week four

week four
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• green chile potatoes with mint and cilantro, yogurt rice
  


• tamarind garlic taro (wanted this for a while), lime-chana dal rice
  


• red-braised beancurd sticks, pan fried noodles, lao sze chuan style chile cabbage
  


• ma po tofu with kale (unmade from last week)
  


• indonesian stir-fried carrots
  


• salad with roasted potatoes, green goddess dressing
  

malbec and steak!

We finally had malbec-and-steak wine club, and managed to all go to delicious Tango Sur with lots of great wine. A great night overall I have to say.

A. Pélisse Croix du Mayne Cahors 07

Very full bodied with tons of fruit, my note for this simply read, “yum, but needs steak.” This is what I drank mostly with my meal.

B. NQN Malma 07

The lower tier from my favorite Argentine producer – I could not get the reserva or the “colección” from NQN, but still recommend them highly. Yael and I loved it but some others found it overly acidic and alcoholic.

C. Clos de los Siete 07

Interesting oak, forest-floor-like for me, on top of heavy fruit. Bitter and watery for some.

D. Pulenta La Flor 08

Smoke, heavy, “tastes like a 2×4.” One person found it interesting, another “smooth” but too oaky.

F. Urban Uco 08

Although in Cahors malbec/côt is often blended with Merlot, this one from Argentina is not. Surprising, since it tastes more like bad merlot than X below (which was boring, but not offensive). The most positive note was "lightly sweet and peppery", one "meh", and one "ew"

G. Bodega Septima 08

“Good” or “great” according to two. This tasted more like good high-cacao dark chocolate than anything else we drank. Very well integrated tannins and oak, with hints of vanilla and lots of fruit.

H. Árido 08

This is what I think of when I think Argentine malbec. One called it rounded and tingly, two noted the bitter grip of its tannins.

S. Doña Paula Estate 08

I called this restrained and elegant, some people found it overly oaky and several noted “bitter.”

T. Cèdre Hermitage Cahors 07

I enjoyed the lightly vanilla oak and very firm tannins here. Two said “bleh” and that they didn’t want to try it again, but I think they just hate tannin.

W. Caminade La Commandery Cahors 06

Though some found it “flat,” another wrote “:) the most interesting so far!” with licorice and earthy flavors. Some things online call it “textbook Cahors.”

X. El Colectivo 09

For me just unforgivably boring. Others said flat and uninteresting, generically fruity. “Nice, but not outstanding.”

Y. Clos Triguedina Cahors 05

Very tight, tannic, but light bodied. One person hated it though.

Z. Alamos 09

Charred barrel, overly oaked, “California style” wrote one. Not great.

Week Three

Week Three Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• creamy turnip soup (needs stock) with caesar salad
• black beans & rice (glee night)
• spaghetti with kale
• polenta with braised collard greens
• burnt caramel ice cream (with colombian panela from sebastian)
• biscuits and sausage gravy
• ma po tofu with some kale
• chicken breast filets al ajillo, potato-turnip purée
• zaletti: polenta cookies with currants

First Vicki box of the year yay

Week One! Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• saag paneer variation (radish greens, mexican cheese)
• szechuan carrot soup plus miso; bekana and radish salad with thai dressing
• braised turnips with mustard sauce; salad of spinach, goat cheese, beets, pepitas
• steamed bok choy with oyster sauce; tofu and mushrooms with black bean sauce
• tamarind garlic taro, cucumber salad

foooods

• quiche with bacon and zucchini; spinach and red onion salad
• hamburgers & pretzel rolls; nappa and watercress salad
• mango tofu with red peppers; jasmine rice
• potato and sweet potato with spinach; blackened chiles and coconut milk
• short pasta with zucchini and freezer-pesto cream sauce
• challah for Yalda’s dinner gathering
• whole wheat berries for breakfast

things to eat

• lions head tofu-groundpork meatballs with cabbage, jasmine rice
• corkscrew pastas with zucchini, bacon, and parmigiano
• puneri dal, black cardamom rice
• cod with olives and potatoes en papillote
• carrot rotis and/or plain parathas with avocado raita, cucumber salad, yogurt rice

what we’ll be eating this week

• tea and ginger simmered chickpeas; tamarind-garlic taro
• thai green curry with tofu, asparagus, and mushrooms; sticky rice
• baby potatoes roasted with garlic and rosemary; black eyed peas with bacon
• puneri dal with rice
• moong dal with chiles and onion
• biscuits with sausage gravy
• quiche with zucchini and bacon

more yummy things

• drunken spaghetti with leeks and cream (and bacon)
• ma po tofu
• stir fried noodles with snap peas
• salad with roasted beets, buttermilk-mayonnaise green onion dressing; focaccia
• more garlic-tamarind taro; black cardamom rice

chilean wines

A. Lapostolle “Casa” Chardonnay 2007

The most amusing note about this was that it tasted like “vomit and fruit.” It had an unwelcome bitterness. Most people found it unbalanced, inelegant at best.

B. Ché-vere Cabernet Sauvignon Valle Central 2007

B was for Boring, for most of us. Someone said it was like D but not as good; it was exactly as deep as the typical Che Guevara T-shirt wearer.

C. Montgras Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua Valley 2006

This was full of cherry flavor. One person remarked that it was well balanced, inoffensive, tame. Another called it simply “red.” It would be a good party wine.

D. Santa Ema Reserve Merlot, Maipo Valley 2005

“Smooth” appears in three separate notes. Flavors of cacao, chocolate, with some bite – one person said “rubber cement, in a good way,” it has nice spice to it.

E. Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere DO Peumo 2007

Raspberry, herb, chocolate, plum. This was a well made, unmistakable Carmenere. Inky purple, full, and rich. One person did not like its lingering finish. This was my clear favorite.

F. Casa Silva Sauvignon Gris Cochagua Valley 2007

One note says “watered down martini,” another “mouthwash tang.” This had a nose of diesel on top of dirty melon rind.

G. Montes “Classic” Chardonnay, DO Curico Valle 2008

Classic indeed. Beautiful fruit, well integrated hint of oak. Nice acidity, crisp, went nicely with the crab dip. I would add that everything I have had from Montes is either very good or great.

H. “Calcu” Blend Colchagua Valley 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon .5 / Carmenere .3 / .15 Cab Franc / .05 Petit Verdot. Tart, tannic and tight. One person loved it, finding it Pinot Noir-like, peppery, spicy but light. Another way of putting this was “beef + caramel”.

S. Origin Carmenere Central Valley 2008

Well-liked, easygoing, straightforward and uncomplicated. This could tend to uninteresting depending on food pairing, but another good party wine here.

