Off'l FOODIE Megathread/Part1-AFGHAN KEBAB HOUSE 51ST&9th /DAFNI/west 42nd - Page 2

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 12:22am

Thanks for the suggestion about the Jerusalem Articoke Flour. Do I have to fly to Tel Aviv to purchase it? (Yes, I am a PWD Type 2)

Updated On: 6/14/09 at 12:22 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 12:37am

Is this thread open only to BWW members? Four year old Elizabeth will be visiting tomorrow and she might like to share some of her favorite recipes. Warning: She made Mother's Day dinner almost completely by herself and it was incredible!

Updated On: 6/14/09 at 12:37 AM

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 12:41am

Jerusalem artichokes. Also called sunchokes. You can buy them fresh and eat them and cook with them, too. Lots of grocery stores carry them.

No, Dolly. I have seen Jerusalem artichoke flour at Associated Supermarkets, Freshdirect, health food stores, lots of grocery stores.

There are several brands including one by Arrowhead Mills.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 12:45am

Elizabeth is four years old and has recipes?

Sure, send them in.

And does she type as well?

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 2:06am

They look like ginger root (jerus. artichokes). Are they in the same family as regular artichokes, which I love? What do they taste like? Never had them.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 11:39am

The Jerusalem artichoke, or sunchoke, is a kind of sunflower whose tuber is a root vegetable. Not an artichoke. First grown by Native Americans.

They are much milder than ginger and not so stringy, but they have more flavor than water chestnuts. They do not keep for a long time, so use them right away. I chopped them in one-inch hunks and put them in a soup I was making for a visiting diabetic friend. I do not get them often.

I bought a lot of them as a gift for another friend from Church who got one chance from her doctor to try to lower her blood sugars or she would have to begin insulin injections and she ate tons raw in salads and otherwise altered her diet and was able to only take oral medication instead. Her blood sugars were suddenly over 300 which I gather is very high and possible stroke time. She is an older lady, and I noticed that she was nodding of to sleep too much, probably also related to the blood sugar problem. Oddly enough, she also complained that she could never sleep. She said she slivered the chokes and ate them atop salads.

Dolly, do you cook with Burdock root?

Burdock root is another great food for diabetics. It is of the thistle family. Asians use it more than Europeans do now, especially the Japanese. You can often find it in bento boxes. I also added chopped one inch slices of burdock root in the soup I made for my diabetic friend. It was a chicken soup as my friend also came down with flu. It was kind of funny, because as my friend visited for a few weeks their blood sugar levels kept dropping and they kept having to reduce the amount of insulin they were taking, which is a good thing. They had type II and I'll bet if they were willing to keep at the exercise and proper strict diet regimen they could have got off insulin entirely, but they were not too interested in that.
Burdock

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 11:42am

Elizabeth has been cooking (with adult supervision) for two years now. I bring my grandchildren into the kitchen when they are still in highchairs and let them taste, smell and see the foods I'm preparing. Elizabeth made her own zucchini bread about 1 1/2 years ago. We'll be making minestrone this afternoon and I'll have her give you her recipe for this. BTW: she cleans up after herself, too. I think she was loading the dishwasher even before she started cooking!

When her second brother was born a few weeks ago, Elizabeth began crying in the hospital. I took her for a walk to one of the lounges and she told me she "was scared". I guess seeing her mother with various tubes in her was frightening. I convinced her that having another brother would mean having another person in the kitchen and we'd be able to make more food and cookies. Elizabeth looked at me through her tears and said, "Make kitchen bigger!"

Oddly enough, this little girl's prowess in the kitchen has prompted her mother to become a better cook! Her mother made eggplant paragiana the other day that was exceptional.

Elizabeth doesn't type yet but I use the computer and a large font size to teach her her alphabet.

BTW: Elizabeth is quite a gardener. She planted all the windowboxes at her hown home and helped me plant my vegetable garden. Last year her tomatoes were bigger than mine--and she gloated over it!

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 11:50am

Geez, Dolly, that all sounds so Italian to me. Are you Italian? The type of food, the growing tomatoes, the kids in the kitchen. I know it doesn't have to be Italian but I'm getting visions of the homes in the Godfather and the countryside in Italy!

Did you read about burdock above re diabetes? You could toss that into your cuisine as well.

What you are doing for your granddaughter between the cooking, and gardening and alphabet is so kind and wonderful. All her life she will remember how her kind grandfather taught her those things and treated her like a person, not just a kid.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 5:50pm

Yes, I'm Italian but Elizabeth's parents are Irish (poor things!)

Sorry, no recipes today. She and I went emptied her piggy, went shopping for Father's Day and got sidetracked with both the kiddie amusements at the mall as well as a stop at the park on the way home. We didn't do any cooking. However, the ingredients are all here, so we'll be making Elizabeth's minestrone in the next day or two.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 8:13pm

My friend recently tuned me in to these. Fantastic! You can finally have your "pasta" with no calories/fat/sugar/etc.!

http://www.miraclenoodle.com/index-2.html

You rinse them off under HOT water in a colander or sieve for about 4-5 minutes. When you open the pkg., there's a slight fishy smell, but it totally goes away. Any flavors you add to it, it absorbs. Healthy AND great AND you don't have to cook it!

