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Everything posted by snowangel
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What is the difference between dutch process cocoa and regular cocoa? If one has recipes (like a few from my great grandmother) that call for cocoa, what will happen if I use dutch process?
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Frittata (or an omelet), diced and included in au gratin or scalloped potatoes, split pea soup, added to potato leek soup (after the soup is cooked).
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Yes, stacks of yardsticks taped (!) together to equal depth of 2x4. Some of the drywall was 1/2" (sides and above windows), some was 3/8" (under windows), which explained the wainscoating. Oh, and I forgot about the hollow door that sliced up to make framing. Fortunately, this was only on the "addition" part of the kitchen which was done about 20 years ago. The rest of the house is late '40's plaster. Built like the proverbial brick shit house, and in excellent condition.
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If it's any consolation, my remodel (I'm doing 70% myself, 20% added by my husband, and 10% by a kind neighbor who helps me out when I need more than two hands on a weekday) is taking about 3-4 times longer than I anticipated...Oh, the nightmares one uncovers when one "unwraps" one's kitchen. I believe that the previous kitchen remodel was done in a rather haphazard manner. I won't even get into the portion of framing that was done with yardsticks!. On another note, my kitchen sink faucet is crapping. I've hated the thing, so replacing it was on my list (it was on the list of replace after floor, baseboards, new light fixtures, etc. were in, but I'm moving it up on the list). So, plumbing time, and my sink (which is fine) has this sprayer thingee that I've never used, so I have an extra hole. I'm thinking of putting in a reverse osmosis (sp?) water purification thing in. Have you done this? If so, how did you select the brand/model you chose? I may also post this on another board.
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Have you tried the Jan Friedman's Brownies recipe from Maida Heatter's 2nd cookie book? It is somewhat different in preparation/ingredients, and is, I think, closer to what you are looking for. PM me if you want the recipe.
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I've been spending all day, every day, on my kitchen remodel project. Today, nothing went right. The tools didn't work or weren't where they should be, I encountered problem after problem, so I went to e-gullet and saw the brownie thread. I biked to the library, checked out Baking with Julia, and made the Best Ever Brownies. While they were cooling, I shop-vac-ed the kitchen, put all of the tools where they belong, fixed my sander (yes, I did it myself!). Then, I sat down and ate a row (yes, a whole row) of them. Life is good again.
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The complexity of Thai food
snowangel replied to a topic in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking
My experience in the U. S. tells me that you are best off going with someone who can speak Thai and knows Thai food so s/he can speak directly with the chef. Frequently, ordering off the menu is NOT the way to go if you want a really great meal. -
Everything in Minnesota dies in the winter But, the ice fishing will be great in a month!
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Although I've tried cooking the beans (I use dried ones) with various things, I think the real flavor comes when I fry them. Once the beans are cooked, I mash them up (leaving a bit of water in them) with a masher (I don't like them totally pureed). Then, I start by sauteing some chopped onions. Once that's sort of done I add chopped garlic, cumin (I use both ground and seed), chili powder and some crushed red pepper. Be careful that you don't burn the red pepper. Then, add the beans and cook for a while, adding more water if necessary. Lime juice is nice, too, and salt is important. I don't salt the beans when I am "hydrating" them, just when frying them. It is best if you can use some kind of animal fat, but if not, use vegetable oil. For some reason, olive oil isn't appropriate. Play with this a bit -- I don't have a hard and fast recipe, but I think that frying the spices -- enough so that they are fragrant -- is key. At the end, I add some hot sauce (I prefer Cholula). I've also experimented with making my own chili powder with toasted dried mexican chiles and some paprika.
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Yes, but without the convection. I couldn't justify the convection since I bought a new range last year with a convection oven. Seemed like overkill, and I'd have had to do more justifying to Paul. Especially since I was the one who started demoing the kitchen without even talking to him about remodeling it.
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ARC is like Goodwill or Salvation Army, but their stores are much nicer, and they support people -- locally -- with disabilities like my daughter Heidi. Thanks for the reminder about lining casseroles with foil. I got a lot done today on my floor demo project, and I think I am on target for setting up kitchen downstairs on Friday, and should be able to start tiling on Saturday. The bright note was that a guy called me from Home Depot today. Although I am doing this remodel myself (keeping cupboards and most of the counters), I do want to replace two pieces of counter -- on either side of the stove (what's there has decorative posts nailed in), and when I was at HD, I asked if they ever have "scrap" silestone. He told me today that they have two pieces of silestone -- in the color I adore and will look great with the other things in the kitchen -- and I can have them for 1/6 the "normal" price. The cost, he led me to believe, is to cover making them the exact size I want. I did chuckle when I read that you can start moving things back in when the painting is done. When my folks redid their kitchen, as my mom moved stuff back in, the first thing she noticed was that none of it looked "appropriate" in her beatiful new space, so she went out and immediately bought new linens, some new dishes, some new pots and pans, and even knives (like they show!). My dad commented that when he was figuring out what the project would cost, he hadn't figured in the kitchen equipment!
