Comments for gastronomeg.com

Comment on Ratatouille It Is by Carollyn Philip

Carollyn Philip — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:31:31 +0000

Meg,

Just finished reading your Ratatouille essay/article/recipe. Am inspired to attempt your recipe this weekend. Enjoyed your writing style, not the least bit off-putting as some food writing has become. I thank Jason for putting your blog on my computer. Also want to try Café A that you enjoy.

Comment on Ratatouille It Is by Carla Aurich

Carla Aurich — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:11:28 +0000

Hi Meg, Yes, I’ve gone through similar experiments with cooking the vegetables separately in olive oil or roasting them in the oven. It all depends what mood I’m in and how much olive oil I have in my cupboard. The extra olive oil does add a silkiness to the sauce and in Mediterranean countries they would not think twice about the amount. Perhaps my sister in Turkey will comment on this and the salting of egglant. They all eat lots of olive oil and run around in bikinis into their 70’s looking fabulous.
I soak the slices in salted water for about 10 minutes and rinse.
I also sometimes add some Italian frying peppers for a little bit of heat. Yumm, I have some cooking away on the stove…..thanks Meg,

Comment on Ratatouille It Is by Books and Magazines Blog » Archive » Ratatouille It Is

Books and Magazines Blog » Archive » Ratatouille It Is — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:04:13 +0000

[...] Original post by gastronomeg.com [...]

Comment on Ratatouille It Is by Adam Pollock

Adam Pollock — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:47:22 +0000

Thanks for the wonderful evocation of food and summer — and also for the equally wonderful ratatouille, of which it was my pleasure to partake. It’s really just right: not too much onion (ratatouille’s most frequent failing), not too much tomato, a perfectly balanced set of flavors, redolent of the hottest season’s cooling end.

BTW, if you don’t know her already, you should chat with Cathy Erway of http://noteatingoutinny.com — you two should definitely establish some link love.

Comment on It’s not so easy being green(s) by BirdsAreOff

BirdsAreOff — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:41:57 +0000

If it helps alleviate some of your despair at folks not taking greens, please know that you’ve inspired me to try freezing some for the green-less winter that approaches. I adore winter, with the one exception being no greens. Green on.

Comment on It’s not so easy being green(s) by magpie

magpie — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:12:06 +0000

I found your site via the Roxbury newsletter, and I’m intrigued and enchanted.

This is our second year with the CSA; we pick up in Westchester.

This recipe for bulgur and greens sounds great - thanks.

I thought you might be amused by a post of mine on the subject of weeds: http://www.magpiemusing.com/2008/05/weeds-weeds-glorious-weeds.html

Comment on Building a Better Cucumber by Dara

Dara — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:21:32 +0000

It does seem strange to talk about how delicious a cucumber can be, but you are totally right about the ones from Roxbury! It’s like tasting a cucumber for the first time — so different about what you can buy in a store.

Comment on Field Trip: Polyface Farm by gastronomeg.com :: Building a Better Cucumber

gastronomeg.com :: Building a Better Cucumber — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:10:59 +0000

[...] of the biggest takeaways from my recent visit to Polyface farm was Joel Salatin saying, “Nature’s ability to heal is amazing.” Something [...]

Comment on Field Trip: Polyface Farm by Julie

Julie — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:07:52 +0000

Okay, first of all I’m incredibly jealous that you’re going to Polyface. What a dream come true! Please tell ALL upon your return.

Second of all, wait a minute. You go to Lehman? I TEACH at Lehman — at least I’m doing so this summer, working with a technology/writing institute for teachers. Very little tiny world. We must have lunch (although there’s no place to eat around there…)

Comment on The Case of the Troubling Scallions by Meg

Meg — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:56:53 +0000

Hey Adam — thanks for your comment! My intent is in no way to put any sort of onus on the produce store owner. In this case in particular, the store, which is just the type you describe, offers a valuable service — affordable fresh vegetables in a neighborhood where they would not otherwise be available. I agree that in this case, untraceable vegetables are better (nutritionally speaking) than none at all.

The fault lies in our distribution chain, which has decided for us that information about origins does not matter. In London, where I lived 10 and 15 years ago, similar small produce stores existed. But the produce in those stores was all labelled with country of origin as well as price (it is the law there, has been for years). Under the current system in the US, no one (neither store owner nor consumer) can easily find this information out in order to make a choice about what to buy (or not). The only way we can be sure where stuff came from is to make a considerable commitment in time, lifestyle, and/or money (ie to buy local) that is not possible for everyone.

What I’m saying is not that Korean grocery store owners need to make a similar commitment. However, wouldn’t it be nice if Country of Origin was information that was necessarily supplied when produce changed hands? I’m imagining a system like they have in Europe and Britain where this information is supplied as a (legal) matter of course.