rotuts

to me , enoki mushrooms have almost no taste whatsoever pure decoration

@Captain that looks delicious have never thought of stroganoff mushrooms. thank you for the idea pleased you leave the skin on potatoes.

consider : https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-potato-starch and https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/healthy-living/cornstarch-vs-potato-starch-which-ones-better/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk9LwD4PYyY there are a lot more to consider from Google.

todays NYTimes Food section goes over 5 foos myths : https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/08/dining/kitchen-myths.html for review purposes : 1 ) Truth or myth: Never use soap to wash a cast-iron pan. '''' The prohibition against soap comes from a time when all soap was made with lye, which could eat through a patina in minutes. And it’s true that most of the time, soap is unnecessary. Most of your cleaning power should come from hot water and gentle scrubbing or brushing, the way cast-iron pots like Chinese woks and Indian kadai are traditionally cleaned. '' 2} Truth or myth: Pasta cooking water should taste as salty as the ocean. '''' To test the myth, I cooked eight batches of spaghetti at salt levels ranging from none to Pacific Ocean (3 percent) to Mediterranean Sea (4 percent). I can confirm that seawater is too salty. As I worked my way up from a teaspoon to a tablespoon of kosher salt per gallon, the pasta was noticeably undersalted, and its flavor got lost in the finished dish. I most liked water that tasted as salty as a light chicken stock, or two tablespoons per gallon of water. ''' 3) Truth or myth: Always wash rice until the water runs clear before cooking. ''' For the indica rices (jasmine and basmati), the difference between unwashed and rinsed rice was imperceptible. For the japonica, to my taste the washed rice had just a microdose less starch, taking it from already excellent to perfect. ' 4 ) Truth or myth: Have all of your ingredients prepared and your cooking oil heated before starting to cook. ''' But for slower food, like soups and stews, it’s perfectly fine to start the pan over low heat, and turn the heat to high only once everything is in. Diced vegetables like onions and celery take longer to cook than minced aromatics like ginger and garlic, so put the vegetables in first. They will soften, and then turn golden, and then — quite a lot later — caramelize. (Speaking of: Another persistent myth in American cooking is that it takes 8 to 10 minutes to caramelize onions, which is pretty much impossible unless you are a restaurant chef and stirring onions over high heat is your only job.) ''' 5 ) Truth or myth: Always brown meat at the beginning of the cooking process, to ‘seal in’ the juices. ''' If you’ve ever spent an hour patiently browning chicken thighs in batches, only to move to the next step and find you’re about to submerge them in liquid that will reduce the skin to flab, you may have wondered what all that work was for. Many traditional stews are built without it: a Central American jocón, a West African mafe and a Provençal daube all skip browning and rely on other ingredients to deepen their flavors. '' the whole article might be behind a paywall. its possible your public library card may be used , through the libraries site online to view the NYTimes , WSJournal and other newspapers . of course , if you live in a country that shuns P.L. , you might be out of luck.

Id check the cookie container before you leave. you now , just in case

@RWood Oatmeal Pecan Chip ( of choice ) cookies are my favorite. yours look very very tasty. bet they didn't last long .

as mentioned above , alcohol does not age its my understanding that the USDA (more similar agency ) defines vodka as neutral grain spirits. and the brand in question does not have added flavor inhancers, which might age good age , bad age. is interesting that you mentioned that there is some volume loss. thus the seal is not 100 % tight. if the alcohol level is still high enough , nothing should grow in it . so taste it and see ? if you don't drink vodka , or add alcohol to a mixed drink you might be able to use it as an antiseptic ? or as a welcome to eG . not many members from Italy interested in you take of food , of all kinds.

Apparently , the WHPS has bagged the above roast in am Umi bag and id going for 45 days. Im hot holding my breath , but it might be a good idea when the nag is opened.

rib roast , an Easter sale , Stop & Shop : Vac'd and possibly frozen for future use by the WHPS nice cap it seems and the More than Gourmet turkey stock bucket: note the size relative to the yogurt container in the back.

the WHPS has a Stop & Shop ( Easter sale ) rib roast Vac'd , and possibly Fz for future experiments : it seems to have a decent cap on it . hopefully more details and pics when it moves to the Yoder and MorethanGourmet on sale bucket : note its size relative to the yogurt container in the pic.

TJ's has a reputation for its bananas. used to be $ 0.19 // banana , now its $ 0.24 // banana. these are the inorganic bananas. TJ's is also an internet favorite for buy this not that etc etc. there have been articles on banana pricing. why weigh a banana ? why bundle a banana in plastic ? etc etc. one gets the impression that bananas are quite the deal @ Tj's/ I got 6 bananas the other day , at the going rate, these were a bit larger than ' medium ' a mathematical analysis revealed these bananas came to $ 0.62 // lbs. this week @ market basket bananas are $ 0.39 //lb , on sale , $ 0.10 off. of course to take advantage of the Market Basket price , you have to go to M.B. an added expense . on that same vein : Joe's O's are cheaper @ TJ's , then M.B.'s generic ' O's ' and Tj's ' bite sized ' generic shredded wheat are ~ $ 1.00 ++ more than M.B's brand and now Ill be taking a nap. enough exercise for one day.

