andiesenji

I do a lot of baking and I use the oven gloves (not the "Ove Glove") that I order from the UK. I don't like regular oven mitts, they are too awkward for my preference. I have scorched the backs of my wrists too many times to depend on towels when retrieving hot stuff from the oven. This was especially necessary when I had the Blodgett oven which was deep. For stove top the towels are fine but I don't use them if I am working with high flame burners because they have been known to catch fire. For skillets I have the slip on guards which work beautifully - the old-fashioned quilted ones that do just fine and slip on and off easily. The silicone ones have not been ideal for me. I have a couple, received as gifts.

I still have a 10-cup Chemex that I bought in 1969. I still have an unopened box of the big filters, unfolded. I used these handy filters for a lot of things besides coffee - they are thicker than other coffee filters and hold together well when carrying a heavy load. Before I got a dedicated yogurt cheese filter some years ago, I used the Chemex to drain yogurt.

I have a fairly long list of sites with ideas of what to do with fig leaves. A couple of years ago I was gifted with a basket of fresh fig leaves and some ideas from the friend who brought them. (Also some links.) I looked up more on my own and have added two or three as I discovered them. I've made the Trinidadian Pastelles, the Quail with fennel and fig leaves and apricots baked in fig leaves. Also goat cheese wrapped in fig leaves and grilled. I now I did something else with them but it escapes me at the moment One post on a blog suggests using fig leaves for a tisane or tea. They should be from trees that have not been sprayed with pesticides or fungicides. Rather than post all the links (13) here, I will PM you with the list. I have been served rumaki wrapped in strips of fig leaves. I have also eaten Greet sykomaitha - fig cakes wrapped in fig leaves and apricots wrapped in fig leaves and grilled.

I've followed this topic with great interest and today I came across a contender. I had to put gas in the van and for some obscure reason, my SpeedPass would not activate the pump so I had to go into the store. The prominent placement next to the register is occupied by a hang stand with bite-sized "Slim Jim" sausage pieces in little resealable bags. I mean, come on folks! How difficult can it be to bite off a piece of a skinny sausage? What's next, bite size pieces of Popsicles?

Have you considered MREs? I know many people who have adopted the Meals Ready to Eat method while traveling in a vehicle where they don't have a fridge or a means of cooking. Many camping stores now carry these but if you have time you can order them online from vendors like this one. This three day package is pretty good. These meals are quite good and the package is compact and easy to pack into close quarters.

There's an English Muffin Topic here, but I've found that I like Thomas' and some agree. I wish they had a fresher feel when bought (most of their competitors are found in the refrigerated sections whereas Thomas' are found in the bread aisle), but after toasting they're still quite good (and require an amazingly small amount of butter). I've been making muffins (English, but when I grew up they were just "muffins") and crumpets on a griddle for as long as I can remember. It's not all that difficult and I don't think it is time consuming but that's just me. Recently I purchased some English Muffin Mix from The Prepared Pantry and it produced an excellent result, which really surprised me. I've never been a big fan of mixes but I have to say that everything I have tried from TPP has been very good to excellent and I have truly become a fan. My first order came about because someone sent me a gift certificate and since then I have sent a couple of gift certificates. It is not easy to get to that page so here is the link Prep.Pantry gift certs in case anyone is interested.

I have never seen them on a Google search either. One of my basenji friends, who lives in Seattle gave me their email address when I complained about the quality of some dried wild mushrooms I had purchased. She said to inquire about their products and they sent me an email with their URL. I also ordered the en croute duck paté to take to a party when I didn't have time to make up something. (I took three of them (there are 8 in the order) and they were gone almost instantly - I didn't even get a taste at the party.) I later thawed one for brunch when a couple of friends were visiting, they raved about it and to me it was better than any I have made and mine are pretty good!

Marx foods in Washington state sells rattlesnake beans. They are out of stock right now, waiting for the new crop to come in. Here's the link. The only legume I have purchased from them are the fermented black beans. I have also purchased their dried wild mushrooms. Expensive but the quality is extraordinary. I also purchased camelina seeds to add yet another omega-3 fatty acid/antioxidant to my diet. I have purchased from Purcell, and from Barry Farm. I buy from RG whenever possible because I want to support these small traditional native farmers. I used to buy beans from Indian Harvest until I got a bad batch.