T. Peralillo “Arenal” Carmenere Central Valley 2008

Tight, tannic, leather, stone. This improved by being open and swirled around a bit. For anyone on the fence about it, I would say to try another bottle, this seemed to me slightly corked.

V/W. Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon Central Valley 2008

No one identified these two as being the same. I said one was “full, rich, cherry, chocolate” and the other a “neat blend.” It is in fact Cab .85 / Syrah .15. Many people noted fruit flavors like cherry, pomegranate, currant, blackberry.

X. Urban Red Blend Maule Valley 2008

.41 Merlot / .29 Cab Franc / .22 Carignan / .08 Cabernet Sauvignon was two people’s favorite. Called spicy, huge, long-lasting, “lips on fire” which I think refers to its 14% alcohol content.

Y. Simone Special Reserve Carmenere Maule Valley 2008

Very fruity, well made, nice finish; one person found it bland and dry though. A good expression of the grape.

Z. Cono Sur Carmenere Colchagua Valley 2008

Very assertive coffee flavor. Gregg’s alliterative adjective works best: zealous.

My ranking: E X G D VW Y H C S Z T A B F

yummy things

• tostadas de carne apache (basically beef ceviche)
• chicken with yogurt almond mint sauce, rotis
• thai mango tofu, jasmine rice, laab
• slow-cooked baby potatoes in yogurt-fennel sauce (kashmiri dum aloo)
• panissa vercellese (piedmontese rice and beans)

Chianti & Pizza

• (0) Poggio al Chiuso 2007
• (1) Ruffino 2008
• (2) Casa alle Vacche Chianti Colli Senesi 2006
• (3) Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico 2006
• (4) A Quo Toscana IGT 2008
• (5) Castella di Farnetella Chianti Colli Senesi 2006
• (6) Gabbiano 2008
• (7) Gini 2007
• (8) Tiziano 2007
• (9) Monsanto Riserva 2006
• (A) Ruffino Riserva Ducale 2006
• (B) Piccini 2008

Impressions: 2 was universally hated, but the other Colli Senesi was well received. Fèlsina (3) owns Farnetella (5); both stood out as fuller-bodied than the others, with 3 probably the most complex and elegant in the lineup, and 5 the most concentrated and intense. 4 was aggressively oaky, and stood out as the most CA-styled. 8 and A were both overly tannic, improved with exposure to the air, but were not well liked overall. 0 was thought bland and uninteresting. Most people were “indifferent” toward one group, either the (oak aged) Riservas or the unoaked ones. My own preferences tended a little toward the unoaked ones. In the future, when I want to pick up something to go with a Tuscan meal, I will choose 3, 6, 7, or 9.

a menu

• potatoes with parsley and peas, some kind of bread
• tea and ginger simmered chickpeas
• minty kidney beans and potatoes or chickpeas and potatoes with singed spices
• crack pepper beef; broccoli (hopefully a photo forthcoming)
• deconstructed italian sausage pasta
• green curry with asparagus and peas and tofu

Wine Club #1

I very much enjoyed our first wineclub gathering last night and look forward to next time, Chianti. Here is the roundup of what we had, in roughly lightest and driest to sweetest. My favorite was definitely #1, followed by 5 and 8 tied for second. The Spanish 3 and 4 were both delightful in totally different ways and thus tie for my third ranking. I did not much like 7 (boring) or 11 & 12 (both overwhelming, palate fatiguing). [I don’t mean that as any kind of competition, just my subjective experience and what I’d like to remember.] Thanks to everyone for joining in the fun! What were your favorites?

1. Gitton Sancerre “Les Belles Dames” 2007 (Sauv Blanc)
2. Château Graville-Lacoste Graves (Bordeaux) 2008 (Chardonnay)
3. Pazo Señorans Albariño 2008 Rias Baixas
4. Montecillo 2006 Rioja (Viura)
5. Champalou Vouvray 2008 (Chenin Blanc)
6. Skouras White 2008 Peloponnese (Roditis 60% / Moscofilero 40%)
7. Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina Sannio 2008
8. Colombelle Vin de Pays Côtes de Gascogne 2008 (Colombard 70% / Ugni Blanc 30%)
9. Hugo Grüner Veltliner 2008
10. Trimbach Alsace Pinot Blanc 2006
11. Petit Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2008
12. Crios Torrontes 2009
13. Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium 2007 Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Kabinett

food this week

• tindora (ivy gourd / gentlemen’s toes!), yogurt rice
• potato chorizo soup, no-knead bread, pumpkin flan or tarte tatin
• pumpkin hummus, pita, baked beef-lamb kibbe
• sweet potato purée, glazed broiled tofu
• fresh tagliatelle all’alfredo, glazed carrots

Next week: the chicken-methi-pumpkin curry. It necessitates a trip to Devon (I am out of frozen methi).

Food for the Winter (12 weeks sans vicki box)

So begins 12 weeks without vicki Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

The present challenge is to spread out the last three weeks and the final giant box over as long a time as possible. Also, we have a bunch of stuff in the freezer. So, first a tentative grouping of recent produce to be sure we use the oldest stuff first; then the freezer inventory; then a list of stuff I want to make and not forget about!

Dry Storage

1. • cabbage
   • beets
   • apples
   • pumpkin
   • daikon
   • garlic
2. • pumpkin
   • butternut
   • beets
   • sweet potato
   • red onion
   • carrots
3. • pumpkin
   • daikon
   • potato
   • white onion
   • carrots
   • collards
4. • pumpkin
   • red pepper
   • butternut
   • cabbage

The Freezer

• 3lb collards
• 10oz broccoli
• 22oz asparagus
• 12oz yellow pepper
• 1lb cauliflower
• 6oz blackberries
• 2.5oz green pepper
• 9oz blueberries
• 9oz red pepper
• 6oz blackberries
• 20oz corn
• 4.2oz pesto
• 1lb Harr-STL bacon
• 1lb ground pork
• .5lb pork breakfast sausage

Stuff to make!

• chicken with pumpkin-lentil sauce, fenugreek, sambhar masala
• roast chicken with shallots, garlic, and potatoes
• potato rosemary bread
• cabbage soup with tarhana
• vietnamese tofu thing, jasmine rice
• pasta with tequila cream sauce and yellow peppers; broiled fish
• marsala glazed carrots
• more beet and potato latkes? or sweet potato?
• potato chorizo soup, crusty bread
• roasted beet and goat cheese salad (timbale)
• pizza – frozen red sauce and pesto
• collard greens with smoked jowl
• bitten tarte tatin
• squash lasagne
• pasta with squash, sage, pine nuts
• asparagus and peas green curry with shrimp or chicken
• ground pork and black bean soup with green pepper, corn, and sour cream
• simple lentil soup, crusty bread
• curry fried rice with cabbage, beansprouts
• pumpkin hummus
• pistachio macarons
• pumpkin cheesecake, gingerbread crust
• deconstructed italian sausage pasta

winterbox

winterbox
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• Amchur chana, potatoes with carrots and peas, radish parathas
  
• Pumpkin and red lentil soup; pita(?)
  