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Cheap eats are familiar here, too! I'm now a stay at home mom (for variety of reasons), so we have scaled back on the food budget. Beans, whole chickens, potatos are key. Beans are great. I have several standby's -- chili (you can either go meatless or stretch a 1/4 k. of ground beef a long way). I have one of marcella Hazan's books, and I do her bean/pasta and lentil soups frequently. Refried beans (I do them myself) on tortillas with some chopped up tomatos and a minimal sprinkling of cheese. I also make casseroles by layering tortillas, beans, tomatos simmered with cumin, etc. Chicken. Buy them whole. I take the breast meat off immediately, and then cook the remainder of the bird in water with onions, and whatever (stock). I usually use the breast meat for stir fries (served over rice). I use stock for soup, and include a bit of the chopped up chicken. The rest of the chicken meat goes for other stuff -- casseroles, chicken salad (I really "beef" mine up with a ton of vegetables), quesidillas (sp?). I do always keep cheese on hand, but tend to use it almost more as a garnish than an ingredient (sometimes all the kids want to do is pick the cheese off). Frittata. I assume that eggs are not terribly expensive, and with frittata, one can really stretch eggs. It is a great way to use up leftover cooked potatoes, leftover cooked veggies, veggies in the bin that need to be used up, etc. And, assuming that you don't fix fancy breakfast every day of the week, pancakes or waffles can be a great dinner. Potato leek soup is also very inexpensive. I buy big bags of potatos, which are very inexpensive, and I can get a huge, beautiful leek for US$1.00. I do it ala Julia Child, with water, not stock. For soup flavorings, I get bacon ends from our butcher. They are quite a bit cheaper than bacon and the flavor is so intense in the local butcher bacon ends that a little go a long way. On the soup front, I will admit that when I worked full-time outside the house, I used a bread machine all the time. It didn't make the greatest bread, but it was warm when we got home, and the house smelled great. I would doctor up the recipes with spices and herbs according to what kind of soup/stew we were having, so what they lacked in texture was made up for in taste. Don't forget baked potatos, split open, with a bunch of stuff on them. Leftover meat, veggies, whatever. A bare sprinking of cheese. Pasta. My kids are often happy with plain buttered pasta and a salad. If you can add a sprinkle of grated romano, that makes it even better. I'm happier when we don't totally do away with "luxury" items -- like good romano. I've just learned to use them sparingly. Chinese makes good use of very little meat, and you can usually use whatever veg is in season and/or on sale, and rice is usually reasonable. I noticed the price of tomatos you quoted. Since we are past growing season, I am more pleased with canned tomatos, which I often roast to give additional flavor to dishes. Salads are a given at our meals, but they may vary from tossed greens. Depends on what looks good and what is reasonable. I also noticed that it helps to have a dessert. I get creative with this, and have become a big fan of the "reduced for quick sale" fruit bin. Banana muffins, pies with fruit that are past their shelf prime and usually wonderful for dessert. As long as I don't include a lot of sugar in dessert, I don't mind offering it -- it is a good way to get fruit in them when what is available (as we head into winter) is not really very good anyway.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I mentioned our project at a church meeting last night, and this morning, a fellow church member appeared at my doorstep with a little kit she and her friends have passed around while they've remodeled, and it included an electric skillet and a single electric burner, and lots of disposable baking pans. Then, when I was at ARC today offloading stuff I no longer wanted, they had smaller pyrex casserole dishes for $.50/each, so I bought several, and am in the midst of a marathon pasta casseroles. I do have a crock pot, and soup is really popular in our house, and I have I just froze a boatload of chicken stock, and I have really easy access to good bread. And, my kids really like refried beans and cheese in tortillas, which is super easy. I also have a nice electric griddle, and pancakes are popular. In fact, when I made pancakes the other morning, I doubled the batch and froze a bunch of them. And, this remodel has allowed me to justify retiring our old small toaster oven that I really, really hated. I replaced it this morning with a nice, new Cuisinart one that will do 6 slices of toast, and is quite a bit "taller" than my old one, so will hold a casserole, pan of brownies nicely (they say it will hold a chicken). And, I got a great deal on the new one. I also stocked up on thick paper plates (I'm really going to miss my dishwasher) Finally, totally unrelated to this thread, Diana recently ate out at a Greek restaurant and fell in love with Green lemon/egg soup. I know that Jason has raved about this before; do you or he have a good recipe or method that you would be willing to share? Again, thanks so much for the suggestions.
