Tag Archive | culinary

October Frenzy

Nov15

Ok – The webmaster was out of town and out to lunch and not much happened on the website. For this, she asks forgiveness. Several of you sent pictures of what the club was doing in her absence and she is grateful to get them, even though it didn’t look like it!

To try to make up for that, check out this wirlwind tour of last month. Thanks to Anne H., Nance and Terry.

Susan prepares an Italian luncheon for the promise tree.

Susan prepares an Italian luncheon for the promise tree.

Digging in!

Digging in!

Italian Lunch 2014 - annieho-2

Italian Soup

Dolche

Dolche

Nance takes a day trip...

Nance takes a day trip…

....to Chester, where they seem to be doin' up Halloween!

….to Chester, where they seem to be doin’ up Halloween!

Strange gathering!

Strange gathering!

Civic Beautification Awards were given out.

Civic Beautification Awards were given out.

Jann awards a prize.

Jann awards a prize.

Sue and Nancy do the honors!

Sue and Nancy do the honors!

Bandstand clean up day

Bandstand clean up day

Is Nance riding that thing?

Is Nance riding that thing?

Looks like rain....

Looks like rain….

The big haul.

The big haul.

Oh, and Halloween happened!

Oh, and Halloween happened!

 

Get Yer Ramps Here!

May9

Ramps, or Wild Leeks

What the heck are Ramps?

Everyone is talking about Ramps these days! They look a bit like scallions and only appear in the early spring. They also known as are also known as Wild Leeks (Allium tricoccum). The plant’s flavor, a combination of onions and strong garlic or “fried green onions with a dash of funky feet” in the words of food writer Jane Snow, is adaptable to numerous cooking styles. The mountain folk of Appalachia have long celebrated spring with the arrival of the ramp, believing it to have great power as a tonic to ward off many ailments of winter. There are many festivals in Appalachia in honor of this humble plant.

The Huffington Post has several recipe suggestions. Check them out!

Exotic Vegetables

Apr25
Veg Girl

Nice Gams!

When I revealed my entry in the Artful Arrangers show, you may remember that it basically a bunch of gussied up vegetables. Some of them were rather exotic. The girl figure had very odd looking legs. They are Indian Bitter Melons which are also known as Balsam Pears. There is even an official site which will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about about them – National Bitter Melon Council.

Funky Innards

Funky Innards

If you were to cut them open, and I did, you’d find bright red seeds! I was very surprised. This vegetable is prized in Asian cooking and is quite bitter, as the name suggests.

Another exotic I used was a banana flower. Terry sent me some interesting information about this veggie. Check the Thai Supermarket Online website to learn about cooking with them.

I also cut my banana flower open to see just what the heck was inside it. It was full of miniature bananas! No surprise there, I guess. See the picture below for a good look at a maturing flower.

~Max

For The Cooks In Our Club….

Apr14

thecookscook-april-mayI just took a look at Denise Landis’ new issue of her online magazine, The Cook’s Cook.  It’s written for “cooks, food writers & recipe testers”.  I know how much many of our members enjoy cooking (myself excluded) and I think you would enjoy checking this out. It’s very well done, with articles & blogs about food & food-related issues. (There’s an informative article in this issue about saving the bees.) I also found some interesting recipes on Denise’s blog.  Go to  The Cook’s Cook website where  you can subscribe for free.      

LuAnn