Shel_B

Some interesting ideas, but not what I want. I'm looking for simple, flavorful corn chowder that's rich with fresh corn flavor, somewhat creamy, but nonetheless, light. None of the ideas posted in this thread do it for me either, even though there are some good ideas. Based on what I've seen thus far, both here and on various web sites, the ATK recipe, and a somewhat similar one that I've had for a while, are the closest to what I want. The ATK recipe uses more water, no chicken stock, very little cream or dairy, and promises lots of fresh corn flavor, and that's based on my own experience with one of their techniques in another recipe. And while it uses some bacon, I can reduce the amount to maintain that "lighter" result I'm looking for. Thanks to all who've jumped in with their ideas.

This weekend or next I'd like to make Toots some corn chowder. After looking through my recipes, I discovered I have but three for this dish, and none of them really push my buttons except one from America's Test Kitchen which, coincidentally, is a lighter version of the dish. I may make that one, but before doing so I was hoping to get some more ideas for a light version of corn chowder. Since the ATK recipe may be under some copywrite laws, I won't post it here, but I'm certainly willing to send it to anyone who'd like to take a look at it. Thanks!

I've been eating brown rice for years, and enjoy the texture and nutty flavor. Recently, I've been eating more brown rice (I never ate much rice, to begin with). I tried the Massa Organics brown rice http://www.massaorganics.com/ and found it to be delicious, but there are other excellent choices available. I don't have a rice cooker, and have always made the brown rice on the stovetop. Recently I was introduced to baking brown rice - my, oh my. Easy and very nice, consistent results. Highly recommended - however, it's important to get the rice/liquid proportions right as well as oven time-temp. 1 1/2 cups of rice and 21/3 cups of liquid seems to work very well and a 375-degree oven for one hour gives me pretty good results. Still fine tuning, though. My latest adventure into using brown rice is baking a mixture of wild rice and brown rice - still working on the cooking times for the wild rice as it is different from the brown. Right now I'm using cultivated wild rice, but have ordered real, native-American-gathered wild rice and am anxiously waiting for its arrival. I highly recommend brown rice in a lot of dishes, or mixed with other grains as a tasty, healthy alternative to white rice. Yes, it's somewhat of an aquired taste, but using good quality brown rice and mastering the cooking techniques will result in a more satisfying dish than using insipid supermarket rice and careless, back-of-the-box cooking directions. The Cook's Illustrated recipe for Brown Rice, Parmesan, Lemon and Herbs is, as noted in an earlier post, terrific, although I changed the amounts of some of the ingredients to suit my taste and the fact that I made it with some wild rice added. I'd be happy to shoot it out to anyone who's interested.

I've only been to JITB a couple of times, and the last time I visited, it was to get an iced tea with which to take some medication. Looking at their menu, I decided to grab another item as well. Lo and behold, I received a senior discount! Now, I don't know about other fast food joints and their discount policy, but I sure appreciate Jack's policy. So, if you're a senior and decide to visit JITB, check for a discount.

Well, that's what I did last night. I boiled the wild rice for about ten minutes, let it cool, and then added it to the uncooked brown rice which was already in the baking dish. Added the appropriate amount of hot stock, and put the dish in the oven for the usual amount of time/temp for the brown rice. The results showed that the cultivated wild rice needs to be cooked a little more than the brown rice in order to obtain the desired texture and flavor. The ten minute pre-boiling of the cultivated wild rice was not quite enough, so next time I'll pre-boil it for longer (maybe twenty minutes) and see what the results are.

I want to make a baked pilaf with long grain brown rice and cultivated wild rice. Will the two ingredients cook at about the same rate? Can I bake them together?

What Chinese cooking thread is that?

That recipe looks familiar ... I may have it in my files. I like the Massa Organics brown rice - bought a small bag a few weeks ago. Not sure if I'd like the short grain for fried rice, but will certainly give it a try. Thanks!

There are numerous sources here for liquid lecithin ...

In order to get the appropriate emulsification for my vinaigrettes, I'd have to use more mustard than I'd like - the resultant vinaigrette tastes too mustard-y. America's Test Kitchen found the same to be true, therefore, they added some mayo as well as mustard to their vinaigrette.

