Smithy

That looks wonderful, @Ronniebisme! I wouldn't complain if served that. In fact, if somebody else were to complain I'd demand they do the cleanup and forgo any leftovers! Thanks for reporting back.

@rotuts, that's a fine suggestion and I thank you for it. I just opened it up and plugged it in. It started warming up, and judging by the smell I'd say it's never been used! Reminds me of the smell of a clothes iron (remember those?) heating up. I played around with the controls a bit, then read the instructions. The instructions say clearly that the metal cover gets very hot, and not to touch it until it cools down! I looked at the wooden cutting board holding the panini press...and turned it off. I'll use it atop a less scorchable surface. All the instructions as well as the cleaning tool came with it. I especially like the instruction book, which has operating instructions at the front end and, if you flip it over, recipes at the back end. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I also spotted and purchased these canning springs. $0.50 for the pair! I'll post more about them in the Preservation topic, when I get around to using them.

I went back to the above-mentioned store yesterday, and found a Cuisinart Panini Press / griddler. $8. All parts there; looks lightly used. I wrote more about the entire adventure here. I've always been too cheap to buy one of these presses; cheapest I've ever seen them was on there order of $70, and a similar item on Amazon right now runs more nearly $100. Score!

It looks as though all the ATVers are out riding, so I may be able to get in another post or two.... Yesterday we went to town for fuel, groceries and my darling's haircut. The barber shop he likes is next door to a thrift store I like, and he was good enough to time our visit so I could go shop. Foolish man! I can do a LOT of shopping in 15 minutes! I focused on their kitchen goods, of course. The last time I went, I passed up a lovely set of serving platters and a Descoware enameled cast iron baking pan. I went back later and they were gone, of course. The Descoware I'd have passed up again anyway, but I rather regretted not getting the platters. Even though I didn't need them. But getting back to yesterday's offerings, they had a generous offering of still-in-the-box bakeware and serve ware... some beautiful dishes and silverware... and a goodly assortment of pots, pans, waffle irons, and the like. I checked out the aluminum pot on the bottom rack. It was big. Could it possible be Club? No, it was iMusa, a much more recent brand, but it was in good condition. It was large, probably 6 quarts. See the glass lid on the next shelf up? It fit. Perfectly. I love helping other people shop. I didn't have any victims nearby, so I went to one of the sales clerks who was busying herself at an Easter decoration / toy display. I pointed out the pot and the lid. "Hey, if you see anyone interested in that pot, you need to point out that the glass lid fits it PERFECTLY." She went over and looked. Each was priced separately: $3, I think, for the pot; $1 for the lid. She put the lid atop the pot, then countered, "You should get those!" She loves to help people shop, too. I responded that i already have a bunch of pots, that size and larger and smaller, and can't use another. "Yes," she said, "but that would be perfect for camping, too! You could set that right on top of the campfire!" "No," I said, "I already have that too! And we're already camping!" The coaxing continued. "You know, when I see something like that that I like, and I decide to walk away and think about it, I'm always sorry when I come back to find it gone. You should take that pot and lid!" She went on to tell the story of some craft items she'd passed up and then needed later. I thought about the serving platters...she couldn't possibly know that story!...but remained firm. Instead, this is what I brought home: I have always wanted a panini press. I can't tell you how many times I've considered buying one of the Cuisinart panini presses from Crate and Barrel, or now Amazon (here's a similar model) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). I've always been too cheap, and too practical. I have a grill pan. I have a weight. I have perfectly good cast iron pans, and nonstick pans, and non-nonstick pans. I don't need no stinkin' panini press to take up space, either here or at home. Still. An apparently new, or very lightly used, Cuisinart panini press for $8. How could I pass it up? I didn't. I'm looking forward to seeing whether it manages grilled eggplant better than my sheet-pan-in-the-oven method. I'm looking forward to grilled sandwiches with those press marks. I wonder whether this will make more satisfying potato pancakes than those I made the other night? Stay tuned, and feel free to suggest your favorite grilled sandwiches or griddler ideas!

