andiesenji

The trick to using the kind with the "bump" is to put the citrus half in upside down, that is, with the cut side toward the holes in the bottom. When you squeeze, that causes the fruit to turn inside-out and espresses almost all the juice. I have seen so many people use them the wrong way and be very disappointed with the result. The smallest, works even with the little Mexican limes. There is another type, that has a side-to-side action which works well with very small fruit and with quarters or chunks. These are often seen in bars. I had problems with these types because of arthritis in my right hand so sprung for one of the lever type on a stand but then developed a problem in my right shoulder. A few months back I bought one of the inexpensive electric juicers made by Hamilton Beach. It works great, even for the little Mexican limes, once I figured out to simply cut off one end instead of cutting them in half. It is just exactly like this one which is made by Proctor Silex juicer I bought mine at Target for $19.95.

Yellow or white mustard can be as hot as the black or brown. The difference is that the black and brown have an additional pungency that adds to the overall flavor. They can be used individually or in any combination. Coleman's and other dry mustard available commercially are all made from "white" mustard. The three types of mustard seeds are different sized with the black being the smallest, the brown the largest. Last year I posted some photos in this thread. Scroll down to post # 20. There is a closeup photo of mustard seeds, all three varieties, freshly threshed and home grown. If you want more information. Visit the Mustard Museum web site.Mt. Horeb Mustard Museum! You can find all three types of whole mustard seed, at very reasonable prices, at Indian markets.

I have found that small amounts, as in my recipe, work best when done by hand or in a small capacity blender. The trick is to add half the oil in a very thin stream or just a little at a time. If you have a problem with pouring it too rapidly, use a syrup dispenser or honey dispenser to better control how fast you add the oil. One of my neighbors has a prosthesis on his left arm and he has trouble pouring with precision. He has one of the honey dispensers with a pushbutton on the top and he has wound a rubberband around the shaft so the button can only be pushed down just enough to allow a very thin stream of oil to be dispensed. If you have a food processor that has a pusher with a small central hole, such as the Cusinart has, you can pour the oil into it, keeping a finger over the opening in the bottom and use that to dispense the oil, as before, adding only half to begin with. After you have added half the oil, continue beating until the mixture is emulsified and thick. THEN add the rest of the oil. I have a couple of vintage mayonnaise makers which are hand operated and work very well. I will post a photo when I get home this evening. There are also hand-cranked egg beaters, the ones with a flat bottom and "whirleygig" type blades, that were made specifically for mayonnaise and sauces. They actually are very efficient. Here is one offered on ebay. Mayonnaise maker However, when I make larger batches, using a minimum of 4 egg yolks, I make it in the blender, keeping the speed on low. I have made one very large batch in a Cuisinart. It turned out okay but that was a rare occurrence. I will try a small batch in my MiniPrep if I can find it and report on my success or failure. Don't worry about the white spots on top of the mayonnaise after it has been chilled. Just stir before using and it will again look normal.

In my original master recipe I explained that I used apple jelly (mainly) because one of my friends has an allergy to honey. You can make mustards that are not sweet but I have found that making the basic mustard with the apple jelly makes a base that combines easily with other things such as mayonnaise, sour cream and etc. When I have made it without the sweetener, it always tastes a bit "raw" to me, but that is just my taste. You might find it totally different. The variations are endless and you can make your own "signature" mustard by adding the particular ingredients that result in a taste that you prefer. I often add sweet chile sauce to my mustards. I substitute cranberry sauce for the apple jelly. It is fun to experiment and see what flavors you can develop. One of my friends adds dill pickle relish to the mustard she makes, right into the blender. She says it is perfect on Polish sausage. As far as it lasting, I just keep it for my own use in the fridge in one of the short glass jars with the wire spring lock that holds the top on. I just keep using it until it is used up. I have never had any spoil but have had it dry out when I failed to make sure the lid was tightly sealed. However, when I am giving out a recipe I prefer to advise people to use caution in storing homemade products. I have found that when it is microwaved, it reaches a fairly high temperature, mainly because of the sugar in the jelly.

