's copy of "The Complete American-Jewish Cookbook",1952. It has a separate section of Passover recipes. There are no pork recipes, naturally. Generally, the cookies and bread recipes are good. As for unique...I have an Ethiopian cookbook...the only one I've been able to find. "Exotic Ethiopian Cooking-Society, Culture, Hospitality, & Traditions. I've only made a couple of dishes out of it. I love Ethiopian food, and when I found out how much Nit'ir Qibe (purified herb & spice butter) is used in most of the dishes I love, I realized why I love them. For example, in dishes made from 1 pound of ground beef, it is not unusual that they contain a cup of butter. A typical lentil dish pairs 2 cups of lentils with 2 cups of butter. No wonder I love it!

Beets are one of my favorite vegetables. Unfortunately I don't fix them much because they are kind of expensive in an urban grocery store usually, and they are a little touchy to prepare. Don't get me wrong, they are easy, easy as far as technique, but beet juice stains and I am a clumsy cook. A lot of people like roasting them. I like roasted beets, but I also like steamed beets which I think are a little easier to prepare. Just cut off the tops and bottoms of the beets, scrub them a bit, then roast or steam, or even boil. You have to peel off the outside skin of the beet after they cool. My preferred method for cooking beets is in my steamer. I also steam the greens along with them. Very good served just with butter and salt, or a little parm. cheese. I adore beet greens, they are my favorite green, but it sounds like you don't like greens in general, so you might not like beet greens. You can also eat the stems, at least the non-woody ones. If you don't like the texture of greens, you can sneak beet greens into lasagne or soup. The classic beet soup is borscht, which I love. Once the beets have cooled and you have peeled them, you can put the beets in salads. Below are my two favorite beet salads, and I think a good way to perhaps introduce yourself to beets. Another way to serve them is sweet and sour, sometimes called harvard beets, or there's beets in orange sauce. I never have them that way since I prefer them more savory, but you might prefer them the other way. I don't have any of those type of recipies, but there are plenty out there, I once even posted a beet thread about four months back you might be able to find that. I have the recipies saved some where so I may be able to get them some time but I'm pinched for time right now. Potato Beet Salad from "Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Favorites" cookbook 4 med. beets, scrubbd and leaf stems trimmed off 5 potatoes, peeled and cubed 1/2 cup minced red onion or scallions 1 cup non fat yogurt (when I make this I use a mix of 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup yogurt or lowfat sour cream) 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or dried dill weed to taste) 1 tsp. cider vinegar 2 small dill pickles, chopped (about 1/2 cup) (Can also use plain cukes in a pinch) 2 tsp. prepared horseradish (optional, I never use it) 1 tsp. sugar (optional) salt and ground black pepper to taste Boil or steam beets until tender, immerse in cold water to cool, then peel. Check for tenderness by piercing them with a knife. If they can be easily pierced, they are done. After peeling, when they are completely cool, chop them into bite sized pieces. (I like little half moon beet pieces) In separate pot, boil potatoes until tender for about 20 min. Drain potatoes and cool. Put the beets, potatoes, onions and pickles in a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Stir gently to distribute the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill at least 30 min. before serving. Note: depending on what else you're eating, you can also add feta or goat's milk cheese crumbles to this salad, and serve over a bed of lettuce. Beets with Goat Cheese and Dill from Williams and Sonoma "Vegetable" cookbook 6-8 small beets (or 3-4 large ones) 1 1/4 lb total, approx. 2 shallots or 1/2 red onion, chopped 1 tsp. sugar salt 1 TBLSP balsamic vinegar Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 TBLSP olive oil 1-2 TBLSP chopped fresh dill (or 1-2 tsp. dried dill weed, but fresh is so much better) 3 oz. fresh goat cheese (or feta if you don't like goat cheese, I love it) Clean beets and remove stem ends. Place in baking pan just large enough to hold them. Pour water into the pan to a depth of 1/2-1 inch. Cover the pan with aluminum foil or a cover. Bake in the oven at 375 until the beets are tender (easily pierced with a fork). This will take about 40 minutes for small beets and an hour for large ones. Replace the water if the pan looks like it's getting dried out. Once done, remove beets from the pan and allow to cool enough so you can handle them. Peel the beets and cut them into wedges. Place the warm beets in a bowl, add the onion or shallots. Combine the dressing ingredients and toss to coat. (It has been my experience that you need to make twice as much dressing as the recipe calls for to get a good kicky flavor). Spoon the warm dressed beets into a serving bowl or individual plates. Can serve on a bed of lettuce. Top with dollops of the goat cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature. Can save leftover beets in the marinade, will keep for a couple of days. Both salads good with toasted sunflower seeds tossed onto them before serving, for extra protein and some crunch. I like to take the beet and potato salad to work with a lowfat swiss cheese sandwich, sometimes also add fake ham to the sandwich. The beet/goat cheese salad is good with a hummus sandwich, hummus and cukes on rye is one of my favorites. Can also serve with baked pita chips and hummus dip.