We have a venerable 2-slot long-slice Oster electric toaster that's been around the block, literally, more times than I can count. Its base is partly melted due to its proximity to the stove. I insist on long slots so I can toast boule slices without cutting them in half. For a time we had a single-slot long-slot toaster (which, come to think of it, we have at home) but that's inconvenient when we both want toast. A slight diversion: I know there are stovetop nonelectric toasters, but we strongly prefer not to bother with that. We need to run the generator for an hour or two in the morning and evening, to recharge batteries so that the lights, water pump, furnace and refrigerator will work. We time the generator use to coincide with our wanting morning coffee or dinnertime toast. The microwave / vent fan often also go into play when I'm making dinner, and the generator is necessary then as well. He isn't really very fussy about toast, as long as it's crisp on the outside. He prefers it warm. He rarely bothers to butter it. We both prefer it golden - to medium brown, but it can be almost charred before he won't eat his. He likes the grocery store whole wheat bread, which is too sweet for me, so his toast automatically browns more than mine (sourdough, no sugar) if I bother to have any. In the process of going around the block many times, the poor toaster has also suffered abuse due to its proximity to the stove. No place else to put it, though! Here's what that corner looks like, in real life -- no gussying up by moving things to get them out of the frame. 😉

Thanks! I'm better today. I'm pretty sure the toast was in his hand just then! 😄 Had a good shopping trip today with a new toy, but the holiday revelers* are rolling in and competing for internet access. It may take a while to show off my finds. *It's Presidents' Day Weekend here in The States, and a beautiful time for RVers and ATVers to come out and camp...party...ride...use the cell phone towers....

@lindag, are these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) the peppers in question? They look darned good. I may have to try them too...after I've worked my way through some of my backlog of pickles, commercial and otherwise. 🙂

Then I stand by my earlier suggestion: add the liquid where an acidic kick would be welcome. Tuna salad, potato salad, salad dressing, that sort of thing. In addition, I've been using the brine from dill pickles to pickle chopped spinach stems as an addition to my salads (and as a way to use spinach stems). In the pickling discussion, @FauxPas mentioned pickling garlic scapes. You might try something like that.

Those have such a high polish on them! Out here, that would be associated with a run through a packing plant (with food-grade wax finishing the process) but then they wouldn't have the leaves. How is the fruit handled there, to give it such a shine?

Well. That all worked out rather well! The oven temperature may have been slightly higher: 300F, rather than the usual 275F, because I didn't try to lower the oven setting below its lowest mark and make the flames gutter. Aside from that the treatment was as described above and the time was about the same as always: 3 hours. At 2-1/2 hours the ends of the ribs were beginning to show, and I squirted some barbecue sauce onto one end because that's the way my darling prefers it. If I'd been feeling less perfunctory I'd have brushed it on in a smooth coating, but the heck with that noise. So... the meat doesn't look pretty in the photo below. Trust me, it was already tender and only became more so by the time I served it. While the ribs finished cooking and we watched a couple of episodes of M*A*S*H to help him stay awake, I grated some russet potatoes I'd bought in the bargain bin ($0.49 for 3 large Irish spuds!) and squeezed out the moisture, then cooked them in melted butter and oil. I'm sure there's supposed to be more to making potato pancakes...but again, I couldn't be bothered. Yet more of the cucumber/onion relish from the Deep Run Roots recipe served as a side salad. That's a dish that keeps on giving. Dinner: more than either of us could quite eat, but it wasn't for want of trying. He LOVED the seasonings on the pork! There are more potato pancakes and ribs (and salad!) in the refrigerator. The main lesson from this dinner is that it isn't necessary to thaw the ribs before cooking them the way we do. That probably means we'll stock up even more!

Strange things happen when one gets sick. I've come down with something...just a cold, I think...but it really took the wind out of my sails. (I've tested twice over 35 hours. It isn't Covid.) Right now I'm losing track of things...of time, of ideas.... Some time in the past couple of days we eyeballed the remaining half of a rack of pork ribs. My darling wants 'em, he does. But Tuesday was the first day I was sick (and cancelled a social engagement) and yesterday we had to move the Princessmobile briefly to go to a dump station, then return and set camp back up. On one of those days, I pulled the rack of ribs out, announced the we didn't have time to thaw and cook it that day, and we'd let it thaw in the refrigerator. We ate other things for dinner. Today, as I'm feeling better, I went to pull of the ribs and get them ready to cook. I looked and looked...and finally found them back in the freezer. I guess today is the day we find out about cooking ribs from frozen! At least, I said, I have the nice spice mix from the Deep Run Roots Flank Steak I told you about. I'll use that. And I looked. And I looked....and finally decided to use instead this combination of rubs: The ribs are in the oven now, at 4:30 pm, the time I'd normally have put thawed ribs in. Low temperature. It will be interesting to see how this all works out. The photo below doesn't show it clearly, but the ribs were quite solid. And then, as I was typing this, I remembered one more place to look for that spice mix. It has cumin. I looked in the freezer, and there it is. 😁