• Cream puffs (to finish thanksgiving chocolate pastry cream)
  
• Kale and peanut stew with pasta
  
• baked potatoes with a variety of toppings
  
• tofu with brown (oyster) sauce; lao sze chuan style shredded cabbage; jasmine rice

Near-final list for our friendly thanksgiving get-together

Conspicuous gaps to me appear to be: breads, salads, any flourless desserts. And ++wine -> ++good

*** = Definite
() = Maybe

Appetizer/Lunch/Other

***Pain aux fruits, le beurre (Jon)
***Cranberry Polenta Cakes
() spanikopita with feta and mint

Entree/Dinner

***Reichl swiss pumpkin
***Jeweled rice
***black potato rye bread
***Red curry duck ravioli, coconut-lime sauce
***sweet potato black rice salad

Dessert

***Quince and Apple Brown Butter Tart
***chocolate cream puffs
***Ensaïmadas with vanilla pastry cream
***black sticky gingerbread with pumpkin mousse
***marshmallows (Jon)
*Samsa (Ikbel)

Drink

** Eyes Wide (whiskey, grapefruit, jamaica, banyuls)
** falling leaves (riesling, pear brandy, cointreau, bitters)
** aperol spritz
** ice cider
** mmmm red wine (ok white too. but mostly red.)

potatoes with fresh coconut and chiles, for ryan

I think this is what we ate about two months ago. I tried looking through past foodlist blogposts. Anyway, it is adapted from the excellent 660 Curries— and if it is not the same dish, I am certain it is delicious.

Potatoes with Fresh Coconut and Chiles, Thenga Urulikazhangu

The coconut in this dish provides a sweet balance to the pungent chiles, especially because it is added toward the end. for an even sweeter alternative, use sweet potatoes instead of half or all of the white ones.

• 2 lb potatoes, in 1 in chunks
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 Tbsp urad dal (cream colored, skinned split black lentils)
• 4 dried Thai or cayenne chiles
• ¼ tsp ground asafetida (hing)
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 2 tsp coarse salt
• 12 med to large fresh curry leaves
• 4 fresh green thai, serrano, or cayenne chiles, cut in half lengthwise
• ½ cup shredded frozen coconut or ¼ cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut, reconstituted in water

1. heat oil in a pan over med high heat. add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping, about 30 seconds. Add the urad dal and cook until they are golden, about 15 or 20 sec. Immediately add the dried chiles, asafetida, and turmeric. Stir-fry until the chiles smell pungent and are slightly blackened, about 10 sec.
2. Add potatoes, 2 cups water, and the cilantro, salt, curry leaves, and fresh chiles. bring to a boil then reduce heat to med-low, cover, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 8 to 10 min.
3. Raise the heat to med-high, uncover the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly, 3 to 5 min. Some of the potato pieces will disintegrate.
4. Stir in the coconut and serve.

thanksgiving box

thanksgiving box Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• Italian sausage and carrot greens agnolotti
• kabocha masaman, sticky rice, cucumber salad
• pumpkin chipotle soup with tortillas
• the beet and apple soup I still haven't made
• pumpkin risotto
• sweet potato and turnip gratin
• zucchini quiche or frittata

binny’s south loop french tasting

A nice selection from distributors of French wines. I bought a bottle of my #5. My favorites of the 45 wines:

1. Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin Estournelles St. Jacques 2005 ($80) (I love good pinot noir. especially the rich funky bourgogne kind.)
2. Château Quinault l’Enclos St. Emilion 2006 ($40) (Merlot done right. Very right.)
3. Lorentz Crémant d’Alsace NV ($20) (Interesting and delicious. Other sparkling wines and champagnes at the tasting were very good, but this would be my pick.)
4. Perrin Vinsobres Les Cornuds 2006 ($20)
5. Perrin Côtes du Rhône Réserve Blanc 2008 ($9)
6. Lorentz Pinot Blanc 2008 ($13)
7. Coudoulet de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône 2006 ($27)

Steam-Scrambled Eggs

The internets are abuzz over steam scrambled eggs. Despite a panoply of marvelous looking cured meat dishes at Gottino, this entirely uninteresting preparation caught people's attention. Really, people, you could have house-made porchetta, calabrese, or pork terrine or tonnato, but instead you would pay $9 for scrambled eggs? Don't be dumb.

I tried this steam-scrambling technique today. I would only make it again if I were in a crazy rush and really wanted to eat eggs (this joint probability is very small). We already know from Daniel Boulud how to make perfect scrambled eggs. It involves controlled low heat and constant stirring (the double boiler is great, but I usually use a skillet over medium-low heat). The steam wand is too hot, but it does provide the benefit of the entire quantity of egg coagulating instantly from the pressure-stirring, at the moment the mixture reaches 68°C. The butter is almost magically emulsified, but the whole process is too fast. I should have had a soft boiled egg with my last bagel. If I were in New York for brunch, I would love to go to Gottino, but there's no fuckin' way I would order scrambled eggs.

guess the price

guess the price
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

I’ll reveal in a couple days. we were shocked at how cheap Pete’s is. The avocados were 3/$1.

Crystallized ginger
dried cranberries
dried starfruit
dried apricots
dried mix fruit california
coconut water
2 bags of sugar
2 tofus
mexican crumbling cheese
guava paste

1lb ground pork
1.5 lbs bratwurst (4)
1.5 lbs hot italian sausage (4)
2 x 0.5lbs chuleta mariposa (butterflied pork chop)
1lb bacon

2 bunches green onions
6 potatoes
2 onions
2 grapefruit
2 garlic
1 bag of grapes
5 limes
3 lemons
1 ecuadorian mango
2 bunches cilantro
bag of okra
2 red bell peppers
2 cucumbers
5 mexican zucchini
habañeros
6 medium avocados
2 chunks ginger
1 small sour cream
1 red salsa

a carnival of squash

a carnival of squash
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• some kind of okra curry and turmeric paneer, yogurt rice, cucumber salad
• squash stuffed with italian sausage, greens, and bulgur; salad
  
• tacos of stewed zuccini, chiles, and refried black beans
  
• something like these braised pork chops, with roasted brussels sprouts and cornbread
  
• ma po tofu, yunnan sliced potato, maybe scallion pancake?
  
