andiesenji

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.

Southern California doesn't have a distinct regional cuisine. However I don't know of any area that hasn't embraced and celebrated every new ethnic cuisine or culinary trend to come along. Just a few days ago, driving through Chatsworth (northwestern San Fernando Valley) I passed a strip mall with a sign that featured two restaurants: Sushi Ichi-Ban and Jose Antonio Peruvian Chinese restaurant. The latter sign startled me - it never occurred to me that there might be a Chinese sub-culture in Peru. However there was this write-up in the Daily News Also, when I mentioned seeing this restaurant sign to the folks at my office, one said that when she was on vacation in Peru, to visit Machu Picchu, the bus stopped in a village where everyone had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, however she said the foods were nothing like she had ever before eaten.

Baking soda needs an acid to balance or act with it as a levening agent. With regular milk you should use baking powder or at least something with acid such as tartaric acid better known as Cream of Tartar. Too much of one or the other will produce a bitter taste. Even adding a teaspoon or so of lemon juice or white vinegar to the milk will work okay.

I had forgotten about the milk strainer I used when my neighbor had goats and I was making quite a bit of cheese. It hold a good-sized batch of cheese curds for filtering the whey out, and also is good for draining big batches of yogurt. This is a big strainer that has a couple of mesh screens between which is placed a special filter, made for filtering milk and which rapidly passes the high protein liquid without clogging. I use two filters when straining the yogurt. I have used it for lobster/crab stock, which I usually cook in 12-quart stockpot and by the time it reduces, the 7-quart capacity of the filter is just right. It fits one of the taller and narrower Cambro containers. Lehman's usually carries it but has it on backorder now. It is relatively inexpensive compared to one of the very large chinois. milk strainer

Here is a set of three for 86.95. Cooking.com has two pages of chinois, strainers and colanders. Check page two for the Norpro set for 36.95. They are smaller which might be handier for people who do not cook big batches. Or, you can take at look at this extremely overpriced item however, it is an Alessi design and they do appreciate in value - but it takes a few years.

A wonderful blog, JAZ. Terrific collection of cookware - Blue Le Cruset, Elizabeth David's color. Your kitchen is cosy and efficient and you use it to perfection.

andi - one of my dearest friends still HAS and USES on a regular basis the "pickle server". last time i was up and we had sandwiches she pulled it out of the fridge. ← When something works well, there is no need to change the design. The pickle server does just what I expected it to do.

You are correct. I use them for specific things, the tea, as I mentioned earlier, concentrated espresso, etc.

Have you tried using it for curling ribbon? It looks like ribbon could be pulled over the blade. I bought one of the ribbon shredding thingies a few years ago but could never get it to work properly. Now I just plop gifts in the decorated bags and shove in some tissue paper and perhaps tie on a piece of garland tinsel stuff. I don't have as much patience as I once had.

That melba toast slicer has been used by me since the late 60s. Back then, there was Van De Camp's who sold a very popular very thin sliced white bread but otherwise it was impossible to find very thin sliced bread other than rye or pumpernickle. This little gadget got a lot of use and still does.

I have more than one because I sometimes have two or more things going at the same time and don't want to have to take time to carefully clean stuff out of it before being able to use it for something totally different. I have one that has a tall tripod stand so delicate things can drip through slowly, rather than being pushed through. I have a steel one with fine perforations and a conical wood "reamer" or whatever the heck it is called. I have one that is a shallow cone with triple mesh layers and one that is perforated steel with a mesh "liner" that snaps in for catching tiny seeds but does allow some of the finer pulp in fruit to work its way through. I also have some of the old-type Chemex filters, large circles of coffee filter material that can be folded into a cone shape and which fits into the two taller chinois for super-fine straining - I use these for straining the liquid from concentrated matcha that I use in green-tea icecream. I think that once you begin using a chinois, you will wonder why you ever hesitated, particularly if you make stocks and sauces. Fantes has several types If you need Chemex filters, this place has the best price I have been able to find for the 12 inch circles - Chemex filters. I can find the prefolded cheaper but not much luck finding the flats.

Okay, it is officially "afternoon" here on the left coast, so here is the answer. Melissa came pretty darn close. It is a melba toast slicer. Usually you have to have bread with a very dense crumb to slice thin enough for melba toast. This gadget allows slicing of tender, multi-grained-nut breads that are impossible to slice thin any other way. A demonstration: This is a multi-grained bread with chunks of nuts in it.

I have one of the "spaetzle dumpling" cutters too. The one with the wooden handle.

I have a bean slicer very similar to the Krisk and I have a very old hand cranked one that still works and a somewhat newer one that works very well and makes either the long strings or the shorter diagonal slices (depending on which blade assembly is attached). When my garden is producing heavily, I prepare beans with the Frencher for freezing and for canning.