I've made it Japanese style, w/a stir fry, Italian style, Chili-style, Chinese style, cold Soba type salad, in soups..it's endless.

I DID find them much cheaper at this Thai Supermarket downtown in Chinatown nr. the triangle.

Updated On: 6/14/09 at 08:13 PM

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 8:46pm

What Thai supermarket near what triangle in Chinatown? What did you pay for the noodles? They look terrific, I'd like to try them, but I don't want so many packages as what they sell online.

Wikipedia indicates the glucomannan of the noodles may have several health benefits and lists them.

By the way, I picked up some La Flor tarragon today, $2.19 at MET supermarket at 86th and Amsterdam. The Food Emporium at 90th & Broadway here didn't have La Flor brand and the Macormick bottle of tarragon that they did have was $6.29 so I wasn't biting. That store generally has the best ox tail around, though, cut nice and thick on the joint.

I also bought a jar of La Flor cilantro seeds ($1.99) which can be used in cooking or you can plant them and grow the cilantro, which I may do because I use so much of it.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 9:33pm

For NOM:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/bangkok-center-grocery-new-york-2
Any Chinatown supermarket has these noodles cheap.

I'm watching The Next FOODNETWORK Star right now - OK, it's a stupid "reality" show, but at least a bit entertaining, although I don't think ANY of these people, judges or "chefs" are old enough or experienced enough to compete w/the greatness of Jacques Pepin, Julia, or James Beard Maybe in 20-30 yrs. I like the southern chick so far. Cute personality. I hope she wins.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/14/09 at 10:06pm

Oh, yeah, I know that side street. There's a playground right near there. I love to shop in Chinatown.

When you're walking downtown on Mott St., hook a left on Bayard St. and walk on the downtown side of the street almost to the next block (ignoring Elizabeth St. which you'll pass on your left) and you will come to this terrific bakery. They have yummy fried fish sandwiches there on delicious rolls with lettuce and tomato for like $1.35, I kid you not. They're behind the glass counter on the left to the back. Their pork buns, char siu roast pork in sweet buns (we call it Manapua in Hawaii) are also great and they are only 80 cents. You could bring a slew of kids there and feed them so cheaply. Lots of delicious stuff.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 12:52am

and don't forget the
"new" around the corner from the old one, PEARL RIVER MART!!!!
My fave NYC store. My apt. is furnished with loads of this stuff, The bamboo shades are sooooooo cheap and they deliver for cheap, also. Admittedly I loved that claptrap existence in the old bldg., before the tourists found out. Ah, well, progress, $$$$$$

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 1:16am

Dafni sounds yummy! Great veggie choices. I think we'll have to try it in August. It's like a block and a half from our hotel. do you need a reservation?

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 5:41pm

Flor de Mayo with two Upper West Side locations is really good. The menu is Peruvian, Spanish and Chinese.

Their lomo saltada, is really enough for two at $10.50; I took half home. It is a mixture of french fries, sliced steak, fresh-cooked tomatoes and onions in a tangy beef Peruvian sauce with a side of rice. I got brown rice and had them hold the onions. Succulent.

They are also famous for their marinated Peruvian chicken.

And it's not on the menu, but you can ask for garlic pork chops which are huge and yummy if you're in the mood.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 10:38pm

Nom - Is that the place on about 101st & Bway? There was a place around there for years that had the most fantastic Peruvian style roast chicken. I used to live on the upper west side a long time ago.

Jersey_ I wouldn't think you need a reservation for DAFNI, but it doesn't hurt to make one anyway for a Friday or Sat night pre theater, though. The vegetarian moussaka is great!

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/15/09 at 11:53pm

Yes!

The place has been there like over 20 years a local was saying there a couple nights ago. They have a newer one on Amsterdam in the 80s.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 6/17/09 at 11:22pm

I just LOVE where I live (lucky)! Cheap rent, and a totally fab, top to bottom (new everything) kitchen upgrade (finished yesterday) -- free of charge, and it's actually tres moderne and great looking. Now I REALLY love cooking in my *tiny* apt/w my shiny new, *tiny* kitchen. Except that I'm somewhat afraid to get it messed up if the marinara sauce starts sputtering!?
They're doing the entire complex, 1500 apts! Yay.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/18/09 at 12:12am

Congratulations on the new kitchen!

I moved into a bigger apartment over a year ago and have more space and elbow room in my kitchen now so cooking is much more fun.

Wow, you live in a big complex. Amazing they are giving free new kitchens.

Enjoy!

What will be (or was) the first dish you cooked in your new kitchen?

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 6/18/09 at 12:47am

Thanks, NOM. I just cooked a spicy, smoked jalapeno marinara sauce with bell peppers, onions, garlic, pepperoncino, herbs etc. No spattering yet. Just made it up (with leftovers). I can't stop staring at the new kitchen...nuts, right?? It kinda styles with my 50's/asian/bamboo type decorating.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/18/09 at 1:22am

I know just how you feel.

When I moved in here I had the super up every other day helping me put up racks and shelves and getting the place just so. Updated On: 6/18/09 at 01:22 AM