I dislike to quote myself, but nobody has addressed this question yet. From my experience making aioli, you want less garlic than 8 cloves for that amount of oil and eggs, unless the garlic has been roasted first. Alex ← You may use less if you like. It depends on how fresh and how strong the garlic you have. Very fresh and sweet garlic - use more. If the garlic is strong - use less. I like it this way and have made a lot of it and have not had any complaints.

Here are all the technical details of why and how mayonnaise works.

That little "food processor" is part of the Braun Turbo stick blender combo. That particular immersion blender is 400 watt.

This is the way I learned to make it more than fifty years ago from my grandfather's cook who was virtually illiterate. One did not ask "why" but did as one was told. It has always worked well for me and so I stick with it. Everything should be cold. In my experience the mayo comes together easier and faster. However, if you get a good result with a room temp egg then by all means use it that way. My method is not carved in stone but I do know it works.

You should have no problems substituting a double egg yolk. I have made mayonnaise or aioli with jumbo egg yolks as well as duck egg yolks using the same proportions of the other ingredients.

To make it very simple, that is, non-technical. The thing to remember is that you are mixing a little bit of egg yolk with a lot of oil. If you could look at it under a microscope, you would see that the protein in the egg yolk are like little beads in long strings. Beating or agitating these breaks up the strings into individual beads. As you continue beating while adding the oil in a very fine steam, the oil is beaten into beads or bubbles that contain air and several of these beads of oil and air will surround each bead of egg, keeping the egg beads from re-forming into strings or chains. You then introduce an acid, the lemon juice, which supports the emulsion by strengethening the bonds between the egg and oil beads. The mustard powder also helps to stabilize the emulsion. I showed it using a hand whisk so that people can know that it can be made without the aid of electrical appliances. It is quicker and perhaps easier to make it with an appliance but when you are preparing such a small amount, it is sometimes difficult to find an appliance small enough.

I do sometimes purchase supermarket ginger because I don't have enough mature for harvest in my patch. When I do purchase it, I try to get it at Vallarta or an Asian market as I find that it is better quality on average. Some markets, such as 99 Ranch, have young ginger with sprouts which are also really great to chop and use in stir-fry. I probably allow the ginger I grow to stay in the ground longer than commercial growers. You have seen the size of the corms and the size of the slices when I candy it. I started growing my own because too much of the commercial stuff was old and not very big.

I use a ginger grater all the time. I simply use a stiff brush to get the ginger paste or pulp out of the "teeth". I also use a suribachi bowl if I want a really fine paste. I don't have much fiber in my ginger paste, the pulp mostly separates from most of the stringy fibers which I then chop off to expose a new area of fresh ginger. My explanation may be a bit foggy. Perhaps I should do a photo demo........

I have bought all my pullman pans (in different shapes) from Fantes Fantes.com The prices are reasonable and these are heavy duty commercial pans. I line the pans with baking parchment as this gives a thinner crust. The triangular pan is especially nice for baking bread for tea sandwiches. Other than removing the crust (which I save for crumbs) there is no waste. The round-bottom pan produces the dense, fine crumb and the finished loaf looks rather like a traditional loaf only it is perfectly even with smooth sides. The ones I use most is the standard rectangular pans, the smaller is 11 inches long, the standard is 16 inches long. I do not use the fancy shaped tubes - they do not work as well as the ones with the removable tops.

I use an aluminum crochet hook - one of the huge ones that is fairly long (14 inches) and made for giant yarn. You can find these at craft/yarn shops and they have a lot of uses in the kitchen. Lacing up a turkey or goose, for instance, much easier than using a needle and for getting the cord under cross tied cords on a roast. I also use it for turning tubes inside out and although I know a lot of you wouldn't have any use for it this way, it is great for skinning the feet and legs on rabbits.

I finally got an estimate for what it will take to replace the stuff that was destroyed and have the entire acre fenced with chain link with the posts sunk in cement. The cost is going to run over $7000.00 and only part is covered by insurance. The repairs to the generator will be over $1500. The biggest expense is fence, then the watering system mainly because of the valves and timers. I haven't even added in the cost of the plants and seeds. I think I am going to give up on having a garden this year as by the time everything is finished it will be past the time most things can be planted. I didn't start a kitchen garden next to the house this year as I had decided that all the vegetables and fruit should be in the big garden. Fortunately the ginger patch was not affected, nor was the garlic so I will at least have something to show for this growing season.

