BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 19 - 09:41 AM

White peaches are in the grocery store now; when they're ripe they have a more intense peach flavor. I tend to look for freestone peaches, whatever variety I buy, just because they're easier to eat or cut up for cooking, though I'll eat the others if that's all that is available.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Jul 19 - 11:20 AM

White peach juice + prosecco = Bellini. Mmmm!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 28 Jul 19 - 06:48 PM

I am not a female. Just fyi. Given the choice I prefer They to He but She does not apply. Luvs. Feed me something yummy now! I've been traveling and nothing was truly delish except one salmon-on-a-salad...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Jul 19 - 07:44 PM

Mrrzy — chicken off the barbie. Split up the back and flattened, laid out on the grill over a pan of water set on the tiles (gas barbie, BTW), skin well dressed with the same spice rub as for Memphis-style pork ribs. Smoker. Gas up high until the smoke starts to roll, then whack the chicken down. After about fifteen minutes, turn the gas low. Leave it alone with the lid down for as long as it takes.

Hack the cooked chicken into quarters and serve with crusty bread and good beer.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Jul 19 - 07:48 PM

The first peaches of the summer appeared in the Stratford market yesterday, very early cultivar. Freestone varieties usually come in late August, and these are, indeed, a cling-ish peach. But deee-licious!

After eating three over the sink, I put in some quality time with the dental floss. Worth it.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 28 Jul 19 - 08:13 PM

You're so perspicacious, Mrrzy, you had me fooled.

Charmion, thanks for the chicken idea.

Now I'm all set up to make Nogales chicken stew, a recipe I got from a Hispanic grandmother at church.

Brown some chicken pieces in a big skillet. (I use thighs)
Remove chicken, saute chopped yellow onion.
Replace chicken.
Add tomatoes, either from the garden or canned, no-salt tomatoes.
Add the juice from a can of high-quality canned corn. The canned corn taste is essential.
Cover and let simmer.
After a while, add chopped zucchini.
Add chopped green pepper.
Let cook till chicken is tender.
Season with chili powder to taste, prob. 1 to 2 tsp.
Just before serving, add the corn kernels and let them warm up.

*The idea is not to cook the zucchini and green pepper to death.

The original recipe called for dredging the chicken in flour, but I don't bother.

Serve with corn bread, avocados, guacamole, watermelon and other summery stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 19 - 08:52 PM

That flattened chicken is "spatchcocked." Like this.

I felt like something for dinner, but not fancy. There was a cup of buttermilk in the fridge that needed using so I made a batch of pancakes. The leftovers are wrapped and frozen for future meals. It didn't take long to make and hit the spot.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 29 Jul 19 - 06:47 AM

Did I ever tell you about my whore's pasta, spaghetti alla puttanesca? Takes as long as it takes the spaghetti (dried, not fresh - this dish is store cupboard only!) to boil.

For two people. Get 250g spaghetti on to boil in salted water. No oil. Get a big, heavy, shallow pan and put two big glugs of extra virgin olive oil in it. Add dried chilli flakes to taste (it's supposed to be pretty spicy), two cloves of garlic finely sliced (not crushed) and three or four anchovy fillets out of a tin. Sauté that lot for a couple of minutes then add about 2/3 of a tin of tomatoes, a tablespoon of capers, about 100g of pitted black olives out of a tin (chop them up a bit), a handful of chopped fresh parsley (optional) and some pepper. When the spag is al dente, drain it and quickly throw it into the sauce (it's always worth keeping a splash of pasta water in reserve). Mix thoroughly. No Parmesan. Get it right and it's a masterpiece. Nigella suggests serving it wearing a tight low-cut dress and garish red lipstick with a cigarette hanging out of your mouth.

We've taken to eating any pasta dish the Italian way. Just a fork, no spoon, no knife, just a lot of slurping keeping over the bowl. Ottimo! We're having gnocchi alla Sorrentina tonight. Lovely long stringy bits of mozzarella, a challenge to the consumer!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 29 Jul 19 - 07:24 AM

It would be better with whole black olives chopped up, pitted olives all seem tasteless to me.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jul 19 - 10:40 AM

I learned spatchcocked chicken from a book, and it took me a while (and a few nicked fingers) to perfect the technique. The New York Times article recommends pressing down on the centre of the breast to flatten the bird, but this method is unreliable for two reasons.

