Jaymes

They do have things you can buy to brown at least a bit in the microwave. My grandkids heat Hot Pockets in theirs. The instructions say to insert the Hot Pocket into the "browning sleeve" before placing into microwave. It's made of heavy paper, with some sort of metallic lining.

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.

I'll have to try this. Thanks! BTW, do you butter or grease the bowl? I do this all the time as well. I do wipe the bowl with a quick smear, but honestly, I've found that you don't have to.

Yes, and I can tell you that rice is one of the few foodstuffs that everybody tried to keep on hand, as it was the most-important staple, and did not require refrigeration or any other special storage facilities. In fact, some of the most beautiful and decorative containers in the Philippines were rice holders. As I am not Filipino, I have to rely on what I was told, but what I was told was that families took great pride in their rice storage containers, and the more affluent the family, the more elaborate the rice storage container. In this scene from Survivor, I was quite surprised to see a rice storage container exactly like the one I brought back from the PI. It's the very large and elaborate brass-with-copper-inlay pot with the tall, domed lid, behind Jeff Probst and a little to his right - the tallest one. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=survivor+philippines+tribal+council&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=survivor+philippines+tribal+council&sc=0-34&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=E5C9975AFA4F61C02EBD5D6CD70FBD71CAB48B5E&selectedIndex=15 Naturally, less-affluent families had much smaller versions of basically the same brass pot with the tall-handled lid. So I'm sure all that cache of rice that prudent families counted on having available is long gone. .

Yes, let's. The scope of that disaster appears to be horrendous. Even though it's on the other side of the world from many of us here (although certainly not all of us here), there are still things we can do. The spiritual and religious among us can send prayers and "positive thoughts." Others can donate to charities that will soon be in the Philippines distributing food and water, in an effort to stave off widespread disease and starvation. I lived in the Philippines for a number of years and can tell you that due to its topography, it faces some unique challenges when it comes to dealing with these sorts of natural disasters. Much of the country is mountainous, so clean water and food supplies will have a very difficult time getting through to the hardest-hit areas. Also, the Philippines is one of the poorest countries in the world, so many people live on the sort of subsistence food supply that you just walk to the market every day to get. For example, when I lived there, our housegirl asked us to please not throw away any of the bottles or jars that the food came in. She would carefully wash them and then take them to the market to sell. I was surprised, since in my world, many foodstuffs come in jars and bottles, and if you needed some extra, you just didn't throw those away. The notion of buying used jars and bottles was completely new to me. But she pointed out that when she and her friends and family went shopping at the market, what they bought never came in jars. Instead it was (like rice, fish, etc.) usually wrapped into banana leaves or used newspaper and then tied with twine. If you were buying oil or some sort of liquid, you took your own container. If you wanted jars or bottles, you had to buy them from the jar & bottle stall. When a disaster like this hits anywhere on the planet, it's always arbitrary and heart-wrenchingly difficult. But, it seems to me that it's even more difficult and unfair when it hits a place that's so poor. More affluent and modern nations can recover so much more readily. I'm sure this storm has demolished so many of the food sources that people depend upon - proteins like chickens, pigs, seafood, etc.; and the growing produce - mangos, coconuts, pineapple, bananas. And of course, calamansi.

Have you tried the "blowing on the bean" technique? When you pick up a few beans with your spoon, and gently blow on them, the skin will wrinkle if they're done.

The Amana Radar Range - hey, I, too, had one of those behemoths. And about those sweet potatoes. We like sweet potatoes that have baked a long time and are all collapsed and caramelly. That doesn't happen in the microwave. So I bake them in the microwave until they're just barely soft, then put them into the conventional oven to bake until they're how we like them. We are also big fans of bacon cooked in the microwave. Get a couple of paper towels - put one on a large plate, top with your strips of bacon, put another paper towel over all to control splatters and off you go.

As Basquecook says, they do that all over Mexico, too. At the taco trucks and food stands. Really an efficient way to serve everybody food on a clean "plate" when you don't have washing facilities.

Basquecook, I'm curious as to what your business is. Are these folks that you meet in China clients or prospects or colleagues? You must be able to speak Chinese if you're doing business with them. Are you of Chinese extraction and spoke it previously, or did you have to learn Chinese before you began traveling there?

This is an utterly remarkable thread, BC, and I thank you for doing it! The photos are compelling, the information terrific. It's really hard to be complimentary enough. It must have taken you quite a while to do it. As for your title, at first I did think that either you had just returned from spending a year in China and were going to tell us about it in retrospective; or, you are just leaving to spend a year in China and are going to tell us about it going forward. But I thought your first paragraph explained it perfectly. For the last year, you've been going to China regularly. And you are going to tell us about it. Liuzhou - as I was reading this remarkable thread, and staring at each new photo much the way an enraptured child stares at the window of a toy store at Christmas, I was hoping you'd swing by and add even more wondrous and delightful information. It's not too late.

And overcooked shrimp dooms another hopeful. Kind of sad. But understandable.

I'd sure love to have the recipe for those chicken wings about which the judges were waxing so rhapsodic.

Can't believe there wasn't more comment regarding Junior Masterchef. One of my favorite TV bits ever took place during the cream-whipping contest (that I mentioned above). Little 9-yr-old Sarah had a crush on Gavin, one of the three whipping contestants. In this clip, with the three finalists whipping furiously, the other kids are rooting them on from the sidelines. You can see Little Sarah down at the end of the line, jumping up and down, and cheering on Gavin: "Come on, Gavin. Whip it! Whip like a man! I don't wanna see that arm stop moving! Whip like a man!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnxiu3DJgtI .

