Yard Sale, Thrift Store, Junk Heap Shopping (Part 3)

[Shelby]

5 minutes ago, andiesenji said:

I made them often when I was catering.  I didn't assemble them  "free form"  I used a fish poacher that I think I had used twice years before and it was just hanging there doing nothing.

It was IDEAL for making those composed pressed constructions, I lined it with commercial plastic wrap with long "wings" to wrap after it was composed and it was one that had a perforated plate in the bottom, besides the rack, so I used that as a press, after wrapping it and weighted it with three bricks.  

Having the sides straight made it much easier to trim and then slice, compared to my unfortunate efforts before i found that using a "mold" was preferable.

I have a long tall angel food cake pan...and I have a smaller glass type bread pan ...I think either would work well.  Thank you for that idea--I don't think I would do well with free form.

[Kerry Beal]

48 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I need to think of something besides asparagus to use.  I don't care for canned and I doubt the grocery store will have fresh....if they do it will be a million dollars a pound.

Okra of course!

[chefmd]

2 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Okra of course!

Of course!

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Okra of course!

 

Actually that might be an innovative idea....but I won't have fresh available when I plan to make this.

[Kerry Beal]

Just now, Shelby said:

 

Actually that might be an innovative idea....but I won't have fresh available when I plan to make this.

pickle it now - the patterns cut will be fabulous

[Shelby]

7 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

pickle it now - the patterns cut will be fabulous

I do have some pickled and canned....yeah and that would add a good kick to the flavor.  Excellent idea.  

[Okanagancook]

I just watched Australia Masterchef The Profeeionals season 1 episode 23 or 24.  Marco White set the pressure test of recreating his lobster and leek terrine.  That's all that's in it.  It holds together if you cook everything perfectly and press it for an hour.

 

if you have not seen any of the Australia Masterchef series they are very entertaining.  All on UTube.

[andiesenji]

5 hours ago, Shelby said:

I need to think of something besides asparagus to use.  I don't care for canned and I doubt the grocery store will have fresh....if they do it will be a million dollars a pound.

 

Pickled asparagus, depending on how it is done, is much tastier than the plain canned stuff.  And there is one of the organic frozen companies that offers extra-long asparagus spears that are lovely.

I have ordered some fantastic pickled long green beans and asparagus from a place in Orange County, along with some other specialty items that are unusual or difficult to find.  Right now the name escapes me.  They have some incredible condiments and the honey and jams and jellies are exceptional.  I always spend too much there but I always get free shipping!  

I'll close for now and go look for the name, just in case.

 

Found it!  I had to do a Google search for "source for La Dunkerquoise waffle cookies"  Which was in the front of the cupboard where I keep goodies.  The name is My Panier.   

I "discovered" them when a friend who lives in Orange County recommended I try their slow cooker spice blends.

Naturally once there I "found" a few other things that sounded interesting.

Edited October 8, 2017 by andiesenji (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

7 hours ago, Shelby said:

I need to think of something besides asparagus to use.  I don't care for canned and I doubt the grocery store will have fresh....if they do it will be a million dollars a pound.

 

I thought they were green peas from the initial photo. Thawed frozen ones might work and are available year round pretty inexpensively. I sort of like that interesting bursting in the mouth texture they have too. You might consider that too for your green element, if you like peas.

[Kim Shook]

My MIL is cleaning out her cookbook collection and, of course, gave me 1st refusal of her discards.  I chose these:

 

 

I already have some that she gave me, but you can never have too many of this series.  They were published in the early 1960's and are one of the main sources of James Lileks' funny blog and books.  The more creative recipe are really hilarious.  I grew up in the 1960's and my parents entertained a LOT and my mom never cooked like this.  No one I knew cooked like this.  

[boilsover]

Yesterday, at a thrift shop, $2.

 

[MelissaH]

21 hours ago, andiesenji said:

Yes.  That's the one.  I think I have a couple of editions of that book and another one about vegetables.

 

As I recall, there was a cheesy onion bread that I baked a lot from that book.  

I'll check it out. Cheesy onion sounds fab.

[andiesenji]

1 hour ago, MelissaH said:

I'll check it out. Cheesy onion sounds fab.

As I recall, it was stretched out into a long, thin rectangle, sprinkled with the toasted onions and grated cheese - I think I used romano because it is sharper that parm - today I would probably use Asiago but I don't recall it was easily available then.

Roll it up, seal the edge and ends and let it rise and do the diagonal slashes and spritz it just before going into the oven.

Edited October 8, 2017 by andiesenji (log)

[IndyRob]

I was wandering through a Goodwill store the other day and noticed two different bread machines for cheap. 

 

I've never owned one before so I don't know if they'd be worth a gamble.  But seeing as how it appears we have a new bread machine topic, I wonder if there are certain ones we should keep an eye out for.

[andiesenji]

I have several.  I have gotten excellent results with most of them.  I don't care for the Panasonic with the yeast dispenser but that is just my personal thing.

 

The Sunbeam has the best quick bake cycle, I've never bothers to check why, but it is and it does a great job on regular cycles.  I gave one to my daughter a few years ago and she uses hers (the old one died and she bought a replacement) at least 3 times a week.

 

I currently am using the Black & Decker 3-pound machine that seems to no longer be available.  I love it.

I have an older Zojirushi that still works like a charm.

 

Most of the bread makers that have come and gone do a good job at the basics.  Not all work well on the "rapid bake" cycle, but I never use that anyway.

