Cleaning pots without releasing heavy metals

Thanks guys for all your input. One of the things that I cook often is steel cut oatmeal which does leave a nasty residue on my saucepan. I think it is obvious what kind of residue is left in a sauté pan. I am not sure why this is so surprising. Bon Ami seems to be working so far with a regular sponge. Maybe one day someone will do a study on this, it would be interesting to know. It is something that I know I did not really consider for a long time, but maybe there is something to it.

madonna in Cookware

Cleaning pots without releasing heavy metals

Hi Sueatmo. I guess I gave the wrong impression. Yes I guess what I wrote does sound stupid, I don't think I expressed myself well. I'll try again. What I meant was that I use an industrial metal scouring pad. On the package it does not even say if it is designed for cookware etc . When I use it, small pieces of the metal come off and do float on the surface of the water and it leaves a greyish metallic looking weird color water behind. This seems pretty clearly to be coming from the metal pad and not from the water nor the pan. No, I am not an expert nor do I know how to identify heavy metals. Just wondering if the grey metallic water released from the pad .... could have heavy metals in it.?I try to cook as healthy as possible and use healthy cookware.

madonna in Cookware

Cleaning pots without releasing heavy metals

I am not sure if I am posting this in the right room, hopefully I am.

I have been using for a long time this industrial kind of a stainless steel scouring pad that does a fantastic job of cleaning my pots and pans. I am not concerned about scratching the pots or pans. I am more concerned about using healthy products to clean my pans and I believed that this was a healthier way vs using all sorts of harsh chemicals to get the gunk out. Now I am thinking that it might have been a bad idea because the stainless or (whatever kind of metal alloys it is made out of) releases metals into the pot. I am concerned about it releasing heavy metals into my food. My teakettle recently broke, so I needed to boil some water in the pot and I noticed some weird stuff floating in the water .

Does anyone have some better alternatives that are non-toxic to clean the pots and pans and if anyone knows about the safety in terms of heavy metals of those scouring pads.?

How about brillo pads, do anyone know if they have heavy metals?

TIA

madonna in Cookware

Pesto Advice

Yes you both are right, pesto usually does contain cheese or nuts. I was trying to make it non-dairy and for some reason it did emulsify well the first time, maybe a fluke.

hmm...maybe the peas were too watery the next time or too hot?

I might try a batch with nuts and see how that goes

madonna in Home Cooking

Pesto Advice

I made a pea pesto the first time and just winged it without measuring. I added cooked frozen peas, fresh garlic, basil, coarse sea salt ,and olive oil in the food processor and pureed it. It came out perfectly delicous.

After that, I have tried to repeat the recipe with no sucess. For some reason it seems to come out with this weird texture. It looks curdled and does not homogenize like the first time. The oily part seems to keep rising to the top and the rest just looks curdled. It tastes all right, but looks really unappealing.

Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong? Is it the ration of ingredients, or the technique when blending?

thanks in advance

madonna in Home Cooking

What do you use your dehydrator for?

Food dehydrator is on my wishlist. I am in Israel right now and they are so expensive here. $60 is cheap in comparison. I think they start around $150 or so and probably not even great ones. A friend of makes her own vegetable bouillon soup powder and it is like magic soup powder. Most of those soup powders have MSG, oils, sugars, and lots of other unhealthy things but things that make it taste good so I was very skeptical. Her soup powder is just as good and even better. She dehydrates a huge variety of vegetables and then pulses it in the food processor. She uses some vegetables that I would not even think of putting in a soup powder but somehow it just really tastes amazing.

madonna in Home Cooking

What do you use your dehydrator for?

meatn3 get on that beef jerkey recipe!

madonna in Home Cooking

Seeking Lima Bean Soup Deli Style recipe

I absolutely love the lima bean soup at Nate n' Als deli. I know it would be pretty challenging to find the exact recipe but I would settle for something close. I am not even sure if their soup is made with a vegetarian or a meat stock. Any insight?

madonna in Home Cooking

Resurrect Trader Joes products that went to the Grave

Thanks I will check it out .

