Useless Food "Gifts" You've Received

[andiesenji]

Wow, andie!

 

They say it's the thought that counts, right? Unfortunately it sounds like there was little thought put into the gifts you mentioned.

 

As for my gift of muscadine wine, I poured it out today and put the container through the dishwasher to be returned to the donor with a nice little thank you note. My husband sees this gentleman much more than I do.

 

It expelled another burp of gas when I opened it, and when I emptied the jar I noticed that there was not only grape must in the bottom, but quite a bit of a beige substance that resembled what I see when proofing bread yeast. I think I may have failed to mention that this wine was gifted only a week after my initial gift of the grapes.

 

Oh well, we cannot all be master wine makers, and this guy has a really good heart. There was thought behind his gift, and I really appreciate it. He's a sweetheart, and a true southern gentleman. I also found out he's a scientist, and that's where his doctor title comes from. The more I get to know him, the more I like him, so I'm not making fun of the wine in any way. I just didn't like it, but I really liked that he thought of me and spent the time and effort to share it.

 

I brought him and my husband a couple of of freshly brewed iced teas last week when they were working in the heat to level out a place for a greenhouse he asked my husband for help in erecting. He seemed to really appreciate it and asked for more the next day and advice on brewing good clear iced tea.

The substance in the "wine" was probably a vinegar "mother" which was forming in order to convert the sugars in the wine.  I have nutured a lovely red wine vinegar mother for many years, drawing off sufficient amounts for use and for occasional testing of the pH level to make sure it is keeping the acid level stable.

 

A friend's dad, who used to live in Tehachapi, and grew grapes and picked wild blackberries, from which he made wine (Italian third generation wine maker) would send me a gallon or two via his daughter every year, knowing that I would use it to make vinegar.  It was potent and unlike many Italian wines, rather sweet because of the blackberries.  It made a fantastic vinegar and I have really missed it since he passed away.  I have some friends who are wine fanatics, they travel a lot and ship home cases of wines from small wineries they come across.  When they open a bottle, they don't save it for later drinking if they don't finish it, they just recork it and put it in a box and after a few are amassed, bring them to me for my vinegar project. 

I consider those "gifts" very special and very appreciated.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I say nothing but thank you to the "gift givers" and then find a way to either reuse it or give it away myself in another form and right now I am sitting on two gallons of the kind of wine you are talking about that someone gave me 

 

and I do not drink much at all especially not homemade elderberry and peach wine

 

so I am gong to make wine jelly from some of it can you do that TFTC? make it into something else and then you can rave about what you did with it? 

 

I never ever give a gift critique..I tried that a few times and it was received so poorly and I felt like I hurt the giver ..so nope I say nothing act joyful and it is mine to do with what I want and usually I can find a  way to upcyle even a food gift like those two gallons of wine …argh ..that is a lot of home made wine ..maybe I can make a reduction  out if it and perhaps  some cough syrup ..I have done that before made cough syrup out of home made wine  just simmer it down to syrup  with thyme and add more thyme at the end and sugar as well embrace the sweet and make syrup or jelly…  ..just truly  because a gift is what it is and I am not going to tell someone anything negative about it or worry about how I use it ever again …it feels better to just be happy and use it the way I can .

 

..because in the same respect they gave it to me so now it is mine and if I used it to clean windows it should not matter … ..but that is just me offering my advice 

 

no i would not even tell them it was too sweet for me I would just find a way to use it and then tell them what I did ..unless I did clean the windows with it 

Edited October 3, 2015 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

my most useless but still think it is silly cute is a "shroom broom" LOLOL obviously from a non cook she thought it would be just perfect for me to have a little broom shaped like a mushroom to scrub my mushrooms 

 

I still have it and use it when she comes for scrubbing mushrooms and she just thinks she gave me the best gift in the world and I am happy that feeling she has is intact  

[liuzhou]

my most useless but still think it is silly cute is a "shroom broom" LOLOL obviously from a non cook she thought it would be just perfect for me to have a little broom shaped like a mushroom to scrub my mushrooms 

 

I still have it and use it when she comes for scrubbing mushrooms and she just thinks she gave me the best gift in the world and I am happy that feeling she has is intact

I have one of those, too. Yes, a gift. And I've never used it in about 10 years, but it still sits on the shelf above the counter.

