andiesenji

Shopped at the local Middle Eastern market on Thursday and picked up this 1-pound box of Ahmad Jasmine (Black) tea. Very inexpensive. Large broken leaves, open nicely while steeping. Many jasmine teas are green teas and I am not a huge fan of green teas. I like the black (or red) teas and this one is very much to my taste. The jasmine flavor is not overwhelming (one of my main complaints with other jasmine teas) and is very pleasant either plain or with a bit of sugar - it has some natural sweetness so does not need much. And it also is good with just a touch of milk. It is labeled in Arabic, French, English and ???. The box does not state the source of the black tea but from the flavor, I think it may be a blend that is mostly Ceylon. I also bought a box of the Ahmad Cardamom loose tea but as I am familiar with this one, I haven't opened it. I checked on Ahmad's web site but only saw the Jasmine Green Tea listed.

Here's my scrambled eggs. Beaten only with a fork to this point. Skillet should be over medium - high heat. Heavy cream in skillet to cover the bottom. (three eggs, med-lg) allow it to bubble or foam up Add the eggs, count 10 and begin stirring and folding. When they look like this, remove from heat. Finish with residual heat in skillet, cutting and turning to avoid breaking "curds" down too much. These scrambled eggs are very tender and can be held in a chafer/buffet server for a prolonged period without becoming tough or rubbery. (When I was a child, this was the way the eggs were served.)

My big upright freezer, located in the pantry, holds about 200 novelty magnets that have been gifted to me over the years. I like them but don't want them on my kitchen fridge.

Have you tried running it with a solution of de-scaler? After reading your post yesterday evening, I phoned a friend who manages a laboratory. They are now using Tarksol do descale their equipment. He rattled off the names of a bunch of items, including an ion exchange water purifier that has a discharge tank that "silts up" rapidly and gets really crusty. This compound works better than anything else they have tried and he said they have tried them all. Also, it won't damage the plastic components that some de-scalers will.

What's the point of having a dishwasher if you are going to wash them first? Granted, thirty years ago I rinsed dishes fairly well - had one of the brush/nozzle thingys on my sink. But I haven't done that for many years. I had regular dishwashers - usually near top of the line - until '94, then had a commercial unit, and for the past couple or so years have had a Bosch. Only rarely will something not be completely cleaned and never on regular dishes, only on pots and pans where something adheres. My dishwasher has a "Quick Wash" setting that I use for very small loads of china and glassware. If the dishes are exceptionally soiled with sticky foods, I use the regular setting and if washing pots and pans, the Power Scrub Plus setting. It is very rare that I have to take any direct measures.

It has been done and here is the process. You might like some more of Farr's posts. And the new site is HERE

1/4 inch deep? Yeah! That pesky little forward slash managed to escape again.

I use so much ice my icemaker is always cycling. I use a lot to fill bowls in which bowls of salads or cut and dressed fruits are placed because my fridges are usually too full to hold them. The idea JAZ mentioned for cooling stock is excellent. - I have one of these cooler thingys in which you can put ice cubes or just freeze water in it, I trust it a bit more than plastic bags. (Having in the past had a rather unfortunate experience with an ice-filled plastic bag. While removing heavyweight, freezer, plastic bag, bottom seam split, melt water dropped en mass into soup - which then adorned the front of my body from chin to toes - worst part, I was wearing a brand new pair of Merrell boots, which were never the same - went from pearl gray to mostly tomato colored. Ugh!) Fortunately the soup was cool. The jeans I was wearing were also rather aromatic and required several sessions through the laundry before they were again wearable.

I have the old square Cuisinarts - usually use the 20 cup for pastry, but the smaller ones have never given me any problems. I've put a lot of tough stuff through them and except for buy a new blade from time to time (and a new lid when I broke the original) I've never had a problem with any of them. The fact that this happened twice is a bit mysterious and that is a very light load for the motor. Heck, I've just chopped a bunch of dates in mine and it did just fine and that is a sticky, dense batch of stuff.

Apparently I have been doing it totally wrong, or totally backwards all my life - or the 60+ years that I have been preparing scrambled eggs. My grandpa's cook taught me - well seasoned cast iron skillets (2 or 3 skillets - huge family) Eggs beaten with a fork till yolks fairly well blended into the whites (usually a dozen per skillet) Hot skillet gets dosed with a generous portion of heavy cream - close to 14 inch deep. Stir the cream while it bubbles and add the beaten eggs. cut and stir with a spatula till they being to set, then take off the stove and finish with residual heat - only works with cast iron. Season with salt and pepper bust before final stir and turning out into serving bowl. Of course I make a much smaller batch but still start with the cream in the skillet first, only adding the eggs when it is evenly bubbling.

