garlic-hoarding steely primitive grows an exotic plant

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x66174

Oh my.

I never heard of this stuff.

The steely primitive, who got half a hundred pounds of garlic from a food bank, and stank up the house while trying to dehydrate all of it.

In case anyone's failed to remember, the steely primitive's "hiding out" from people who "kidnapped" his wife.  The steely primitive works as a "sorter" at a thrift store, and for his part of the rent, he "cooks" for all the other roommates.

franksolich suspects the steely primitive is somewhat simple.

Richard Steele  (1000+ posts)        Fri Jun-19-09 03:33 AM
Original message
 
Is there anything better than fresh cilantro?

I'm currently living deep in rural Appalachia; the soil here is 90% limestone, and the mountains are so steep that we only get 5 hours of "Direct Sunlight" per day...

My tomato and pepper plants are barely 12" tall, but my cilantro is bushing up like gsngbusters.

And it's the BEST cilantro I've ever had.

We pulled the first batch yesterday, and tested it atop some "hamburger & bag cheddar" tacos ...

it was much more powerful than any cilantro I've ever had.

Perhaps it likes limestone soil?

If my organic heirloom Zataar is half as good as my cilatro, I have some recipes that are just so TASTY, that folks around here might burn me as a WITCH if they tasted them.

The baby-talking warped primitive, who gives cute teddy-bear names to food:

Warpy  (1000+ posts)        Fri Jun-19-09 08:28 AM
Response to Original message
 
1. I'm one of the unfortunate people who think it tastes like soap but I still find it absolutely essential in salsas and a lot of Chinese dishes, especially Chinese barbecue sauces.

Herbs usually do much better than veggies, much closer to their weedy origins. Cilantro does especially well out west, where soils are alkaline.

At her advanced age, now 60 years, the baby-talking warped primitive should dispense with the baby-talk; not to mention she's a nurse, and makes other nurses look bad when she babbles baby-talk.

Richard Steele  (1000+ posts)        Fri Jun-19-09 01:20 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
5. Condolences on that, Warpy. That is indeed unfortunate.

You know, I tried planting cilantro two years in a row back when I was living in NC, and had very little success.

The seeds never sprouted.

Well, when all else has failed, I read the directions...

I noticed the package said to plant the seeds BEFORE the last frost of the year. So I put all my seeds into potting soil in the tiny "peat pots", and then I stuck them in the freezer for 3 days before setting them outside.

I think every single seed germinated!

I'm up to my knees in fresh cilantro here. (LITERALLY, if I stand in the right spot in the garden)

Now, if only I could grow some LIMES...*sigh*

supernova  (1000+ posts)        Fri Jun-19-09 11:25 AM
Response to Original message
 
2. I could bathe in the stuff

If BathWorks or The Body Shop ever makes a cilantro toiletries line, I'm so there!

Richard Steele  (1000+ posts)        Fri Jun-19-09 01:07 PM
Response to Reply #2
 
4. Have I mentioned that one of my co-workers makes homemade soaps?

She made a 'coffee' soap for me the other month.

(It doesn't just SMELL like coffee, it has actual coffee grounds in it for extra scrubbing power.  It's the best stuff for cleaning up after I've been gardening or working in the shop.)

I'll ask her about making a Cilantro bar or two.

grasswire  (1000+ posts)      Fri Jun-19-09 12:26 PM
Response to Original message
 
3. I love it.

Cilantro and lime and a corn tortilla with a little shredded chicken make any day brighter.

Grandma:

hippywife  (1000+ posts)        Fri Jun-19-09 02:51 PM
Response to Original message
 
6. I like it but...like Warpy, I like it used judiciously. A little bit goes a very long way for me.

The empressof all   (1000+ posts)        Fri Jun-19-09 03:09 PM
Response to Original message

7. I wish I liked it

The SO hates it and I'm not a fan. I always have to remember to tell them to keep it off the top of my Thai and Indian food when I go out. I think though I'm not a fan of real "herby" tastes in general. I really wanted to love chimichurri sauce for example...but too much herby taste ...for me. And, it's just parsley for christ sake. I even have to cut the Pesto by mixing it with a dairy. That's what happens when you grow up with a mom who thinks canned Asparagus is the height of gourmet cuisine.

The sparkling husband primitive never showed up at this bonfire, but one suspects the sparkling husband primitive thinks canned asparagus is the height of gourmet cuisine, given his taste for lousy pizza.

[The Village Idiot]

How can people get so excited over something so... weird?

[franksolich]

How can people get so excited over something so... weird?

As I said, I suspect the steely primitive's somewhat simple.

[JohnnyReb]

I'm surprised the first question wasn't, "How'd it smoke?"

[AllosaursRus]

I'm surprised the first question wasn't, "How'd it smoke?"

You owe me a keyboard!!!!!!!! Bwahahahahahahahaha!

[Traveshamockery]

She made a 'coffee' soap for me the other month.

Do the dummies even know how to use soap? 

[GOBUCKS]

"Herbs usually do much better than veggies, much closer to their weedy origins."

"At her advanced age, now 60 years, the baby-talking warped primitive should dispense with the baby-talk; not to mention she's a nurse, and makes other nurses look bad when she babbles baby-talk."

