Fernwood
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Posts posted by Fernwood
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3 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:
What aroused me from the flyer was the Montmorency dried cherries. I love tart cherries! They go on to state that because the cherries are tart they have added sugar. (They are already concentrating sugars in the cherries by drying them.) That does not please me at all. If anyone has experience with these dried cherries I would love to know what you think of the flavor profile.
Those cherries are one of my favorite items from TJ's. I use them in a variety of baked goods and I think they are delicious by themselves. To me the flavor is balanced; the acids are also concentrated in the drying, I would think.
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24 minutes ago, dscheidt said:
Measurements in grams, percent of total, baker's percentages:
FLOUR 561.80 56.18% 100%
WATER 252.81 25.28% 45%
milk 84.27 8.43% 15%
egg 28.09 2.81% 5%
butter 28.09 2.81% 5%
money 28.09 2.81% 5%
salt 11 g 1% 2%
IDY 5 0.5% 1%1000g total weight
I have recipes that give me the same feeling...
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On December 30, 2015 at 1:45 PM, boilsover said:
There will be ridicule, but here's the #1 trick for removing odor from rubber, plastic and silicone. I learned this after nearly driving myself insane trying to remove freezer odors from my $$ silicone "rocks" ice molds.
Seal the item in a plastic bag surrounded with... unscented clay cat litter. Leave for 2-3 days.
Thank you!
The fragrance of Cascade Platinum (pods) in all my silicone utensils has been making me nuts. [Store-brand detergent worked fine in the 1993 dishwasher but I couldn't get acceptable results with the "improved" 2014 model until I upgraded and upgraded again to the over-perfumed pods.] I had tried baking soda, vinegar, alcohol, etc., and the kitty litter has worked better than anything else. [If anyone can recommend an unscented dishwasher detergent that really works....]
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53 minutes ago, kayb said:
I also tried something new the other day to use up some bananas that were about to go south on me -- banana jam. All the Interwebs recipes seemed to be horribly heavy on sugar, so I wound up with: four ripe bananas, mashed; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup water; 1/2 tsp cinnamon; 1/2 tsp nutmeg; 1/4 tsp cloves; 1 tbsp lemon juice. Boiled the water with the sugar and spices and lemon until sugar dissolved; added the bananas, cooked and reduced over emdium low heat for maybe 30 minutes. This is Good Stuff on a peanut butter sandwich!
I did not water-bath process it since there was so little of it, but for a larger batch, I see no reason why it wouldn't work.
One caveat: The color of the finished product is...not attractive. Those of you who have changed a dirty diaper will understand.
I'm sure this is great, if you like bananas (I confess that I don't).
You are probably more knowledgeable than I, but I have to ask the canning safety question here. Bananas are not as acidic as some fruits, I think; maybe more sugar makes a safer recipe for water bath canning?
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21 hours ago, natasha1270 said:
The recent Fearless Flyer is advertising that the refrigerated tamales are back but I haven't been to the store to check them out yet. Has anyone tried them since they have re-appeared? If they are the same as before, I hope they stick around. I can't tell from the flyer whether they are only being brought back for the holidays.
I think they've been in our (CT) store most of the fall. We had some in October, I think, and they seemed as I remembered from last year.
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I just finished the water test. That worked. I have some nice fresh eggs from my SIL's chick's from their hobby farm so I will try to poach some eggs for breakfast. I saw the instructions somewhere but looking at my notes it was not on this thread. Shouldn't be too hard to find she said hopefully.
Anna wrote about "poached" eggs in Part 1: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/151807-instant-pot-multi-function-cooker-part-1/?p=2028707.
Someone might think I have been reviewing the topic in anticipation of a Christmas gift and someone would be right. Only my "imaginary cooking friends," as my DH refers to you all, could convince me to acquire another bulky appliance that I have never laid hands on. Stay tuned.
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These little Corelle plates have a permanent place beside my stove, ready for service as spoon rests or other incidental uses. When one goes into the dishwasher, there's always another on deck.
(Why certain members of the household persist in leaving goopy utensils on the counter inches from the plates is just one of those eternal mysteries....)
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Also, I have learned a new vocabulary word from some recently purchased frozen items: Ovenable
Here it is again:
Cracks me up! Since I removed and ovened my 2 triangles on a baking sheet, I did not oven the tray itself so I can't verify the claim.
