
BarbaraY
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Everything posted by BarbaraY
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I made my first loaf from this book yesterday. I found that the rise took much longer than stated. The flavor would be good but is way to salty for my taste. The texture is good but not the nice open one as shown in the photo. I followed the recipe exactly except that I cut the amount of rosemary in half. Although I love rosemary I know my bush and it's very strong hence the reduction. If I had used a full 1/4 cup it would have been overwhelming. Will give it another shot in a few days. Although I have been making breads for more than 50 years it is only recently that I have started working with the very moist doughs. An earlier attempt to make ciabatta was not very good either so I'll give the Leader recipe a try soon.
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I got one about a week ago. Since we're a household of two, I often freeze in smaller portions. This thing works great so far so maybe I can stop having such a problem with freezer burn. I find it works best if most of the air is pushed out before sealing the bag. Got mine at Wal Mart after two tries. I guess they were selling fast.
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I had forgotten about this method. Have never tried it but remember my grandmother doing it and her pies were absolutely the best. No matter how I try I can rarely get my crust to taste as good as her's.
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I, too, remember the mixing of the little packet of coloring that came with the nasty looking white margarine. I don't remember Mom ever mixing the powder completely so we always had streaky "butter". I believe it was Durkee that came out with margarine in a plastic bag that had a small capsule in it. Just pop the capsule and knead the bag until the color was even. Great fun for the kids and no mess. That said, there are some cookies that I use Crisco in. Peanut butter cookies just don't seem right made with butter because the texture is wrong. I also have an old recipe for mincemeat cookies that sprawl if made with butter. I no longer use margarine in anything. Can't bear that fake butter flavoring.
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Our CSA order this month will contain the following: The veggie bags will contain: spinach, baby lettuce, carrots, beets, winter squash, artichokes, brussel sprouts, parsnips, cabbage (full bags only) and leeks. The fruit bags will contain: kiwi, mandarins, Pink Lady apples, lemon, grapefruit, dried fruit (only in the full fruit bags) (Please note that items vary depending on availability) The root bags will contain: sweet potatoes, potatoes (our own), onions, turnips Remember that this is CA so we have a longer growing season in many areas. Looking forward since we just joined. Especially the artichokes. Can taste them already.
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Overcooked Food as Homey, Traditional & Authentic
BarbaraY replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
My ex sister-in-law who apologized for her under-cooked green beans as she had cooked them only 2 hours instead of the usual 3. When I read some of my older cook books from the 50s and earlier, I'm amazed at instructions that say to cook asparagus for 25 minutes. My dad always wanted his vegetables cooked to mush. That may be partly because he refused to go to a dentist. I think it's more a generational and cultural thing. -
And I thought I had had animal disasters! Cat who licked a silver dollar sized spot of frosting off a completed wedding cake. No I didn't start over. I confess I did a quickie repair job and nobody knows but me and my maker. My sister's wedding cake that was cooling on a shelf in the kitchen. It was eaten by my bother's dog, King. Had to bake more layers and frost and decorate the day of the wedding. The chuck roast that was stolen from the BBQ while I was attending something inside for a few minutes. The Siamese that chewed off most of a turkey leg while it was thawing on the counter. (This was before we knew better.) The time I left a 1/2 lb. of butter on the counter to soften and came home to find that Sam the Mutt had eaten it all except for a small bit of paper. The snowy night I left a Take 'n' Bake pizza sitting on the porch rail while I unlocked the door only to return and couldn't find it. I thought I may have left it in the car. It was several minutes before I spotte some very large dog prints going through the snow on my deck. Never did find a sign of the pizza or the dog again. I didn't have one at the time. This year it was the pumpkin pie that we left sitting on the kitchen table while we had dessert in the living room. We went back to find that Crisco, the beagle, had climbed on a chair and eaten 2/3 of what was left. There's a reason that he has that name.
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I thought that there may have been a thread concerning this book but I couldn't find one. Do any of you have it and if so how well do the recipes work? It reads as if it is well researched but I haven't had a chance to make any of the wonderful sounding breads.
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I haven't been on-line much the past month so missed this until today. I'm actually drooling at the delicious looking food. What are the wrappers on the Gau Choy Gow made of? They look very intersting, too.
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These were made in my family long before the 50s. They go back a long way as my grandmother made them when my dad was a kid. One of the few things the kids were allowed to pass up. I once asked Mom why she made them and she said, "Gotta make them for The Old Lady." After Grandma died they were no longer served. I tried to make them a couple of years ago and they didn't taste quite right. Maybe no nutmeg.
