andiesenji

bacon and avocado (to continue the theme) prosciutto and melon peaches and shaved ham apples and Kasseri or Caerphilly cheese ditto pears Barbecue potato chips (rippled) with large curd cottage cheese (my favorite secret snack) crisp waffles topped with chili cheese blintzes with habanero salsa, ooooooohh!!

Oh you have no idea how nauseating it is to pitch so many (formerly) lovely raspberries that are overrun with botrytis so I can make my four jars of jam.... I just bought 6 of the large clamshell packs at Sam's Club and there was not a bad berry in the bunch. They are now being turned into raspberry syrup in a steam extractor.

She does mention kosher salt, she says to use more because it weighs less because of the crystalline structure.

Akin to confit, is the pre-refrigeration method of preserving pork chops. At hog-killing time. The chops were cut up and fried while the lard was being rendered. Then a layer of cooked chops would be place on the bottom of a large crock. That layer would be covered with melted lard then another layer of chops, another layer and lard and so on until the crock was filled, topped with lard, covered with a clean board with a weight on the top and placed in the coolest spot around, root cellar, spring house, etc. Sealed away from the air, these chops would keep for many months and the deeper one got into the crock, the better the chops tasted.

Absolutely. There are some applications where, using your garlic powder example, that nothing else will do. Dry rubs for BBQ come to mind. Then there are recipes that would suffer from tampering with. On several threads, it has come up that the ubiquitous green beans with the mushroom soup and canned fried onions is just not the same thing if you make it from scratch. I have an old crock pot recipe for beef stew that uses a can of mushroom soup and a package on onion soup mix. It just isn't right without those. I have a yellow squash recipe that starts out with diced onion lightly browned in butter. It is better with the dried onion flakes. There is a nuttiness to the flavor that is really good. Then there are the "comfort foods" that some of us remember from our childhood, particularly if our childhood was in the 50s, that rely on the prepared food craze at the time. I agree with you 100% There are some "convenience" foods that are worth using because they enable you to do other things with more flair. I often have people ask me for my recipe for Mac 'n Cheese. I unabashadly tell them my "secret". First I cook the Creamettes brand elbow macaroni, if that is not available then it is Barilla. It is then cooked aldente, then drained, tossed back in the pot with butter and a can (or two, depending on the amount of macaroni) of Campbell's Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup, undiluted. Stir, pour in a casserole, sprinkle the top with parmesan or asiago, freshly grated and run under the broiler for a couple of minutes. It is alway creamy, never gets gummy or hard and tastes good. If we want spicy it is the Nacho Soup I use. In the meantime, I have baked bread from scratch, cooked fresh mushrooms, onions, tomato and squash, grilled chops or steaks and prepared a killer dessert. The mac and cheese takes 15 minutes, tops.

All of the uniform shops around here (and there are several) have hair nets in every color and in different sizes, also beard guards.

If it is thick enough, and 1 inch should be, just get some sandpaper, coarse, medium, fine, super fine and sand it down until it is flat. If you know someone who has woodworking equipment they can do it for you. Even hardwood can be worked easily with sandpaper, wrap it around a block of wood which you can get as scraps at a lumbar yard or someplace like Lowe's or Home Depot, etc. I have a lot of butcher block counter tops and occasionally have had one develop a bump, usuallly from someone setting a hot pan on a wet counter. I have a lot of woodworking tools and use a wide draw knife to shave the bump down, then finish with sandpaper then seal it. I buy mineral oil (food grade) in the drug store or Wal-Mart. It is usually right next to the Milk of Magnesia. If you spend a little more and get one of the "end-grain" cutting boards, which are usually much thicker, you will not have a problem with warping just from moisture as wood warps along the linear plane. Heat and water will cause it to swell but it often will return to normal after a time. If there is one of the "Factory Outlet" group of stores near you, check for a kitchenware outlet. They have excellent buys on cutting boards, all shapes and sizes, cheaper than I have seen anywhere else. I bought several to take with me when I am going to be cooking somewhere other than my home because most people do not have good ones and I do not want to ruin my knives. I carry one for meats and poultry and one for vegetables to prevent cross-contamination. Here is a good hint for you. Go to one of the art supply places and buy one of the semi-rigid plastic art carriers. They have the perfect size for carrying your cutting boards, keeps them clean and away from other things.