OK, that's definitely worth looking into. Thanks!

No, that's not the one, although it does sound most interesting. And yes, CS knows what he's doing.

I was watching an episode of America's Test Kitchen last night, and they suggested adding some mayonnaise to a vinaigrette to help emulsify it and keep the oil and vinegar from separating. The idea was that mayo contains eggs, and egg yolks contain lecithin, which would help the emulsion stay together. Well, with that idea in mind, couldn't one just use lecithin for the same purpose? Where could I get lecithin if I wanted to experiment with the concept? Any thoughts on how much lecithin would be needed for this idea to work? Thanks!

I have a recipe for fresh pea and garlic gazpacho ... let me know if you're interested. Also, an old recipe for chilled, grilled tomato soup from "The Thrill of the Grill." ETA: And while I've not tried it yet, I've come across several recipes for strawberry gazpacho, some of which look very inviting. Also, 12 cold soup recipes from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/03/magazine/cold-soups.html?_r=0

Is it possible to make a decent fried rice dish using brown rice? What would be done differently than when making the dish with white rice? Is any type of brown rice better suited to the dish - like long grain vs short or medium grain? Has anyone made fried brown rice? How'd it turn out? Thanks!

That would be Bar Keepers friend. And get the powder, not the liquid. http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/images/BKF-products-powder.jpg

I find commercial potato chips too salty these days, and the flavored chips to "artificial" and "chemical" tasting. Most chips are greasy and taste little like potatoes. From some of the posts I've read here, it seems that quite a few people like their chips greasy and/or salty. Recently I had lunch at a newish neighborhood place, and was surprised to discover that they make their own potato chips. These were the best chips I ever had - not greasy, lightly salted, crisp and crunchy, and a rich potato flavor. Made with good quality, organic potatoes and decent oil. Yummy! Anyone else prefer homemade or non-commercial chips?

Burger King Delivers Today I discovered that BK delivers. Imagine that ... a fast food joint that comes to your place! https://bkdelivers.com/?gclid=CNW86diR7rcCFWXZQgod7zAARg#!home

In another thread, we were discussing making homemade Egg McMuffins. Yesterday I discovered a great looking recipe for making Big Macs, including the Secret Sauce. The Big Mac reciped saved about 200 calories over the McDonald's item, and fat and salt were reduced as well. Here's the link to the recipe: http://amazingwellnessmag.com/lean-mcdonalds-big-mac/ With this in mind, I was wondering what healthy and homemade recipes have been developed for other fast food favorites. Got any?

The fast food joints have turned the hamburger from something tasty and enjoyable into, as you suggest, dry, grey and tasteless imitations of the real thing. I've never met a fast food burger that had any taste beyond that which was created in a laboratory in New Jersey and any succulence greater than damp cardboard. Salt, fat, and chemicals do not a burger make.

Another problem with Egg McMuffins is that they are only available until 10:30am, which is very limiting.

Doubtful that I'll make my own muffins, although those rings are the perfect size and will allow me the option to use them for baking and as egg rings. Might be worth thinking about. It's been a long time since I've seen a tuna, or any other can for that matter, that has a bottom that can be cut with a can opener. And, as someone pointed out in another thread, many cans today are lined with material containing BPA. I think I'll stay away from tuna and other cans.

Monterey Market may also be a choice for the papaya, and it's closer to me than Berkeley Bowl and downtown Oakland. Thanks for the tip about Kasma's site ... it looks to be quite interesting.

Mostly the flacid, minimally if at all toasted English muffin, the lack of choice as to how the yolk is cooked, and the excessive amount of salt. I can also do better with the ham, choosing from numerous options, such as a nice, low fat Black Forest ham, or a thick piece of Niman Ranch ham steak. My goal is to eat a McMuffin that I enjoy.

Taking them home and cooking them seems to defeat the purpose of going to a fast food joint. If I'm going to all the time and trouble of doing that, it's far easier to make the McMuffins at home with better ingredients done "my way," as well as cheaper.