Thank you, thank you, coach! What a relief! For years I have believed myself to be the only person in the English-speaking world who is nauseated by the cutesy-pootsy word "veggie". Of course, in Britain, normal people call their television a "telly", but come on, they like soccer, too.

I'd put a "Baby On Board" sign on my truck before I would use the word "veggie". It is as irritating as people using an apostrophe when writing a simple plural.

[Celtic Rose]

How can people get so excited over something so... weird?

I'll admit, I'm a fan of cilantro, but I generally don't feel the need to post about it on the internet 

[franksolich]

"Herbs usually do much better than veggies, much closer to their weedy origins."

"At her advanced age, now 60 years, the baby-talking warped primitive should dispense with the baby-talk; not to mention she's a nurse, and makes other nurses look bad when she babbles baby-talk."

Thank you, thank you, coach! What a relief! For years I have believed myself to be the only person in the English-speaking world who is nauseated by the cutesy-pootsy word "veggie". Of course, in Britain, normal people call their television a "telly", but come on, they like soccer, too.

I'd put a "Baby On Board" sign on my truck before I would use the word "veggie". It is as irritating as people using an apostrophe when writing a simple plural.

Oh man, I can't tell you how much I despise that word, and people and primitives who use that word.

It's just really stupid.

Also, it indicates--according to the master, Sigmund Freud--a deep underlying need to "be friends" with one's, uh, feces, giving food cutesy teddy-bear names.

The baby-talking warped primitive's about 57 years too old to be doing that.

[Karin]

I like cilantro in mex food.  That opinion registered, I have to say that the original post reads so airy-fairy, twirly-whirly gay that I just can't stand it, it's so precious.  Now:

If my organic heirloom Zataar is half as good as my cilatro, I have some recipes that are just so TASTY, that folks around here might burn me as a WITCH if they tasted them.

I am the ex-wife of an Arab guy, and Zataar is not a plant, heirloom or otherwise.  It's a combination of sesame seeds and various herbs that is quite good baked onto flat bread and then dipped in olive oil.  He's talking bullshit to show off and he's lisping while he's doing it. 

[RobJohnson]

I'll admit, I'm a fan of cilantro, but I generally don't feel the need to post about it on the internet 

I like cilantro, especially in a good salsa.

Everytime I buy it fresh from the store, it costs me at least 59 cents.

A little goes a long way.

I grew it before in Illinois, it takes off like a weed, and you can keep up with the harvest of it. I would dry and store some of it, but it's much easier just to buy when I need it!

[Chris]

Cilantro is good with rice.

[Chris]

I like cilantro, especially in a good salsa.

Everytime I buy it fresh from the store, it costs me at least 59 cents.

A little goes a long way.

I grew it before in Illinois, it takes off like a weed, and you can keep up with the harvest of it. I would dry and store some of it, but it's much easier just to buy when I need it!

The only thing I would bother growing would be basil.  It takes a lot of it to make a decent pesto, and buying it at the grocery store gets expensive if you like pesto.

Try it spread on roast beef sandwiches.  Good stuff.

[RobJohnson]

The only thing I would bother growing would be basil.  It takes a lot of it to make a decent pesto, and buying it at the grocery store gets expensive if you like pesto.

Try it spread on roast beef sandwiches.  Good stuff.

I get my pesto at Trader Joe's. 10 million hippies can't be wrong!

There is also a bake shop here in town that sells locally made pesto, but despite the fact I have heard only good things about it, I've not tried it.

[Chris]

The only pesto around here is the little five-ounce jar that costs eight bucks.

For that price, I should get a Mason jar full of the stuff.

[Chris_]

I like absolute MOUNDS of cilantro cooked in whenever I go out for Mongolian BBQ.

It's also really good whenever I do stir fry at home, or in my green chili.

[franksolich]

You know, I finally got around to googling images of "cilantro," as I've never heard of it before the steely primitive mentioned it.

It looks like plain ordinary run-of-the-mill parsley to me.

[Celtic Rose]

You know, I finally got around to googling images of "cilantro," as I've never heard of it before the steely primitive mentioned it.

It looks like plain ordinary run-of-the-mill parsley to me.

Cilantro has a very distinct taste, definitely not parsley like. 

I have a cilantro plant, and it is very convenient when I'm cooking eggs, or Mexican food, to just go out and snip a bit.  Like most herbs, it is best fresh, and it doesn't last long in the refrigerator, so buying it at the store seems like a hassle to me.

Cilantro seeds are called coriander.

[Chris_]

Cilantro has a very distinct taste, definitely not parsley like. 

I have a cilantro plant, and it is very convenient when I'm cooking eggs, or Mexican food, to just go out and snip a bit.  Like most herbs, it is best fresh, and it doesn't last long in the refrigerator, so buying it at the store seems like a hassle to me.

Cilantro seeds are called coriander.

And the cilantro root is ground up to make cumin.  Excellent in chili.

[RobJohnson]

And the cilantro root is ground up to make cumin.  Excellent in chili.

wow, I did not know that

I use cumin when making Spanish rice

[Vagabond]

Frank, for some reason this is the forst exotic plant I thought of while reading the title: