andiesenji

I am pretty sure it is a "portable" spice scale, although the only ones I have seen have been antiques and made from copper or brass and had additional weights that could be hung on the end of the handle. The fact that it is cast aluminum brings it well into the 20th century but I would guess it is based on the earlier ones which had been in use for hundreds of years. It is difficult to know the size from the photo. Can you note the length and height?

It is indeed interesting because of the social evolution that revolved around food in the first half of the last century. Watching the characters in the film Gosford Park, while at breakfast, took me back to my childhood (not in the UK but in western Kentucky) in a house full of ex-pat Brits in the '40s. During and after WWII my family shipped crates of stuff to family members living in the UK, most of it produced on the farm. In return, there was a steady stream of books, maps and other ephemera collected by various family members and left behind when they emigrated to the US in 1919. In spite of my family members eating all the "wrong" things, fried, fatty and rich, many lived to extreme old age with all their faculties intact. My great-grandmother was born in 1844 and died in 1949 when I was ten, two months short of her 105th birthday.

I like HP sauce too. However, I give the edge to Daddie's Sauce which is just enough different for me to have an excuse to have them both on hand.

This is one of the "vintage" GE Automatic toaster ovens I have. As you can see, it has a much smaller footprint than most toaster ovens and the fact that it stops toasting (or baking) automatically, make it much easier to use. It was of course, much more expensive than the Dominion, Kenmore, and etc., toaster ovens of its day. My "secret" for keeping it polished is very simple, a slightly dampened cloth, dipped in DRY baking soda, then dusting it with a clean cloth. As long as the chrome finish is not abused with abrasives, it will last a very long time and I take very good care of my appliances. The one I use all the time has had its cord replaced twice and it is not as pretty as this one but it still does a fine job, especially on cheese toast!

I stand corrected. It cannot be sold in quite a few states but is available in others.

One article that I found stated that either distillation OR extraction with pure grain alcohol would produce the product labeled "double-strength" vanilla. Since straight grain alcohol, 190 proof, is available only for laboratory and manufacturing use and requires a federal permit, it is really not something that can be produced in the home. (Unless you are cooking up your own!!!)

I suppose I am a cult member. I do own a "few" KAs and have owned several more that have been passed on to others as gifts. I kept the special ones. I think AmbrosiaFood has the same really special ones. And if you think the more recent ones are heavy, you should try to lift a Model H, or even the Model G without sustaining a hernia. KA history

I missed only one - however, I have the advantage of having been raised in a household of true Victorians and inherited a set of flatware that includes almost all of the items pictured and I still have the set of "infant's silver" with which I was taught table manners. I think it was originally my grandfather's and he was born in 1875. Although "normal" family dinners never displayed all the various odd implements designed for specific purposes, I recall a few formal dinners (no children were included) where the array of silver on the table was somewhat alarming. I was a very curious child and asked many questions and was never satisfied with "because" as an answer so usually was given at least some explanation of why a piece was necessary. The Victorians of a certain status loved all the extra silver pieces that showed their social status. However, they did not have to do the washing up. After WWI, when it became more and more difficult to get competent help, there was a considerable lessening of the number of pieces "required" for serving a formal dinner.

I often use igourmet.com. For any level of cook and have yet to have a complaint - nothing but raves.

I grew up on a farm in western Kentucky where sorghum was grown, crushed and cooked. Originally it was cooked off in open "pans" over wood fires, later in more "sanitary" closed containers. (Though much less fun for us kids.) The gingerbread made with sorghum is indeed very good. We also had fat, soft "molasses" cookies, sweet cornmeal cakes (baked on a griddle) and sorghum oatmeal spice cake which was baked in thin layers and "filled" with apple butter or applesauce, depending on what was handy. (Note that regular cornbread was never sweetened, the griddle cakes were entirely different in texture as well as taste.) I haven't made the latter for years, mostly because I developed Type II diabetes and it is densely packed with calories and sugar. Sorghum mashed with soft butter was a favorite spread for everything from biscuits to griddle muffins (what we now call "English" muffins.) The flavor of sorghum is distinctive. One of my earliest memories, probably when I was three or so, was riding my little tricycle around the breakfast table and having a piece of biscuit with sorghum and butter popped into my mouth as I passed my grandpa's chair. (The tricycle was blue. I can also remember my grandma scolding my grandpa for "spoiling" that child!)

