andiesenji

Has anyone mentioned fried pork rinds or chicharonies? I try to avoid them as once I start I can't stop. Pork rind resource on the web.

two of my tagines are very large and deeper than the others. I have prepared a meal for 6 to 8 in either of them. The main vegetable/chicken dish. Tagines.com Check the Slaoui 14 inch and the Rifi 13 inch. The Tangiers is 16 inches in diameter and I think it said somewhere (not on this site) that this size can prepare main dish for 10 diners. This is the 13 inch Rifi with chicken and vegetable main dish for 6.

I have several of the old Sunbeam mixmasters and the Hamilton Beach Convertible, which could be used on the stand or hand-held. They work great, but they are heavy. I also have burned out a few hand-helds, trying to work through stuff that was too stiff for the motor. A KA was the most recent to die while mixing cookie dough. A few months back I got one of the Oreck mixers and so far it has held up to anything I have done with it. Oreck mixer The design is different and it is very comfortable to use, no stress on my wrist at all. You can get it and try it, as they offer a 30 day free home trial and if you are at all familiar with the company, they stand behind their products.

I learned from experiences (AKA The "Hard" way) to make a shield for custard based things, cheesecakes, etc., in my small convection oven in which the fan cannot be turned off, otherwise one has ripples baked into the surface or the stuff will be blown over to one side of the pan. My big convection oven has a fan that can be turned off.

I wish I could eat chocolate, it alwasy smells so good....

I hope they have the Snap Pea Crisps in your store. They are absolutely wonderful. And the Savory Thin Mini Crackers, so crisp, so good, no sugar, fairly low sodium and 37 crackers are only 120 calories.

I am especially fond of Alford pinhead oats. In my opinion the flavor is better than McCann's. I use a bamboo rice paddle or scoop but often turn the entire batch out onto a platter or shallow bowl. Sometimes I spray the pan with Pam or similar (butter-flavor) spray if cooking brown or sticky rice. However I found that the pan sort of "seasoned" itself after a few uses. Just don't use metal utensils.Alford oats

But try it some time when you're sober! SB ← I am permanently sober, and I am at present consuming a dish of mixed pickles, home made by me, with 4 baby corn ears in the mix. I often add them to vegetable salads, and people always seem to eat them first. Come to think of it, when I used to do catering and had baby corn in the salad buffet setup, they were one of the items that needed replenshing often. However if you don't like them that just means there is more for those of us who do.

Another chip I love in their brown paper bag . I find the freshest at TJs.

BBQ potato chips are one of my passions also, however they have to be eaten with large curd cottage cheese. Only the large curd will do, the regular simply does not taste the same. I have to measure out portions and put the bag away, otherwise I go into a fugue state and keep eating until I am dipping the crumbs out of the bottom of the bag. (If the cottage cheese is a bit too dense for easy dipping, I add a little heavy cream which just compounds the sin.)

I don't think I have ever hidden food. Usually I am waving it around in front of other people trying to convince them to try it, if it is something new. I have been known to "disguise" something in the office fridge, but only so it will still be there when I want it. However the food thief who used to work here is no longer around so that really isn't necessary now.

But, but, I like baby corn, especially pickled.

Yogurt for me. I have some medication that has to be taken with food and I have found that yogurt is the easiest thing, not requiring any "fixin" or even a dish. Straight out of the container since I am the only one who eats it. And bread. I have to have at least one piece of bread each day. I count bagels, English muffins, crumpets and regular bread in this category. I don't count the sweet things such as muffins, sweet rolls, pancakes, waffles and etc.

Exactly! I have had enough problems with some of my "programmable" appliances. I use bread makers for mixing and kneading dough, but not for baking. I have several and most have worked quite well, ever since the first Zo I got in the 80s. However the one I bought most recently (Breadman Ultimate Dream) would keep resetting itself to the regular program at the two-minute mark after starting after I had carefull set the mixing and kneading "dough only" program and it would begin heating. I had the feeling that the machine had decided it was smarter than me..... Not in MY kitchen.. I was so furious I took the machine, still holding the dough, and its box and stuff, to the store where I had purchased it and insisted on showing them what it was doing wrong. It did the same thing and when the clerk (who was demonstrating the machine at the time I purchased it) tried to reset it, it wouldn't accept any input at all. It was unplugged and allowed to stand for a few minutes, then plugged in and the same thing happened. The clerk said she was ready to beat the thing with a club. She got another one out of a box, plugged it in and transferred the pan from the first one, along with its load of dough into the new one and set it for the dough setting. Not a problem, it worked exactly as it should and it has worked just fine each time. It has a larger capacity than the others, which is why I wanted it. I know the faulty one did not get cleaned up and resold to someone else. The clerk broke the hinges that hold the lid while I was still at the store.

