natasha1270

"By noon Seattle time, Prime members in the US had purchased over 91,000 Instant Pots pressure cookers and all 23,000 iRobot Roombas the site had for sale." Yahoo Amazon Prime Day article I can account for at least 1 of those. Looking forward to trying it out.

Reading these Instant Pot threads and finding out the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W is $69.99 as part of today's Amazon Prime Day is pushing me over the edge. I think I am going to pop for one. eta: removed link question. Thanks!

@JohnT - The regular Oreos are dark cookies sandwiching a white filling. There have been several more Limited Oreos (Cinnamon Bun, Red Velvet, S'mores, Filled Cupcake, Reeses, etc.), since I last checked in to this thread, I think they all pretty much got decent reception from my son and his friends. I heard on the radio today that a couple of new flavors will be on shelves soon: Blueberry Pie & Fruit Crisp

I saw this potato peeling tip on instagram a while back but this video came up recently on my yahoo page and reminded me:

I have had the Nielson-Massey Cookbook for years but have yet to try anything from it. It has recipes in it for vanilla in vinaigrettes, squash bisque, basil-tomato soup, vanilla wine sauce, teriyaki sauce, apricot mango bbq sauce, duck breast with tahitian pomegranate chutney and a few other savory preparations. The book says vanilla added to tomato sauces will cut the acidity and mellow the flavor. Pandan is often said to impart a vanilla like fragrance so if you know of any recipes calling for pandan, subbing vanilla could be nice to try.

I saw an update where they've expanded this and its hitting Trader Joe's, Safeway, Walmart (Great Value brand), Costco (Kirkland brand) now. I checked the list and saw Columbia River Products are included which I have a bunch of in my freezer. Do you all just toss the products or actually return the items for a refund?

Thanks so much @DiggingDogFarm! That's great to know if I leave them for a while some of the sugars will turn back to starch. I picked this bag of potatoes at a store I don't usually shop at and will make sure to get them from my regular one next time or at least wait awhile before using them.

Yesterday I made my usual red potato salad but got an unwelcome surprise when I tasted the final product - it had a really strange sweetness to it. After, I tasted all my regular ingredients and they were the same. The only thing I could narrow it down to was the potatoes. I am used to sometimes the red potatoes being waxy but have never come across this sweetness variant. I still have a few pounds of the red potatoes left uncooked. Is there anything I can do to counter this when cooking the rest of them or suggestions to make the most of the mild sweetness of these potatoes? Thanks!

In that case, I would suggest selecting lemons the opposite of how you would normally choose them. Instead of ones that are heavy for their size, look for ones that are light for their size (less fruit/more pith).

Not an expert but is it possible that it was candied citron? http://www.olivetomato.com/candied-greek-citron/

Sopa de Lima will use a couple of limes. You can use them to make mayonnaise, marinades & dressings like Lisa suggested. If all else fails, I have read that you can freeze them whole and just defrost and juice as you need them.

The recent Fearless Flyer is advertising that the refrigerated tamales are back but I haven't been to the store to check them out yet. Has anyone tried them since they have re-appeared? If they are the same as before, I hope they stick around. I can't tell from the flyer whether they are only being brought back for the holidays. http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2717

Chris - you probably made the right decision. Wouldn't the cookies turn out differently using dutched vs natural cocoa? I haven't consciously swapped "lesser" ingredients for pricier ones but I do swap scratch made for box mix from time to time depending on the intended recipients if that counts. As in I personally like the Barefoot Contessa Outrageous Brownie recipe but for some occasions Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie mix fills the bill just fine.

Chocolate Cookie w/Peppermint Creme and Golden Cookie with Gingerbread Creme Oreos showed up at my Target recently so of course I picked them up for my son and his friends to try. Mint seems to invoke a love or hate response and it divided the group. Those that do like mint really liked them. My son said that of all the limited flavors they have tried, these had the strongest scent right out of the bag but luckily the cookies did not have as strong a flavor as the smell might have indicated. Next week, it's gingerbread's turn. ps. there was a full shelf of the caramel apple oreos still at the store. I guess they aren't the only ones that dislike them.

