Shel_B

I've only used Snow's once and was not impressed by them. I've recently decided to try a Linguine and Clam Sauce "weeknight" recipe, i.e., simple and quick. Are there any prepared clams that you'd recommend? Quality takes precedence over price. There's no need to suggest fresh clams, as I've got sources for them. I'm just looking for a good-quality pantry item. Thanks!

FDA Bans Red Dye #3 According to a constituent update published today, the Food and Drug Administration just announced a ban on the food dye Red No. 3. The ban is in response to a 2022 color additive petition to remove the dye from food and drug products on the market. Companies and manufacturers that use this red food dye in their products will have until January 15, 2027, for food or January 18, 2028, for drugs to change formulas and remove the red dye from their ingredients. The products that will be affected by this ban include candy like Pez and Ring Pops, grocery baked goods such as cupcakes and sugar cookies, Nesquik strawberry milk, gummy vitamins and various other cereals, desserts and icing products. Full story in the link below: https://www.eatingwell.com/fda-bans-red-dye-3-8775384?

I love old things that show age and use, so I look forward to the process. However, the finish on this plate is truly beautiful - jewel-like - and tomorrow I'll see if I can capture it in a photograph. There is an exception to my love of old-looking things, and that's my cookware. I like it to look as close to new as possible. That said, care and cleaning instructions were included with the copper plate:

Late to the party. You can use a lower-fat buttermilk. Around here there are numerous low-fat buttermilk options, 1.5% and 2%. None of that in your area?

I don't think it's a stupid question. Stupid question -> What's Lillet?

The diffuser plate that I ordered arrived this morning, and I am very pleased with it and the transaction. Jordan, at Stryker Welding in Ohio, personally handled the transaction and was able to catch and correct an error in the ordering process. I purchased through eBay, and eBay screwed up the order, but because of Jordan's attention to the process, everything went smoothly. I called the company to place the order rather than just checking boxes on eBay. Jordan got back to me quickly and we discussed what I needed and he made sure that I got the right product. He sort of "held my hand" through the process, and kept me informed of progress from the initial phone call through shipping. That's service! Apart from being very nicely finished, the piece was wrapped very well, not only protecting the product but also showing pride in its manufacture. I ordered a large, octagonal plate, as I have a couple of Le Creuset and All-Clad pieces with very wide bottoms that extend far enough outside the diameter of my largest burner that even heating of the pots' cooking surface has been an issue. If you want a diffuser plate, I highly recommend Stryker Welding on eBay. Call 'em, speak with Jordan, and know you'll be in good hands.

Sounds interesting ... thanks.

Horchata, nut milk, and the like, are a more complicated and time-consuming direction than I was looking for. While I've made and enjoyed those drinks, they're much more than flavored water. Never heard of Kevra ...

Fresh-made carrot-celery juice and a lightly toasted English muffin with a slice of melted Havarti cheese.

I have both green tea and rosewater on hand. Sounds intriguing.

My Dad told me about "Depression Soup." We were sitting in the Horn & Hardart automat near Rockefeller Center one late autumn afternoon in 1955, and we'd just purchased some sandwiches and grabbed a table. The situation got him remembering the depression years, and he told me of buying a sandwich for a nickel, getting a glass of water, and sitting at a small table by a window. On the table were condiments, and he'd add some salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard ... whatever they had ... to the water, stir it up and, voila, Depression Soup. Many people made Depression Soup in those days.

