andiesenji

I am also a big licorice fan. There is an American cultivar but my great-grandmother who was an amateur herbalist, brought seeds with her from England and gave strict instructions on how to plant, cultivate and harvest it, then process the roots for the extract which was used for medicinal purposes, as well as for candies. We had hard candies and a sort of taffy that was flavored with the home made extract. I have never met a licorice candy I didn't like. Every time I see one that is new to me, I have to buy some. It is wonderful stuff. I remember that ice cream too. Does anyone remember a licorice soda that was made for a brief time in the 60s. How about the chewing gum?

They generally make better toast and they last a lot longer. That's about it really. ← I bought my old Dualit 4-slice toaster with two sandwich cages in 1979 (when few people in the US had ever seen one) and it has worked beautifully for 26 years. I paid 155.00 for it so if you pro-rate it, it has cost me less than $6.00 a year. In a discussion with a couple of friends, one had bought a new toaster about every 5 years, paying an average of 35.00 so they actually paid more than I did. (Their prices ranged from 20.00 to 69.00.) This is similar to my old Russell Hobbs electric tea kettle for which I paid $55.00 in 1975. That was a lot of money because at the time the Sunbeam, which did not have an automatic shut-off switch and could boil dry, was 19.95. The automatic shut-off was the thing that did it for me. I consider it a bargain. I want a toaster that will toast evenly and reliably every time and can toast a wide range of items without a lot of fiddling. I am rather picky about how my toast, bagels and English muffins are toasted and I don't mind paying for a toaster that does what I want and as I mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted one of the long slot toasters. There aren't that many on offer right now. As regards collectible toasters, I have bought new toasters and never used them. In this photo, you can see a toaster that has a picture of a springbok on it. That was a limited edition toaster, sold only for a brief period. I purchased it new and never used it and I still have the original box. The value on a piece such as this is far greater if it is unused.

Ah, but you are not a collector. Would you like to guess how much I have paid for a toaster? scroll to the bottom of this page. click on 1920/1940 and scroll to the bottom of that page. I have both of the bottom two. here is the art deco one: And this is the new one.

Toliver, we must have posted at the same time. I posted a photo of mine. I really don't use this as much as I use the one made by Profifat skimming ladle that has slots around the circumference a little more than 1/4 inch below the top edge. I also have one of the Catamount glass separators that holds a quart of liquid. It is sometimes easier to use it, just ladle all of the liquid on the top of the pot into it and let the fat rise to the top.

This is the one I have: Actually one of the ones I have

Mine has a lable on one side of the handle that says Heartwatch fat skimmer. I am sure it is the one you describe. The top of the bowl has slots all around - sort of looks like the top of a castle wall with crenallations, and it has feet so it stands on a flat surface. I did a Google search and can't find any reference to it. I haven't checked on ebay yet. I'll take a photo as soon as I get the basenji puppy photos I took this weekend into the computer.

Here is an older topic. I still love the Russell Hobbs I bought on Trillium's recommendation. ← I looked at the Russell Hobbs - I have an ancient tea kettle I purchased in 1971 that still works. However they did not have one that toasted two oversized slices of bread at a time. I didn't want a 4-slice toaster where I would have to cut a slice of sourdough or sheepherder bread in half to fit into the toaster slot. There were several reviews that were critical of the RH toasters available at Amazon. I asked several friends who have the similar type, of various brands, from Cuisinart (displeased), Oster (okay, with reservations), KitchenAid, (not bad but overpriced), and a Villaware that got so hot on the outside that the plastic handles melted (major dissatisfaction). There are not as many of the long-slot toasters available now as there were 3 or 4 years ago. Hamilton Beach made one that works great, according to one friend, but I couldn't find one. West Bend also made one that works well but that also has gone by the wayside. As far as the sensor in the DeLonghi automatically lowering and raising the bread. I have my grandmother's 1947 Sunbeam that automatically lowers the bread and gently raises it when the toasting cycle has ended. It is still a great toaster and I could use it, but it doesn't toast a large slice of bread without cutting it. It has a little mechanical thing that the weight of the bread slice pushes down to contact the control that lowers the carriage. It is a very simple and elegant solution that works without complicated circuitry. I could also use my old GE Automatic Toaster Oven that pops open when the toasting cycle is finished, however it only does one slice at a time or two regular slices - I want to toast 2 large slices or 4 regular slices. So far, everything I have put into the Dualit has come out exactly the way I want it. And I am rather picky.

