andiesenji

I have a Senseo and got one of the plastic refillable pods made by the Dutch. I have yet to get this pod to work properly, simply a weak result no matter how I fill it. I buy my Senseo pods at Smart & Final wholesale grocers. Regular price is 3.99 for 18 pods. However I buy 4 cases at a time and get a price break which works out to 3.59 for a bag of 18 pods. The flavored ones are only 16 to the bag but I don't buy them. This week Target has the pods for 3.84. Occasionally Wal-Mart has them on sale for about the same. Target also carries Juan Valdez Columbian Supremo pods 18 for 4.99, comes in a box and the pods are individually sealed in envelopes. They fit the Senseo very well. They also carry, as do some Wal-Mart stores, the Millstone "Home Cafe" pods which fit the Senseo. The ones that do not fit are the single pods made by Mellita. Let me finish this by saying that I did not drink much coffee prior to getting the Senseo (sent to me by a friend who was testing them). I was basically a tea fancier because brewed coffee always tasted a bit "off" to me - not strong enough and tasted stale a short time after brrewing. I love the taste of the Senseo brewed coffee, especially their dark roast. I can drink it in the evening and it will not keep me awake. Of course I doctor it with Splenda and half and half, heated in the microwave before I brew a double serving into my big mug. I still drink tea but not as much as I did pre-Senseo. I have given several as gifts. They are allowed in college dorms where regular coffee makers (with an exposed heating element) are forbidden.

I have a two-bowl sink, one is very large, square and very deep, the other (with the garbage disposal) is shallower and smaller, both length and width. The big one is 20 x 20 x 12 in deep, the smaller is 16 x 12 x 8 in deep. It is made out of some kind of "cultured" stone, i.e. molded from something that is like cement with an epoxy binder. I forget the name of the maker. It was the only sink that fit the space where my old sink (Kohler 3 bowl) used to be. The Kohler was a lovely emerald green but it did not survive having a very large cast iron skillet dropped into it.

I agree, carmelize them. Then make a cheddar cheese, potato and onion pie. Mix up a custard, as you would for a quiche, season it with salt, pepper and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. (You won't really taste it but it adds a certain something to the finished dish.) Boil or steam 6 to 8 small potatoes, a little larger than golf ball size, slice (leave the skins on) Line the baking dish or pie pan with filo doug, use about 6 layers, brushing melted butter on each sheet then laying on the next one till you have all the sheets layered together. Spread a little of the egg mixture in the bottom, spoon in a layer of the carmelized onion then a layer of sliced potatoes pour in half of the remaining egg mix. Add a layer of thinly sliced or grated sharp cheddar cheese. Add another layer of onions another layer of potatoes pour on the rest of the egg mix and top with more cheddar. Bake in a medium oven for about 50 minutes. Jiggle the pan to see if it is set in the center. If still liquid, leave it in the oven for another 8-10 minutes until the custard is just set. Turn the oven off and leave it for 15 minutes then remove from oven and either serve warm or chill and serve.

I posted this a month ago on the pie filling thread. You can multiply the recipe to can larger batches. For gardeners who have a lot of green tomatoes on the vine with a cold snap coming on, which seems like an odd idea right now. (temps have been in the high 90s or over 100 here for weeks) This is a pie filling which can be used immediately or canned as you would any other high acid fruit and used later. It has a distinct lemony taste and an interesting texture. Aunt Hattie Anne's Green Tomato Pie 4 cups green tomatoes peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons cornstarch Pastry for both top & bottom pie crusts 1-1/2 tablespoons butter diced Cut aluminum foil in wide lengths or use pie crust edge shields. In a large saucepan combine the chopped tomatoes, lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring often to keep from burning. Mix the sugar and cornstarch together and gradually add to tomato mix, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until liquid is clear. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Cool for 15 minutes Preheat oven to 425F. Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie shell. Note: This works best in a glass pie dish. Cover with top crust and seal the edges so juices will not leak out. Cut several slits in top to allow steam to escape. Fold aluminum foil strips in half lengthwise and crimp all around the edges of the pie to keep crust edges from burning. Place pie tin on a cookie sheet on oven center rack. Bake for 50 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or topped with whipped cream cheese. YIELD: 8 servings SUBMITTED BY: Andie Paysinger SOURCE: Andie Paysinger's great aunt Hattie Anne, an original recipe

