Comments on: Upgrades, Snafus and Other Blog Stuff http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/ Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:59:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.2 Comment on Upgrades, Snafus and Other Blog Stuff by: Dan http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56331 Sun, 04 May 2008 22:02:06 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56331 I think you should do more stories with that Dan in them, or stories with Dan as the photographer. This of course means inviting him over for dinner more often. ;-) -Da....errrrr...Dave...Yeah....Dave...That's it! Seriously...Something that you do all the time in person that you don't necessarily go into in great detail on your blog, but I find utterly facinating is the Chemistry of Cooking. While you're cooking, you talk about certain ingredients reacting with other ingredients to create flavors and textures. This as a binding agent, the acid in that reacting with thus and such to produce the tangyness in the flavor. I've watched you talk about a recipe you've come up with that was inspired by some COMPLETELY different dish from a COMPLETELY different ethnic background, where there rarely seems to be any common ingredients, or even similar flavors, but the results are almost always fantastic. I think this is what makes you so versatile, in that you can cook almost any "ethnicity" of food. Methods and spices vary, but meats, vegetable families, starches, etc. will almost always interact similarly. I guess some of it has sunk in, because when I'm cooking, I find myself experimenting with different ingredients and spices to achieve a certain effect. Since spending so much time in a kitchen just watching you, (as when Barbara is cooking, the Kitchen becomes the household gathering place,) I find myself saying, "Well, Barbara does this Chinese dish this way, and this works with this in this way to produce so-and-so, and so I think if I do this THIS way for this Mexican dish, it should work the same." I find that 9 times out of 10 it's quite successful. I don't know how much other people would find this interesting, as it's not X or Y recipe, but if you could share just a little about this, I know I'd be riveted. All the best, -Dan I think you should do more stories with that Dan in them, or stories with Dan as the photographer.

This of course means inviting him over for dinner more often. ;-)

-Da….errrrr…Dave…Yeah….Dave…That’s it!

Seriously…Something that you do all the time in person that you don’t necessarily go into in great detail on your blog, but I find utterly facinating is the Chemistry of Cooking.

While you’re cooking, you talk about certain ingredients reacting with other ingredients to create flavors and textures. This as a binding agent, the acid in that reacting with thus and such to produce the tangyness in the flavor.

I’ve watched you talk about a recipe you’ve come up with that was inspired by some COMPLETELY different dish from a COMPLETELY different ethnic background, where there rarely seems to be any common ingredients, or even similar flavors, but the results are almost always fantastic.

I think this is what makes you so versatile, in that you can cook almost any “ethnicity” of food. Methods and spices vary, but meats, vegetable families, starches, etc. will almost always interact similarly.

I guess some of it has sunk in, because when I’m cooking, I find myself experimenting with different ingredients and spices to achieve a certain effect.

Since spending so much time in a kitchen just watching you, (as when Barbara is cooking, the Kitchen becomes the household gathering place,) I find myself saying, “Well, Barbara does this Chinese dish this way, and this works with this in this way to produce so-and-so, and so I think if I do this THIS way for this Mexican dish, it should work the same.” I find that 9 times out of 10 it’s quite successful.

I don’t know how much other people would find this interesting, as it’s not X or Y recipe, but if you could share just a little about this, I know I’d be riveted.

All the best,

-Dan

]]> Comment on Upgrades, Snafus and Other Blog Stuff by: Diane http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56307 Fri, 02 May 2008 20:32:10 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56307 Maureen: That was my experience trying to get my Sumeet too. It took four months and two separate deliveries and many, many odd excuses. Barbara: Anything you do and how ever often you do it is great. No really - GREAT! Local ingredients? Chinese? Indian? Pantry cooking? Anything and everything, including of course KAT is most welcome... Maureen: That was my experience trying to get my Sumeet too. It took four months and two separate deliveries and many, many odd excuses.

Barbara: Anything you do and how ever often you do it is great. No really - GREAT! Local ingredients? Chinese? Indian? Pantry cooking? Anything and everything, including of course KAT is most welcome…

]]> Comment on Upgrades, Snafus and Other Blog Stuff by: gizella http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56304 Fri, 02 May 2008 14:37:32 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56304 i always appreciate your entries on feeding children. I have a young one of my own, and don't want to blindly follow the "what to expect" type of books, but really have no experience (i'm an only child, hung out with my grandparents a lot etc) i always appreciate your entries on feeding children. I have a young one of my own, and don’t want to blindly follow the “what to expect” type of books, but really have no experience (i’m an only child, hung out with my grandparents a lot etc)

]]> Comment on Upgrades, Snafus and Other Blog Stuff by: Maureen http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56294 Fri, 02 May 2008 01:56:38 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56294 Everything I can use my sumeet with - you see one was ordered for me for my birthday in 2006 after your rave reviews about its usage. It is now May 2008 - 3 birthdays & a couple of months later - and it just arrived. The stories were great - a bit like the plagues in Egypt. There were floods, moving of factories, lost shipments. The person giving me this gift heard everything except that the boat sank. Part of those stories must be true because Williams Sonoma had them in their catalog and they never received them either. My gift giver finally gave up and bought me the BIG one which arrived this past week. I have checked out all the T&S recipes, am heading to the Asian store and cooking up a storm this weekend. WAAAHOOOOOO. This is going to be fun. Of course, what is also great fun is seeing pictures and hearing stories of Kat, Morganna, Zak and you. Oh....more Thai recipes too please. Everything I can use my sumeet with - you see one was ordered for me for my birthday in 2006 after your rave reviews about its usage. It is now May 2008 - 3 birthdays & a couple of months later - and it just arrived. The stories were great - a bit like the plagues in Egypt. There were floods, moving of factories, lost shipments. The person giving me this gift heard everything except that the boat sank. Part of those stories must be true because Williams Sonoma had them in their catalog and they never received them either. My gift giver finally gave up and bought me the BIG one which arrived this past week. I have checked out all the T&S recipes, am heading to the Asian store and cooking up a storm this weekend. WAAAHOOOOOO. This is going to be fun.

Of course, what is also great fun is seeing pictures and hearing stories of Kat, Morganna, Zak and you.

Oh….more Thai recipes too please.

]]> Comment on Upgrades, Snafus and Other Blog Stuff by: Kim http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56284 Thu, 01 May 2008 00:04:39 +0000 http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2008/04/27/upgrades-snafus-and-other-blog-stuff/#comment-56284 T&S is my favorite food blog because you give us GREAT recipes and sometimes a little history and the story behind it. I like trying new things and that's something I appreciate about your blog, that you mix it up and give us a great variety of recipes. And gotta tell you, that tutorial on cooking onions for a long time and using them in recipes? OhMyGoodness they are SO good! We love, love, love the pasta with mushrooms and peas :-) Just keep up the good work! T&S is my favorite food blog because you give us GREAT recipes and sometimes a little history and the story behind it. I like trying new things and that’s something I appreciate about your blog, that you mix it up and give us a great variety of recipes.
And gotta tell you, that tutorial on cooking onions for a long time and using them in recipes? OhMyGoodness they are SO good! We love, love, love the pasta with mushrooms and peas :-)
Just keep up the good work!

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