chromedome

Yes, I'd intended to mention that in my post as well. I tried it because it sounded interesting, and then tried it again in case the first recipe was just a dud. Nope. Weird and unpleasant texture, every time.

As one of those writers...yes, exactly. In this case a lot of the items singled out are ones I do use consistently. My coffee grinder gets exercised every day, sometimes more than once, and I use my bread machine every week (I don't bake in it, I just use it as a "fill and forget" mixer for the dough). My waffle irons get used infrequently but consistently, ditto my pasta roller. The spiralizer, well...that was always going to be a limited-use item and I bought it knowing this to be the case. My ice cream machine gets used in summer and ignored in winter (go figure). The rationale for not grinding one's own coffee seems pretty thin, to me. Yes, I can buy it ground. I can buy most things prepared for me these days, but that's not the point. I like my coffee fresh-ground, and vacuum-sealing a bag of coffee after every use to keep it fresh would be a bigger PITA than grinding my coffee (and uses a bigger kitchen gadget, for that matter).

I know an organic potato farmer who uses one like that to control potato bugs. The slightly charred plants will grow back, the bugs do not. "Good luck evolving fast enough to beat a flamethrower!" was her grimly satisfied comment to me when I interviewed her for the local paper.

Q: Why does a space rock taste better than an earth rock? A: Because it's a little meteor...

I've been watching Spongebob Squarepants with the wee grandson this morning. In one episode the irascible Squidward character is menaced by a bunch of rogue performing fleas (don't ask) who cram him into a roasting pan with some mirepoix and stick him in the oven. Squidward, of course, bursts free...to lecture them on what they've done wrong in seasoning him for the oven. He demonstrates correct preparation - which includes lots of fresh-ground black pepper - before climbing back into the roasting pan and tasting the pan juices to make sure they're correct before closing the oven door again. Then, and only then, he bursts out and escapes. Gotta admire the commitment level...

AFAIK all oats intended for human consumption are heated/steam treated to inactivate the enzymes which otherwise would cause them to rapidly become rancid. Can't check McGee right now, as I'm still riding herd on a small grandson.

Kurlansky wrote at length about the oysters/NYC connection in one of his books. Oh, duh...it *was* one of his books. The Big Oyster. Too tired to look up how to do an eG-friendly Amazon link (been chasing 3yo grandson for a few hours...)

Quaker has recently started selling oat flour, so if you feel like pulsing the oats for a few minutes to powder 'em, you can check out some of those recipes: https://www.tastyrewards.com/en-ca/brands/quaker/recipes

Meant to post this a few days ago, when I saw it initially, but forgot... https://qz.com/1176962/map-how-the-word-tea-spread-over-land-and-sea-to-conquer-the-world/

https://omnivorebooks.myshopify.com/collections/vintage-books/products/new-arrival-american-immigrants-leila-mcguire-ed-old-world-foods-for-new-world-families-a-handbook

No, not everyone....but for youngsters who've only ever made the boxed kind, it's a step in the right direction. And "decent" food is a relative term, one we refine with experience. Gotta have a base to refine and build on, right? As for the vapidity of these TikTok sensations, well...Sandra Lee did 15 seasons of Semi-Homemade,* opening cans and boxes and mixing their contents. There was clearly a market for what she did, and his tens of thousands of followers would (to my mind) demonstrate pretty clearly that there's an appetite for what this particular yutz on TikTok is peddling. Seriously, we live in a world where you can buy a PBJ in the frozen section of your supermarket; and where people are mind-blown to learn that you can make whipped cream from scratch (that's not hyperbole, I've had that conversation multiple times). If one excited kid can make six figures by showing other excited kids some really rudimentary cooking techniques, then more power to him, and I hope he invests it well. TL;DR version: (shrug) Just don't follow him. Clearly neither of us is his demographic. (*and she was Cordon Bleu trained!)

Or more accurately, "processed cheese food product."

It occurs to me belatedly (in furtherance of my previous argument) that even on this forum, in this company, we have a thread for "absurdly, stupidly basic cooking questions."

I can recall a time when my spaghetti sauce (which I was *very* proud of) included Campbell's tomato soup and canned, sliced olives. Obviously my tastes have evolved and I've acquired a lot of knowledge and skills in the intervening years decades, but it started with developing an interest in cooking as opposed to just eating whatever happened to be in front of me. If an enthusiastic (albeit self-interested) 19-yo can plant that seed in other teens or 20-somethings, well...so much the better for everyone. To me the whole argument is very similar to the ongoing battle over school reading lists. Some teachers and parents are adamantly opposed to graphic novels/memoirs being on those lists (or Harry Potter, or sci-fi/fantasy, or whatever), while others (including me) argue that "for God's sake, if they want to read instead of staring at a screen, let 'em read what they want!" Let it be fun, let them be enthused, and then you can direct that enthusiasm. You can't steer a car that's not in motion, right? I've taught cooking classes where the lightning-bolt moment for some of the students was a throwaway comment about how I augmented the kids' boxed mac & cheese when they were younger. It wasn't what I was shooting for, but that was what resonated for those people in that moment. It's all grist for the mill.

The Britain of the era also featured a large quantity of bombed-out buildings, which were not (in their turn) an indictment of English architecture. It was a slow recovery, and affected daily life in many ways.

A new Netflix documentary and its companion site, about African-American cuisine and its role in US history and culture.

I'm actually rather surprised that Brussels sprouts are unknown in China, given their broad embrace of other brassicas. Seems like there might be an entrepreneurial opportunity there for someone.

I'm a big fan of sage Derby. It may not be the most exalted use, but I really love it in a grilled cheese sandwich.

Okay, that makes sense. Over here blue is reduced-fat, which is even more prone to curdling. Full-fat is better. The microwave would work, for sure. So does the milk steamer/frother used to make milky espresso beverages, if you happen to have one of those (and it's pretty quick, on the higher-end machines).

Milk curdles when you boil it, full stop (salt accelerates the process, but you can season at the end if necessary). You can heat it slowly to a low simmer (about 180 F) without breaking, though you'll need to go low-and-slow. I'm not sure off the top of my head whether potatoes have enough acidity to affect the result. Also it will tend to stick to the bottom and scorch, so you'll need to stir it a lot. Potentially as the potatoes get cooked-er their starch might stabilize and thicken the milk, allowing for a higher temperature, but you'd have to get to that stage first (and it would exacerbate the risk of sticking/scorching). What's the end result you're trying to achieve? Perhaps someone can suggest a better approach?

The straw suppresses weeds and helps retain moisture, and then breaks down to provide additional tilth (organic matter) in the soil. You can use your matured compost as top dressing or side dressing around your plants, though the timing depends on what you're growing. You can also add some to the hole when you're putting in transplants.

Given her age, and her relatively recent culinary training, it's quite possible her father was trying to find a viable niche where she could function once her parents passed. I know a family in Alberta who followed a similar course with their daughter, though from a younger age.

I was mystified as well. I was mentally trying to envision some sort of protective cap for the "business end" of the thing. Mind you, this was pre-caffeine...

You say that like it's a bad thing?...