JoNorvelleWalker

I once had a fondness for Necco wafers. Not sure I still do but it would be very sad to see them go. What is the situation? I don't even know who makes them. My teeth are not amenable to Mary Janes.

When I got the newsletter I didn't debate, I went to the Rancho Gordo site. But that's what I get for sleeping late. Speaking of debate, I was in a discussion with a colleague at work about bean pots. She advocated for her bean pot and I advocated for mine. After some while we realized both of us had bean pots from Rancho Gordo and she concluded: "I think we have the same bean pot."

...and after reading the article last night in the New Yorker, yet again the bean club is sold out.

I've never seen a ramp in the store or in the ground. I believe they don't exist.

Speaking seriously, my refrigerator soaks everything in condensate, dissolved cheese, and/or other red-brown fluids...which eventually puddle on the floor. How do get your refrigerator to dry things out?

Vegetables hadn't been invented when I grew up in the 40's and 50's.

You won't believe how much time I wasted looking for this article in the NY Times...

I notice the packaging asserts "Patent Pending". Perhaps about to be baked with patent flour.

OK, egg. Single egg omelet in the 8 inch WS was not that pretty. Not picture worthy. Perfectly tasty though. I'd say it was about halfway between my first attempt with the Koizumi and the second. It appears the Danish non-stick is not quite as non-stick as the Japanese. A trace of egg was left in the pan. Both times the Koizumi pan was clean. More trials are necessary.

I believe I have had goat only once, at an Indian restaurant buffet. I was a little squeamish but it was very good.

Beautiful! I'm waiting for tonight's bread to cool. Can you tell I'm hungry?

My WS non-stick pans arrived today. It is a set of two pans, 8 and 10 inches. The handles are stamped Williams Sonoma. The bottoms are marked Scanpan, Stratanium, Induction, Made in Denmark. This is the 8 inch pan. Note the rivets are not coated. Pay no attention to the woman in the purple shirt. I believe this is a straight gauge, 5 layer pan. Offhand I can't find that information stated. I measured the thickness as 3.6 mm. Exactly three times thicker than my Makoto Koizumi pan. The surface contouring, for lack of a better term, is not as pronounced as the Koizumi. Confusingly enough WS also sells 9.5 inch, 11 inch, and 12 inch versions. This is bread baking night so the requisite omelet may or may not happen.

I tried again with another one egg omelet. While the result was tasty and not over done, I had not been able to form the omelet in the pan, a la Julia, the way I (sort of) had the first time. I folded it in half as it slid out of the pan. What might I be doing wrong? She says to wait a couple seconds before shaking. Maybe I waited too long? I don't think my pan was too hot. It may just be that the pan is too small. I should have some larger non-stick pans to try tomorrow.

Not if the substrate were titanium! But I wonder, with all the non-stick cookware sold and presumably in use, how many home cooks actually get sick?

Thanks! I just checked my carton, I am safe for now. And when in doubt I usually pasteurize my eggs.

Once back when my job title was "scientist" I visited 3M in St. Paul. I got sick the same evening.

I apologize. I went back and checked, even the original is blue. Normally I take food photographs under artificial light, occasionally by daylight. In this case I was dining on a cloudy evening. The omelet was illuminated by halogen light from above and daylight from glass doors to the left. Typically I use a gray card to insure color accuracy but that doesn't work well with mixed lighting. I should have made an effort to repair the blue eggs in photoshop or let the omelet sit on the plate till after dark. Alternatively you could think of it as mold.

Anyhow I am no longer a non-stick virgin. I received my Makoto Koizumi omelet pan. It is beautiful but too small for a French two egg omelet. The flat part on the bottom is only about 5 1/4 inches. It is marked an 18cm pan. But it is most interesting. Quite heavy for it's tiny size. I have a Cuisinart pan about the same diameter that tips over from its own weight. Very bad. This does not. Note the handle is attached with stainless rivets. The inside of the rivets are coated. In contrast the handle of my much more expensive Makoto Koizumi non non-stick tri-ply pan is welded. The pan came with an extensive manual, all in Japanese, from which I gather the metal thickness is 1.2mm. The teak is affixed to the stainless with two torx screws. I resisted the urge to take it apart. I was pleased with the performance:

Philistines.

Through the magic of working in a library I reread the Teflon chapter in The Deadly Dinner Party. The temperature is indeed lower than I remembered: about 300C. Apparently PTFE degrades in earnest above 450C. Where is the literature for 400F? I have a non-stick Zojirushi grill that heats to 450F and a DeLonghi griddle that heats to 490F. If those temperatures were toxic I should think these companies would be in a heap of trouble. (And my estate would be rich.) Of course, heat stainless steel hot enough and you get metal fume fever from the chromium. Let's all switch over to titanium cookware that never melts!* Anyhow, when my omelet gets to 300C I'll most likely have passed out from hydrogen sulfide poisoning or from shame. (Disclaimer, I once was a protein chemist.) *humor intended: in air titanium combusts before it melts.

Can I play? The astute may notice a hint of color. In my defense it is a brand new pan and the first ever single egg omelet of my life. I couldn't quite manage Julia's motion. Though the omelet formed itself and slid right out without resort to a utensil. Even with the orange I thought the omelet was excellent. Not the least dry. Parsley from my dining room.

We should have a "bought" emoticon. I'd paged through The Cardamom Trail at work, and while it didn't immediately grab me, for 99 cents, how could I not?

My first ever attempt at mapo tofu! Excellent. Dessert is...yogurt.

When I was in college lard was 25 cents a pound and rice was not that hard to come by.

The Deadly Dinner Party has a chapter on Teflon respiratory illness. The book is a good read whether you like garlic or not. A very good read. Without spoiling too much of the plot, workers at a plant where Teflon was an industrial reagent were getting sick. Yes, it was the Teflon! Like many things in life Teflon is inert till it is heated hot enough. Temperatures unlikely to be achieved in cooking and much higher than the plant was using for its process. All the employees who succumbed were smokers. Epidemiologically Teflon residue on your hands for smoke breaks is a very bad idea.