Shel_B

For Thanksgiving dinner I'm making Garnet yams with lavender infused butter. However, I have a jar of ghee that I bought a while back, and it's quite a bit richer tasting than the butter I plan to use. Do you think the ghee may be too intense for this dish? The butter I plan to use is Kerrygold, which has a higher fat content than standard supermarket butter.

As mentioned above, we ate a lot of canned vegetables, although not a great variety. I never had canned spinach, but I tried canned asparagus (Yecch!) and, strangely, canned carrot (OMG! Save me from this horror!) juice. I do believe it was the worst thing I've ever put to my lips. If spinach is any worse than that most awful rust-colored-liquid-they-called-carrot-juice, then you have my deepest sympathies.

weinoo's post brought back some strong memories. I grew up in the same general area as weinoo, and my maternal grandparents lived in The Bronx. We lived with them for a while, after the war - I guess I should say WWII - until we bought a house in Queens. Grandpa Jack was a produce man. He worked in produce literally since the day he stepped of the boat from Ellis Island. Eventually he had a few small stores, the kind with the produce lined up outside the store in boxes and bins. He had a great reputation as an excellent produce man and a good worker. He'd get up at 2:00am and head for the produce market where he'd buy his fruits and vegetables for the day. Farmers would save Jack the good stuff, but it always helped to get to the market early. Now, with all this great produce in her life, you'd think my mother would be serving fresh produce at every meal, but that wasn't the case. Most of our vegetables came from a can, and when I was big enough, I'd open the cans with the Swing-Away can opener attached to the wall of the pantry cabinet. I loved going to Grandpa's store, walking around amongst those colorful produce items, and getting a grapefruit-sized Florida orange as a treat. The grandparents didn't have a car, so Jack got around by subway, and that made his coming to visit difficult and time consuming. But, whenever Jack would visit, he'd have two big paper bags filled with produce, including my favorite grapefruit oranges. We'd enjoy lots of fresh produce for a week or so, until we'd have to go back to cans. It turns out that Jack knew a grower in Florida - they were friends somehow - who would provide Jack with these super oranges. It turns out that a lot of Jack's customers liked and wanted them, too. I never saw such oranges anywhere else but at Grandpa Jack's store, or in those big paper bags stuffed with fresh, seasonal produce that he'd bring on his infrequent visits.

What constitutes "upper level stuff?"

And I'm looking forward to learning more, too ...

<LOL> Reading this thread got me to thinking I should try some of this Bineshii to compare with the rice I got a few weeks ago, and that made me realize it would be a nice holiday gift for some friends, and I bought a couple of pounds, also.

I find louis kemp to be far better quality/taste then any other brands ive tried. Im picky about paying $6/lb for fake crab meat when i can sometimes get real lump crabmeat for $9/lb. I have bought frozen before and noticed when thawed it was dry and somewhat freezer burned. Even louis kemp has on the label for best quality do not freeze, and most other brands that are frozen will say on the label do not refreeze. In my experience imatation crab is a product that doesnt freeze well. Sure its safe to eat, but not the best taste/texture. Its already bad enough its fake and doesnt even come close to real crab, then you go and freeze it. this site needs a facepalm smiley. Thanks so much for your comments. Here's your smiley:

I read your post in the Dinner section last night, and it gave me the idea to cook up some rice. I blended a local brown rice (Massa Organics) with some hand parched Canadian wild rice, and baked it in the oven. I used the leftover mushroom broth I made last week, and took your idea of adding black beans. A nice combination. Thanks for posting your pics and story.

When I was looking for something like that, I discovered the wide range of sizes they come in. Be sure to check the size before buying, especially when buying on line.

That's a great idea, and it gives me some additional ideas as well. Thanks!

The stuff I bought contained Pollack as the first ingredient followed by Bream. The ingredient list looked a bit better than the other pkgs, but I'll look for an even better quality. Thanks!

The package I got was in the frozen section, and, after reading your post, I checked to see it the pkg said not to freeze. It didn't. Why Louis Kemp?