I just placed an order. No Giant white lima on list - probably waiting for new crop. I ordered a couple I have not yet tried. Ojo de Cabra Bean (Goat's Eye) Moro Beans Rebosero Bean Snowcap Beans Christmas Lima Bean and Amaranth Seeds I'll order the Giant limas when they are available.

Has anyone mentioned Broccoli Soufflé? I bookmarked this recipe several years ago and I can't count how many times I have prepared it and it is virtually fool-proof. Never had a failure. It looks pretty and tastes phenomenal. I have tried other recipes for broccoli soufflé but this one is by far the best I have sampled. The only difference is that I don't use fat-free sour cream and I use 2% or whole milk.

I'm down the last of the beans I got from Rancho Gordo last January (Yellow Indian Woman, Flageolet, Good Mother Stallard, Tepary and Lila) and am trying to decide what to order this time. After reading Jaymes post, the large limas will be first on the list. I have yet to cook any of the beans that have not been superior to beans from other vendors and as some are unavailable anywhere else, he will continue to supply mine. I have been using my rice cooker to cook beans - no soaking necessary (2 to 3 cups of water per cup of dried beans) - and am very pleased with the results following the suggestions in the Ultimate Rice Cooker cookbook. Sometimes the larger type beans are not yet done enough at the end of the "basic" cycle so, as instructed in the cookbook, I add boiling water and restart the cycle. This method has some great advantages for the easily distracted (me, in the garden, forgetting to check the stuff on the stovetop) and I have not had a single incident of scorched beans, which require discarding the entire pot. Works great with combination dishes also. And I even prepared a passable version of baked beans in the rice cooker. Not in the cookbook, it was an experiment that worked. Now I hope I can repeat it!

I have the LG LMX28988ST with the French doors and two bottom drawers and am very happy with it. I love the tall ice and water dispenser as it will accept a tall pitcher with room to spare. It turns out ice more rapidly than others I have owned. In the pantry I also have a large upright freezer and another smaller fridge that I use just for cheeses and produce that doesn't need to be as cold as stuff in the regular fridge. And I have two separate fridge drawers that I use just for pastry/baking as they are located under the dough bench. They were installed when I remodeled and are Sub-Zero and unlike the big one, they have worked well with no problems. When my kitchen was remodeled in '94, I had Sub-Zero fridge and freezer and they worked okay for about three years but then I had one problem after another and finally dumped them for a side by side, which worked okay for a few years. In my opinion, refrigerators are no longer built to last for many years. Back in early '70s, I bought a huge Kelvinator Food-A-Rama side by side 32 cubic ft. I think it was the largest consumer fridge ever marketed. I had it for 21 years and passed it on to a friend who used it for another ten years. The only repairs it ever required were new door seals and a replacement drip tray (rusted to the point where it was going to begin leaking) at the time I gave it away. I wouldn't mind having one like it now but in a different finish - it was the ubiquitous Avocado green - but it did go with my yellow kitchen back in the day. They don't build them like than nowadays!

For drinking chocolate, I have been buying the Ibarra finely ground chocolate. It has the traditional taste but is much easier to prepare. I also have the Abulita brand but the Ibarra is much more to my taste. I also have been "steeping" a dried chile pepper (slightly crushed) in the water before adding it to the chocolate. That little extra "zing" is very good. I got the idea from one of my Mexican neighbors who served it last year at a Day of the Dead party. Her versions was a little too spicy for me but I added some milk and nuked it to reheat it and it was then perfect for my taste. It is very nice on a cold, wet day. (We don't have that right now but it will come.)

I grate Mexican chocolate discs with a coarse wood rasp. Not one of the microplane types but a regular solid metal rasp with big, sharp teeth, working around the edges and holding the disc with a vice grip (one that is dedicated to the kitchen. This works better than any other method, unless you have a very coarse volcanic stone metate.

