andiesenji

You can use the rice in soup, just don't add any salt, just the other seasonings. I often use it for "Spanish" or "Mexican" rice, just stir some salsa into it and toss some less salty cheese, like the queso fresca the Mexican market sells in chunks in the meat dept. It is very bland, with little salt but melts nicely.

I make yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese all the time. I have a couple of yogurt "makers" but do not always use them, yogurt does its own thing, if you have everything scrupulously clean when you start and add a culture. If left at room temp it takes longer than when it is heated in one of the little appliances made for the purpose. If you have an older gas oven with a standing pilot light, that will be plenty warm enough for the yogurt to develop nicely. When you buy yogurt to use as a culture - make sure it says "live" culture and it has no additives other than the milk products, salt and pectin. NO preservatives. And it should say Cultured after pasteurization. This site has a good explanation and excellent recipes for cow, goat, soy and etc., yogurt. Her directions for soy milk yogurt (using agar agar for thickening) also work with rice milk.

The rice does not remove much of the salt - it does absorb a lot of liquid, so that when water is added to the stew or soup, you do not have a huge amount of liquid that needs to be reduced for a long time. I leave the rice in the soup for an hour or more. The rice should expand at least double in volume. On one occasion, when I was fixing a large pot of soup at the office and had no rice, I used a box of instant couscous in a wire colander that I suspended in the hot soup, using a (carefully cleaned) bindery clamp to hold it to the side of the pot.

For a while, a few years back, Corelle produced divided plates like this. I have a set I used to have in my motorhome, somewhere in the storeroom. This discussion has reminded me about them and I think I will get them out. They are great for kids - you know the kind - absolutely nothing on the plate must touch anything else!!!! Some friends who come to visit faily often have one child with this trait. I have at times resorted to serving her in separate small dishes, rather than have her sit, staring at her plate because the peas rolled against the potatoes. These plates may save the problem. I don't want to use my very old plates!

If it is sitting where it is exposed to higher temps with little air circulation, the essential oils in the leaves will be exuded onto the surface. The oil will then dry into a very fine opaque dust. (Windows do concentrate heat from the sun.) If you have a very fine brush, try picking some up on the tips of the bristles and see if it has the scent of rosemary. This is the easiest way to see if that is the case. Outside, the air moving over the plants carries this dust away as soon as it dries, however if there is little or no air circulation where you placed it, then it will simply remain on the leaves. Similar plants, with a high content of volatile oils, will do the same. Sage, for instance, however it usually is found on the underside of the leaves, where most of the oil cells are concentrated.

I visit Deming often, well to the west, talk about a culinary wasteland!!!!!!!!

I feel the only way to eat couscous is with the fingers and when I serve it I also set out finger bowls and provide large, cloth napkins (more of a towel than a true napkin). Long, skinny pasta requires a fork with longer tines and depending on the gravy (or sauce, if you will) a spoon for the really slippery varities of fresh pasta. And the pasta is served in a wider shallower bowl that has greater volume than a regular soup bowl. I have special bowls for chili because it simply doesn't taste the same in just any old bowl and there is room for "additions". I have different mugs and cups for tea and coffee or other hot drinks. I have special plates for breakfast when I have certain foods. These are the old-fashioned "chop" plates that are divided into three sections. There are certain times I do not want flavors mixed on the plate and these are ideal to keep syrup away from my potatoes, eggs, etc.

I learned it from my grandfather's cook, when I was a child. One of the kitchen helpers had a very heavy hand with the salt, perhaps diminished taste buds or something, and I would watch as the cook would measure rice into one of the muslin bags used for steaming puddings, or straining jelly, and suspend it in the pot of soup or stew, tied to a handle, so it could be easily retrieved. In particular I remember her doing it with a huge batch of she-crab soup, since one of my uncles had driven to Maryland and back, bringing a big tub full of live crabs for my grandpa's birthday and she didn't want the soup ruined. With just adding water you have to add so much to dilute the salt, that you then have to spend many hours reducing it to have it correct. This solves that problem. Also one has to leave plenty of room for the rice to expand

A really old-fashioned way to "cure" a too salty soup or stock, before adding water to dilute it, is to suspend a muslin bag filled with raw rice in the liquid. The rice will take up quite a bit of the liquid but leave most of the flavor behind and then water can be added to reduce the concentration of salt. The ratio of rice to total liquid is 1/2 cup of rice for each quart of liquid. I have used this method successfully several times - I do use the rice - I generally freeze it and use it in vegetable and meat/poultry recipes that require cooked rice but am careful not to use any seasoning until the end of the cooking process.

