Archive for the ‘Tools of the Trade’ Category
Good afternoon, Dear Readers:
Are you enjoying summer? Are you trying? Or is the lure of the watermelon margarita too hard to resist? (You can make them without alcohol, too.)
Here’s something to really whet your whistle if you happen to be in Philadelphia: the Donut Cheesesteak Burger.
As if 1400 calories were the only thing we needed to worry about.
Yes, I know, capitalism. I’m not knocking capitalism, of course. . .but it’s just. . .couldn’t you use that intellect for something else? I mean, we now have two Ebola patients in the US–could you help out with that a little, maybe?
Anyway. . . .
I’m well into the second week of the infamous Yeast-Free Diet, to try and get rid of the heartburn and other gastro ills I’ve developed. No alcohol, no vinegar (except apple cider vinegar), no fruit, no dairy. . .well, you know the drill if you’ve read about it or done it. It’s a 90-day cleanse diet, and once you get over no cheese on your scrambled eggs for a while, it’s all good, and you’ll get the bug out of your gut.
I’m using the Yeast Control powder from Green Willow Tree again this time, too. Funny, it really doesn’t taste all that bad to me this time. That’s OK, and ice in the water helps with that.
That doesn’t mean I won’t be grumpy for a while. But I’m getting back into walking and exercise, so maybe that will take the edge off. A little. If I don’t hurt myself.
One of the things I’ve noticed is that what’s called “common knowledge,” also known as “common sense,” seems to be disappearing in this country. What I mean by that is that things people just used to know and passed along were little things, like a dozen equals 12. People don’t KNOW stuff like that anymore, and they certainly don’t pass it around if they do. While I don’t try to go around giving advice to people who didn’t ask for it, I do try to help out where needed. Sometimes.
Take vinegar, for instance. Yes, that bottle of strong, clear liquid in your pantry that comes in handy for the occasional recipe, and the stuff I can’t use for a while. (Distilled White Vinegar, that is.) Did you know you can use it for more than just salad dressing and stuff, right? Well, keep reading.
Twenty years ago, when I became a devotee of Martha Stewart, I found in either her Christmas issue or one of her Christmas books an idea for making flavored olive oils. I did some research too, since the web was becoming an information portal. Problem: fresh herbs have bacteria that may flourish in oil, but vinegar would kill anything like that. I just put the same herbs into vinegar, got some sealing wax, corked the bottles and gave quite a few folks some flavored vinegar for Christmas. I did that more than once, too.
Of course, when I asked the now-ex-husband to write down “sealing wax” on our shopping list, he didn’t understand what it was, or what it was for. When we got to Wal-Mart, I looked on his list and it said, “ceiling wax.” Um, what? You gonna get up there and wax it?
Anyway. . .
When I grocery shop, I buy two or three gallons of the plain white kind, because, well, I do not use it for salad dressing; that’s either apple cider vinegar or maybe raspberry vinegar. . I also don’t use table salt for cooking, but we’ll get to that later.
Vinegar does all kinds of non-foodie things, which is why I keep it around. Do you have a stainless steel kettle for boiling water to make tea or coffee in a French press? Leave it too long and it will develop a slime. YUCK! You can also become ill from it–read the linked post, and you’ll see I did that already, hence a previous round of the Yeast-Free Diet. When I clean mine, I fill it halfway with vinegar, half with water, turn it on to boil and let it finish. Once I hear that “click” of the switch, I know it’s done–the mineral spots on the bottom are gone, too. Drain, rinse a couple of times until the vinegar smell is gone, and it’s good to go. If you use it regularly, doing the vinegar boil twice a week should keep it clean.
Vinegar can also get the scaling out of electric drip coffee makers–just fill it with straight vinegar and turn it on; then run two or three brew cycles after you dump the vinegar, or until you don’t smell it anymore.
I bet you didn’t know you could clear drains with it, did you? Neighbor K found this out on Saturday–I’d mentioned it to her a few days ago, and she texted me Saturday asking about it. So I texted back what she needed and how to do it. A little while later K texted this message back: “WOW it works!”
Would I lie about a thing like that? (See what I mean when I said we keep each other out of trouble?)
Mission accomplished. She told me later that the regular drain cleaner you buy at the grocery didn’t do anything, but this did. Woo hoo! It also works on a slow-running drain, which means you’ve got something developing down in the pipes. You can also do it monthly to keep the drain from backing up, which I consistently forget to do. (I’ve since run that formula down my own kitchen sink this morning, mostly as a preventative measure.)
That non-toxic drain cleaner came out of one of two old books I bought in the 1980’s from Rodale. The Natural Formula Book for Home & Yard (1982) is 300+ pages of the kind of info that people used to just “know.” Another vinegar-based thing is what’s called “Blue Window Cleaner” on page 17. Mine isn’t blue, however, because I discovered that to get blue food coloring, you have to buy the box of 4 colors. I don’t need it that bad, so my “window cleaner” is clear in a spray bottle from Home Depot. You could also re-use a spray bottle from Windex, or get one at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or even IKEA.
Cleaning/clearing your sink pipes toxin-free is very simple. Down your drain pour one cup table salt, one cup baking soda, and one cup plain white vinegar. It will fizz and bubble, but that’s all of it. Meantime, put that kettle on and boil some water. Once the water boils (which will take at least 15 minutes, the more the merrier), carefully pour it into the drain behind the mixture. Put that pot down and let the hot water do what it does–melt and disperse the gunk and take it out of your pipes, and out of your hair. Follow that up by running the hot tap water for at least 5 minutes, and you’re good to go.
