andiesenji

Chefzadi, I think your idea is admirable. It is true that a great many people need help with learning how to prepare inexpensive, nutritious food. I have done a fair amount of volunteer work with community outreach organizations. And there are a great many things to consider in addition to teaching people how to prepare nutritious foods. One thing that we found was that far too often most of these people lacked the means to prepare food, not just the knowledge of how to prepare it. My friends and I have donated quite a few items over the years so women with children, mostly, but sometimes seniors, both men and women, would have the utensils with which to cook and a clean place to cook. When I was still physically able, I helped to clean and disinfect kitchens that were in deplorable condition. Often the very poor, on limited, fixed incomes, have no way to get to markets where they can buy reasonably priced foods and must rely on the convenience stores they can reach on foot. Another worry for them is the use of appliances which increase their utility costs when the difference is being able to afford heat, or light, food or medications. Often they live without hot water because the gas that heats the water heater costs so much that it uses up what they would otherwise spend on food. Food banks help, when they have the resources, but again, there is a problem with transportation as these facilities are few and far between. It is an extremely complex problem and all facets must be considered.

If bleach degraded in water then there would be no point in using it to disinfect metropolitan water supplies and our swimming pools. I have a spray bottle of 5% bleach solution which I use constantly in the kitchen, as does my housekeeper. It certainly works like newly-mixed bleach solution, as it takes the tea stains out of tea cups and pots and it absolutely kills molds. SUNLIGHT degrades cholorine which is why water treatment plants have indoor treating facilities or enclosed tanks (and we have to add it to swimming pools on a regular basis) but if you keep your spray in an opaque bottle or out of the window, it should work just fine. Probably someone put this out so they can sell more bleach. Way back in the days when I did laboratory work, we used made-up bleach soluction to disinfect everything as we had to be sure to avoid cross-contamination of cultures. The petrie dishes were washed, dipped in a bleach solution then rinsed with distilled water and dried in a hot-air oven. We mixed the bleach in big containers that were connected by hoses to the lab sinks. We constantly did test cultures of swabs drawn along the bench tops and around the drawer and cabinet handles and on varioius pieces of equipment to make sure there were no stray organisims that might screw up the results of the cultures. If the bleach water had not been disinfecting, we would have had lots of bacteria growing in the cultures.

Yeah, and look how long she lived while some of those who adhered strictly to the low cholesterol, low fat, low sugar and no fun diets, died 20 or 30 years younger!

About 25-30 years ago, I was with friends in Napa who were doing a winery trek. We took a tour of one place and one of the execs or maybe an owner (a suit) decided to show the group how the barrels were moved from one spot to another and rather than have a worker do the demonstration he proceeded to get onto a forklift and punch a hole in one of those huge wood upright fermenting tanks. We ran for it as the thing emptied itself onto the floor and out onto the paving outside the building, down some steps and into the parking lot where it pooled. They had workers put pallets down so we could get to our cars without wading in all that red stuff. The fumes were so strong we could still smell it when when got out to the main road. I almost forgot. They had a couple of Newfoundland dogs, who were happily lapping up the stuff in the yard as we were leaving. I wondered how they felt the next day.

There are so many things you can do with them. Consider them as you would any sweet or bing or Queen Anne or Ranier cherry. This recipe works with brandied cherries. and this one You can also simply warm them and wrap them in crepes with creme fraiche or sweetened sour cream. (If you have never tried sweetened sour cream with fruit, take a little in a cup and mix sugar (I use Splenda) into it. It has a complex flavor that is much better on sweet fruits than whipped cream.)

Why not just make some really rich French vanilla ice cream and mix them into it just prior to serving?

Someone, who shouldn't be hanging over my shoulder reading this, just reminded me of last March, the day after my birthday, when I set a bottle of San Giacomo Gold Label balsamic vinegar, 25 years + on the kitchen counter, not noticing that a chopstick was laying on the counter (nearly the same color, blending in) and it tipped over fell forward off the counter, turning over in mid air so it landed square on the bottom, sat there for a moment then with a little "pop" cracked all the way around the bottom and the vinegar oozed out onto the floor. It was a gift and rather than confess to the person who had gifted me with it, I immediately bought a replacement bottle (around $200.00). I did feel rather foolish for some time, particularly since it was witnessed by a big mouth! (She isn't going to leave till I post this so here goes.)

