> > I'd really love to learn how to make a great paella. I've tried a
> > couple
> > times, and it was "ok" but disappointing. The seafood
is the problem
> > I
> > think...just can't get fresh clams/mussels here, or I haven't found
> > em yet.
>
> bleagh

LOL
Um, Barb... don't care for clams? Or is it the mussels? Or the idea of
paella in its entirety? :)

> > > you're extravagant....
> > > =g=
> >
> > ocassionally :) But it's so *pretty* :)
>
> tumeric is cheaper....

and I never thought of it...

> > and it goes a long long way... it's expensive, but you don't have to
> > use a  ton of it
>
> one thread at a time
> (just think of harvesting crocus stamens.... and who got the idea they
> were edible let along worth attempting to grow/harvest commercially????)

probably the color that attracted them first... thought it might be good to
eat? Man, I don't know... bright colors are usually shouting "POISON! CAN'T
EAT ME!"

> > > However, I'm always open for a new recipe -- especially involving
> > pears.
> > >
> > > =hint=hint=
> >
> > here you are! :)
>
> great Emeril! you're the recipe maven these days!

heh :) Have been in a cooking mood lately

> > translucent takes
> > 4 to 5 hours... she noted "3hrs is not long enough" but wasn't
> > terribly  precise on what was. She felt "you just know"
>
> you do; when the pectin is ready to do its thing, there's a certain
> glossiness the mixture gets.....

there you go :) That's what she was talkigna bout... "a glazed look, not
blah or blah..."

> Really is a LOOK.
> I'm usually too lazy to do all that reduction and buy pectin and do the
> 30 minute thing (you get more yeild for the amount of fruit, too, as the
> 3-4 hours IS reduction) -- but occasionally. And it really does intensify
> the flavor....

which for pears is not a bad thing... they're not the boldest of fruits.

> And through the evening hear that metallic "pop" (not quite the sound,
> but....) that paints happy smiles on the face of the canner and her
> husband....

I liked the pops as a kid :) They did a lot of canning back then... it was
cheap and made the most of the garden
and it's *pretty* to see those rows of jars with all the neat stuff in 'em
neater still to be able to look at the pretty jar and say "I grew that
carrot!" Not that many of the carrots made it to the jars... we had a
fondness for pulling the babies from the ground, hosing them off, and
devouring them before they ever made it to the house. Love dem baby carrots

> > sweet and hid the taste of the pears, but that there IS enough sugar
> > to  preserve with and not to worry if it will keep. It will.
>
> =nodding=
> I was a preserves, chutney expert for many years.... really, so your mom
> and I are talking shop here....

I was trying to make sure I had the notes right when I mentioned you'd
canned things before... at which point my mom said "Well don't worry about
all that then, she knows what I'm talking about" (but mom...*I*'m the one on
the phone here...)

> > Kestrel "Too much fuss to make them, but I sure do like 'em on
> > biscuits"  Koala
>
> well, that's why you have Mom! tygress

that's right 
brought some of those pear preserves home too...

> I might try the short cut and see if it comes out (but don't tell your
> mom how lazy I can be).

lol
I don't tell me mom how lazy *I* can be...

> OTOH, pears are available in winter, when I don't mind sitting a hot pot
> 3-4 hours... as much.

yup, 100 degrees outside isn't much of an inspiration to fire of the
stovetop for hours on end



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