First, the flattening manoeuvre is designed to break or dislocate one or both of the clavicles at the sternum, and this always happens at the weakest point -- which may not be at the sternum, where you want the break to be. Second, most fryer chickens (the best size for spatchcocking) are so young that their joints are very flexible, so pressing might not achieve the aim at all.

So the better method is to take your stiff, very sharp knife (the one you used to cut the ribs away from the backbone) and cut the cartilage that covers the point where the clavicles join the sternum. (Note that shears won't do this job.) Then turn the bird over and press it flat, with your knuckles or the heel of your hand on that joint. The result will be a firm snap, at the sternum.

Steve, I would love to try your puttanesca recipe, but I would have to do it with somebody else's husband. Mine won't touch it -- or arrabiata, either. One of his few flaws is a prejudice against hot peppers.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jul 19 - 10:54 AM

You don't need to cut out the spine and flatten the breast, if you want you can cut down the middle of the breast and flatten it at the spine. The point is to flatten the bird, either way works.

I agree, Steve's pasta dish sounds good. Maybe I should pick up some anchovies, I think I have the rest.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jul 19 - 12:31 PM

Stilly, I have tried cutting down the middle of the breast, but the result was much drier breast meat. Also, I found cutting along the sternum to be more awkward than along the backbone. Finally, it looked even more deeply weird than the other way.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 29 Jul 19 - 01:16 PM

Charmion... I don't play with barbies. Ha ha ha ha ha! I need to get me one, though- and make that chicken!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 30 Jul 19 - 12:11 AM

I grew up eating pasta with a fork only, but slurping was not allowed!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Jul 19 - 08:58 AM

Spatchcocking is a great technique, Mrrzy. With a non-trivial investment of skill and effort in the kitchen before the company comes, you get a faster-cooking, moister bird that you can quarter quickly and efficiently when it's time to get dinner on the table.

I use a Cutco knife with a sturdy, seven-inch serrated blade for the initial prep, and a pair of poultry shears to quarter the bird when it comes out of the oven.

Cookbooks focussed on barbecuing are the best source of recipes for spatchcocked chicken. I like Steven Raichlen's "The Barbecue Bible", which introduced me to the whole world of spice rubs and smoke cooking.

Yeah. You need a barbecue. If you live in quarters where you can use one without risk of burning down the building, what are you waiting for?

By the way, Raichlen actually favours charcoal as a barbecue fuel; he thinks gas is for wussies. Gas is efficient, however, and I recommend it if cooking is a thing you do primarily to feed yourself and family and not as a hobby activity.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 30 Jul 19 - 10:44 AM

I habe great shears for spatchcocking, which always sounds deviant. However, coming back from 10 days at the beach, I find I did not have enough seafood. Moules Mariniere [accent grave] happening tonight but at a restaurant...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 30 Jul 19 - 11:12 AM

Hold on. I think 2 tsp chili is too much for the Nogales chicken stew recipe I put above.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jul 19 - 11:13 AM

I try not to keep onions and potatoes in the fridge, but in the hot time of year, it becomes a necessity to keep them from spoiling fast. This morning I checked out a bag of white potatoes on the counter and found a couple too far gone to save and a couple that needed a bad spot trimmed.

I have a recipe that originally came from Martha Stewart Living on one of the cards she has in each issue—four items you can make that add up to a nice meal and the cards are perforated so they are recipe cards to keep. The salmon meal she recommended that had grilled fish, steamed asparagus, and potatoes (I don't remember the dessert) is one we eat often.

The small or new potatoes are simmered until you can pierce them easily with a sharp knife. Let them cool a few minutes (or save them in the fridge to finish later) then heat a small skillet with a generous pat of butter and each potato is put on a work surface and using the heel of your hand gently compress it until the skin splits and some of it extrudes, but the potato is still in one piece. Place these in the gently heated butter and let them cook until they are browned on each side and those little edges sticking out have started to crisp a little. I use salt and fresh ground pepper and that's it. I always thought of them as Martha Stewart's potatoes, but my son and his girlfriend were telling me about a meal they made that included "smashed potatoes" and I asked what that was. Apparently they needed a name for that MS recipe and it works. So I'm making smashed potatoes to use for meals this week.

I also have some larger potatoes that I cut into chunks (usually about an inch on one side is the largest) and they saute in olive oil and get the salt, fresh pepper, and some seasoning (sometimes smoked paprika) treatment. They reheat nicely. And this is what I use to put in tacos when vegetarian friends come over and can't eat the fish or beef.