• griddle-cooked bratwurst, cole slaw, chris affolter's bacony german potato salad
  

a tricky week

fall week 1
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

Scott has a long day Tuesday and a dinner seminar Thursday. Glee is Wednesday and Guerrilla Gay Bar is Friday. We have a couchsurfer staying wed–fri.

• salad with romaine, carrots, avocado; chipotle-lime dressing


• delicious aai kohlrabi


• whole black lentils with ginger, garlic, and butter (makhani dal) [660]


• smoky turmeric-soaked paneer with cardamom and cream


• szechuan carrot peanut soup, perhaps with some crispy nori


• more pretzels for glee night wednesday!


• ginger orange pickled beets?

• Mafe with chicken, turnips, and mustard greens
• Potato rosemary bread, beet and apple soup
• Macaroni and cheese with squash
• Mashed potatoes; chicken with garlic and parsley

foodlist

end of ‘summer’ csa
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• andouille and tasso smothered cabbage (from this delight of a book lent to me by Zach)
  
• polenta with stewed collard greens and bacon
  
• baked kale chips
  
• steamed bok choy with oyster sauce
  
• saag paneer with collard and turnip greens
  
• the unmade squash spätzle listed before
  
• beet and apple soup in acorn squash bowls

Dear Jstor, your font sucks.

Dear Jstor,

The typeface you have chosen for the citation information on your pdf cover sheets is unforgivably awful. Its roman characters are crudely and thoughtlessly drawn by someone with no evident qualifications or other typographic experience. Though it boasts a wide-ranging character set, I doubt it is the most complete font in existence. I would urge you to consider other fine, even free options from SIL and others, such as those shown below.

The most hideous glyph in your unfortunate font is the capital J, which is used disporportionately often in the texts where you have employed it (most journals name themselves Journal of . Or, Tournal of x. I can’t distinguish them in Code2000. By the way, it is now 2009. Browsers support Unicode. Competent developers all use UTF-8. We can even embed fonts in web pages with css! Why do you torture our eyes with this heinous insult to every type designer living or dead?

The figure below shows what I find the be the most offensive characters in Code2000. Clearly the JT is far and away the most odious. The diddle on the top of the 2 makes no sense, the 9 is horribly awkwardly topheavy, the g is misshapen and glaring at me like a quadriplegic rhinoceros, and the r and f both suffer gross errors of proportion. The huge flat crossbar of the f for some reason extends beyond the elephantine serif. The ball at the end of the r and f are also apparently mutant spawn of unrelated origins. Here are several alternatives, all free opentype faces with reasonably complete character sets: Fontin, Gentium, Droid Serif, and venerable Times New Roman.

Update, 2010-01-24: The web page for Code2000 appears to no longer exist. Here’s wikipedia. Can this augur the death of the font at Jstor?

lots of squash and apples

squash and apples
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• pumpkin red curry and sticky rice
  
• sausage-stuffed baked apples
  
• nutty tart bell peppers with peanuts
  
• chile-spiked moong dal with cauliflower
  
• eggplant with roasted chiles and tomato (again)
  
• slow roasted bell pepper with red lentils (again)
  
• squash spätzle with maple and bacon

csa box + devon groceries = lots of foods

DSC_0004.NEF
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• another apple and pear pie
  
• eggplant and asparagus thai green curry
  
• something indian with okra
  
• polenta with beet greens
  
• stuffed bell peppers with ground pork and raisins
  
• (another week) stuffed spaghetti squash
  
• tindora / ivy gourd with coconut and sambhar masala
  
• fig honey cream galette
  
• kolhapuri stewed eggplant or pan-blistered eggplant with onion and marathi kala masala
  
• collard and radish greens (subbing for taro leaves) with peanuts

useful stuff: non-latex Sweave

from learningR

first squash of fall

first squash of fall
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• beet risotto
  
• fresh pasta with roasted squash and ricotta; salad
  
• palak paneer and rotis
  
• bratwursts and pretzels with mustard; cole slaw
  
• more bagels!
  

Administrative Cost Waste

This is a totally banal tale of waste associated with private insurance schemes. Thankfully I do not have a horror story, dropped coverage, or preëxisting condition, but the inane interactions recounted below relate to the vast waste of “administrative costs” that private insurers generate.

ID and registration

WU switched back to Aetna Chickering health insurance, after a few years ago switching to Cigna through some outfit called Great West. These switches alone are incredibly wasteful, but users are shielded from those costs. Trying to stay on top of things, I wanted to check that I could find a doctor, my ID card if necessary, etc. online, if I needed to. The plan web site promised that the Aetna Navigator could help me with all of these things. It told me to use my WU ID to register, but that didn’t work. When I called customer service, they first asked if I was entering it “with four zeros in front of it.” (The site itself says, “In the field titled "Primary Member's ID Number" enter your 5 or 6 digit WUSTL Student ID #, NOT your Social Security number.”) When that didn’t work, the customer service representative told me to try again in “about 24 hours” and I would be “in the system.” This worked the next day (with the zero-padding; I did not first try without). But, I couldn’t find anything like an ID card to print, or address to update.

I called customer service. This time they claimed that I had been sent an ID card and they asked me to confirm my address. They asked this as if it were a password, so I told them my current address, office address, and, for good measure, address of three years ago. I failed the test: none was the “correct” one according to my new insurer. Customer service was wary now, but in medical-administrator world I had to be legit since I knew my date of birth. What address did they have on file? One Brookings Drive – no campus box, no department: the address for all of Washington University. Well, that explains why I never got an ID card. Like most people, I would prefer my health related correspondence go to my home rather than my office, so I gave them my correct address, which of course is the same one the graduate school has on file as my primary address.

Vision

I decided next to tackle an eye exam – I’m out of contacts and it is nice to have a current prescription. My plan advertises that although it does not include vision coverage, it does offer a considerable discount. The web site explaining the discount program was vague, so I called customer service to ask what I needed to do to get the discount. “Just give them your member ID that starts with a W.” ”I can find that online through the navigator thing?” “Yes.” I logged on to the ‘Navigator’ but the only temporary card and ID listed is the dental one which does start with a W but is not the same.

When I called to make the appointment (and one was available within two days, which is nice) he asked for my ID number and Group number. I didn’t have a group number since I never got an ID card and couldn’t print one. So I gave him the customer service number from the page about the vision discount, and he said he would verify my coverage. He called back later and said they got an error when using my number. I apologized for their wasting his time, and gave him another customer service number. He called back, successful this time, and confirmed my appointment.

Dental

No dental coverage was offered the past two years, so this year, presented the option of paying $114 for a plan that includes at least two cleanings, I enrolled. (It is worth noting that Scott’s plan has always included dental at no extra charge and ours never has. A few years ago, last with Aetna, we had the option to pay $40 to join the negotiated discount program Vital Savings, now included by default, but no option for actual dental coverage.)