Not exactly a "gadget" but this version of the Crock Pot has a couple of new twists. Note it can be used on the stovetop, in the oven, microwave and freezer. A more versatile item for those with small kitchens, a truly multi-use appliance/utensil. It looks pretty cool too! New type Crock Pot My housekeeper says it reminds her of a witch's kettle!

I think it is a sensational idea, and particularly for PBS where the focus of so many programs is on history. The history of traditional foods as different ethnic groups migrated to the US and how it influenced regional differences is very important. Certainly Maryann Esposito's Ciao Italia has had a number of "seasoned" cooks over the many years PBS has been presenting that show, (at least 15 years). I believe there is more interest now in traditional cooking as more and more people learn to value their ethnic/regional heritage in all facets of life and often they no longer have mothers, grandmothers or other elder relatives from whom to learn the traditional recipes and cooking techniques.

I can't consume alcohol myself, but I have made them with Midori melon liquer and lime jello and blackberry brandy with black cherry jello for parties. Jello used to have white grape "champagne" flavor which was great for these mixes but it was discontinued a few years ago.

Lovingly stained, like the big, big wooden spoon I "inherited" when I made a trip back to Kentucky in the '70s and loaded up my van and a trailer with crocks, cast iron and assorted kitchen "junk" because my family never throws anything away and I had the collecting bug by then. The big spoon is purple because it was always used for stirring jam and jelly made from(among other things) Concord grapes, wild blackberries and etc. One of my great uncles whittled it sometime in the '30s, from a piece of maple. The huge tree had fallen after being struck by lightning and was cut into lumber and chunks and smaller pieces for carving.

I don't understand why people pay so much for cars when they spend only a small fraction of their time in them and begrudge the few dollars they have to spend on kitchen equipment, where they spend more time than in the car. (At least most people - I know some who don't even know where their kitchen is located or need a map to find it!!!) I haven't made a car payment for thirty years because I pay cash when I buy a new vehicle and drive it until it begins to cost too much in upkeep/repairs, then replace it. I get my money's worth out of them. I do spend a lot on my kitchen because I enjoy it, live in it and it gives me great pleasure and is not sitting in a parking lot getting dented by idiots who don't know how to drive or park. Some people have accused me of being fixated on kitchen "stuff" - so what! I don't spend the money on drugs, booze or gambling and everything that isn't consumable gains in value over the years and the consumables give me pleasure and at my age that is quite enough. A couple of years ago I figured that if I ever fell on hard times, I could live comfortably for 20 years or so, simply selling off the kitchen "stuff" I have collected.

This site has an explanation of how and when to add various ingredients. My experience during the many years I have been preparing mustard - and I also grow my own - is that boiling water will produce a chalky, less flavorful result. The enzymes that produce the "bite" are affected by heating. When I prepare mustard for canning, I temper the bite by heating it for very short periods in the microwave - I used to use a double boiler prior to the advent of microwave appliances. In the eGCI basic condiments course I demonstrated the process of preparing mustard from seed. Basic Condiments course

One way to get a consistent product is to use "bread" flour. However you can also find "Vital Wheat Gluten" at any health food store and if you add a little of this to all purpose flour you will have what is essentially a bread flour. Store it in the freezer in an airtight container or doubled ziploc bags and it will keep a very long time because you do not need to use very much. Bob's Red Mill brand Arrowhead Mills brand

one of the reasons I had a super-duty exhaust system installed when I remodeled - the smoke alarms kept sounding off.

