Happy weekend to ya, idiots. Being able to hang about, do laundry, and clean my house feels like a luxury this weekend. Does anyone have more exciting plans ahead? Monday is Canadian Thanksgiving. Better early than late, I guess, since I miss it every year. Nett says he's celebrating Sunday. Anyone else making a feast tomorrow? What kinds of things do you serve at a Canadian Thanksgiving? I have a sourdough castoff casserole in the oven right now that smells so damned good. It's that time of year. Get your starter out of hibernation, make some soups, roast some garlic.
How the fuck does one acquire pork leaf fat these days? "Just ask your butcher for it," first of all, who the fuck still has a butcher, and second of all, after striking out at the local grocery stores, I called several specialty butcher shops near Boston and even they don't offer it. But there's pork products everywhere, which means shitloads of dead pigs, so the fat definitely exists and has to be somewhere. WHERE THE FUCK IS IT.
You mean lard? It should be in just about any chain super market, usually in the baking goods section. Otherwise, like SouthernIdiot said, you can find it online.
I'm trying to render my own because I don't trust the shit they have in stores. Animal products being shelf stable wrapped in nothing but cardboard is deeply suspicious to me. In a related rant, why is smoked paprika seemingly the only spice that can only be found in tiny jars selling at $3/oz? Where is the damn bulk smoked paprika?
Again, online is the easiest route, or if you happen to have a GFS anywhere nearby, they sell all kinds of spices/herbs in large quantity containers. Also, if you happen to have a Restaurant Depot located anywhere nearby, and know someone with a membership (or you can get one yourself; they're free, but you have to have a business license) they have stuff like that in quantities that a normal person would struggle to use in damn near a lifetime.
I just feel like we're losing our identity as Americans if I can't walk into an ethnic food store run by an immigrant who doesn't speak English who will sell me a full pound of some spice for a few dollars. Before Amazon, we used to be a proper country.
@Aetius Indian food store for the smoked paprika. Or smoke your own. Hope you started last spring. You have to find people selling 1/2 a pig by hanging weight or whatever. Look on Facebook marketplace. They will butcher per customer request and you can get fat and other discard for cheap or free. They often outsource the butchering but can put you in touch when they have an animal being processed.
That's where I got a pound of kashmiri chili powder last week, but they only had regular paprika (at least that I saw). I may have to go back and give a closer inspection.
Indian stores have the best selection of bulk spices in my limited experience. Their food is so well seasoned...they use it all when they cook, and it can't be too expensive or cooking would be unaffordable. I think you might also find smoked paprika in a Mediterranean food store but it will probably be in small bottles and not necessarily cheap.
Heh. Learn from my mistakes. Smoke fresh peppers, then dry. Do not dry, then smoke. One sticks about 1000x better.
I got lazy at some point and started buying the premixed spices from the Indian grocery store and then my Indian food got like 5x better immediately. Idk what kind of magic they put in there, but particularly the biryani masala is SO much better than any combination of seemingly the same spices I’ve tried to use on my own. And for any of you not making biryani in your instant pots, you’re totally missing out.
Yep. I found that my Indian neighbour (who’s 75 year old mother showed me how to grind and mix spices) really unlocked the flavour by using whole spices and toasting them before doing the actual grind. Total game changer.
There's a homeless guy that sleeps in the bathroom at South Station who is always talking about, "Spice." He can probably hook you up.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone... even you guys that do it late. Today is going to be stressful, as my sister broached the concept of "her inheritance" with my mom earlier this week, and it didn't go well. Basically, she asked how much she can expect to get because he's being forced into a potential early retirement/disability due to her MS getting worse and her taking more time off, so she's been doing some financial planning. Needless to say. mom said "nothing", and it seemed to have rustled some jimmies. "What do you mean, nothing? We need to plan this because the new tax is 50%" "My plan is to die at 95 with nothing, and if I have anything left over, it's going to the baby elephants." And she's got a comfortable 7 figures in investments. _crickets_ the BIL then pipes up with "well, if that's the case, don't expect any help from this household". What a fucking autist. I am so glad I was out of town because if I was there shit would have gotten ugly. Needless to say my mom has calmed down, and we're still having the family over for dinner... but yeah, it's has some explosive potential. Fucking family. Happy TG all y'all!
My parents dying without a penny to their name saved me from this kind of headache. I have never expected anything from my folks, or anyone else. Any unanticipated windfall would be a pleasant surprise- and is also completely unlikely. We had our neighborhood Oktoberfest yesterday. It ended before midnight and I’m not hungover in the slightest. We are getting old.
@Nettdata Did anyone get thrown out of your dinner yet? Are we playing nice? You're probably busy cooking, but I've got my popcorn ready.