Knicke

K8memphis, I have to disagree. Not trying to defend Kashi specifically (I don't care for their cereals etc.), but I do use evaporated cane juice (sucanat) on my oatmeal. Aside from the flavor, I appreciate the fact that it is less processed. I'm not saying it's GOOD for me (you're right that sugar is sugar, and we shouldn't eat too much of it), but I'm not sure it is just semantics, either. I find I can use less of it because the flavor is stronger/more satisfying than white or even brown sugar. ETA: that doesn't mean I support adding sweeteners to things that don't need it, or the huge amount of sugar, refined or unrefined, that seems to be in so many products...

Ice fishing, right? I hope so! Never been myself, but I'd like to one day...

Bait!

Who does the cooking in your home? I do. My roommate can cook, but like tino27's roommate, she is extremely impatient, and usually sticks to 2-3 main dishes all the time (eggs and toast, pasta, etc.). Or mooches off of her folks. Do you eat foods from take-out or restaurants or buy ready-made foods often? Not as much as I used to. I'll still buy bread occasionally, and pasta always, but most food is made from scratch. Part of it is that I've only been living here a few months, and haven't had the time to explore my restaurant/takeout options. I'll pay for someone else to cook my food, but only if I know I'll get something tasty. Do you cook absolutely "from-scratch" using unprocessed ingredients often? See previous question. Are you single, married or living with other(s)? Single, sharing an apartment. Do you have children? Nope. What sort of work do you do? I'm a full time grad student with a part-time research job. Do you feel you have enough time to cook the sorts of foods you like to eat? Most of the time, yes. It helps that I am usually working from home, either on homework or research, so I have the ability to get up from my desk and check on stock or dough now and then. I've got enough time on the weekends to make things like soups and stews, which I then freeze for the week. I tend to rely on freezer food more at the semester gets busier. As a question for "extra credit" smile.gif , is the form of your daily cooking/eating/dining different than it was in your family when you were growing up, and if so, how is it different? My parents were not big on processed food, but their cooking is not quite as elaborate as mine - not to say that I'm an elaborate cook by any means, but I plan the week's meals ahead of time and think a lot more about what I want to make. I generally spend more time cooking than they do. Probably because I don't have kids and no one is counting on me to get dinner on the table.

Made my first-ever gumbo last night using Mayhaw Man's Chicken and Sausage Gumbo demo. Sort of chickened out a bit on the roux (it got dark, but not quite Hershey's syrup dark - next time), and it was a little greasy (thanks to the less-than-stellar supermarket kiehlbasa I was reduced to)... But it was DELICIOUS nonetheless. I am hooked. A little sauteed okra on the side.

A bit of simple Googling reveals a few quick recipes, here... here... and here... They all look really similar in terms of basic ingredients. This seems kinda out there, but at the same time really intriguing! Hmmm. I might actually have to try to make this. I DO have horseradish sitting around...

This is really a shock, and very sad to me. I'm not a big poster here, but I'm a religious reader of the food blogs. Bill's recent blog impressed me so much, with its beauty and warmth. He had such a genuine love for his home, seemed like such a genuine person, and was so generous in sharing both his home and himself with us. I'm so sad that he won't be around any more, spreading that love and humor.

Thanks andi. I'm intrigued. I don't actually have a vacuum sealer, but I'm trying to figure out if I could do something similar with a sealed plastic freezer bag (or several). It would probably be messier/not as convenient, but I'm wondering... is having an airtight seal the key? Or is there something else specific about the vacuum sealer that makes this work? Can you tell me more about what is achieved by using the sealer?

This is more of an equipment question. I know about treating wooden cutting boards with mineral oil in order to prevent cracking, etc. What about other wooden tools? Should they receive the same treatment? Specifically, I have a wooden citrus reamer and a wooden rolling pin that I'd like to keep in good condition. Thx in advance for your assistance!

Hmmm. We rarely had mashed when I was a kid - both my parents are teachers, and it was a feat to get baked ones on the table at a reasonable hour. Still, I can't remember when I learned to make them, so it must have been awhile ago. Usually it was the standard mash with milk and butter, but the much-requested dish (and one I still love) is a number with spinach and sour cream mixed in, topped with cheddar cheese and heated until melty. DELISH.

Okay, thanks. What I'm hearing is I should use 1.5 eggs somehow, whether I measure by weight or volume. I do have a scale, so perhaps I'll try that (it's probably more accurate than my eyeballing...). Pontormo, thanks for the ideas about what to do with the leftovers!

I feel like I should be able to figure this out, but I'm kinda stumped. I have this basic corn muffin recipe that calls for 3 eggs; the recipe makes 1 doz. corn muffins. I want to cut it in half - I'm basically cooking for one these days, and I have a neat little toaster oven that will bake a half-dozen of these muffins nicely. It would save me some fuel to be able to scale the recipe down, but I don't know whether I should put in 1 egg, 2 eggs, or beat the eggs together and put in half the volume of the beaten eggs. It seems to me that muffins and quick breads can be pretty forgiving, and if there's no good answer I'll just forge ahead and try something - but have you run into this issue before? Is there a good rule of thumb for doing this?

