Kim Shook

As some of you know, our church participates in a food program for 3 local homeless shelters. We share this project with other Episcopal churches in our area. Once a month, we make 100 bag lunches to deliver to the shelters. We have enough volunteers that each group only has to do it every three months. Mr. Kim and I are group leaders of one of the groups and we also deliver the lunches to the shelters. I am a shopper for the supplies, a job I share with one other person. This month was my turn to shop and also to make lunches. To lower the exposure, Mr. Kim and I decided to do the lunch prep by ourselves. He took yesterday off and we did the shopping together. Our church has a Sam's credit card and tax exempt ID card which also works at Walmart. The other shopper and I agreed that if we couldn't find what we needed at those two stores, we'd shop where we could and just get reimbursed. The regular lunches include a sandwich (bologna in cold weather, PB & J in hot), a snack bag of pretzels, a snack cake (Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies), and a banana. We take large soda bottles to each home plus apple juice to the one with children. We managed to get everything we needed but had to sub turkey for bologna, as Sam's had none. And since I'll be making 100 sandwiches by myself while Mr. Kim stuffs each lunch bag, I was not about to do PB&J! I had not experienced the whole line up outside situation until yesterday at Sam's. There were maybe 50 people in line when we got there and they were letting folks in in groups rather than one out, one in. We only waited about 1/2 hour to get in. People were being good about keeping distance and most folks were wearing masks. There are some changes I will make to my method when I do my next shop. In general, the stores in my area seem to be pretty well stocked. If you want fresh produce, you are fine. Meats, chicken, and fish are available if you are willing to go to multiple stores. TP and paper towels, also. What cannot be found at all, it seems, are disposable disinfecting/sanitizing wipes, cleansers, etc.

Lunch a couple of days ago - a lazy egg salad sandwich:

I would have gladly traded my whomp biscuits last night for @kayb's muffins, @Ann_T's biscuits, or @shain's Syrniki (which has me craving pancakes yet again!) This morning: Bacon, ATK sandwich bread, and IP soft cooked eggs. I confess that it seems a little self-indulgent to pull out that giant machine to make breakfast for ONE, but they are so good. My mom was a pretty good cook. She didn't stretch herself, but what she cooked, she cooked well. (Except for pork - she was under the spell of the "cook it all to hell or you'll die from trichinosis" people). She could make a soft boiled egg perfectly. I used to tease my English stepdad that that was why he married her - his favorite breakfast was soft boiled eggs and toast soldiers! Until I got the IP, I have never been able to do a predictable soft cooked egg. I'm sure the novelty will wear off, but for now, I'm in a gooey, yellow heaven!

I have got to make some char siu! @Shelby – question re: crawfish tails. Do they come pre-seasoned? Or can you adjust the heat on them? I detest spice, so I’ve steered clear of them since people always seem to talk about the spiciness. Breakfast for dinner last night: Regular bacon, mini pierogis, scrambled eggs, and leftover whomp biscuits. With some fruit:

Dinner started with quick pickled mini seedless cucumbers: Garlic, rice vinegar, sugar, white pepper and a little water. Steak, squash, fried potatoes, and corn: Steak was done SV. Perfect medium-rare:

Thanks for all the advice. I did the steaks at 120F for 2 hours and then put them in the fridge for about one hour. Seared in a cast aluminum skillet in ghee. Nice sear and they weren't overcooked at all:

Misread the method. I thought it said bake/steam. I will have to try the broil/steam, though. I'd love to hear more about what people are using it for, too!

When Jessica and the nieces/nephews were little, I used to peel the eggs for deviled eggs and then dye them. Intense! The kids loved them. But, as you say, the adults were a little squeamish. However, when it became apparent that they were the only deviled eggs on offer, they overcame their hesitation and gobbled them down. I found a picture from a few years ago when Jessica was feeling nostalgic and requested them: LOL

