andiesenji

The Mexican pumpkins I buy at Vallarta supermarket are very sweet and the flesh is dense and finely textured. It is what they use for candied pumpkin squares. - The first time I had this was when I was in Mexico City for the International dog shows in the 1960s - street vendors with carts holding charcoal braziers sell this and candied sweet potato chunks - extremely hot, so little possibility of any unwanted pathogens. (Burnt the roof of my mouth on multiple occasions.) Lately the ones I bought have very small seed cavities, with flesh 3+ inches thick on the sides, less top and bottom. They are rather "squatty" and a mottled green with cream colored spots.

I agree with Heidih. That variety is more fibrous than the "sugar" pumpkins - except for the paler varieties - which do not grow so large. There is THIS terrific web site that gives all the information one could ever want regarding the various pumpkin varieties and how to cook them, even the "Jack-O-Lantern" pumpkins that are grown for display rather than for cooking. Like any squash, the smaller ones are more tender. Sometimes you can tell by the STEM which variety you have and how to use it. roasting them is a good way but I have had good results with cutting them into chunks about 4 inches square and pressure cooking them for 15 minutes - allowing them to cool a bit and then scraping the "meat" off the tough skin. Then I cook the flesh any way I want. I used to grow the large blue Hubbard squash, which can also be extremely fibrous and treated them this way. They actually have a harder outer shell than pumpkins and had to be cut with a saw.

Sometimes the folks running the store buy it themselves so it never gets out on the shelves. A local thrift store holds back certain items for regulars who leave standing orders (as I do for vintage cookbooks, Bauer pottery, etc.) as they know we will pay the asking price and not try to bargain it down. As it supports a worthy cause, I'm glad to do it. That being said, the Goodwill store here in Lancaster always has a lot of Corelle plates and dishes and the last time I was there a box full of the earlier style cups and saucers - the cups with the finger loop that did not attach to the cup at the bottom. They were the white and gold design.

Don't know how good it would be for my hands, never having used one, but it will sure come in handy every now and then. Several times a year I encounter difficult to remove jar tops ... Thanks! Kerry gave me one and it is one of my most useful gadgets. Hope it works as well for you.I've also got one of those and use it so often!! I think that gadget is meant for opening new jars which is under vacuum. It is not for jars which the lid is stock with dried food. dcarch Those Lee Valley lid "poppers" are great but as dcarch mentioned, not so good for non-vacuum sealed lids that are stuck on. You also have to be careful with popping the lids on some "imported' jams and jellies that are in slightly thinner jars. I no longer use that one but have a couple of these Jar-Pop openers that work fine. The last time I used the Lee Valley lid popper A large, very expensive, jar of French preserved fruits broke - the "collar" of the jar at the base of the threaded portion cracked and the top part came off with the lid still intact and the jar itself split in three sections. And I cut my hand. I used the electric jar opener a few days ago when I opened a jar of my homemade mincemeat on which the lid seemed to be welded securely. I tried the under-cabinet opener first and it wouldn't budge the lid. This is an inexpensive item that does not require a strong grip as the hand-held ones do and you have to use both hands and I wrap some "Grip-It" shelf liner around the jar but in this case that did not work but the Black & Decker did the trick with no effort.

If you need any bay leaves, send me a PM. I have two trees with very nice aroma and flavor - I'll dry them for you and you can put them in a sealed container - they will keep for a year with no loss of flavor. They are the true Laurel Nobilis/sweet bay.

They still make the wall-mounted crank-type can openers that work just fine. I have one as well as an electric one. I have the battery-powered jar opener, now a Hamilton Beach because the first one (Sharper Image) broke after four or five years of constant use. And I have the Black and Decker electric jar opener which is expensive but works on larger and odd-shaped jars that the battery one can't handle. It is worth every penny if one lives alone and doesn't have someone with strong hands to help with these tasks. I can't operate a regular flour sifter so I got one of the big ones with a crank on the side and also a set of the "hoop-type" drum-sieve or "tamis" which don't require repetitive gripping. I bought them from Fantes (along with a lot of other kitchen helpers.) I have arthritis at the base of my right thumb where it meets the wrist with a greatly enlarged joint which really inhibits gripping. It is the result of many years holding engraving tools with a very firm grip and stressing the joint. My left hand is not as affected. Ditto the apple peeler corer slicer and a good mandolin. The one item that has been elusive is a pair of kitchen tongs that did not tire my hand with repetitive use. I have several and none really worked until I got these Progressive International tongs, both 9" and 12" a couple of months ago. I also bought the Good Grips but for me they don't work quite as well. I have large hands and these might be difficult for someone with small hands to use. Incidentally, I quite by accident discovered this "trick" for keeping the tongs from springing wide open when I don't want them to - when cooking bacon, for instance, I have several of the tube-type garlic peelers, received as gifts and never used as such. I slide one over the hinge end of the tongs and they only open as far as the sleeve allows...