My snack addiction is the Snapea Crisps. On my last visit I bought 10 bags because the time before there were none on the shelf. Another customer saw me and mentioned to his lady companion that they must be good if I was buying so many. I advised him to try one packaged and I would give odds that he would be back for more. I originally "discovered" them when they were giving out samples. A couple of weeks ago they were sampling the frozen Chicken Verde - (not exact name but similar) - a new offering. I bought some and it is as good as my homemade stuff and much quicker to prepare. Some of their pizzas are also very nice. The burritos are excellent. As someone else has mentioned, as did I, the frozen fruits are excellent. If nothing else, try the organic blueberries. They are tiny but have a wonderful flavor.

It works best with smaller birds - the largest I do this way are 4 pounds or less. I also tried it with duck, when I had a couple of small ones and wanted the bones and "remainders" for duck stock. I just wanted the meat cooked enough to pull off the carcass easily. It was very good.

You could set up a booby-trap just for him. I have been known to do something similar for refrigerator raiders who would take food without asking. Get some habanero hot sauce, carefully paint some on the outside of a package(the green variety drys almost transparent) and allow it to dry cover it with plastic wrap until you know he is coming around(so you don't get it on your own hands, then uncover it and pretend to have your attention elsewhere. (The stuff does not have to be wet for the capsaicin to transfer to the fingers.) That should teach him not to touch things that belong to other people. He is just plain rude. One should never, ever do this. It is insulting and demeaning.

Sounds terrific. I love the crust. Sometimes I make it thinner and when it is 3/4 done, place a second skillet (which has been heating in the oven) on top of it. I began doing this after I dropped on on the floor when trying to flip it over.

That makes sense. I often prepare it when baking bread. I have a commercial (Blodgett) oven and crank it up to a high temp for baking sourdough, rustic type loaves or pizza, etc., and put the chickens in after the bread is done. I always allow anything roasted in the oven to coast for thirty minutes, I learned that a long, long time ago. I grew up in the south and roast chicken was a Sunday regular but it was roasted in a covered pan and the cover removed part way through for browning. It always seemed to produce a lot of liquid but these were older and larger birds and it took much longer. The higher temp, shorter time produces a better result, in my opinion.

Freshly ground corn meal has a higher moisture content and your cornmeal probably absorbed more of the liquid. The batter should be pourable but not runny. I am sure yours will turn out just fine. As fifi said, do removed it from the skillet as soon as possible. Put it on a cooling rack so the crust will remain crisp.

Just reading back in this thread is enough to convince anyone that harissa can vary considerably from country to country, town to town and even from kitchen to kitchen in small villages. In the late '70s a young woman from Morocco stayed with me for a few weeks while attending a workshop for artists at the "Women's Village" in the San Fernando Valley. I had long been interested in various ethnic foods but having someone stay in my house and show me how certain things were prepared was a terrific lesson which I have treasured ever since. She told me that while her mother was the primary cook in the family, her uncle was the one who prepared the spice mixtures and the one who visited the markets to find just the perfect ingredients. She and her brothers had tagged along when they were young and would hang around when their uncle would stop for coffee or tea with his friends. She had many funny stories about the arguments about the various ingredients that constituted the "perfect" harissa or other spice mixtures. Earlier in this thread sambals were mentioned and I am sure similar "discussions" go on in Indonesia and other southeast Asian countries where these are the favorite spice mixtures/pastes. Similar arguments abound in Mexico where molés are prepared and the contests at the festivals in San Pedro Actopan or Oaxaca in October each year or in Vera Cruz, in Puebla. And if you think this may be outside this topic, consider that in the 17th century, the first recorded use of a spice mixture incorporating the native chiles/herbs and chocolate of Mexico with spices and herbs of the Old World, was a state banquet prepared by Spanish nuns from the convent of Santa Rosa, using recipes of Spanish and Moorish origin.

Chiles or chile peppers are native to South America - however once they made it to the Old World they spread like wildfire (or like the plague, as one food writer complained, in the early 20th century). Read the story here.