andiesenji

I recently ordered several types of disposable baking "molds" from this vendor. They have a very low minimum order, $25.00, and the shipping costs are reasonable in the U.S. http://www.plasticcontainercity.com/Baking_Molds.htm I tried to search for similar posts or topics but could find none with current links. I also ordered some of the 4 and 6 compartment containers on the "Clear Tubs" page and they are terrific for storing small things that are so easy to lose in the kitchen (or anywhere else), as well as packaging small food items. They stack securely and you can also order "shrink bands" to secure the lids - although you do need a heat gun to shrink them but Amazon has a relatively inexpensive one for less than $30.00 that comes with several accessories, including a stand (cradle). (I have an old Bosch that still works but the newer compact guns are very tempting.)

Thinking about the measuring cups &etc., I did a survey this morning and found some sets that I don't recall purchasing and weren't giving to me. I wonder if they (like wire coat hangers) are managing to breed in the dark recesses of some of my cabinets... I know I didn't buy some because they are really not designed well for how I work and most of my friends, who are inclined to give me kitchen stuff, know better than to buy such things for me... There is one set with smallish tab-type handles that would make it impossible to level dry ingredients while holding onto the tab. What were they thinking?!! I have several aprons that hang just inside the pantry door and I use them all the time. I also have one of the wrap-around lab coats for full coverage when I am going to prepare something really messy. They are great because the fronts can be reversed. (They are left over from when I was still working as an x-ray tech because I didn't like wearing the bulkier lab coats. (And didn't want patients to think I was one of the doctors.) My worst "bad" habit is preparing too much food for just me. Leftovers are okay but there is a limit. I was raised to be frugal and feel guilty about tossing good food. There are simply some of my favorite recipes that do not work well when prepared for a single person.

I will make a small bet that I can match you with the measuring cups and spoons. When I am prepping for a baking marathon of cookies, cakes and etc., I will set up the bowls and utensils I will need for each recipe on separate trays. This necessitates having multiples of measuring cups &etc. Here's a photo from Nov. 2004 - I have "collected" a few more since then.

I feel the same way. I loved the first Home Cooking and always intended to write to her, although I rarely send letters to authors of any kind. Her writing touched something inside that made her seem like a friend. Then I picked up More Home Cooking in my local book store and saw that the copyright was to her estate. I felt like I had missed a chance and a light had gone out somewhere in the world. I made her Black Cake recipe, partly because I loved the story about it.

I should add that since date syrup can now be found in specialty markets, you can use that or any other very thick syrup, treacle or molasses. I dug out the file card on which the original recipe is typed and there is a note that if the dates are very dry from long storage, you can pour boiling water over them to barely cover and let them soak overnight, save the liquid and mix it with the sugar syrup. Also you can use date sugar or you can also use brown sugar as the original recipe was probably made with unrefined sugar. Don't be afraid to experiment with different ingredients as long as you get the proportions correct. You might "invent" something unique.

Have you tried Beano? I have no problems with beans, because I consume them regularly, but I do have problems with the brassicas and Beano works a treat.

That is the reason I developed my "mock" French toast process - preparing bread pudding in a loaf pan, then slicing the finished loaf and frying the slices. Quick, no mess and people love it. It also works beautifully for sandwiches as the filling is placed after the first side has been browned and then covered when the other slice is done on both sides. Especially good with chopped apples in cider syrup with browned sausage patty.

Date nut candy from Syria 1 cup walnuts ( or pistachios, almonds, or whatever) chopped fine 1 cup dates, seeded and chopped fine 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 1 tablespoon syrup (original recipe calls for Lyle’s golden syrup but corn syrup will work) Combine the sugar, water and syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until it reaches 235-240° F. (112-116°C) “Soft ball stage.” Remove the syrup from heat and let cool to 120°F Add the dates, stir until completely blended, then add the nuts and blend until evenly distributed. On a sheet of baker’s parchment, distribute a 2-inch wide mound of the candy along the length of the parchment, leaving 2 inches clear at each end. Fold over one side and pack the candy into a long roll then flatten into a bar. (You can also use the “Release” aluminum foil.) Repeat with the remainder of the candy - should produce about two bars, each 10-12 inches long. Cut into 1-inch pieces or thinner slices if you don't flatten the bar too much. You can roll these in cornstarch, finely grated coconut, sesame seeds or nut meal so the cut candies won’t stick together. This can also be made with any other dried fruit, figs, apricots, etc. The person who gave me the recipe said that she often adds fennel seeds (toasted), sesame seeds (toasted) and

Dip a finger into the flour and taste it. If you have ever got hold of a walnut gone bad, you will know.....