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More than once I've forgotten the cranberries but never the potatoes or gravy. There would be immediate comments from the entire family if these were missing. Daughters say that gravy is a beverage and potatoes were invented to hold gravy. This year we forgot to put the pumpkin pie away while we had dessert in the living room. *%#^%& Beagle got half of it!!!
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I didn't realize there were so many who dislike tha traditional dinner. I love all of it Roast turkey, pototes, stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie. OK. I admit I don't like the candied yams and I loathe green bean casserole. When did this become "traditional" anyway? Oh! When Campbells started pushing it. Of xourse. One thing I don't do is use canned "cream" in my pumpkin pie. Hate the gooey texture. I use half and half and a good slug of brandy along with the spices and it's lovely. I can't imagine eating steak or prime rib or such for T-day.
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Same here. I was told it would make my hair curly. Still didn't eat it. I always loved French Bread when I was a kid and ate that crust. This was before they started putting it into plastic bags so it could get nice and soggy. My ex like soft crust and half toasted bread. One more reason for being an ex.
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A terrible disappointment for me. Chestnuts were in the store this week. I bought some to make kuri gohan and when I got them home found that they were worse than awful! The first one I opened was as hard as a rock inside. I tried simmering to see if it would soften but it wouldn't. Checked the next and found it was the same. I'm taking them back to the store today and registering a complaint. I know it isn't the produce manager's fault but the grower that shipped them. I may never get to have kuri gohan.
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Two Mexican sweets that I adore are Flan and Arroz con Leche (rice pudding). I think I could eat each almost every day. Not the nasty gelatinous flan found in many restaurants and packages in the supermarkets but the eggy, lightly sweetened home made kind. Would you comment on why pan dulce is so much better when made in Mexico then when made in the USA? I've bought it in panederias here and it just doesn't have the same aroma and flavor.
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It has been 14 years since I was in Mexico and I still feel that way. Seeing glasses of horchata always reminds me of the first trip 22 years ago. We would get horchata to sip on while we had our siesta and just lounged. The tamalito looks absolutely delicious. I'm enjoying this blog very much. Can hardly wait for tomorrow.
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First thing I remember making when I was about 5 was tomato soup. I don't remeber what all I put in it except a can of tomato sauce, some evaporated milk, and some chile powder. It was too spicy for me to do more than taste it but Dad ate it so I guess it wasn't too awful.
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This thread inspired me to get some steel cut oats (Bob's Red Mill) which I haven't had in years. I had forgotten how truly good they are. I eat them almost every morning. I recently noticed that Quaker is getting on the bandwagon and packaging them.
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You are not alone! I detest turkey soup can barely stand the smell of it. Probably goes back to my first cooking job in a small hospital where we had turkey almost every Sunday. Then we were required to make turkey soup with the carcasses. Still smell that stuff. Yuck!
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I think everyone has given good responses so far. There are very few meats thay I refuse to eat. Lamb is my all-time favorite. I eat almost all variety meats except kidneys. Can't stand the flavor. I really don't know why so many things have dropped out of favor in the American diet. None of my kids will eat variety meats, two of them refuse lamb and none of them will eat game except bison. I have an old Betty Crocker special from 1954 that has eleven recipes for lamb plus suggestions for leftovers and how to serve it. I have another from 2004 that I would consider the same genre. There is no mention of lamb. We buy bison whenever it's available and find it much tastier than the beef that is sold in the area. There are more organ meats and other cuts that weren't available here like tongue, tripe, and beef shanks that I haven't seen in about 25 years. Now they're available because of the increasing Latino community. Love those tongue tacos!
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I made myself buckwheat cakes for my breakfast this morning. I use the recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes in Marian Cumming's Breakfast Book subbing 2/3 buckwheat flour and adding a Tablespoon of molasses. They are tender and light. Just perfect with a smear of apple butter.
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Here is a site that has a recipe for a peanut butter candy that is very similar to the Butterfinger center. I have made this and know it works. I do the whole process on a well scrubbed countertop. Well, except cooking the syrup. Aunt Maye's Peanut Butter Candy
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Very interesting. My neighbor raises exotic chickens which lay very small eggs. In the spring when they are laying he often gives me some of the extras. I find that they don't beat up as well as full size chicken eggs. If hard cooked they're difficult to peel even though they have been in the refrigerator for a considerable time. I thought they would make cute, bite-sized deviled eggs but it wouldn't work because of the way the peeled.
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I have had the same situation and as I don't use it often I have to remember to take it out of the fridge well ahead of time, or warm it on the microwave defrost.