Mjx

Eh, not so much (just no cigarette, in my case). This morning I was reminded of the fact that there is also breakfast cereal in the flat, which I overlooked, yesterday. When we installed our oven about a year ago, we had to reorganize the kitchen to accommodate the overflow from what had been the most convenient shelves in the kitchen, making a fairly minimalist kitchen landscape a distinct asset (trying to find something at the back of dark cabinet while crouched over and holding a flashlight would have to be even worse, if there was a lot of stuff to shuffle through). Be very afraid , Mitch. My coffee beans live in the freezer and I've been known to refrigerate gin. What kind of Society Shibboleth have we flunked? I don't think I've done a weekly shop in my life; no matter the clutter of condiments in the fridge door, my Barren Wasteland is: nothing to cook for dinner. Weinoo assures me that moving the coffee from the fridge/freezer to room temperature creates condensation (which is consistent with scientific observation, except in our kitchen between October and March, when there's virtually no difference between the two temperatures), and refrigerated gin doesn't dissolve ice effectively. I've realized I'm going to have to shop today, since I'm sick of capers for breakfast... they're awful with coffee. The cereal doesn't look much better.

I may have missed something, but for cooking purposes, isn't suet preferred to tallow? I have to admit that suet is the only sort of beef fat I've ever experimented with, and I use a very primitive rendering system (freeze the fresh clump, slice it up, melt at lowest possible temp., filter through white t-shirt), which does, however, yield a white and virtually odourless fat. Is tallow more 'beefy'?

I really, desperately want to hear the explanation of the reason that rabbit costs so damn much here: It is nearly impossible to find, and when you do find it, it is priced as though it were some impossibly rare creature that was hunted at great risk to life and limb, and then transported from Australia via Lamborghini. The only thing that cost more was the Chateaubriand.

If I'm eating out, it's because I want to relax, or am in a hurry; combine that with the fact that I really hate crowds, and that means I'm willing to wait ten minutes, tops, unless I'm seated at the bar and have a reservation. In that case, I'd be inclined to leave if nothing happened by the twenty-minute mark (which I can't recall ever having been exceeded).

Almond milk doesn't taste at all almondy, but that can be fixed with a very small amount of almond extract. Virtually all the recipes for macaroons that I've seen contain egg white (I have a vague recollection of seeing one without, although I don't recall where, and you should be able to find something online).

Quite a bit (and today, since I started some bread): made a cake Saturday, and some empanadas yesterday. I've been using OnlineConversion.com, which does exactly that.

The Insane Kitchen Hoarding Disorders topic reminded me that we have a nearly-opposite situation: Our cabinets and refrigerators have remarkably little in them, because shopping is done a daily/project basis. At the moment, our refrigerator contains the leftovers from Friday night’s roast chicken and etceteras (we were away for the weekend), a small array of condiments, some sandwich meat, about a centimetre or two of milk in last week’s carton, and a bottle of gin; cabinets contain a modest assortment of tea and sweeteners, instant coffee, a few condiments that don’t need refrigeration, a tin of crushed tomatoes, and some Wasa crackers (which I unearthed for breakfast, since I wasn’t really in the mood for capers straight from the jar, and the leftovers are slated for dinner). The freezer contains a bottle of aquavit, some random perishable items, and the coffee beans (which are used daily). Anyone else more ‘Mother Hubbard’ than ‘Mother hoarder’?

Lots of studies out there, with results that are, unfortunately, rather discouraging, although by no means conclusive (e.g. Mcann et al.'s study, Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial), because of the frequent the presence of other ingredients suspected of being problematic. The general impression I get from these articles is that, at least where kids are concerned, it's a good idea to keep intake of these dyes to minimum. The aesthetic side of it is mostly down to what you're used to: My parents were hard-line health-food consumers, so even when it came to the occasional sweet, beige to brown was the order of the day; aggressively coloured sweets actually look a bit dodgy to me (although in actual fact, I'm as capable as anyone of packing away a bag of vividly-tinted wine gums). I can also taste many of the synthtic dyes (slightly bitter/metallic note), so I do tend to gravitate towards brands like Katjes, which usually use natural dyes.

Unless 'cruchy-granola' is also a parameter, go with dark chocolate: fruit dipped in chocolate, liqueur chocolates, water-ganache truffles, chocolate-dipped potato chips, anything but agar-based things and fruit slad, which initially popped into my mind, too, then I thought, 'God, no, not again...'

The closest I get to hoarding is all the crap I toss into the the freezer (small odds and ends, usually) because I have no immediate use for them, and don't want to waste even a small part of what is quite good/cost rather a lot. Also, I have an insanely large bundle of plastic bags in the under-sink cabinet, not because I have much use for plastic bags, but since disposing of them in an environmentally-sound way is not really possible, I try to use them, so it's not a total loss. I'd say I can't imagine where these things come from (I always bring a rucksack when I'm shopping, because you get charged about fifty cents (USD) per plastic shopping bag, here), but the evidence is printed right there, on each bag, so I know I bring most of them back from various trips.