Cooking things in the morning so you don't have to heat up the house during the afternoon or evening is a practice in this hot climate. It's going to be in the high-90s or low 100s (in the 37C range) for the next few weeks. Cooking outside is also popular. See Charmion's discussion of spatchcocked chicken, for starters.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Jul 19 - 12:06 PM

Gas is a lot cheaper than charcoal and I haven't noticed any lack of flavour. My barbie is a somewhat ancient Weber Q220 job with a lid. Using the best quality ingredients is the way to go. Buy the best butcher's sausages and never buy burgers from a shop. I buy top-quality minced steak from an online Scottish butcher (Donald Russell, Brits) and a pound of that makes four superb, beefy-flavoured burgers that cook quickly. No onion, no mustard, no seasoning, no nothing. Just open the pack and gently form four burgers. I make a big dint in the middle so that they're shaped like a huge red blood cell. I baste them on the grill with something oily and spicy, but that's it. I want to taste beef. I don't baste the sausages at all. Other good things to barbecue are cobs of sweetcorn and halloumi cheese cut into large slices. I use a griddle plate for delicate stuff such as fish (mackerel fillets are really good, with a garlicky and herby marinade of olive oil and lemon juice), best cooked with the lid down. Any fish with skin on. John Dory is brilliant. Tuna steaks aren't the easiest things to get just right. Albacore/yellowfin is much nicer than skipjack, which I find a bit coarse. Swordfish cooks well, if you like its flavour. I found last week that cherry tomatoes on a skewer are lovely and they don't take long. Peppers are good but they take much longer. I don't barbecue chicken very often. Strong barbie flavours override the delicate flavour of the chicken for me, and breast meat dries out way too fast.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jul 19 - 09:42 PM

Shish kabobs on the grill are amazing; beef or lamb, small onions that were parboiled before being skewered to speed the cooking, and quartered bell peppers (small enough that they cook with everything else. Small tomatoes or quartered large tomatoes round it out.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 31 Jul 19 - 04:57 AM

I always steam potatoes rather than boiling them, then put a clean teacloth over them to absorb the steam after taking the steamer off the salty boiling water.

New potatoes are delicious with salty butter and chopped dill.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 31 Jul 19 - 10:57 AM

Not a lack of flavor, Steve Shaw, but a quite different flavor. I love gas-grilled anything, but I *LOVE* anything charcoal-grilled.

The mussels were great. Crab tonight.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Jul 19 - 12:54 PM

Steve Shaw, we eat chicken often, and in summer I always cook it on the barbecue. To prevent that chicken-leather effect, you put a beat-up old roasting tin on the tiles of the gas barbecue -- i.e., under the grids, but over the burner -- and fill it with water. Put the grids back, and light the barbecue. When it's hot enough to do the business, the water in the pan will be simmering. Thus, the chicken is bathed in steam while it cooks -- obviously with the lid down -- and the meat comes out wonderfully moist. The steam does not result in soggy skin; it emerges crisp and delicious.

Twice recently you've mentioned John Dory. That's a species I have never seen in a shop; is it a strictly European fish, or is it perhaps called something else on this side of the Herring Pond?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 01 Aug 19 - 12:41 AM

Yesterday I didn't give a thought to dinner until the last minute. Fortunately we had the wherewithal for that summer favorite, the BLT. (bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich). Homegrown tomatoes made them especially good.

My dear husband, the DH, loves to cook over a wood fire. Years ago we came across a grill in a county park in Iowa that he really liked. Fortunately, it still had the manufacturer's name on it, and we ordered one for ourselves. (The company acted surprised. They were used to selling to parks.) He makes excellent steaks, hamburgers and pork chops on it.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 01 Aug 19 - 06:17 AM

John Dory, reputedly from jaune dorée, or yellowy goldy, is this. Verra tasty. The BBC has a rake of recipes here. Of course, eating shellfish now that we've poisoned the sea with plastic is probably not a good idea, so some might be avoided…

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Aug 19 - 08:55 AM

Thanks for the link, Thompson. That is definitely not a critter I have ever seen laid out on ice in this country.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 Aug 19 - 09:30 AM

I have a feeling that they don't inhabit your waters.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Aug 19 - 09:41 AM

Leeneia, what is the brand of grill your husband likes?

It looks like the John Dory is everywhere EXCEPT North and South America.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 Aug 19 - 07:07 PM

It was a perfect barbie night tonight. Normally we have a burger followed by a.n. other but I rang the changes tonight. We had mackerel fillets with skewered veg and a weird but very nice Waitrose "Mexican-inspired bean burger" wot I'd got cheap, froze and forgot about. It was just right. I didn't marinade the mackerel but I just made a baste of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, thyme and seasoning.

