kayb

It's pretty. But I'm with the others; I'm doubtful of the usefulness. Flip side of that, you could probably get a pretty penny for it for those designing Architectural Digest-type kitchens.

As best I recall, I did. I generally start with about 2/3 cup of milk and then add more as needed. I like a thick batter (think pound cake, but just a little looser). I'm currently trying to figure out what I want to add with chopped dried apricots to make a Middle Eastern-spiced muffin. And what nuts to use (walnuts? Pine nuts?)

Oooohhhh. Now I want to do persimmon walnut! Sure thing: here. Three dozen from that is ambitious. I halve the recipe for a dozen, and depending on the volume of the add-ins, I may get 13 or 14.

They were. I have a generic muffin recipe that lends itself nicely to most any add-in you'd care to try. Another one that's a favorite is dried cherries, coconut and chopped almonds. I've done toll house (chocolate chips and pecans, brown sugar instead of white), caramel apple, apple cinnamon, fresh peach (with peach puree and chopped dehydrated peaches), lemon-ginger, orange-cardamom with hazlenuts, and even, once, cut the sugar to a couple of tablespoons and did chopped ham and cheese. That one, while one of my faves, didn't go over too well. That's a sweets-loving bunch.

I think their food is pretty awful (the one time I tried tortilla soup, the beans weren't done and it tasted ... weird). But they have damn fine lemonade.

I've soaked country ham slices for a couple of hours, and whole country hams for 12, so somewhere in between. I'd say a good 3-4 hours, and like @CatIsHungry I change the water every hour or so. I do mine on the counter, and yes, a bowl-full of water is plenty. I use chicken broth if I have plenty in the freezer, and water if I don't. You can also boil just your ham hock in plenty of water and freeze (I always reduce first) the extra. Ham stock comes in handy from time to time. It does great things for potato soup. I made beef stew last night, using leftover ribeye and sirloin steak I'd sous vided and then grilled on Sunday. It was marvelous. Onions, potatoes, carrots, cubed beef, chicken stock, sage, bay leaves, Chicago steak seasoning. Simmered until the carrots were tender. Thickened with some cornstarch. It was pretty wonderful.

I've been concerned as well. Hearing a report on the Bolivian problems today on NPR brought it to front of mind. I wonder if internet services there might be disrupted?

I made a batch of muffins one Sunday for the Sunday School group that had tangerines, with zest and chopped-up fruit sections, coconut and almond. The group called them a favorite.

Fascinating. I never heard of it, either. They were, I presume, roasted in the shell? I'd be tempted to try that if I could figure out how to do it.

Can't get my head around crunchy Twinkies.

That's freaking brilliant. I am so going to try that. My mandoline doesn't get a lot of use, and it would be ideal for this.

Rather than make the full recipe or try to hack the hock apart, you might try soaking it in several changes of water for a few hours first. Should cut the salt level.

Thanks. I'll take a look.

HELP! About to be out of coffee beans, I turned to my usual mail-order source, Cafe Brazil in Dallas, whose Brazil Estates blend I have been ordering for the better part of 15 years. They no longer carry it; in fact, they no longer carry any medium roasts at all except for flavored blends, which I abhor. All they have is dark roasts, which I also dislike wholeheartedly. Who can give me leads to a good, full-bodied, medium roast coffee bean I can dependably order? I was paying in the neighborhood of $12-15 per pound for my Brazil Estates, and would like to stay in that range. I'm far from a coffee purist. I fill my refillable K-cup with it and brew in a Keurig, unless I take a notion and want to go with the French press. I drink it with cream, no sugar. I want NO bitterness. just a rich, buttery brew. Tips?

Remember how the pieces you used and washed over and over would get sticky? We had those Tupperware tumblers. I loved them. Mama also had at least one of ever bowl they made, I think. And one of us had the grating/slicing thing; I don't remember ever using the grater/slicer, but we used the dish and its accompanying cover a good bit. My first thought on the canned ham holder was that it'd be ideal to hold a roast chicken, if it's big enough.

Egg white works. It's what I used to use when I could still make, and eat, this. One of my very favorite breads.

Prior to refrigeration, meat was primarily preserved by drying, smoking or salt-curing. All are still practiced today, with modern assistance. Vegetables, particularly corn and legumes, were left on the plant until dried, and then harvested, to be saved and used over winter months. Fruits were dried. As a child, I helped my grandmother, whose young adulthood was in the rural South pre-electricity, lay apple and peach slices, berries and cherries out on sheets on the roof to dry; they'd be taken in at night, put back out in the morning, Potatoes were dug, layered in wooden boxes with straw, and stored in the cellar. Softer vegetables were canned or pickled, at least in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when glass jars were readily available. Before that, I expect they were simply eaten in the summer and not the winter. Large meals were cooked at noon for the folks working in the fields, and dishes of food were left on the table, covered with a cloth, until supper, when they were finished off at room temperature.

Having lost a bunch of weight about three years ago, and as a result, having much less built-in butt padding than I once did, I avoid hard wooden chairs like the plague. I'm a confirmed booth-sitter.

Scotch eggs -- how I do love them! Especially with quail eggs! I suspect it may be about time for a trip to the Asian market to clear out the quail egg stash...

If they're really thin, might try doubling them.

1. A smoked ham hock (cook it with the beans, pull it out, pull off the meat and shred, and add back in) 2. Andouille sausage (I prefer sliced in coins and sauteed, but just sliced or cut in chunks will work; also cook with beans 3. Chicken thighs (cook with beans, remove, debone, skin and shred, put meat back in) No, mine aren't traditional. But they're damn good. I also add tomatoes, after the beans are cooked.

@Smithy -- If you are pasta-challenged --- or, like me, have never tried to make it and not sure you want to learn -- egg roll wrappers will suffice.

That's heartbreaking. But yes, I know it's hard work (and I can only imagine baking en masse.)

Monkey bread is usually balls of yeasted dough, rolled in sugar, piled in a pan, melted butter poured over all, and baked. I don't know that that would work so well with puff pastry scraps. How about if you laid them all out flat, brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, and baked? Sort of like have-it-with-coffee snacks? I used to bake pie crust trimmings just plain, then brush with melted butter and eat. Cook's treat.

My trick for peeling quail, or any other, eggs is this: Drain the water, then bounce the pan around vigorously to crack all the shells. Then fill with ice water and let sit for 15 minutes or so. Drain again, roll eggs in your palms to create a fine network of cracks all over the shell, and start peeling at the blunt end, where the air pocket is. Quail eggs will often peel in one long "ribbon", quite easily.