Your information block does not indicate where you live. If you are located where Smart & Final stores exist, you can get an excellent knife (a serrated slicer) for $14.95. It has a white composition handle that is textured and easy to grasp and has a long blade. I have been using one for several years and it slices everything from angel food cake to hard crusty breads easily and neatly. Similar, but with a shorter blade is this serrated bread knife from Chicago cutlery. At that price you can afford to throw it away if it gets dull.

The simple thing to do is pasteurize your own eggs. I do all of mine as soon as I bring them home from the store. Go to this site scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see my method. Shirley Corriher mentions a method in Cookwise that says you can simply run hot tap water over the egg (eggs must be at room temp) however not every home has hot water that goes as high as 140 degrees and that is the important detail. One thing that I have noted. After the eggs have been pasteurized, the air pocket often seen on older eggs does not form or is not as large. My hard-boiled eggs are perfectly shaped, no flat spot at the large end of the egg. I can't explain it but that is what I have found.

I believe I have the entire line of Cuisinart food processors. I bought my first one at the old Broadway dept store in Woodland Hills when I lived in the Valley, probably in 1973 or 74 as I was still married to my last husband. I knew most of the women who worked in the kitchen section and one called me and told me about this new appliance and that they were going to be demonstrating it that afternoon. I saw and I bought, even though it was very, very expensive. I never regretted it. It was small and I had to do multiple batches for anything more than a few servings but it really changed the way I prepped certain things in the kitchen. It was retired from active duty but I still have it. When the 11 cup became available I got one and also bought a domed lid for dough and a flat lid for certain things (pesto for instance) where almost everything goes into the bowl and then oil (or another liquid) is added through the center hole as it hits the top of the blade shaft and is sprayed evenly around the bowl. I think I have purchased 4 or 5 bowls, usually because I broke them from mishandling them. (They are tough but will not survive a cast iron skillet dropped on them in the sink.) Several years later the 14 cup made its appearance and I got that one also and a flat lid for it too and an extra bowl. About 5 or 6 years ago I bought the 20 cup and use it for large batches of dry ingredients into which I need to incorporate butter, lard or shortening, shred large batches of cabbage or slice cucumbers for pickles, make large batches of salsa, or in particular, the verde sauce I make for pork (tomatillo sauce). Here is the lineup of the 11, 14 and 20 cup. I also have the "Mini-Prep" but rarely use it. It was a gift. I have never really had any significant problems with any of the Cuisinarts and they have had a lot of use. I have used other brands at the homes of friends but have yet to find one that I like as well. However that is just my personal preference, other people have other needs and likes and they should use what works for them. I have never returned a motor unit to Cuisinart service - I have a wizard of an appliance man who does wonders with anything I take him. I have had the cords replaced because they do wear out after a while and I am a safety freak. One of the switches broke off when I dropped the thing and the appliance guy was able to replace it. I didn't ask how, since he isn't an "authorized" repair service for Cuisinart, but it works as well as it ever did. And that is just about all I have to say on the subject. By the way, all of my slicing blades on all the machines have removable shafts except for the very first one which I no longer use.

The oldest Cuisinart I have, the first one introduced to the US, has the feeder tube that can be left open, the plunger does not have to be locked on before the thing will work. All the later ones had that interlock latch that is a pain, just so idiots would not be able to stick their hands into the feeder tube. Sometimes the plastic latch on the back gets broken and unless you know the trick of how to stick something in there to take its place, your only option is to get a new lid. After I got the domed "dough" top for one of my machines, I figured out how to make it work but it is still tricky. There is a web site, if I can find it, that has "Cuisinart secrets" with descriptions and illustrations of how to get around some of the problems, such as when the shaft holding the shredding plates won't release. I still like the Cuisinarts better than any other food processors, even with their idiosyncracies.

Remove the entire plunger assembly from the feed tube. That will give you room to insert something with a hook on the end which you should hook under the back side of the blade on the lower side - pull up sharply. This has worked for me when I did the same thing. I also found that when I had the lid stuck on another time with something hard stuck between the shredding plate and the lid, I was able to break it loose using a rubber mallet, giving a sharp sideways tap to the open edge of the front latch. As I recall it took a couple of taps to get the top to rotate enough to unlatch it. This was on the big one (20 cup) and with it, when the top is latched it is also locked on to the base which is very heavy.

