Shel_B

In the past, I've enjoyed whole wheat pasta in certain dishes. This pasta, I understand, is a little milder than the whole wheat pasta I've used in the past, and I'm looking forward to giving it try this weekend or soon after. There's a dish already chosen, so it's just a matter of scheduling the time at the stove. Has anyone tried this pasta?

The second is a nicer image, IMO, although the spacing of the buns around the dip could be improved slightly. In any case, seems like a tasty meal.

Dinner tonight, and leftovers for tomorrow, is Summer Squash, Peppers, and Broken Spaghetti Soup cooked in a light, homemade chicken stock. There were a couple of squash in the fridge heading for retirement age, likewise a couple of small Bell peppers ... so, soup time. I added some Bionaturae organic whole wheat spaghetti broken into manageably-sized pieces and seasoned the dish with a couple of types of dried pepper flakes and a few turns of fresh ground white pepper. A simple meal for a couple-three days that came together in about 20 minutes.

One more like this and you'll have hit the Groan Trifecta ...

In general, I dislike the plastic clamshells for any and all of the reasons mentioned. Our recycling center does a good job with plastics, but the reality is that much is still not properly recycled and ends up in the waste stream or being shipped elsewhere. However, there is one situation I've encountered where I prefer the clamshell packaging, and that's with Costco's rotisserie chicken. I don't like the new, more efficient, reduced waste bag in which the chicken is now packaged and sold. It's messier to remove the chicken and I have to come up with another way to store it. And, the last time I was at Costco, every new bag that I touched was greasy on its outside, to the point where I just didn't buy a chicken. I buy the rotisserie chicken for convenience, and the new packaging reduces that convenience for me substantially.

That's reasonably close to what I do, although after all these years I kind of wing it when making the sauce. Depends on what's handy, the type and amount of PB, and my mood. I tend to add Szechuan pepper to the sauce. Sometimes soaking the covered jar in hot water will help free any stubborn PB in the jar. You could also add hot water to the recipe. I've never used the technique with a plastic container, only glass. I eschew plastic almost universally in my kitchen ... almost <sigh> can't get away from it completely. Anyway, experiment and have fun. FWIW, this morning I got a couple-three extra loads of laundry out of an "empty" laundry detergent jug.

@Tropicalsenior I've been making a variation of this for several years: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IvVnEs7ML7c

TJ's Potato Tots, cooked crispy outside with a soft interior in the Breville oven, The tots are lightly dressed with Marie Sharp's Green Habanero & Nopales hot sauce. Peet's coffee ...

Your information is appreciated. I didn't know just how the coils were heated. From what you're saying, it's how the heat is transferred to the pan that effects the final efficiency. If the metal sheathing upon which the pan rests is of a design or of a material that transfers heat more effectivly, the hob overall would be more efficient. And if heat transfer through the sheathing could be improved by design or material, then less electricity would be needed to heat the pan to a certain point. I'm just trying to see if I understand how the heating coils wrk. Do I have the concept correct?

OK, I get what you're saying. I have a question, though. I recall reading somewhere that coil burnes with thinner coils were more efficient than the, at the time, older, wider coils> Is there some/amy truth to that? Would more, narrower windins make for quicker heating of the pan? Is there any design that makes for more efficient use of the electicity that's being consumed, such as (just guessing) thinner coils that heat up quicker?

There are many choices here from a variety of sources. I'm starting to learn about the differences in burner design and hoping I can find some that are more efficient and less expensive to operate.

"Kaledo" Verde: got a jump on lunch and made a version of Caldo Verde this morning, which I'll enjoy later in the day. Leek, onion, Yukon Golds with skin, and a big bunch of kale, including diced stems, simmered in my poblano-infused vegetable broth and enhanced with a bit of Aleppo and Gochugaru pepper. I've gotta stop using my phone for pics, but it's so convenient ...

Yesterday I experienced something quite strange: the burner that I most frequently use wouldn't boil water. I was making some spaghetti in a skillet, and it seemed that the water wasn't quite coming to a boil. Later on, I tested my observation by using plain water in the skillet and taking the temp with the Thermopen. The water never got above 210-deg F, and took a very long time to even reach that sub-par temp. I did some checking and learned that the heating elements can degrade and wear out. I never knew that. So, I took the rarely-if-ever-used element from a back burner and swapped it for the poorly performing front burner, and I was amazed at the difference. The element heated very quickly by comparison, and got the water up to temperature faster than any time in recent memory. So, a cautionary tale: electric burners degrade and one might do well to check and replace them every now and then. Additional comment: I was cooking some onions in a Le Creuset earler this morning, and had the heat set to medium, where it's usually been. Surprise! The new burner was strong enough that I had to turn down the heat to prevent scorching.

