Mjx

This seems kind of unfair to the shop and other shoppers, and isn't particularly reliable; many of the most dangerous bacteria produce no odour at all.

Do you find it difficult to not slump on those? Several of the places where I worked as a massage therapist had those, and if I used them at all, I ended up cranking them way down and kneeling on them, because otherwise, I found they tended to force me into a slouching position that made it really uncomfortable for my neck and shoulders. I really like stools that tilt, since they make it far easier to remain vertical. This all may depend on how long you sit, however.

If you're flexible about the concept of 'appetizer', I'd go with small bowls of tortellini with just enough reduced broth for there to be a little with each spoonful. Might add a couple of reduction-glazed chestnuts to each bowl, too, if you can get your hands on some.

That's just bizarre. I'm guessing it means that neither Kimball nor whoever wrote up the cue card has a clue about chemistry.

Well, I was really only thinking of an occasional short time use. No, I'm not looking for long-term soljutions, and my question, while relevant, was as much out of curiosity as anything else. Fair enough, but if I were you, I really would drag out that heater you mentioned, even if it is just for a little while, and it's something of a project. Or, get another that is easier to move/stash: the good ones are small, efficient, direct the heat effectively, and will make you feel very, very happy (perhaps not as happy as a life model in a skylit studio where all the people sketching are muffled to the eyebrows, but still). Leaving aside the possible safety issues, my experience in our last kitchen (which had no heat) was that the heat from the oven didn't circulate very efficiently into the room when the door was open, and it was a small room. Once or twice, I left the oven door open after shutting it off, because it was just so bloody cold, and I could feel the warmth when I stood immediately in front of it, but a little ways away it really wasn't doing much good.

Get a space heater: The small cube-shaped ceramic units seem to give the best bang for the buck. One of these should do the trick for you in your office space; I'm speaking from a decade+ worth of experience as an artist's model who often worked through the winter in large, draughty, unheated studios. Using your oven as heater sounds likely to damage your oven/you/your budget, over the long haul.

I just heat some broth, and add as much ginger/chilies and lime juice or vinegar as I can stand without my head caving in. I'll drink litres of this, when I'm feeling run down or ill.

Happy New Year, all! We've moved on to Recipes that Rock: 2012, which is here: CLICK!

I can top that: Up until this moment, I'd managed to completely forget that you're even supposed to rinse rice before cooking it. I also often drink instant coffee.

I have a hunch that vendors found over time that if you use 'cuttlefish', it means a lot of boring explaining.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1072752/ The only macronutrient to be absorbed entirely is carbohydrate; protein is the most poorly absorbed, and its absorption would be further reduced in normal eating, because most people don't chew that thoroughly.

I've never tried the stuff in the little plastic packets, as I was warned that it tends to be of a poor grade/has an aggressive, almost 'off', fishiness. If you go with the ink in plastic packets, it might be a good idea to first get just one packet, and see how that is, before committing to a bunch.

Erm, NO. If your body has no immediate use for it, it will store it. And not as muscle tissue, either.

They do make great jam (although I think vanilla kind of overwhelms the scent of the plums)! Pruning some of the blossoming branches and using them decoratively helps mitigate the plum tsunami (my boyfriend's mother had the same problem with her tree, including the cracking branches, so we also ended up aggressively thinning the unripe plums, which I thought might be interesting pickled).

For the 2010 and 2011 conferences, the price of the conference was approximately $150 per person (this included use of the facility and some meals). Reports from previous conferences: 2011 conference (Niagara on the Lake, ON) 2010 conference (Gaithersburg, MD) 2009 conference (Niagara on the Lake, ON) (edited to add links to the previous eGullet Chocolate & Confection conference reports) Thanks! I'm still in dangling mode, owing to our ongoing house-hunting; I'm hoping this will soon be sorted.

Ah yes. Love that company's licorice, but I've never tried the powder. Yet.