Hey, I'm a Menno, born and raised! And my grandad grew up Amish. A lot of this is really familiar to me... Also, don't forget about the German-Russian Mennonites, most of whom settled farther west (Kansas, South Dakota, etc.). They've got some good eats, too! Zweiback, bierrocks, varenike, lotsa different borschts, plumamoos, lotsa different kuchen. They're an interesting bunch - some of it is similar to the dishes you find in the eastern communities, some of the dishes have German or Russian names but are made differently than they are in Germany or Russia. For more on Russian Mennonite recipes, you can check out this book: http://www.mennolink.org/books/search.cgi?bk.njv.01

Via Yahoo! News...

Hmmm, that's indeed a lot of questions... I do think about nutrition pretty often, although I am not as good about living up to my own standards. I usually think primarily about the balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fats in each meal. The main reason for this is that I have self-diagnosed myself as somewhat hypoglycemic. Nothing severe, but if I don't eat a good balance of protein, carbs, and fats (say, if I eat an all-carb meal), I'll end up with a blood sugar crash later. Not fun. Apart from that, I don't scrutinize every meal, but I do try to make sure that I eat a variety of vegetables and fruits every day (the "colors" concept works for me!), and I tend to choose whole grains just because I think I get more "full feeling" for my buck (I'm about to be a poor student again) - plus I like how whole grains taste. I've been going back and forth on the dairy/butter thing; I know sat. fat is not good for me, but skim milk and no-fat yogurt are just not worth it to me. Not sure where I fall on that subject. I do try to buy organic when I can or when it makes sense (I have that wallet card that shows the fruits/veggies highest/lowest in pesticides, and I use it). I try to think (in general) in terms of the value of the calories I am eating. I don't mind eating something that's high in fat or sugar, but it had better be worth it! That is, I'd better be getting a lot of calcium or protein or something else good along with the not-so-great. And/or, it's got to taste sublime. Yeah, I think I usually consider nutrition in terms of economy: what am I really paying for? Am I paying for something to fill me up and delight the tastebuds now, or am I paying for something that will really help to fuel my body and keep it running? Do I tell other people about this stuff? Not unless it comes up. There are enough other crazy food proselytizers out there...

I would be remiss if I did not call attention to Ignatius J. and his Lucky Dog hot dog wagon...

Hey Marcia! I can only see a part of the logo on the other side of that mug, but is it from The Cupboard? I'm up here in Fort Collins and it warms my heart to see that! I that store (have to ration my time there because I always end up spending at least twice as much as I meant to...) Carry on - it's lovely to have a Coloradoan blogging!

The best milkshake I ever had: vanilla ice cream, sour cherries, a little milk, a little sugar if you need it to cut the sour. Awesome.

Hard to say. A combination of factors. My mom is an OK cook, but it's just fuel to her most of the time. My dad is the experimenter in the family. He was always the one planting weird stuff in the garden, or bringing home jars of some condiment or pickled item we'd never had before. When it was his night to cook, he had (and still has) a tendency to go through the fridge and throw odd things together in a skillet and then serve them over rice. He was a good example of creativity and freedom from recipes - not so much good taste all the time. I have him to thank for my love of fresh vegetables, though. I came to the kitchen to swipe frozen blueberries, chocolate chips, or trail bologna and carry them off to my room or playhouse for clandestine reading-and-snacking. I came to the kitchen because I wanted cookies and Mom wasn't in the mood to make them. I came to the kitchen because I read about a peanut butter and pickle sandwich in a book (I think it was "Mrs. Piggle-wiggle") and just had to know how it tasted (great). I came to the kitchen because it was clear to me early on that I was by far the best person to identify and fulfill my own private cravings.

It breaks my heart to have to choose. But if I must choose, I choose cake...empirically, not theoretically...because the best cake I've ever had was better than the best pie I've ever had, and even the worst cake I've ever had was more palatable than the worst pie I've ever had (once I scraped off the horrible frosting).

Apparently, it ends badly and/or circuitously...

This is one of those songs that requires two groups, singing alternating phrases and standing or sitting according to their turn. A simple but hilarious one, if you sing it pretty up-tempo (and if you're under 10): Ham and Eggs It's apparently a Scout song, but I learned it at church camp. Edited to add this, ahem, gem...which I learned at the same camp... Bug Juice Good times.

Very little is safe from my insatiable oral cavity... But bread and butter (sometimes jam or honey, and variations of the same, including toast and butter, buttered saltines, and buttered tortillas) has got to be the very worst. I've always loved bread, but grew up with the abomination of Country Crock rather than real butter. Consequently, now that I'm old enough to buy the good stuff for myself, I can't get enough of it. I enjoy baking my own bread, but am wary of doing so. I almost always finish off the first loaf over the course of an evening, along with however much butter I can eat before the guilt fairy shows up. Same with a package of crackers (saltine, Ritz, Wasa, whatever) or good flour tortillas. Now I've discovered fleur de sel, so I don't think this vice is going away anytime soon.

I also do both, but I think for different reasons. Sometimes, I just want to snarf down the cookie. And I bite it. BIIIIG bites. Other times, often with a chewy or soft-textured cookie, I want to revel in the texture. So I will pinch, squeeze, manhandle pieces of it. And shove them into my mouth... Just call me "cookie monster". Sandwiches - I bite directly. PB+J's are eaten in this way: nibble off the crusts. Even it up into a square shape. Take a bit out of each corner. Even it up into a square shape...and so on ad infinitum...

Thanks all! I was a little late in posting this, so I missed some of these helpful comments. However, this won't be the last time I'll need this information, so I'm filing it away...now. Thanks again for the assistance!