I will never again . . . (Part 4)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I shall never again ask to have my stove fixed.  For the first time since the main burner was replaced I assayed some French fries.  I always wondered what the smoke point of peanut oil was like.  My excuse is the frying followed some serious Mississippi punch.  Though that does not explain the butter incident at breakfast.

 

The fries though, were excellent.

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

If I made the assertion:  "I shall never again paint my nails," it would probably be false.  However I hadn't for over a year.  No particular reason, I just got out of the nail polish habit.  At the moment they are crimson.

 

Tonight while slicing cabbage for my coleslaw I inadvertently ran my index finger over the knife edge.  I glanced down and almost fainted.

 

On a different but related subject, most certainly I will never again forget to close the pressure cooker pressure valve.

 

The finger is fine.  It feels a little funny but no blood.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

48 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I glanced down and almost fainted.

This may not be nice but I'm glad you had a heart stopping moment. That is exactly how I feel every time I see your name pop up in this thread.

I am glad that this time you are really okay.

Edited October 8, 2022 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

This may not be nice but I'm glad you had a heart stopping moment. That is exactly how I feel every time I see your name pop up in this thread.

I am glad that this time you are really okay.

 

If my name pops up in this thread at least you know I am probably alive.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

2 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

If my name pops up in this thread at least you know I am probably alive.

 

And it is always good to know that at least you have a few fingers left to type with.

[Kerry Beal]

3 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

If my name pops up in this thread at least you know I am probably alive.

 

That was my thought!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

27 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

And it is always good to know that at least you have a few fingers left to type with.

 

I suffered a touch typing course in high school, though now days I mostly type with two fingers.  Sometimes fewer.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Last night I escaped the knife incident.  Tonight I bloodied myself on the salad spinner.  Not the first time nor the last.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Last night I escaped the knife incident.  Tonight I bloodied myself on the salad spinner.  Not the first time nor the last.

 

Have you considered drastic life-saving measures like take out or Meals on Wheels?

[Smithy]

I feel like such a piker: writing here about abusing a knife, rather than myself. Nonetheless, here goes:

 

I shall never again try to use a cleaver to chop through a pork shank bone, much less encourage it with a hammer when it's clear the bone is too hard.

 

 

So...can this knife be saved?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

49 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I feel like such a piker: writing here about abusing a knife, rather than myself. Nonetheless, here goes:

 

I shall never again try to use a cleaver to chop through a pork shank bone, much less encourage it with a hammer when it's clear the bone is too hard.

 

 

So...can this knife be saved?

 

You need a bigger cleaver.

 

[rotuts]

I think almost all knives can be saved

 

the question is where to take it , and what's the cost.

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

I think almost all knives can be saved

 

the question is where to take it , and what's the cost.

I'd say @Porthos would be the man and if he can fix it, he should keep it away from @Smithy 🙃

[haresfur]

On 10/10/2022 at 2:34 PM, Smithy said:

I feel like such a piker: writing here about abusing a knife, rather than myself. Nonetheless, here goes:

 

I shall never again try to use a cleaver to chop through a pork shank bone, much less encourage it with a hammer when it's clear the bone is too hard.

 

 

So...can this knife be saved?

 

Yes it can be saved. I put chips at least that deep in the cheap cleaver I inherited from my father. I used a file like I would use to sharpen an axe. This was the first time I used it after repairing the chips he put in it. The hammer marks on the spine are all his, though.

[Katie Meadow]

On 10/9/2022 at 9:24 PM, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

You need a bigger cleaver.

 

Or a bigger hammer. But really, a cleaver with a hammer assist? See you again, here, soon, @Smithy. My safety test: would I let my husband try such a stunt? No. A cheap cleaver will never replace an expensive butcher. Maybe that's how the finger got into that pumpkin pie. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Katie Meadow said:

Or a bigger hammer. But really, a cleaver with a hammer assist? See you again, here, soon, @Smithy. My safety test: would I let my husband try such a stunt? No. A cheap cleaver will never replace an expensive butcher. Maybe that's how the finger got into that pumpkin pie. 

 

A Chinese American friend once explained how she got distracted by her husband and brought the cleaver down on her knuckles.  I do not own a cleaver.

 

[Smithy]

To be clear: I don't think there was any risk to fingers, knuckles, or other human appendages. I put the cleaver firmly on the bone, then tapped it with the hammer, then banged it with the hammer. I wondered briefly whether a rubber mallet would be kinder to the cleaver, but couldn't remember where it was. That wouldn't have helped the edge anyway.

 

This was all because my husband had insisted on using his radial arm saw to get through the pork hocks in question, and had not cut through all the way. I objected to the radial arm saw idea in the first place because (a) it didn't sound very safe to me and (b) that saw isn't exactly NSF approved. So he did it when I wasn't looking.

 

We both agree that in future we'll ask the butcher to do it!

[lindag]

My nearby meat packing company (where I'm going today} will saw though the bones of hocks and ham shanks.  I have a lengthy list of items to pick up, including ham shanks (wonderfully flavored and meaty). country ribs, flank steak, gr. beef 85%, chuck roast  and bacon.  Getting ready for cold weather cooking.

 

[rotuts]

@lindag 

 

I know it a lot to ask 

 

would you be able to take any pictures ?

 

of course , w permission if inside the facility ?

 

Im interesting in seeing how they operate 

 

more or less the same as seeing  how meat is displayed in varoius

 

meat counters

 

around the world.

 

How do they package what you are getting 

 

these days ?   wrapped butcher paper , waxed or not ?

 

any vac sealing , possible an extra 

 

of selected cuts ?

 

many thanks

[liuzhou]

I have a heavy duty cleaver for bones but still wouldn't attempt a pork shank bone. The local butchers don't either and their cleavers are heavier then mine. They saw them.

[blue_dolphin]

It is a pity that grocery store butchers aren't easy to find in these parts.  I really like going to a local international market because pretty much all their meat is behind the counter with a full staff (usually 4-6 people) on hand to cut and wrap to order. You have to take a number and wait your turn but very much worth the time.  Whole Foods and Sprouts both have people doing some cutting and wrapping but they're not particularly helpful with special requests. 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

After watching my then-80-something MIL cut a steak off a whole ham, I have one of these in town and in the country.    Dedicated meat saws.    One has an elegant wooden handle, the other strictly functional.

[liuzhou]

16 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

After watching my then-80-something MIL cut a steak off a whole ham, I have one of these in town and in the country.    Dedicated meat saws.    One has an elegant wooden handle, the other strictly functional.

 

That's pretty much what my butchers use for the major bones. Everything else is cleavered.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I shall never again wonder why I have a two thirds empty bottle of distilled water still unopened.

 

[Darienne]

Perhaps a small thing, but mine own.  

 

...assume that because I cannot find a recipe in a soup cookbook...or any other cookbook...in the index under 'eggplant', that there are no eggplant recipes in the book.  

 

Accidentally my eye caught the title of a recipe listed which included 'courgettes' in the entry and then realized it was a British cookbook and looked under 'aubergine' and lo and behold!  There were my eggplant possibilities.  

 

The cookbook in question was published in 2007 and you would have thought that there might have been an entry in the index which cross-referenced eggplant to aubergine.