Annie_H

I saw that yesterday. Disturbing. Who the hell does not test taste a batch. Must be many consumers purchasing? I did not go deep but could not find the recipe. WTF. I have issues with whole fresh un-cooked diets. I think it is called the raw diet. No heat whatsoever. Freak out if something is toasted or heated. Lectin is toxic. Soaking or heat removes it. I recall wondering about falafel that uses just soaked garbanzos, but soaking overnight softens and removes lectin. Sure falafel is fried or roasted but the interior can be a bit toothy and raw-ish. All the recent re-calls on seed and spices I toast them always. This is when social media works--days/weeks ahead of FDA investigations.

I've always enjoyed their friendship and published interview exchanges in articles. Did not realize how often they traveled together. Nice article. "In a way, the women personify an essential truth about how America eats. We wish we shopped and cooked like Waters, but really we cook and shop like Cunningham - if we shop or cook at all..." I'm much more like Waters about shopping but cook more like Cunningham. Good produce--farm stands, local farm markets, in season, and garden. I find no pleasure in shopping 'BigGrocery'. Smaller family run groceries without a chokehold on brands get my business. I purchased iceberg about 6 weeks ago for the first time in maybe ten years. Organic, 2.09$. Long crisper drawer life. Like those cellophane three pack of tomatoes my mother used to buy. IBerg, a quarter or two of tomato, a slice of red radish, maybe a bit of carrot. Or cucumber. Then Dads thick creamy bottled dressing smothered to make it palatable. Diner style. Mother could make two weeks worth of salads from a small amount of 'salad' ingredients. I used to stack the crisp leaves and press with a English muffin ring or smaller ring for sliders for burgers. Those 'carb fearing' folk. 🙄 Used instead of a traditional bun. We got tired of the burger/hot dog short-order-cooking required so our garden/bbq gatherings changed. (a father said his son only likes boiled hotdogs--turned me into a lunatic trying to please, 😂). So my recent iceberg purchase was juicy, crisp, and sweet. Made a first time ever 1/8th wedge and a good homemade dressing. A good Caesar salad, and just gave the last halved core to the pups for a snack. They prefer hearty kale stems and carrot snacks but loved it. Would not hesitate to buy again for 2 bucks organic.

I waffled for a bit, then ended up with this brand after reading reviews. Delivered last night so no tested mileage yet. 'BIGSUNNY' Silicone lids fit regular mouth and wide mouth Ball jars-just flip upside down. Snug fit and heavy duty. I would not toss in a travel bag but a good air-tight fit for the fridge. 'EchoPeaceful' brand. 8 in the box. Both amazon.

I do not visit the breakfast/lunch posts as I rarely photo. Our lunches are always planned using the weeks meals, just a day or two. Yoyo, and what we want next day. (not left overs) as they are planned. At least once a week I make sandwiches. Today I made toasted chorizo, prosciutto, pastrami. Fresh pickles, red onion, slaw.

Most of the beverages are 2-4 count. Your cold brew came in a (2ct). So you did not buy two. The shelf stable tofu I like is (2ct). I always miss that as well. Looks expensive until I realize the price is for 2-4. My favorite commercial brand is Grady's cold brew. Nice story. He started making small batch at home, then went up a bit to a small space and only sold local NYC. Now has a big space in the Bronx. Work has Grady's by the case. I was over-indulging so switched to afternoon cold brew green teas. Still use my cold brew filter. Loose leaf with ginger, lemon, etc. This brand from country line kitchen Probably should pick up a lid or the lid with handle. I have the one quart filter. 14$ for the filter. No real need for special equipment. Just need a coarser grind than most hot brewing methods. Filter through a nut bag or cheesecloth. But the filter I have is heavy duty and dishwasher safe. Don't care for the blendered ginger/turmeric pulp.

This may have been posted but I do not see it...Alex shopping for different pasta shapes.

New to me recently is Trofie. From amazon. Such a long cook time it produces so much starch for the sauce. Being so short it does not need much cooking water.

