Feline Follies

Indian food dominated my diet while i lived near a small restaurant staffed by its owner and at most one assistant. the leftover food was featured in at least two meals after my weekly visit. my habit of dining at this restaurant influenced my vacation schedule. at first, the menu included rarities like fish smothered by a very spicy green curry and house-made lemon achar . (the curry was thicker than Hilda's .) after a while, various shortcuts were taken. house-made achar was replaced by store-bought and several favorites became historic, but i remained faithful. i ate there about 700 times before moving away. Pickle jar one evening, the assistant accosted me with a jar of achar and indicated that i should open it for him. so i did. ...

Mom claimed her pickled cabbage was Chinese. the rest of my family was skeptical; another possible source for her recipe was the wife of one of my father's colleagues. years later, my mother acknowledged that she had served us kimchi. if i had to guess, it was Baek (white) kimchi. in those days, Asian ingredients were less available here so the recipe may have been an adaptation. in any case, it is much easier to make than the kind we usually see. Deconstructed brine how do we determine the amount of salt? in my opinion, we should ignore the weight of the vegetables. this approach works because brine creates an environment that favors lactobacilli. salt is not the agent per se; it is an enabler. in this case, we amplify its effect by deconstructing the brine, ...