Popular Science April issue has a brief blurb on this induction cooktop with "robot" cookware. Vita Craft I like induction ranges but I can't see the advantage of this. And what if my cell phone decided to change the temperature setting on my omelet pan... Potential problems.

Many people have taken a similar route, in fact two different people I know bought old houses and had kitchens designed around "vintage" appliances and utensils. One in particular loved the cream and green combination propular in the '20s and spent big $$$ on completely renovating a craftsman bungalow in Pasadena. I advise anyone contemplating tossing out old stuff to first take a look on ebay and see what similar items sell for. (Having bought a lot myself, I am familiar with this.)

I like RoTs teas, in fact my favorite tea of all brands is their Blackberry Sage. It has the perfect balance of flavors... for me. I drink a lot of tea (not as much as I used to because I finally found coffee that I like) but it is my major hot beverage. I buy from a number of purveyors, Chado, Harney's, Adagio, CapitalTea(Canada), Upton, Shan Shui, Todd & Holland. Plain teas, blends and "bespoke" teas, rare and "presentation" teas. Different types, depending on mood, weather, company, season or for a particular type of food.

The crowds outside the one in Palmdale on opening day were much larger and much rowdier. A friend who lives in the area near the one in Alexandria, VA, said they had to have police directing traffic the day that one opened. Things could have been worse..........

I bought the 6- section "classic" and had nothing but trouble with it. First I did exchange it but the replacement had the same problem, not baking evenly it was 1000 watts, apparently not enough for the size of the plates. I have the Belgian too, the 2 section and it works fine it is 1200 watts. The Villaware model I wanted was the "Maxi" which is 1500 watts or the "UNO" classic that is 1200 watts, but neither were available locally and when I ordered online I kept getting a backorder notice and I needed one immediately so found the B & D at Wal-Mart and it works fine. It is very possible that the 4 section classic Villaware has been improved and upgraded and now works quite well. However I just checked on Amazon and it doesn't get good reviews.

The one I use regularly is the Black and Decker this model which is the "Classic" Not Belgian. It can also be used as a sandwich grill or flat griddle. The plates reverse easily. I have had mine for about 4 years and it is easy to clean - I usually just use a nail brush after it has cooled, to sweep out any crusty bits. Do not buy the Villaware, it is not reliable, doesn't heat evenly. I bought one and returned it. I also have an old Sunbeam - the first of the non-stick generation of waffle irons which I use if I have guests. It is very heavy but does a nice job. I also have several antique and vintage waffle irons - I collect kitchen electics that are unusual, Art Deco, etc. They all have to be in working condition. I have had a lot of experience with waffle irons and the non-stick are the way to go.

The big Chemex filters, the ones that are 12 inches in diameter can be folded to fit either a tall, narrow chinoise or one of the wider and shallower ones. You can also get the very fine cheesecloth, also called butter muslin, which is much better than the gauze-type stuff. The filters for the milk strainer are made by Ken-Ag and the D-110 are 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Unlike coffee filters, they will quickly pass liquid proteins while retaining particles.

Cooked Way west The border between Mary Land and William Penn's land grant. Corn, preferably white dent, dried, hulled from the cob, coarsely ground.

These are the ones I use most. The big one is 10 inches in diameter at the top and has a perforated steel cone with 1/4 inch holes that snaps inside, so the mesh isn't damaged. I can't find the inner cone right now, it has apprently been put away separately and my housekeeper is away today so I can't ask. Someone asked upthread about the ones with the wires being difficult to clean. The wires are not tight against the mesh, the clearance varies from 1.8 inch to 5/8 inch at the bottom. I have never found this one difficult to clean. Sometimes I do take it out in the yard and use the high pressure hose nozzle, particularly if I have strained something that has teeny fibers, such as grated ginger or teeny seeds.

← I will never part with myheavy, maple, Westcott, Made in U.S.A. rulers. The numbers that are printed often don't show up well in photos so I added the larger numbers with a Sharpee. The brass ruling edge is very sharp, unlike the ones found in stores nowadays.

Don't feel bad, I got one as a gift from someone who should know better. My above remark about the "ergonomic" business, is because carpal tunnel syndrome was unheard of before some idiot decided people who do a lot of keyboard work should have the keyboard lowered...... note that this causes the wrist to be bent upward, stretching the tendons and nerves that run through the carpal tunnel. My boss, an orthopedic surgeon, says that people (mostly women) typed on standard and electric typewriters, some for 30 years or more, with the machine at desk height and never developed carpal tunnel syndrome because the wrist is straight in this position and there is no stress on the structures in the carpal tunnel. The "improvements" created a problem and it still exists today.