Katie Meadow

If you are too lazy to make the banana pastry cream or you can't find artificial banana flavor I suggest calling your doctor for a Rx for Children's Augmentin syrup. That would be a win win: super artificial banana flavor and a healthy dose of antibiotics just in case.

Yes, a pot with wide surface area is of course one way to shorten the time when cooking down marmalade. But that and sugar alone won't get you the consistency you are looking for and the bitterness as well. I use the pips (seeds). Put most of the seeds after juicing, and with as little pith as possible, into a muslin bag and add that to the mix. I tie the bag to the handle of the pot so it hangs below the surface of the liquid. There are gelling products you can buy, but this seems to be the easiest and cheapest way to get the control you want.

If you have read any of @liuzhou 's recent posts you already know that Chinese food is almost endlessly varied. However, I believe it is possible to learn to make a relatively easy and basic stir-fry using vegetables that are available to you and with a small investment in basic condiments. The trick is that a decent wok and a relatively high flame are essential. Many people try to make stir-fry in a saucepan with inadequate heat, and that's really just a sauté. Personally a stir-fry is my go-to easy and fast meal, and the best way I know of to combine different vegetables. And one technique or method can get you started. There's a short learning curve when it comes to what ingredients to add when, but that will make sense quickly. And you do need to prep all ingredients before cooking, because you will probably need to work fast. Maybe someone else can suggest books that get you into Chinese cooking; I've honed my technique from various sources, and can't think of just one book to recommend for a beginner. Where do you live? What kinds of ingredients are you most likely to find near you? That might get you more specific responses here.

Maybe a Moulinex would work for you? Would work for a cheese like cheddar or mozzarella. https://www.ebay.com/itm/176085735904?hash=item28ff8719e0:g:H04AAOSwpsVlcelS&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwIow3GiaxW1T0I7w%2FSe00WE4n4As02LGzrxxWKeoebCHJZd2HqJwbNgojUGHveU0kABrzksvtNqyioihhyWGCuf6ORAqqRUAz%2BdcF68aCc%2BqGHkSVoACwzncgb7y%2BXSGj8odq%2F4NXN2busVtolYNXI1qRnW6DEiw3VSH9lDWfjpbcLgP72bv6uOBaVmbs7svdTAsNEmkhBNA%2BQFnBrV8mUwB6pLt5CABnXI3DZKjRcfvxEvUvGodsP%2FRgIf%2FyShaTQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-6ltJqXYw

I guess these are all useful comments, but honestly, have you ever known anyone who wouldn't grate cheese because they lacked the "proper tool?" I'm not trying to be snarky, I was just born that way.

Agree: schmaltz is just the fat. Gribenes, to me, means chicken skin cooked in the fat until it's crispy. As far as I know, my grandmother never cooked anything, except for gribenes. My mother, not a great cook, learned nothing from her. Most of what I got from my mother I had to unlearn. My father did make a mean chopped chicken liver, though lacking schmaltz he used butter. And he always added cognac. I'm planning to do the same for New Year's Day! though, and that's what I am planning to have on New Year's Day.

If, god forbid, that happens, your obit will practically write itself.

Miroco milk frother. The quietest electric appliance on earth!. Heats and froths in short order, with various froth settings. I long ago gave up on those little stick frothers which are far too frustrating to deal with in the morning. My husband claims I said something a few months back about wanting one, however i swear I don't remember. The joys of memory loss! You get stuff you want that appear like magic. This toy is totally fun. I'm trying to limit coffee and increase calcium, so this is a win win, and perfectly timed as one of my gifts to him this holiday was.....coffee.

Is that eggnog as blue as it looks? And what's that iceberg floating in it? Methinks it need a teeny tiny replica of the Titanic floated at the top. Then you can call the drink "The Last Eggnog."

Shout out to George Howell and @weinoo! Gift of coffees was a hit. I bought two med roasts, an Ethiopian and a Guatemalan, and one dark roast from Costa Rica. We broke out the Guatemalan for breakfast this morning....delicious made in the French press. Sadly I'm on a restricted coffee regimen, so I love the change from my husband;s habitual default of French roast Peets, which is very strong and no longer has the thrill that it once did when it came on the scene a million years ago.. Also a source of awe was the vacuum canister, now the home of the Guatemalan beans. My husband finds that little whoosh of air to be very satisfying. In the last few years he's upped his game with a nice burr grinder and a couple of new coffee making contraptions, but hasn't tried any different beans. Of course he went to the GH site and was, unsurprisingly, amazed at some of the pricier options. Hey, it's a gift! \

