andiesenji

In my experience I have found that walnuts work better with fruits and things with distinctive, strong flavors, i.e. bananas, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. Also in chicken salad, Waldorf salad - braised celery with walnuts was a family favorite when I was a child, complimentary flavors. Pecans go better with less assertive flavors, i.e. peaches, pumpkin, and so on. Caramel/pecan works much better than caramel/walnut, and I have no idea why. I can't eat solid chocolate so have no idea which nut works better, I use either or both in cakes made with cocoa. I have noticed that some things seem to taste a bit "off" when combined. For instance, coconut/pecan tastes fine and both flavors seem to be enhanced when combined. However, when combined with coconut, walnuts (to me) taste bitter and/or sour. In fact, I started to toss out a bag of walnuts, thinking they were rancid, after I tasted a test batch of cookies made with coconut. Some time later a friend came into my kitchen and saw the bag of walnuts laying on the end of the counter (I had planned to toss them where the squirrels could get them), grabbed a handful and began munching. She said they tasted fine so I tried a couple and they were fine. As a test, my friend and I both tried them with some grated coconut and again, they tasted odd to both of us. Try it and see what you think.

Very high butterfat (extra-heavy cream) will separate naturally if left undisturbed for a few days even if kept in the coldest part of the refrigerator. I have used heavy cream (which holds better than lower fat non-cultured dairy products) several days past the "sell-by" date. Unless there is discoloration, pink, gray, green, etc., or an unpleasant sour smell, I use it and have never noticed any problems. Of course, I grew up on a farm using pasteurized but not homogenized milk and milk and cream intended for butter, cheese, etc., was left unrefrigerated (but in a very clean dairy room) to "clabber" or culture, which developed a "cheesy" smell that was not the soured smell of spoiled dairy. Clotted cream is made by gently heating cream over very low heat for and extended period, until it develops a "crust" on the top and is very thick. I recently used Trader Joe's heavy cream (in the plastic pint bottles) 20 days after the "sell-by" date and it was perfectly good. Trust your nose.

I really don't have a problem with fruit pies or double crust pies but I do use pie shields to keep the edges from browning too much. After I have transferred the dough to the pan I press the dough in the bottom of the pan so it is actually thinner than the sides. However, when I prepare custard pies or pumpkin custard pies, I sprinkle granulated sugar on the bottom of the pie dough (I dock it before I transfer it to the pie plate as I have a roller-type docker) and then I carmelize it with a torch. When I first learned to bake pies, almost sixty years ago, this was how I learned, only the sugar was carmelized with a hand-held salamander - the kind that was stuck right in the stove to heat until it was glowing (wood/coal range), later it was heated over a gas burner but the principle is the same. The burnt sugar forms a hard shell that keeps the liquid custard from soaking into the dough.

There have been a great number of studies published regarding aspartame. aspartame Note that all of these: listed in Wikipedia "aspartame controversy" were published after my experience. Note that I am also allergic to alcohol - however my reaction to alcohol is anaphylaxis with edema of the larynx and respiratory distress. In the late 1950s I was a medical lab technician, working in histology and was exposed to formaldehyde and developed symptoms consistent with exposure to the substance. (In those days there was little or no notice about avoiding exposure to chemicals - carbon tetracholoride was sold in many places for cleaning electronic parts.) Perhaps I became sensitive to these chemicals but did not have a significant exposure until the 1980s. In the gut, aspartame breaks down into methanol and then converted to formaldehyde which is the same process that happens to all sugar alcohols. However, some researchers have found evidence that there is a threshold level in some individuals that allows the levels to build up. There are individuals who cannot tolerate certain substances because their bodies do not produce the enzymes or hormones that allow them to metabolize and/or excrete the excess chemicals. Individuals with gout build up concentrations of uric acid crystals in the joints. Obviously, Type I diabetics do not produce insulin and can't convert sugars. 40% of aspartame breaks down into aspartic acid and significant levels of this can affect how nerves work - the cardiac episodes I experienced were a result of the "misfiring" of the nerves that control heart rhythm so that the vertricles move the blood in the correct order. Something caused it and at that time, the sophisticated equipment that could pinpoint the trigger was not yet available. It is now, but I am not willing to go through a terrifying experience to test it. I am 20 years older and my overall health is not as good as then. I think that some of the claims about aspartame are idiotic - there are many websites that attribute some bizarre conditions (such as "chronic fatigue syndrome" and "fibromyalgia") to aspartame, some of which I think are totally bogus. There is a Dr. Mercola who believes and preaches that all artificial sweeteners are downright dangerous - except for the "natural" sweeteners that he markets - containing stevia, which has its own problems. - However, I often wonder how many people are walking around with pacemakers because they may have the same sensitivity that I have. I have met and corresponded with five other people who had similar experiences, not quite as severe as mine, but one 23-year-old, very athletic woman, stopped drinking 6 cans of diet caffeine-fee Pepsi daily and the palpitations she had been experiencing for three or four years stopped. The stuff is in so many things that it is difficult to know just how much one is consuming on a daily basis. It might be fine if it is just taken in tea or coffee or soft drinks, a couple of times a day. However, if it is in cereal, yogurt, juices, jello, puddings, salad dressings, sweets, baked goods, etc., etc., etc., the total amount consumed can be overwhelming. Diabetics have to keep a record of everything they consume that contains sugar or that converts to sugar and it is often difficult for some people to comprehend that what may look like a healthy snack can push one over the limit. As far as sensitivity to carrot juice - anything in excess can cause problems. I worked for an orthopedic surgeon for many, many years. We saw children with rickets, not from lack of vitamins but from too much, which caused softening of the long bones in the legs. Mothers believed that if a little was good, more would be even better. A huge mistake. Carotenosis is a benign condition that happens when someone consumes too much beta carotein, for instance, drinking huge amounts of carrot juice so the skin turns orange. Massive doses over a long period can cause the accumulation of Vitamin A and that can cause severe problems. Anything in excess can be dangerous and/or deadly and often it is related to body mass. What is safe for an adult may not be safe for a child.