 

The big advantage is that you can use the "dough" cycle and let the machine do all the work of mixing, kneading, rising, punching down and then you have the fun of shaping the dough and baking it in a regular oven.

 

[Anna N]

 I think bread machines are one of the biggest bargains you can find in a thrift shop here.  Just make sure the paddles are there and that the nonstick bowl is in good shape and you usually are getting away with very little money for a very good machine. Seems to be one of those machines that are either bought or gifted and quickly abandoned. 

 

[boilsover]

On 11/5/2017 at 3:01 PM, IndyRob said:

I was wandering through a Goodwill store the other day and noticed two different bread machines for cheap. 

 

I've never owned one before so I don't know if they'd be worth a gamble.  But seeing as how it appears we have a new bread machine topic, I wonder if there are certain ones we should keep an eye out for.

 

I forget which machine I once owned.  This sounds flippant, but the only good thing about it was waking up to the smell of fresh bread.  The loaves were ugly, the crust very strange, the crumb 'way too moist, and the paddles always seemed to come off with the loaf.  Maybe I didn't give it enough of a chance, but I was mighty pleased when I dropped it off at Goodwill.

[rotuts]

I think @Anna N 

 

you can make very good sandwich bread and bread for toast w very little effort

 

again , check the pan and the paddle(s)

 

it takes some getting used to .

 

you have to measure carefully and keep track of the results until you get the best out of the machine.

 

its not a big deal if the paddle is in the bread .   just extract it w/o scratching it  as it will be harder and harder to remove after that.

[Anna N]

28 minutes ago, rotuts said:

I think @Anna N 

 

you can make very good sandwich bread and bread for toast w very little effort

 

again , check the pan and the paddle(s)

 

it takes some getting used to .

 

you have to measure carefully and keep track of the results until you get the best out of the machine.

 

its not a big deal if the paddle is in the bread .   just extract it w/o scratching it  as it will be harder and harder to remove after that.

 Yes I have had various machines in my life and my current one, a Zo, is out on loan. It was a thrift store find but I had to buy a paddle for it. 

[rotuts]

I think the machines end up in thrift stores

 

because people that get them and use them do not carefully measure their ingredients.

 

thus , failure for sure

[boilsover]

14 hours ago, rotuts said:

I think the machines end up in thrift stores

 

because people that get them and use them do not carefully measure their ingredients.

 

thus , failure for sure

 

This poster dumped his because it made gnarly, mediocre bread that looked like it was baked in a PTFE-lined blender.  Ooh, I just had a PTSD flashback of the bumping and grinding it did! 

[chromedome]

I've bought and worn out several of the older 3-pound Black and Decker machines Andie mentioned (the B2300 IIRC) and even more of the smaller version that makes an upright loaf (the B2200). I've also had a couple other brands, all of them from Value Village or other thrift stores. They've all lasted me at least a year (the B2200 B&D machines usually develop a leak around the spindle over time), which was plenty long enough for the minimal $$ I spent. I can't tell you how well they bake, because I never baked in them. 

 

My current Zojirushi was a Kijiji find (the Canadian version of eBay Classifieds, and MUCH bigger here than Craigslist). It was well used for the first few years by its previous owners, but then they got interested enough to graduate into handmade, artisanal loaves and the machine gathered dust afterwards. That's how I was able to nab it for under $50. That one I *did* bake in, just to see, and it turned out a perfectly fine loaf of sandwich bread. I still only use it regularly for mixing, though. 

[HungryChris]

I cannot believe my good fortune this morning. I have been on a month long quest to find these and had pretty much given up. Just yesterday, laboring under the miserable conclusion that the glasses would not be part of the tasting experience, I placed an order for Akvavit at the local package store, after learning on the web that the nearest store that carried it was more than an hour away. I was told it will arrive next Wed.

I left the house this morning and was briefly stopped by the power company a few hundred yards down my little rural road while  they moved some equipment into place. I say briefly, but just long enough to spot these familiar shaped glasses at a table at an unlikely and poorly attended yard sale  few doors down from my own on this frigid morning. I secured the pair for a dollar! @Anna N has been flaunting these for years and that is what motivated me to even read about akvavit in the first place. The town I live in has an inordinately large population of Finns, which I suspect came to my aid this morning. Apparently they too have a fondness for the stuff.

HC

[boilsover]

59 minutes ago, HungryChris said:

I cannot believe my good fortune this morning. I have been on a month long quest to find these and had pretty much given up. Just yesterday, laboring under the miserable conclusion that the glasses would not be part of the tasting experience, I placed an order for Akvavit at the local package store, after learning on the web that the nearest store that carried it was more than an hour away. I was told it will arrive next Wed.

I left the house this morning and was briefly stopped by the power company a few hundred yards down my little rural road while  they moved some equipment into place. I say briefly, but just long enough to spot these familiar shaped glasses at a table at an unlikely and poorly attended yard sale  few doors down from my own on this frigid morning. I secured the pair for a dollar! @Anna N has been flaunting these for years and that is what motivated me to even read about akvavit in the first place. The town I live in has an inordinately large population of Finns, which I suspect came to my aid this morning. Apparently they too have a fondness for the stuff.

HC

 

Keep looking for more.  I think these were included in "presentation" boxes of Aalborg that are sold around the holidays, so there must be many more of them out there.  I stopped at 6.

 

[Anna N]

 Congratulations! I have two which I guard with my life!  And yes ours came with a bottle of Akvavit around Christmas many years ago!

Edited November 11, 2017 by Anna N (log)