You might consider just buying one. You might find that you use it enough to make the cost worth while. My notes are for regular white bread and whole wheat bread. Dense rye and pumpernickle do not rise as much so you will have to adjust the amount of your dough accordingly. When experimenting, I would place a loosely wadded piece of aluminum foil at one end which would compress as the dough expanded but still allow the dough to fill the pan to the top. That end of the loaf would be deformed but I just cut off the odd stuff. I have several and usually use the 4 x 4 x 16 which takes 2 1/2 pounds of dough for a 2 pound loaf finished. You get a denser, very fine crumb. Some vendors sell these for as much as 56.00 but you can find them for less.Pullman loaf pan this one is 4x4x13 and takes 1 3/4 pounds of dough and do use a scale for the dough after punching down and before shaping, i.e. flattening and rolling into a cylinder slightly longer than the pan and tucking the ends under. at The Bakers Catalog This vendor sells the top separately so do your addition. pullman pan I have this Hinged bread pan that makes a perfectly round loaf and it is wonderful for pumpernickle.

A few months back I retired my old Dualit and bought a new DeLonghi toaster, this model because of the unusual design/shape. Considering the cost, this thing is a disaster. Toasting is uneven, with a wide slice of sourdough, it burned at one end, was untoasted at the other. Trying to toast 4 slices is impossible as the two at one end were scorched and the others were untoasted. The "carriage" would not lower when the button was pushed - one had to remove and replace the items multiple times before the sensor would allow the carriage to lower with the push of the button. Forget anything like frozen waffles or French toast or English muffins. And it produced acrid smells, even after several uses. I wrote a stern letter to the company and a complaint to the vendor (I did not buy it at Amazon). I am going to keep it for my collection, because of the shape and design. So I bought this Dualit 4-slice Lite, Soft touch toaster In the red, as shown. It works beautifully. Toasting is even from one end to the other on the #4 heat setting (goes from 1 to 8). It has a bagel setting so that only the cut side of the bagel is toasted. (works for English muffins too). It toasts frozen waffles in one go on #8, rather than needing two cycles. The lever that pushed the rack down, also has extra lifting range so very small slices of bread, or 1/2 of a split bagel can be reached without touching the insides. I am very pleased with this toaster. I wanted one with longer slots so I can toast a full slice of sourdough or sheepherder bread without cutting it in half. The slots also hold the two halves of an 8-inch round, home-made waffle (frozen).

I really think this thing was designed as a joke. When I first saw it on a web site, there were a couple of other items with similar themes. Here is an interesting knife block dishwasher safe!!

Two or three years ago there was something in the news here about a company that was trying to market vending machines for packaged sushi. Blech! Not that I consume much sushi anyway - no seafood for me. But it just sounded like too many things could go wrong.

That's what they called them in western Kentucky where I grew up. Some of the kids with whom I went to school would have them in their lunch box - back then there was a key stuck on one end and a tab on the side of the can which fit into the key, which was then wound around the can to get the top off. Very sharp edges but I never recall anyone getting cut. Of course today that would be considered too "dangerous" for a child to handle and forbidden in school. (Along with pocket knives and all the other stuff my boy cousins used to carry in their pockets. I think I tried one of the sausages once but didn't care for it because it didn't taste like the home-made sausages I liked. The "potted meat" that came in similar cans was also pretty horrible.

For those that may be interested in the Christmas designs PCD Cooking Enthusiasts Has the tree-ring and the wreathe Bundt pans on clearance for 19.99 each (instead of 34.99). I haven't gone through all the clearance items but I did get a separate email with a notice that all their Emile Henry bakeware was on sale.

Try the Savory Thin Mini Crackers - these are usually in an isolated section that holds nothing but crackers and croutons. In my local store it is at the end of the cheese sections (makes sense to have things next to each other that you serve together and I wish more stores did this) I often stop just to pick up cheeses and the crackers to accompany them. Not having to trek from one end of the store to another to buy these items is a big plus for me! And if you haven't tried the Kettle black pepper potato chips - they are in what looks like a brown paper bag - do try them. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't like them, however it may be a California thing.

Have you check the GI of Arrowroot? I use it in many things, from savory sauces to desserts. I also use Guar gum, Xanthene gum (especially for baking gluten-free breads and etc.) I haven't tried the Konjac flour yet. However I did have some Locust bean powder that was available at the local health food store for a while and it worked very well. Arrowroot is very good when you have to thicken something with a high acid content because it doesn't break down in stuff that contains tomatoes. However you don't want to use it in anything that contains casein, such as milk, cream, etc. Which is why you want to use a variety of thickening agents. I have a small jar of kudzu root powder which I used once, with good results. I recently got a little bag of lotus root flour at the middle eastern market - it is marked Gluten-free. at the same time I got something called SAHLAB, and I am not sure what it is made from, the writing is in Arabic, but it was in the display with the other thickeners and I was told it was a thickener - I have yet to look in one of my cookbooks to see how it is used. I just checked in the cabinet and I also have a can of Sago startch - from the Phillipine market - it says made from Sago Palm - For pudding, for meat sauce, for fish sauce, for dip sauce, for make candy. Betancourt Brand, Product of Philipines. I haven't tried it yet either.