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Rachel, as we prepare for at least two weeks without a kitchen, I need some advice. We will have fridge, micro, toaster oven downstairs in basement. There is a sink. I have a couple of bookshelves for supplies, and two big tables. Grilling is an iffy proposition right now; it's been snowing off and on for a few days. Cooking advice needed -- successes and pitfalls -- please! Or, should we just plan to eat out a lot? (I have three kids; if it were just Paul and I this would be a lot easier.)
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Rachael, what kind of kitchen floor did you have in the old kitchen? Who removed it? Did you replace sub-floor? I'm busy removing the old flooring in my kitchen (in preparation for laying new ceramic tile), and it is a real bitch. I really hate to use two of the most recommended ideas -- chemical solvents and sanding. I don't want the dust or the fumes. So, it's me and a scraper, and it's taking forever.
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There is also a Kahn's here in Minneapolis (I have a feeling that it's probably a pretty common name for Mongolian BBQ places. Ours sounds similar to the one you went to, Rachael, especially your description of the cilantro and julienned ginger. Mongolian BBQ is a great place to take kids. My kids love the show aspect of it, and you can satisfy just about any taste. And, I had the kind that Jaymes mentioned in Taiwan in 1969.
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Please relate story of Momo trying to catch mouse; due to some serious cat allergies in our household, a cat is not an option. Due to current kitchen remodel (baseboards and a cupboard gone), I have had recent problem with mice, and have had fabulous success with basic Victor mouse trap, baited with sunflowers mixed with chunky peanut butter. According to other local "experts," metropolitan mice have learned skill to lick creamy peanut butter off of traps, but are so enchanted with the chunks of peanuts and peanut butter-coated sunflowers that they find themselves in quite a "bind." I do know where they are breaching my house, so have placed traps accordingly. So sucessful has this been that I have had no signs of mice for two weeks now, which is especially encouraging since our temperatures, which are dipping by the day, indicate now is the prime time for the vermin to seek a warm and friendly abode. The mouse thing has freaked me out. One of my children is somewhat medically fragile, so I am in compliance with the other stuff on your list. It's not easy, but then it's a lot easier than the potential problems we face.
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I think taste and mouthfeel are more important than exact measurements...
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Let me loudly second that. Worst "tummy upset" ever was this past summer from an unwashed watermelon. Doesn't matter that you are only eating the inside, the knife touches the outside of the rind before the flesh. Now I scrub all melons with a brush and anti-bacterial dish soap. Diana's recent science experiment showed that a good brushing (hands or food) with regular Ivory soap (bar or liquid) did a BETTER job than most antibacterial soaps. And, there is a real concern (my sister is a scientist) about antibacterials -- not only do they lead people to believe that they are better and safer, but building resistence to the things they are supposed to kill.
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I had forgotton about Herdez -- actually not forgotten, because it is a staple in our kitchen. Diana and I can go through two of the cans of salsa verde in no time flat. I used to bring back cases of the stuff (cesara and verde) from California, but now I can even find it in our local Cub supermarket. We use the local Tejas when we want something a little different. I even cook with the Herdez stuff.
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A Year on the Mekong by Edward Gargan. Last read was Dive From Clauson's Pier. And, there is always also a cookbook on my night stand (I check them out of the library before I buy). Peter is reading me the first Harry Potter Book, and he also reads a Nate the Great book to us every night. The kids and I go to the library once a week, if not more often. Saves on bookcases.
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Although I by no means approximate "professional," when I go out of town to resorts, I take bits and pieces like two chef's knives, paring knife, stone, my great-grandmother's wooden spoon (luck), my favorite whisk, veggie peeler, my All-Clad chef's pan, bowl scraper, etc. I also take an oven thermometer and a screwdriver (a wonderful snap-on screwdriver with magnetis bits that go into the hollow handle that has a screw-on top so I have big and small flat blades and phillips heads).
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For salsa, I really like Tejas -- Tejas is a local restaurant that sells their salsa in upscale grocery stores in Minneapolis. It's got the right blend of spicy, and has a very nice, smoky flavor. Chips are hit and miss. They fry them up at one of the local Hispanic markets/deli and those are the best bet here.
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Perfect NY strips; roasted new potatos, squash and califlower; a small salad of the babiest of greens (the ones that didn't freeze the other night); home-made coffee and cashew ice cream. Washed down with Pilsner Urquat (milk for the kids).
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So are you already planning what you will cook first in your new space?