andiesenji

That's what I do with nut butters that I use often. However, I put them on a tray with a lip because they have been known to gently leak nut oils which seem to be able to wend their way through the lid threads, no matter how tight it is closed. Having had the experience of cleaning gooey oil and gunk off of jars, cans and etc., located on the lower shelves (industrial steel wire), I recommend prudence.

Carbon steel knives will discolor eggplant. I always used a stainless steel but more recently a ceramic blade to avoid this. Carbon steel will also cause lettuce to discolor along the cut edges.

I'm glad you bumped this topic up, Chris. On Wednesday I visited some friends who recently moved to a tiny town further east in the Antelope Valley (actually across the county line in San Bernardino County) - he is Dutch, she is Indonesian, although they have lived in the San Fernando Valley for thirty-some years, they both grew up in Indonesia. Entering their kitchen I was surprised to see an Ultra Pride and commented on it. Alia said that she bought it a year ago, specifically for making sambals, which she used to make entirely by hand in a mortar and pestle. Like me, she has arthritis in her hands, as well as in her right elbow (had surgery on this joint five years ago) and it had gotten extremely difficult for her to do the extended pounding necessary to produce the desired texture in this condiment. They both were enthusiastic about the appliance. Piet was never much interested in cooking but since retiring and then getting this machine, he has been doing more in the kitchen. (Likes playing with the mechanical type appliances). I suggested they check out the forum and gave them a link to this topic. Hopefully they will have time to check it out. (They have nine children and fifteen grandchildren, and communication takes up a lot of their computer time.) Alia did try a "mixie" grinder made by Preethi (? sp) and did not like it, then bought the Ultra Pride.

A Tuscan bread salad. I've been having one at least every other day. Ingredients vary but always a rustic bread, sometimes flavored with rosemary, garlic, etc. Cut or torn into bite-sized pieces Coarsely chopped tomatoes Chopped red onions - other types okay Cucumbers, also cut into large dice Fresh basil, chopped or scissored into pieces. I like roasted garlic, thinly sliced have also been using black garlic: Whisk olive oil (I've also used grapeseed, macadamia and walnut) with balsamic vinegar: Ratio about 2:1 Oil to vinegar. Combine in a bowl and toss until everything lightly coated. I like to allow this to "rest" for half an hour or so but it can be served immediately.

I cook it until very creamy then into a blender (or my Thermomix, in which the rice or risotto has been cooked) to make a savory or sweet rice "cream" that can be used as a sauce, either savory or sweet, as a base for a cream soup or as a substitute for cream gravy - especially good over pork chops.

I have the same issue. I've started covering everything I put up there in plastic bags or saran wrap. It doesn't look great, but at least when I pull down my salad spinner it's not covered in a sticky greasy film. The soon (in California, drat) to be out-lawed plastic grocery bags work really, really well for this. They're large enough to accomodate big things, and if you get ones in a color (white or beigey-taupe are usually my options) that *sort* of coordinates with the rest of the kitchen, and some deft tucking, they don't look too terribly tacky. And they do save the "OH CRAP" moment of "I really need to use this colander NOW, and it's slimed....." I store everything, and I do mean everything in the giant storage bags made by Ziploc and by Hefty. The extra large can hold a lot of stuff and it's easy to see what is inside, particularly if it is hung up on a sturdy hook. The XXL size will hold an electric roaster or two very large crockpots. Here's some stuff that is hanging on one wall in my storeroom. I have an entire 20-ft wall fixed with big screw hooks at various levels. These bags are fantastic for storage of kitchen stuff, keeps everything clean and easy to spot when searching.

Here is a cheap and an easy fix for that nasty problem. I should note that there are other types, from stainless steel to silicone and some can be found in colors, at least in white and black as well as clear-ish. One vendor was offering them in other metal finishes, brass, bronze, etc., but I couldn't find it with a simple search.

I'm bumping this topic up because I had a request for my cornbread recipe - which seems to be difficult to find in RecipeGullet - it took me several searches with the "advanced" feature to get to it. GRAMMAW'S BLACK-SKILLET CORNBREAD And then I had a difficult time finding this topic as it does not show in the list of "my" topics - I guess it is too old or the link was purged. Anyway, I have been experimenting with some alternate corn varieties - red and purple from Barry Farm, some blue that was sent to me by a friend in New Mexico and some cream and lavender that I found at a local Philippine market. I had purchased the fresh type in the past but had never before seen it dried. It had the same appearance as other flint corns and when ground had a bit more moisture - in that it clumped when pinched. I used a bit less liquid in the recipe. I'm very pleased that some people are continuing to grow and sell heirloom varieties that have different properties from the standard stuff now generally available. The flavors of all these corns, when baked into cornbread, have a more intense "corny" flavor, to my taste anyway. I've tried the blue cornmeal that is sold commercially and find it has a bitter aftertaste which is lacking in the cornmeal I ground myself. I don't know if that is because of the processing, the time spent on the shelf after grinding or ???. There is, however, a difference that is quite noticeable both to me and to the folks who sampled my "experiments." Has anyone else done anything with any of these products, or similar ones or know of a source for other types of heirloom corns? Inquisitive person here!