I omitted to mention that I consider 'rubbery' the perfect texture for a candy or dessert, and that I've tried precisely two kinds of sushi in my life, and didn't care for the second one (so, although I have sushi fairly often, it's the same thing every time: six-piece yellowtail roll). I also have weird reaction to MSG, and will sometimes delibarately eat things that are likely to be really MSG-heavy, just for the trippy effect. And I seem to be incapable of leaving any sort of snack partly finished: I have to kill it off in more or less one go, regardless of how queasy I feel. I eat things out of the pot because I'm too lazy to wash up any additional items, and as long as I lived on my own, my plates and flatware consisted of a large mug, a soup plate, a spoon, a pair of chopsticks, and a boot knife (oddly, I'm not particularly good with chopsticks).

After debating for some days as to what I might do with a couple of beef (lamb? who could tell... the inside of the bag was covered in frost) bones, I just pulled them out of the oven to make some stock. They're foam paint rollers.

Despite having been carefully raised in Italy, I loathe most cheeses, and only tolerate that which shows up on pizza. Even more embarrassing, I know nothing about wine, or anything alcoholic, really, which isn't so amusing now that I'm formally an adult (my sense of smell gets really blunted if I eat anything involving wheat--not easy to avoid--so it's difficult to pick up on the distinguishing nuances). The defining characteristic of most alcoholic beverages that I do like is 'sweet'. I find creamy (savoury) sauces disgusting, regardless of whether or not they actually contain any dairy, making a lot of traditional French recipes non-starters for me. I've been known to subsist on coffee and candy for an entire day. I'm usually too impatient to mince garlic with a knife, and either reach for the press, or just slice it up. Ever since my undergrad. Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy class, I've been unable to eat very rare meat (but still prefer a scalpel to any other knife in the kitchen). Truffles (fungus) leave me cold.

No need to, because... ...are all almost guaranteed to make for sweaty, and possibly even (bragadaccio notwithstanding) trembly hands.

Heh. I think those of us who replied before you edited to clarify understood the initial question a bit differently than you intended... I'm looking at my initial post, and it looks kind of off-base, although I could swear it made sense when I wrote it I think stress levels may feed into breakfast conservatism. I'm not a particularly adventurous person, possibly because my life tends to be way more exciting than I'd like, so to move into something approximating an adventurous mindset requires intellectual activity of the sort that I'm not usually up for, first thing in the morning: too many other decisions to deal with at that time, I'm not really even in the mood for food at all. My brain says 'Coffee', my gut says 'Yep', and that's pretty much it. When I'm on holiday, though, and don't have to deal with anyone apart form my boyfriend, I'm capable of eating virtually anything I'd eat at any other time of the day (chili/bag of salty licorice wine gums/Jaegermeister and peanuts? no problem!)

I just made a beautiful roux using rice starch (50/50 starch/butter, by weight), which is readily available at any shop that sells Asian cooking ingredients (even here, amazingly). For the first couple of minutes it looked as though it was going to be grainy, but it ended up being very well-behaved.

I'm amazed that this item exists. It sort of changes the premise of my inquiry. Apart from the steam, I had the impression that most of these features are now standard for mid-range and better ovens; is this only in the EU?

I've had some good results with carefully pressing down the crust with a pan of the same size (or slightly smaller) as that in which you've made your crust. I do this as the last step.

Since a couple of beers isn't exactly boozing it up, you might want to keep in mind that liver function deteriorates over time (I don't mean 'down-the toilet' deteriorating, but it's just not as responsive), so it processes alcohols less efficiently, and the effects of breakdown products can be more pronounced. (I learned about this when a pathologist I knew told me how, after doing his US residency--he's German--he tested positive for TB, but since he was was thirty-nine and the disease was inactive, it was not treated, since the drugs used to treat TB cause liver damage, which does not readily self-repair once you pass your mid-thirties.)

Alas, a Ritter sport and some iffy port, while trying to staring into my laptop and trying to politely phrase a marginal comment that explained that 'mundane' is not synonymous with 'daily.' Everybody else's lunch looks so good...