Annoyingly before I could pay for insurance I had to select a dentist from their list. So I picked the first one and figured I would change it after I actually did some research and perhaps even made an appointment with one. Of course, the dentist I had picked from the top of the list received some horrible feedback via the internets, so I wanted to change to another one.

Also, I can’t make an appointment until the office receives the ‘roster’ from Aetna, which they explain happens around the beginning of the month, so call again in October. I looked into it later that day, and when I called to change it, I was told I was not yet “in the system” and to try again the next day, or easier still, that I could do that online too. Indeed there is a button to make changes on the list page but when you click it, it warns, “Important: This feature should NOT be used for requesting a change in your primary care physician (PCP) or dentist (PCD). If you wish to change your current PCP/PCD, please use the Change PCP link located on the Details page for each provider.” (Said link opens the same page with the same warning.) I called customer service, explained the situation, and requested the change.

The next day, I got an email confirming my “change” of primary care dentist, but now it warned, “If you chose your dentist after the fifteenth of the month, your selection will be effective on the first of the second month following your selection. For example, if you sent us your selection on August 20, you can begin seeing your dentist on October 1.” Well, that’s unacceptable. While I’m ok with waiting for the “roster” system in October, two months is absurd, and I would have been more careful in making my first choice if there had been any indication at all that changing could even possibly delay my coverage by two months. They confirmed that I will in fact be on the roster in October, so hopefully I’ll get an appointment then.

nearing the end of summer food

end of summer
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• mouhamara and pitas
  
• carrot greens in
  
• cantaloupe-basil sorbet
  
• saffron panna cotta
  
• bagels
  
• kale peanut stew
  
• jerk burgers on pretzel rolls, grilled corn
  
• hamad, iraqi braised lamb with beets and tomatoes
  
• jeweled rice
  

the bag was very full: and we’re gone half the week

the bag was very full
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• pepper jelly
  
• tomato sauce for the freezer
  
• blueberries for the freezer
  
• vanilla plum galette
  
• rotis with a potato curry; green goddess sauce
  
• ciabatta with sautéed beet greens
  
• quiche / tart of some kind with squash, kale, bacon
  
• some lunch dal
  

A very tasty week indeed

Summery Goodness
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• Brussery, and mustard greens with sweet corn [660] (a picture and adaptation of the former is in order)
  
• Eggplant biryani, salad
  
• Lecsó, bread, cucumber salad
  
• Frittata with potato and zucchini
  
• Hyderabadi black-eyed peas with wilted mustard greens [660]
  
• Sweet corn cupcakes with brown butter honey frosting
  
• Upside-down sweet cherry cake
  

Colorful and delicious

Colorful and delicious
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• Caramel peach grunt
  
• zucchini cake/muffin type thing
  
• calzones with peppers, onions, rocket, and tomato
  
• cauliflower gratin
  
• texmex salad with corn, tomatoes, sourcream lime dressing
  
• brussery, some dal
  
• hummus
  

my counter is full of summer

my counter is full of summer
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• Zucchini risotto, salad with fennel, blueberry, and sungold tomatoes.
• jerk lamb-beef burgers, grilled corn, tzatziki
• peppers stuffed with my favorite tamal filling (plus rice)
• cabbage and potato with fennel and chiles [660]
• pesto with all the basil (most or all to freeze)
• chinese noodle with cabbage and scallion, black bean sauce
• peach frozen yogurt
• apple dessert? (apple-black currant brown betty; maple-apple cake)
• lunch: gujarati-style black and yellow chickpeas [660] (also has black lentils and kidney beans and tomato)

Fedex Kinko’s is now Fedex Office

But nothing about it has really changed. I had to go there to print my Polmeth poster (ugh) and figured I might as well have a batch of cards my name & email on them. I dropped my files on a CD, biked up to the nearest friendly Fedex Office where I had the following exchange.

Me: (holding CD) I have two files on this CD I need printed — one is business cards that I need a few of on cardstock and cut; the other is a large format, 24×36.

Kara: Where are the files?

Me: On this CD.

Kara inserts the CD on her computer and clicks several times. I assume she has a file-browser window open and is viewing the contents of the CD.

Kara: Which one is the business cards?

Me: The one named Malecki-cards-10up-color.pdf

Kara: Is it color or black and white?

Me: Color.

Kara: OK. What is your last name?

Me: Malecki.

Kara: (still looking at her computer) How do you spell that?

Instead, I will be eating conference food. BLAH!

Some things for Scott to make while I am at polmeth.

• one of the indian ‘dumpling’ recipes (with yogurt, maybe tomato paste) where instead of besan dumplings you use up the TJ meatless balls. there are several recipes near the end of the legumes chapter and in the appetizer section.
• sautéed chard (garlic, balsamic) ; and the grilled tofu thing i bought on sale at wf quickly cooked with garlic and parsley as if it were chicken.
• something indian with cabbage; raita or other cucumber salad (there are at least 2 giant cucumbers)
• macaroni and cheese and salad
• Tabbouleh (we have lots of parsley. Even better with zucchini!

fresh cherry and chocolate scones

fresh cherry and chocolate scones

Inspired by this recipe and this cook's illustrated one with blueberries. I cannot believe that the grated frozen butter trick was new to me, but it is perfect for scones. These have white and dark chocolate, half whole wheat flour, and lots of fresh cherries.

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup milk
• a stick of butter, frozen
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup of fresh cherries
• ½ cup chocolate

Method

1. Grate most of the stick of butter. Half a stick is ok, 6tsp is better, 7 is better. Return the grated butter to the freezer.
2. Pit and chop the cherries. Stick them in the freezer too.
3. Chop the chocolate into chunks. Or just use chocolate chips.
4. Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then stir together to combine roughly. Add the butter and stir some more. Last, add the frozen or part-frozen cherries and the chocolate. Avoid overworking the dough, but fold it together a few times on a floured surface and then pat it into a rectangle.
5. Cut into whatever shape you think scones should be.
6. Brush with cream or milk and sprinkle with sugar or oats.
7. Bake at 400° for about 25 minutes.

For Nick: Mousse au chocolat au Cointreau

A long while ago Nick asked for my input regarding chocolate mousse. I haven’t made it in quite some time but for years my recipe has been this very rich and creamy version from the French Cordon Bleu book Desserts.