When Coca Cola was first introduced with aspartame or Nutrasweet, I took to it because I couldn't use saccarine and sodium cyclamate had been taken off the market. I think this was in the latter half of 1983 and I had no problems for a couple of years. In the meantime, many other products had begun using aspartame, flavored yogurts, puddings, and several soft drinks. Even the high fiber cereal Fiber One included aspartame. In early December 1985 I began having mild episodes of cardiac arrhythmia which increased in duration and occurrence and I consulted a cardiologist. He ordered a bunch of tests and put me on a very restricted diet, no caffeine or other stimulants for a month and then he would have some more tests done. None of the tests showed any problem - I went along for six or seven months and had several treadmill tests. I remained on the restricted diet avoiding anything containing caffeine and other stimulants, no soft drinks, juices and water only. During all that time I had two or three very mild episodes, nothing frightening, usually in the mornings, an hour or so after breakfast. I was at the office on 9/23/86, had a bran muffin (homemade) for mid-morning snack and drank a diet 7-Up with my lunch. Thirty minutes later I was in the ER in the hospital next door with tachycardia and arrhythmia, short of breath, dizzy and unable to stand or even sit. After the cardiologist arrived and I was more or less stable, he questioned me about any medications I may have taken (suspicious of ephedra intoxication -which was still legal at the time) but I had not taken any meds, the only thing different was the diet 7-Up and I specifically asked if it was possible the aspartame might be the culprit but he thought not. I was discharged after a couple of days and being stable for 36 hours. On my own, I began checking every food item and noticed that the flavored yogurt I usually had for breakfast contained aspartame. I cut that out and also stopped using the Fiber One in my bran muffins. Again, the cardiologist wanted to do multiple tests over a period of several months and I dutifully went along with them and he even mentioned the possibility of a pacemaker. After several months of having fairly normal results, I again brought up the possibility of aspartame causing the problem and showed the doctor my journal, in which I had kept careful records of my intake. Certainly caffeine was not a problem because I had resumed drinking tea but used sugar only. Finally the cardiologist agreed to test me rather than rely on medical literature and I was started on a treadmill test. I did twelve minutes with no difficulty and was then give a very small amount of aspartame in water and continued on the treadmill. Less than a minute later I felt the first "blip" and subsequently a few little skips and runs. The treadmill was stopped and I was given water and they continued to monitor my EKG for a couple of hours. He finally agreed with me that my symptoms were probably caused by aspartame. Subsequently I have had annual physicals, treadmill tests, etc., no further problems with rapid or irregular heartbeat and it is now twenty years since I consumed anything containing aspartame. I read the label on everything and won't consume anything unless I know what it contains. No double-blind studies were done to prove all this but I am convinced that with the proliferation of aspartame in so many food items, the concentration reached a threshold that affected my heart. I have often wondered, when I see a news report about an otherwise healthy individual suffering ventricular tachycardia, sometimes fatal, if this might have been the cause and was overlooked because the link has not been noted.

