therdogg

there are no preservatives in canned pumpkin. it's preserved by the canning process.

Discuss.

I totally agree. We have one here too but the recipes looked like they relied prepackaged sauces etc. Which makes sense if you're taking novice cooks and getting them to cook twelve family-sized meals in two hours. I haven't tried this business, but it didn't look like something my family would enjoy. I'd just as soon buy a Costco frozen lasagne at that point because it would be similar in quality, lower in price, and I wouldn't have invested two hours of my life creating twleve mediocre frozen lasagnes.

I'm so lazy that I haven't fed my kids until they were old enough to eat table food in its whole form, usually about 9-10 months. Breastfed before that. I suppose I would have given solids earlier if they were formula fed and needed the iron or whatnot. Of course, I breastfeed because I'm too lazy to fix up a bottle I think bratwurst makes a fine first food, but pizza is definitely a close second! Gerber might frown on the practice, but you're one great mama!

This tip isn't cooking-related, but baby-related: get yourself a good carrier, preferably the kind you can carry your babe in any which way: on the hip, in front, in back, etc. Think of those National Geographic videos of African women preparing meals, tending gardens, etc etc with their babies happily slung on their bodies. I find I can go through my day with my now five week old in the sling and still fold laundry, vacuum, cook etc. I have a three year old, a two year old, and the baby. Also, my 3yo has autism. It's challenging enough as it is, but I'd DIE if I couldn't use my carrier for the infant. Now that I have three kids (ages three and under) I look back and sigh, remembering how easy it was when I *only* had one (of course, back then I thought I had it tough LOL). I don't do much cooking ahead as much as cooking enough for 10-12 portions and eating leftovers for a couple days (lunches, etc). Tonight we had meatballs with cranberry beans in a sagey tomato sauce with polenta (Marcella Hazan's recipe). Easy enough and quite economical (I don't bother stirring the polenta the whole time btw). The leftover polenta will find itself grilled and served under fried eggs for breakfast tomorrow. Buy some decent packaged sauce and pasta so that if everything falls apart at the last minute you can still eat dinner. And eggs. A hectic day not infrequently ends with an omelette or frittata dinner at our house.

coddled eggs yeast-raised waffles homemade donuts bagels and lox w/fixings (tomato, capers, red onion) frittatas

I've yet to find a "natural" cream cheese that doesn't contain carrageenan or a vegetable gum (both are "natural" products), not even at my local Whole Foods store or my high-end cheese purveyor. Do you know of a specific brand or source for such a product? I'd love to try it. ←

I find rolling out all-butter pie crusts between two sheets of plastic wrap to be really bothersome. The wrap always wrinkles, I have to straighten it every few rolls etc, and it sometimes tears the crusts upon removal. Are the expensive, silicone-coated rolling pins and silpat sheets worth the investment? Are they really nonstick, or just in theory?

For lasagna, why not thinly sliced (lengthwise) roasted eggplant slices instead of noodles?

why not bake the cheesecake "crustless" in a water bath and add the crust later, as a base? You could then ensure that the crust was not gross before adding it to the cheesecake- just unmold the cheesecake out on top of the crust. or just do a cookie crumb crust. yum.

True enough, perhaps. But still.... there's a principle here. Whether it can be perceived or not by the average taster is besides the point. Heinz ketchup does nothing asthetically for an ingredient list. Now, let's not get into the baking with real ketchup versus "imitation ketchup flavor" discussion LOL

Here it is. I see no reason why this wouldn't scale just fine up to a 14" pan. What struck my about this recipe when I saw it is that the picture looked so dismal- I dunno, but I really feel that pineapple upside down should be rings of pineapple, with real cherries in the middle, and caramelly pecans are not untoward. The picture looked so... washed out, unspecial.

And what did you think? I've really enjoyed this blog and am wondering where you've gone. As a mother of small kiddos I never eat out and have been dining vicariously through you, and well..... I'm getting hungry.

I saw a recipe somewhere (I can't for the life of me remember where) that involved a cornmeal crepe filled with sweet corn ice cream and warm blackberry sauce, and topped with some fresh blackberries. I thought that sounded incredible- I'll also bet that sweet corn ice cream would taste great in a sundae with warm maple syrup and unsweetened whipped cream. So very midwestern.

We did scallops tonight- make a hearty salad as well, and it's dinner.

Speaking of tender, do y'all find pastry flour works better than AP? I use a mix of unbleached AP and cake flour and I find it more tender than straight AP.

A lard crust for Cornish pasties or chicken pot pie or other such savories is delish, but for peach pie I like an all-butter crust. Try chilling the flour/salt mixture and if you don't have a food processor, a pastry cutter or knives may keep it cold better than your fingers.

Bacon, scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, fruit. Sometimes an omelette. Eggs, mexican chorizo, cheddar and sour cream in a tortilla. Yum. Granola and yogurt.

I've heard of entire hamburgers, bun, condiments, and trimmings, battered and deep fried. Sounds sort of appealing, in a gross sort of way.

I do a bourbon whipped cream alongside pecan pie- easier than ice cream. Yum.

Fried egg sandwiches with green and red sauteed bell pepper strips on a baguette. Salad with chicken breast strips on top. Spaghetti carbonara. (although time to boil water makes it a bit longer than 15 minutes; does that count?) BLTs. Burgers. stir-fry (ack, but even the rice takes longer than 15) Actually I guess it's hard to make something fabulous in 15 minutes which is why I'm mostly listing American fast-foods. What about meals that only take 15 minutes of _work_ but might require downtime? Like roast chicken, baked potatoes, braised pork Roast veggies (peppers, eggplant, summer squash) with fresh mozzarella and pesto on olive bread Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Latkes when grated with a food processor.

Holy Communion- preceeded by a good confession.

The one in Saugatuck, Michigan.

I live near an American Spoon Foods store. Nothing to be embarrassed about when you use their stuff. You can fill a pie with their Fruit Perfect with impunity. Sure fresh is best, frozen the better second choice (and sometimes the first choice depending on the season and application) but every now and then American Spoon comes to the rescue. And I use plain 'ole canned pineapple for upside-down cakes too.

sorry for the triple post. i would try posting and get an ERROR page, so I thought it wasn't working. After two tries, it erased my post so I tried again. Oops. I'll just send this one once.