I learned it from the very same product!
TJ's: It's not just a grocery store, it's an education....
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Can I put a mesh bag of rock salt on the top rack?
Salt doesn't do the work directly, it recharges an ion-exchange resin which binds calcium and magnesium from the hard water. So the salt compartment is just the most obvious component of a water-softening system built into the dishwasher.
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We "upgraded" from a 1993 dishwasher last year and we were finally forced to switch to Cascade Platinum pods. Now everything is clean and pretty but the silicone spatulas smell of the detergent fragrance and I swear that it leaches from the spatulas into the food. If I lick the food residue that has been sitting on a spatula for some minutes I can really taste it. We have never used rinse agent because we didn't see the need; our water is soft and we got good results with quite small doses of powder or gel in the old machine; there's no visible residue on anything else. Does anyone know about the chemistry involved? Is rinse agent the answer? It peeves me to have to add more products but I definitely don't want Cascade-flavored bisque or buttercream.
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This product looks good to me Fernwood, although I'm not a bleu cheese fan.
I do not believe I could make 14 oz. of good tiropita for $4.00, so I'm going to check this product out next time I can get to TJ's. I am talking about the ingredients. Never mind the cursing that often goes on when I'm handling phyllo dough, and my time.
I did not notice the blue cheese flavor; must be the minority ingredient.
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Second - anyone find the best gloves to work with?
I have to wash my hands over and over again at work and I do find that certain antibacterial cleansers and alcohol-based rub-ons are especially hard on my skin. At home, in the kitchen, I have taken to wearing disposable gloves for many tasks in order to minimize the hand-washing. I think the best ones are made of nitrile; these are the non-latex gloves most American hospitals use now. The nitrile is not as stretchy as latex but it is tougher and, if I wear a size that fits snugly, they don't interfere much with touch/dexterity. (You do adjust to the difference. Health care workers used to complain about wearing gloves but I think these days we just take it for granted, like wearing seat belts.) The flat vinyl gloves that I often see on food service workers go on and off easily but are too loose for me, for most purposes. For dishwashing, my current favorites are these Mr. Clean "bliss" gloves. And I am a huge fan of CeraVe cream; just got a new tub for the season.
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Saw the 5 Cheese Greek Sprial at Trader Joe's today - http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/5-cheese-greek-spiral. Looks good but did not buy it. Has anyone tried it? If so, did you like it?
(Unless another version of this is widely available) I have had it a couple of times at my neighbors' house. Phyllo and warm cheese--what's not to like? The photo shows a full wedge cut from the disk but when I had it the coils separated easily so you could grab smaller pieces. That worked well for casual snack service, like a more flexible format for tiropita.
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Well, I can imagine that the photographer may have thought it looked neat--I rather like the look on purely aesthetic grounds. Not that I would serve it that way.
But as I contemplate it longer, I find a certain nostalgic appeal as it reminds me of a (frozen) Sara Lee cake that was an occasional childhood treat.
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I'm not sure it's what you're thinking of, but this thread is about something similar: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/129316-ultra-pride-wetdry-grinder/
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I just used the v.m. to make cashew butter, and the results were as smooth as anything I've gotten from the store. I wouldn't hesitate to use this in ice cream. Maybe some other kinds of nuts are harder to blend smooth?
I think cashews are especially tender that way. I've made "cashew cream," popular in some vegan circles, with nuts and water in a standard blender and it was impressively smooth.
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I've just reviewed this whole thread and a number of linked recipes because I was gifted with almost 2 lb of dry khalas dates in a vacuum-packed brick. I have never been a fan of dates in general; I don't find them particularly unpleasant, just sweet and not very interesting. The only information on the label is pack date, "Variety: Klass" and "Product of K.S.A" but when I looked closely I realized that there are spices in the package--various-shaped seeds. I don't know how common that is; I didn't find any advertised that way when I perused some vendor sites.
I think I am primarily interested in savory recipes, anyway. (Though a spiced sticky toffee pudding is a fascinating idea!) I am reluctant to cut the package open until I feel ready to cook with them so I'll wait to find out how prominent the spices are. In the meantime, any more savory suggestions?
Thanks, Fern
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Are the baked weights closer than the appearances?
We have a family bread recipe that used to be executed by my DH but I always make it now. His loaves used to be almost flat on top with "ears" drooping over the sides of the loaf pans. I shape the loaves and they rise up beautifully, similar to your "bigger" loaf.
