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Tropicalsenior

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Everything posted by Tropicalsenior

  1. It's too big to stick in your mouth so I can only think that it's some kind of cooking instrument.
  2. As if we don't have enough problems, are we headed for another war over tea with England? Lookout Boston here they come again!
  3. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.
  4. Lest anyone feel that I exaggerate, I got some photos this morning of the tomato plant from hell. Not very good ones because of the sun angle but at least you can see how it is spreading. we're going to have to start cutting it back because it has completely taken over my oregano tree. This is the other side of the wall. The wall is about 6 ft tall and about 10 ft long and the whole plant is loaded again with green tomatoes and blooms.
  5. Still living and getting bigger every day. I keep forgetting about them so the other day I told my maid to take them home with her and she got a whole grocery bag full of tomatoes. And now I see little tomato sprouts coming up all over around the main plant.
  6. Thank you, that does make sense. I Googled it and everything that I could find pointed to something that resembled cheesecloth.
  7. This is the recipe that I have used the last couple times that I made custard pie and it turned out beautifully. The ratio of egg to cream is the one that I have always used. It also explains in this article that custard pie that is over baked can taste like scrambled eggs. You want to bake it until there is still some jiggle in the middle. This is also the method that I use. I do not cook the filling before I put it in the pie.
  8. No, you have come to the right topic. You are bound to get more answers. If you don't have room for a sheet pan, I have a 12-in Pizza Pan that I use under any pie that I bake. It's not too big to handle and it catches any spills that might come out of the pie.
  9. I've always filled the shell about 3/4 full and then when it was sitting solidly on the oven Shelf, I poured in the rest of the filling.
  10. I've only seen cheesecloth once in the 30 years that I've lived in Costa Rica so I've had to find substitutes. My first one was fine curtain material and then in an upholstery fabric shop I found the fine, non-woven material that they used to put as dust covers under sofas. It's cheap and it works beautifully. Now, I have been using the reusable non-woven shopping bags, cut up. Moisture and air pass through but it does a great job of retaining the solids. It's great for straining yogurt so it should make a great topper for jars.
  11. You posted this about 6 hours too late. I just threw one away that had been in there for over 5 days. That's okay, I'll just start another.
  12. Sure do. White, Potato Sandwich Bread Yield: One Loaf 3 cups bread flour 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes 1 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast 6 tablespoons soft butter 1/2 cup warm water 1/2 cup warm milk In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, salt, instant potatoes, yeast, and sugar. Using the dough hook attachment, mix until the flour is completely aerated. Add the softened butter and mix until the butter is the size of crumbs. Stir in warm water and milk,. You may not need all of the milk mixture. Add only until you have a soft, not sticky dough. Run the mixer on low (I use #2 on my Kitchen Aid) until a dough forms. Knead for 5 minutes, rest for 10 minutes and knead for 10 minutes longer. Remove from the mixing bowl and shape into a ball with a firm top surface. Place it on a cutting board or the surface of your counter and cover with a large bowl. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours Gently deflate the dough and shape into a flat 9” wide rectangle, fold in sides about 1/2 inch and roll up into a log, pressing together as you roll. Spray an 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and place dough into it seam side down. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place loosely over the loaf pan. Allow the bread to rise in a draft free spot for about an hour or until it has a 1 1/4 inch crest over the rim of the pan. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake for 15 minutes, then place a loose tent of aluminum foil over the top and continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Internal temperature should measure at 190° on a quick read thermometer. Remove from oven, loosen all around the edges and turn bread out to a rack to cool completely. If desired, brush top of bread with butter for a soft crust. Allow to cool completely before slicing and once cool, place into a plastic bag to keep fresh.
  13. That is true for both Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Years ago we went to an all inclusive Hotel on an island in Lake Nicaragua for fishing. For breakfast we had beans and rice and an egg, for lunch we had beans and rice, a slice of tomato and a piece of fried lunch meat and for dinner we had beans and rice, a salad and a piece of fried meat. This was repeated for 3 days. The only variation was the piece of fried meat for dinner. One night was chicken, one night was pork and the third night was unidentifiable. To this day I think it was a Tapir.
  14. When my husband was alive we always had Thanksgiving dinner for about 30 people. I wasn't about to fight with these lousy potatoes that we get trying to make mashed potatoes so I always bought a big box of Ore-Ida. A lot of people remarked that they were so glad that I was still using real potatoes instead of that phony stuff. I never said a word.
  15. Unfortunately, that is the typical gallo pinto. I have had some better but it's all been made by nicaraguans. Myself, I do not make it because I do not like it. If I'm going to make beans and rice I wanted to have some flavor.
  16. I also like these very much but I couldn't remember the name. Even the smaller packages, I divide into portions, and yes, you do have to seal the packages in plastic bags or airproof plastic boxes. I store mine in the refrigerator because those little buggers will get into anything.
  17. I'm not @rotuts but I personally prefer Idahoan. I think that they are from the US.
  18. 40° is a bit too cold. 45° is just about the minimum. I was working pantry in one restaurant and a bag of russets accidentally got put into the walk-in that was set at 42° as a rule. When they were cooked for hash browns they turned to mush.
  19. I have a white bread recipe that uses them. It makes it fantastic soft sandwich bread.
  20. I tried every way from Sunday and still wound up with glue. I just gave up and went to packaged mashed potatoes. They do have excellent ones here. I have mostly found the streaks and Hollow centers in the larger potatoes that I buy so most of the time I tend to buy medium or small potatoes. It may be some while before I see another black one.
  21. I was told by our vegetable vendor that it is caused by too much moisture at some point in the potatoe's development. That's why people here don't like to buy the potatoes that have grown during the rainy season. It's impossible here to get any type of Russet potato and the white potatoes that we get do not make good mashed potatoes or fries. We do get a yellow potato that is similar to the Yukon Gold and most people use those for the mashed potatoes and fries. Like you, I've only found the brown streaks and the hollow centers in the white potatoes.
  22. Welcome, you have indeed come to the right site. Here you will find more information and recipes than 10 times the cookbooks that you have. Before I join the Forum I had between 250 and 300 cookbooks. I've since paired The Collection down to about half and usually only go to these when the internet is down. I do hope that you will jump right in and start not only learning but sharing your knowledge with us.
  23. It should be required watching for anyone that is trying to learn about sourdough. It takes a lot of the Mystique and the fear out of keeping a starter alive. I hope that @TdeV sees it. She's had such a terrible time with her starters and I get the feeling that she has unnecessarily thrown away some promising ones.
  24. This was hilarious. Thank you. It's been 24 hours and sure enough, my starter revived completely. It is definitely a number six, more the drunk tank variety but it is doing fine.
  25. Thank you. I wonder if I can pop it in the freezer if I don't use it before that.
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