andiesenji

I agree that matcha powder is the best solution. Make a thin paste of a small amount of matcha powder and hot water (not boiling- 180° F. is best) and allow it to cool then warm the duck fat and add a very small amount of the paste until it is completely incorporated and then taste it. If you want more of the flavor, add a bit more but take baby steps here as too much can overpower other flavors. Once you have a successful result, make a note of how much you used. When I prepare pork chops this way, I use about half a teaspoon of matcha in half a tablespoon of hot water and dab it onto the pork chops with my finger tips and spread it around. This is for four large, thick loin chops. A little goes a long way.

My stepdaughter worked at a Magic Pan restaurant for two years in the early '80s and was very adept at using that type of crepe pan but also became adept at using my steel pans (which I still have and still use). The pans she used at the restaurant were heated by separate burners, weren't electrified. She loved making stacks of crepes and impressing her friends with quick meals from fridge leftovers at home or something made with canned baby shrimp (her favorite). I don't specifically remember the mornay sauce.

Yep, this is the true "rainy season" of SoCal - not seen since '97-'98 Even up here in the desert we had rain most of the day with more to come today and tomorrow. Supper last evening was the aforementioned mac 'n cheese made with a can of Campbell's Nacho cheese soup but I did use whole wheat elbow mac so it was a bit more "healthy" than the usual. After the mention of the cheese powder, I'm determined to try some - I've seen it at Winco and will pick up some on my next visit.

Don't do it!!! Crispy Crowns are NOT the same, as I wrote at length to Ore-Ida (they sent me a bunch of coupons). Wrong shape and proportion of crunchy surface to soft middle. And I always bake them way longer than the instructions say, for extra crispiness. I should have mentioned this too. I try to be so virtuous but even at my age (70) I fall into shameful eating habits from time to time. I bake TaterTots until they are brown and crunchy - I have found that spraying them with butter-flavored cooking spray (I really have no shame at all!) helps to increase the flavor and the crunch. While anointing them with ketchup is okay, my favorite is the chili sauce in the squat round jar. Sometimes with a dab of freshly mixed Colman's mustard swirled into it. While I can no longer handle the really hot stuff, I do like Pace's Chunky Salsa (Medium) with a judicious dollop of sour cream with the organic white corn chips from Trader Joe's. If I don't want to make the trek to TJ's, I will settle for Mission Corn Strips.

French fried onions or onion rings. There was a time when I could eat an entire can of the FF onions but now can't even open a can without feeling nausea. Same with the appearance of FF onion rings seen at restaurants. Strange, because I love onions fried, baked, onion confit, etc.

Ooohh. Me too! And my favorite way of consuming them is mixed with ersatz mashed potatoes, made from the bulk potato flakes I keep on hand. I should have mentioned the latter also for my secret shame for quickly thickening things that need it and I want instant results without the additional fat in beurre manie. I used to use another brand of potato flakes but they changed the formula so that the results were somewhat grainy and about that time I discovered the bulk stuff at Winco and have been using that ever since. These particular peas are also great in salads, simply rinsed and drained and I also puree them with onions, garlic, oregano and walnuts to toss with pasta. I haven't yet purchased them by the case but usually six at a time.

I agree that if one is only cooking plain rice, then the simple on/off/keep warm cookers are satisfactory. However, I want to program the rice cooker to start cooking on the porridge setting early in the morning, long before I wake and I also want to cook different types of rices and other things that require more sophisticated controls and more variable temperatures. Besides, there are the nifty keys, the digital window and the tunes that signal. The lid seals with a latch to keep the lid from popping open when the steam builds up with certain foods. Poached Pears with Grand marnier custard sauce does not work in the regular rice cooker. Take my word for it. It was a disaster. The same recipe from the Hensperger/Kaufman book was fantastic when prepared in the Zo IH cooker. I'm not cooking for commercial purposes, although I do have a 20-cup commercial unit that I bought and used years ago when I was still catering. I have no use for it now but am hanging onto it "just in case." It comes in handy from time to time but not for rice.

Me. I love my current rice cooker (Zojirushi IH) and have loved every one I have owned and bought the first one I ever saw marketed in the US many, many years ago - a Panasonic marketed under the "National" brand name. I have given rice cookers as gifts to friends and family and every one is in constant use. My daughter, who previously believe her stove-top rice was good enough, uses the Zo neuro fuzzy every day. If you look at the cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann, The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook, you will see recipes for things that you probably never realized could be prepared in a rice cooker. There are other single-purpose appliances for which I see no need and wouldn't buy. I have an ice-cream maker, the self-contained one with no need to freeze a container. In the summer I use it almost daily. My most recent extravagance is the purchase of a Thermomix last November. I have spent a lot of time playing with it and like that it is versatile but there are some tasks that it doesn't do as well as I expected. It makes sense for people with very limited space because it takes the place of several appliances, i.e., a basic food processor, blender, steamer, rice cooker and etc. I don't like the way it whips egg whites but I am very picky. It's very expensive and would be a total waste of money unless it is used daily. For some things that I make, that most people don't, it saves me a lot of time and effort. (Marzipan, for instance.) I have one friend who lives on a boat in a marina and she wants one since seeing mine in action last week and I think has already ordered one. Other friends made a trip up from Palm Springs on Saturday to see how it works as they live nine months out of the year in a huge motor home, traveling around the US, Canada and Mexico. Their kitchen space is really limited. I made a stir-fry in the bottom while steaming potstickers in the top. That convinced them and they contacted the distributor in Canada from my computer. For both of these people, price is no barrier. I collect "antique" or "vintage" appliances, some very handy, some totally useless, but interesting. I have a few newer things that are weird or wacky. Unless a kitchen item is used on a regular basis, it is a "total waste of money." Everyone is different and what some people feel is a necessity, I might consider a waste, but I'm not cooking in their kitchen and my opinion doesn't count. If a person wants and likes something, then they should be able to satisfy their desires. In this case, it is entirely personal preference.