I really don't understand what you mean here. Are you saying that only thin people run? Or that no fat people exercise? That's simply not true. No, that's not what I'm saying. I've seen the analogy drawn using Lance Armstrong as an example. He is someone who can eat whatever he wants--I believe a large bowl of fettucini in the mornings--yet does not gain any fat. An the reason is not that he's thin because he rides his bike, but that he rides his bike because he is thin. The hormones regulating his fat tissue do not want to store those calories as fat; his body wants to burn the excess glucose that's floating around as fuel. Fat people can exercise all they want. Though I probably wouldn't recommend it if they are trying to lose weight. We've all heard of the idea of "working up an appetite". That's a substantially incorrect generalization, as anyone who's seen retired athletes knows. I've seen it in myself: When I'm active (read: the equivalent of two or more hours of intensive exercise, or walking 2x60 blocks, with 10+ hours of doing deep tissue work in between), I can eat three times a day, maybe even five. The rest of the time, I'm asking for trouble if I eat more than one modest meal a day. I'm generally a bit fluffy about the middle when I find my activity level stepped up; it doesn't last long. And, when my busy season begins I'm generally quite fit, because I build fast, and muscle tend to burn calories, but the weight piles on quickly, too, if I don't abruptly shift my eating pattern. And, the first things to be aggressively cut are the carbs, since they function almost exclusively as fuel, and if I spend ten hours a day at the computer, I'm just not burning much, the caloric demand is low. The protein, fat, and various vitamins and minerals (supplemented), are in demand by the body, even when if you're barely moving. In practical terms, the real problems are that, a) people are pretty much indoctrinated in a mythology of food, and b) most of us like to eat. With regard to the first point, most people seem to have very inaccurate ideas of how often/much healthy but more or less sedentary adult humans need to eat. When I tell people I only eat once a day, they tend to be disturbed, and say things like 'You can't do that, it's unhealthy'. If I ask Why, they can't answer. It's 'just bad for you'. But it isn't: I get a reasonable number of calories per day, given my activity level. As for liking to eat, if we try to ignore or fight our enjoyment of food, we will either eat too much, or make ourselves miserable (often both, with the result that we end up fat and unhappy). Here again, instead of wallowing in lousy replacements or a sea of measurements, it's simpler to simply decide to only eat between, say, 18.00 and 21.00, and eat what one likes. This is untrue. In the 1950′s twenty overweight DuPont executives ate a high-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet and averaged a loss of 2 pounds per week without reported hunger between meals. Several experiments confirm that caloric intake does not inhibit weight loss if carbohydrate intake is low. My recollection of this study is that although what was on their plates made for a relatively high calories count for someone attempting to lose weight, the study participants were seldom able to eat all that was on their plates. Some couldn't even come close. I don't have any immediate access to the original study, however; anyone else able to get their hands on it?

Hm... well, regardless of his reasons, if what he's willing to eat is restricted, that's what you have to work with. You may need to find a different area in which to fuss over him, since at the moment, at least, food doesn't sound like it's on the 'fun/pleasure platform' for him, and he'll probably just feel a bit bad if you're trying really hard, and he can't truly appreciate your efforts. This is essentially the strategy that my sister-in-law takes, because my brother is the most restricted, picky eater I know. For ideas (even just starting points), you might look into cuisines that run to a lot of meatless options (e.g. Indian; you can always adjust the spices, if he doesn't go for that sort of thing), since even recipes that feature meat are often easily turned into vegetarian options.

Have him make as much of his own food as possible, it will be much more relaxing for you both, and more successful. I'm speaking as both a picky/restricted eater, and someone who's fed even pickier/more restricted eaters than myself. Most of the picky eaters I know aren't easily bored, by the way, and will eat the the same things again and again without any problem. Just ask him to name a bunch of things he does eat, and have the ingredients available for those dishes. What does he normally eat for breakfast? Isn't toast with whatever he puts on it an option? I don't handle wheat particularly well, so if I even eat breakfast, I'll grab a couple of slices of Wasa (the 100% rye ones). Does he eat chocolate? Unless he's ill, I wouldn't worry about fattening him up.

I've always thought of it as smoked, but apparently, that is not necessarily a given: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/gammon.

I don't actually have a preference – I've heard solid arguments for both approaches – although I stagger the ordinary drinking glasses we have, so they fit together more neatly (i.e. alternating right side up and upside down; the glasses flare towards the top). I do make sure that the shelves with the dishes, cups, and glasses on them are kept very, very clean, though.

Ham I'm guessing that the word has some connection to 'jamón'.

Sugar. I don't use sugar substitutes (unless there's a diabetic involved), even when it's a question of 'just' taste. Even when it comes to coffee, which I usually take very sweet, I'll have it black, rather than with an artificial sweetener.

Looks really tasty (and I like the presence of two flavours that always seem very characteristically Danish)! How did you make the licorice powder?

Is this the same Aldi we have in the EU?! The 'wake' descriptor makes that seem probable (although the ones here are also apparently legally required to have a small collection of drunks in their parking lots at all times), but the selection of canned goods that one finds on their shelves in Denmark is of a uniform badness, suitable only for putting into the coffin of the deceased whose wake this is, if those left behind are taking a pessimistic view of his or her afterlife destination: They seem most appropriate to an eternity spent in hell.