rccola, you nailed it.

There is a certain type of man that feels entitled towards women and our bodies. Most don't, but those who do are real, and revolting.

Thank you, Taos.

I have had quite enough of this environment where the injured party is admonished for not spending time scouring the web for possible PC explanations of the offender's conduct.

The intent of my post was not to question whether toasting spices was useless, merely whether it was worthwhile for chili powder going into storage for weeks and months.

Your point about temperature makes sense.

I make batches of chili powder from dried chiles, cumin seed, sometimes coriander berries. I've been toasting all of the whole components by heating them in a hot dry skillet before grinding.

But if the point of toasting is to release more flavor compounds, and I'm storing the majority of my batch in a plastic tub, am I wasting my time? Especially if I'm not using the chili powder that day.
Can this enhancement really last? And in the case of the chiles, weren't they already heated once in the drying process?

And finally, what is superior about the dry heat from toasting that is impossible to get from the inevitable water/fat mediated heating of your ingredients in your actual dish?

Yes! There is a comment upthread about the buns for the premium chicken sandwiches. If you get a "fresh" bun and a grilled classic sandwich, it tastes good. But I haven't figured out the right time to order them, because I'm 50/50 on mouthsucking dry foamboard bun v moist multitextured yummy sandwich.

I eat at McD's about every 2 - 3 weeks. I'm sure if I went more often and paid close attention, I'd figure out when and where to order.

You took it to another level. My post was about utility.

I sometimes forget that not everyone on the internet hangs out on TTC forums.

Egg whites as a sperm friendly lube.

Along the same lines, baking soda to change pH in those regions.

That one got a laugh!

"You know, the salmon comes with rice. I don't think she needs all those carbs, hmmmm?"

White rice with chopped up cilantro and lime.

It isn't nearly as delicious as a slice of cake or a sloppy unctuous cheesesteak. But as I fork up mouthfuls from the pot (SO WHAT??) over and over I keep getting whiffs of cilantro, and then I'm an acid head so I keep getting little thrills from the lime, and white rice just goes down like nothing.

Same thing with quinoa! At least that has protein though.

YES. I love it when you've had so many that your mouth feels like a dying man's in the desert. Acid and salt are just amazing.

I have potato flakes (instant potatoes) in my pantry because they make my sandwich bread moister and more flavorful. Unless I have leftover mashed potatoes...but that never happens, because we eat them all every time. So flakes it is.

I have no option but canned (jarred) for sour cherries. Most of the crop is canned, and they are a baking staple in this house.

Liquid Smoke has a place of honor in my kitchen. That and Worcestershire are my secret ingredients in more than one dark, savory recipe. And I'm quite comfortable with its provenance and manufacturing process.

Yes... I am really tired of my brother in law's sister bringing the tub of frozen mini eclairs from Sam's and plopping them down next to my sideboard full of handcrafted, perfected by practice desserts.

And those grocery store brownie bites... I'm going to throw them to the birds next time. They aren't even GOOD. At least the mini eclairs taste okay. The texture of the brownie bites is completely wrong and they aren't even chocolatey.

Let me first state that I buy blueberry Pop Tarts, deli American cheese and Bush's canned baked beans. I am no food snob!

But the green can has no place in our house. I don't like that texture, and I enjoy taking 60 seconds to grate a pile of Locatelli or Gran Padano into a little ramekin for sprinkling.

Soft whole wheat bread. Store bought... Wonder wheat or store brand. Not gummy white and not nutty real whole grain.

Creamy PB - can be Jif, Jif Natural, Skippy, Peter Pan.

Smuckers seedless raspberry jam, or homemade if I have it. Don't like clumpy jelly, don't like chunky preserves. But jam... it spreads across the bread and it tastes of fruit.

I ALWAYS have a jar or two of sour cherries. Love those things and you can't get them fresh or frozen around here.

Always have butter and whole milk.

Always have olive oil and onions. Flour, sugar, dried beans. Smoked paprika. I just can't get enough paprika.

It isn't a standard on the level of mac and cheese or a grilled cheese sandwich. I'm with you there.

I'll be the wet blanket.

My cousin has had two bouts of salmonella poisoning, one of which was traced to eating raw cookie dough.

He has no formal diagnosis of being immunocompromised, but is nevertheless a sickly guy.

Yes, Jerseygirl, that is what I meant.

And I'm sure if I went more than a few days without anything else to eat, primates might not seems so untouchable.

Excellent post, Sparklebright.

The only food guilt here is if I eat a Big Mac, which does occasionally happen.

First world problems.

Restaurant owners make business decisions. Most aren't there to pander to the hobbies of a tiny percentage of their customer base, if it is likely to impact their bottom line.

How can anyone not understand that a small business owner has to protect their investment, and that they know how to do that better than you do?

I don't like it fully soft, gloppy, but prefer a little past al dente.

I do like super soft elbows when I do baked macaroni, though, or baked ziti. Anything where the pasta is only a component, rather than the star.

I've only killed fish. I've helped butcher a hog, though.

I wouldn't be jumping around with glee, but I could certainly slaughter an animal. I could handle any non primate mammal, and certainly birds, reptiles and amphibians.

I'm in the no commercial pectin camp.

I do lemon juice & pips, or apple skins & cores. They set just fine and I've never had to cook them more than an hour at the absolute longest, normally less. I don't like to rely on a commercial product for something that I do to kind of commune with the past.

I realize how stupid the above sounds. Still, it is how I feel. If I was doing large batches or attempting to sell, I might take a different approach.

I admit I've only done berry jams. Clearly jelly, or low pectin fruits would need commercial pectin.

Fennel is disgusting to me. I even tried roasting it the way Ina Garten suggests for people who don't like fennel. It still tasted like a big pile of licorice, which I also dislike.

I KNEW it was going to be the bone picture!!

My first job was a candy store- but I left there to go to Pizza Hut, that gave me more hours and $.50/hr higher pay. I was a phone girl, since it was a delivery/takeout only location. I did get trained as a 'cook,' and everyone washed dishes and cleaned up if we were on closing shift. The Cutting Board was the premiere job, which is kind of hilarious now that I think of it- I angled for that cuttong board spot on a busy Saturday night, and when I had a successful shift (no dropped pizzas, no mixed up tickets, didn't get backed up) they agreed to send me to their management trainee program.

I'm a merchandising and accuracy supervisor in a large apparel warehouse now, so I suppose that trainee gig actually did me some good. That and poring over the JC Penney catalog as a dirt poor tween, learning garment construction terms.

Boiling, cooling and peeling eggs takes FAR longer than making a PBJ, or cutting up a block of cheddar. I don't see this one as being on the same level.

You must feel strongly about puffs to have posted about it twice.

There aren't many foods that aren't chokeable, aren't super messy, are easily transportable AND work for tiny fingers learning to feed themselves. Puffs have their place.

Your EBT comment I won't touch.