Shel_B

I'd include Velveeta as well, the cheese of my childhood. It has a definite place in any list of important cheeses. My earliest memory was that it came in a wooden box: California's Humboldt Fog is another great cheese ... my friend Schelly calls it swoon-worthy. It's a goat cheese that has an edible layer of ash through its middle, and which develops a wonderful, creamy texture as it ages. It's made in one of the northern-most counties of California by Cypress Grove Creamery. No list is worth anything without Reggiano, in all its iterations.

I made a paste from ground up Cheerios and used it to remove a stain from my entryway carpet.

I had but a vague recollection of it being used as a cleaning agent ... I guess we both learned something. That junk is in Cheerios which, sadly, my sister eats quite often ...

Tri Sodium Phosphate, perhaps.

Penne with Broccoli Sauce: Rancho Milagro olive oil, garlic, pepperoncini, and an anchovy contributed to the sauce of very finely minced broccoli. I used frozen, organic florets because I heard someone mention doing that for this dish, and I was curious to see the results. The broccoli was mashed up using my new masher, and it did a great job. I was impressed with how quickly it accomplished the task, which resulted in a very creamy and fairly smooth sauce, almost like having been done in a food processor. Overall, the dish turned out well.

You should be fine. FWIW, I once had a jar of Grey PooPoo in the fridge for almost three years, and suffered no ill effects when trying it before tossing it. There are some mustards in the fridge now that have been there for well over year and they are still acceptable for use.

I'm about ready to dive into a little creation that's a riff along the lines of a Harira soup. Tomorrow I'll get the wheat and plan to cook on Sunday. Your example of pearled barley was helpful ...

I suppose wheat berries might be used as a starting point,but while I know the difference between the two, I'm ignorant enough that I don't know how to substitute one for the other. Might be an interesting project to find out, though.

Last evening, I stopped by a friends' house, and they offered me some soup that they regularly make. The ingredients included lentils, garbanzo beans, and, new-to-me, pelted wheat. I've since learned what pelted wheat is, and now I have one recpe that calls for the ingredient it that I know I'll use. So, what do you use it for? I'd love some ideas and maybe a recipe or technique that I can play around wih. Thanks! This is what we ate yesterday:

I'm getting closer to actually making the chili. I've decided upon and accumulated some of the ingredients and have given thought to the process. I've decided to use chuck for the primary meat choice, but I'm not too knowledgeable about red meat and the subtleties of chuck. I've used "plain ol' chuck" in a couple stews a few years ago, and while the results were acceptable, perhaps I can do better. Chuck eye roast and center cut chuck are appealing because, while they seem to have good marbeling, they don't appear to have as much excess fat. My thinking is that they'd be easier to trim, there'd be less waste, and might have a more beefy flavor. Would these cuts give good results and is my thinking correct? Does the cut make much difference in a long, slow-cooked dish like this? I've got a great butcher shop nearby, and I'll talk with them as well. Cost in this case is not much of a concern.

That's surprising, as both DeCecco and Barilla make very "commercially oriented" pastina, as do a few other prodcers. If you can't find pastina, look for Stelline, which is another name for the same pasta (AFAIK). I remember Ronzoni advertising pastina on the kids' TV shows I'd watch in the early-mid '50s. Ronzoni has discontinued the product due to production problems. Have you considered Fregola?

Zucchini and Broken Pasta Soup last night: Diced leek sauteéd in a mixture of Calabrian chili oil and local olive oil along with a finely diced Calabrian pepper and thinly slced garlic. Threw in some bay leaf, oregano, and thyme, then added bite-sized chunks of zucchini and cooked them a bit. Made a broth with home made veggie stock blended with charred cherry tomatoes. While that was cooking, I grabbed the bag containing saved pieces of broken, dried egg noodles (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) and cooked 'em very al dente, drained 'em, and then added to the zucchini soup. Cooked everything to the desired doneness, adjusted seasoning, added minced parsley and a few torn basil leaves, and topped it all with Pecorino Romano. Easy Peasy inexpensive dinner. Made enough for three more meals.

@YvetteMT I hope it works out for you. It may take awhile to develop your technique. Watch the videos as they were helpful for me. I'm getting a few as gifts for some friends.

First, thanks.for the link. The information is very helpful and will save me hours of experimenting while opening new doors for exploration. I've no problem with the link other than it's not secure but my AV program has taken care of that for me.⁷

This is new to me. Today was the first time I saw it at the local TJ's. I may make a sandwich for dinner, or try one for lunch tomorrow. Has anyone tried this?

Today, while preparing to make mustard, I discovered that there are small brown seeds and larger brown seeds in my cabinet. I'm new to mustard making, and have only used the larger seeds once before. Is there any heat or flavor difference between the two sizes? Do they, in some way, need to be treated differently? Or are they interchangeable, with size being the only difference and consideration? Tks.

Aunt Gina's Cookies She's for real ...

I've done it a few times with ground meat that I've purchased pre-packaged from a supermarket. Not found a need to do it with fresh-ground product from the butcher.

Yes, indeed ... Oaktown. ❤️👍

Today Amazon delivered what, for a very long time, I thought was a silly, overhyped, perhaps barely-useful-at-best, cheap, single-use, kitchen tool. It's described as a Meat Grinder, Hamburger Grinder, Masher and Burger Masher Premium Heat Resistant Burger Meat Grinder ... quite a mouthful. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) I set things up to make a big pot of chili today, and that meant chopping the meat into small pieces using my spatula or a flat, wooden spoon. And today was the day this kitchen tool was to be delivered. The plan was to chop some meat the usual way, and chop the balance with the Grinder-Chopper-Masher-Thingy. Holy Hamburger! Batman. This thing does a great job. It makes chopping the meat into small pieces quick and easy. It saved a lot of time standing at the stove, and that meant a more enjoyable and comfortable cooking experience. I have some back problems, and sometimes standing for extended periods can be painful. This little puppy was fun to use and kept me off the pain meds. Highly recommended. YMMV.

I'd imagine that over almost two centuries there would be some folks traveling to China and bringing with them some items from their new home, both physical and cultural. Seems like a good price to me, but the US has many different regions and I can only address those with which I'm familiar. While I have travelled throughout the US (missing Hawaii, Louisianna, Mississippi, and Alabama), the places I've lived - called home - have all been comparatively expensive.

This was shown on a cooking show and has caught my interest. The meat is spread out on a sheet pan and put under a broiler and browned. https://youtu.be/MxMMpmmuW4M?t=29 Has anyone tried this technique, and what were the results? Can you think of any downsides to this? The impetus for this technique was to save some time, as a lot of meat can be browned at once, and there's less need to "watch the pot" thereby freeing up some time to do other things while the meat is browning.

Good price compared to the US prices. Peru has a large Chinese population, about 10% to 12% according to some sources. Seeds may have crossed the ocean with any number of travelers. There was a large influx of Chinese to Peru in the 19th century, and their population exerted a fairly strong influence on Peruvian culture, especially the food, so it's not surprising that there would be some Peruvian items and influences found in China. Aji Amarillo peppers would make a nice complement to the Ají Limón. I don't know what your climate is like, but both peppers grow very well in the Berkeley, California area. A Peruvian acquaintance had bushes of both growing in her yard. Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the peppers or the property, but some memorable dishes were made with them when access was available.

Won't cooking the pasta kill any pathogens?

I agree with that completely, BUT, we've drifted a little off course here. The original intent here was to determine the size of Diamond Crystal salt flakes, not weight or suitability to various cooking intentions.