Another "trick" is to take the bottom of a round ladle, spray it with one of the non-flavored sprays and use it to swirl the batter from the center out so that the level of batter in the center of the pan is about 1/2 inch lower than the outer edges, just prior to placing the pan in the oven. Most batter is just thick enough to hold this configuration long enough for the heat to set it. I learned this from a baker who simply dipped the ladle in water but spraying the bottom of the ladle with oil is easier for me since I am not as quick as he was. It may take a little practice to get the technique down right, but once you get the batter in that very shallow cone shape, you will find it easier to do. I do the same for cakes in loaf pans that I want to be level on top. I use a smaller ladle and simple drag it down the center of the batter so there is a sort of trough in the center. It will gradually fill in from the sides if it sits too long, so you have to do this just before you put it into the oven and place the pans gently so you disturb the batter as little as possible. It works with cupcakes too!

I dry the red flame grapes which are a seedless variety and also the seedless black grapes and the Thompson's seedless, however my favorites are the red flame seedless. I try to get the sweetest grapes I can find, as the sweeter and more flavorful the grape, the sweeter the raisin, sometimes there is so much sugar that it actually crystallized on the outside of the raisins. I have two large Excalibur dehydrators which hold a lot of fruit and work beautifully with most fruit. I have tried several and these are the best. Excalibur dehydrator A few fruits need a little help. Cranberries will not dry well unless they are first placed in a very light sugar water at the boil for just 4 or 5 minutes - as soon as some begin to pop they are ready to be drained and spread on the trays for drying. Some fruits take longer to dry than others. Large grapes take 4 or 5 days or longer in the dehydrator here - I live in the desert and humidity is low. In a higher humidity climate it will take longer. Blueberries dry nicely and are very sweet and you can even use the frozen ones. I also dry tomato slices or cherry tomatoes cut in half. Roma tomatoes (or similar paste tomatoes), if they are not too large, can simply be cut in half lengthwise. Mango needs to be sliced less than 1/2 inch thick, same with papaya and pineapple. For any fruit, having even slices works better than cutting them in wedges. I use a hand-cranked apple peeler/corer/slicer which slices the apples in a spiral. When you cut the stack in half you get even slices. You can do the same thing by halving a fruit, removing the core laying it with the cut side down and cutting parallel slices across the fruit, working from top to bottom. My home-dried raisins taste better than any commercial dried fruits, with one exception - Trader Joes has some dried fruits that are just as good, and sometimes better. I have never seen any commercially dried Kiwi fruit but the slices dry nicely - and for peeling them - try dipping them in boiling water for 30 seconds and see how easily and cleanly they peel. I don't use any of the sulfite preservatives but do rinse the fruits that are subject to oxidiation (apples, peaches, etc.) with a solution of citric acid. You can use vitamin C powder or you can find "sour salt" in kosher sections of many markets. I also use the dehydrator to make some really terrific jerky.

I make large batches of candied ginger and use my 30-year-old Bron mandoline which is now on its third set of blades. I use a cut-proof glove which, in addition to keeping my fingers and thumb intact, allows me to hold on to slippery things more easily. I also make pickles and like them sliced very thin. For small batches I use the Cuisinart, however when I am making a large batch I use the Bron. I use it to slice piles of onions for onion confit. slicing limes for marmalade. I have several "bus tubs" which are very inexpensive at Smart & Final - the sides are lower than are plastic dishpans. I place the tub on a bar stool, which puts it at a level which for me is perfect, then place the mandoline in the tub and start slicing. The tub contains the slices and the bottom has just enough texture to keep the mandoline from sliding. I use the julienne blade for jicama, carrots and etc., for pickling.. also for shredding sweet potatoes and squash for deep frying and regular potatoes for frying.

They have a propane-fired incinerator that burns stuff in a closed chamber so there is nothing left but fine ash. They also have a composting toilet that has been there for years. Cece and Etienne are avid environmentalists and have been active in the movement to protect the gulf coast for many years. His father was an underwater demolition specialist and did a lot of work in the coastal waterways. If you have ever seen the Jimmy Stewart film, Thunder Bay, his father did some of the underwater explosive work.

The Victorians were "conspicuous consumers" to the Nth degree. The aristocracy and upper classes set the fashion - it was the middle classes imitating them to excess that was considered vulgar. (By the upper classes.) This book has a great deal of illustration and explanation of how the Victorians justified having all these diverse and unusual table utensils. Here in the US the latter part of the Victorian era and the Edwardian era was referred to as "The Guilded Age" - according to some writers, Mark Twain coined this term.