All to often I am introduce to new people as: "This is Andie she is an old-timey cook." Often, with too much emphasis on the "old" bit, in my opinion. Just because I like to prepare things the same way they were made when I was growing up, i.e., made from "scratch" without total dependence on mixes, prepared foods and etc. People who come into my kitchen for the first time seem to be startled by some of my favorite things. "My God, look at all the knives," is often a first or second utterance. Sometimes combined with, "how many people live here or how many do you cook for?" Some people have refered to me as the "baker lady" although I don't bake as much as I used to, I still bake more than most folks around here. For potluck dinners the most requested item is my chili "stew" accompanied by my real southern cornbread.

My daughter, after twenty-five or so years of being able to consume corn products, began having rather severe intestinal problems and some other indications of allergic reactions with eating certain foods. It took several years, with multiple specialists until it was determined that she had a sensitivity to GMO corn products, which seem to be in an astonishing number of foods. It seems to be an inherited trait as two of her children are also affected but with some slightly different symptoms. She has no problems with heirloom corn, non-GMO corn products. Note that both Rumford and Clabber Girl baking powder specify on the label that they do not contain GMO corn starch. If you read food labels carefully, you will find that there is modified food starch in foods that you would never guess it was needed. It seems to be a cost saving process and often the product is just not as good as it was before this addition. Certain snack foods - crackers - are just one example. Certainly there is a certain benefit when genetically altered food plants produce more for poor people in poor countries. The problem is that farmers in these countries can't save seed from one crop to produce a second and third, they have to buy new seeds for each growing season so the huge multinational companies benefit far more than the citizens of third world countries. Frankly, I prefer to buy organic and non GMO products. I grow heirloom tomatoes, peppers and etc. I don't use pesticides and don't want pesticides in my food. It is extremely expensive to get organic certification in California and I like to support the people who persevere in this endeavor.

Mine is set at 55 degrees F., and the thermometer that is in the approximate center, shows 57 degrees right now. I have opened and closed it several times in the past couple of hours as I have picked a lot of produce from my garden and having to rearrange the stuff that was already in there to make sufficient room. Had to move the wheel of cheese to the bottom.

That's a great trick for getting big chunks of stuff into the bags. I use one of these extra large canning funnels for bagging stuff that has liquid or is in smaller chunks, etc. The lips on the funnel are wide enough that I can clip the top edges of the bag onto them with binder clips - I have them in all sizes and use them all over the kitchen, as well as the rest of the house. The clips are strong enough to hang bags so some of the stuff I bag for the freezer is hung from the top rack until frozen solid.

I agree that some track lighting, like the cheap ones sold at Builders Emporium (forerunner of Home Depot and etc.) were rather chintzy. However there was a lot of very fine and attractive track lighting manufactured during that period. the Los Angeles County Museum of Art was separated from the Museum of Natural History in 1961 and construction was begun on the new museum and when it opened in 1965 it was the largest new museum in the US, after the National Gallery. Lightolier designed and installed thousands of feet of beautiful track lighting there. Also in other museums. The lighting won a best design award. I had track lighting in three of the five homes I have owned since 1962. The designs evolved with changes in styles but they were always attractive.

Chris, my dad built a lot of "modern" houses in the greater L.A. area from 1946 to 1969. He was a huge fan of Charles and Ray Eames. While they were mostly known for their wonderful furniture designs, they also designed some fantastic lighting pieces, including some very fanciful and free-form track lighting. Nothing like the industrial type track lighting that began to appear as early as the late 40s. Check out this site in a Cliff May home (Eichler contemporary). One of the houses my dad built (for film director William Castle) had lighting that was almost identical to the ones in the links I posted above, in the kitchen, the library/den, and in what would now be known as the "media" room but was then a home movie theater. Other types of light fixtures that were popular during the same period were "bullet" clusters - I had these in the house my dad built for my husband and I in 1962. It was what would be termed "Atomic Ranch" in design. Cathedral ceilings, open beams and lots of light fixtures almost identical to the 3-unit type seen in the middle of this page Ours were bronze finished to match the hardware on the cabinets, closets, cupboards and etc.

It shouldn't be too difficult for an electrician to install one of these light bars I replaced a ceiling fixture in my pantry with one like this. I replaced a rather ugly surface mount ceiling fixture in my laundry room with this one (now out of stock) Both produce a lot more light than you would expect for the size of the (halogen) bulbs. They are really designed to go with mid-century modern.

This has happened to me many times. Our locally grown onions are also quite sweet. I bring it to a simmer and add a tablespoon of lemon juice, simmer for a few minutes, taste and add more if needed. You can also add a small amount of salt but only a pinch, after adding the lemon juice. There is no standard amount, you must balance it by taste.