I forgot to mention my collection of baby food jars. Have dozens, old ones, filled with screws, bolts, nuts, tacks of various sizes and materials. Also some in my studio used to hold various little things - back in the day when I was active in art stuff, I didn't know any artist who didn't have a bunch of these, usually begged from family and friends, except from one guy who had several children.

I've been wishing for something like that for years. An inventor friend has tried to get one on the market but has not had much luck. Has been to two different "Everyday Edisons" events without getting a real look.

Ten or twelve years ago, a friend on a sabbatical in Ireland, sent me this huge tin of Blarney Tea bags, apparently no longer marketed. The 80 tea bags are long gone but it is a great tea caddy, about three times the size of most. 7" tall, by 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 with a good tight hinged lid. Also very decorative. I have a little note from back then that it was very good tea, especially nice with milk and sugar. The vignettes around the tin have little notes at the bottom: Grace and Eloquence in the age of Shakespeare. Grace and Eloquence in the age of Swift Grace and Eloquence in the age of Dickens Grace and Eloquence Today I wish it was still available.

Really? The models I looked at Williams Sonoma were hardly what I would consider "built like a tank". Mostly plastic with stainless veneers... wobbly water spigot that felt like it would break if I looked at it wrong. I had an opportunity to try one a year or so ago and was not impressed. In my opinion it is overpriced and hyped a bit too much. One of my friends, who owns a small bakery and cafe, got one and had several problems with it and returned it. It leaked and sputtered after brewing and the carafe was removed for pouring. The grounds were often not completely wetted and the coffee was weak. It doesn't have an automatic shut off. And worst of all, in his eyes was the fact that the heating plate was so hot that after the coffee in the carafe had been sitting for fifteen minutes or so, it began to taste "burnt" and bitter. He now has several of these Saeco brewers with burr grinder as he likes to offer his customers a variety of freshly brewed coffees and so far has dedicated the brewers for each type of coffee on offer. And he has one at home.

I save some jars, often it depends on my mood when the jar is emptied. For some reason I have taken to the squatty, wide jars in which some jams and jellies are sold. Here are two candidates: I save any jar that will accept either the regular or wide mouth plastic lids made by Ball, Bernadin or Jarden. I save a lot of bottles because I give away a lot of vinegar. Any jar or bottle that has a wire bail and cap closure is fair game and some are quite attractive. Odd shaped jars and bottles. I recently found a fish-shaped bottle (at Marshall's) that held some kind of sauce that I didn't want. It was 99¢ so I bought it, emptied the stuff down the drain and have a decorative bottle for less that a similar empty bottle would have cost ($2.99 at a local candle store). I save the tall cylindrical jars in which some fancy olives are packed. I do use the baking soda slurry after putting the jar and cap through the dishwasher. For extremely resistant odors, a few drops of ammonia in the lid - lid sealed in small plastic bag (or in a small plastic sealable container) and left over night, usually does the trick.

I had a Hobart undercounter dishwasher from 1994 to 2008, worked great and is still working in a friend's cafe. The original cost was plus 3 K but I certainly got my money's worth.

I don't buy much ice cream. I do make some but occasionally buy a small container. I had a Simac for many years, when it would no longer hold the coolant, I got one of the smaller Lello machines and since have bought another. (I just can't resist these things ) Breyer's is okay, Ben & Jerry's is better. 31 flavors (Basking Robbins is the best. In my opinion. Recently I purchased a container of Blue Bunny ice cream at Walmart and it was pretty good. I still miss the terrific ice cream (inexpensive) sold at Thrifty Drug Stores - it was originally made by Carnation, when they still operated the huge plant in Van Nuys, CA., later made by another dairy company. The eggnog ice cream (seasonal) was a seriously decadent flavor that tasted like it had liquor in it but didn't. If anyone has the recipe, I want it! In the '60s, when I lived in Burbank, our house was ten minutes from the Baskin Robbins plant.

Been there, done that! My solution. Mix half and half with an unpasteurized vinegar and add a tablespoon or so of sugar. Cover the top with a piece of cloth held in place with a rubber band - you want the air to get at it. Place in a dark cupboard or at least away from the light. Wait six weeks and taste it.