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Not to be all political and shit, but today was a big day in DC - the US reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba and the Cuban flag was raised over the restored Cuban Embassy for the first time in over 50 years:
Finally, a drink I don't make often, but fuck it. El Presidente:
1 oz Don Q Gran Añejo (thanks Rafa!), 1 oz Dolin Blanc, bought just this evening for this drink, 1/4 oz Ferrand Dry Curaçao, stirred with orange peel in the mixing glass, per Berry's instructions in Potions. Garnished with a Green Zone brandied cherry. Delicious! I highly vouch for these ratios and these ingredients specifically.
¡Viva Cuba!
Is there any grenadine in your recipe?
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I don't know why I could not imagine the parchment in the bottom of a skillet/equivalent. I have lined baking pans with parchment many times but I have never before seen it used over direct heat and somehow I couldn't picture the food browning on the parchment. Now I see there is no reason why it shouldn't work.
I see some experiments with eggs, fish, etc., in my future.... Does anyone else use it this way?
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Is the parchment being used as a cover?
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Thank you all--this is an awesome amount of information and I'm enjoying the research (less fattening than the actual dining)! Still hashing out a general plan with Mr. Fern. We will be driving from and back to Cincinnati, not all the way from CT, thank goodness; the Chicago excursion is a mini-vacation embedded in a trip with family obligations in OH. When I read those great menus though, I'm sorry we will be only two because I want to taste everything.
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Thank you, gulfporter, huiray and Alex.
We will be staying in the Magnificent Mile neighborhood. We will arrive by car but prefer to leave it parked while we are in town; we expect to use feet and public transit as much as possible. The last time I was in Chicago (decades ago!) I think I slept on the floor of a graduate student's apartment. I remember going to a very small blues club and getting chicken, including an order of gizzards, from a South Side place where the cash and the food were passed on a turntable through the bullet-proof glass. Now I am middle-aged and I have a husband who prefers less gritty venues.
Let's try for entrees up to $30ish at dinner and nothing too formal/fancy for this trip.I would appreciate recommendations for dinner, lunch, cocktails, brewpubs/breweries, strong coffee and "local specialties".We like lots of different kinds of food. We live in Connecticut and do most of our eating in New England and NYC. Local ingredients/preparations are always of special interest and the quality of the food is more important than particular cuisines. I'm not trying to focus only on Mexican or Southwestern but I have heard about Topolobampo and we certainly don't have anything comparable close to home. I would say that we have enough access to typical executions of Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Italian, Spanish, Thai and "seafood" that I'm not actively looking for them when traveling, but outstanding anything is worth consideration.I would be curious to go to Alinea but I don't think it's going to happen on this trip: improbable that we would come up with tickets and I would prefer to spread the budget around a bit more.
Girl and the Goat looks great and is open Monday so we might try the early bird walk-in strategy then.
Lastly, Thursday we will be driving away via Oak Park. Any lunch ideas in that direction?
Thanks, Fern
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Monday eve to Thursday, two weeks from now. Two adult omnivores. We don't get good Mexican or Southwestern much and I would love to go to Topolobampo. Other names I picked up from older threads:
Acadia
Avec
Little Goat
Mexique
Publican
Purple Pig
Sable
Wieners Circle
Comments on these and additional suggestions would be much appreciated. Our first evening we will need to eat early-ish and I expect many places are not open Mondays so I need to do some homework. We are New Haven pizza eaters at home and I'm not sure Chicago pizza is a must for me but I'd be happy to hear an argument for it. I am always interested in local beer; are there breweries or brewpubs we should check out?
Thanks, Fern
The new Milk
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
The difference between a2 Milk® and "ordinary" cows' milk has to do with the chemistry of the protein beta-casein. The marketers do not claim any lower lactose content. However, the a2 Milk® website suggests that many people who believe themselves lactose-intolerant are not and may "have a sensitivity to the A1 protein."
"If drinking ordinary cows’ milk gives you digestive issues, you may just feel a difference with a2 Milk®."
(Despite my cynical tendencies, I'll say) I haven't seen enough of the literature to have an opinion about the science behind the marketing.
P.S. (language rant) I hate this euphemistic usage of "issue". Why not call a problem a problem?
P.P.S. OTOH, I guess it may be appropriate in this context if it suggests "emanations".