Norm Matthews

The most likely place to find different kinds of rice is in Asian Markets. The Japanese Kitchen cookbook talks about a lot of different kinds, some of which are different because they are more newly harvested, etc. For the most general part white rice is divided into long, medium and short grain rice. Like Jayt90, I only use medium grain rice for everyday cooking. My former Korean in-laws did not like long grain rice, to put it mildly. They and Japanese people I know use short grain rice for kim bob, sushi and rice candy type dishes. I also use a Japanese made Tiger rice cooker.

The marinated pork chops were too thin to stuff so I put the stuffing on the bottom of the chops. Stuffing was pineapple, greens, green onions, garlic, salt and pepper and sesame oil. Also had stuffed mushrooms, asparagus with buttered bread crumbs from leftover brioche bread and potatoes.

After thinking about it for a while, I am pretty sure that clay formed under high pressure would have to be dry. Water would resist pressure but that does not mean it couldn't be fired afterward.

Yes, it was not clear whether it was fired or not, but I have heard of some new space age ceramic materials that are formed under very high pressure. I don't really know much about them. Early space capsules had a ceramic heat shield that looked to me like shredded fiberglass. It's become quite technical. I don't think Kyocera knives are made from wet clay either.

These were described as formed under pressure and no mention of firing. If that is correct, and dry formed, it is different from any pottery than with which I am familiar They are supposed to heat evenly and have a very smooth surface and be pretty stick resistant. The mention of collaboration with Alfred University lends some credence to the efficacy of these pieces. Alfred has a long and illustrious history with ceramics. The kind of pottery that is soaked in water is for covered earthenware and is a different kind of pottery than these seem to be.

The article made a mistake in one instance calling them terracotta and in another sentence referring to them as stoneware. One isn't the same as the other. The picture showed unglazed terracotta. Perhaps its characteristics of being porous and heat retention ability both of which are unique from any other material will make a desirable difference.

Something I forgot to mention before if you are having difficulty starting a yeast culture: Chlorine inhibits yeast growth. If your water is chlorinated, draw it and let it set overnight so the chlorine can dissipate- or- use bottled or filtered water. Warm, not hot water also helps yeast grow faster than cold water.

If these directions need further explanation, just ask. I hope you can use the original list of ingredients along with the directions I provided. The recipe I used is based on one of the two brioche recipes from the 1969 Farm Journal Homemade Bread book edited by Nell B. Nichols except I used a cup of sourdough starter and one package of rapid rise yeast instead of two packages of yeast and I used about half the amount of zest and used lime zest instead of lemon zest. I prefer just a hint of the zest flavor. I put the milk, butter salt and sugar in a saucepan and heated until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. When cooled to lukewarm, add beaten eggs and 1 cup of room temperature sourdough starter to mixer bowl. When using the sourdough starter do not add the 1/4 C. water. Add 1 package of yeast to 1 cup of flour ( I used King Arthur AP flour) and mix into the mixer bowl with wire whisk until foamy. Switch to dough hook and mix on speed 2, adding enough flour-1 cup at a time- until dough just barely stops sticking to bottom of bowl. Turn out and knead with additional flour if needed until smooth and elastic. Put in oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. The book says to put 2-inch balls into muffin tins and top with a smaller ball rolled into a tear-drop shape with the pointed end down into a depression made with your finger- this makes about 2 dozen rolls- but this time I shaped it into 8 mini loaves. Cover, brushed with cooled melted butter, let rise until doubled The directions says to bake @ 425º for ten minutes. Since I used bigger loaves, I put a digital thermometer probe into one of the loaves as soon as the crust has set and remove from oven at 190º. It took these larger loaves around 25 minutes to bake until done. . BRIOCHE 1 C. milk 1/2C. butter or margarine 1 tsp. salt 1/2C. sugar 2 pkg. active dry yeast 1/4 C. warm water (110•to 115•) 4 eggs, beaten 1 tsp. grated lemon peel 5 C. sifted all-purpose flour (about) melted butter for brushing on tops.

Previous comments are all good ones. This may sound like heresy to some but you can use commercial cultured yeast to make a starter. Cultured yeast, kept growing in a batter of water and flour, after a few days will revert back to it's original 'wild' state and become like any other yeast starter you would develop/ grow in your home. If pizza places will sell you some dough, I see no reason why a baker would not sell or give you some yeast starter. You could even develop a starter using raw bakery dough. If you really want to try to grow some wild yeast, the milky film on grapes and on cabbage is yeast. If you feed it with flour and water, you can encourage it to grow into a starter but getting truly wild yeast like that is hit or miss whether it will make good yeast for bread making. ps you can grow starter at room temperature, inhibit and preserve it in the refrigerator or even freeze it without very much fear of killing it but excessive heat will kill it. BTW if it dies, don't feel bad. It isn't a pet, it's just yeast.

Thanks for the comments and the likes.

My son said that he and his fiance wanted to make dinner for me today and I was not allowed in the kitchen. Too late. I already had a batch of brioche dough rising. It's finished now and the kitchen is clear for the kids. I don't know what they plan but at least there will be some bread to go with it. URL=http://s262.photobucket.com/user/matthewsno/media/DSCN1063_zpsc8557a52.jpg.html]

Made a simple pot roast with mushrooms and au jus with canned green beans and potatoes with sour cream.