Well, for those who were looking for this unusual knife block Overstock.com has just listed it for $79.00 Quite a drop from the original 160.00. Also, for those who look for red utensils and etc for their kitchens, Overstock has several - a set of KitchenAid cookware, and also the cutlery set. The JennAir Attrezi mixer and this nifty 50s style trash can known back in the day as a "step-on" can.

If anyone is interested in the DeLonghi with rotissiere, Overstock.com just listed them at $149.00 DeLonghi 1.1 cubic foot capacity

Harney & Sons offers samples. Their teas are excellent and of the highest quality. The selections can give you great examples of the world's finest teas at a reasonable price. Adagio offers samples and the little tins in which the samples are packed are a nifty bonus. The other items combined with samples are all excellent buys. Special Teas offers some fine sample packages that allows you to compare the different teas from a particular region. For one who is learning about tea or teas new to them, these are a bargain. Golden Moon Offers small sample packages of three teas each but with the addition of a free full tin of another type of tea. It is an excellent bargain if one of their teas is familar to you or is one of your regular teas. The Rose, Vanilla Jasmine and the White Persian Melon are awesome flavored teas. The latter is a white tea. I also keep the Honey Pear on hand - it is a black tea and iced is exquisite and hot is wonderful with desserts.

I gave a tagine to my daughter, along with Paula's book, a couple of months ago and she has been using it far more often than I expected. She says the children love the things she has prepared and keep asking for more. I have all kinds of cooking vessels and if your space is limited then use a regular Dutch oven, but if you can, do try using a tagine. There are certain things that do turn out better cooked in a tagine than in any other vessel.

There have been some negative things said about Splenda, questions answered here. but trying to find someone who actually has had a problem is not easy. There are web sites, who try to sell subscriptions, that purport to tell "the truth" about it but they have a vested interest in getting money for their information. Consider the banning of sodium cyclamate and the "studies" that took it off the market years ago that were later proved to be manipulated to show erroneous findings. When you review the studies on animals that show the problems associated with sucralose, note the amounts fed, which would equate to a human consuming a minimum of 10 ounces daily for 2 years. The stuff is so light that 10 ounces is an enormous volume. Dr. O'Neill, who takes care of me for diabetes, is also a toxicologist and he has read just about everything related to this subject and if he says Splenda is okay for me, I take his word. Butter is great. I never stopped using it and would use it in everything for my own consumption. However, I do have vegan friends who do not want to consume ANY products derived from animals and I respect their wishes, just as I do my Jewish and Muslim friends who do not wish to consume foods that are not kosher or halal. There are suitable substitutes and it is not just the fat in a recipe that may make a cake, a quick bread or pie pastry less palatable. I have a recipe for a chocolate cake that is made with oil - I use avocado oil or canola oil or other neutral oil and substitute almond or rice milk with a little lemon juice for the buttermilk. The recipe is chocolate cake made with oil however I make a different frosting with almond milk, powdered sugar and cocoa, rather than the cream. I'm not at home this weekend so I don't have my exact conversion handy but it isn't difficult to translate and there are quite a few excellent cake recipes made with oil. I got a recipe for lemon cake off one of the avocado sites that uses avocado oil and is delicious.

That's interesting. How does it taste? Is it widely available? Amazon is selling it for like $7.50 a pound. Is that typical? ← This is the one that I use. coconut oil I posted a photo of the jar in another thread. At room temp I scrape it out of the jar with a broad-tipped spoon. It has a faint coconut flavor but I have never noticed it transferring to bread - I use it in scones but chill it prior to cutting into the dry ingredients, exacly as I do butter.

coconut oil is solid at room temperature. I use it in baking for vegans. It behaves like butter in most recipes. There is also a fruit product that is a fat and egg substitute, made expressly for baking. here is one link, you can google many others. Fruit based fat substitute.

I heard about the Oreck on a local cable channel (Antelope Valley) when a chef from a local restaurant was using one to mix quick bread batter, mashing chunks of bananas into the batter with the mixer. I have arthritis in my hands and the regular type put too much stress on my wrist - he noted how easy this was to hold so I ordered one. I figured I could send it back if it didn't work. I have a couple of Oreck vacuums and we have one at the office and I know, from experience, that their guarantee is good. The wattage on this one is much lower than other hand-held mixers. I believe it is because of the way the power is transferred to the beaters.

I use my tagines on the stovetop on the copper plate you can see standing behind the tagine - it looks narrower but is the same width as the burner grate.

I'm with you on this. The stuff is awful.