That is nuts. I doubt you are the only consumer that will pass that up and then tossed out. Always disturbing seeing the big garbage cans on wheels where the re-stock employees would have to toss out the less-than-fresh produce. The year leading up to the holidays 2019, cauliflower was 7$ a head no mater the size. I just wanted a small one as DH doesn't care for it. No way would I pay that. I've been getting big ones at Misfits for 3-4$. Tossed in chili crisp and roasted he likes it now. Once settled you might try Misfits. My fulfillment center is in NJ near Philadelphia. The prices are 2017-18. They have gone up recently by 25-50 cents across the board but still good prices. Yellow and green summer squash are about 1.20 each and if small they always toss in extra. They have a few non-organic items now. This week they have 4 cans of a few varieties of Campbells soups. 4 pack for 4.99. No need to purchase bulk. Just what you want. I order twice a month, every other Sunday. Yesterday's order...(once a month I purchase a 'cold pack'.) They offer just two apples, pears, two lemons, two avocados, etc. No bulk bags necessary.

Shrimp, merguez, and roasted veg over RG coronas, black beans, and rice. Side salad with ramen eggs. Prefer a bit jammy but forgot to set 'girlfriend'-(Alexa). Had to guess.

Dumpling tasting after a delivery from FlyByJing. Way too much food with a planned light miso soup that I always veg over-stuff. Three varieties of dumplings, six each, was excessive but very good. Perfect freezer dumplings for quick meals. Not Mott St soup dumplings but good for home needs and better than any we have had frozen. Dry ice kept them frozen solid. Chili crisp on the roasted tofu so left it off the dumplings to have them naked. Thin skinned and excellent. Soup dumplings I've made better but still good.

Delivery from FlyByJing today---a day late so nerves were high. Dumplings were well packed with dry ice and solid frozen. Phew. DH birthday yesterday, I picked up some dumplings from WholeFoods. Horrible. Big and fat and no flavor. I've made them for years with lots of ginger and lemongrass. (pre-covid) Get some friends together and have a party. Same with a big tamale making party and empanadas. Squirl away a few dozen in the freezer so those that help making them can take home a few meals. The big jars were a fathers Day special with a free spice blend. Bugger that USPS sent an e-mail that they were delivered. No delivery. He came back an hour later so embarrassed. We are having all three tonight with a simple miso soup. I expect better than most. We shall see. Red package is Dooubanjiang. Mung bean paste. Should have ordered but just saw it this morning when checking on delivery tracking. I need dumplings in my freezer for quick meals straight from freezer. If I order again, I'll try that. What I have now is 138 dumplings in the freezer for a while. Easy meal once a week or so. Thankfully the shitty WholeFoods were two boxes with eight dough balls in each. yuck. Dog food.

Alex has been on a pasta binge for a couple months. I think he will get there eventually, lol. I was going to post the same video. But he missed a few key points like moisture in the rest periods. Still entertaining. His string test missed that the fan blows/sucks in, not out. In, then dispersed more efficiently out and around the sides more evenly. I do like his research visiting commercially made quality pastas. Very cool you have a quality bronze die extruder. My only experience is with fresh, then partially dried, Atlas rolled flat sheets, then cut to various widths. But most often is laying out flat on towels for 4-6 hours, covered with kitchen towels, then bundled and frozen. Not ever bulk processing. We have enough emotional steam for just a few pasta meals from fresh. 😜--kitchen a mess.

Your growing zone is so important. Best to Google, 'gardening 101', or 'first garden'---lots of key words to use. Youtube, or a good book like, Organic Gardening I used Rhodale's two volumes, vegetables and herbs, hard copies, 30 years ago and their magazine before the internet. Covers all the basics. Many gardening forums have primer 'stickies' for first gardens. Best to read and learn and plan for next year. Or start a small garden as a trial but most plants are well on their way by this point--this year. Or on their way out in southern states.