I can relate to all of this. I, however, keep everything that is kitchen related. Other stuff is discarded but kitchen stuff is MINE, forever! I am descended from a long, long line of "keepers" (so much nicer than hoarders) because who knows when something might, sometime in the future, become absolutely necessary, or even just handy. Fortunately, I have a great deal of storage space. There are a few things that I have been using regularly, if not daily, at least a couple of times a week, for thirty years. I take very good care of my things and most have endured the passage of time in fine condition. There are a few things that I used to use quite often but with one thing and another, often a new gadget that seemed better at the time, put them aside and didn't use them for awhile. However, from time to time a situation would arise where only that particular item would work the way I wished and so it was resurrected from its storage place, dusted and rinsed and put back into service. Another topic, about a saucing spoon, reminded me of my favorite, for many years, saucing, tasting and etc., spoon - a "dressing" or "stuffing" spoon, twelve inches long overall, deeper and larger than a regular vegetable serving spoon and perfect for so many purposes. I retrieved it from its place, washed and polished it and used it yesterday. It just felt right and proper in my hand, an old friend and not soon forgotten again.

It is better to keep these flours in your freezer - if you don't have a lot of room, consider buying one of the small chest freezers just to store them. They are all great flours and can be incorporated in many recipes - there are numerous web sites with recipes and good advice on how to use them. I have all of those listed above and in addition, sorghum flour, teff flour, cassava flour, brown rice flour, millet flour, flax flour, triticale flour and mesquite flour. Most of these were purchased from Barry Farm: http://www.barryfarm.com/flours.htm And they also have some excellent recipes and hints for how to use some of their products, in addition to very good descriptions of the various flours and suggestions for their use. All or most of these flours are milled from the whole grain (or root) and will go rancid quickly at room temp. Storing them in the freezer will allow you to keep them for an extended period - I have kept them well over a year with no problems.

Recently posted on the forum for mixer collections was the following link to the introduction of the Kenwood Chef mixer that cooks: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2009/10/kenwood-unveils-kenwood-chef-mixer-that-cooks-185801.jsp The price may seem a bit steep but not all that much, considering what it includes. It will probably be a while before we see it marketed, or even an imitator, here in the US but I am pretty sure, knowing the rampant consumerism of my fellow American foodies, it will eventually arrive here. As the poster on the WACEM forum noted, some years ago there was the Ronson Cook'n Stir blender but it really didn't work all that well. (I bought one but rarely used it.)

The Helms bakery even has a wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helms_Bakery Helms was, for his day, a marketing genius. The contract for "Helms Olympic Bread" was a winner. It was especially handy for folks in the San Fernando Valley that lived, as my dad did, in one of the "rural" areas (we had horses, goats and chickens) where it was too far to walk to a store and at that time (late '40s and through the '50s, there was only one vehicle in a household. (It wasn't exactly the Real McCoys, but close) There was also milk delivery by the Adohr milkman (aqua colored truck). I visited my dad in 1952 (just in time for the Tehachapi/Bakersfield earthquake) and after having been raised on a farm, found the idea of getting goodies delivered to the door absolutely incredible (as was being able to walk out into the front yard a pick oranges). There was also a subscription meat delivery - one had to order and pay in advance and got fresh meats (also bacon and etc.,) delivered twice a week.

Have you tried one of these? http://www.kitchenwaresetc.com/debuyer-stainless-steel-strainer-stands-5090560.html I use them for even my jumbo-sized conical strainer. Works great - I just had to bend it out a bit at the top to accommodate the larger diameter. To get a bit of extra height I sometimes put the feet into shot glasses that have 1 inch thick bottoms but usually don't bother for most stock or fruit things.

Yes, yes, yes! And no other bakery has ever been able to duplicate the cinnamon crumb cake doughnuts. Many have tried, all have fallen short. Watching those long shallow drawers slide out of the back was a real adventure. One of my neighbors down the road has a whistle from a Helm's truck - his father worked for them until they went out of business and was able to buy his van. Sadly the van is gone but the whistle remains.

"Real" White Lily flour (or Red Band or Martha Washington) for the best biscuits and etc. The stuff now available is NOT comparable to the original, no matter what they say in their advertising. Real milk, not the "ultra-pasteurized" stuff that doesn't produce good cheese without additives. Real butter that actually has some flavor, available anywhere. (I buy the Kerrygold butter at Trader Joe's which is very good, but it isn't to be found at most regular markets.) Stuff that is made without the addition of mysterious substances such as modified food starch.

Here is my "solution" to the brown rice "problem" which works also with mixed grains, etc. My rice cooker, as have many of my earlier model, has a "Keep Warm" mode and I have been doing this for years. I cook the rice earlier in the day, sometimes in the morning, and leave it in the "Keep Warm" mode until evening. Or for mixed grains that I intend for breakfast, I start it in the evening and it stays in that mode overnight. This is the ONLY way to adequately cook whole red wheat that has not been "processed" or pre-steamed. I love the way it turns out. The texture is chewy, without the fibrous sensation that one gets with regular cooking. I think the flavor is enhanced also. Try it with a very small batch and see how you like it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I usually cook large batches of rice and freeze the "leftovers." If I want to include white rice in a brown/black/mahogany rice medley, I simply pull a portion of pre-cooked white rice out of the freezer and add it to the mix in the rice cooker about half an hour prior to serving. That is just enough time for the white rice to defrost and come up to serving temp.