I have spoken to my cousin Terry several times and also have been glued to MSNBC because he said that yesterday morning three guys in a boat, with an NBC camera were motoring down the Vermilion river - now the middle of a very large lake a mile or so south of Abbeville - and took some video of them standing out on the deck. Terry and his friends were out yesterday, searching for stranded people as soon as the water was calm enough to not swamp the boats and they hauled a bunch up to where the guard was set up with trucks to take people out. They have plenty of food for at least two weeks and there is a large cistern on the roof that is full of rainwater. They are a bit crowded but no more than when they are out on the boats. The storm surge got up to within two feet of the lower deck at its worst. The floating dock was damaged some during the hurricane but was easily repaired. Etienne also has two big Kohler diesel generators as the place often loses power even without a hurricane and he has to keep his freezers going all the time. He has 400 gallons of diesel and 120 gallons of gasoline. They are letting the little kids fish from the deck to keep them amused, but so far they haven't caught anything except a little turtle which is now a pet and a snake which was immediately killed. There are a lot of little fish swimming in the water but there are also quite a few dead ones which are fresh water fish probably killed by the brackish salt water pushed up the waterway. Today they are cooking red beans and rice and are butchering a drowned steer they bought from one of the men they rescued yesterday, no sense letting it go to waste. Barbecue this evening! Yesterday they cooked a big pot of jambalaya, made cornbread and were feeding some of the other men out in the rescue boats. Yesterday morning they served a lot of coffee and fried bread dipped in sugar and cinnamon to the local people who were searching for survivors. Only the very old people can remember when it flooded like this in the area. Etienne's father originally built his place on the high pilings because he remembered a flood in the late 40s. The place has been a bit of a joke all these years because of the way it was built but it is the only building not flooded in the entire area. None of the trees that surround the place have fallen. The satellite phone I sent to Terry has gotten a lot of use as cell phones are not working anywhere in the area close to them so he is letting people who have stayed behind call their relatives and friends that evacuated. Cece Charbonnais and her new baby girl (fifth child for Cece) are doing just fine and are staying put. This makes everyone happy because Cece is considered to be one of the finest cooks in the area. They believe their big boats are probably destroyed or in very poor condition as they have been following the news on TV and watching the views from the helicopters flying over the area and it took a direct hit. They do have pretty good insurance so will eventually be able to go back to shrimping if the industry itself revives in the area. They might have to move to another state if the processing plants do not come back.

We are lucky nowadays that we do not have to use the myriad table utensils of Victorian times. I have my great grandmother's silver and it has at least fifteen pieces in each place setting, including fish slice or fish knife and a fish fork as well as marrow spoon, individual butter spreader, oyster fork and a couple of others that I think were used for squab or other little birds. It was never actually used at any dinner when I was a child but my great grandmother insisted on teaching me how a place setting was supposed to be arranged. Some of the forks were placed with the tines pointing down and the fish fork was on the right side instead of on the left with the rest of the forks. It always seemed very odd to me. I guess today we would say the Victorians were very, very anal! My dad always said it was because silversmiths knew the Victorians were also mad for showing off their wealth with great ostentation and how better than to lay out a ton of silver on a dinner table so they kept coming up with extra pieces to sell to the gullible. Pity the poor servants who had to take care of it.

Quick update from my cousin a bit south of Abbeville. He was able to go outside just long enough to make a quick call. They are surrounded by water but are well above it. It is still very windy with heavy rain. It looks like more water is coming in but it would have to rise another 10 feet to be at the bottom of the lower deck where they have the small boats stored.

Bring a boat. Most of Chalmette has flooded again. Patty, I'm glad to hear that you are OK. We lost our lights AGAIN due to more downed trees. We have only had power back for 48 hours and who knows when we will have it again. Just for the record, blue roofs and 45-55 mph winds don't mix. Mine is in Mississippi by now, I suspect. I am cooking 2 pork butts on the Weber in the rain for a party that will happen tonight, power or no. We're here and we're staying. Home, sweet home. ← I am so glad to hear your are okay, Brooks. Cooking pork butts and a party sounds like a good thing to do to lighten the mood. Andie

Black & Decker used to make an oval crockpot/steamer combinaton. I don't know if it is still available. It had the standard crockpot bottom with a lid and also a plastic top section with perforated bottom that could be used for steaming rice, potatoes, vegetables, etc., while something else such as chicken or stew or ???? cooked in the bottom. It was not meant to be a very rapid process as one would usually expect in a steamer. It did cook at a higher temperature than regular crockpots.

