Shel_B

Interesting choice of restaurants, and a good article. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/19/dining-down-memory-lane

... literally plays with their food. http://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/playing-music-with-food/?xrs=CNNAPP

Bingo! You understand the situation. And you, being in the bay area, know that many of our communities around here have excellent composting programs where food and garden waste, products like these pans, take out containers of many types, are composted and the compost is then given away to community residents.

While at this site looking for a couple of items that I use occasionally, I came across this item, paper loaf pans. I'm thinking they may come in handy, just like those disposable aluminum pans. Has anyone used paper loaf pans? Any comments at all about them? Thanks!

You wouldn't be "taking a chance." You would have the prices on your menu, and your dining companion would not.

I remember a time when certain restaurants would offer menus without prices. These were given to the women dining with a companion. I know of no restaurants today that provide such menus. The idea was, I suppose, that a woman could order without consideration of price; perhaps it was a way for a man to say that ordering anything on the menu would be OK - that money wasn't to be a consideration that evening. I was wondering if this practice still exists. Has anyone had a somewhat recent experience where a menu without prices was available? What do you think of this practice? Might it still be a good idea in some circumstances? Would you, as someone's dinner companion, be offended, or in anyway upset, were you to receive such a menu?

What is calamondin?

That's the same video shown in the original post in this discussion ...

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?