I am having difficulty finding the words to express the sense of loss. Linda and I exchanged many messages about odd and unusual kitchen gadgets. She had a great deal of knowlege and a great sense of fun - and she did love that SS mushroom-shaped garlic basher. My fondest memories............ of fifi. She will be missed but leaves behind volumes of helpful hints, practical advice and some terrific recipes. (my favorites: Coconut glazed chicken and the oven-fried eggplant.)

I have one friend who swears that the only way she will eat the extremely hot Indian food prepared by her husband, is if she can have a lassi (mango, or other flavor, sweet and/or salty) with it. He is Punjabi but was born and raised here and the food prepared at home was not that extreme (no searing hot chiles) but then he went to college in Texas and "discovered" Tex-Mex food, the spicier the better. My friend and he met and married while she was still in college and they lived with one of his aunts who taught him to cook non-vegetarian Indian foods. (My friend has never been interested in any type of cooking....) She has told me that when she gets home from work and finds her husband is preparing one of his "spcialties" - which this Texas gal says (in her broad Texas drawl) are "hot enough to raise a blood blister on a rawhide boot," she immediately starts preparing a lassi - she says they always have mango on hand, either fresh fruit or frozen as well as canned pulp. She also makes them with cucumber or with melon, but says the mango is best to counteract the burning in the mouth and throat as well as the stomach and etc. She also adds tumeric and other spices.

Look at the listings on this site. Rotis Lowe's and Home Depot have barbecues with electric rotisseries. and Spitjacks can be mounted over all types of barbecues, not just in fireplaces. spits, elec and battery operated

Scientific explanation Here!

I use yogurt with granulated sugar. I always wear gloves because I handle some very hot peppers - habanero, scotch bonnet, etc., but sometimes I get a nick in the gloves and a few weeks back some of the stuff got through the gloves right at the base of my right index, middle and ring fingers, in the webbing. Extreme burning. After removing the gloves, I plopped a scoop of yogurt (I happened to have a container of Trader Joe's Greek-type, whole milk yogurt on hand) into my right palm and added a heaping tablespoon of granulated sugar and massaged that into the burning area, leaving it slathered on the area, with a couple of paper towels wrapped around the hand, for about half an hour. It reduced the burning by 90% - I rinsed that application off and washed my hands with soap and applied a thin layer of plain yogurt, put on new gloves (doubled) and continued with my task. My Mexican neighbors tell people who get a bite of something too hot while in a restaurant to open a sugar packet right into the mouth and do NOT drink a lot of water. Hold the sugar in the mouth until it dissolves, a second packet may be needed but it will help quicker than anything else.

I used to use Rumfords when I was doing a lot of baking and could get it in the giant tin. However, when I cut back on my baking I began buying Featherweight, which produces great rise and very tender biscuits, scones, muffins, quick breads, pancakes, waffles, etc. The ingredients are: Monocalcium phosphate, potato starch, potassium bicarbonate. Importantly, it is wheat and corn-free, and there is no sodium, a major factor in many diets for people who have problems. Featherweight baking powder It is also slower acting than other baking powders. I don't know about freezing the prepared dough, but I make large batches of the dry ingredients for plain scones, with the fat cut in (using the food processor) and stored in a container in the fridge or the freezer. When I am ready to bake, I just loosen the mix (I have one of the narrow gardening "claws" - red handle, white tines that I bought just for use in the kitchen) measure out the amount of the mixture I need (one has to figure this out ahead of time and keep a chart taped on the container) add any extras, such as fruit or nuts, then the liquid. I usually use 2/3 the liquid and mix the batch because the amount of liquid can vary, depending on the weather, the altitude, etc., because in higher humidity it often requires less liquid. If it feels too dry I add a little and mix a bit. I work the dough as little as possible to keep the result tender, just till it holds together and there are few loose, dry crumbs in the bottom of the bowl. I do not roll and cut the scones. I use a disher - various sizes - depends on what serving size I want. drop the measured amounts onto a sheet pan. If left like this one has a sort of haystack-looking scone, which I do not care for. Some people may like them this way but I prefer to do this: Wearing a latex glove, I dip my hands into ice water and flatten the domed top of the scones so they are evenly a little more than an inch thick. Sometimes I dust them with a shake of sugar - sometimes using the colored sugars, or ?? I think they look nice, bake more evenly and don't have a doughy center. But that is just my opinion. I have been served scones with that "natural" haystack look that were heavy, doughy in the center, tough and crumbly, more like cake than a proper scone. (Of course these have usually been at places that also have "high" tea listed on their menus!)

