andiesenji

I had a problem trying to post earlier today. Each time I clicked on "Add Reply" Firefox would quit. Finally I think I have solved the problem. I came across this site a couple of years ago and have tried the Mango recipe. I have also use the basic one as a starting point, adding my own ingredients (apple compote, sliced peaches macerated with sugar, canned pineapple with grated coconut.

I've filtered oils with infused spices using the small size jelly bags (2) tying them tightly and putting one on each side in a salad spinner which quickly expresses the oil through the bags and into the outer bowl. Using coffee filters this takes quite a long time but only five minutes, at most, with this method. I actually tie the bags together by the strings.

You should be able to buy liquid rennet at Whole Foods You only need 1/4 teaspoon for a gallon of milk so a little bottle (or 2) should fill your needs. If using regular milk, ultrapasteurized, you will need to add some calcium chloride to get a firm curd.

I don't know how near you are to the various "fulfillment" centers but a couple of times I have ordered Mighty Leaf Tea before noon on one day at received it the next but only selected the 2nd day free option. I think I may have received a Tea Forté order the same way - (love their silken tea pyramids)

For about thirteen years I had a Blodgett convection/steam oven for my catering needs. It held 10 full-size sheet pans and also had 5 wire racks. It was like this one, except both doors had glass. I stopped doing commercial baking and let my commercial kitchen certification expire and no longer had any use for the oven, which used a lot of gas. (Required a bigger gas line) so eventually I sold it to a friend who has a small bakery/cafe. There are several manufacturers that make similar ovens and they are designed to take a beating. I bought mine at an auction - a TV studio that produced cooking shows was moving and simply put all the appliances and fixtures (also bought two SS tables) into the auction. It was used but not as much as in a commercial kitchen and was ideal for me. No matter where you live, you should be able to find a reliable dealer that carries used equipment where you can get a better deal than buying a new one. One of the advantages of using steam while cooking or baking is that aromas and flavors do not intermingle. Many times I baked savory tarts, etc., at the same time as sweet things, cheesecakes, pies, tarts, and with no crossover flavors. I was suspicious of this when I read it in the Blodgett manual but that's the way it worked. I recently saw a blurb about the Miele steam oven with the same notes.

I would like to know also. I've always made all my cornmeal based breads with buttermilk, soured milk, clabber, etc., with good results. I even make a cornmeal pudding with buttermilk.

I like a bit of grittiness in cornbread but I agree that it can be a bit problematic in corn cakes cooked on a griddle. I've found that soaking the cornmeal in buttermilk for an hour or so and then adding the remaining ingredients produces a tender "crumb" in the corn cakes. The cornmeal will swell and if the top looks dry, add a bit more buttermilk or water.

The premium teas I buy via Amazon Prime are: Mighty Leaf Harney & Sons Tea Forté Here's the page with those selected.

That Ice-O-Matic is gorgeous. There is a yard sale down the road but I have rigorously resisted the lure, so far... The people are new to this area and I should get down there and welcome them. They bought the house fully furnished so I think most of the sale items are from the previous owner. They didn't put the stuff out until an hour or so ago. Most of the yard sale hunters are out much earlier and I doubt they will get much action now. Most people are at the Poppy Festival this weekend. Not a spectacular display of wildflowers this year but the festival itself is usually a lot of fun.

This site has some good advice and a photo of vinegar mother. It isn't pretty but you don't have to look at it for it to do its job. Gang of Pour. This is my red wine v container - it's a 3-gallon container with a cover that is not airtight - you have to allow for air to get into the container as the process requires some oxygen. This is the top of the contents. When the cover is removed, the vinegar aroma is strong. Mold will not grow on vinegar that has the correct acetic content and if there is mold to begin with, once the acid gets to a certain level, it will kill any mold spores. You can get an inexpensive hydrometer or a digital pH meter but while I have these instruments, I rarely use them as with experience you get a "feel" for it. As an aside. Raspberries and blackberries, etc., are often loaded with mold spores and mold rapidly when brought home from the store (or are picked in the garden). Dipping them in vinegar for a minute or so and then rinsing prior to refrigerating them, will extend the time you can hold them before use. Slightly off topic: My neighbor inadvertently fermented some coconut "water" prior to a party just before last Thanksgiving. (Mixed a batch and forgot to put it in the fridge in the garage and it sat at ambient temps for more than a month) I gave her some of the mother from my white wine vinegar to add to the liquid and she mentioned yesterday that it is coming along nicely, has a distinct vinegar smell and flavor.

I treat them exactly like garden peas - shell them (I wear gloves because the green "dye" in the pods does not easily scrub off) I drop them into boiling water for 2-3 minutes, depending on the size of the batch (10 -15 ounces shelled) pour into a colander in the sink and rinse briefly with cold water. If serving hot, back into the pot in which they were cooked, add oil and Italian seasoning or Italian dressing, or you can add butter, salt, pepper, or you can toss them with caramelized onions, red pepper flakes, crumbled crisp bacon. Any of the above can be tossed with rice, pasta, mixed cooked grains. An Italian friend tosses the garbanzos with cooked barley, chills it and serves on a bed of lettuce as a luncheon salad. They grow their own so they are always quite fresh. She also makes a soup with the fresh chickpeas that is similar to a fresh garden pea soup. Any recipe that uses fresh garden peas or English peas for that matter, can work for these.