I like the Carnaroli better than Arborio. However I recently bought some Vialone Nano from Chefshop.com and it may become my new fave. It can absorb a lot of liquid and becomes very creamy. I used it to make mushroom risotto, using dried cepes (porcini) that I ordered from Earthy.com. Sourced in the US. They were much more flavorful than other brands I have tried. They also had a good deal on black garlic (to which I have become addicted) and a few other things that I couldn't resist.

I don't use dry milk powder and you can see the texture in the photo I posted above. My results are always consistent using the purchased culture for the first batch and part of each batch for three subsequent batches. Then starting over with a new culture. I tried it a few times with milk powder and did not like either the flavor or the texture. I drained it for yogurt cheese and got much less solids (twice the amount of whey as with my usual batch) which also did not have the texture that I insist on. It was sort of grainy. The only other thing that could be interfering with your result is not getting the milk up to at least 180° F. before cooling it to 105 to 115 before adding the culture. If not heated sufficiently the "curd" won't form. Following is a quote from the California Milk Board: "Yogurt is formed by the growth of two bacterial organisms in milk; Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus which turn the milk sugars into lactic acid. These are two separate bacteria that are active at different times during processing. Some times you will also find yogurt that contains other ""Probiotic"" cultures such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium infantis which are bacterium normally found in your intestines. Together these bacteria aid in digestion and the synthesis of vitamins. Here are the required steps. Heat milk to between 180 and 200 °F. Heating the milk is done for a few reasons. First, to sterilize/pasteurize the milk so that the yogurt bacteria/culture has a hospitable place to grow in. It is not desirable to incubate contaminating bacteria that might be present in the unsterilized milk. Heating should be done even with pasteurized milk to help make a smooth thick yogurt. Heating the milk also helps stop the whey from separating out quite as much. You must then cool milk to 115 °F and add yogurt culture. (If the milk is too hot it will kill the yogurt bacteria.) Stir in yogurt culture gently until dissolved. Hold temperature at 105 to 110 °F for approximately 8-10 hours. This allows your ""good"" bacteria to grow. The methods listed in the post are suitable for this. Finally, you must refrigerate the processed yogurt for at least two hours. Refrigeration help slow the continued bacterial growth. If yogurt is not refrigerated it will become sour."

I am also a huge fan of green tomato jam. This recipe Aunt Hattie Anne's Green Tomato pie filling works just as well as jam or preserves. You don't have to process it for canning, unless you want to. I usually make a batch, use some for a small pie and the rest goes into the fridge. I often add one or two small mildly hot peppers - I love the Caloro peppers, which have a bit more bite than jalapenos but also a fruity flavor that combines beautifully with the green tomatoes. You can add just a small amount, cook and taste and add more if you like it a bit spicier. I often top this pie (while still warm when served) with cream cheese or sour cream. Great flavor combination. It also goes good with cheeses, even the fairly strong ones.

I like to pair it with the stronger cheeses. On an English muffin, split, toasted and anointed with a "schmear" of Brie! On buttered cornbread - also topping grilled or fried polenta (or grits, for those of the southern persuasion). With grilled sausages - teamed with spicy mustard - especially on brats! Here are a few more ideas.

Toast the bread lightly in the oven WITH the crusts. Remove from oven, cut the crusts off, split each slice, stack and wrap loosely in paper towels until an hour before need. Place toasts, "raw" side up and toast in pre-heated oven for 8 minutes at 350° F. You may have to adjust oven time - convection ovens toast much faster.

Gosh! How could I have forgotten the Cheese Underground blog? I am a bit of a fanatic about cheese and I have an entire folder full of sites, links and blogs about cheese but this one is my fave and it has most of the links I follow anyway. For anyone who loves cheese, this is an essential. I also was following a blog about sushi but lost the link somewhere. Kerry, if you find the blog about mayonnaise, let me know. I think it may be the one where I found a great recipe for mayonnaise biscuits. I have the recipe but not the link.

I forgot to note that I use yogurt for many purposes, which is why I prepare so much. I use it in place of buttermilk. I mix it with regular milk (either whole or 2%) in a blender with fruit to make a kefir-like drink. I use it as a substitute for sour cream (although I also make my own sour cream.) A cup of yogurt, combined with two tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate (I buy organic) is great with cereal. I mix it with Grape-Nuts in the evening and consume it the next morning. That way I get sufficient fiber with my yogurt to make a healthy breakfast. (The Grape-Nuts soften a bit but still retain some crunch.)

Have you seen this blog about slow cookers? I've been following it for a long time and have tried many of her recipes. I have yet to find one that was not good.

I forgot to mention this one All Barbecue, All the time! Warning: This web site can be addicting! Note that subtitle: "Home of the Smokin' Buzzards" I love it!