I'd buy that for the label alone! Once, at least. 🙂

I just realized that I'd jumped to a wild conclusion that might be wrong. What is the liquid? Acid? Salt water? Oil? What do you do with the peppers themselves? That might help some of us make better suggestions for you.

I've never had them, so this is a wild guess: could you put the juice into a mix where a spicy pickle juice would be welcome? Tuna salad, potato salad? Mix a little into a salad dressing for green salad?

I think you're probably right about everything getting expensive, and the small-business disadvantage makes sense. When 2 burgers and fries, without drinks, cost $22 at a fast-food chain that's quite an indication of price hikes. We've also been noticing it at the grocery store. Thanks for the link to the Korean place! You're right -- those are wildly high prices. Fun to look, though. "K-Fried" chicken made me do a double take. Does the "K" stand for Korean, or are they trying to suggest the Kentucky Colonel without copyright infringement?

And now for something completely different: I went to a restaurant yesterday! (No, it wasn't Monster Tacos although I may make time to try that place too.) I spent the day in town and had a gap between appointments, so decided to check out this new restaurant. Shawarma Vibes caught my eye when we arrived in Yuma last November. It turns out they've been open since last August. I love Middle Eastern food, but in most places we hang out I have to make it myself if I'm going to have it. There was a Middle Eastern market and deli here a few years ago, but they didn't last long. I was sorry to see them go, partly because they were a good source for the boxed Egyptian feta cheese we like but also because of their food...when they could be bothered to serve it. Whether the place failed due to its spectacularly poor service or due to a lack of market in Yuma I never learned. I hope that it was the poor service, and that Shawarma Vibes fares better. The place offers takeout or dine-in, and offers both indoor and outdoor dining. I opted to eat indoors, and was promptly brought a menu, a cup of lentil soup, and pita chips. Let me tell you: I'm not usually one to rave about lentil soup, but this was marvelous. Smooth, warm, quite delicious. I forgot to ask what the broth base was. While I enjoyed that, and ignored the fact that it would have been quite enough lunch for me, I perused the menu. So many delicious-sounding options! While I dithered, the waitress pointed out the day's special: chicken or beef shawarma wrap with fries and a fountain drink. The whole shebang was $8. I ordered the chicken wrap. This was a very generous plate! I was a little surprised at the chicken chunks rather than shavings from a gyro, as I normally see chicken shawarma. That's probably a safer bet for a fairly small operation than having the rotating stuff waiting to be shaved. I was also a bit surprised at the pita wrapped around the lot and grilled. I think I prefer a thinner wrap (Babylon Market in Tucson uses tortillas and grills them) for its tenderness, but I'm not going to quibble. The flavors were good, and there was a lot. In fact, I brought most of it home. I also ordered a large serving (about a pint) of lentil soup to bring home. If you've looked at the prices on the menu, you can see that the place isn't really cheap...but all that food, and a tip, ran me $23. My darling and I spend about that much buying 2 Whoppers and fries at Carl's Jr. I'd say this is a much better deal.