I think in many smaller communities, specialty items like dumplings, empanadas, tamales, lumpia, etc. usually circulate via the word of mouth friend of a friend marketplace. Maybe you can go to your mom and pop stores and find out if they have any connections that would be interested in taking your order?

From the video, it appears he is blowing air over the cake and tilting it to achieve the design. Here is another video with some extra recipe info included: https://youtu.be/2EwlYjz9XLM

Update: the sweet potatoes really are nice and just as described in the flyer. Drier and little less sweet than regular sweet potatoes with a bit of chestnut flavor. I will definitely be looking to pick up more if they have them next time I am at TJs.

One of his friends doesn't like coconut so he passed but feedback from the rest of the test subjects his friends on Toasted Coconut Oreos was very positive. My son noted in general that the cookie part of these limited run flavors seems to be softer than regular oreos. Its been a while since I've had a regular oreo but I think he might be right. I had my first deep fried Oreo at an Autumn Festival this past weekend and it occurred to me that some of these limited flavors would probably be interesting with that treatment. (BTW, the DFO was good but I would rather just have a Funnel Cake) Apparently, Cinnamon Bun Oreos are planned for the near future (January?) so we'll have to see what if any other flavors pop up in the stores until then.

The Pumpkin Spice Oreos were OK. Actually the filling and cookie combined to really give a pumpkin pie filling/crust vibe. But a little goes a long way and it took a long time to finish the bag. My son and his friends tried the caramel apple and they all thought they were too chemically. They even tried to get creative and created apple only and caramel only versions. Apparently neither were palatable - "The apple were really bad and the caramel were just bad". Next up, Toasted Coconut...

Darienne - was the slow cooker insert too far gone to try a long water & baking soda simmer? I've read that tip alot for cleaning enameled cast iron and would assume it would work for enamaled steel as well.

I was lured into a TJ stop by the Murasaki Sweet Potatoes described in the latest fearless flyer. I love sweet potatoes and also chestnuts so I am excited to give them a try. Since I was there I decided to pick up some of the refrigerated Tamales (both the pork & chicken are pretty good). I circled the store 3 times only to find out they aren't carrying them at the moment. Another shopper heard me asking about them and sympathized at their disappearance. I was told they might be getting repackaged or portioned. Not completely sure. That is one of my biggest peeves about TJs - you just cannot rely on product availability. I guess you can't have all the new without getting rid of some of the old but for some reason *everything* I like gets removed. I decided to embrace the fickleness of TJs and buy a few of the numerous new (non-pumpkin spiced) products in the freezer section anyway. Tonight we tried the burrata, arugula & prosciutto flatbread & the mushroom & black truffle flatbread. Both were inoffensive but not really worth a repurchase. My son thought they were both a bland and didn't even want to have more than a slice of each. Maybe I should have stuck with the Tarte D'Alsace which we do like. The 5 cheese greek spiral pastry looked interesting and I have no frame of reference for it so hopefully that will work in its favor when we try it later this week or next. Since everyone has been raving about the nuts, I purchased a package of Cashew Macadamia Delight Trek Mix.

I live practically across the street from TJs and came to realize a long time ago that my food taste preferences and TJs are incompatible so I rarely visit. There is only one thing I care for at TJ's and that is the frozen edamame which I stock up on.

I hate that feeling when you are looking for something but can't find the right search terms. Your post made me think of deep dish pizza pans. Maybe these cast iron pie pans or similar will suit your needs? Camp Chef True Seasoned Cast Iron Pie Pan 10" CIPIE10 Pie Pan - Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron 12 x 9.5 x 2 Inches By Old Mountain

I really liked the Cotton Candy Oreos that were at Target earlier this year. Really, really liked them. Probably a little too much and I repurchased more than I should have. I don't think I will have the same problem with the new Brownie Batter Oreos. Just had one and the filling doesn't seem to go that well with the cookie I think. My son liked the Red Velvet Oreos that were out before the Cotton Candy. He must not have been alone because I remember wanting to pick up another package for him but the next time I was at the store, they were all out.

gfron1 - Have you considered raising the funds to self-publish via Kickstarter? Besides just funding projects, it seems to be very popular way to gauge interest and engage a wider audience so they feel more invested in the product. Like Shelby says - please let us know when your book is available.