madonna in Chains

Source for Trader Joe's Truly Handmade Flour tortillas

I am only reading this post now one year later. Thanks so much Mr. Jackman you are the best!!!

madonna in Chains

Discontinued at Trader Joe's (started 6/19/2011) [old]

I uknowingly posted re this subject somewhere else. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/804178. Thank you to greygarious for redirecting me here. I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find those salmon cans that they used to sell a long time ago? They were fillets with just water and salt, but were delicous. They were the only canned salmon that really tasted like a poached salmon that you would make yourself at home. It used to be sold in a pink narrow long can that had the Norwegian flag and had a pop up lid. I have never seen it anywhere else. It used to be a really big seller but sadly one day it was gone.

madonna in Chains

Resurrect Trader Joes products that went to the Grave

Thank you greygarious. I must have read a thread like this a long time ago, and it probably was there in my subconscious giving me this dejavu feeling. Don't you wish Trader Joes would create a website listing where to find their discontinued products with links?... sigh....

madonna in Chains

What is wrong with this Cheesecake recipe?

iluvcookies this is a no-bake cheesecake recipe. It says refrigerate for 2 hours.

Thanks for your advice re the cream cheese to cream ratio

madonna in Home Cooking

Storing Beef Help please.........

Thank you ipsedixit and acgold7 for your feedback. I really appreciate it! I found it hard to find these answers on the internet.

The FDA says 2 days for the ground beef, do you know what they say when it comes to the cryovac meat bags? several weeks is too vague for me. I was hoping to find some more exact guidelines.

I am in Israel right now and the health dept here has completely different guidelines, so I wanted to compare it to the guidelines in the US to get a better idea.

madonna in Home Cooking

What is wrong with this Cheesecake recipe?

Thanks blue room for your suggestion. I think I did try increasing the gelatin last time but it was a really long time ago, so I can't remember how much I increased it and it still did not come out right. Maybe I just did not increase the gelatin enough.

madonna in Home Cooking

What is wrong with this Cheesecake recipe?

Thank you for the recipe. The recipe sounds delicious, the touch of the fresh vanilla bean probably really kicks it up a notch.

This recipe was from a cookbook I have and it is so weird because some of the other recipes in it are really great. Someone obviously messed up big time with this recipe. What I liked about the taste of the filling in this recipe was that the yogurt gave it such a nice tart flavor. Usually cheesecakes tend to be really sweet and I really liked the tartness of the yogurt. I'll let you know if I figure something out. I'm thinking about straining the yogurt, but even then I think it is too much liquid. I think you are right that cup of cream needs to be either eliminated or reduced drastically.

madonna in Home Cooking

What is wrong with this Cheesecake recipe?

ingredients: 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin and 3 tbsp water to dissolve. 3/4 cup cream cheese, 3/4 cup plain yogurt, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 6 bsp sugar, then for meringue: 1 egg white 1 tbs sugar

First time I made this cheesecake recipe, it did not set, and was runny inside. I thought I had done something wrong. I have made this recipe 4 times now and everytime it does no come out right.

Something must be off here and making it too liquidy? The filling tastes delicious, but just doesn't set.

Can any bakers out there fix this for me?

thanks in advance!

madonna in Home Cooking

Resurrect Trader Joes products that went to the Grave

I love TJs but I do not like their total secrecy policy with their private label vendors because so many times they stop carrying the product for whatever reason and then you don't know where to go to find it.

One product that I really used to love to buy (and seemed to be a best seller for many years) was the Norwegian salmon fillets in these pop up salmon colored tins. It was the only canned salmon that did not taste like canned salmon, it tasted like a really nice salmon fillet that you would poach yourself at home. Does anyone know the manufacturer or where I could find the product?

I also love their jarred peaches and pears from Spain in natural fruit juice , no syrup or sugar, such a decadent treat. I know it does not sound so amazing, but the fruits are just really amazing. I am praying they don't discontinue them and if they do, I want to back up plan.

Does anyone have any other products to share that they would like to find, etc?

madonna in Chains

Storing Beef Help please.........