@CantCookStillTry – love Yorkies and Bisto. That is my kind of meal! It is what I was raised on. When I was a little girl and my mom married my English stepdad, and I finally got sibliings (3 sisters) I discovered that British food suited my 9 year old palate quite well – roast meats, potatoes, Brussels sprouts (weird kid, I know), Yorkies and lashings of gravy on everything. My mom never cooked a roast or a chicken big enough to make enough real gravy to satisfy us, so Bisto stretched it out. @liamsaunt – that is a lovely coating that you got on that oven-cooked fish. I would do a LOT more oven frying if my coatings looked like that. Also – going back to the chicken that you made for your sister and you. How was that cooked? I love the all over color of it. The night before Easter was egg dyeing night and dinner was these: Along with pierogis and asparagus. My plate with HP: Dinner and egg dyeing came together when Jessica decided to dye some pierogis: LOL Jessica came over and made some delicious muffins for brunch Easter morning. The thing was that she was supposed to be here at 10AM to start them and didn’t get here until after 2pm. We didn’t eat until almost 3:30. And we all had TWO while watching a kid’s Easter movie. A coma commenced, Jessica went back to her apartment and we all napped. I woke up around 7pm – too late to start the Easter dinner we had planned. So Mr. Kim and I ended up in the Wendy’s parking lot eating cheeseburgers and then going to church to count any checks that had come in while we weren’t having services (except on FB) and doing the inventory for the St. Martin’s Project food (making lunches to take to homeless shelters), which we are still doing. So we had Easter dinner on Monday! Easter during the pandemic was definitely toned down. We are trying to shop as little as possible and even when we do go to the store, we try to go in and get what we need and do the self check-out. So, we planned a menu based on mainly what we had and shopped for the couple of things we needed. The menuu: Ham biscuits w/ sweet potato butter @Marlene’s Broccoli Gratin w/ Streusel Spiced peaches Corn on the cob Deviled eggs Almond Joy Cake Edwards’ Ham: Biscuits: They are Pillsbury frozen ones. I brushed with a butter/Worcestershire/Dijon mixture before baking. Sweet potato butter: Broccoli Gratin: Spiced peaches: These were a Christmas gift from a friend (purchased, not homemade). Jessica’s deviled eggs: Corn: Plated: Dessert is not worth posting on the Sweets thread. So just a casual mention here. I did a Almond Joy Cake with cake mix and canned frosting: I added a little coconut flavoring to the cake mix. I am not opposed to cake mixes or canned frosting (true confessions time). I use them sometimes, usually adding ingredients or “fixing them up” in some way. But both the texture and flavor were “off” in this cake. You can see all those big bubbles in the cake – it was a bit tough. And it tasted very processed. This was a Betty Crocker and I normally buy Duncan Hines. I have no idea if that could have made such a difference.

@Captain – more lovely little cakes. I’m craving them AGAIN! @Duvel– is that, like, BEAR bologna or something? Also, that cheese looks like some fancy cake that @RWood makes! Just lovely! On Easter Sunday, Jessica came over and made these for brunch: With topping: They were basically like a summer pudding except done in muffin tins. Lined and topped with egg soaked bread and filled with a strawberry/cream cheese mixture: Cheers to everyone! Yesterday’s was a couple of my MIL’s Hot Cross Buns: She has improved them over the years and just recently gave me a new recipe. They are absolutely delicious, but one “improvement” that I could do without is subbing royal icing for the glaze she used to use to make the crosses. In a bag of 12, I could only find two intact ones to take a picture of. The rest of the crosses had cracked and fallen off. And even when they ARE intact, it is royal icing – hard, crumbly, and tasteless. People hate on fondant, but I think fondant is delicious compared to royal icing. Today: ATK sandwich bread and an Easter egg (a little pink around the edges).

Today: Lavash roll with ham and cheese.

Our Easter dinner finally happened last night. The reason for that will be on the breakfast thread. Jessica carb bombed us! LOL Dinner will be on the dinner thread.

Smithfield is known for being a sh*t employer and neighbor in VA. I'm sure they are no better in SD. I'm sorry for the employees and I'm sorry for what this might mean about trends in factory food production and availability. Like it or not, that is exactly what feeds most of Northern America.

I have a couple of 1-inch NY strips. Normally, I would SV steaks at 120F. and then sear. But these are so thin that I was thinking of reducing the temp of SV so that searing wouldn't overcook them. What do you all think? 115F? Lower?

What I dislike about the stackable cans with one removable end and another non-removable end is that if you can't remove both ends and get free cooking rings anymore. They made great molds for plating and for cooking things like eggs. I have a set of graduated rings which are great, but only one in each size.

Thank you, everyone! The part is the magnetron cover and I was able to get some help from Sears (it is a Kenmore) online and order a new one. It turns out it is something that we can replace ourselves.

US cups are 4.25 oz. unless they aren't. 🙂

Thanks. I'll get the tall guy to check when he gets home.

It is over our stovetop, so hard wired in, I believe - can't unplug.

Mr. Kim says yes, I am concerned. We aren't willing to get a repair person out here right now, but should we just not use it? I noticed this the last time I went to use the microwave: it is on the little disc thing on the inside top of the microwave: I know. It's filthy. Please ignore that. The disc seems to have a screw in it so perhaps that is something simple to replace? But HOW did it happen? Does anyone know?

My "like" was for that gorgeous bread. I do not eat fungal things 😉 . Also - gorgeous dishes!!!❤️

I think @MokaPot was right about this.

I have a Kitchen Aid opener. I have a lot of pain in my hands and had a hard time finding an opener that I could maneuver without hurting. I even had an electric one for awhile, but it was such a bitch to clean that I did some research and gave this one a try. I am very happy with it so far.

Me, too. When life gets a little more settled I'm going to be getting my Le Creuset out of the attic to photograph and try to sell. It is just too heavy for me. I'm going to switch over to the Imusa - lighter and cheap.

I have a question about stock making with a ham bone. All I've ever used ham stock for is beans and greens. What other uses are there that I'm missing? My instinct is telling me that it wouldn't work to make a gravy for pork.