No shame there. I like my version of mac and cheese made with Campbell's Cheddar Cheese, Nacho Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese soups. I always have several cans of each on hand for "emergencies" like today when is it raining and alternately snowing and I don't want to go out and want comfort food. When I am in too much of a hurry to wait for elbow mac (or shells, even better because they "catch" more cheese) I will heat the condensed soup in the microwave and pour some over toast. Also I do not like beef, steaks or roasts very rare. I know it's shameful but I believe I am entitled to what tastes good to me.

andiesenji, does that also include some dairy, or are oats sufficiently more complete than wheat that it's not necessary ? Flapjacks are a good sweet way to use up oatmeal. I'm not sure how they work with steel-cut oats, which I think are the same as what's called pinhead oatmeal. They're even a good reason to buy oatmeal in the first place. No dairy is included. I prepare oatcakes too but nothing like the traditional Scottish ones. Mine are more like thick patties, made with an egg (or two) mixed into the savory oatmeal/grain/bean mixture, then with a small amount of ground rolled oats as a binder. I first fry them in a very small amount of fat (bacon dripping is the preferred stuff) then transfer them to a wire rack over a sheet pan and finish them in the oven. They can be eaten out of hand (with a paper napkin to protect against the small amount of grease on the surface, or on a plate with a fork and anointed with gravy of some kind. With a side salad, these make a filling meal, tasty and cheap. When my kids were still at home they loved them, as they could doctor them as they wished - my stepson liked them with a slab of cheese melted over the top.

I said the exact same thing when I saw the heart shaped Le Creuset last night! This item has been around for years and I too have often wondered why they persist in marketing this shape. They had the same one in the Sur La Table store in Pasadena for a couple of years. I could tell because it had the same stick-on label that had a tear on one side. The shape just seems very impractical to me. Once you discount the "cute" factor, you just have an odd-shaped vessel. And one that is too expensive for its size.

I'm bumping this topic up because I received a note from a friend who is a real coffee fanatic and has been searching for the "perfect" way of brewing coffee for as long as I have known her. I gave her a Toddy cold-brewing unit several years ago and she liked the results. Yesterday she emailed me that she had purchased this brewer in December: http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Hourglass-Cold-Brew-Coffee-Maker-p/scg10001-06.htm?gclid=CKWN9cPprp8CFRwTagodJTcW0w She reports that it is easier to clean than the Toddy and the coffee concentrate is as good, if not better. She wrote that she ordered a second unit for a spare, just in case they stop manufacturing this one. Looks like a winner to me!

Does Reed Rocket have any problems with a tough nut like a Brazil nut? No. The amount of "throw" is adjustable so you put the Brazil nut in lengthwise and it will usually crack along the "seams" making it easier to retain the whole nut. I can no longer use a hand-grip type nutcracker so have one of these for macadamias and black walnuts. http://www.peasandcornco.com/popup/kenkelhardshellnutcracker.htm It comes without the board but I had half of an old cutting board (had split apart years ago) and simply screwed the bracket to it. When doing a large batch of nuts, I place the board with cracker in a bus tub and that way the tub catches all the shards of shells as well as the nuts. I bought the Rocket several years ago from this same vendor and when they got the Kenkel, I ordered that. The Rocket does come with the board on which it is mounted.

That is very clever, Maggie. One of my neighbors makes "rugs" from them, similar to rag rugs. I give all the extra bags I bring home from stores to her. I try to use only my "permanent" bags but fairly often buy more than they will hold and they add up rapidly. I'm going to tell her about your tote bag.

I also prepare steel-cut oats as a savory dish, often mixed (after cooking) with beans, which results in a complete protein. This mixture can be "flavored" with other vegetables - most often with onions and garlic and I use dried chopped onions and garlic. This morning I prepared some (cooked in half chicken broth and half coconut milk) that included "boiled" bacon. That is, bacon that is cut into largish pieces, placed in a skillet and as soon as it begins to sizzle, a cup or so of boiling water is added and when the water is just about gone, the bacon is done. Prepared in this way it remains soft but is fully cooked and retains all its flavor. Today's combo is going to be further enhanced with frozen green beans and a can of chopped green chiles.