To maintain a good growing system during the winter, herbs require a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight (or artificial source of same) and ambient temps at least 65 degrees F. You have to be sure to pinch back the top growth of the leaved herbs to promote bushier growth - otherwise you get spindly tall growth that doesn't produce enough leaves. This includes thyme, basil, sage, mint, and so on. With chives, instead of having one clump, I divide them into several clumps, at least an inch in diameter, in a long planter and once they have reached a size suitable for "harvest" start cutting them down to within an inch of the base and progress along the row as needed. This way the first clump cut begins regrowing immediately and they look much neater than a large clump with chunks cut out of it. If you have room, you can also grow shallots in a fairly shallow planter. They actually grow above ground so only the base end needs to be planted - the root structure is very shallow. I plant them in planter mix that is covered with fine pea gravel which keeps the dirt away from the growing baby shallots and also keeps the soil from drying out too rapidly. There are several excellent books on indoor herb gardening - don't forget that one can also put hooks into the top frame of a window for hanging containers. These are especially good for the "trailing" herbs such as thyme.

Interesting. They carry several Lundberg products at the market where I shop, and I've often bought their brown rice, but they carry no blends. You can go to their website, contact them and they can give you the names of retailers in your area that carry their products. As mentioned above, Whole Foods Markets carry their products (as well as some unusual varieties in their bulk foods section) and one of my friends, who lives in the West Village, buys it at a nearby health food store. They began carrying it some ten years back after she "discovered" it on a visit out here for a string of dog shows. She is a vegetarian and I took her shopping where she could find some vegetarian snacks. She spotted the Lundberg display and bought a supply to take home. Subsequently I sent her a couple of "care packages" until she was able to get a local store to stock it.

Here is my IH rice cooker. Note the pan has a few dings but only to be expected with heavy use for the past 3 1/2 years.

Since the ebay address I posted above did not post as a clickable link, here is the item number of the rice cooker in that post: 280395952276 The price at $198.00 for a new appliance is pretty good.

I have the Zojirushi 10 cup induction rice cooker. The design of mine is somewhat different but I got mine fairly soon after they were introduced in the US. This would be the comparable model:http://cgi.ebay.com/ZOJIRUSHI-NP-KAC18-Induction-Heating-Rice-Cooker-NEW_W0QQitemZ280395952276QQcmdZViewItemQQptZSmall_Kitchen_Appliances_US?hash=item4148e6b094#ht_1478wt_1149 I did not see any point in buying the 5 cup model as the price at the time was not that much more for the 10 cup. I paid 329.00 for the 10 cup - the 5 1/2 cup was 299.00. I use it for steaming vegetables (using a SS wire colander which would not fit in the smaller one). Back when I first purchased it I described my experiences with it. I have yet to be disappointed. I also posted in this topic after using it for a year: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/100192-rice-cookers/page__p__1377151__hl__Rice%20Cookers__fromsearch__1entry1377151 In this topic http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/69500-best-rice-cooker/page__hl__Rice%20Cookers__st__60 I posted both before and after getting the induction cooker and mentioned at the bottom of page 3 how I had used it so far. I bought it in March 2006.

Your blend is probably unique to you and if it satisfies your palate then that is the most important criteria. Lundberg, a California company that has developed and trademarked some exclusive varieties, has been selling blends of various rices for quite a few years. http://www.lundberg.com/ Black Japonica, Jubilee and Christmas are my favorite blends. I especially like the fact that they are dedicated to sustainable farming since before WWII. I am very partial to all their blends but I also combine their Wehani and some other varieties for my own blends. I buy several rice varieties from http://www.indianharvest.com/Products/Specialty-Rice;jsessionid=0a0104471f43de85348fc73e4808844ad68acfcbeed5.e3eSbNqNc38Le34Pa38Ta38SaNz0 including Chinese Black (which is not a sticky rice like the south Asian type), red Colusari and the green bamboo rice. I order Carolina Gold rice from Anson Mills: http://www.ansonmills.com/products-page.htm This is an extremely versatile rice - depending on how it is cooked and it blends extremely well with wild rice.

This has happened to me numerous times over the years and my first reaction is to grab a spoonful of sugar followed up by an ice cube. Frozen berries also work but I have on occasion been known to hold a frozen chunk of carrot in my mouth following the application of granulated sugar and once, when at a street fair, stuck a lollipop in my mouth until I could find a vendor selling popsicles! The Anbesol sounds good but I am allergic to local anesthetics and the cure would be worse than the problem.

And there are many that include the boiled potato and potato water with flour. One of the Cornell sourdough cultures was started this way and kept going for many years. I have one of the Cornell publications from the late '50s that describes the process in excruciating detail. I never use commercial yeast in sourdough - don't see any point to it. However, I have purchased sourdough cultures from http://sourdo.com/culture.htm and I have Ed Wood's books. I have been very pleased with all the starters I have tried.