Here is a hint that you might find useful. Get some long poles that you can re-use, sink them in the ground about every 4 feet, then get some tree netting (to keep birds off fruit trees) and either staple or tie it to the poles (we use the plasti electric wire ties that have a slot at one end for the free end to slip through.) At the end of the season just take the netting down, clean it and roll it up for next year. I use it for cucumbers also. It is dark green so is not an eyesore. It also has the advantage of being very inexpensive. My neighbor uses it for flowering vines, sweet peas, morning glory (I don't grow the latter because they are poisonous) and a friend has a huge row of this stuff down in Vista, CA where she grows passion fruit.

Coconut sorbet I serve a small scoop of this on top of pineapple upside-down cake for a sort of piña colada dessert. This is also very good with chocolate, particularly on top of melted center chocolate cake. Coconut sorbet Yield = 1 1/2 quarts Coconut milk, 5 cups, canned or fresh made 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or Mexican crema) 1/2 cup lightly toasted "macaroon" coconut (very fine grated) In a heavy sauce pan mix the coconut milk, condensed milk and sugar. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and toasted coconut. Remove from heat, place pan in an ice water bath and whisk until the mixture is cool. Transfer to a container than seals well and refrigerate for a minimum of three hours. Process in an ice cream freezer until very thick. Serve immediately or return to sealed container and store in freezer. Use within two days. For a frozen piña colada, non-alcoholic. Add a scoop of this sorbet to chilled pineapple juice in a blender. Run blender until mixture is smooth, transfer to cocktail glass and serve with a straw. If desired a tot of rum may be added before blending. Andie Paysinger ( RG1293 )

Coconut sorbet I serve a small scoop of this on top of pineapple upside-down cake for a sort of piña colada dessert. This is also very good with chocolate, particularly on top of melted center chocolate cake. Coconut sorbet Yield = 1 1/2 quarts Coconut milk, 5 cups, canned or fresh made 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or Mexican crema) 1/2 cup lightly toasted "macaroon" coconut (very fine grated) In a heavy sauce pan mix the coconut milk, condensed milk and sugar. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and toasted coconut. Remove from heat, place pan in an ice water bath and whisk until the mixture is cool. Transfer to a container than seals well and refrigerate for a minimum of three hours. Process in an ice cream freezer until very thick. Serve immediately or return to sealed container and store in freezer. Use within two days. For a frozen piña colada, non-alcoholic. Add a scoop of this sorbet to chilled pineapple juice in a blender. Run blender until mixture is smooth, transfer to cocktail glass and serve with a straw. If desired a tot of rum may be added before blending. Andie Paysinger ( RG1293 )

I prefer the chicken thighs, bone in and with the skin, available in large bags at Smart & Final (and recently at my local Wal-Mart, very cheap.) I think the flavor is much more intense than I can ever get with breast meat.

Here it is. This is also one of the soups I prepare in the Vita-Mix blender I saute the onion and ginger in a little oil first and add it after the carrots and sorrel. Carrot/Sorrel/Ginger Soup Serves: 6 to 8 2 tablespoons canola or light olive oil 3/4 cup chopped onion or half onion/half shallots 1 1/2 tablespoons grated or minced fresh ginger 4 cups shredded carrots, firmly packed 2 cups chopped sorrel, loosely packed 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water kosher salt and pepper to taste 1/2 cup half and half chiffonade basil leaves In a large saucepan or evasee heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger, sauté until the onion is transparent but not browned. Remove the onion/ginger and set aside. Add the carrots and sauté, stirring often, for about 8 minutes, until the carrots begin to soften. Add the sorrel and toss with the carrots. Return the shallot/ginger to the pan, mix well. Add the stock or water. Increase heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and simmer for minutes, until the carrots are soft and mash easily with a fork. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool until just warm. Transfer the soup to a blender (blend 2 cups at a time) and strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. When all has been blended and strained, place over medium heat, stirring constantly until the soup just begins to simmer. If the soup is quite thick, add a little hot water and blend in. Stir in the half and half and blend well. Serve with basil chiffonade scattered on top. May also be served in mugs with cinnamon toast points on the side as a starter. Orginal Recipe by Andie