Christmas prep? What is that? I'm very happy to report that this year I'm doing less than ever. I made a vegetarian black bean soup to bring up to my sister in law's house for a small xmas eve dinner. Christmas eve has always been celebrated by my husband's family. This year the venue has changed and the party is small; My other SIL has come down with covid, so and her sons will not be coming. I'm also pleased to say that no decorating has taken place, no visitors for xmas day, just the two of us and a quiet day. Breakfast will be my husband's fabulous biscuits. The afternoon will see a grazing menu of appetizers, all of which are unfussy and can be made with hands tied behind backs. We plan to bake a simple poppy seed cake and treat ourselves to Irish coffee made with my gift of exotic coffee beans to my husband. No rushing, no stressing. Great opportunity for doing essentially nothing on xmas day. Lazy! Happy Holidays to all!

I hope so! Achh, you and your corn phobia! If it wasn't for corn we wouldn't have huitlacoche. How sad is that?

A wild guess, but broccoli will probably be one of the last species on Earth to go extinct. Just my luck.

It may be ridiculous to call gai lan Chinese Broccoli, but in most restaurants around here that's what it means on the menu. I always check before ordering, since I detest regular broccoli and I love gai lan. So yeah, I think they are pretty different. Gai lan is most often served here as part of the vegetable section, by itself in a garlicky sauce. Broccoli is often served in a mixed stir fry with other vegetables or beef. And they definitely look different as well as taste different.

We live in a dangerous world!

There's a big selection of both Rapid and Wonder flat graters on eBay. Lots of variety.

I inherited a grater that looks pretty much like that "paddle." I use it for one thing: grating nutmeg. I'm happy with the old box grater for large shreds of cheese..

Presumably this was served in an ashtray. I haven't had a cigarette in 40 years, but a pretzel dipped in white chocolate sounds almost as bad. Kudos, I think, to the artist.

Duck, here comes one now!

Effie's oat cakes are delicious, but sweet, more like a cookie or an English "biscuit." I think a more savory oat cake, like the Scottish ones, are better for eating with cheese. I find Nairn's are a bit dry, and so are many other commercial ones that I've tried. To be frank, some are like cardboard. So my next attempt will be to make them myself, as per @liuzhou's suggestion. Not an oat cake, but my favorite cracker for cheese is Fortt's Bath Oliver. Not easy to find and not cheap. They stopped production for a while during the pandemic, but I believe are back in business. And harder to find than ever. On Amazon the shipping costs more than the product, even if you have prime. In days of yore one of my favorite meals was Bath Olivers with butter and Stilton, a dripping ripe pear and a bottle of Newcastle Brown. When anyone sent me those Royal pears from Harry and David for the holidays that was my treat.

My hopes that Heidi will suddenly log in and tell us it was all a mistake are dimming. This is awfully sad.

Looks and sounds good, although I find him and his show really. unwatchable. Zucchini might be life-changing only if a giant one hit and killed you or someone you loved.

You didn't post that and I didn't see it.

I agree with many recommendations above for roasting poblanos. Pick thick, flattish ones when possible. Don't over-roast or cook too slowly. You don't want the flesh to cook and soften too much; unless they have structure they will be the devil to work with if you are going to stuff them. You want the chiles to blacken fast. Since they are typically available in the fall, I have found that roasting them on an outdoor grill on a relatively high flame is easier and gives better flavor than doing it under the broiler. I've never oiled the chiles first, so I can't speak to that. And lastly, although when I lived in NM it was pretty common for people to put the just-roasted chiles in a plastic bag, I have found that a better system is to lay the chiles out flat on a cookie tray right after roasting and cover them with a pretty damp, (but not soaking), towel. That should not take more than 15 or 20 minutes. The bag method doesn't work any better and it has the disadvantage of making a lot of steam, which means your chiles will be a little watery, which you don't need.

We do our major shopping haul at Berkeley Bowl, a large and always very busy market in the East Bay. There is no self-checkout, which is good by me. They have more checkers than baggers, so we just move in and bag the stuff ourselves, with weight equally distributed as possible and heavy bottles or milk containers or unbreakable vegetables on the bottom, other vegetables and delicates on top layers. The checkers appreciate it and we get it the way we want it. We load the belt accordingly and pack two or three bags simultaneously. We are very organized shoppers; I plan about six days worth of meals at a time, and then we coast for a few days with leftovers, makes pot of beans, shop for fill-ins, etc.for another few days. Major runs, which are typically four bags at a time, happen approximately every ten days, as needed. One of my superpowers is knowing how to pack or box up anything for maximum efficiency. My husband does the shopping these days, He's a graphic designer and we designed a printed Berkeley Bowl list of all our usual suspects. It's organized by how he moves through the aisles. Really clever, right? And verging on OCD.