I've had Senseo pod brewers since I was given one in 2004. Sadly, the company seems to have discontinued selling them in the U.S. but I'm fortunate in that I bought a backup in case the current one fails. Also, I have a pod maker so I can make my own. I've also got a cute little pod type espresso brewer (15 bar) that I enjoy and generally use in the evenings. Then there are the glass cutting boards. I have several but have never used a knife on one. I found that the largest fit exactly into the wire shelves of the utility shelving units of which I have a bunch. Having a level surface keeps bottles from tipping, keeps appliances with feet from getting stuck &etc. I also put one (has rubber feet) on the stone counters under pottery or stoneware cookware. I learned to my chagrin that some have rough bottoms that will score or scratch granite or marble counters - not pretty and expensive to refinish. So they do have their uses, just not for which they were originally intended.

And they are quite good. I use the liquid from my homemade bread and butter pickles. Sweet, sour, spicy and tinted pink with a little beet juice makes for a pretty tiny egg.

Here's one online source in Massachusetts. This one in Pennsylvania. I recently started a new batch with mead, using the white wine vinegar starter from Leeners. The latter will take a few months to develop but I'm hoping for a result similar to honey vinegar I tried last year.

Same thing happened to me. For my second go-round, I used the instructions in Ideas in Food, which involves starting with a live cider vinegar as a culture. Not great if you're a purist, since the results are a hybrid wine-cider vinegar, but once it's going, you can keep topping it up with pure wine, so eventually the cider is diluted right out. I accidentally killed mine, so I really need to start another batch sometime... When I started mine, several years ago, I bought the "mothers" from a home wine-making shop. Since then I've kept them going with an occasional addition of new wine. I have them in containers with spigots so I can draw the vinegar from the bottom without disturbing the mother that floats on the top. The spigots have to be either all plastic or stainless steel - the decorative brass ones must not be used with acidic liquids.

They offer a custom design option. After seeing my post about this on Facebook, one of my friends called as asked if she could use one of my drawings from a couple of decades ago - an Egyptian theme with two basenji dogs. She had bought the drawing (which I had donated) in a fund-raising auction, but like 95% of my artwork, I still hold the copyright. I gave her permission, written, signed, scanned and sent in an email. I can't wait to see the results... lstrelau - I posted that as a sort of joke. I was actually sort of replying to the "totally evil" note from PC.

I've also noticed the proliferation of "specialty" vinegars and a few brands of regular red and white wine vinegars have been demoted to bottom shelves or disappeared entirely. I personally haven't bought any for years because I make my own wine vinegars, red, white and rosé, somewhat because I am frugal but mostly because I like the flavor better.

I, uh, sorry...

There are peripheral damages too. My friend, who owns a fair amount of acreage, including more than half a mile of lake Superior frontage, raises Christmas trees. Her neighbor did have some hogs, not wild boars, they were hybrid Tamworth/Hereford that were foraging in the oak and hickory woods adjacent to her property. The males were all castrated. Someone reported that they were wild, even though they were all ear tagged, they were shot. The farmer was told he can't make a claim for unlawful destruction of domestic livestock. Because the state vehicles, trucks and 4 x 4s could not drive on the narrow, overgrown logging road through the woods, they drove through her property (without permission) and destroyed several thousand crop trees. A suit will be filed but she is selling her property to a developer who has been trying to get it for years. Her family settled the property in 1843.

I think these are just so innovative. I've seen fridge refinishing ideas in the past but nothing that comes anywhere near to these. Cool just doesn't say enough. Kudu magnets I especially like the African Animals.

It is a huge invasion and denial of private property rights and just one more act in what is going on in Michigan. People who have lived on family farms for generations have been forced to sell them at hugely discounted prices to large agribusiness companies. A friend who lives on the upper peninsula is selling out and moving to Vermont before her property is seized.

I agree with the chilling. I place the cookies on sheets of parchment, stacked on a tray and put them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. I then slide each parchment sheet onto a sheet pan and straight into the oven. I find they bake more evenly if the pan itself isn't chilled - but perhaps that's just a fluke. I do have a convection oven. I do the same thing with half & half and quarter cookies.

I like and use both. I usually buy the white hominy grits from Barry farm and often grind it much finer in my Nutrimill. I recently ordered white hominy grits (Angelina's) from Amazon but have only tried them cooked plain - they are very good. I will eventually experiment with grinding them finer to use as cornmeal in polenta or cornbread. I have to use up some I already have on hand. I consume a lot of corn products.

I do so agree with you. I happen to have yards of counters but there is nothing purely decorative on any of the. Everything is there so it is handy for use. It may look like a bunch of junk but to me it is necessary for the way I cook.

I buy self rising (or raising) flour because I have a few old family recipes that don't seem to work as well if I use the alternative. I do NOT ever use self-rising cornmeal... Self-raising flour was actually invented in England in the middle of the 19th century and became a staple on board ships where the chemical ingredients in the flour were more stable than separately because of the high humidity. In the U.S. it first became popular in the southeastern and seaboard states and in Appalachia because here too it was more stable than the separate ingredients and the flour itself, usually made from soft wheat, was sifted more times during the manufacturing process, so was "lighter" and finer. This became a staple in southern kitchens and until recent years, the favorites (White Lily, Martha Washington, Red Band) were always found in those regional kitchens. The current crop of big brand self-rising flours made in the U.S. are not made from soft wheat, have more gluten than those that are no longer available and don't produce the same results. Hudson Cream self-rising flour is available at Walmart. It is quite good. I order Odlums self-raising flour, a product from Ireland. It is exceptional.