A quick note, something good in the midst of a storm. Baby girl born at 1:09 a.m. Theresa Marie Charbonnais. Everyone celebrating with chicken and shrimp gumbo, fried bread and home brew.

Terry just phoned again. They are now getting sustained winds over 50 mph (that is as high as the whirligig will measure) and heavy bands of rain that is coming sideways. They have covered the windows with steel shutters. One of the women just went into labor about an hour ago. It will be an interesting night. Fortunately they have two midwives in the group and Terry is a priest. The place they are in is built like a bunker high on concrete pilings with a heavy steel roof. I think Etienne usually has a still set up there because Terry says they have plenty of alcohol "for medicinal purposes."

Usually it is the northeast side of the storm, or upper right side that has the winds unwinding away from the eye wall that are the most destructive. However in Pacific storms that hit islands, both top and bottom sides can be severe. One of my friends was in the middle of Iniki when it hit Kauai in September 1992. They were surprised by the storm as they were staying in a rather remote home (they had traded their June Lake home for the island home for two weeks) They said that when the winds started it was awful and seemed to go on forever. Then the eye passed over and they thought the worst was over but the bottom half of the storm did even more damage. They took cover in a concrete block garden shed when the house began to come apart. When they came out after the winds died down, the house was gone, all the trees were gone and the swimming pool was full of trash and dead birds. They never did find their rental car and had to walk for miles to find someone who had a home still standing where they could take shelter. It was their last trip to Hawaii. They prefer to take their chances with earthquakes and living in an ancient caldera with some still-active spots. In the southern hemisphere the cyclonic winds move in the opposite direction to the ones we see in the US. They turn clockwise so the winds on the left side of the eyewall are the most destructive. I will keep Patty and Brooks in my prayers. My cousin Terry is near Abbeville and they are getting high winds and lots of rain. Thank goodness for the satellite phone. It works when nothing else does.

It won't help right now but I have one suggestion for people who live in areas that are subject to power outages on a regular basis. I have in my shed an old Servel refrigerator that works on propane - it has its own tank so doesn't depend on natural gas. I used it after the '94 earthquake, in '97 when we had a flood and again a couple of years ago when the gas line to this area was ruptured by the crew putting in new storm drains. I do have a large generator but use it for other appliances and the air conditioner. These refrigerators are not cheap, but if you lose valuable food on multiple occasions, it doesn't seen so expensive. They also have one that works on kerosene. My aunt who lives in Laural, MS has power again but needed a generator for air conditioning when they lost power. She does have one of these propane fridges. They used to have it in their vacation home in a remote area. She stored stuff from several of her neighbors, mostly dairy products and some meat. The old one I have is 40 years old - I used to have a house in Running Springs, which is in the mountains between Arrowhead and Big Bear. We often had power outages so most of us had propane fridges and freezers. Servel refrigerators

Mine are all lined on the inside with porcelain. In fact, one of my older ones, black hobnail on the outside and quite large, is actually prettier on the inside as the porcelain is a swirl of green, blue and orange, almost like marbelizing. It is somewhere in a cupboard, if I can find it with reasonable ease, I will try to get a photo of the interior. I purchased it many years ago (early '70s) when a large Japanese department store opened in Los Angeles in the Wilshire district. They were not easy to find, unless one had access to a Japanese community, until a few years ago. The internet is wonderful for giving us many sources for interesting and unusual things.

I have bought several tetsubin (as well as more than a few Yixing teapots) from Holy Mountain trading company I have always been completely satisfied with the products, both price and quality are exceptional.This is my most recent purchase.

I am again going to send you back to Melinda Lee's web site: Nuts, candied, glazed, spiced and etc. I make salt-glazed pecans (or walnuts) with just a hint of sugar. I can't give you exact measurements because I always just eyeball it. I add water to a large skillet until it is about 1/2 inch deep and put it over medium heat. When bubbles start to form on the bottom I add about 1/4 cup of kosher salt and bring it to a boil, stirring well to make sure all the salt has dissolved. When the liquid is boiling rapidly I pour in a cup or so of pecan halves, stir, then sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of sugar (granulated maple sugar if you can find it) over the pecans, stir again and let the mixture boil for a minute. Then pour the nuts into a colander and drain. I spread them on a sheet pan, on parchment paper and place in the oven at 200 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until they are dry and crisp. Fat, large pecans and walnuts may take a little longer. They should break easily when you pinch them with your fingers. Cool completely and store in a glass jar with a tight lid. Do NOT store in a plastic bag! However, I have found that they don't really last long enough to worry about storage.