I have a bunch of them, including the "lily pads" and a huge rectangular one that will cover a large baking dish and in the oven as well as microwave. I posted about them on my blog in January 2012.

Do it frequently, to different degrees of doneness. Example: Kabocha and Acorn have hard shells, so some 'waving will soften things a bit, and make for easier cutting before roasting. Sometimes I'll 'wave the squash to fully cooked, cut, scoop out the flesh and then mash and season. Works just fine. PS: Did you get the oven baked rice recipe I sent you? Spaghetti squash turns out beautifully in the MW. I stab them deeply a few places on each side with an ice pick (carefully) so the steam can escape. (also, cut the stem off if it is still intact) Put the whole squash on a microwave safe plate - I use a Pyrex pie "pan" and for a medium sized squash - 7-8" long and 4-5" diameter, cook it on high for 10 minutes. Let it rest for 3-5 minutes and cook it on power level 6 for 10-15 minutes. After 10 minutes, stab it with your trusty ice pick and if it penetrates easily, it is done. Sometimes if they have been stored for awhile, they take more time. Larger DIAMETER squash take more time. Add three minutes onto the HIGH cooking time for each additional inch in diameter. The TEXTURE of the squash cooked this way is, in my opinion, better than any other method of cooking.

And, not to speak for Shel-B, but I think he didn't get the "quote" feature to work exactly right, as it was gdenby that mentioned a fondness for Corningware, not I. Actually, I make my omlettes in my regular ol' everyday Blue Danube soup bowl, covered with either a film of Saran Wrap, pierced, or an inverted Blue Danube saucer. Although, like many ladies of a certain age, I do have quite a bit of Corningware, use it, and especially love it in the microwave. RE: Corningware ... I've a few pieces purchased at garage sales. Love the items I have. Love the price I paid - averaged out to $3.00 a piece, with covers! No bowls though. Having long been a collector of "vintage" kitchen stuff - and having purchased a lot of Corningware back when it was "new" - I have a lot that I use regularly. I have the large square "grill" pan with ridges on the bottom that is handy for microwave defrosting of slabs of meat. If you come across one at a yard sale or thrift store, buy it. I have a couple of extra "latch-on" handles, for use on a stove top so if you do find one, PM me and I will send you one. People often lost the detachable handles, or if they inherited the piece had no idea the handle belonged with the pan.

If steel cut oats are cooked on the stovetop in a pressure cooker there is no need to stir. I use 2 oz oats, 8 oz water, 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt in a pint jar. I just made oatmeal for a late breakfast along with a recipe of tomato sauce, cooked at the same time in the same pot, which of course saves energy. I always thought the name RadarRange was a bit redundant -- since RADAR stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. The whole "Radarange" naming thing was up in the air for a couple of years because Raytheon originally developed it in the late '40s and when it "acquired" Amana Refrigeration in the mid-1960s, the thing was going to be marketed as the Raytheon-Amana Radarange but after two years of "discussions" some of which were acrimonious, they settled on just using the Amana name and Raytheon withdrew its fingers from the pie, concentrating instead on government contracts instead of consumer products. I learned all this from a friend of my husband who had worked for Raytheon before taking a job at Applied Research Lab in Montrose, CA. He said that the term "heads will roll" was demonstrated during the "Radarange wars" ... He departed before the firing squads were brought in.

I always heat milk or cream in the microwave - I regularly make yogurt in 2-quart batches and it takes 14 minutes on HIGH to heat half a gallon of milk (in a container with a minimum of three inches of headroom) to the desired 185 degrees F. I check with my Thermapen. It takes 9 minutes to heat a liter. I heat most things in my glass Pryex or Anchor Hocking measures with one of the silicone flat "lids" of which I have several sizes. This allows for easy stirring and they are deep enough to prevent overboil. If I suspect something may boil over, I set the container on a paper plate - it is much easier than mopping up the spills. Rolled oats are okay cooked in the microwave but I prefer stovetop - and as I mostly use steel cut oats or "pinhead" oats, they MUST be cooked over heat with constant stirring - Since I have a Thermomix, I use that and the result is an exceptionally creamy oatmeal. I've been using the microwave method since I got my first RadarRange in 1968 - and a female technician from Amana came to the house and spent 2 hours showing me how to use it and what not to put in it. For foods with chunks of meat or chicken - which can get rubbery - the best way is to heat them for long periods at very low power. For stews, for 3-4 cups, I set the timer for 15 MINUTES on power level 3 which usually heats the stuff all the way through fairly evenly. I do check with the Thermapen to be sure it is above 160° F., and if not, stir and hit it with a minute or two at full power. If I am going to "roast" potatoes with meat or chicken, I pre-bake them in their skins in the microwave for 5 minutes, allow them to cool a bit and then remove the skins and put them in with the roast or ?? for the final half hour in the oven. Sweet potatoes come out perfect "baked" in the microwave. You can find some excellent advice, written in concise, easy to understand language, at this site, which has been around for more than a decade.