Cette mousse fondante, facile à préparer, mariant les parfums de l'orange et du chocolat, apportera toujours une note finale magique à un repas. Préparation: 40 minutes + 1 heure de réfrigération; Cuisson: 5 minutes. Pour 4 à 6 personnes

Ingredients

• 125g de chocolat noir de qualité supérieure
• 50g de beurre
• 70mL de jus d’orange
• 2½ cuillers à soupe de poudre de cacao
• 2 œufs, blancs séparés des jaunes
• 25mL de Cointreau
• 100mL de crème liquide, à fouetter
• 1 blanc d’œuf supplémentaire
• 1½ cuillers à café de sucre en poudre
• Quartiers d’orange et crème chantilly, pour le service

Method

1. Mettez le chocolat, le beurre, et le jus d’orange dans un bain-marie. Une fois le chocolat et le beurre fondus, incorporez le cacao. Retirez du feu et ajoutez tout en fouettant les jaunes d’œufs et le Cointreau. Laissez refroidir
2. Dans un saladier glacé, fouettez la crème. Recouvrez et réservez au réfrigérateur jusqu’à l’utilisation.
3. Dans un saladier propre et sec, montez tous les blancs d’œufs en neige. Ajoutez le sucre et battez jusqu’à l’obtention d’un mélange lisse et glacé.
4. Incorporez délicatement les blancs d’œufs à la préparation au chocolat refroidie. Avant de les avoir complètement incorporés, ajoutez la crème fouettée. Transférez dans des coupes individuelles et placez au moins 1 heure au réfrigérateur. Servez décoré de quartiers d’orange et de chantilly.

I need ham hocks!

I need ham hocks!
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• southern stewed collard greens with smoked pork, and cornbread
• pad prik khing, green beans and pork
• crack pepper beef with steamed broccoli
• lamb and beef jerk burgers with queso fresco
• cucumber raita
• thai cabbage salad (basil, tomato, chiles)
• szechuan cabbage salad (green beans, fermented black beans, chili oil)
• some kind of okra curry
• some kind of chicken curry

Rainbow chard for pride weekend :P

Rainbow chard for pride weekend :P
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

coconut cabbage (p.469); kohlrabi and greens in cream sauce (p.514); radish parathas; chard+bacon+garlic+balsamic (possibly as bruschetta); crackpepperbeef + steamed broccoli; pasta with proscuitto/broccoli/cream sauce; rice with cashews, almonds and fresh mint.

a very green week

a very green week Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• Crumbled paneer with mint, cilantro, and chiles
• Yellow split peas and spinach in yogurt-peanut sauce
• Garlic-flavored pigeon pea broth with asparagus and kokum
• Asparagus in spicy yogurt sauce with roasted besan
• Penne with cashew-dill sauce and fresh peas
• Radish parathas
• fior di latte gelato with strawberries
• toasted kale “chips”

some of stuff to make

• stir fried asparagus with oyster sauce
• mexican-ish spinach chorizo quiche
• more mesclun with green lentil
• rhubarb lentil dal
• turnip and radish greens with miso & sesame
• strawberry sorbet
• salad with sherry vinaigrette and sliced turnips
• basque garlic parsley chicken

box

DSC_0003
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

bok choy, red fire lettuce, mesclun, rhubarb, asparagus, salad turnips, oregano, strawberries

cool

P051809SA-0113
Originally uploaded by The Official White House Photostream

wine / cheese / salad night

• bleu de gex
• tomme bleu (looks to be goat/sheep, aged 2–4 months, lots of veins)
• brebis de pyrenées (see Murray’s on this)
• brebis frais, 25% fat
• chèvre de launay (an example of a marvelous spring goat cheese)
• maroilles fermier
• emmental
• vieux comté: 12 mois & 18 mois
• my favorite beurre

• eric kayser breads: pain aux ceréales, “pain du bac” (levain); baguettes tolbiac, ceréales, et pavot
• salad of raw beets, feta, fennel, and orange
• thai cumumber–onion–chili–basil–fishsauce salad
• wilted beet greens with garlic and balsamic vinegar
• wilted beet greens with garlic and balsamic vinegar and bacon
• wine
• kir
• poiré
• champagne
• fresh raw whole milk

baguettes

a baguette article and recipe

hmm

• yogurt-tart chick peas and mustard greens (sorshe chana)
• linguine all’amatriciana with Desnoyer pancetta iberico for the guanciale
• more eggplant biryani
• something paella-like with my chorizo? or, my favorite soup.

Aurore-Capucine

Aurore-Capucine
Originally uploaded by clotilde

to make with stuff in the fridge

• black bean eggplant; bok choy with oyster sauce
• asparagus omelet/fritatta

La Ferme des Coteaux

We went by the always-strange Égide yesterday to get paid, and then walked back down Bl Villette / Ménilmontant, through the Couronnes Wednesday market. Again like all farmer’s markets the world over, it’s hit or miss. This time, though, we found a true gem: a farm 30km south of Paris, who come to two markets. Their card: “Nous vous proposons des légumes de plain champs et de nombreuses variétés de légumes oubliés ou traditionnels suivant les saisons.” And indeed they are true to their word.

I first spotted the variegated lettuce and baby beet greens. Then I saw the young garlic. It has formed a head but the top was still soft enough to slice like a leek and add to my ma po tofu. Finally, I saw their black greenhouse tomatoes. Black crimean/krim are among my favorites for their perfect balance of sweet and tangy, and when perfectly ripe, an exquisite balance of firmness and juiciness. When past ripe, they still make a nice sauce, instead of turning mealy.

While I was fully occupied by the veggies, Sara and Heather whisked on through the market; Sara was excited to find fresh hummus sold by the 100g, and Heather was ogling some cheese. Then I showed Sara a perfectly ripe black greenhouse tomato. So we went back to get some. The farmer laughed at me a little, asked where we were from, said that the vegetables in the USA weren’t very good. I said the vegetables in the rest of the market weren’t very good compared to theirs, and that you only had to know how to find the good stuff. And then we were on our way.

We stopped in an Asian store and I had to rearrange my purchases in my bag. It was then that I tasted the baby beet greens (pousses de betterave, beet shoots).

It was the fullest expression of a beet plant. The earthy redness, the green vegetalness, the sweet sugars that would eventually collect in the root — the beet shoots were as good as Vicki’s arugula, which still ranks as the best I have ever had. These had clearly been picked within a day. Sara and Heather had to have some. So we went back.

When I told the farmer we’d all just been astonished by the beet shoots were, she nodded knowingly, and insisted that we try some arugula and Sara took a mixed bag (some 2.50€ I think, same price as Vicki).

We asked where else they sell, and they are only at two markets (the other in the 12e or 14e, this is definitely the easiest). I’ll be going back every Wednesday.

La Ferme des Coteaux
Fabrice Guilchet
10, route de Chasse – 91700 Villiers-sur-Orge
01 69 46 39 74 / 06 82 97 89 43

the list of flavors

I couldn’t find a list anywhere of the Pierre Hermé macaron flavors from the other day, and they do change a lot. Here it is though, complete with dumb trademarked names. I added a few acronym tags for mouse-over English words.