What's wrong with using commercial pectin? I am simply curious because I have never considered it to be expensive. Because I am a diabetic and am now using no sugar in the preserves I prepare, I have switched to Pomona's Pectin - It is fairly expensive - I buy it in bulk as it is cheaper than in the 1 oz packages. It takes the guesswork out and the results are consistent every time. It is the action of the acid/sugar/pectin that allows for jelling, this adding lemon juice to the fruit - most commercial pectins specify the amount recipes that use all fruit do also. Cooking apples and crabapples have the highest pectin content of the apple group. As noted currants are high in pectin. Quinces have much more pectin and many of the oldest marmalade recipes included quinces - in fact, the name marmalade comes from marmelo, the Portugese name for the "honey apple"..... The advantage to using a commercial pectin (particularly with jellies) is that you can cook the fruit completely then strain out the solids. After you return the liquid to the pot you add the sugar and cook it further, then add the lemon juice and the pectin. start testing the jelling effect as soon as the jelly begins to boil and keep testing at intervals so you don't cook it too long because that will destroy the pectin. This may be helpful too.

And, nothing is better for hulling the larger strawberries - it removes the central "pithy" bit along with the stem and leaves. Not to mention the stem and blossom end of apples, pears, making it easier and neater to insert the core cutter. I have an extra-small one I use for making butter balls for fancy brunches - people are always so impressed by this.

Freezing is fine, drain the garlic cloves well and blot them dry with paper towels and use a canning funnel to put them into the vacuum bag. If you get any oil at all onto the surface that is going to be fused, the seal will not hold. Again. Once you have roasted the garlic cloves in the oil so the oil reaches at least 250 degrees Fahrenheit and remains at that temperature for at least 15 minutes, the spores are killed and the toxins are destroyed. UNLESS you introduce additional raw garlic to the oil, there will be NO spores and NO toxins. I use one of the thermometers that has a wire cable and the sensor point on the cable is 3/4 to 1 inch from the tip. I make sure this section is deep in the oil. I set the control to sound when the temperature of the oil reaches 250 degrees. When I hear the signal, I set the timer for 15 minutes. When that sounds, I know that all of the spores have been killed and any toxins present have been destroyed. I have been using this method for 40+ years and I use a lot of roasted garlic in oil. Never had a problem. And the only reason to add acid is to keep the spores from producing toxin - acid does not kill the spores - it also turns garlic blue, especially when it is chilled. The link I attached to one of my earlier posts is very specific.

They are almost always somewhat porous. You must "season" it first by grinding dry rice on it, repeating this several times so the softer grit on the surface is knocked off. It does take a while. I also use very coarse salt, mixed with the rice, not a lot. As I recall, I used over a pound of rice on the last one I bought. I just buy the cheap bulk rice at the Mexican supermarket, it is very dry and hard.

I recommend this recipe: Best Waffle recipe virtually foolproof for starting out.

You should not use a brass vessel of any kind for cooking foods containing acid. Sugar does not react with brass or copper. Also, you can't put a brass vessel on a burner that is appropriate for wok cooking. It will simply get too hot. The melting point of brass is less than that of copper. Copper melts at close to 2000 degrees. Brass melts at 1600-1700 degrees, Fahrenheit. This can vary, depending on the alloy components. Zinc melts at close to 800. Tin melts at 450. I used to have a very heavy unlined copper reduction pan with bronze handles for sugar/syrup. I put it on a burner (empty) to heat it and was distrated by something and when I returned to the stove I donned a heat-proof glove and took hold of the brass handle - when I tried to lift the pot the bronze handle bent and the rivets simply stretched and broke, leaving the pot on the burner. I turned the burner off - the pot was okay but I was also able to pull the helper handle off. I still have the pot but now it has cast iron handles.

