Shel_B

It is strongly suggested that, when cooking (boiling) potatoes for potato salad, the water be well seasoned with salt and sometimes vinegar. How does steaming accomplish this early seasoning?

What's an iSi? Does it carbonate the fruit and keep it cold?

This little trick is, literally, the coolest way I've seen to eat fruit. Bring some to your next BBQ or picnic, or try some after dinner, especially on a hot night. This is the funnest way I've seen to enjoy fruit. Sweetie and I had some with friends after a nice hike in the park. https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/tips-tricks-fizzy-fruit

A link in the article also makes it clear that many types of plastic containers are not suitable for microwaving food. Many of those containers are ones that have been used to package food for resale, such as yogurt and cheese containers. If you're concerned about plastic wraps or containers in the microwave, transfer food to glass or ceramic containers labeled for use in microwave ovens. Don't let plastic wrap touch food during microwaving because it may melt. Wax paper, kitchen parchment paper, white paper towels, or a domed container that fits over a plate or bowl are better alternatives. Most takeout containers, water bottles, and plastic tubs or jars made to hold margarine, yogurt, whipped topping, and foods such as cream cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard are not microwave-safe. Microwavable takeout dinner trays are formulated for one-time use only and will say so on the package. Old, scratched, or cracked containers, or those that have been microwaved many times, may leach out more plasticizers.

I use another brand of filter which is similar to the Brita, and it's easy to taste the difference between the filtered and unfiltered water. I'd imagine the Brita would produce similar results - come to think of it, a friend uses the Brita and there is an improvement in the taste of his water. I use filtered water for coffee and tea brewing, and for any cooking purpose, such as making pasta or using water in soups, etc. Any water that gets ingested or in which food is cooked is filtered.

While I agree with you in principle, your contention, as presented, is, at least in my area of the world, not necessarily valid. We can easily purchase fresh apples here from various vendors, one of which, last year, had 32 varieties of apples for sale, all of which were seasonally fresh and local to the Pacific Northwest and nearby areas. Another vendor lists where the apples were grown, and buying it's easy, then, to get fruit that's in season, even if not local. Many of our farmers markets require that any produce sold be locally grown, and their definition of that is within a 200 mile radius of the market (there are some small exceptions, but, for example, you won't find bananas or pineapples at these markets). If you're buying locally you know what's fresh as you know the season when the produce is harvested and sold. No such thing as Mexican summer squash at these markets. Rather than rely on the supermarket to tell you what's fresh - their definition is often at odds with what is truly fresh - you, as the consumer, need to have an awareness of food - where it's grown, when it's in season, who's growing it - and if fresh produce, including apples, is important to you, make your purchases accordingly.

Article is Here

A friend told me that she's making brownies for an event tomorrow, and instead of fat (oil or butter) she's going to add apple sauce. I've heard of doing this, but I've never tried it. How well does it work? Is there a noticeable difference in taste or texture. It seems to me that the amount of fat supplied by oil or butter is pretty small in a batch of brownies. Is it really worth it to make such a substitution (except, perhaps, there's a health reason to do so)? Would it be a measure for measure substitution?

Your comments are encouraging. Thanks. I would say that I'm about 90% decided to get one. The biggest drawback is finding the space. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a good deal.

I can eat for a week for less than the cost of those meals. I've priced out what it costs, and was surprised at how inexpensively meals can be prepared, including the cost for the electricity to cook. True, we eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, not so much meat. We buy from the various farmers markets, TJ's for a variety of items, specialty shops for produce, poultry, and fish, and I purchase mostly organic. I would never pay for someone to prep my food and ship it to me. Does one really know what they're getting in that manner? And freshness can often take second place to convenience. Feh!

Likewise ...

Have you tried them, and compared taste and texture to yours and other recipes? Personally, I like them better than other recipes I've tried. YMMV Whatever little extra work is involved is, IMHO, worth it.

Over the past few months I've come across a few slow cooker recipes that look interesting. This is one of them. I don't have a slow cooker, and I'm not planning to get one. However, it seems that it shouldn't be too difficult to cook the recipes in a Dutch oven in the regular kitchen oven, or even in a Breville or similar countertop oven. Perhaps the trick is to properly regulate the oven's temperature. Any thoughts on doing this? Thanks!

That is a very good deal, plus shipping is free. Unfortunately, the timing isn't right for me just now ... and I don't really need them, but it's usually difficult for me to pass up on a truly good deal. Thanks for the link and the info.

The horseradish has a reasonable list of ingredients ... I might give it a try. I'm not crazy about the soybean oil, much preferring simply grated horseradish, vinegar, and salt. I guess this is a shelf rather than a cold case item.