Wow, Andie, that is a thing of beauty IMHO! I have the world's cheapest toaster - I think that I paid $8 for it at Walgreens Pharmacy about 12 years ago. It's white plastic and the knob fell off as soon as I took it out of the box. It's not marked with any brand that I've noticed. My family hates it and has been pestering me forever to replace it! I keep looking at new toasters but they just don't do it for me. I think that I have just found my new dream toaster . . . thanks for posting the photo and ebay list! ←

Using vinegar in drinks is not all that "new." I have some drink recipes from the 18th century - for fruit "shrubs" that include vinegar, wine and various sprits, ranging from gin to brandy. And then going back further, the Roman army routinely drank vinegar mixed with water because it was a way to avoid illness and they often cut wine with vinegar to extend their supplies. I just found this site: Shrubs. Also, a friend who spent several months in the area around Modena, a few years ago, told me that he was served "sweet" balsamic vinegar that was diluted with soda water (from a siphon). He said it was very refreshing. He particularly mentioned it to me because I am allergic to alcohol and he thought I might enjoy it. I tried it, using some fairly expensive stuff, and it was very good but not the thing for someone who needs to economize!

I believe this is the Sunbeam referenced: Working T-20, T-30 and T-50 Sunbeam toasters, (and these are the benchmark of toasterdom), can be found on eBay for fairly reasonable prices. As seen on this list. I collect antique/vintage toasters and I have a "few" of these. Last year I scored one that was still in its original box, had never been plugged in. As far as toaster ovens go, the best one ever made was the GE automatic toaster oven, originally produced in the late '60s and through the '70s. Those can also be found on ebay and while they are smaller than most T-ovens, they toast nicely and are terrific for English muffin "pizzas" and baking biscuits, pastries, etc. Here's one. Also, unlike other toaster ovens, this one is "automatic" the door flips open and the tray slides out when the toast or ???? is done, according to how you set it.

True, "double-strength" vanilla can only be achieved with a distillation apparatus, it involves distilling the vanilla extract. Frankly, I do not believe the results are worth the expense and effort of doing this at home - unless you are something of a fanatic and love to fool around with strange and tricky gadgets. I have a tiny "still" for experimental purposes, however I am an unabashed tinkerer and love odd gadgets and such... The only flavored extract that turned out to be worth the trouble was the one made from espresso. The vanilla was somewhat bitter.

I agree with everyone who suggested you contact GE or the dealer or both. Try phone contact and follow up with a physical letter and copies of the gas company reports and send it Certified with a Return receipt request to prove it was delivered. Defective appliances that present a hazard are never "out of warranty" if you can prove that the condition has existed from the time it was installed, and is not due to tampering by unauthorized people. The gas company has to log all complaints and visits by technicians and has to keep those records for at least three years. (In California and I believe most states have similar laws.)

If the range is defective why has the retailer not replaced the entire unit? I don't know where you live but most states have laws that protect consumers when an appliance presents a danger. Particularly when there is production of CO. I know several people who have the GE dual fuel ranges and have had no problems with them. However there is certainly the possibility of a lemon. There can be any number of reasons for the problem, including various intake and mixing valves.

The mention of cutting the meat into strips reminded me that with some meats that have coarser fibers, (venison, bison and elk, for instance), I usually cut it into slabs across the grain and then into strips, lay them out on a sheet pan, season the meat and then slide the sheet pan (full sized) into a supersized zip bag and into the freezer for about 45 minutes. It may just be my imagination but I seem to get far less "stringing" and a much finer mince for the fine-grained sausages, such as jagdwurst, bockwurst and mettwurst and the fat seems to distribute itself more evenly throughout the mince, when the meat is near or slightly frozen.

I have relied on this for quite a few years. I originally developed it for a gentleman, with no cooking skills whatsoever, who wanted to surprise his wife with a nice Mothers Day breakfast/brunch. With the greatest part of the prep the day before, it is quick and neat. Mock French toast

Beautiful. Let us know what you think of the sausage stuffer. I found it much easier to use than the old machines I had. I recently used mine to grind a large container of dried figs along with coconut and almonds. I didn't weigh them, just kept grinding until everything had been put through the machine. I think I may have added some apricots too. I have a 12-qt Cambro container packed with the stuff. It will eventually be turned into "candy" rolls and filling in cookies. (My version of "Newtons"..) Some of the figs were quite hard. I used to have to steam them to soften them, with the old grinder. However, the NT doesn't have a problem.