You cannot candy fresh pineapple. Get the dried pineapple that is not treated with sugar - you can usually find it in health food stores. Otherwise dehydrate it yourself on a rack in a very low oven. Steam it first to rehydrate it - this way it does not soak up as much water as soaking will do and it is much more rapid. Then put it in syrup in a crockpot on low and leave it there until it is completely translucent - if is 1/2 inch thick, it will take at least two days, maybe longer. Allow it to dry until it is no longer tacky. If it stays tacky you can always dust it with rice flour but you lose the shiny appearance, however it won't stick together.

I candy a lot of ginger, in big batches, using crockpots for smaller batches and a large electric roaster for big batches (10 pounds and more). My recipe has been on this site: MelindaLee for a couple of years. also on the site is my method of making glacé whole (or sliced) fruits. This is a very time-consuming process but there is a reason for it. The larger the piece of fruit, the longer it takes for the sugar syrup to penetrate to the center and this has to be done or the unprocessed part will rot. Heating drives the moisture out of the fruit and the cooling lets the syrup penetrate step by step. Glacé fruit. Important caveat! Do not try to use limes - they will turn an ugly gray. Also do one type of fruit at a time, do not mix, otherwise you will get some very odd colors. Another person posted a recipe for candied figs on Melinda's site. Melinda has an excellent radio show, which can be heard online, at KNX 1070, Los Angeles. Radio show. Candied peel can be made in the microwave in small batches. I have been working on a photo essay on this but do not yet have it fully operational. Here is the text: Microwave candied citrus peel, small batch. Cut off top and bottom of orange or other citrus. (This works for two medium to large oranges, three or four lemons, or one large grapefruit. Using a round-tip spoon, (like a soup spoon) slide the dip downward between the flesh and the rind, working your way around the fruit, then turn it upside-down and repeat the process until the rind is completely loose from the flesh. You want both the colored skin and the white part. On one side make a vertical cut and remove the rind from the fruit. Flatten the strip of rind on a cutting board and cut into 1/4 inch strips. Place the strips into a Pyrex measurer, 1 quart or larger. Fill to within 2 inches of the top, there should be a lot more water than citrus rind. Microwave for 10 minutes. Drain the water off and add fresh water Microwave for another 10 minutes Drain that water and add fresh water Microwave for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Rinse the Pyrex container and to it add 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup sugar. Microwave for 3 minutes - it will start to bubble up. Add the peel to the syrup and microwave for 5 minutes. WATCH IT. If it starts to boil over stop the microwave. If you have a larger, 2-quart Pyrex measure, use that instead of the quart. Stir the peel, return to the microwave and microwave for another 5 minutes. Let the peel cool down for at least 30 minutes. Now microwave again for two 5 minutes sessions. Pick a couple of pieces out of the syrup and drain it on a wire grid until it is cool. If the white part has colored and become translucent, it should be done. If the peel is exceptionally thick, as with some navel oranges and most grapefruit, it can be cooked in the syrup for additional 5 minute sessions until it reaches the point where it is translucent all the way through. Taste it. If it tastes okay, place all the pieces on the drying rack and let it dry until it is just tacky, then toss it in granulated sugar. It dries faster if you have a fan blowing on it. Save the syrup, it has many uses. It can be used to candy additional peel, sliced ginger, dried peppers (hot or mild), in tea, in mixed drinks, in salad dressings, particularly for fruit salads and of course, over ice cream. In the refrigerator it will keep indefinitely. If it crystallizes, it only needs to be heated to re-liquefy.

7-minute frosting is about the same as Italian meringue. Try THIS recipe.

Regarding the cocoa fruit cake recipe I posted earlier. It also freezes well and keeps for at least 10 months. This past weekend I found one in the freezer that I made last November - it got pushed to the back of one of the baskets and was masquerading as something else. For some reason I didn't rotate the stuff in that basket on my regular schedule and missed the cake. I let it thaw in the refrigerator and this evening took over to my neighbors who had invited me for dinner. It was still good.