Here is my recipe. I have changed some of ingredients to cater to the tastes of my family. We prefer bratwurst instead of any other kind of sausage. The "kids" don't like Italian sausage. I often use just bratwurst and no plain ground pork. MEATLOAF 4 slices white bread, crusts removed 2-3 Tbs. milk 2 tblsp. olive oil 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped 1 rib celery, finely chopped Cassie does not like celery so I used chopped water chestnuts and ground black pepper. 2 cloves garlic, minced ( or 3 or 4) 1/2 large red bell pepper, finely chopped 1 lb. ground sirloin 2 bratwurst, skinned + 1/2 lb ground pork 2 large eggs 1/4 c. roughly chopped parsley 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard 1 tbsp. coarse salt & more to taste 1/2 tbsp. freshly ground pepper & more to taste 1/2 lb. sliced smoked bacon 1 lb. of potatoes cut in 2-inch pieces, oiled, salted and peppered or small sized whole potatoes. Glaze to put on top of meatloaf and under bacon 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed 1 tbsp. Coleman's yellow ground mustard 1 tsp. tomato paste Or catsup, mix in enough to make a paste, brush over meatloaf. After adding bacon, you may brush on a light layer of the glaze over the bacon... optional Heat the oven to 375F. Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Pour milk over it & set aside for 5 minutes. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery & garlic; cook until soft and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes. To bread mixture, add meat, eggs, parsley, Dijon, salt, & pepper,onion mixture. Combine well. Place mixture in a large ungreased, foil lined baking dish or roasting pan. Shape into a 5 X 12 inch loaf. Overlap bacon across the top, covering meat. Place potatoes around loaf. Season with salt & pepper. In a small bowl, combine sugar, ground mustard & tomato paste to make a glaze. Brush meatloaf all over with glaze. Bake, until juices run clear when loaf is pierced with a 2 pronged fork & the bacon is crisp, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with potatoes or mash them coarsely and serve with peas and gravy.

Thanks. I sent you a copy of my recipe.

Cassie asked for meatloaf so that is what is for dinner tonight. L

Here is an asian style orange marinade I like to use sometimes with game hens. I make two batches and marinade for over night with one and thicken the other with cornstarch to serve over the finished roasted hens. 3/4 cup fresh orange juice 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce 2 tablespoons minced orange rind 3 cloves garlic minced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root add to the batch to be thickened and used as a sauce 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

The meat along the spine from below the shoulder blade to the rise of the rump are called prime cuts. This is where the best steaks come and if cut in large enough pieces, the most storied roasts. This is the area of the cow that gets the least exercise so these are tender and are delicious when cooked no higher than medium. They are the rib roasts, the loin, tenderloin and sirloin. They are cooked in the oven to just below the desired temperature and removed to finish cooking outside the oven. The parts of the cow that get a lot of exercise are tougher cuts. They have a lot of flavor but if dry roasted to medium or above are very tough. Tasty but tough. These roasts benefit from long slow cooking like in a slow cooker or in a dutch oven so not only temperature but time needs to be included in the process so that the collagen can break down and and the meat becomes fall apart tender and juicy. For roasts like chuck, 7 bone, brisket, rump, round, and flank look for a good looking slow cooker recipe and follow that for great traditional cooking.

There are roasts that you cook with dry heat such as your rib roast and loin roasts, and there are pot roasts such as chuck, round, rump and brisket. Those should be braised. Braised roasts are cooked at a fairly low temperature in a covered, moist atmosphere such as a Dutch oven and cooked for a rather long period of time with a little water and vegetables added. That is a quick overview of those roasts. You can smoke the brisket or use other methods if you have special equipment.

1 C. Miracle Whip, 1/3 C. creamy French Dressing, 1/4 C. sweet pickle relish, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1 tsp. dry minced onion.

Here is one I use for poultry Combine 2 C. brown sauce with 1/2 C. undiluted concentrated orange juice, 3 Tbsp orange zest cut in very thin julienne strips, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Simmer 5 minutes and add 2 Tbsp grand Mariner, Cointreau or Cognac. just before serving add 1/2 C. orange sections. Heat through.

I have a 12" skillet and a sauce pan made by them and like them both a lot. I have an All Clad skillet and don't like it nearly as well. The AC handle is uncomfortable.

I used an enameled cast iron for frying for years. I was interested in getting an electric fryer for the safety. My son has walked off and left the cast iron pot on the stove and I worried about a potential fire. I kept looking at fryers and passing on them because they were all too small. If I was going to get one, it had to be big enough to hold a decent amount of stuff. I have a prejudice against anything made by DeLongi. I have had three products from them that didn't work very well and/or broke shortly after buying it. I recently got the Waring fryer and have used it with good success and it is very easy to clean... not hardly any more work than cleaning an enameled pot.

I have never tried to make coconut milk from dried coconut but these directions might help. Remove the meat from a coconut and grate it in a food processor. A large coconut should yield 2 cups of coconut meat. To milk a coconut, pour two cups boiling water over 4 cups grated coconut meat. Let stand for 20 minutes. Strain through double thickness of cheese cloth, squeezing to remove all liquid. Store this liquid in the refrigerator. If it is to be heated, bring just to the boiling point. Otherwise it is apt to curdle. Makes 2 cups of Coconut Milk Coconut Cream To make 2 cups of Coconut Cream you will need 6 cups of grated coconut meat to 2 cups of boiling water. Proceed the same as for coconut milk. Let the liquid chill for a couple of hours., The cream substance that rises to the top is skimmed off. This is called Coconut Cream.. It may be served as a sauce or it may be whipped. Be careful about whipping, however, or you could end up with cocoa butter.

I would venture to guess that the Pyrex glass isn't the only formula change. I bought a Corning Ware white ceramic casserole dish at Walmart a few years ago and was surprised that it was so cheap. I wasn't surprised for long because it chipped just like low fired earthenware after only a few uses. PS on the bottom it said No Cooktop, No Broiler and Made in China

Yes, it lasts until Dec.31. I also was not charged any tax. If I had bought it locally, I would have had to pay over $45 in sales tax and not got the rebate. Shipping on that mixer would have been over $65.00