To achieve the "tea-like" taste the leaves must be processed. Pick the leaves and allow them to "wither" for a couple of days, but not until they are dry. Heat them in a dry skillet, tossing them constantly, to keep them from burning. Then you have a product that is similar to oolong. For a green-type tea, the leaves must be "fried" immediately after picking. For the traditional "black" or "red" type tea the initial withering period must be longer but it varies according to the actual "strain" or variety of tea bush. This site has more information on processing.

The method for the "floating sponge" is not all that unusual for the era. I have several cookbooks, including one on bread from Cornell University, that recommends this method. The water is cooled to lukewarm so there is no danger of the yeast being killed by heat. I believe it was developed during the changeover from cake or "live" yeast to the dried "active" yeast as a way of proofing the yeast without wasting a lot of flour. I knew many homemakers during the '50s who simply did not trust the dried yeast and insisted on using "fresh" cake yeast. It is now very difficult, if not impossible, to find here in Calif. I remember being surprised when I looked for it in the dairy case and was told the store no longer stocked it, because they had to discard so much that was outdated. The switch to dried yeast had done it in. At that time bottled water was not universally available and it was thought that tap water contained a lot of wild yeasts so boiling the water first would insure a "pure" strain of yeast in the dough.

For "plain" vanilla pudding, I like the silky texture one gets with potato starch. 4 egg yolks 2/3 cup superfine sugar 2/3 cup potato starch 1 1/2 cups milk or half & half pinch of kosher salt 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. (Or you can split a vanilla bean and simmer it gently in the milk for 10 minutes but you must cool the milk to lukewarm before mixing with the other ingredients.) Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until light yellow. With beaters on slow speed add the potato starch a tablespoon or so at a time alternating with the milk until completely blended. Add the salt and vanilla and beat until blended. Transfer to a double boiler over simmering water and cook, stirring constantly until it has thickened so it covers the back of a spoon fairly thickly. Pour into custard cups and set aside to cool. Do not refrigerate until cooled to room temp. The "recipe" is similar to that used for Crema Fritta, except I simply pour it into custard cups instead of into a rectangular pan to be cut into squares. (Obviously my version is not going to be fried.) I should have added the note that I began using this recipe because of someone who could not eat wheat or corn products.

As are "MedicAlert" tags. I wear one on my wrist and another around my neck. I am allergic to local anesthetics and have a horrible fear of having a heart attack and having an EMT start an IV drip with lidocaine (a routine procedure). The heart attack might not kill me but the lidocaine would. I have several extras in case I lose one.

I began having fairly minor reactions, hoarseness, a little wheezing. Since I was taking several medications for other problems my doctors pooled their ideas and began taking me off first one med and then another. When it was narrowed down to the glucosamine/con., my allergist got the specs on the particular brand I took and found the one compound that could be traced back to a shellfish component. (I don't remember the exact details.) Several companies changed their formulas to remove that particular item. However, I never tried the stuff again, although I think it had lessened my arthritic complaints, because I simply did not want to take any chances. There are many medications that specifically state that one should not take them if one has an allergy to shellfish. Anyone who does should make sure their pharmacist knows this before having a prescription filled. I also cannot take calcium supplements that are made from oyster shell or coral, although the symptoms are very mild. With my hyper-reactive system, mild symptoms can morph into severe ones. This happened to me many, many years ago with alcohol. Allergies can be very tricky to isolate and to treat. My daughter is allergic to corn and has to carefully read the label of everything because corn products seem to be in a huge number of foods. What is really strange is that I have no problem with caviar and of course freshwater fish is no problem at all.

I have to add another that snuck up on me last night. Ruffles Authentic Barbecue potato chips with large curd cottage cheese. It has to be the large curd cottage cheese as the regular stuff does not have exactly the same flavor. It is scary how quickly these things can be consumed without one actually being aware how MUCH is passing the lips. (And ultimately becoming a permanent resident on the hips!)