Chocolat & Foie Gras

biscuit macaron, ganache au chocolat, gelée de foie gras

Café

biscuit macaron café, crème au café

Chocolat

biscuit macaron chocolat, ganache au chocolat amer

Éden

biscuit macaron, crème à la pêche et au safran, morceaux d’abricots moelleux

Azur

biscuit macaron chocolat, ganache au chocolat et au yuzu

Pistache

biscuit macaron pistache, crème à la pistache

Menthe Fraîche

biscuit macaron menthe, crème à la menthe fraîche

Plaisirs Sucrés^®

biscuit macaron, ganache au chocolat au lait, praliné feuilleté

Inca

biscuit macaron, compote d’avocats à la banane, ganache au chocolat

Mogador

biscuit macaron, ganache au fruit de la passion et chocolat au lait

Rose

biscuit macaron rose, crème aux pétales de rose

Citron

biscuit macaron citron, crème au citron

Mosaïc

biscuit macaron vanille, crème à la pistache et à la canelle, griottines

Huile d’Olive & Vanille

biscuit macaron, crème à l’huile d’olive et gousse de vanille

Mutine

biscuit macaron noix de coco, ganache au chocolat au lait et noix de coco

Chocolat au Lait & Thé Earl Grey

biscuit macaron au thé, ganache au chocolat au lait et thé Earl Grey

Truffe Blanche & Vanille

biscuit macaron, éclats de noisettes du Piémont grillées, crème à la truffe blanche

Infiniment Vanille

biscuit macaron vanille, crème à la vanille

Arabesque

biscuit macaron, crème à l’abricot et abricots moelleux, praliné croustillant à la pistache

Églantine & Marron

biscuit macaron, crème d’églantine,

Marron & Thé Vert Matcha

biscuit macaron marron, crème aux marrons glacés, crème onctueuse au thé vert matcha

Caramel à la Fleur de Sel

biscuit macaron caramel et grains de fleur de sel, crème au caramel au beurre salé

Americano Pamplemousse

biscuit macaron, crème au Campari et pamplemousse, morceaux de pamplemousse confit

Plénitude

biscuit macaron chocolat, ganache au chocolat-caramel et éclats de chocolat à la fleur de sel

Jasmin

biscuit macaron, crème à la fleur de jasmin et thé au jasmin

Églangine, Figue, & Foie Gras

biscuit macaron, crème d’églantine et figure, gelée de foie gras

Délicieux

biscuit macaron, crème au wasabi, pamplemousse confit

Porcelana

biscuit macaron chocolat, ganache au chocolat pure origine Venezuela Porcelana

Ocumare

biscuit macaron chocolat, ganache au chocolat pure origine Venezuela Ocumare

Cassis

biscuit macaron, ganache au cassis et graines de cassis

Carrément Chocolat^®

biscuit macaron, ganache au chocolat ultra amer et éclats de fèves de cacao, gelée de chocolat amer

Isaphan^®

biscuit macaron, crème au letchi à la rose, compote de framboises

Mandarine & Baies Roses

biscuit macaron, crème mousseline à la mandarine et aux baies roses

Satine^®

biscuit macaron, crème mousseline au cream-cheese, compote d’oranges et fruits de la passion

Céleste^®

biscuit macaron, crème mousseline au fruit de la passion, compote de rhubarbe et fraises

to make

• bacon and chanterelle risotto
• green lentil and toulouse sausage
• cabbage with pigeon peas, raita

yes please

give us access to EU documents!

with which to make…

• bengali potato/sweetpotato, with peas
• salad with lettuce, egg, tomato apple
• salad with arugula, orange, fennel
• omelet or tart with smoked sausage

market haul:

I forgot to get the radicchio for risotto… so, next week. Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

• lettuce
• cabbage
• lots of apples
• cucumber
• mango
• orange
• green onions
• fennel bulb
• arugula
• cherry tomatoes
• sweet potato
• cilantro
• lots of yogurt
• eggs

$/€

to make

• whole wheat pasta with romanesco and cilantro
• aloo palak
• carrot leek soup (probably veg, unless I venture to a butcher)
• lots of salad (escarole & batavia, carrots, blue cheese, pear, lemon)

my apartment stairs

my apartment stairs
Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

oh, and

there are cardoons. lots of cardoons. a project for next week.

my local markets, train-food

The Paris marchés alimentaires are great, but certainly no more so than a typical American farmer's market. They are, as anywhere, dominated by distributors who sell the same stuff you'd find in the neighborhood produce-shop (these are what's shockingly absent from American streets). A few of these have connections to producers or suppliers of unique products. For example, most have peruvian mangoes and bizarrely, avocados are 3 or 4 for 2€ , definitely a good deal. One vendor had these, plus the only unwaxed Italian lemons in the entire market! (Everyone else's were neither.) Some sell olives out of giant tubs, others out of smaller vessels with their own flavoring additives.

Then there are the few producers. The scale of Belleville/Père Lachaise (they abut one another) is approximately the same as Soulard in St Louis, but all stretched out in the middle of the boulevard. There is one place with yellow turnips; only one with interesting colors of carrots; one or two with unwashed mâche; one grower of multitudinous varieties of apples (I got a selection the other day, one was really not good, one was excellent so far)… but the ratio of actual producers to distributors appears to be approximately identical to Soulard.

There are a few bakeries, creameries, butchers – I haven’t begun to investigate many of these, but none looks great. I bought a camembert au calvados from one of the smaller, more focused fromagers; he also had free-range eggs (in contrast to the palettes of mass-produced ones elsewhere). From my more or less regular bakery (still on the fence about them, really) I got a small bread for the train to Amsterdam tomorrow – so apple, camembert, and boule de campagne.

There are several biologique markets, which I expect will be more like Green City. The St-Quentin covered market has some nice looking butchers. My charcuterie allegience is already in the direction of the place by Voltaire, at least for pork products.

update: nice write-up at in praise of sardines.

Tomatoes

As if one needed another reason to avoid store-bought tomatoes out of season. From Gourmet:

Immokalee is the tomato capital of the United States. Between December and May, as much as 90 percent of the fresh domestic tomatoes we eat come from south Florida, and Immokalee is home to one of the area’s largest communities of farmworkers. According to Douglas Molloy, the chief assistant U.S. attorney based in Fort Myers, Immokalee has another claim to fame: It is “ground zero for modern slavery.”

this would be totally easy and delicious!