How?

Several years ago I had come into a couple of bottles of Chateau d' Yquem, '81, given me by a friend who was clearing out his cellar before moving into a hospice. Some time later, a couple who have been friends for years, were celebrating their 20th anniversary and were having a party. I presented them with the bottle which was placed with some other gifts on a side table. Some time later I noticed the bottle was no longer on the table and mentioned it to the host. He walked into the kitchen to find that one of the catering help had apparently picked up, then chilled the bottle and poured it into some of the champagne flutes setting on trays. They at least got a taste as it was obviously a still wine but they had planned on saving it for a more private time. The caterer nearly fainted when she learned how much the bottle was worth.

Several months ago someone was asking for help in coating nuts with various candy coatings. This attachment for a KitchenAid stand mixer is now available and though pricy, should work well for small production runs.

I came across this as I was looking for a replacement for a plate rack that someone borrowed and never returned. It might fit your needs and is not terribly expensive. They have a stainless steel one for about twice the cost.

I only use vermouth in cooking, however it seems to me to keep just about forever. I have only one friend who drinks martinis and I have never heard a complaint from her. As long as it isn't subjected to extremes of heat and cold I don't see how it can be damaged.

Do you have an airbrush. An ideal way is to cover the cake with rolled fondant and airbrush on a bright color.

You might want to read this article about one particular disease with which I am familiar. Undulent fever My stepdad got it from drinking raw milk at the farm of one of his friends. He was quite ill for about 4 months and had some relapses (an old name was "relapsing fever") He was an opthamalogist and was unable to do any surgery for quite a while because he had a residual tremor in both hands for some time. I buy unpasturized milk for making cheese, but I have an electric pasturizer and always pasturize the milk before I use it to make cheeses. In the U.S. we have "certified" raw milk. That is milk from cows that have been examined and tested for various diseases and are certified by the county health department. The testing is expensive and it is not usually feasable for small farmers to have it done.

The Mexican market here in town has very fresh coconut, as well as young coconut still in the husk and occasionally green coconut.

Not all track lighting is crappy. I have seen these installed in a family room and kitchen and they looked terrific.

Check out this rotary microplane rasp. I am willing to bet that I can mount the 2-inch one on the end of a drill extension on one of my variable speed drills and convert it to a coconut grater that will work from the inside out. I have ordered a set and will see if I can make it work when I get them. I was trying to find a large stone drill bit, the kind with a bunch of big teeth on the end that is shaped sort of like a ball, but they are apparently only available to heavy industry as I couldn't find one on the internet. Oddly enough I can get one with a diamond tip but don't think it would work on anything as soft as coconut. (My boss's son works for deBeers in the industrial division.)

Ideally you should have a combination of general lighting and task lighting. Check out the kitchens at HGTV There are some great ideas and configurations in actual kitchens, which you can look at to see if they might work for you.

Julia introduced America, or rather "ordinary" Americans to the idea that French foods could be prepared in the home and were not some exotic idea available only to the traveller and the very rich. It was a concept that was very new to most home cooks who prior to that had been intimidated by the idea of French cookery. She was an interesting lady, worked for the OSS during WWII and traveled extensively. She is an icon and is revered by a great many professional chefs because without her foundation in the genre, they would not have enjoyed the popularity they achieved. The biggest names in the business owe a great deal to Julia.

Prior to my Christmas vacation, I ordered 8 pounds of the Cabot butter, 4 pounds of the Euro-style and 4 pounds of the Old-fashioned. I finally used the last of the Euro-style (unsalted) and ordered another 8 pounds plus 8 pounds of the Old-fashioned. It freezes well and I want to keep it on hand. I found that it works great in sauces, better than the Plugra, and is terrific in pastry. I made shortbread with the Old-Fashioned and it was supurb. it is costly, but not any more so than when I make my own, if I figure my time as part of the cost. Adding my time in addition to everything else, my homemade stuff costs me about 7 bucks a pound.