This is one of many food-conserving and thrifty tricks I learned from my parents and grandparents: making a salad dressing from the dregs of a mayonnaise jar. I was pleasantly surprised to see it turn up in a You Tube video. Maybe you'll find it useful, perhaps it'll give you some ideas or motivate you to post some similar tricks you use. https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-old-empty-mayo-jar-dressing-trick.html And here's the short You Tube version in case you're the impatient type: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/987oZ1MM5w0

I made Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce ... Yesterday, while reviewing some sauce recipes, I realized that I'd never made Hazan's well-known, simple tomato sauce. Since all the ingredients were handy (hard to imagine them not) I gave it a try. Of the various tomatoes on hand, I chose Bianco DiNapoli whole peeled tomatoes. I wanted to use tomatoes packed in a thicker sauce, and the Biancos are packed in a pureé-like sauce which is much thicker than the Argo Sarnese-Nocerino San Marzanos that were also in the cupboard. I slightly modified the recipe by adding a nice-sized pinch of of a mixture of Turkish Aleppo pepper and Calabrian pepper sauteéd in the butter before adding the tomatoes and onion. While the recipe calls for a cooking time of about 45 minutes, increasing the time to cook the sauce down further was the choice I made. Apart from evaporation reducing the sauce, it left a bit of fond on the sides of the pot which I scrapped back down into the sauce while it cooked. The resultant sauce was somewhat darker colored and rustic-textured. I had the sauce for lunch today with fusilli pasta. I saved the onions from last nights cooking, cut them unto strips approximating the length of the pasta, and added them back into the sauce when it was reheated with the fusilli. I also added a very small amount of roasted garlic. This was very good ... Yummy!

Potato Vegetable Soup for lunch. I cooked up a couple of Yukon Gold potatoes (skin on) in a homemade veggie stock enhanced with a Reggiano rind, a small minced garlic clove, and and a seeded and crumbled Chile de Arbol. Broke up the spuds to make a nice thick soup and added diced zucchini, yellow squash, some leek, and some frozen, assorted veggies, including broccoli florets, carrot, green beans, and corn.

A Very Simple Dinner To my homemade vegetable stock I added some finely diced vegetables: leek, carrot, zucchini, yellow squash, orange bell pepper, bok choy, a small handful of frozen, mixed veggies, and a few scoops of leftover basmati rice along with some Korean pepper flakes.

Apart from having a very large volume that, like you, I have little need for (not no need), the heating is very uneven, at least on my stove. The outer area of the cooking surface on these large diameter pans is substantially cooler than the area closer to the center resulting in uneven heating and cooking. This means paying closer attention to the cooking process and sometimes moving items from the center to the outside of the pan. Such a pan would be fine when used in an oven.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295798482109? Would this work? There are others on eBay .

Happy Passover!

Thanks for the info. Ortiz Ventresca is 3.88 ounces for bout $20.00. St Jude is, at least on the surface, a deal. I like the idea of mixing smoked and unsmoked. 👍

@blue_dolphin Hi ... I'm about to order some tuna from St. Jude. Quick question: is the smoked tuna strongly smoked or more subtle? Thanks. And thanks for the link. The price for the ventresca is pretty good compared to what's available in the local markets here, especially the Spanish ventresca. The South American tuna doesn't excite me that much, so I'm hoping St. Jude will provide better quality and value.

@FrogPrincesse Fwiw, the All Clad factory seconds sale ends tonight. Also, you may be able.to find good deals on MC2 pans on ebay or etsy.

Hi ... All-Clad's MC line was, for many uses, my go-to. I still have and use the original (well, early -1978-9) MC saucepans and a 3-quart sauté pan from that era as well. I later bought a couple of MC2 skillets which I love. A 1.5 quart saucepan practically lives on my stovetop. It's a great size for all the things you mention plus hot cereal, polenta, and reheating many items. The All-Clad D5 has been my choice, and I've been using it for years. Unfortunately, it's spendy, but it was the one that had similar cooking characteristis to the MC. That said, another good choice, on the opposite end of the price spectrum, and one which has served a relative well for several years, is the 1.5 quart Cuisinart: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Heck of a value for the price. HTH, good luck in your search.