Shells and Creamy Basil-Tarragon Pistou with Crab and Sweet Peas

sad but true

And so we’re in a space where the people talking about food are the people who are least suited to getting others to talk about food. Being a professional culinary elitist doesn’t make you wrong. But it might make you ineffective. On the other hand, if Waters wasn’t writing these op-eds, who would be?

things to make

When not eating bread, cheese, and charcuterie (more for lunch). I went to the two big indian grocers today, spent less than 20€, and am prepared to make several indian dishes.

• yogurt rice
• panch phoron stuff
• spicy red lentils
• sindhi toor dal
• bindi (okra) bhaji (also see below)

From Madhur Jaffrey's _World of the East Vegetarian Cookbook_: : : 1.5 lbs okra : : 6 T veg. oil (you really can use much less....very definitely!) : : 2 onions : : 6 cloves garlic : : 1/2 tsp turmeric : : 1 1/2 tsp salt (can use less of this, too) : : 1/4-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper : : freshly ground black pepper : : Saute the onions and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add : the okra and saute another 5 minutes (the okra should be a : bright green after this). Add the spices and mix to coat the : okra with them. Add 1/4 cup of water, cover, and simmer for : 15-20 minutes or until the okra is tender. Uncover and cook down : until any water is gone.

looks like a project for the summer

thinking about objects

A chi square distribution with ν degrees of freedom is a gamma distribution with shape ν/2 and scale 2. So in a mathematical sense, a chi square distribution “is a” gamma distribution. But should a class representing a chi square distribution inherit from a class representing a gamma distribution? The surprising answer is “no.” A rule called the “Lyskov Substitution Principle” (LSP) says this is a bad idea.

A tray of ugly cinnamon rolls

A tray of ugly cinnamon rolls Originally uploaded by gay.goy.gourmet

We had a bunch of cream cheese icing left over from having made Obama-logo cookies for inauguration day. I quickly designated it for cinnamon rolls and asked Jon, an excellent baker, what his favorite recipe for such a dough would be. He said he uses Reinhart’s 50% hydrated brioche dough and gave me approximate volumes since I lack a suitable scale. The dough was a very wet mess. But, it is stuffed with deliciousness, and when covered with icing, you would never know how ugly it is underneath. And, if Ugly Dolls can achieve such popularity, why not ugly cinnamon rolls?

two food lists

Stuff I want to make soon, or before I leave

• cinnamon rolls (to use up the cream cheese frosting from the Obama cookies)
• lamb biryani
• chicken paella
• crack pepper beef
• nasi goreng (curry fried rice)
• broiled fish with sweet potato purée
• long island cheese squash: soup & ravioli
• kolhapuri eggplant [660, p.493], also finishes the masala from Aai

Things in the Pantry or Freezer (notes for Scott)

• cubed fresh pumpkin: risotto, soup, masaman, orzo
• chinese dumplings from thanksgiving
• baba ganoush
• lamb-apple bratwurst
• ground pork (add to many Chinese things)
• pork loin (Bittman twice-cooked; amazing Mexican tamal/taco filling from Kennedy)
• hungarian cabbage soup
• yogurt-tart chickpeas with mustard greens [660, sorshe chana]

Brussels sprout stalk

Brussels sprout stalk
Originally uploaded by Kent Wang

not mine, alas, but I love it.

another box!

From CSA 2k8

• eggs
• [rivervalley] mushrooms
• onions
• parsnips
• arugula
• mustard
• giant brussels sprouties
• more fucking turnips
• apples
• carrots
• potatoes

thanksgiving box and menu

From CSA 2k8

• pumpkin
• another pumpkinlong island cheese squash
• 3 kohlrabis
• apples
• onion
• turnips
• beets
• beet greens
• potatoes
• brussels sprouts

• brussels sprouts (half olive oil; half mustard oil)
• beggars chicken (photos)
• carrot rotis
• plate o’ cheese
• chinese dumplings (pork and vegetable filling)
• [brian and benjeman] pumpkin ravioli
• [brian and benjeman] borscht
• [brian and benjeman] cornbread stuffing
• [jon and jonathan] ancient bread
• [jon and jonathan] pumpkin marshmallows
• [ina and kevin] cumin lamb chops
• [ina and kevin] red bean soup with mochis
• [ikbel] toasts with assorted toppings
• [ikbel] samsa
• pumpkin flan
• beet ice cream

wing ho alive poultry retail

View Larger Map

From gay goy gourmet

From gay goy gourmet

parameter expansion yay!

I was aware that the subject covariates in my hierarchical 1-dimensional ideal point model induced greater dependence in the chain. The reason is obvious – the full conditional update of the subject parameters θ now incorporates two pieces of information from the previous iteration (both η and β). This means much slower mixing chains.

Parameter expansion (px-da) actually improves mixing over the standard data augmentation scheme. Liu and Wu (1999) prove that convergence is always faster, but it still seems like magic. The method is nearly identical to the Marginal Data Augmentation of Meng & van Dyk that Simon Jackman just added to ideal, except that I sample the expansion parameter α on the residual variance of the latent data from an inverse-Gamma distribution whose prior parameters you can change. MDA fixes the prior value of the expansion parameter at 1 (equivalent to IG(a,b) as a→0).

I'm not sure when ADM and KQ plan the next MCMCpack release, but the default in MCMCirtHier1d is px=TRUE. The figure below shows the improvement in autocorrelation: for two chains of 10k iterations thinned every 20 samples, after a burnin of 50k iterations, the autocorrelation (which drops of really, really slowly for some subjects) drops below that even of the naïve model without PX (not shown). The black line is with PX, the red line without.

this week

From CSA 2k8

• nappa
• red bok choi
• beets (big red ones, and tiny white ones with great greens)
• baby black kale
• dumpling squashes
• radishes
• apples
• onion
• hot peppers

last week

From CSA 2k8

• chickens
• turnips
• parsley root with some parsley
• carrots
• collards
• green cabbage
• mesclun
• apples
• brussels sprouties!

what to do with all this food…

• [660] black chick peas, kala chana masala
• [660] saag of collard, radish, beet greens
• stir fried bok choi and celery with ‘brown sauce’
• beet soup in acorn squashes
• perhaps an apple pie?
• saag paneer
• [660] rajma with turnips
• turnip and sweet potato gratin
• salad with cold noodles, ginger-sesame sauce

fall box 2

From CSA 2k8

• pumpkin
• baby white beets (mostly for their delicious greens)
• heirloom celery
• radishes
• red bok choi
• more fucking collard greens
• apples
• red lettuce
• onion
• (three sisters) green garlic
• (smits) mint
• thyme
• eggies
• apples
• sweet potatoes

last week (fall csa 1)

From CSA 2k8

• carrots
• collard greens
• cabbage
• apples
• mesclun
• brussels sprouts
• eggs
• daikons
• parsley root
• turnips
• onion
• acorn squash