Dumplings have to be one of my favourite things. A delicious bite size parcel of heaven. I've been getting into making my own lately, and it's really quite easy. And it's totally worth the effort. I don't usually like doing fiddly cooking, but it's quite soothing to fill the case,
...fold them into little parcels,
...fry them (for something different from steaming) in chicken stock until it evaporates
...and the bottoms brown and crisp up.
We had it with Chinese greens and oyster sauce - so simple, but so good.
Just left you a long post ... alas ... I think I lost it!!! I'll watch and see. I tried to comment via my Wordpress website as my profile and poof ... gone!
ReplyDeleteNope ... it's lost in the ozone somewhere. Don't you just hate that?!!!
ReplyDeleteDear Marsha:
ReplyDeleteI wrote a long comment on your blog last night and lost it when I signed off.
I'll start again in Notepad and save the darn thing as I go!
You are probably wondering who the heck I am and why I am blathering away on your blog.
Well, Tom and I live in the building next to your Mom and Dad. We've been dinner guests at their place twice now, and both times your Mother's cooking has delighted us! Your Mom told me you are a journalist and you also write a blog. She is very proud of you!
Last week she served Michael Smith's Moroccan Chicken Tagine and couscous and a chickpea side dish. I almost ate the plate! That was my introduction to Moroccan cooking. So when I found out the recipe she used was from one of Smith's earlier books I was all over it. I got the most recent "Best of" last Christmas. I am loving it. It took me awhile to actually start cooking from it. I tend to spend HOURS pouring over cookbooks, making vast lists of ingredients to buy and
deciding who is most worthy to come for dinner. Actually getting around to preparing meals from my collection of great cookbooks takes me awhile.
Your Mom has been so helpful, explaining all these spices that I've never cooked with and
certainly never ground! I told her I was having company this weekend and she GAVE me the Ras-el-Hanout Spice Mix, already ground, and she gave me some frozen tumreric (not a staple in our larder). What a doll! I am also going to make Michael's Moroccan couscous & chickpeas. It's in his new book and looks tempting.
I read your blog and got a kick out of your renovating saga. Isn't it just bloody awful to go through. Been there, done that. Didn't handle it well. Looks like you've got a nice result though.
I am very curious about those dumplings you showed on your blog. They look like something we would really like. Do you have the recipe or can I get it off the net?
I notice you love to read. Me too. I just finished four books that I really enjoyed. You might want to check them out on Amazon reviews, or any book review site. "After River," "Clara Callan," "The Day the Falls Stood Still," "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society."
Just bought "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," and "Shanghai Girls," and "Exile" by Richard North Patterson - so that should keep me out of mischief for awhile.
I have a website. It's http://mrsmuddled.com/
I love "playing" with the computer and had great fun trying to figure out how to make a blog on WordPress. I actually write a blog for St. Andrews too. I originally set it up to be private and I think it was just too convoluted for folks here to remember passwords etc. We are having security issues here and I'm going to try to rejuvenate it by making it public and easy to access. If you want to take a look its
http://standrewsviewpoint.blogspot.com/ Actually, I'm just a compulsive typist.
I spotted your link to local Cuisine and I have just finished making the lamb shank and barley soup. It's on the stove as we speak. Smells good. Lots of chopping! I'll let you know if it's worth the effort.
Cheers!
Shae
Dear Marsha:
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your lovely note. It's so nice to receive comments from afar.
I launched into my Moroccan dinner full steam ahead. Unfortunately the results of my efforts did not reach my expectations. Nowhere near as good as your Mother's dishes. I must have added too much water to my chicken. Though it tasted like your Mother's, the sauce was wishy washy and the chicken meat had pretty much left the bones. The couple we were entertaining, very daintily pushed their Michael Smith couscous/chickpea dish to the side of their plates where it lay until swooped into the trash. It was definitely gummy and not a recipe I'd use again. Your Mother's straight couscous dish was simple, fluffy and lovely.
She served something chickpea-ish as a third dish. It was also really tasty.
Your Mom is going to make that dinner again next week and she suggested I come over and watch her prep. I think that is a very good
idea. I learn much better from watching the pros! Maybe I will be encouraged to make it again. I'll just invite different victims for dinner.
I made the lamb barley soup from Cuisine and we really liked it. It is very Scotch Broth-ish - you know, like Campbells makes. I'd make it again. Wonderful dish for a chilly night - with some wonderful bread.
When you get a minute, check out the Portuguese Winter Soup on my website. I just love that recipe. I make it with Italian sausages sliced up. If you do decide to make it, do make sure to add four cups of Kale
pieces. I love that stuff! It's like spinach in a soup. I've never had it before in my life. I thought it was just for decorative purposes in outdoor flower pots.
I have just started adding recipes we really enjoy to my website. Gives me something to do when I'm bored. Keeps my fingers nimble.
I have made a note of the website for the Chinese dumplings. They sound yummy. Do they smell like the the pot stickers we buy frozen here? They are soooo good, but OMG! They have the most horrific smell when cooked in your home!!! It's really quite off-putting.
I checked out the reviews on "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt. Looks like a good read. Lots of positive reviews. I will definitely add it to my must reads.
If you liked "The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society" you will probably enjoy the other books I mentioned. "Clara Callan" is written in the epistolary form too and I enjoy that.
It sounds like you have a very interesting career. Good that you really enjoy your work. I loved my job. Couldn't wait to get back to work on my days off. It really was the best part of my life at that time. Having to retire just broke my heart. I thought I'd pine away, but I didn't. It wasn't long before I'd stopped thinking about the job all together. 25 years went by in the blink of an eye. My husband is also retired from policing. He still works a couple of days a week for the RCMP doing disclosure for the big court cases coming up.
Just took the family, 14 of us, to the golf club for brunch. Lovely meal. I always wish I'd eaten more and talked less.
Cheers!
Shae
Hi, me ... again!
ReplyDeleteYesterday I went to a large local, apparently Korean grocery store to purchase the ingredients in the a/m recipe. I had to ask a variety of staff for assistance in locating things like Chinese black vinegar, wonton wrappers, Chinese rice wine and Chinese cabbage. I got that horrid, blank look every time I used the word "Chinese." I eventually clued in that there is a difference between a Chinese grocery store and a Korean or Japanese grocery store. Sigh. Anyhow, I did get everything I need ... I think. I'm not really sure. Now I have to figure out what 100 grams of Chinese cabbage actually looks like.
Looking forward to trying this recipe out. I've never made little things in wonton wrappers.