Everything was delicious.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 01 Aug 19 - 10:03 PM

I'm doing a frugal "No Spend" month this August, so am making meals as much as possible from the cupboards and fridge and freezer. Tonight was a thawed tandoori bread and I used 1/3 of it to make what amounted to three thin-crust pizza slices. I still allow myself to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables, gas for the car, dog food, etc., but am being more resourceful with the materials already here. I'll make a crock pot of oatmeal with chopped dates that will be my breakfast for the next few mornings.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 02 Aug 19 - 10:55 AM

Hi, SRS. The grill came from the RJ Thomas Mfg Co., which also uses the brand name Pilot Rock.

https://www.pilotrock.com/userdocs/Pilot%20Rock%20Catalog_250.pdf

Ours is an infinitely adjustable one with a single shelf. Two shelves might be better.

You have to dig a big hole and bury the base. It takes a robust person to do that. (Parks don't want people going off with their grills.)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 Aug 19 - 12:11 PM

Thank you - and I agree, that is a good-looking grill. Back in the 1970s I worked for the Forest Service at a station that had a crew house but didn't want to deal with the problems of a kitchen. They put a couple of the standard-issue USFS fire grills in the ground outside the building, expecting we would go to the trouble to build a fire each time we wanted to eat. We got resourceful with hot plates and electric saucepans instead.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 04 Aug 19 - 10:05 AM

I enjoyed the salad visiting (oz again) brother made last evening.

1 bowl of basmati rice with chopped/cubed tomato, sweet pepper, onion, cucumber, pine nuts, mint, chives and parsley mixed in.

1 bowl divided into sliced beetroot, sliced tomato and nice small lettuce leaves (from the garden. I’m behind and no tomatoes starting to ripen yet… but could at least supply that, and mum, the herbs).

Also available, olives, sliced buttered baguette and, for those who can stand them, hard boiled eggs.

Simple again but I seemed to get lots of different and interesting “mouthfuls”.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 04 Aug 19 - 10:23 AM

This week I made several small single-serving pizzas using portions of a large tandoori (Iraqi) bread, and each evening I was able to use herbs and sweet banana peppers from the garden.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 04 Aug 19 - 10:46 AM

Nice when your own grown stuff can make some contribution, SRS.

Mum’s (who deal's with these things) previous main herb area (both sides of the uncovered part of a pigsty and needing access for logs stored in the sheltered part) collapsed last winter so it’s been a rebuild. We got 8ft of metal staging for one side and were able to reuse an old aquarium stand with 2x2 timber on top for the other. All container grown, say up to 10” pots with some space on the ground for 6 larger tubs.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 04 Aug 19 - 11:02 AM

I can do hardboiled eggs if I can eat just the yolks. Like the devil part out of deviled eggs (Mimosa eggs, in French). I need a partner who only likes the whites...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 04 Aug 19 - 11:19 AM

Mrzzy, I'm just odd with eggs. I don't remember the event but I believe it stems from me being violently sick after eating a (soft) boiled egg (free range and supplied by my grandmother) when I was very young.

I'm fine with egg in cooking but the more it resembles an egg, the more I struggle and I can heave at the smell of a hard boiled one.

As part of a family who has in the past kept chickens, ducks and geese for eggs, maybe that is a shame. But that's how it is.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Aug 19 - 12:59 PM

I can consume eggs with relish in any shape or form. When I was a student I drank them straight out of the shell for breakfast. Delicious, and no washing up. I hadn't heard of Salmonella at the time.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 04 Aug 19 - 07:11 PM

Jon Freeman, look up conditioned taste aversion. One-trial learning, no extinction. In my case it's Bailey's Irish Cream. But also I prefer my eggs hidden.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Aug 19 - 12:34 AM

I have a friend who grew up in England and eats strange things like a soft-boiled egg standing upright in a little stand. One morning I saw her dip a piece of toast in the egg, and the oily, glistening, slimy yellow yoke blooped out of the top and gooshed down the eggshell. (At way too early in the morning yet!) At the site, my stomach heaved in its moorings, and I spent the rest of breakfast staring at my own knees.

So I'm with you if you say you don't like eggs.