Big no-no in my kitchen also. Why I make a base 'safe' chili crisp in bulk and use it with add-ins depending. I prefer to crisp shallots and fresh garlic chips for that nights meal. Any leftover I date the container and use within a few days like homemade dressings. I'm a two day, maybe three, in any leftovers but are usually planned for a couple meals. Like 'piggy-backing' a wood fired grill. While the effort/heat is going, and the fire, I use the heat efficiently and add a couple meals to the grill/mix. DH has no issues with 3-5 days of leftovers for lunches but I cringe at day 4-5. My garlic and onion mince are dried and chipped. Like any pantry spice. Not fresh. Still date the containers and use within a month. Same reason I don't heat process 'can'. Don't care for the heat that home processing does to veg. (or commercial cans). I prefer freezing. Totally fine with fermentation. I think my first batch years ago was a Mark Weins travel video. Restaurants had different variations. I took that lead and made a basic one with Korean chili flake and sesame seeds.

Yep looking at stuff in many restaurant kitchens and cooking schools makes stuff in rentals seem pretty high-end! I always remember my amazement that @gfron1was initially cooking on a tiny electric home range when he started out to become an award-winning chef. As I mentioned above, I did not bring up a 9 year old post. I usually like to read through postings first. This thread is titled 'cooking while on vacation'. I just read through and good ideas from nice folks that enjoy 'cooking' vacations. Some just cutting down costs. Traveling and eating out with picky kids can get expensive and frustrating. I'm not a trained chef but enjoy cooking. Starting years ago visiting in-laws and my parents was a gift to cook for them and take the burden off my mother and MIL with a houseful of family and extended. My MIL was a great cook back in the day and has all the best cooking gadgets and tools. Hundreds of cookbooks. My mother not so much. Two cookbooks. The few spices she has do not have bar codes. I've given them a few things over the years I thought she would like---proper sheet pans and a nice big low sided stainless heavy bottom braiser. Cooking on coil electric in thin pans isn't fun. No colander or pasta pot. This post is about cooking in a rental and what people bring/pack. Surprised so many pack cutting boards. As I should have done. I know many chefs and have been in many kitchens and cooking schools. Mostly high end kitchens and some shit-holes I would never eat. None have a scratched up RachelRay non-stick set. No cutting board, no salt and pepper. Nothing big enough to steam a dozen crabs. Next travel kitchen packing I need to take more thorough pics for a reminder. All fit nicely in a soft sided cooler carrier. Stacked with a couple hot pads and old kitchen towels--they had none, 🙄

I purchased a few different Korean chili flake varieties early January 2019 from HMart. One was a 2 pound package on sale. An abundance I had a lot to play with. Quantity is cheap. I purchase bulk spice for that reason. Have fun with it without such a precious tiny jar. I could not post my recipe being my personal mix with many spices. Not fair to expect one to shop for what I have on hand. Best to start with a basic recipe---like SeriousEats, then use it as a base recipe and spice it up for various recipes... I had a couple tBsp in my last jar a few days ago. I added a splash of toasted sesame oil and a gulp of un-seasoned rice vinegar, tsp of mustard powder---tossed on a batch of potatoes right out of the pot for a killer potato salad. RG corona beans an hour ago I added a tBsp. Tofu has a pack of it after pressing and soaking in soy sauce. Will oven roast with salmon.

So true for some travel. NYC life, and nut social overload work life, we need to go remote. Dirt road---house on a beach. From airport to the central market, and stock up for the week. Mexico. Always a few good restaurants up the beach left and right walking or cycling distance but most meals are made at the home. We rented a Mexico beach home for a few years in our early 40's. Then did road trips visiting family all over the southern states. My parents do not have proper cooking tools. Mom has been using her wedding faberWare since the 50's. Cooking for 12+ is difficult without my kitchen 'crate'. Co-workers and friends start talking about their holiday plans just before thanksgiving. X-mas/NewYears is often 2-3 weeks off. Most look for dirt road remote. Those with kids and stay-at-home wives might look for all inclusive resorts or, (shudder), a cruise. I'd rather eat glass than get stuck on a germ/cooty boat. 😜

To put this in perspective, I did not randomly pull up an old post. It was moved by 'management'. This was the dinner pic about the spatula.

