Why does tapioca fail to set? I've been making tapioca pudding with large pearls for nearly twenty years. I've used the same process every time, and most times it thickens, but occassionally it just doesn't. I soak my pearls over night. I use a double boiler. I use a combination of whole milk and half and half. I use excessive numbers of egg yolks, and whip the whites for addition at the end. I stir continuously after the tempering and additon of the egg yolks. I've read (somewhere) that the tapioca loses it's thickening ability if left on the shelf too long. Just this weekend, I made two batches of tapioca, with two different packages of pearls, that were purchased from different sources, the day before use. Both were soupy failures. I've made literally hundreds of delicious batches of thick, scrumptious tapioca in my life, but sometimes it just fails. I suspect (though have no proof) that it is the quality of the pearls purchased from the retailer. It's also possible that using an electric burner, vs gas, could have an effect. But, with a double boiler, that shouldn't really make a difference. Anyway, it's really frustrating, when you want to provide a special treat to your family, and it fails. Twice. Arghhh! Martha

Soaking rice is a trick I learned back in the day when I led backpacking trips for a living. You'd put the brown rice in to soak in one of your nalgene containers at lunch, and then it would be ready to fast cook for dinner at the end of the trail. It's really a technique for brown rice, which is much longer cooking than white rice, it's not necessary for white rice. Anyway, the soaking cuts the time down but yes, you have to remember to soak it which I hardly ever do. The nice thing is, if you remember it doesn't require watching or anything in between. It worked really well for this short grain brown rice. Steaming is definately the way to go, but I mostly burn rice when I steam, I just don't have the cooking knack that most do on this site. A lot of it is due to me not having a nice heavy bottomed pot and also my electric stove is complete carp and I often get distracted by some other task when I'm cooking. Sometimes all the rice gods come together for me though! I think starchiness is part of the appeal of the short grain brown rice for most people. I'm glad I'm almost out of it now, I am definately a long grain brown rice gal. But this turned out very creamy with the feta cheese, which is fab. with asparagus. Even Alton said use long grain rice for rice pudding, on the video I was watching over the weekend. I can't wait to make room for some basmati rice in my cupboard and try Alton's recipe, with milk, cream and coconut milk! Here is a link that might be useful: Indian style rice pudding

Here's one of my favourite Spanish dishes - Although I have been making it for years the way a Spanish cook once showed me, this time I followed the preparation seen recently on a Spanish Cooking TV channel. Their ingredients included a small piece of or pork fat and a stewing chorizo (chorizo para guisar). If choosing a chorizo for this dish, be sure it is the right type which has the red pimiento colour. The small piece of tocino can be seen just to the right of the sprig of rosemary. Stewed Lentils (Lentejas Estofadas) 350 grams (1 1/2 cups) of small dark lentils - put them to soak the night before in water to cover 100 grams (3.5 oz) red stewing chorizo sausage - lightly pricked over with tines of a fork 50 grams (1.7 oz) salted tocino pork fat - cut into large diced pieces 1 TBSP flour 2 carrots diced fine 2 medium leeks, using only white stems sliced finely in rounds 1 lg clove garlic (this was optional but I wouldn't leave it out) - pass through garlic press 2 cups beef broth (I used 2 Knorr cubes) 1 bay leaf fresh rosemary - small sprig olive oil - about 1/4 cup 2 cups extra water to add after 1st hour 1. Soak lentils the NIGHT BEFORE in water to cover. * Note this if now often unnecessary with newer fast cooking lentils. 2. Next day drain and rinse lentils, put aside. 3. Heat olive oil in heavy cooking pot. When sizzling, add carrots, garlic and leeks. Lightly brown while stirring. 4. Add 1 TBSP flour and keep stirring for about a minute. 5. Add lentils, beef broth, whole chorizo, tocino, laurel and rosemary 6. Put on lid and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check after 1st hour and add up to 2 more cups water as needed. 7. Adjust seasoning and serve. ***************************************** Lentil & Potato Potaje (Potaje de Lentejas y Patatas) 3 cups of presoaked lentils 4 medium potatoes - cut into large dice 2 slices of stale bread 3 cloves garlic vinegar salt Put lentils in large pot, cover with water and begin to boil. As soon as lentils have begun to cook do the following: In a frying pan with 1/2 inch of oil brown the garlic and then add the bread and fry until brown. Remove garlic before it's too dark. Put browned bread and garlic into a mortar and grind to a paste. During the early part of cooking the lentils add the paste from the mortar to the lentils together with the oil that's left in the pan After about half an hour and before lentils are tender, add the diced or quartered potatoes, salt and finish cooking until all is tender. Check and correct salt and a dash of vinegar before serving. Source: A cook friend from Mallorca. *************************************** LENTIL & VEGETABLE SOUP Ingredients: lentils - 250 grams (slightly over 1 cup) garlic - one whole head onion - 1 large - quartered Kasseler smoked pork chop - 1 large (or 250 grams other smoked pork or bacon) ham or pork bone as for making stock 4 medium carrots - sliced into coins 2 stalks celery - diced 5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 8ths 6 flowerettes of cauliflower green beans - handful sliced tomato puré - small 4 oz tin olive oil - 4 TBS fresh garden herbs: 1 bay leaf, several sprigs thyme, Italian flatleaf parsley 2 or 3 sprigs chicken stock 1 liter (4 cups) or water and 3 Knorr chicken stock cubes salt & fesh ground pepper water to cook lentils vinegar - 1 teasp garlic croutons - optional garnish Method: 1) Turn on oven to 350F. Put lentils in large heavy bottomed stew pot with water to cover plus about 2 inches, bring to boil and simmer 45 minutes. Check water level and add more as needed. 2) Meanwhile put whole head of garlic into shallow baking pan together with quartered onion, Kasseler or smoked pork and ham or pork bone, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven at medium heat about 45 minutes. 3) Remove baking tray from oven when all is nicely browned and cut meat into small dice and add to lentil pot along with onion. Squeeze garlic from skin into lentil pot, adding ham/pork bone along with oil and juices scraped from roasting pan. 4) Add rest of vegetables to lentils, chicken stock (or water and stock cubes), tomato puré, fresh herbs and bay leaf, parsley - reserving one sprig, fresh ground pepper. Bring to boil and simmer about 1 hour until vegetables are done, adding more water if needed. 5) When vegetables are tender, remove ham/pork bones and any bare thyme stems from pot, check for flavour and add salt as needed. Add vinegar and stir. 6) Serve with a bit of chopped parsley and more fresh ground pepper. Homemade garlic croutons are also nice as a garnish. Source: Recipe as I learned from a Mallorquin housewife years ago. ******************************* Lentil Purée Convert leftover stewed lentils into a delicious purée by putting them into a food processor and adding the following: 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth 2 lg cloves of garlic crushed and browned in 1/4 cup oil in small frypan 2 slices brown bread broken in small pieces and fried in the garlicky oil until brown Processed the above until smooth and then heat it gently. Dice more pieces of brown bread and toasted them in the frying pan with oil and garlic salt for the croutons. SharonCb

