Special K

Well, I can't taste much of a difference, maybe a little less fizz, BUT since the can liners are made of polycarbonate plastic, which contains bisphenol-A, which mimics estrogen and can leach into the soda, I for one am stickin' with glass. I've pretty much eliminated all canned items from my pantry, and I make sure that things like water bottles, storage containers, etc., are not polycarbonate plastic. Yes, the jury is still out on BPA (FDA says it's harmless, but in the face of a very critical panel of scientists who beg to differ, it will re-investigate the issue), but why take the risk if I don't have to?

She is now!

So, 27 bar books, and 22 from the travel section that are definitely all about food (mostly French).

Wait, isn't it "Stalking the Green Fairy"? With a forward by Jeremiah Tower? That's on my wish list. I did love "Between Bites."

Four more from Value Village on Wednesday, plus one (a thin little quiche and savory tart cookbook) I found stuck inside Alton Brown's "I Just Came Here to Cook." And I just re-read the beginning of this thread and found out that the books in the bar section count, too, so I'll get those counted this weekend (I think there are about 30). What about travel memoirs that contain recipes and loving descriptions of meals?

403, and yet somehow there are still a bunch more on my wishlist!

Dang it! What a time to be reminded of this - just as school lets out for the day! Oh, well, Doc (the high school chemistry teacher) and I (his volunteer assistant) will just have to celebrate at home. Salute!

Thanks, Bob. That makes sense. My magnetic strip is on a wall at an angle to the microwave, at the same height as the handle on the door (the only wall space available). Because of that, I'd be more likely to accidentally slice my hand reaching for the microwave door if I stored my knives points up. So that's why I feel more comfortable with the points down . . . I thought it was probably due to where the strip is. As for the knife block getting dirty, I think the real culprit is the ambient grease in all kitchens. You can wipe down the block all you want, but some of that grease is going to get into those slots no matter how neat you are. But in fact the real reason I got the magnetic strip is that the block my knives came with (they're the Henkels Twin Telects with the stainless steel handles - I like 'em but my husband hates 'em) - well, that block was just too tippy!

Agreed about the unhygenic blocks. And blocks take up counter space! I bet they got the idea from the bamboo skewers in the cannister method (pretty smart, that). Again, agreed about the magnetic strips. My question is, which way do you store the knives, business end down or up? I always see them stored pointing up, but I find it easier to grab the handle if the point is down. Maybe that's just because of where the strip is located in my kitchen. I always, always wear hard-topped shoes in the kitchen (since my husband had the unfortunate incident which involved several stitches), but I have never accidentally knocked a knife off the strip, and if I did, I don't think it would fall straight down, anyway. I think I'd be more likely to knock one off if I were trying to grab the handle from below the strip. Just askin' outta curiosity.

So, I was at Chefshop.com on 15th Ave. in Seattle yesterday. Nice place. Friendly, knowledgeable staff, a cookbook collection to die for (unfortunately not for sale), and lots and lots of goodies (no price tags, though). Anyway, there was this little, little jar with two whole preserved lemons . . . the label listed only lemons, water (water?) and salt. I was intrigued. Since I work right across the street from one of the world's (well, Seattle's) best produce shops, Jimmy Wild's Top Banana, and since the lemons there today were absolutely gorgeous, AND since my husband just tossed out (and I grabbed) a bunch of big old glass lab jars with nice tight lids . . . My first thought was eGullet! So generous of Ms Wolfert to have contributed so much to this thread. 30 days from today! And Ms Wolfert's book is on order. We may have a Morrocan themed Thanksgiving!

Sure they would, but when the inspector is there, the gloves go on!

And why all restaurant employees are not required to take the Hep A vaccine is just beyond me. Of course, I still want them to wash their hands properly, and I do think gloves should be mandatory. They are in Seattle - the food service permit class all food workers have to take here emphasizes over and over again, "No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food!" Of course, I see this rule being broken all the time. So since there is a vaccine, why not require it?

Well, sure, just get the big one. But you won't be able to use it for a small job and a bigger job at the same time!

Here you go: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/haccp4e.html

And again today! Value Village, totalling $13: Food, Drink, and the Female Sleuth, by The Sisters Wells (This one is great! Food scenes from mystery novels with female detectives) Reckless Appetites, by Jacqueline Deval ("An unusual blend of fiction, literary biography, letters, and memoirs") and three more, travel memoirs which always contain food writing. I don't know when I'm ever going to read all the hundreds of books I already have, much less these, but I'm happy to have them.

A half-dozen books at the used book store (Epilogue Books in Ballard): The Edomae: Sushi & Sake The Eaten Word, by Jay Jacobs M.F.K. Fisher and Me, by Jeannette Ferrary Off the Hook: Reflections and Recipes from an Old Salt, by Roger Fitzgerald Setting the Table, by Danny Meyer and Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy, by Michael Tucker All for under $40. I'm a happy camper! I found all of these in about ten minutes and then made myself leave.

Good news! I just got an email from Amazon - Bakewise should be in my hot little hands next week!

Yep, me too. I keep mine in an old Pernod bottle with a pouring spout. Very handy.

Ooh, just what I've been looking for! Just ordered it and now I'm ready for Christmas cookie time! Thanks!

My Mom's freezer is full of stuff Dad liked (he died three years ago) that she'd never touch. Her refrigerator is full of leftovers from lunches out in restaurants, most of which she never touches. She doesn't cook at all, except for bacon (she cooks seven slices on Saturday morning and eats one slice a day, saving the rest wrapped in a paper towel in the fridge) and toast. She puts instant coffee in the Mr Coffee maker and it sits there all day long until she has the final cup in the evening. There's so much stuff on the counters (bottles of vitamin pills, jewelry, knick-knacks (nothing that has gone into that house in the last 40 years has left it, I swear!) that there's only about one square foot of actual working room. No cutting board in sight, one seriously dull chef's knife that she doesn't use (an old serrated steak knife is an all-purpose tool). I tend to think of my kitchen as small, but I always am shocked to realize just how tiny hers is (and she raised four kids in that house). I can get past all that. I was one of those kids, and I learned to cook under these conditions. I can find pots and pans (they may be in the garage, but that's OK) and an old serving spoon will do the job . . . but the saddest part is that no matter what I cook, she'll only eat two bites and then says, "Let's save the rest for later," and in it goes with the restaurant leftovers. She exercises and is in pretty good shape (I'm sure she could beat me around the block in a footrace), but she just doesn't eat!

From the same folks who brought us BaconSalt. Should be at QFCs in Seattle and at Pike Place Market soon, new website up by October 11th (in the Seattle Times this morning).

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It's cookies and cakes for me. I make them all the time for other people, but I almost never eat even one. Don't really like sweet things that much. Apple pie I'll eat, but not if it's overly sweetened. Another movie like that, where the actor cooks elaborate food and then eats a Lean Cuisine, is "Last Holiday," with Queen Latifah. It's cute.

I buy iodized, for the iodine , because it's needed by the thyroid to prevent goiter. (It's in a lot of prepared foods, but I avoid those.) The trouble is I rarely use it, except in baking (and the amounts are so tiny I don't know if it does any good) and in the egg-boiling water (supposedly it (salt, not necessarily iodized salt) keeps the eggs from cracking and sort of seals them if they do crack) and spaghetti water. If I'm seasoning food, I use sea salt.

I would add any of the sides at LunchBox Laboratory in Ballard. One order would do for two or three people.