[naguere]

liuzhou, your description of moon cakes and their being passed back and forth reminds me of fruitcake in the U.S. I dislike it (fruitcake) for much the same reasons of its seasonal ubiquity and cloying sweetness. (To be fair: I have experienced a few good slices of fruitcake, but not often enough to change my wariness of the stuff.) I think the fancy tin looks like a lot of fun, however. That would be worth accepting a gift or two of mooncakes. :-)

Edited to add this note: people who wish to defend or malign fruitcake may be interested in these topics:

The Fruitcake Topic

Fruitcake -- Bake-Off IX

 

Let me tell you Smithy:

 

In England, particularly Northern England , especially Yorkshire,  We, us, Yorkshiremen love sweet fruit cake when combined with Wenslydale chees. If pushed a very strong

 

Cheddar.

 

The sharpness of one plays against the sweetness of the other.

[liuzhou]

 

Let me tell you Smithy:

 

In England, particularly Northern England , especially Yorkshire,  We, us, Yorkshiremen love sweet fruit cake when combined with Wenslydale chees. If pushed a very strong Cheddar.

 

The sharpness of one plays against the sweetness of the other.

 

It isn't just in northern England. Same in Scotland. And I've been served 'bun' and cheese in Jamaica more than once.

 

But mooncakes are nothing like fruit cake or Jamaican bun. And China doesn't do cheese.

[andiesenji]

Sometimes gifted things look different to different people.

 

A neighbor was visiting this morning for coffee (her husband and children (7) were doing something noisy and I think she needed a bit of peace and quiet.

 

My good buddy Ben, who owns a bakery/cafe stopped by on his way down to Smart & Final (Palmdale) to pick up some supplies and brought me a bag of frozen cake scraps.  He had to bake a bunch of 80 cakes that had to be trimmed to fit special containers brought in by a client and while he can use a certain amount of cake scraps, this was way too much.

So he brought me a bunch because he knows I use them often.

 

My neighbor thought this was really odd and said so, thinking that Ben was joking with me or poking fun at my baking.

 

I clued her in on the numerous uses for cake crumbs, including the egg custard pie with peaches that I took to one of her birthday parties a couple of months back - the "crust" was made from toasted cake crumbs. 

 

She went home with an idea of looking up various uses for cake crumbs - since she bakes very little, I am sure that she will be back later to beg some of my very generous supply of cake scraps to make crumbs. 

Since I have more than 10 pounds, I can certainly give her some to play with.

 

Sort of like making a silk purse out of a sow's ear...

Edited October 3, 2015 by andiesenji (log)

[anetti]

My boss gave  to me a package in box format_ with 6 tablets of fudge  with different flavours  which is terrible sweet, it is like eating a tablet of sugar and I do not like at all things so sweety. So I have decided putting a little bit in a plate  each time we have visitors at home.  This is the kind of product you could have at home for years.....

[Alex]

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

 

Pretty, perhaps, but froufrou just isn't my thing.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Alex (log)

[Smithy]

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

 

Pretty, perhaps, but froufrou just isn't my thing.

That's aways awkward. :=)

Hibiscus on its own is quite tart. You may find this stuff useful in tea, if you like sweet-tart tea, but I'm just guessing. Whirred up and added to a salad dressing? Used over pancakes as a syrup? Again, I'm guessing...

[andiesenji]

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

 

Pretty, perhaps, but froufrou just isn't my thing.

There is a Mexican restaurant in Valencia,CA that serves an ice cream float  made with vanilla ice cream (made in house), hibiscus syrup and seltzer.

I have been told that it is absolutely delicious and rather light - after one of the rather hearty meals they serve.

[haresfur]

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

 

Pretty, perhaps, but froufrou just isn't my thing.

 

People here seem to like putting these in sparkling wine - particularly at Christmas.

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/146945-what-to-do-with-hibiscus-flowers-in-syrup/?hl=%2Bhibiscus+%2Bflower#entry1952615

 

http://forums.egullet.org/topic/81683-hibiscus-aka-jamaica-in-mixed-drinks/?hl=+hibiscus%20+flower