So true. Watched the coverage with tears in my eyes.

i think that is the best recommendation for the OPs quest in how to get consistent and repeatable chilli heat (scoville units?) in his/her soups/braises. I started a reply but dumped it when i read yours ;-)) The only thing i can add is to stay with one or 2 types of chillies until he/she gets to know them, and perhaps put the chillies in a tea bomb or cheesecloth bag for easy removal. that chilies do have actual flavour (and that their heat often masks flavour nuances, which are difficult to discern when your head is in flames), halved one of the eleventy-zillion arbol chilies from our insanely prolific plants, stripped out all the seeds and white membranes, and snipped it into small pieces. Although still distinctly hot, eating this is an entirely different experience than that of eating pieces of the whole chili. yes, chillies do have actual flavor, but in quite a lot of recipes, especially asian, it is seldom used on its own, but in combination with other highly aromatic herbs and spices. In thai curries for example, the use of galangal, lemon grass, garlic, even coconut milk is enough to mask any of the flavors chillies may have. . In a great many Mexican dishes, however, the flavor of the chile is the main component. The chile flavor is the star. And often the dish itself is quite mild, with little to no heat. In that case, you'll see the folks that prefer the heat add it at the table, either with a plethora of favorite hot sauces, or fresh peppers, or salsas.

As long as we're on the subject, should you find yourself with a mouthful of fire, even better than hopping around streaming and cursing, grab a spoonful of sugar. Nothing neutralizes the capsaicin better. I have a nephew that is one of those heat-mad chile-heads that carries around a bottle of Mad Dog in his pockets. His wife has no tolerance at all for this sort of heat. Like most folks with a high heat tolerance, he is incapable of judging what anyone else might find "hot." So, he's forever sticking a forkful of food in her face while saying, "try this, you'll like it, it's not hot at all." This created a great many unfortunate scenes in various restaurants, until I told her the sugar trick. Now, she carries around packets of sugar and, as the fork comes nearer, pulls out one and has it at the ready. Just in case.

And as you teach little kids, I'm surprised you didn't mention the iconic treatment known by all mothers: one kid cuts, the second choose first. This method works equally well whether the item being cut is coveted or scorned.

Well, it might help others, but it certainly doesn't help me. I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in buying anything to help cut my sandwiches. If I did, I would come here and start a topic to that effect: "What Should I Buy to Cut My Sandwiches With a Decorative Edge?" If you really want to be helpful, you should demonstrate how I can cut my sandwiches with a decorative edge using only what I already have.

Jaymes, I get it. As a teenager when I would be making spaghetti for the family dinner I would grab a coffee mug and put some of the not-quite-finished sauce in it and eat it with a spoon. Me, too. A spoon and a coffee mug full of spaghetti sauce. That's the best, isn't it?

Wow, Patrick. Your adobo looks really wonderful. I don't know how you could get more "orthodox Filipino cuisine" than adobo with some calamansi juice added. And thanks for posting in the Filipino thread. I do think "Filipino food is Fantastic," and it doesn't get much love here. Glad you enjoyed the calamansi care packages. My trees are so prolific and, although I do give many away to local friends and family, it's been fun sending some off to the deepest, darkest wilds of NYC.

Also, I think it's got something to do with how you feel about your spaghetti sauce. In the US and, I'll readily admit, at my table, we're pretty sauce-crazy. I don't want pasta with just a thin coating of sauce. I want a big bite of sauce with a little bit of spaghetti. That's easier to do if the spaghetti is shorter. When it's longer, you might not need a spoon to do your twisting, but you can, indeed twirl the fork a bit. The strands pull through the sauce. So you get a neat little bundle of spaghetti, with a mere coating of sauce. I've been told that's the preferred Italian way. But me? I don't care if it is childish. If it's a good, hearty, American-Italian red sauce, especially a meat sauce, I'm happy to have short little strands with plenty of sauce. In fact, if it's good enough, I'd be almost as happy having just a bowl of the sauce. With a large spoon. And not for twirling, either.

And they're fine. When I just can't stand it any more, and don't want to make some, that's the brand I buy. But they're crunchy the whole way through. I'd like some with a nice almond flavor, but chewy in the center.

Whose Amaretti? I haven't found a commercial brand I like.

LU Little Schoolboys http://www.amazon.com/LU-Cookies-Schoolboy-Chocolate-5-29-Ounce/dp/B0019FM33M And LU Orange Biscuits http://www.amazon.com/European-Pims-Orange-Biscuits-5-29/dp/B00COK11NO/ref=sr_1_8?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1383692818&sr=1-8&keywords=lu And, okay, actually anything by LU. And also those Mother's Iced Oatmeal cookies. Not so esoteric as LU's for sure. But for some reason, I just think they're really tasty. Especially when chewed with a bit of good cheddar cheese alongside. I know - no accounting for taste.

Here's a link to some drinks made with Kahlua: http://www.kahluadrinks.com/ White Russians, Black Russians, and Kahlua Kiss are favorites. And here's a link to a recipe I've made many, many times: Blender Chocolate Mousse. You do add some booze. I've often used Kalhua. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/141945-desperation-desserts/page-2 You know, in my opinion anyway, Kahlua is so versatile and tasty that it's something I'm never without.