assorted's Profile
Kosher/Sea Salt vs. regular table salt question
Kosher salt has greater volume for the same amount of "saltiness." A general rule of thumb is double the volume of salt if you're using kosher. Also, check to see if the kosher salt has a conversion table on the box?
I don't think the problem is with the conversion. I think it was probably just too much salt, period.
What are the 10 most essential things in your spice cupboard?
I've got 5: salt, peppercorns, cumin, bay leaf, dried chiles.
all else is purchased fresh (basil, mint, cilantro), urban foraged (sage, rosemary, thyme), or grown (poorly).
Rinsing Quinoa
I put it in a pot, fill with water, swirl the quinoa around, pour the water out slowly, repeat.
it's impossible to pour all the water out, but I figure two or three rinses like that is enough and I'm just cooking it in water anyway.
Lansing Michigan
Oh yes, also... Meijers is amazing. You might not be impressed by the food (it's more everyday than gourmet), but there is something truly wonderful about going to the store for food, auto parts, socks, and a goldfish. No, those things had nothing to do with each other... that's the point. And you can get all those things at three am, even.
I live in SF now. What I miss most about Lansing is Meijers.
Lansing Michigan
There are co-ops (ELFCO) and natural groceries (Foods for Living, a few others). You can get bread from decent local bakeries. Go to the Asian market in East Lansing (east of Hagadorn) for any asian foods. I don't eat meat, so I don't know about butchers - but if you found more than one true butcher shop in all of Lansing, I'd be surprised.
I think the produce in Lansing area Meijers (grocery store) is better than many other places I've been to. There are other Farmer's Markets in the area - one in Old Town, another in Okemos, neither too far away. As far as I remember, he Lansing City Market was more candles, flowers, and ceramics than fruit, veg, meat. This may have changed...
As a foodie moving from NY to Lansing, I would take advantage of all the things you can do in Michigan that you can't do as easily in a city - like grow a garden, go apple/berry picking, fry a turkey outside. Also - MSU has an organic gardening program and a lot of agricultural fun stuff going on.
Chi Chi's
B. Yes, yes they did. It was an item on the children's menu once upon a time. And I believe I once willingly ordered these things... *hangs head in shame and disgust*
Paper, plastic or BYOB?
Commotion? Ridiculous. Bring your own bag. It's easy, conserves resources, etc. etc. You can even get a bag discount on your bill at some stores.
My tip would be to make sure you keep one bag in the car, one bag at home, one collapsible bag in your purse if you can. I'm always frustrated when I've forgotten my reusable bag somewhere and have to bring home yet another paper bag.
And another thing... consider *not* using plastic produce bags. Some produce might require bagging (I'm thinking... pea pods, beans, etc.). But a lot of produce can just be heaped in your cart and then put directly into your reusable shopping bag. And for those pea pods and beans and the like, there are small and light reusable bags that work well specifically for produce.
What the heck to do with bulgur wheat?
Ha. I think I've bought that box of bulgur. I tried it as a hot cereal, but it was edible at best. Maybe I just didn't try the right combination of sugar/milk/raisins?
If you eat meat, think about using some of it in a meatloaf or kibbe. I know some people have baked bread with it. I like it with lentils and onions, as an alternative form of mjaddrah. And I've had it cooked with plenty of tomatoes, peppers, onions, olive oil and ... I don't know what spices in a dish called smeed.
Also, it will keep just fine in your cupboard for a while.
adding vegetables to rice in rice steamer?
The carrots may still be firm (cut them smaller), but the peas should be fine. They're frozen and already flash cooked, so they really just need to be reheated.
Honestly, I add just about any vegetables to my rice cooker. I've also added spices, sauces, other grains... it's a very accommodating appliance.
i bought blue cheese (and almost gagged)....now what?
Twice baked potatoes (mixed with another cheese, some butter, some sour cream or yogurt). I've served them to people who would never knowingly eat blue cheese and they were none the wiser.
Table Settings – Does this bug anyone else?
My guess is that the reason we don't see formal settings in media is the mainstreaming of food and cooking. Magazines and cooking shows have an interest in making sure that they appeal to the widest possible audience rather than turn potential buyers off by traditions that may be intimidating to a wide swath of the population.
Besides, this particular table setting tradition came out of the Victorian era. Wouldn't I be equally traditional if I choose to eat with just a knife and my fingers, ala Elizabethan England? Or chopsticks and soup spoons, as mentioned above? Why do we chose to honor (and perpetuate) one system over another? Personally, I appreciate a minimally set table that highlights the food and drink and experience.
I learned all sorts of rules about table setting, both from my mother and from a cooking class I took in high school. I enjoy them more as a matter of trivia (and that slightly snooty satisfaction of knowing that I could set a formal table if I wanted). It doesn't bother me at all if all the table settings I see are either casual or non-traditional. In fact, if I went to a dinner with that much cutlery around me, I would wonder about the waste of water and resources to clean all the extra dishes when a much simpler setting would have sufficed.
At a certain level, it's a matter of taste and social trend. Kudos to you for having such a wealth of knowledge on the topic. At a certain point, though, I'm afraid this knowledge will be more relevant to a historian than to an average diner.
Vegetarian Thanksgiving? [Moved from Midwest board]
I'll be baking and stuffing a squash with root vegetables and seitan. Similar, though not as complicated as this: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/240601.
Pancakes in a can?
Boyfriend brought it over one day - his boss knew some guy associated with the product & gave it to him to try.
In the cancake's defense, they were light and fluffy. But they were also really sweet - too sweet for my taste, but not boyfriend's. They tasted a bit like McDonald's hotcakes, or at least how I remember hotcakes tasting.
I could see it being well-suited to camping, dorm rooms, cooking-in-the-midst-of-kitchen-renovations, and other cooking-compromising situations.
Cultural food reference - canned corn?
Corn is a grain. From a nutritional point of view, it should be treated like a starch.
Dieting Dilemmas
It's the phosphoric acid & caffeine that harms bones & teeth by reducing calcium levels in the body. You won't find either ingredient in sparkling waters. Some sparkling waters actually have relatively high levels of calcium, too.