If thoroughly disguised, say in a Quiche Lorraine, I like them.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Aug 19 - 12:45 AM

What we are eating at my house:

My brother and SIL sent four packages of Wisconsin cheese, and we are going to have Welsh rabbit made with beer. (I believe the recipe is in the Joy of Cooking.) I will make a round loaf of crusty bread for dipping.

A friend of mine just sent me the link to this video. He makes good no-knead bread using this recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0t8ZAhb8lQ

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 05 Aug 19 - 09:51 AM

My mother used to make soft boiled eggs for us and serve them in the little egg cup with the top chipped off by tapping with a spoon. That egg-filled top was left sitting beside the cup for the contents to be scraped out as the first bite.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Aug 19 - 09:53 AM

I didn't think to make more oatmeal overnight (I use a small crockpot and it comes out so creamy after barely simmering all night) and I don't feel like cooking anything so I had a slice of apple pie for breakfast. There's one slice left and it might make it to tomorrow, but there is no guarantee.

I love pie for breakfast.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 07 Aug 19 - 07:12 AM

Last night - Lincoln Sausage and chestnut mushroom risotto.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Aug 19 - 11:58 AM

Is there a better sauce for mussels than white wine amd butter, with or without onions or even mirepoix, with or without cream? I am a seeker. No beer, no Pernod (gaaah)... Thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Megan L
Date: 08 Aug 19 - 12:23 PM

Mrrzy I do them a few ways cider (or apple juice for my tt friends) with a finely chopped shallot and a little cream at the end. There is also a nice thai inspired one with lemongrass coconut milk OI found at food republic, Im not great with chillies and couldn't get kafir lime leaves or galangal so I used some grated ginger and lime zest

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 09 Aug 19 - 03:16 PM

Chuck roast was on sale, so I bought a big piece and cooked two dishes in slow cookers - Mexican pot roast and chuck roast stewed in beer. We froze most of it, but tonight we will be having Mexican pot roast, corn on the cob and guacamole.

What is Lincoln sausage? I see it has its own festival.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 09 Aug 19 - 03:21 PM

Thanks MeganL...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 10 Aug 19 - 04:59 PM

I pulled a package of a half-dozen large organic chicken thighs from the freezer and they're marinating now in sherry, soy sauce, a little sugar, and some grated ginger. Cook it up later in peanut oil and I'll put some basmati rice in the rice cooker and steam some cauliflower or broccoli in the top compartment. This time of year always make more than you'll eat at one meal so you don't have to heat up the house as often.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Aug 19 - 11:51 AM

Last week I bought a solitary mango from a local large chain grocery store (employee owned, and good prices, but not always the most knowledgeable about how to handle some produce). It is still on the counter waiting to ripen or rot; I suspect it was refrigerated in such a way to mess up the ripening process.

A few days later I was in a Middle Eastern grocery store (many of the employees barely speak English) that knows exactly how to handle all of it's produce, and I bought a case of mangoes of the typical size, large but not gigantic, and they're ripening beautifully and are sweet and juicy. These were a good price - the case of 9 was $6 and I shared them with a friend (who is Puerto Rican, grew up with his own mango trees, and knows exactly when they're perfectly ripe).

The same thing happens when I by large avocadoes at the Mexican grocery up the road from my house; again, it's an ethnic store where they barely speak English but they know how to handle the food they carry and you can be sure the aguacate are beautifully ripe and ready to use when they say so (there is a box stacked with the fruit on the counter next to each cash register). Those guacs are expensive, $5 each, but they are large and perfect. The same Puerto Rican friend also had avocado trees, so is a perfectionist about buying them.

Produce as a category isn't one-size-fits-all like many of the big-box grocery stores treat it. More and more I try to buy from the stores that know what they're doing with their fruit and veggies—and you can often learn from other customers. I was looking at plantains one day in the Fiesta grocery store near me (a chain that serves Mexican/Central American shoppers) and a tall black woman, from Jamaica, and I were talking about them. She reached out and took the green banana from my hand and set it aside, and handed me a different one. "This -look at the skin, those spots on the other one aren't a good sign." When they're green they're cooked like a potato (tostones), when they're ripe, they're baked and have a wonderful sweet banana flavor (a dessert, with butter and a little cinnamon sugar if you like), but if you get a bad one they just dry out and aren't much good for either use.

This isn't to say that no one who grew up with the typical US grocery-store environment knows how to handle produce, but there's a learning process that many of them seem to have missed, or the system of fruit and vegetable delivery and storage doesn't make possible.

/rant off/