I spoke to my friends in Yorba Linda earlier this evening, they told me that old George, the original owner from Missouri, died and his sons had a falling out about the way the place was run in about 1997 or '98. Marie, George's second wife and Louise, his first wife were good friends, and my friends told me they moved into Leisure World together. That was a prime piece of real estate which they owned, so it was probably sold for a bundle. I haven't been down that way for a while so have no idea what is now on that corner. Too bad you never tried their pies. The strawberry pie was just perfectly ripe strawberries, piled as high as they could in a blind-baked crust, then their own clear glaze (not that canned glop) which was like a simple syrup cooked to the soft ball stage, wa then poured over the pile of fruit. I have never tasted a strawberry pie as good. They did a blueberry pie with blueberries in blueberry cream that was also unlike any I have ever tried. Their lemon meringue was also great. My friends said their favorite was the chocolate cream pie with the crust made from vanilla wafers and with shaved chocolate on top of the pastry cream topping. (About 1000 calories to the square inch.) In the late 70s and early 80s the Santa Ana Kennel Club had their two shows (spring and fall) at the Disneyland Driving Range (long gone now) and those of us who stayed at the grounds in motorhomes always converged on Belisles after the show. Even with a large group like us, the service was always fast, courteous and I never heard of them getting an order wrong. And note that all the "waitresses" were not youngsters. One, whom I remember was named Betty Ann, had been a waitress for 50 years. No trays for them, they could carry three plates on one arm and two in the other hand. Fantastic. We used to go there for breakfast prior to visiting Disneyland, would order one breakfast for two people, which they were happy to provide extra plates because they knew how big they were. My stepson, who had two hollow legs and was a body builder, would eat one of the "Mountain-Man" breakfasts all by himself. I think it included a slab of ham, several strips of bacon, sausage, 6 eggs, fried potatoes and a stack of pancakes. It came on a large platter. They also had wonderful fried chicken, chicken fried steak and the smothered pork chops with stewed apples were the best. The chicken pot pie was also a favorite. I think they started out as a competitor to the restaurant at Knotts Berry Farm. I haven't been to Pie and Burger or Apple Pan. I used to go to a House of Pies, can't recall just where at the moment. There used to be a place named Tick Tock Pies on Van Nuys Blvd in Sherman Oaks. They had a big sign out front that was a pie clock face. That is going back a long way. They were just down the street from Bob's Big Boy drive in and on Friday night (cruise night) they were an alternate to Bob's.

Your blend is probably as good, if not better than the one I use. I often cook it in the microwave and taste and add to it if I want a bit more "spark". Actually I buy a big bag of the basic stuff at Smart & Final. Then I add to it, broken pieces of cinnamon, star anise, fennel seed, celery seed, sometimes black caraway (sweeter than the regular caraway), sometimes ginger, dried lemon peel or orange peel. Rarer still I may toss in some black cardamom. The regular mixes that combine coriander whole cloves mustard seed black peppercorns whole allspice bay leaves dried peppers celery seed is a good base. If I want an oniony flavor in the pickling liquid itself, I add some dried shallots. I grow a lot of shallots and drying them really concentrates the flavor. The same holds true with garlic. I much prefer the black and brown mustard to the yellow, mainly because I grow more of it. Occasionally I add fenugreek seeds to a batch, makes an interesting flavor change. I love to experiment.

This pickle recipe my pickle recipe also works well with squash and etc.

My original recipe for refrigerator bread and butter pickles is here Andie's Bread and Butter pickles It took me some time to develop this recipe and it works beautifully every time. You can also make it with summer squash and also with mixed vegetables, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, carrots, little onions, etc. If you like them spicier add more red peppers. You can make this recipe in a larger batch and can them using the hotwater bath method. The acid level is high enough to prevent spoilage as long as they are processed correctly.

Trillium, I will call my hair stylist. Chong is from Korea and has brought me many things from home when she visits twice a year. Her mother and sisters are all great cooks and make all kinds of things that are traditional but are no longer made by most people in their homes. If there is a recipe available her mom will probably know it.

I am already fat and can get a lot fatter with this kind of stuff going on. Still, sounds great. I am a Type II diabetic but am well controlled. A little straying off the path isn't a huge problem. Huell Hauser had a show on KCET that included tasting pies at various places around the city. I wish I could remember the ones he visited. I made some notes at the time but have no idea where they might be now. I will see if I can find the link on his web site. A blind tasting sounds like a lot of fun.

There used to be a restaurant on the southwest corner of Harbor Blvd and Katella about a mile south of Disneyland that had the absolute best pies I ever tasted in a restaurant. They made them from scratch and always had lugs of the fresh fruit in a cooler at the front of the restaurant to show what was going into the pies. I think the name was Belisle's. I think it closed a few years ago, but it was there for many, many years, a bright pink building, often with a line waiting to get in. They served huge portions and used only the best ingredients, no mixes. Their pastry cream was the real stuff. They also made chocolate eclairs that were enormous and delicious. They made cream puffs that were the size of grapefruit and if you wished were served with a bowl of sliced strawberries.

shiso/uses scroll down a bit more than half way on the next page umeboshi and this is a recipe for umeboshi but you need to read carefully umeboshi recipe You can pickle the leaves in salt brine, much as you would grape leaves, then dry them in the oven and crumble them for use.

I have one of these It is large enough to handle grapefruit and makes quick work of juicing a lot of citrus - I also use it for pomegranates. I bought it in a middle eastern market for $49.00. It has a spring that lifts the handle back to upright. There are similar ones that are a lot more expensive but this one works beautifully. Check at a local store that caters to middle eastern customers. That is a one-quart measure with the juicer.