Thanks so much BD. While reading and researching info about popsicles, etc., I found the article but had not yet read it. Seems like Serious Eats has some good information on the subject. I have learned more (that's relevant and interesting to me) from Serious Eats than from the People's Pops book.

Nice. How did you get the chocolate to adhere to the pops? I read somewhere that oil has to be added the chocolate to get it to attach well to the ice cream. In any case, did you treat the chocolate in any way, or use a specific chocolate for this purpose? Likewise, how did you get the nuts to stay put?

Yes ... although I live in the Golden State, I did double check the reference ... <sigh>

According to this article, The garlic in McDonald’s new Gilroy Garlic Fries is grown in the San Joaquin Valley in Gilroy, California, approximately 80 miles south of San Francisco and nicknamed “The Garlic Capital of the World.” The fourth-generation, family-owned Christopher Ranch in Gilroy is the largest garlic production operation in the United States and grows the garlic used in the Gilroy Garlic Fries.

Found this recipe and details for fudge pops at Serious eats. I love fudgesicles, and these promise to have a deeper chocolate flavor than the store-bought ones in the yellow box. Definitely something I am going to try. Click Here for Recipe and Technique

Gilroy Garlic Fries: OMG! What crap! Last week I was up north a ways in the town of Vallejo, and found myself lost in a fast food jungle. There was only fast food joints where I was, and not knowing the area well enough to find a decent place to grab something to eat, I hit the Mickey D's drive thru. I've always kinda liked McD's fries, and I do like garlic, so I thought I'd give the well publicized garlic fries a try. What a mistake. The fries were soft and limp, they were greasy (so much so that the napkins included in the bag were insufficient to wipe my fingers), and, to add insult to injury, they were not hot - lukewarm at best. The taste and smell of garlic was very subdued, dare I say almost nonexistent, and the parsley scattered over the potatoes was also devoid of taste. In addition to these problems, they potatoes were very unappetizing to look at. The greasy greenish color of the fries was better suited to a Halloween costume than food meant to be eaten and enjoyed. After but a few tastes, from different areas of the tray in which they were served, I just wrapped 'em up and tossed the whole mess into the trash bin. If this is indicative of McD's quality, and quality control, McD's has a way to go to reach what may have been their zenith some years ago, when I frequented their restaurants more often.

$1.00 at local neighborhood garage sale. Book looks new ... definitely used carefully and very little. I like Kamman's work, so this was a real treat for me.

Haven't seen it yet as season one has just been released. Contains four episodes featuring Alain Passard, Alexandre Couillon, Adelaine Grattard, and Michel Troisgros. Click Here to Start Watching If you don't have a Netflix subscription, you can probably sign on for a thirty day free trial to watch this and other shows.

Thanks for the information. I've always purchased kimchi from smaller, more local companies, and never had the described problem. Perhaps these smaller companies take more time with their product, either by design or circumstance, compared to the company making the product I found at Costco.

For me, the idea of the Nespresso has taken a long time to catch on, and I'm still not 100% sure that I want another appliance in my small kitchen. The Pixie is interesting because of its size, and I can find a couple of places for it to fit comfortably and still be convenient. That said, I've been a French press user for about forty years, and I don't expect to change that ... I love making a pot of French press in the morning. However, when guests are here, it would be so very convenient to offer a quick cup or two, especially with a choice of beans. I don't have many friends that I invite to dinner or to hang out, but I know them all very well, and I know that the Nespresso coffee will be acceptable to them. In fact, one couple introduced me to the system several months ago. Whenever we visit them, they often offer some coffee, and Bada Bing! it's ready in a jiffy and it's certainly more than acceptable. To put that in perspective, these folks are very fussy about their coffee and the equipment they use. Plus, my companion and lady friend enjoys a small cup of coffee every now and then, and the size made by the Nespresso is just perfect for her. And when she's happy, I'm happy. And when I'm at home in the afternoon, I sometimes want some coffee, and the Nespresso will give me that quickly and easily. Perfect for that momentary need. Brewing coffee from scratch, like I do in the morning, is not what I'd like to do in the afternoon. For me, while the price is not a primary concern, I do take my time and look for the best price and service. I'm in no rush ... Also, one of my biggest concerns has been the wastefulness of using what are, essentially, disposable pods. However, our community has an excellent recycling programr, and Nespresso has a recycling program (I think I posted links earlier in this discussion) so, for me, the waste issue has been mitigated. Time passes: For those who are interested but can't find the links, I found them and here they are: [...] one of the things that interested me was the recycling program for the aluminum pods. Here's one link and here's another. There's yet another link that I could not find again, but it describes how the used pods can be collected in a provided bag or box and sent back to be recycled at no charge to the consumer. OK, found it ... here's that third link