I have the Kevlar and steel mesh glove/Superior brand. More expensive but they seem safer to me. I got mine from a local fishing and hunting store - and they gave me a discount because the smaller sizes apparently haven't been selling well. They sell a lot to people who fish and hunt. Supposedly they are the same ones used by commercial fisherfolk...

I still make big batches of candied ginger and slicing it on a mandolin is the only way to go when 10 pounds is the batch. Also slice big batches of onions to make onion confit. I have the de Buyer V slicer and hang it over a bus tub when slicing both these items. And I wear a cut-proof glove if I don't use the holder when slicing the ginger.

My copper pan is 10" wide from rim to rim and 4.25" deep. I got it down and measured again, the "working" capacity is 3.75 quarts.

For people, who do not have the intestinal enzymes that break down the oligosaccharides in beans, the recommended solution is BEANO. Soaking the beans twice - in fresh water each time - and pouring off the soak water and rinsing the beans, can help somewhat but if you don't have the enzymes naturally in the gut, you will have gas. Beans do not produce this effect in me. Other vegetables do - different chemicals, - cabbage is one such, ditto Brussels sprouts. Read this for some helpful ideas.

I've never ordered anything from an infomercial but in the "factory store outlet" stores there is an "As Seen on TV" store where one can buy the items (no shipping costs) and return them if one is not satisfied with the results. Often they are discounted significantly. I have purchased sets of the plastic containers that all take the same size lid and are on a turntable - for things that I am going to give away as gifts - or take to the senior center where NO container is ever returned. I got a set of three of the perforated pizza pans - which are fairly heavy - good for crisping things as well as baking pizza and pastries in my Sharp convection/microwave. The set cost 8.99 and as I had a coupon on a sales slip from an earlier visit, I got the three for 5.99 and well worth it. I bought one of the onion "flower" cutters - returned it, no problem. I bought one of the "new" non-stick knives - for cheeses - marked down to 6.99. It works fine, especially on dense, slightly sticky cheeses. (Jack and Colby). If you have one of the factory outlet malls in your area, check to see if they have one of these stores. Saves a lot because those shipping and "handling" costs can really add up.

I have a few of these - called shallow sauce pan or "chef's pan" by Calphalon - (3 quart) And others called "sauciers" by various manufacturers. The largest has a helper handle like yours and holds slightly less than 4 quarts - probably 4 quarts to the brim but I only poured two full 2-qt measures into it. It's copper from Bourgeat and was also listed as an "evasee" pan. I tried to buy another years ago but apparently it was discontinued - the one with the helper handle.

I'm culling mine little by little and putting them on ebay. Mostly I am getting rid of books I bought in the early '90s and some holiday and regional cookbooks that are not of much interest to me. I still have to delve into the footlockers of books that have been stored since before I moved up here in 1988.

I have one of the perforated pizza pans that work at lot better on the deep-dish pizzas than the standard pans. Much better crust (crisp) on the bottom and even heating.

The Demeyere is good if you can't afford the Simplex - I have the gas stove one, also 30+ years, though mine is the copper. Bed bath and Beyond has the 3-quart "autopour" pot They have three of the latter at the senior center as they seem much easier for elderly folks, with weak grips to hold and pour from. (They don't fill them completely full) I have arthritis at the base of my right thumb and in my right wrist and this one is much easier to lift and hold than my regular kettles with the horizontal bar type handle. Just sayin' ...

Thanks for posting this Andie. I just used it as a base for whipping up a pie while visiting with family. There where a few things I had to improvise though. Among them, you include cream and milk in the ingredients list, but do not specify how to use them. I decided to add them to the custard, and add an extra egg just in case I was wrong and was adding too much liquid. It smells wonderful, and I am very much looking forward to tasting it! Sorry for the omission. The ingredients are added in the order listed. I'll fix it a bit later.

I'm in southern California and the local Walmart just began carrying CANNED boiled peanuts and several other "southern" items that have been impossible to find before this.

I can't begin to favor one over another. Mushroom/Wild rice pilaf is good but I recommend a little book, only 76 pages 101 Favorite Wild Rice Recipes, by Duane R. Lund which used to be practically impossible to find but is now available from Amazon! I should order a new one because mine is falling apart - I bought it at the local gourmet shop that went out of business in 1997 - so you can guess how old it is.

I have - or used to have, haven't seen them for a while, some miniature cookie "presses" - the stoneware ones - in the shapes of the regular playing card symbols, leaves, moon and stars, dominoes, etc. I would just press them into the slab of sugar and then let the entire batch dry before breaking the "scraps" away from the shapes. Much easier and much less deformity and breakage of the shapes.

This is sad news indeed. His writing was so great and so evocative of the places of which he wrote that one had the feeling of being right there next to him. He will be profoundly missed.