Shel_B

I enjoy cold apples, so at least some of them go into the fridge. Gravensteins always find their way into the cold box as they deteriorate rapidly.

I don't put honey in the fridge for the same reason, but even when stored in my large kitchen cabinet it doesn't flow freely. Often it needs to be warmed a bit in the microwave before it's useable for certain things, such as in my honey-lemon-poppy seed salad dressing. Does heating honey in the microwave have any deleterious effects?

I love them cold - only way I care to eat it. The colder the better! Toots brought some to dinner last week, straight from the garden, and they were warm, and I really didn't enjoy eating them.

I read that there are environmental issues concerned with wax paper. Though it is biodegradable, synthetic additives such as petroleum mean that it is inadvisable to do so. Wax paper also cannot be recycled. Comments?

I love it cold - only way I care to eat it. The colder the better!

Do you refrigerate these items? Do you disagree with this list? What foods don't you refrigerate? http://refrigerators.reviewed.com/features/seriously-stop-refrigerating-these-foods?utm_source=TB_paid&utm_medium=cpc

Who needs cronuts when you can have a Union Square Café Crème Brulee scone? My friend Cathy suggests that they are Dee-lishis! http://www.eater.com/2014/10/7/6932755/who-needs-cronuts-when-you-can-have-union-square-cafes-creme-brulee

According to every dictionary that I own, and I own several, a hen is any female bird, especially, but not limited to, domestic fowl. And, since only female birds produce eggs, "hen's egg" would be a redundancy - superfluous and unneeded. In addition, there should be an apostrophe in "hen's egg" as it is the possessive, or genetive, case.

That's a lot of work for what is little more than glorified donut. Is there someone here who would attempt to make these things at home? It's interesting to note that the recipe doesn't use weights but, rather, volume measurements.

If you do try it and make a comparison, please let us know what you think. Thanks!

I don't use espresso powder too often, just when I make chocolate pudding, chocolate milk, and brownies. Until now I've been using Medaglia D'Oro, a brand easily found in many markets. I tried other supermarket brands and they all tasted about the same. Last week, a friend came by and introduced me to this espresso powder: http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/espress-powder#content Oh, My! What a difference. Richer, more flavorful, with strong notes of coffee and chocolate. I've got some on order. What brands of espresso powder do you use, and for what purpose? Since it's now clear to me that all brands are not "about the same," maybe there are other brands that are also superior to supermarket espresso powder.

Some years ago I obtained this book: For those interested in baking with olive oil, it may be worthwhile to grab a copy.

<LOL> Thanks for the chuckle ...

Rice freezes very well. You could make a batch of rice and freeze it in serving-size bags, and then he could reheat the rice with whatever other items have been frozen, to be either served over the rice or alongside it. Fruit also freezes well, and you could put together some bags of fruit (berries, mango work well) that he can defrost for dessert or, perhaps, be put on cereal for breakfast or mixed with yogurt, or ....

Yesterday, I saw a knife test video which included using a variety of knives on a glass cutting board. The purpose was to abuse the knives and see which survived the abuse better. The tester mentioned that glass boards are very hard on knives. So, if glass boards are so hard on knives, why use them? What features or quality do glass boards have that make them worth considering? Is there a special type of glass used for these boards? Does anyone here use them?

No, I don't usually ponder such things. However, I have used trotters (that's pig's feet, yes?) when making my locro and in one other recipe.

Yesterday I went to the big Asian market in our community, and, amongst the items I bought was toasted (sometimes called Chinese, Asian, or Dark sesame oil) sesame oil. I bought two brands because I wanted to compare them to TJ's oil. Both were Asian brands, one Chinese and the other Japanese. I made some peanut-sesame sauce last night and had an opportunity to compare all three oils. There was very little difference between them as far as taste went, however, the TJ's oil was less expensive - 45.8 cents per ounce vs 54.8 cents for the Asian oils - and the TJ's oil was expeller pressed while the Asian oils may have been chemically extracted. In the future, I'll stick with TJ's oil, however, I do want to try Spectrum's oil at some point. It's an expeller pressed unrefined organic toasted sesame oil.

The price for a pound of (approximately) 85% ground beef was $3.39. That's fresh ground, not packaged. The market sells a lot of meat, so the items in their case are always fresh. Fresh ground pork was $3.29 per pound.

It's no big deal, but toasting seeds and spices before grinding has been surprising, and a useful technique, to some people. Saving Parmesan rinds to flavor soups, stocks, and stews, and to make Parmesan broth, has been adopted by a few people I know. Gelatinizing wine to use in certain desserts, such as making Chardonnay jelly. Adding dried coconut flakes into my homemade almond milk to make a coconut-almond milk. Great on some cereals, and I like to drink it very cold and straight from the fridge.

Nice article about popcorn ... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/dining/heirloom-popcorn-helps-a-snack-reinvent-itself.html?_r=1

I can easily ruin a batch of dinner rolls whether I use Crisco or the finest quality butter.

I'm unsure of what you're describing. Are you suggesting that the potato chip package reminds you of Pepperidge Farm cookies? If so, I don't see it ... just looks like a pkg of chips to me. And if it does remind you of PF cookies, might that just be your perception rather than Lays manipulating you/us? In what way do you see this as being manipulative? I'm just not getting it ....

Indeed, you are correct. But that might be the same situation with other $10.00 meals, like Rachael Ray, etc. BTW, I don't know just what decent hamburger costs around here today (it's been about 2-years since making my hamburger soup recipe), but one can use alternative meat, like ground turkey or chicken, pork, etc. for that hamburger soup. I'm off to the big Asian market in a while, and I'll check what prices are at their meat counter.

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes as an alternative to Food Network and Rachael Ray.

We do a fair amount of soup and salad meals and the cost is readily controlled by the soup's ingredient list. Since you're thinking of a budget meal, how about hamburger soup? Here's my go to recipe for that ... Shel's Hamburger Soup 1-lb lean ground beef 2 large onions 3 cloves chopped garlic 1 diced potato 2 diced large carrot 1 1/2 stalks diced celery 1 large diced parsnip 1 large diced turnip 3 cups shredded cabbage 3 15 oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes (with jalapeno optional) 2 qts water 1 quart chicken stock 12 peppercorns in cheesecloth 2 tsp oregano 2 tsp dried basil 3 bay leaves 1 tsp thyme salt and pepper to taste brown meat and onion, remove excess fat. Add and sauté garlic. Add remaining ingredients, simmer until done. Remove bay leaves.