Since I posted late last year, I have purchased several cookbooks but keep forgetting to add them to this list. Chezcherie's The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook which I do indeed love and carry with me when I trek down to TJ's. Tsukemono Japanese Pickling Recipes by Ikuko Hisamatsu The Everything Rice Cooker Cookbook by Hui Leng Tay published August 18 2010 More Easy Beans by Trish Ross and Jacquie Trafford The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman 366 Ways to Cook Rice, Beans & Grains by Andrea Chesman The Everything Cheese Book by Laura Martinez The Good Fat Cookbook by Fran McCullough In a Roman Kitchen by Jo Bettoja - Kindle Edition The 50th Anniversary edition of the I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken The Grit Cookbook: World-Wise, Down-Home Recipes by Edward Hafer and Jessica Greene For the Thermomix ordered from the UK Fast and Easy Cooking for TM31 Fast and Easy Indian Cooking for TM31 Full Steam Ahead - Steam Cooking for TM 31 Meat on the Menu for TM31 and I just pre-ordered The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker by Roger Ebert (yes, it's the film critic) Not cookbooks but related: Confessions of a French Baker by Peter Mayle Cheesemonger: A Life on the Wedge by Gordon Edgar which I have re-read a couple of times, sent one to my daughter, sent one to a friend who is also a cheese fanatic. This is a great read if one loves cheese! A few of these books are available on Amazon's Kindle so I first purchased the Kindle edition and then, if I really liked the cookbook, purchased the book itself.

I bought these as well. They're awesome for baking, using as trays for resting meats from the grill, etc. I think I paid $12 for the two of them. I agree completely. I have a stack of these that have been used heavily and for all kinds of tasks. I've used them in my barbecue/smoker that can get extremely hot and in my bread oven that gets even hotter. The ones used in the barbecue do get a bit "crusty" after many uses and are retired to the garden shed for non-food use but they are so inexpensive that I feel I have certainly gotten my money's worth. I have a few stainless steel sheet pans (half-size) and while they look pretty when new, they sometimes warp if a cold pan is put into a hot oven, i.e., things that have to be chilled in the freezer and then transferred to the oven. I have not had this problem with the aluminum pans from Sam's. I bought mine when Sam's had a special and they were cheaper than at the restaurant supply store.

You can actually make stacked enchiladas which work nicely with the crisp tostadas. They will soften with the moisture in the other ingredients but will still retain a bit of crunch around the edges.

I seal all the ingredients, both the mix and the additions, into vacuum bags. Place all the bags on the cookie sheet or into the baking pans or sometimes a pretty bowl, if they already have cookie sheets and pans. Everything then goes into one of the Ziplock storage bags and into a gift bag appropriate for the holiday.

One of the easiest ways to use your refrigerator and/or freezer efficiently is to minimize the amount of time you have the door open. Rather than spend several minutes looking for something in one of the many little containers usually loose on a shelf, utilize a tray or basket like the one in the photo so you only have to pull the tray out and set it on the counter to look for the item. This also makes cleaning the shelves much easier and much faster. This one is for one of the shallow shelves at the top of the fridge. I have deeper ones for taller bottles and jars that fit onto lower shelves that are taller. They also allow me to store jars or bottles upside down, if the contents can be affected by exposure to the air. I've been using these and similar items for many years and can't imagine being without them.

Maybe it's because I've been listening to them for so many years but they don't annoy me and unless I have "primed" my brain to listen for a particular beep for a reason, such as when I need to add an ingredient to the bread machine, I really don't hear them. Which is fortunate because almost everything electric beeps in my kitchen. The dishwasher produces 5 beeps and then pauses for awhile then beeps again as a reminder but then is silent. The toaster beeps fairly loud and I WANT it to signal when it's done. Yes, the rice cooker plays a little tune at start up and and the end of the cooking cycle as it clicks onto the "keep warm" setting. So does my Zojirushi hot water boiler. The microwave ovens beep. The Thermomix beeps. The refrigerator beeps when the door has been left open for more than six minutes. So does the big freezer in the pantry. The trash compactor beeps when the cycle has finished and it is quite loud. Used less often, there is an electric griddle that beeps when the set temp has been reached. Also a waffle iron that does the same. I rarely use the espresso machine but it signals when it is ready to do whatever it does (a super-automatic) supposedly to remind one to put a cup in position. It's really unwise to ignore it. I write from experience! I have a "robot" sweeper that also beeps from time to time but I think it is nearing death and the beep is a bit strange - now sort of a squeak. I don't think they are designed to cover a large area.