I love Red Beans & Rice. Red Beans And Rice With Sausage Ingredients: 2 pounds hot or smoked sausage 2 pounds dried kidney beans cup vegetable oil 2 large onions, chopped 1 large green bell pepper, chopped 4 large garlic cloves, minced 1 meaty ham hock, about 1 1/2 pounds 1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh marjoram or 1 teaspoon dried marjoram 4 fresh bay leaves or 2 dried 2 tablespoons sugar 1 (12-ounce) can beer Salt, freshly ground black pepper and red (cayenne) pepper to taste Cooked white rice 6 green onions, chopped Minced flat-leaf parsley Directions: Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice sausage into bite-size pieces and spread in single layer on heavy baking sheet. Bake sausage until cooked through and it has rendered its fat. Drain sausage on rack placed over baking sheet and refrigerate until needed. Sort through beans, discarding any discolored ones or pebbles. Rinse beans under running water. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onions, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté until vegetables are wilted, about 8 minutes. Add beans, ham hock, marjoram, bay leaves, sugar and beer. Stir to blend well and add enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and add seasonings. Cover and simmer until beans are soft and juice has formed a thickened gravy, about 3 hours. Add additional water if necessary while cooking. When beans are tender, remove ham hock and chop into bite-size pieces, discarding skin and bones. Return the chopped meat to the beans and add the cooked sausage slices. Cook just to heat through. Serve over rice, garnished with chopped green onions and minced parsley. Makes 6 to 8 servings. SOURCE: Cajun-Creole Cooking Here's another one. ORANGE PECAN WILD RICE 1 cup wild rice 1-1/4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade 2 T unsalted butter Kosher salt 1 cup seedless green grapes, halved ½ cup scallions, sliced in rounds, white and light green parts (2 scallions) 1 cup pecan halves, toasted and coarsely chopped 1 tsp grated orange zest 2 T freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper Place the rice, chicken stock, 1-1/4 cups water, 1 T of the butter and 1 tsp salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover the pot and lower the heat to simmer and cook for about 1 hour, until the rice is tender and the grains begin to burst open. Stir the rice occasionally while itÂs cooking, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent it from sticking. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to steam for about 5 minutes. Stir the remaining tablespoon of butter into the rice, then add the grapes, scallions, pecans, orange zest, orange juice, 1 tsp salt, and the pepper and toss well. Taste for seasonings and serve hot. To toast the pecans: spread on a sheet pan and toast in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Let the pecans cool completely before chopping. Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics