andiesenji

I tried several of the cornstarch recipes and didn't like the pasty mouth feel. After discussing it with one of the people in my local health food store, actually in the restaurant in the store, who suggested I try guar gum, I found that it was much better. Also, it thickens without heating and doesn't "break".

I have tried many, many times - I make mayonnaise on a regular basis. The closest I ever got was when I added some of the "brine" from a jar of bread and butter pickles, carefully strained to remove all the seeds and bits. I mixed 1/4 teaspoon of guar gum into 1/4 cup of the (sweet/sour) pickle juice and whisked it briskly until it had thickened, then slowly drizzle it into a cup of mayonnaise while whisking. It was pretty close, so I added a smidge of Coleman's dry mustard and beat that in and it got a bit closer, but there was still something missing. I have saved the liquid from a jar of Peppadews, which is sweet/sour like the B&B pickle juice but also has a bit more "tang" from the peppadews. I am going to try this in a batch of mayonnaise to see if it is a bit more like MW that any of my previous experiments.

I too am a fan of Miracle Whip in certain applications. For instance, slathered on two pieces of homemade bread, sourdough if possible, between which are arranged slices of fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes and slices of sweet red onion (since the Bermuda has apparently gone the way of the Dodo). And, on occasion, when I get some really sweet iceberg lettuce (it's rare, but not all of it is tasteless) I will whip up a batch of "Russian" dressing. Waldorf salad is another application, however I mix it half and half with sour cream, homemade if I am feeling ambitious. Then there is the blue cheese (actually gorgonzola) and Miracle Whip veggie dip that cannot be duplicated with any other mixture - and I have tried many, many times.

I am also very fond of the Blue Agave. Their chile verde pork (AKA carnitas) is excellent. My best friends, with whom I stay during the Christmas holidays as well as several times during the year, live just up the road (on Avocado Avenue) and we go there often. Their sauces are individually suited to each type of food - they don't depend on an "all-purpose" type of seasoning that goes on everything.

I got mine specifically for bread because I wanted something smaller than the old commercial Hobart I had been using and which I could no longer lift (after a back injury) I have a KA that I use for other things. I tried the Bosch which was being touted by King Arthur flour at the time and it walked off the counter while kneading a large batch and cracked two of my floor tiles. I saw an article about the AEG (as it was then called in the US) in a magazine, may have been Sunset - and the writer said the capacity was greater than just the volume of the bowl seemed to be. Good enough for me. I bought one and I love it. I bake a lot of bread, not as much as I did, but still, more than most.

That is one of the reasons the Hampshire became so popular in Kentucky and southern Illinois. It was a hog that excelled at foraging and in fact, many of the wild boars have some Hampie characteristics such as erect ears and some also have white markings across their shoulders but of course have more hair. http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/swine/hampshire/index.htm The ones we had on the farm when I was a child were allowed to roam in an area that included wooded hills and in the fall were allowed into the orchards to clean up the windfall fruits and also into the pecan and walnut groves. They ate a lot of wild hickory nuts, wild berries and other plants and roots as well. However, they always knew when it was feeding time and would be lined up at the gate to get into the feed yard. I think my grandpa's farm was the first one in the area to have silos for storing chopped corn stalks, mixed with other plant material for supplemental feeding the hogs and cows. There were other swine breeds on the farm but my grandfather didn't want any crossbreeds so they were kept apart. He imported three spotted hogs from England in 1948 and had imported others in the 1930s that I think were large and middle whites. The spotted hogs were very large also. He got some Ozark hogs from a breeder in Arkansas about the time I started school, in 1944, and I recently learned, when I called one of my cousins who runs that part of the farm business, they are also called Mule-foot hogs because their hooves are solid instead of split. I remember it only because I got to go along in the truck pulling the horse van(trailer) and we detoured to the Army Air Corps base at Stuttgart to see one of my uncles who was a training officer. However before that the most exciting part for me was when the truck and trailer went onto a boat at Paducah and down the Ohio and then the Mississippi rivers. I had been on ferry boats back and forth across the Ohio to southern Illinois many times but had never seen the Mississippi. My cousins (actually the children of the cousins with whom I grew up) are really into studying the characteristics, do DNA testing, all of which would have astounded my grandpa but he would have taken to it because with any of the animals, he felt that keeping exact records was the only way to produce a better animal. Ours did a lot of winning at fairs..

I've had the AEG/Electrolux Assistant for several years and I love it. Because of the way the drive powers the bowl movement, it does more with 450 watts than other mixers do with much higher wattage. I particularly like the timer because I don't have to stand watching the machine while it runs. It handles even very dense doughs - I burnt out a KA mixer while kneading some struan dough - this mixer works it easily. I recommend this vendor Pleasant Hill grain. They include things in the base price that other vendors sell extra. Note their notice that the factory in Sweden is being retooled and they will not have any mixers to ship until late June and I know for a fact that they already have several pre-orders because one of my local friends just ordered one and was given the option of cancelling her order or buying something else. She has used mine as a tryout and wants it because of the greater capacity. I have a dough hook but rarely use it. I find the roller/scraper combination works dough more like hand kneading than other mixers and the dough, never, ever crawls up the beater, which used to annoy me no end with the KA. I have recommended them many times over the years and the people who have gotten them have mostly always been quite happy with them. The way they work is different from other mixers and sometimes one needs to adjust how one works with them but once you get used to it you find it has a lot of advantages. It is a lot easier to add ingredients with the machine running than with the KA. I make quite a bit of Italian meringue and I have yet to burn myself with hot syrup using this machine - it happened many times with the KA.

I have Type II diabetes, diagnosed a couple of years ago and usually in good control, except when I have an infection, the flu or am excessively fatigued. I take Avandia, which works well for me but I do watch my diet carefully. I have other problems that cause my electrolytes to go haywire and keeping everything in balance is tricky. I have some of the Pedialyte freezer pops in the freezer because they replace electrolytes as well as dextrose and fructose and in a form that is rapidly absorbed. I have a couple of bottles in my tote bag that goes everywhere with me (along with my backup Epipens). It doesn't require refrigeration until opened. We get samples at the office, however I have also printed out coupons from an online site which give a dollar off on a 4-bottle pack. It also tastes better than the diabetic stuff. I also can't exercise a lot because my joints are damaged by arthritis. However, I have discovered that I can exercise on a "glider-type" of machine, not an elliptical, and found one that works well. I have it in the den so I can watch TV while exercising. My blood glucose will drop after a certain level of exercise but never to the point that I am hypoglycemic.

I know they have them in Hungary because my housekeeper's mum has one. No garbage disposable though. The "edible" garbage is picked up every other day by a service that delivers it to hog farmers.

I always feel the honeydews also. I don't know about them feeling sticky, but to me if they have a suede-like feel and if the blossom end gives a bit with thumb pressure, they should be ripe. The orange-flesh honeydews are much sweeter than the regular ones and the really sweet ones have a sort of rusty look radiating out from the stem end. With watermelons, look for a deep yellow color in the area where the melon rests on the ground. If you find one that is yellow with tracks of tiny brown specks near the stem, (called bee kisses) that is another sign of a ripe, sweet melon. Cantaloup should not have any green on the skin and the webbing should be fairly rough. They should have a sort of perfume-like aroma at the stem end and the blossom end should give a bit when pressed with a thumb. With cassaba, which have a pointy blossom end, there should be slight wrinkling of the pointy bit.

My family, back in Kentucky, raise mostly Hampshire hogs and a few Herefords (they have white faces, like the cattle with the same name). Locally, I have friends who also have raised some Hampshires. Unlike the commercial pigs, which are mostly a cross of several breeds to get a leaner animal, the purebred Hampies pack on plently of fat and lard. The meat is well-marbled and very tender and not near as dense as market pork. Right away you notice the color of the meat is much redder than commercial pork. No "other white meat" on these hogs!

So far in the induction cooker I have cooked long grain Basmati, Suna Massouri, Jasmine, Calrose short grain, Lundberg mixed brown rice, Thai sweet rice, sticky purple rice and sticky black rice with sesame seeds (also black), baby potatoes, 7-grain cereal mix, steel cut oats, cracked wheat, buckwheat groats, white corn grits and barley. Everything has turned out nicely, including the sticy rices. The buckwheat did not get quite done enough the first time I tried it but I just added some more water and started the cooker again. The second time I used more water and it turned out perfect.

I'm with you. I have never cared for lamb. I will prepare it for others but have a lot of difficulty eating it and if it is "old" lamb, I simply can't put it into my mouth. On the other hand, I love kid and goat. Many people think that goat meat has to be "gamy" or stronger than lamb, but oddly enough, it is mild and almost sweet. If I were to compare the flavor to anything, it would be closer to elk, another meat that is mild and lacks gaminess. I like it much better than venison which is often pretty gamy. I don't like dougnuts and I also am not at all fond of cheesecake.

I didn't order any Kona, because I still have some from another vendor. However I am most impressed with the Dark Guatemalan. In addition to the individua sleeves ofl flavored pods(7) , I also ordered the regular pod sampler and am going to order the Sumatra dark roast and the Kenya French roast in the Mega pod boxes to take to the office.

Solutions catalog. Has the toaster bags These are different from the kind I found at the As Seen on TV store which didn't work so well. I ordered some to try. These have a higher temp resistance.

Here is an update on availability of pods for the Senseo. I have ordered several varietals and flavors from Baronet Coffee Their selection is staggering. I sent a couple of boxes to a friend to whom I gave a Senseo machine for Christmas '04. I am extremely pleased with these coffees. The flavored ones are quite strong. I use one flavored pod and one regular dark roast Senseo for a double cup. The chocolate raspberry is amazing!

Yes! And they are excellent. Mrs. Smith's bakery The recently added Cinnabon Apple Crumb Pie, as well as the Deep Dish Peach Pie and the No Sugar Added Apple Pie are also excellent. The seasonal pies, Hearty Pumpkin and Pumpkin Custard are also very good. I have been told the mince pies are also good, however I make my own mincemeat so have never tried Mrs. Smith's, so I can't say from personal experience how they are. The ladies who used to spend a couple of days prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas baking pies at the senior center here in town, to serve to the homeless and others who didn't have the resources for a holiday dinner, began relying on Mrs. Smiths pies which were donated through a local market. (I used to help make pies and it was a lot of work - we made about 200 total) I still volunteer my time, and help with the planning and we had a tasting session to decide on which pies would be best. The market and Mrs. Smith's jointly donated the pies.

I like to make a lot of things from scratch, however I love the frozen cheese blintzes sold at Smart & Final. I believe they are made by the same company that makes the Golden Blintzes line but come in a larger package. I think there are 18 in a box - I have 10 in a vacuum-sealed bag in the freezer. S&F carries only the plain cheese blintzes but I think there are other varieties. I prefer them baked in the oven, rather than fried. They are great for breakfast but also make a wonderful dessert, especially with fresh strawberries.

You can't compare TJs to Staples because they have never tried to destroy local markets, unlike the book giants, beginning with Crown, who moved into neighborhoods and undercut prices so much that local book stores couldn't compete. TJs carries stuff that other stores don't carry, from small producers who can't get shelf space in major markets. They have saved several small wineries from bankruptcy and also supported and backed a small producer of pasta who now has a respectable business. I happen to know these people and know how much they put into their business which would never have made it without TJs. You should talk to some of these small food producers before you knock TJs as simply being a "chain" because without them, a lot of people would be out of business and out of work. They are a world away from Whole Foods. I don't shop at Whole Foods because I do not like their predatory business plan.

I have used Plasti-Dip on the handles of tongs, whisks, metal spoons and ladles. A local meat cutter has several of his knife handles coated with it, mainly to make them easier to grip. Once the stuff cures, it is far more stable than paint, except for epoxy. It is used on food-grade container handles. You can check specs at this site.

I am rather shocked at some of the tirades against TJs. Granted, some of their offering may be mediocre but if you actually tried them and found them of poor quality, then you should inform the store manager. If you didn't try them, then don't comment. People like what is familiar to them. A friend who visited Manhattan for the first time last week and tiring of hotel/restaurant food after 5 days, was very happy to find a TJs where she could purchase some ready-to-eat items she could store in the room fridge and consume when she was ready to eat and not have to rely on finding something in an unfamiliar city after a meeting ended after 11 p.m. It is certainly fine for residents and fequent visitors to trumpet the worth of local shops and favorite merchants, but put yourself in the place of someone who is not a resident, not familiar with the neighborhood but IS familiar with TJs. It is like a friendly port in a storm, welcoming and reasonably priced. I believe most people in the city are friendly, however I have personally been treated rudely by merchants, shop clerks and people on the street during my few visits to New York. I was grossly short-changed at a neighborhood deli and would have been out more than $50.00, had not another customer come to my aid. The clerk, caught in what I considered outright theft, threw the rest of my change and the bag with my order on the floor. I wouldn't pick it up but asked for the manager who came around to the front, picked up the money and the bag and returned my $100.00 bill and asked me to leave, as if it was my fault. Thanks, but I will take TJs any day, over this kind of "service." Incidentally, three other customers who had been in line also left when I did. I had to walk a couple more blocks, but found another deli that had great service and probably better food. They also threw in some extras with the sandwiches, plus some meat scraps for the dogs, when I told them I was there for the Westminster show. They made a very good impression.

I bought mine after reading about Harold McGee's experiments with whipping eggwhites in copper.

On of the reasons I keep my old 5 qt. KA stand mixer is that I have a copper liner for one of the bowls. I bought it quite a few years ago specifically for beating large batches of egg whites for meringues (schaum torte) and I found that egg whites beaten in copper have greater volume, more uniform bubble size and do not deflate as easily as when beaten in other type vessels. For years I beat eggwhites for shaum torte by hand in copper bowls with a very fine "piano-wire" whisk for this reason (back in those days I had very strong arms). Mine is the 5-qt made by Atlas. Old Dutch also made a liner for the 4.5 qt mixer. You can sometimes find them on ebay. It looks like this.

Once I opened it, I couldn't put it down. Even knowing what came next, from various other writings, it was still enchanting to know all the little details that determined how she developed as a cook/chef/author and entertainer. I feel it is an intriguing portrait of a most remarkable person. What I find most interesting is that non-foodies are buying and reading it with great enjoyment. One of the women in my office (a non-cook, empty-fridge, person) remarked that she had no idea of the complexities of cooking as a profession, the time consumed in writing cookbooks or putting on a TV show.

First, check out the supplies at the San Francisco Baking Institute The bannetons are cheaper here than at any other place I have found. Plus they carry the linen liners if you have your own baskets, also inexpensive and other supplies for artisan bakers. You can find some remarks about using bannetons at the Bread-Bakers list - here is a sample Bread-baker's list If you decide you would like to subscribe to the Bread-Baker's list, which is run by Reggie and Jeff Dwork, (two extremely dedicated bakers) you can sign on at this site This is an email list and you get a daily digest of the posts (like the archived discussion in the previous link). I have a round pizza stone for my combination convection/microwave oven (Sharp) and I have a rectangular slab for my big oven which I use less often. I also have a half size sheet pan filled with split or half-thickness firebrick (I could have used quarry tile but this was available and handy). For the latter, I spread a handful of coarse cornmeal onto the peel, turn the shaped and proofed dough onto that which allows it to slide easinly onto the hot bricks. The direct heat causes the bottom of the loaf to harden rapidly and that and the cornmeal keeps it from sticking to the bricks, so I have had no problem with snagging on the edges. The coiled bannetons do leave a nice impression on the surface of the loaves. I generally slash mine in a cross on top or a square pattern around the top, after turning out onto the peel.