chromedome

For printed out recipes, I'll tape them to the inside of the cupboard door and open the door when I need to refer to it. Not ideal, but sometimes it's my best option.

Host's note: this post, and the ensuing conversation, were moved from the Food Funnies topic. Not so much a "funny" as a (facepalm) "Why did I never think of this...?"

Truthfully, I don't remember if I went that far. I was already baking my own bread by the late 70s, so I had the option, but if so the intervening 40 years have blotted it from my recollection.

I remember seeing it as far back as the late 1970s. It was explained to me as an adaptation of an Indonesian ingredient (the rice flour) to the colonizers' home-style bread, because the crust of a regular loaf just wouldn't stay crisp in the tropical heat and humidity. That's utterly uncorroborated and offered without warranty on my part, but I suppose it's as plausible an explanation as any.

Kind of a Hobson's choice, really..."Do I freeze my butt outside for the next few minutes, or stay in here where it's warm but then smell it all night while I'm trying to sleep...?"

Sounds much like the paternal side of my family (the Newfoundland side). Though fishing was the mainstay there, and logging in the winter, everybody had a pretty substantial garden that contributed mightily to the family diet. Foraged fruit and berries were important too. For the record, I'm a couple of years older and can remember several years of sketchy or no indoor plumbing. The outhouse - and worse, the pot under the bed - are both pretty clear memories. For rural Atlantic Canadians, that's pretty common. There is a large family in Nova Scotia whose surname is Outhouse, and I've often reflected how unfortunate it is that they'd live in a place where their namesake is still a living reality.

I tried the Bob's and didn't care for 'em. My usual two are the store-brand from Superstore (one of Canada's two main chains) and the ones from Bulk Barn, which seem to be identical. I don't know who actually mills them.

Hmmm. Haven't used mine since November, I think. I should probably get on that.

Well...some days I am, but that's rare. I *did* replace a gasket on my old one (pro tip, for those as dense as me...it's infinitely easier if you remove the door), but it died shortly thereafter when the refrigeration coils rusted through. I think it's partly because of my humid climate here on the coast (and I mean *right* on the coast, I can see the harbour from my window) and partly because my upright, for reasons of logistical necessity, shares a space with my portable dishwasher. This is less than ideal in more ways than I can begin to count, but it's literally the only way I can have them both usable in my current rental. ...and to forestall the inevitable suggestion, we've already begun packing for a late-spring move.

LOL I'm the opposite...if I eat the traditional eggs 'n' whatever breakfast I feel greasy and bloated until mid-morning, and then ravenous until lunch. My steel-cut oats stay with me much more effectively. Different strokes, no? FWIW, the limited work done on the satiety resulting from different foods, based on a consistent number of calories eaten, showed oatmeal to be one of the most satiating among breakfast foods. Of course, a plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, etc adds up to a lot more calories than a bowl of porridge, which is one of the reasons satiety studies are a bear to design (well...that and the subjectivity of the whole exercise).

Pretty much the same for me, though I'm not a cocktail drinker so substitute a decent whiskey or rum with a splash of water in that slot.

I can't answer for the US, but in Canada you can find Vegeta at any Superstore in the seasonings section, near the bottled spices, Maggi, etc.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46846771

We don't really have "food deserts" here where I live, at least not as you see them in American cities. Saint John is a small city and there's always a grocery store within easy walking/bus distance. It's harder in rural areas, of course, but then you have gardens and farmstands and such. Pretty much anyone here has access to the fresh stuff, as long as budget permits. Cabbages and carrots and potatoes and apples and onions are all grown locally, and are cheap year-round, the rest is basically whatever's on sale or marked down at the grocery store. As far as other cultures, we have a modest number of Asian newcomers and a larger number of recent Syrian arrivals. There are plenty of appropriate food options for them in the local supermarkets, and there are smaller independent markets specializing in those ingredients, snack foods, etc. Halifax has had a sizeable Lebanese population since the 1970s diaspora, and is the regional hub for a lot of things. so stores catering to the Syrian immigrants could build on that base. Even Costco here carries whole halal lambs in their freezer section. Bear in mind, food prices in general are higher across the board in Canada than in the US, so some of the math is different. Chicken is dirt cheap Stateside, but relatively pricey here. The same goes for fast food. You know those endless memes showing how little fruit and veg you can put in your cart, relative to the amount of McDonald's? Here, most fast food places will run you $8-15/head for a combo meal. That's $30-$60 for a family of four (though in practice, of course, if you're on a "world of pain" budget you're going to dial it down more than a little). You can eat larger, better meals on a given budget if you know how to cook from basic ingredients as opposed to canned and processed stuff (and realistically, people get plenty of that from the food banks anyway). Unfortunately, here in NB, there's a real cultural thing in some circles where vegetables are concerned...you'll run into a surprising number of people who just plain don't/won't eat them, full stop, and are proudly outspoken about it. That's the challenge, as much as anything.

I've only seen the review, and haven't read the book, but it seemed worth seeking out. God knows how I'd have managed to feed my tribe during some of those lean spells if I didn't have decent cooking chops...at one point I fed us for a week on a cabbage, a couple pounds of onions, a friend's Halloween-decoration pumpkin, and the contents of my cupboards. I've had a few of those conversations with my GF's daughters (one blood, one foster, one "proxy") and they've all picked my brain to varying degrees about how to cook basic things, or what to do with unfamiliar ingredients. I've been thinking that this spring, as/when time permits, I should talk to a few of the agencies around town and see who might be interested in hosting a "basic skills" class for young moms, at-risk teens or whoever. It seems like the sort of thing that could really make a difference in someone's life.

Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won't Solve Our Problems and What We Can Do About It

I was a high schooler/underaged drinker before the breweries switched to screw-off bottle caps. Millennials are always impressed by my ability to pop the cap from a bottle using just about anything, but it was a knack born of necessity since I was absent-minded and didn't reliably remember where I'd put my church key.

Oh, wait! Even better... Eugene and Dan Levy should sponsor it as a promo for "Schitt's Creek."

I can absolutely see someone cheerfully coughing up the money in order to name the washroom after their least favorite politician.

Very smart.

My late wife was bad for that, too. Admittedly I buy smoked hocks *primarily* to cook with sauerkraut, but I do enjoy them other ways as well.

Food Recall Warning - Crisp & Delicious brand Chicken Breast Nuggets recalled due to Salmonella http://inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-01-25/eng/1548461716196/1548461718217

My grandmother's house was on a lake, and when I was a kid there were two kinds of mint growing right at the verge. One more or less stayed put but the other invaded the lower lawn heavily, taking over about 2/3 of it. My father used to complain that on a hot summer's day, the oils of the mint plant would just about knock him off the riding mower. After she died and the property was sold, the new owner quelled the mint by bulldozing the entire site and building a McMansion on it, blocking the view of the lake from any position other than inside the house.

I pulled shrimp, salmon and cod (the latter caught by my Newfoundland relatives) from the freezer last night and made chowder. No pictures because I'm lazy, and because chowder isn't super-photogenic at best.

The most recent one I've gotten was for salmonella in some Hello Fresh and Chef's Plate meal kits. Distribution is national, or nearly so...from the Maritimes to Manitoba. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2019-01-21/eng/1548130312229/1548130314953 I'll try to keep up on it, for the benefit of Canadian regulars here, but be warned in advance that "life stuff" and absentmindedness make me an unreliable correspondent.