Random find looking at ingredient lists for my recipe of chili crisp. Not sure if this is a bargain but just ordered from Fly By Jing She did get a lot of press recently. Misfits has a jar of FlyByJing chili crisp for 8$ I think. Seems pricy but decided to order to see how it compares to mine---I just made a triple batch last night. 15$ retail seems high for 6 oz but seems like good ingredients. I ordered the big jars with a free spice blend and the 6 pack of dumplings. Free shipping. I like to make my own dumplings but to have some in the freezer is stellar for weeknights. Some I ordered during lock-down from other brands a some from HMart were thick and doughy like some Italian American ravioli full of fillers. (prefer to make my own) My chili crisp...24 ounces. Bulk ingredients I may have spent 10-15$. I do like control of ingredients and make a basic blend, avocado oil, and add extras per recipes.

We like the bistro waist wrap style. I have a half dozen from a restaurant supply from years ago but hard to find all cotton. I have a big bolt of raw linen I've cut into big squares and washed a dozen times to make some but my sewing machine needs repair. It was a lock-down project gone wrong. Bummer. I designed it to have more pockets and grommets in each front lower corner to pull up and tie in the back as a harvest garden apron. Annoying to hit the garden early morning with coffee and no basket handy. I have a nice gifted one but anything around my neck feels wrong.

This is for city folk. We have a need in the city for a good 'life in a bag'. Not necessarily a kids 'backpack'. But a good everyday bag that holds a lunch in a foil pack, and random shopping. And everything needed for the day, every day...computer, tablet, etc. Big enough but not too bulky. My Brooklyn Industries messenger bag has been a big love for 5-6 years. Two zippers broken and looks a bit rough. They don't make that model now. Randomly checked ManhattanPortage. (I have a small bag from the SoHo store.) Food related since I take it to markets. Killer price for the quality. For travel it opens flat going through security. A back sleeve fits over our carry-on. (my loved one I have been using flops all over my wheeled carry-on).

Delicious Bok Choy. Sweet and crunchy. Made separate to not contaminate main meal if it sucked.

I pack a kitchen crate for Vrbo rentals. This time last year a beach front rental near my parents they did not even have a cutting board,🙄. I used cardboard with parchment---flat parchment that I brought along until I thieved an extra cutting board mom had. They had RachelRay shit non-stick Walmart set scratched up. My travel list still fits in a small crate but now includes a shitty thin Ikea cutting board. Rentals suck. I even pack enough soap for two loads of laundry and a bit of dishwasher soap. Some spices and salt/pepper. I'm sure the house keepers take what other rental clients leave behind. Nothing worse than needing a shopping list a day after settling in. Especially when it is a remote location. So that spatula slips in the side with a favorite chef knife.

I stocked it years ago then bought a few back-ups when the 2014 'scandal' happened. Too sweet for us. We like the garlic/chili but not purchased that in a few years. We have a few purchased hot sauces and like to try new ones. Then started making our own. Fermented and fresh/frozen. Rooster ingredients, So, What's in Sriracha? The label says chiles, sugar, salt, garlic, distilled vinegar, potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite and xanthan gum. I can do better than that. I made a big batch last night for the early summer. A dozen 1/2 pints.

I made my annual rhubarb hot sauce for the early summer last night. Freezing another 5 pounds rhubarb chopped to make another batch mid-summer. And some for a winter batch I'll make early fall. Fall batch for the winter months will have smoked tomatillos and hatch chilies. It is rich and concentrated so I can thaw two or three half pints and add vinegar or roasted garlic or palm sugar for a few different sauces for bbq. Some like a bit sweet but we like a vinegar based garlic side sauce. It is spicy but not too much. This batch made a dozen 1/2 pints. Rhubarb adds so much vegetable natural thickener with a zippy citrus note.