I grew up in western Kentucky and we certainly had plenty of green tomato dishes. Fried green tomatoes were just one of them. Green tomato jam (or marmalade), which was made almost like the filling for green tomato pie, was a favorite tea-time treat with biscuits or scones. A spicy version was served with meats. Unless one grows their own, out here it is very difficult to find green tomatoes. Some of the specialty groceries carry them or will get them as a special order if they go to the central produce market themselves. Back home there are almost always green tomatoes displayed right alongside the ripe tomatoes in many stores. The last time I was in Arkansas I took a friend to the store with me after a day of dog-showing (Fort Smith). He was amazed at the varieties of produce displayed. Much different than southern California. Fewer exotics, more "down home" stuff. I did buy green tomatoes and made fried green tomatoes for dinner that night. As I recalled we had about 15 people at the cook-out. (I had a motorhome that had a really complete kitchen and usually caravaned with other folks with motorhomes and we would set up together for mutual help). I had a lot of fun introducing people to regional favorites.

Here are a couple of photos to demonstrate how the dual pitter works. As you can see, these ranier cherries are huge, far too large to fit in the regular cherry pitter. The bing cherries are not small, in fact they are at the large end of the scale but still fit in the cherry side. Ranier cherries in the "plum, large olive" side of the pitter. Bing cherries in the cherry side - it does two at a time, there is a chute on each side which is why the thing is in the center of a large tray.

I remember reading Stranger In A Strange Land when it was first published. I have probably read it (and Glory Road my other favorite Heinlein) several times since then. Did you know that Heinlein sold the films rights many years ago? I have often wondered why it was never made into a movie. Do you Grok it? and Who is John Gault? (Atlas Shrugged) were two popular questions among the kids that hung out with my kids in the late 60s, early 70s. Back OT, we had a little flurry of excitement in a local market yesterday. Someone thought a person had tampered with some of the cereal, because of holes punched in some of the boxes. Mystery solved when someone noticed that a pallet standing on edge, against which a pallet full of cases of cereal had been pushed, had several protruding nails, long enough to punch through the cardboard box and the cereal boxes inside. They found the box with the holes. The same store also had a problem earlier in the week with a batch of produce bags. The seals at the bottom were not good and if one dropped something heavy enough, i.e. apple, pear, onion, potato, bunch of grape, in the top, it would fall out the bottom. It got a little hazaradous for a while, there were many pieces of fruit and veg on the floor. Believe it or not, it took half a day for them to understand that the customer complaints actually had a basis in fact. My neighbor had to take several unused bags up to the manager and demonstrate the problem because she couldn't get the produce manager to pay any attention to her complaint. Apparently he thought people were throwing the stuff on the floor on purpose......... Maybe they need a new produce manager..........

We had some of the smoke plume yesterday afternoon, it was up high and actually caused the temperature to drop quite a bit. It was actually quite comfortale. Since it was being carried at a higher level we had only a little of the smell. There was some ashfall but not a lot. All my neighbors are fine. I have friends in Santa Clarita who have a small horse ranch, that have been evacuated because of a new fire that started yesterday close to their home. She had been helping evacuate horses from the fire that started earlier last week. They have a huge horse trailer and a big truck to pull it so could transport 8 animals at a time. Then they had to move their own animals. They say both these fires were deliberately set. Anyway, I have been growing pea sprouts, broccoli sprouts and radish sprouts. I don't care much for alfalfa but love the others.

Some more of my favorites: “Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.” Jim Davis, 'Garfield' "Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life." Georges Blanc, Ma Cuisine des Saisons “A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do.” P. J. O'Rourke. “Bread is the king of the table and all else is merely the court that surrounds the king. The countries are the soup, the meat, the vegetables, the salad but bread is king.” Louis Bromfield, American novelist.

And do you know, those large plastic "clamshell" containers in which fruits, cherries, tomatoes, and etc., are sold at CostCo, Sam's Club, make great sprouting containers for various sprouts. They have slots in the top and bottom so you can rinse them easily, as you should do at least daily (twice a day is better). The "Viva" brand of paper towels are thick and resist tearing and do not dry out as rapidly as regular ones and several layers make a great growing surface in the bottom of the container. (or you can use a pad made of loosely woven cloth).

If you want to get lemon flavor into milk, without the danger of curdling, use lemon verbend, crush the leaves and infuse the leaves directly in the milk.

This site has an explanation of palm sugar. palm sugar I use palm sugar in sambals and in Asian sweet chile sauces, coconut based sauces, etc. I try to find the creamy colored sugar, I like it better than the darker.

I have a friend up in Bakersfield, from Punjab. She has a deep. heavy wooden bowl, about 15 inches in diameter, with a very thick bottom into which is pounded what looks like a railroad spike, with the head that is exended on one side (to hold the rail in place). The extension has been cut with a file so that it has teeth or serrations. She cracks the coconuts in half, holds the bowl between her knees and rubs the meat against the "teeth" and the nut meat comes off in shreds very rapidly. She can clean out a coconut shell in about the time it has takne me to type this note. She said her grandfather made it for her when she was just a girl and learning to cook. The odd thing about this is that our cook, when I was a child, had a similar thing for grating coconut.