A few weeks ago I hit the big Asian market in my area, and with plenty of time to look around and shop, I found things I ordinarily don't look for. I found a couple of types of frozen, imitation crab by some different producers. I chose the one with an ingredient list that was most acceptable to me. I had some in a salad this morning for breakfast, and was a little disappointed by the dryness of the "krab" pieces. That brought up a few questions: Are most brands pretty similar in their ingredient list, or are there some that are outstanding in some way? Is there some way of knowing, by the ingredient list, if the product will be dry or moist? From what I gathered, the ingredients aren't too bad for a processed food, but I couldn't help but wonder if I'm missing something. While it ain't health food, is there anything of a "bad" nature I should be aware of, both in the ingredients and the processing process? All the videos I watched made it seem that this stuff is just fine and dandy. Any comments you have on this product would be welcome. How do you use it?

I have a dedicated baking pan filled with salt, with a rack to keep the potato off the bottom. The potato is only partially covered in salt but I turn the potato when I pierce it at thirty minutes. The skin comes out quite crispy. I am tempted to try baking this way after removing the skin, as suggested by Lisa Shock. Thanks for your response. While I like the skin, I also like 'taters sans skin, so Lisa's technique certainly seems worth trying.

From the makers of Havanna brand alfajores: Hi Shel, Glad to hear you received them quickly! Best way for long storage (up to 6 months) is the freezer. Just make sure to leave them on the shelf for enough hours for them to unfreeze completely. Refrigerator is not recommended at all. They will also last on the shelf, you can safely consume them up to 10~15 days (not more than that, please) after expiry date. It will be greatly appreciated if you leave a comment in the Testimonials section of our website: www.alfajores-havanna.com/testimonios

I just received a box of Dulce de Leche filled alfaores from Argentina. These are a gift for Toots - they are her favorite. They arrived much earlier than anticipated. I need to store them for several more weeks. What would be most appropriate; freezer, refrigerator, a cool, dark place ... ? BTW, each alfajore is individually wrapped in foil.

Testing results from PG&E, our utility company. My first, quick read shows an improvement in efficiency. http://www.fishnick.com/publications/appliancereports/rangetops/Eneron_Pot_Testing.pdf

Cornstarch works wonders. Sprinkle straight cornstarch liberally onto a greasy spot of cloth, rub it in with your fingers. Let it sit for a few hours (or even a few days), and the cornstarch will absorb the oil. Brush away the cornstarch and launder as usual. Works great for silk, too. Any thoughts about making a slurry with cornstarch and detergent?

Do you know when paper napkins and towels came into use? The boroughs were created around 1898 during what was called "consolidation," when the city's current boundaries were established, so your time line is right.

The cold months are coming, although it's not yet too cold here. Still, winter vegetables are appearing in the markets, and my thoughts are turning to soups and stews. We're growing some Kohlrabi in our garden, and I'm going to make Grandma Bessie's Winter Vegetable Soup, which is heavy on root vegetables. Looking up her recipe in my files, I wondered how many people are using "Grandma's" recipes in their cooking routines, and what those recipes might be. My grandparents are Eastern European and Russian, so grandma's recipes reflect that heritage. What about your grandma ... care to share any recipes, ideas, or stories? I'll post Grandma Bessie's Winter Vegetable Soup in Recipe Gullet later today or tomorrow. From Grandma Bessie I also learned about Kugel, how to make split pea soup with flanken, got my first introduction to home made chicken soup, and Grandpa Jack taught me how to make Matzoh Brei. What did you learn from your grandparents?

I've seen baking in salt done with other food as well, but Ive never tried it. Trying it with a baked potato seems like a good place to start. Would you be kind enough to explain your technique? Thanks!

For myself, after baking the 'taters are split, I add just a scosh of oil, butter, or now ghee, throw on a sprinkle of S&P, and that's it. I may mash the meat or not. If mashed, the skin is eaten last. If not, then I cut off a piece of potato with skin on and enjoy it. Now, for Toots, who likes her potatoes with an egg or two, I'll bake her some variation of an "Idaho Sunrise," and one for myself as well.

Don't do it ... you'll be adding to the salt content and will achieve little, if anything, in the way of flavor. You may also risk mushier meat, but I'm just guessing on that point.

That is interesting to know ...

I'm from "ages ago," and I'm from NYC, and spent many hours and ate many meals in Jewish delis. In all my years in NY, and with all the deli I ate, I never saw that done. Never saw it done in Montreal, San Francisco, Berkeley, St Louis, San Francisco, or Chicago. New one for me ... learn something new every day.