In the post about breakfast I listed some tea brands. Bewley's says right on the package that you can get two cups from one tea bag. I've found that most of the Republic of Tea tea bags can produce two cups of tea if the cups or mugs are "normal" size, i.e., up to 10 ounces. My tea mug is a "jumbo" 15 ounces and I only use a teabag once, unless I am using two tea bags of two different blends, then I can get a second mug. My formula for re-steeping is usually twice the time for the second cup.

According to Irish friends and family, Bewley's "A unique blend of Assam and Darjeeling teas with a creamy, malty flavor,"is one of the most popular teas in their part of Ireland. It certainly is a favorite with my cousins who live in Navan, County Meath. They like a strong tea but without bitterness. This is a blend of Assam and Darjeeling, 100% Indian teas. This particular brand sells several teas that are blended according to the time they will be served and, assuming they are fresh, there is a distinct difference in the teas. Others are "Dublin Morning" - "Irish Afternoon Tea" - "Gold Blend" &etc. I have tried many teas labeled as "Irish Breakfast" and as you have noted there is not much difference between them and other bagged teas. Twinings IB tea is a blend of Ceylon and Assam Barry's IB tea is a blend of Kenyan and Assam Lyon's Original Blend (touted as the top selling bag tea in Ireland) is a blend of Ceylon, Kenyan, Assam and Java teas. Those are all Irish or English tea companies. Several companies here market IB blends - the only one I have tried is that from The Republic of Tea "Lucky Irish Breakfast Pot of Gold Tea" and it is quite good and distinct from the same company's "British Breakfast Tea" and I like them both. With both of these, if you are using a standard size mug, you can use the bags for a second cup, jut leave it to steep longer. If using a jumbo mug, as I do, one steeping is about the limit. (My mug is 15 ounces.) I haven't purchased these particular blends from other U.S. companies. I did get a sample of the IB blend from Adagio but I really don't recall tasting it, although one of my friends, who recommended it to me, thinks it is terrific.

My Thermomix TM31 is a multi-purpose appliance, combining the functions of a mixer, food processor, blender, grinder, cooker, steamer, scale, etc., etc. etc. It is costly - not saving a lot by combining all these appliances in one. I have all the dedicated appliances so didn't really need the TMX - I just wanted it. I had been following some people who were using them and blogging about it and making Youtube videos, etc., and it just looked like a fun toy with which to play. It is not sold in the U.S., although there have been a couple of people who have advertised that they are "consultants" for Thermomix. Vorverk (Germany) says NOT! You can buy them from a vendor in Canada - how I got mine - nice people. If at all interested, here's some info.

I am majorly prejudiced for the Vitamix and have been for decades. Before getting my first one, I went through several regular blenders, Oster, Waring, Hamilton Beach and a G.E. My husband and two of his sons were body builders so the blenders also got a daily workout. When I added up how much I was spending on replacing the weaker blenders, it was more than I would pay for the Vitamix so I got one. Still have it. Still works. I do have a newer one which I like even better, but it has been in service for more than a decade. There just isn't any comparison for me, except for the Blendtec but I've used one and I still like the Vitamix better.

Here I am, bumping this topic up yet again. Kitchen contraptions sent an email today with this little item highlighted. Global Sun Oven with Thermometer for those (like me) who live in the "sun belt" this looks like it would be very handy.

I've got the Presto Power Pop A Nordic ware popper A catamount glass one that I use when I can find the lid. Sometimes I just cap it with parchment paper and a rubber band. They all work okay. I probably use the Presto more than any others. The Nordic Ware one tends to discolor after a while but are really cheap so I usually buy two at a time and toss when they get grungy. The Presto Power pop requires that you buy the power cup "concentrators" but I reuse them several times. I have tried the popcorn-in-a-bag trick, with white, food-grade bags - a small fire in the microwave convinced me that this was not my forte - abandoned same.

A little shop here sells barks that include various crunchy cereals that contain all kinds of nuts, dried fruits and etc. There is a coconut-free "gorp" that I have seen sold in bulk at the various stores that sell bulk foods. I know a lot of people who combine it with boiled honey to make their own bars - no reason it shouldn't combine with chocolate. One of the most popular items in the local candy store is a white chocolate marbled with raspberry that is offered with pistachios or almonds, filberts, pecans or walnuts. There are a couple more varieties but I don't remember what they are right now. The pictures on this site should give you some good ideas.