First question is how long is it safe to keep freshly ground beef in the fridge? My second question is about wet aged beef, I don't really understand the concept. I thought aging beef required it to get oxygen. If meat is butchered and stored and aged in a vacuum bag, how long is it safe to keep it in fridge? I would think the meat soaking in blood and juices for a long time and no oxygen is like putting meat in a petri dish of bacteria?

madonna in Home Cooking

Need recommendation restaurant in Netanya or Tel Aviv open during Passover

Hi,

Need a recommendation of a Kosher place open during Passover in Tel Aviv or Netanya. Would really like a place with a nice atmosphere also. A place where you can hold a nice conversation wtihout it being too loud or a people watching atmosphere that people are there to check each other out. If you have been to Israel, you know what I mean by that.

TIA

madonna in Middle East, Southwest Asia & Africa

Marthat Stewart's Olive oil Cruet she uses for cooking

On one of MS shows she was instructing how to poach a salmon and she mentioned because she had so many requests and e-mails asking where her Olive oil cruet is sold she put the information on her website. I was pretty sure she said it was sold at O&Co.. I did not bother writing it down because she had said it was on her website. Later when I went there , it is not there nor is it mentioned on O & Co's website. I find that most of the glass cruets are made so cheaply and fall apart. I've went through several. Her's not only looks beautiful but also looks well made.

madonna in Cookware

Source for Trader Joe's Truly Handmade Flour tortillas

Hi Burger Boy,
Thank you for your suggestion. What I like about the Trader Joe's truly handmade tortillas is that not only are they soft and delicious but they have no lard or hydrogenated oils, no preservatives and overall seem pretty healthy. Do the Azteca tortillas also fall in this category?

madonna in Chains

Source for Trader Joe's Truly Handmade Flour tortillas

Does anyone know which bakery makes the Trader Joe's truly handmade flour tortillas and if they are available to purchase fresh.

Thanks!

madonna in Chains

Babycakes NYC cookbook -vanilla frosting

How kind of Baby Cakes to go out of its way to respond to this post. I wish more restaurants and chefs would help us amateur chefs improve on our hobby.

madonna in Home Cooking

Marthat Stewart's Olive oil Cruet she uses for cooking

Does anyone know where I could get the Olive oil cruet Martha Stewart uses when shes cooks on her show?

Thanks!

madonna in Cookware

Electronic Food Steamer/Reheater on Martha Stewart show

I was watching an episode on Martha Stewart and she said that she stopped microwaving her food and instead used this device to reheat her food. It was a rectangular like large machine that looked like a bread machine with an LCD screen. She said that she places her plate inside with her salmon, rice and steamed vegetables over the tray and re-heats her food this way. I did not have a pen handy and I am unable to find out what its called. I did a search on her website and came up with nothing.

If anyone could give me a heads up, much appreciated,

Thanks

madonna in Cookware

Seasoning Cast Iron WITHOUT Crisco?? [Moved from Home Cooking board]

thank you for all your helpful advice. Lard or bacon fat is not really option for me. But I will try cocunut or palm oil. Does anyone have a preference? Or do they work equally well? Should I just follow Alton's Brown's advice and use the exact same process but with the Cocunut oil vs. Crisco?

What is the deal with the pancakes? Does the butter have enough fat to really coat the pan?

I know Alton Brown warns against vegetable oils and I believe butter saying that it ruins the seasoning.

thanks
Madonna

madonna in Cookware

Seasoning Cast Iron WITHOUT Crisco?? [Moved from Home Cooking board]

I want to season some cast iron pans I have because even though I bought them "pre-seasoned", food still does not seem to cook right on the pan, and is sticking. After reading some articles on chowhound I think I know why. The Lodge brand does only part of the work, and I guess expects us to complete the seasoning process.

The Alton Brown site recomends using Crisco or some hydrogenated oil to season the pan with and warns not to use vegetable oil.

Cast iron pans have existed for a very long time and its hard for me to imagine the Old Pioneers in America using Crisco. They cooked on Cast iron pans; so I am sure there is a proper way to season them without using hydrogenated oils.

thanks
Desperately Seeking Seasoning

Madonna

madonna in Cookware