TurtleMeng Last week Vallarta Supermercado had the La Mexicana brand of "table cream" for 4.87 for a quart, the Cacique was 6.29. So if you watch the ads, or check in the market weekly, you can get a bargain. I shop at Vallarta at least once a week because their produce is excellent and the prices are fantastic. Lemons and limes are extremely cheap, compared to regular markets and they have "sweet limes" = Meyer lemons for way less than the regular markets, if you can find them. The Mexican limes = Key limes are also very cheap. I whip the table cream and find that it holds very well when making whipped cream frosting, probably because of the stabilizers which are fine with me. The shelf life is very long as it is in any heavy cream - the higher the fat content, the longer it will keep. I like the texture I get when using it in desserts. I never get the "grainy" texture that sometimes happens with the ultra pasturized stuff. I use it exclusively in my homemade ice cream which I would put up against any of the "premium" ice creams on the market. As an aside: I am an x-ray tech/off.mgr. and have been with my boss, an orthopedic surgeon, for 37 years this month. We are semi-retired but still doing some work as he likes to keep busy (at 77). He tolerates me taking extra long lunch breaks while running around looking for a particular ingredient or piece of kitchen equipment, not to mention the time I spend on the internet. P.S. I have never, ever, used margarine in baking. I started out as a professional baker in the 50s, in Wisconsin, and we used only butter, occasionally lard, for pie pastry. too many chemicals in margarine. I never bought into the butter = high cholesterol idea. I eat a diet high in cholesterol-containing foods and mine has never been over 150.

Several months ago I started this topic on making you own condiments Condiments It includes my method for making mustard, starting with the seeds and with photos. others posted recipes for mustard and ketchup and I also posted recipes for banana ketchup, mushroom ketchup, a sweet, hot chutney and also my recipe and photos of how I make my green sauce (tomatillo sauce) which is not very hot but can be if more or hotter peppers are added, and it is fantastic to use for stewing pork. Or just for a dip! I also make duxelles as well as onion confit. Pickles, pickled fruits Sambals and other chile-based pastes and sauces, some sweet, some sour and some extremely hot! I roast garlic in olive oil, in a large pot in the oven. I then jar it up and process it as I would any canned item and it keeps beautifully in the pantry for months. I will not take a chance on cold-infused garlic oil because of the danger of botulism, but this way the long period of oven heating insures that the organisms are killed. I can use both the garlic and the oil, as I usually put about a cup of the roasted cloves in each pint jar, then fill with the hot oil before capping. Preserved lemons preserved ginger Fruit and spice syrups. All kinds of dried things such as dried citrus peel, dried shallots, dried vegetables, etc. Compound butters, GiftedGourmet started this topic The Ketchup Conundrum In which I posted my recipe for mushroom ketchup (for people who can't have tomato products). It makes a great meat sauce.

Hassenpfeffer and my favorite recipe is This one That has been in several of Sylvia Bashline's cookbooks, including the first which I think was published in the early 80s as that is how long I have been preparing rabbit (or hare) this way. I also make jugged hare, which is very similar to duck confit, in principal. I should add that I usually triple or quadruple this recipe and cook it in an electric roaster for parties. People especially love the gravy. Besides the wild rabbits I get, there is a local (to me) farmer who raises several breeds of rabbit and also Belgian hare, which are much larger than our domestic rabbits. One of these will easily feed six or more.

Even though I have been admonished by some people that Kentucky is not truly part of the south, (didn't join the Confederacy), there are a great many people who occupy that state who would bristle at that statement. Most certainly have a "southern" mindset. And that goes for grits too. I was born at home (hospitals were for "sick" people) followed by a gathering of the family so I could be introduced to the clan. Had a double first name all during my childhood to the side of the family native to Kentucky, had white gloves and Mary Janes to wear to church, and had it drummed into my head that "pretty is as pretty does." I know 99 different ways to prepare grits and a different recipe for every kind of gravy known in the south from red eye to cream that is thick enough to mound on top of a chicken-fried steak. Oh yes, I was a cheerleader in high school, but only after I moved to Wisconsin

I will have to check. It is here. That is, the brand I use most. The stuff is delicious as-is. In fact, my housekeeper will spoon some into a little dish and eat it plain. (However she is one of these very thin people who eat like a horse and never gains weight.)