Several years ago there was a beer named Mickey's or had it as part of the name sold here in southern California. It came is a squat, green bottle with a wide mouth and I think was referred to as "wide-mouth mickey." The only connection I knew with the name and liquor was a "Mickey Finn" aka knock-out drink. It seemed like a familiar theme in the gangster films of the '30s, '40s and '50s was "slip him a mickey" to put someone to sleep but not permanently. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Finn_%28drugs%29

Yes, a mess of fish, crawfish, frog legs, or squirrels, a mess of greens or green beans, etc., usually referred to a batch of fairly small foods that was sufficient to feed several people. Game birds were in "braces" but squabs were a "gaiter" (gather) consisting of a dozen and a term I think was confined to the area where I grew up in Livingston county (once the gateway to the Illinois territory). My ancestors settled there in pre-revolutionary times and I think carried their terms for things from Virginia and North Carolina. They are descended from Jamestown Colony "adventurers."

A "fifth" is one-fifth of a gallon U.S. 750 ml a gallon is 3750 ml. At one time a "fifth" ordered in a bar was one-fifth of a gill.

In this photo there is a wine glass that my great-grandmother used as a measure. Filled to the brim it holds 4 ounces. It was new in 1890. http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1198893418/gallery_17399_60_251431.jpg I have a smaller "sherry" glass that holds slightly less than two ounces. It is early 19th century and the same style of "trumpet-shaped" glass was popular through the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It was considered the "proper" sized glass to serve fortified wines to ladies. (sherry, madeira, port, marsala as well as homemade orange wine, etc.)

That is one BIG recipe, a hogshead is around 50 gallons! It's a recipe for spiced ale that is "boyled" in a cauldron with honey, fruits and spices and set to "werking" with a boll of yeasted dough floated in the vessel. When the boll sinks to the bottom, (about a "sennight") the ale should be strained through a hair screen and transferred to jugs. It was heated before serving. As toweringpine notes, small ale was (and is) low alcohol content ale, considered suitable for women and children. This recipe probably increases the alcohol content a fair bit!

Too many to count. I have several facsimile books from http://www.acanthus-books.com/fourfifcen.html and have a lot copied from different web sites that I found at least 15 years ago. Like this one: http://recipes.medievalcookery.com/ Some of the sites were organized as newsgroups before the internet coalesced and a lot of the fees I spend on CompuServe back in the old days was to download recipes. On a very slow modem!

Has anyone mentioned "stoup" or "stoop?" Several of my medieval recipes specify a stoup or stoop of mead, so it is obviously a liquid measure. I have no idea the true volume but in reading the recipe it would appear to be somewhere close to a half-gallon. I also have one rather large recipe that calls for a hogshead of "small" ale. Not sure how big or small ale is supposed to be but I do know the volume of a hogshead...

Great photo, Peter. One advantage of the split wood baskets is that a large number can be stacked (nested) as they are tapered just enough so that they fit closely into one another. I can remember stacks of baskets from floor to ceiling in the "drying" shed - a building with a raised floor made of what we might now call "duck" boards and walls that were fixed louvered slats. It had a galvanized roof and us kids loved to play in there when it rained. The roof overhang all around was extended so it was like playing in a tent with water walls.

One of my uncles, who was with the occupying forces in Japan after WWII always used the term "sukoshi" for a very small amount. (Pronounced skosh)

I grew up on a farm in western Kentucky in the 1940s. We used wood baskets like these http://www.crateandbasket.com/wood-baskets_1010_s.aspx for all kinds of garden and orchard produce. We had bushel baskets, half-bushel, peck or quarter-bushel and half-peck baskets, as well as larger, oval double-bushel, wood-bottom baskets that were used exclusively for tobacco.(grown on the farm until the mid-60s). While most apples and pears could be placed in bushel baskets without damage, peppers, peas, string beans, squash were picked in peck baskets and even more delicate produce such as tomatoes, berries, etc., went into half-peck baskets. Unlike the ones shown in the link, ours had wire handles secured to a wire that went all around the upper part of the basket, cinched tight so the basket could carry fairly heavy loads. To make the handles more comfortable a short length of rubber hose was slit along one side and slipped over the wire. The baskets were made locally, were cheap and had lots of uses besides garden stuff. Lined with an old sheet, they were used to carry washing out to the clothesline and the dried clothes carried back in. Those needing to be ironed were sprinkled with water, rolled and placed in one of these baskets awaiting the iron. They made great toy containers and occasionally contained one or more small children (often me) being pulled across the lawn by one or more cousins. And now you know far more than you ever wanted to know about the "peck" measure. Incidentally, for dry corn, oats, sorghum, etc., there were quarter-peck scoops that could be hooked onto hanging scales - every feed store had one. So people could purchase such items by either weight or volume, taking their own containers to the store as a bag cost money. See, today we have returned to doing things the old-fashioned way, instead of using new disposable bags, we take our own bags to the grocery! Recycling is not a new thing at all...