So... Whats for lunch?

[Schadenfreude]

Lil Me et al making Paella.

  Don't buy cheap saffron and don't skimp when adding to the pot.

Do not substitute turmeric for saffron. Well you can, it just won't be the tastiest.

McCormick's is OK. I use 3/4 to all of the package at the least. Last time I bought it, it was around $12.

  [img title=jwyyvjyczjttememxynz.gif alt=jwyyvjyczjttememxynz.gif src="http://www.tinypic.ca/files/jwyyvjyczjttememxynz.gif"]                

[Sportsdude]

Thanks!
I bought gyozas last night at the store.
Busy day for not really doing anything per say. At least I got all the classes picked out, out of the way.
'bout to go swimming here in a little while.
 

[Lise]

Love saffron. My mother-in-law puts them in Biryani rice. Gives it a depth that's so unique. I must say that I don't use it... can't justify buying it when I don't use it at all.

  Has anyone try those vanilla pods? I hear that using them is even better than the cheap imitation crap. I use the real vanilla essence since the pods are too expensive and there is a big difference in taste.

[kitten]

I haven't used Vanilla pods, but I knew a person that put a couple of vanilla pods in a bottle of white rum and left it for a month.  He said the flavour was amazing.

[Sportsdude]

I'm spent.
Just swam 1000m which is 1km! lol metric is so easy to figure out.

 

[P.C.]

Ooooo....now that sounds like it might be worth a try Kitten.

  For those that use sugar in your coffee, or on your cereal, a vanilla bean in your sugar canister is nice too.

[Sportsdude]

what are vanilla pods?  

[Schadenfreude]

I remember years ago, my aunt & uncle took me to an ice cream parlour with, whatever, 30+ flavours.

I said "I want vanilla."  They said "Vanilla? With all these flavours, you have to pick something else."

I picked that green, pink, and other colour. Not bubblegum. It was OK but it wasn't as good as vanilla.    

[Sportsdude]

looked it up still don't get what they are.  

[Schadenfreude]

  It's like a dried bean pod that is opened and scraped out to get the flavour.

[Sportsdude]

wait, don't tell me this is where they get the vanilla flavour? lol I think I left my brain at the pool.  

[P.C.]

I'm not sure....but I think it's actually the stamen (?) of an orchid.

[Schadenfreude]

P.C. wrote:
 I'm not sure....but I think it's actually the stamen (?) of an orchid.

  Saffron is the stamen of a crocus.

  Vanilla is a bean pod. The flavour is comes from the lining of the pod.
 

[P.C.]

I remember watching Alton Browns' Good Eats.  (great show)...and the one thing he stressed was to be careful of the pure vanilla extract that comes from Mexico.....apparently there is plant that they use the reduction from the bark for vanilla....and it's not good.

The best vanilla comes from Madagascar. (I think)

  I was a little disappointed, because I always used to get my friend to get me a quart of 'pure vanilla' when she went to Mexico. (which was cheaper than a teeny weeny bottle here)  

[P.C.]

Yes....I knew that was where saffron came from.  (that was on Good Eats too...lol)

   [H1][FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2]Vanilla Botany[/FONT][/H1] [P align=left][FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2]There are many species of vanilla thriving around the world; about 110 species have been catalogued since the discovery of vanilla. The plant that produces the vanilla bean/pod is an orchid. The family to which the species belongs is Orchidaceae, one of the largest families of flowering plants in the world. There are 700 genera in the family Orchidaceae and approximately 20,000 species.[/FONT]

 [FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2]Orchids are best known for their beautiful flowers, which are economically valuable to the horticultural industry. However, vanilla beans is the only genus that has economic importance as a food source. [/FONT]