Given the discussion going on over at 'The data on cooking more, less, differently, etc.' post, it seemed like it might be a good time to bump this post. If I'm pressed for time, I go for either a one-pot deal, based on pasta, or rice, or a pared down version of 'meat-starch-veg'. Shopping is key: I make a point of having quickly prepped vegetables, quickly cooked cuts of meat, rice, pasta, tinned tomatoes, and chicken broth on hand. Anchovies and fish sauce come in handy, as do tomato paste, soy sauce, dried mushrooms, and some port and whiskey you don't mind sacrificing to the cooking pot. Oh, and jars of single-ingredient baby food can be really useful (e.g. pureed squash added to rice and beans with tomato give the dish a lot of extra depth). The one-pot deals start with pasta or rice; while that's cooking (in these cases, I use broth as a cooking liquid) I rummage through the kitchen for whatever I have on hand that looks tasty, and can easily be added in (beans, the baby shrimp that are moving towards their bin date, shredded leftover chicken, etc.). The condensed meat-starch-veg. protocol goes something like this: Start heating skillet, and water for rice or pasta (an electric kettle means the water is good to go in about two minutes). If it's rice, I may use broth. Cutlets or filets come out of the fridge, are blotted, salted, and rubbed with oil on both sides (this makes a lot less mess to clean off the glass stovetop, afterwards; pepper and herbs get added at the end, since I don't love the flavour of incinerated seasonings) Start rice or pasta. If it's rice, I may toss in a thread or two of saffron. When the amount of time left on the rice or pasta is that which it will take to cook the meat, the meat goes into the now-heated skillet. Prep fresh vegetable: this means slicing some tomatoes or peppers, washing some carrots, or removing some baby greens (prewashed) from their bag. Alternatively, I may quickly blanch some peas or the like, which then get a small dab of butter, some fresh herbs, a little pepper. Flip meat. Rice off heat, fluff/drain pasta. Meat off heat; quickly deglaze pan, if the cooking temperature did not incinerate the juices. Spend a minute or two seasoning; I have some fresh herbs in pots on the window sill, and usually snip in one of those, and some tomato product may be involved. Plate. Serve. Sometimes, though, when time is really tight, and everyone is tired and snarly, the best bet is to just make some really good, substantial sandwiches, accompanied by some carrots or sliced peppers, rather than try to cook something, when you've just got nothing left to give.

There must be an array of units priced between $900 and $4500. Get full spec. sheets, look at the warranty and service information, talk to people, read reviews, look at and handle the units in the showrooms. You can certainly get something that works for you without going into the four-figure range, but research is a must.

I keep hearing about the lack of time, but seriously, I can put together a good dozen cheap, from-scratch meals in a half hour or less each, from prep. start to serving. I'm not talking about the more elaborate things I make when I have the time, but the stuff I put together when I've been working all day, have no desire to do another thing, and my boyfriend comes in the door, beams, and says 'So, what's for dinner?' Really? Something that's actually cooked. Like what, for example? I mean, I can do something like spaghetti cacio e pepe in around 30 minutes, but that's hardly something I should be eating 4 nights a week. Roughly, the short programme goes like this: Start heating skillet, and water for rice or pasta (the electric kettle means the water is good to go in about two minutes). Hoik some cutlets or filets out of the fridge, blot, salt, rub with oil on both sides (this makes a lot less mess to clean off the glass stovetop, afterwards; pepper and herbs get added at the end, since I don't love the flavour of incinerated seasonings) Start rice or pasta. When the amount of time left on the rice or pasta is that which it will take to cook the meat, the meat goes in. Prep fresh vegetable: this means slicing some tomatoes or peppers, washing some carrots, or removing some baby greens (prewashed) from their bag. Alternatively, I may quickly blanch some peas or the like, which then get a small dab of butter, some fresh herbs, a little pepper. Flip meat. Rice off heat/drain pasta. Meat off heat; quickly deglaze pan if temp. used did not incinerate juices. Spend a minute or two seasoning; I have some fresh herbs in pots on the window sill, and usually snip in one of those, and some tomato product may be involved. Plate. Serve. Sometimes, I also just do something pasta- or rice-based (add-ins may be beans, the baby shrimp that are moving towards their bin date, shredded, leftover chicken, etc.); there's always a fresh or very briefly cooked vegetable as a side or component. I keep broth ready to go in the refrigerator, which comes in handy for deglazing a pan. Cheap-o port and whiskey are useful too.

I wondered about that, but clearly the prices reported by andiesenji and rickster indicate that tariffs are not as significant a factor as what the market will bear (or at least put up with) I guess people are just remarkably trusting when it comes to marketing, regardless of nationality. That, and the fact that Scandinavian goods have a certain cachet (frankly, mostly off the mark when it comes to anything food-related, but you do have to admire a country that produces bread chocolate).

I keep hearing about the lack of time, but seriously, I can put together a good dozen cheap, from-scratch meals in a half hour or less each, from prep. start to serving. I'm not talking about the more elaborate things I make when I have the time, but the stuff I put together when I've been working all day, have no desire to do another thing, and my boyfriend comes in the door, beams, and says 'So, what's for dinner?' I honestly believe that a lot of the time/effort that is supposed to be saved by many prepared foods is pure fiction, promulgated by marketing firms (which, to be fair, is their job).