For those who might have a fascination with the "vintage" Sunbeam mixmasters, this might be interesting,

Cornbread, all kinds of cupcake and muffin recipes work just fine. Fill them so they rise well above the top edge, while they are still in the pan, cut the tops off evenly with a long knife and turn out onto a cooling rack. I use a rounded soup spoon to cut a hollow in two, fill with your preferred filling and stick them together. I cook raspberry jam (seedless) down until it is like glue when cold and fill dark chocolate or cocoa muffins, with a raspberry mousse. If you want, you can ice(frost) them and roll them in macaroon or shredded coconut to make snowballs. Spice cake muffins filled with thick apple butter are delicious. You can also pack shredded potatoes into a hot gem pan and if you have a second one, have it heated also and fit it (after spraying with vegetable oil) and press onto the potatoes. In preheated irons, these cook in 12 to 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Now, if you want really high heat - - - - Consider an electric glass furnace or a glass kiln - kiln is more compact. Paragon glass equip. There is a tradition in certain glass-blowing studios to cook a special occasion dinner in the glass furnaces. Kingdom of Crystal, Sweden Kosta Boda, etc. Scroll down a bit more than half way to see the reference. You don't want a gas furnace because the only way to crank up the temp to where it will melt glass is to force oxygen into the mix. This is not for amateurs.

If you have a bunch of squeezed lemons, pare off just the colored part, grind it in a spice grinder (which is much quicker than using a grater, even a microplane) and add it to simple syrup and simmer gently (do not let it boil!) until the liquid has reduced by 1/3 or you have 2/3 the amount you began with. Jar it up, allow it to cool and store in the fridge. This is great in quick breads, in glazes for cakes, in marinades, salad dressings and over ice cream. Or, remove all the interior pulp, if the rind is extra thick, remove some of the white part - scrape it with a rounded spoon tip or a melon-baller. Cut into strips and candy it. You can do it in the microwave. First it has to be boiled in three changes of plain water, then added to simple syrup and processed in the microwave until candied. My method in RecipeGullet

If you have a good recipe for scalloped potatoes, substitute kohlrabi and top it with buttered toasted bread crumbs and a little grated asiago cheese - not too much, you don't want to overpower it.

A lot depends on the type and size burner you have on your stovetop. Unless you have a larger and stronger burner, it is difficult to get good browning on anything. A cast iron pan works just fine with smaller batches (2 cups or less sliced onions). High sides on a sauté pan means you get steaming rather than browning - the onions will cook to mush without ever browning if they are crowded into a pan with high sides.. For large batches I have found that I get the best results with this pan: A Calphalon 14 inch sauté pan that is 2 3/4 inches deep. All my copper saute pans are deeper, the fry pans are not wide enough, for my preference. This one is wide enough to spread the onions out so they don't steam and are easy to turn with a broad spatula. It is not non-stick! The only time I use my copper sauté/brazier, is when I am going to start the onions on the stovetop and finish in the oven, because it has two loop handles instead of a long handle. They have to be stirred occasionally but the oven keeps them from steaming and they brown nicely.

Another Hobart on eBay. A 12-Qt that looks to be in pretty good condition, compared to others I have seen which came out of commerical use and were very beat up. Even the Buy-It-Now price is very reasonable. It's in the Denver area so freight costs to the Atlantic states will be a bit stiff, but not bad if one is closer. The best way to use one of these is with it bolted to a cart or heavy cabinet at a lower height than a regular counter. The old 10-qt I had was bolted to a butcher-block topped cart that was 30" tall (after I removed the wheels).12-Quart Hobart on ebay

The irrigation canals in California are not Federally built or maintained. They are built and managed by the Department of Water Resources Some (but not all) of the levees along natural rivers and around the Sacramento delta, were constructed and are maintained (poorly) by the Federal Army Corps of Engineers and there have been several failures, causing floods in the Modesto area especially. Other than the collapse of the Baldwin Hills dam in 1963 (constructed prior to the 1956 advent of the State Water Resources Board, and the crack in the lower Van Norman dam in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, there have been no significant problems with the State Water Projects built after 1939. The California aqueduct system moves a lot of water over huge distances and delivers it to what is essentially a desert. California state water project Of course, the most famous water project in California is the Mullholland-designed Los Angeles Aqueduct owned by the City of Los Angeles, the first completed in 1913 and its twin completed in 1970. The original project is by far the major reason the area was able to be developed and the farms and groves of the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, Pomona, etc., were producing and exporting produce to the rest of the country by the early 1920s, 95% by rail. Incidentally, the Antelope Valley now has several wineries and are offering tours. Unlike the coastal range vineyards, this area is at higher altitude and has distinct seasons, with hard freezes (lowest was 7 degrees F this past January) and according to one vintner who was interviewed on the news last week, certain grapes that produce better after a period of winter dormancy, are doing very well here. I don't drink alcohol so I can't comment on taste. These are totally dependent on the California Aqueduct.