I'll be preparing my usual batches of candied ginger, various citrus peels and dried and glacé fruits. This year I am again going to make up "kits" for cookies, so the recipient won't have to measure, just dump the dry ingredients into a bowl, combine with their own eggs and etc., then add the included dried fruits and nuts and bake them. I bought some nice cookie sheets and am including a bundle of baking parchment sheets with the "kit." A few folks, who have asked for it, are going to get kits of my fruited cocoa cake along with a Bundt pan. A few months ago Amazon had a fabulous "Gold Box" deal on 12-cup Bundt pans so I bought six for this purpose as they were priced incredibly cheap at $8.99. I'm also going to be making a lot of shortbread as I was given some lovely shortbread molds last Christmas. I just ordered some interesting flavors, including violet, lavender and etc., to flavor the shortbreads. I'm also planning to prepare some mostarda di frutta to jar up and give as gifts to folks who will appreciate it.

I bought Dorinda Haffner's cookbook, "A Taste of Africa" back in '94 when it was first published and prepared many of the recipes. She had been interviewed at length on a local PBS station and demonstrated some of her favorite dishes and I was hooked. Here's a link to the newer 2002 edition. The original is available from ABE books. I also have another shown on that Amazon page, "The Africa News Cookbook" I got it prior to the "Taste" cookbook. It has some useful tips in that it include substitutes for some of the more exotic ingredients that may be difficult to find in the US. I have at least two other African cookbooks, one is entirely vegetarian, but I don't recall the titles right now. I also have one I ordered from the UK. "Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook," based on the character in Alexander McCall Smith's series about a female private detective in Botswana. The recipes are just a part of the book that includes history, snippets of funny stories and other errata. Fun to read. Most recipes are essentially of southern African origin but not South African, per se. It's a fun cookbook.

Measure out 1/4 cup of red wine. Use the palm vinegar and add a tablespoon, let it stand for a few minutes and taste it. Add more vinegar if you thing it needs it and you might want to add just a scant pinch of sugar to balance it, unless your red wine is quite sweet. Distilled white vinegar has too harsh a taste.

My 6 zucchini plants have gone into overdrive and after putting up 6 quarts of bread and butter pickled zucchini, I still had some in the basket and no room in the fridge. I searched through my list of food blogs and came across this interesting recipe. I got carried away with the grating and ended up with 4 cups so doubled the recipe. (I'm freezing the extras.) I used my muffin rings to keep the fritters contained and neat appearing. The results are delicious - I topped them with a yogurt/dill/lemon sauce.

I seal a lot of similar things in small bags - they don't get lost because all the bags of one type (or flavor) of food go into a large or jumbo zippy or hefty bag (Hefty makes the 2 1/2 gallon bags with the slider top). I mark the date on the outside of the large bag, which is much easier to keep track of than all those little ones. If I do another batch, I use another big bag with the new date and it goes behind the earlier batch in the freezer basket. I cut all the bags to the desired size before I begin as my Pro Vacuum Sealer from BCU Plastics & Packaging does not have storage for the rolls. I have a plastic box with dividers that allows the bags to stand up while being filled and holds them upright while waiting to be filled. I don't remember where I got it but it says "Quantum" on the bottom. I mentioned the funnel with the larger opening in an earlier post and all these little "accessories" really make the process easier and faster. I didn't buy the Quantum container for this purpose - I think I originally got it for holding sewing supplies but I repurposed it for this use. Incidentally, I have now had the Pro Vacuum Sealer for a bit over a year and I absolutely love it. Instead of keeping my homemade baking mixes in a big Cambro container and measuring them out at need, I package enough for a particular recipe (scones, for instance) and apply a sticker with the ingredients to be added when used. One large container holds the packages for single batches, another holds the packages for double batches. Saves a little time and the possibility of contaminating the rest of the mixture.