@MetsFan5 good toasters use full blast heat until done to your liking. a failure of the Breville 'IQ ' u its id that the heating element ' cycles ' no point in that Id say. you do have to watch the toast until you get the idea on times the suit you thank you for taking the time to include us in your Tovala adventures. P.S. : I hope you find perfect kits that suit you for your remainder meals.

@MetsFan5 the feature on the CSO that helped it make fantastic toast ( not all agree the CSO makes fantastic toast ) is that the oven is sealed . toast on the CSO is dry heat but the moisture in the bread release steam while the bread toasts you get that steam when you open the door the surfaces are crispy , but the center of the toast is not dry. does your unit have a special toast button ?

@blue_dolphin I saw the Red the other day . but int bit. Ill give it a try. I usually tick w old favorites.Ill branch out nd look for the garden secrets.

@MaryIsobel I do remember making RCS I might have been 8 or so the concoction was very sticky. and hen cut into squares so good. by the time we got to the last square , days later not so much. learned a lot from the experience though.

the pro oven looks like a buffed up CSO and non steam Ive seen the second configuration in the past @ BB&B in the distant past. guessing $ 349 no meals would be the CSO clone-rice. if you lived on take out , might be an option Looked at the TJ's offerings : most would cook in a CSO with just temp and time settings some in an AF w temp and time.

@MetsFan5 thank you for your detailed report . I had not thought about the WiFi , which makes sense for the variable cooking cycle. does the oven get instructions over your phone while cooking ? or does the oven gets its instructions once , via your phone app after you scan ? its very interesting that other vendors , esp TJ's have meals that use the bar-code system and WiFi. Ill have to ask @ Tj's net time Im there ( wrote that down on my Tj list ) what most important is that its more or less also a CSO for manual use. I would be interested in seeing the cooking instruction for other meals if you have the time. I don't know what the deep sales prices are but if its also a manual CSO might be worth it for some just for that and an occasion Tj's ( or other While Im Here ) meal. thank you for sharing your experience.

@MetsFan5 thank you for that. So , if one has this oven , one can just use it as a CSO. very interesting.

I looked up Quinona in https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Rice-Cooker-Cookbook-Porridges/dp/1558326677/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RJCKNQEVJBS3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.x0oW9iOlbcP1D8Uv_StV1C5biRiCic8Vst6DMOSjslqwa770_Q24TuGeSyUbK1ccsFCh470NeFVlEArX5JgQ7gTTliEXIq8rNMDN98w3C7VzuoPSbt7mhAamQS7UF52bvFjEt5NAQssj9ZcX1Fz5w3nQ3y6N33ZwmvLGxEu3_t3KORb3tQKgupmp5OrsoCqaj35kp0L7dp3NaSbdjIWsKlgw6japkYEvlAo8d4P2cB0.YETe7x3bYOSpBrTaDCjNfVZQgv3Y75pzH7UYJCcn_N0&dib_tag=se&keywords=ultimate+rice+cooker&qid=1712363079&s=books&sprefix=untimate+rice+cooker%2Cstripbooks%2C67&sr=1-1 for a fuzzy cooker : brown rice cycle 1.5 cups Q 2 C water or Ck Stock 1/4 tsp salt. the Rx also says works fine in On/Off cooker .

indeed does the oven work manually ?

@MetsFan5 how did the meal taste ? would you buy this again ? in terms of the oven itself the scan feature doesn't seem to save you much effort the meal kit might say cook in the CSO for X minutes at XYZ F thank you for sharing your experience and taking us step by step through the oven's us and the Tovela meal kits. I was under the impression that the ' smart ' feature was a unique oven cycle , custom tailored for each kit . but I might be missing something, for sure.

$ 1.79 for eggs is ancient history . very ancient history. I haven't purchased eggs for about a week. high 2 dollar range ? I didnt look. Market Basket brand white large. for sure less than 3 $$

@MetsFan5 thank you for the above what do you do to get your meal on your plate? I thought you got an item delivered. it was scanned by the Instrument ( the oven ) you then placed it in the oven and pushed start. this looks like a ' meal kit " I didn't wish to imply anything one way or another by the ingredients. thank you for your continued reporting.

@MetsFan5 excellent source of at least two of the major food groups salt and sugar . its working on the third : Fat.

@weinoo more than rotuts.