The sunrise has moved north of the nearby mountains now. Days are noticeably longer, although still relatively cool. I'm pretty happy with the current air temperatures in the high 60s to mid 70s, especially given the way the Princessmobile heats up on sunny days. My darling is anxiously waiting for what he considers proper warmth (temps in the 80s). When that happens I'll be whinging about the heat, and he'll be ecstatic. Maybe we'll be interested in sitting outside by a campfire, anyway. For a variety of reasons that hasn't happened yet this season. Vivian Howard has a great-looking recipe in Deep Run Roots (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) for Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Cucumber and Charred Onion Relish. Fortunately, I have the Kindle version here and fortunately, Eat Your Books pointed me to it when I was trying to work out what to do with a flank steak in the freezer. It turned out that the flank steak was a flatiron steak, but never mind. I used that recipe anyway. As so often happens these days, the prep started one day and the cooking happened a couple of days later. I'd already peeled, cut, salted and started draining the cucumbers. Her recipe calls for grilling onion slices to char them; I cooked them in a hot oven on a baking sheet instead. I had to do some substitutions with the other ingredients: I didn't have all the fresh herbs she wanted, but it's a pretty forgiving relish. I used all the parsley and cilantro taking space in the refrigerator. The spice rub is a mixture of cumin, paprika, sugar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I mixed according to her proportions and have a jarful left over; that's a good thing, since the rub is tasty. The steak sat, rubbed, overnight in the refrigerator. When it came time to cook, I preheated a cast iron skillet in the hot oven, threw the steak into the skillet and put it back in the oven. Flipped it after a minute or so, did the other side. Sliced and served. The relish went atop a simple lettuce salad with oil and balsamic vinegar, and the steak chunks went onto that. I thought it all quite good. He thought the meat was too tough -- despite being cut into bite-sized chunks. We both loved the salad and relish, and are glad to have more of it. The relish and spice rub, at least, are keepers. The flatiron steak was a bargain experiment anyway, so I'm not much fussed at the prospect of leaving it off our shopping lists. 🙂

I'd love to talk about it! Is this still the recipe and process you use? Got any updates? I'd be up for trying it again. Also, I'll be in Trader Joe's country in a few weeks. I'll see if I can find some there.

The desert's starting its spring. The photos don't fully capture the green carpet beginning to velvet the landscape, but here's an attempt. My experiments with fermented foods continue -- I was going to say "apace", but I bought cabbages last Wednesday and still haven't shredded them for the next round of kraut! So the experiments continue at a crawl. I decided I like having kefir as part of my morning routine enough to get a dedicated vessel for it. $7 later at Target, I had found a flask of the right size and geometry. The plastic milk jugs I've been using have too many ridges and are difficult to clean. The glass milk jug I bought milk home in had too sharp of shoulders to allow me to clean it thoroughly, so I returned if for its deposit. Here's my new setup: After I get going on kraut, I'll be trying to make my own kimchi, maybe -- although it's pretty easy to find at grocery stores. Of these two varieties, I preferred the spicy version. I've worked my way through enough of them to combine the two jars. I like kimchi mixed into a tuna salad! This particular batch also has a bit of my red cabbage kraut in it. I've been eating green salads a few times a week. A few days ago, the remnants of the steak-mushroom-bacon sheet pan dinner graced a late lunch. Yesterday I was going to make something from Deep Run Roots, but ran out of motivation. Instead I cooked the Green Beans, Toasted Almonds and Feta salad from Cookie and Kate (using walnuts instead of almonds). I was sorry to read that Kate had lost her friend Cookie last year. Rest in Peace, pup. Aside from the green beans, it was a couple of Jalapeno Polish sausages from Miiler's in Llano last fall. We finally finished off a package! His dinner plate looked like mine, except that he had toast and skipped the sauerkraut. More spring color:

He passed away at the age of 94. That's a nice long run, and judging by the company he founded he used his time well. People article here.

Thanks for that. I tried making ricotta once and was unimpressed...but thinking back on it, I haven't usually been impressed with store-bought ricotta, either! Care to share your lasagna recipe? Did you used to do that for the Renaissance Faires?

Freezing to bake as you wish is a good strategy, if you have the freezer space for it. There's at least one company here in the USA that does that. What a treat it is, to walk into a hotel or airport business and get a warm, soft, chocolate chip cookie!

You're making your own ricotta? Details, please!

We won't be watching the game, due to constraints on TV coverage where we are right now, but I must admit that all the Superbowl snack foods crossing my news feed are driving me crazy. Never mind the game, gimme those snacks! If I were in the game-planning mode, I'd be figuring on Frito Pie, maybe cowboy caviar, guacamole and chips. Buffalo wings, or else Buffalo chicken dip. Finger food. Have fun tomorrow!

Would you say the flavor was different than usual? Deeper, more sour, no different? What about the handling or the rise time?