I've not yet looked at the links above, but just a few days ago I came across a PDF file of old McDonald's recipes and food descriptions, so I'll just add them to the mix. https://www.beneboy.com/mcmenu.pdf

I like and use those terms, and have been using them since I was old enough to talk. Fridge was a condensation of Frigidaire, one of the, if not the, earliest, and arguably, most popular refrigerators. It entered production before 1920, IIRC. Edited to add: The first Frigidaires used blocks of ice for cooling, and was little more than an insulated box. Electricity wasn't used to run a compressor until the mid-1920s. Grandpa Jack and Grandma Bessie didn't get an electric refrigerator until around 1946. In the FWIW Dep't, I lived with my grandparents until I was almost two years old, and had first-hand experience with these old "cold boxes" and the ice man. Grandpa Jack owned a few small produce markets and he, as well as some others that I knew in the business, used the term veggies, generally when unloading the trucks and moving the produce into storage. This was not common in the industry but in NYC at the time, a few produce people used the term often. Julie Kravitz, the produce buyer for the supermarket chain I worked for, would use veggies, vegetables, and produce almost randomly and certainly interchangeably.

This statement got me curious, so I looked up what is considered to be a treasonous act in Great Britain. There are quite a few, but I saw nothing about killing or eating wildlife. Please take a moment, when you can, to describe how eating a swan is treasonous? I can certainly see it as being illegal ...

I just tried Marie Sharp's Noplales-Green Habanero sauce. Its ingredients include prickly pear, also known as nopal, paired with key lime juice and green habanero to create a nice citrusy flavor. The sauce has a medium heat level which is very pleasant for me. Ingredients are nopales, green habanero peppers, vinegar, onions, lime juice, salt, and garlic. Another winner from Marie! 😍

Last night, I made a version of Aloo Bhorta, and I'd like to thank @liuzhou for mentioning the dish in another thread. It'll go into my repertoire, and I'm sure I'll play around with it for some time. Sorry, there are no pictures, as circumstances didn't allow for any. The lack of an image does not, however, mean a lack of enjoyment of the dish.

+1

That was a lesson learned decades ago. My flour stays tightly sealed in the freezer. Never had a problem with pasta or cereal. It's been my understanding that flouroften comes with included insect larvae ... something to do with the product and how it's processed.

Thanks for the reminder about bugs. A lot of my spices and herbs are put into the freezer for a while before using them. I'llchange "a lot" to all, if I can remember to do so. Generally speaking, bug infestations don't exist at Casa Shel ... I can recall only one, maybe seven-eight years ago, where some chipotle chiles were infested with some flying thing, and every now and then I get fruit flies (but only when the produce has come from one market, which I now mostly avoid). I've been lucky in this regard.

That's an interesting idea. There's no alcohol in the house, though, so I'd need to buy some to try it. Maybe I could get some from a friend as I'd not buy a bottle of vodka. Hmm ... BevMo carries those little airline-sized bottles. That might be the answer. Your suggestion is unusual and my curiosity has to be satisfied. It's no trouble having citrus in the house, and using it completely is not a concern.

That's essentially the plan and has been even before learning about the La Chamba cookware. Beans I've made in the p cooker don't give a thick sauce, which I understand can only be achieved by evaporation. Is there a way to get that thick sauce in the p cooker? Perhaps using the cooker to a point, use a natural release, and then continue cooking with the top removed?

Thanks for posting those suggestions. Since I'm new to preparing beans, the idea of a dedicated bean pot is also new to me. In what way do you think it's a better alternative to a Le Creuset-type pot? The La Chamba cookware is aesthetically very appealing. Which did you choose, and why? Persian Ash-e Reshteh is also new to me. I searched and found several variations of the dish. I'd like to learn more about it and try making it.

I'm going to get this one ...

Excellent to know. I'm going to use the diffuser for an 11-inch diameter All-Clad pan and a 12-inch diameter Le Creuset pot. I posted the link to a 10-inch diffuser, but have since found a 12-inch one, which is what I'll get. There's a metal fabricator near me that I will contact to see if they'll be able to help. I think the larger width or diameter is the way to go with these big pots. Here are the online links to the 12-inch plates should you be interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/335502106579 https://www.ebay.com/itm/335502106574 You could also contact Stryker Welding in Stryker, OH if you don't want to go through eBay: https://strykerweldingandfabrication.com/stove-top-heat-diffusers/ The phone number to order from is at the link, 419-682-2301