Shel_B

A Very Simple Dinner To my homemade vegetable stock I added some finely diced vegetables: leek, carrot, zucchini, yellow squash, orange bell pepper, bok choy, a small handful of frozen, mixed veggies, and a few scoops of leftover basmati rice along with some Korean pepper flakes.

Apart from having a very large volume that, like you, I have little need for (not no need), the heating is very uneven, at least on my stove. The outer area of the cooking surface on these large diameter pans is substantially cooler than the area closer to the center resulting in uneven heating and cooking. This means paying closer attention to the cooking process and sometimes moving items from the center to the outside of the pan. Such a pan would be fine when used in an oven.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/295798482109? Would this work? There are others on eBay .

Happy Passover!

Thanks for the info. Ortiz Ventresca is 3.88 ounces for bout $20.00. St Jude is, at least on the surface, a deal. I like the idea of mixing smoked and unsmoked. 👍

@blue_dolphin Hi ... I'm about to order some tuna from St. Jude. Quick question: is the smoked tuna strongly smoked or more subtle? Thanks. And thanks for the link. The price for the ventresca is pretty good compared to what's available in the local markets here, especially the Spanish ventresca. The South American tuna doesn't excite me that much, so I'm hoping St. Jude will provide better quality and value.

@FrogPrincesse Fwiw, the All Clad factory seconds sale ends tonight. Also, you may be able.to find good deals on MC2 pans on ebay or etsy.

Hi ... All-Clad's MC line was, for many uses, my go-to. I still have and use the original (well, early -1978-9) MC saucepans and a 3-quart sauté pan from that era as well. I later bought a couple of MC2 skillets which I love. A 1.5 quart saucepan practically lives on my stovetop. It's a great size for all the things you mention plus hot cereal, polenta, and reheating many items. The All-Clad D5 has been my choice, and I've been using it for years. Unfortunately, it's spendy, but it was the one that had similar cooking characteristis to the MC. That said, another good choice, on the opposite end of the price spectrum, and one which has served a relative well for several years, is the 1.5 quart Cuisinart: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) Heck of a value for the price. HTH, good luck in your search.

Thanks for mentioning those cheeses. I'm not a cheese maven by any standard, but I enjoy experimenting. I'll look for these cheeses ... we have a couple of great cheese shops in the area and maybe I can find one or two locally, which would be ideal.

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.