Oh, and this will work in your bathroom drains, too. Just be careful if you haul big pots of boiling water, OK? Burns are NO FUN.
I also saw on Facebook recently where you can clean your microwave oven by adding a cup of water and a cup of vinegar to a 2-cup measure or other microwave safe container, running it until it boils, and then wiping it completely clean. (Dump that down the drain while hot, carefully, for a little drain maintenance, too.)
I haven’t bought commercial window cleaner in 20 years; I just use this stuff and it works perfectly. Make it as I need it, one or two batches at a time.
Blue Window Cleaner
- 3 tablespoons household ammonia (make sure you get clear, non-sudsy ammonia, or you’ll have a mess on windows and mirrors)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1-2 drops blue (or other color) food coloring (optional)
Measure ammonia and vinegar into a clean spray bottle, and add the water. Add food coloring, if desired, and shake well.
Easy, right? And cheap.
If you’re interested in that kind of natural, old-fashioned cleaning and housekeeping, the other book I still have through all that life has thrown at me is Rodale’s Hints, Tips & Everyday Wisdom. That book was published in 1985, although an updated version was published in 1994 that I just found out about. While I’m always interested in that sort of thing. . .my ex-husbands were not. That should tell you everything you need to know, right?
Another great use for vinegar is weed killing; I just found it recently, courtesy of Capper’s Farmer, with just a little searching on their site. (I get their emails and Facebook feeds, too.) A non-toxic weed killer that does a pretty good job, and pretty quickly. Lucky me, I happened to have one of those pump-action spray containers like the exterminators have (don’t ask) so it didn’t take long. While it didn’t kill every single weed, it did a good job with the ones I sprayed. In the back, I dumped some out directly on a patch of weeds and they were just gone. I’ve gone out and sprayed the rest, and just haven’t gotten around to pulling them up. But they’re dead, that’s for sure. Except for that tree that keeps wanting to grow back. That’s a tough one to get rid of.
I also keep lots of baking soda and table salt around. Why? Together they are quite useful.
You know how I love to use the little toaster oven for everything, and turn on the big oven maybe 4 times a calendar year? Well, the little oven is getting a cleaning. You know how when you cook fish you remember it long after you ate it? Yeah, it’s like that–and opening the windows doesn’t help, either. I don’t toast bread very often, only when I make the gluten-free stuff, mostly it’s cooking and roasting stuff, like meat, chicken and turkey.
I’ve mentioned this before, I love turkey and get turkey parts (primarily thighs) frequently. Put them (or any part of chicken) on that broiler pan and roast them at 400F for about an hour, and you get perfectly cooked meat with a skin crispier than any potato chip you’ve ever eaten. HEAVENLY, I tell you. But when I cooked two more Friday night. . .I smelled them in my sleep. So the oven needs to be cleaned. Seriously.
I’ve discovered another foodie blog, The Kitchn, and so I get the Facebook feeds now. Good stuff, and what I found for non-toxic oven cleaning was here, using baking soda, water (or as someone in the comments suggested, hydrogen peroxide) and. . .vinegar. Of course, I unplugged the toaster oven first, then went to work. I cleaned the broiler pan, rack and drip tray best I could, and then went to work on the inside of this beast.
First, remove the oven racks, or anything else you might store inside the oven. Since this is a toaster oven, remove the drip tray, since that’s funky too; we deal with that separately.
Next, you make a nice paste with water and baking soda, although one comment about hydrogen peroxide made me experiment with that. A half cup of baking soda, then 3 tablespoons of water or peroxide; more as needed, a little at a time. Coat the inside of the oven with this paste; not too thick, not too thin:
Yes, it’s icky. But that’s OK.
Let it sit overnight, then go back and wipe that grunge off as best you can. Scrub a little, scrape a little, but it starts to come off pretty well. Use a plastic scraper thingy if you need to on some burned-on crud. Once you get as much of it off as you can, spray some vinegar in there and let it fizzy up. Wipe some more. Yes, more. Eventually, you will remove all you can remove.
Better! (Sort of.)
That weird liquid at the bottom of the page is caught between the glass and the metal band that holds it on. Eventually it drained off and I cleaned it away.
I scraped, scrubbed and wiped some more after this picture, but this is about as good as it gets. Remember, this toaster oven is about 4 or 5 years old. While I’ve cleaned it before, it doesn’t all come off, since it’s not ceramic on the inside like a standard oven is.
Now, the drip tray I treated a bit differently. I put it in a bucket of water and a half-cup of ammonia, which will also work on the oven racks (but I didn’t think about that when I was soaking it.) Some of the comments at The Kitchn suggested filling the bathtub with water, but I thought that was a bit unnecessary since it was small. After I took a shower for the night, then filled up the bucket with water, added about a half-cup of ammonia, closing the bathroom door so me and the cat didn’t have to smell lemony-scented soapy ammonia all night. Next day most of the baked-on stuff came off, but not all. I scraped with a plastic scraper, but not all of it was loose. Maybe next time.
It’s about as clean as it’s going to get now. I turned it on to burn off anything else, and it had a slight smell for a bit and that was the end of it.
CLEAN!! (Mostly)
And then I started cooking in it again.
I’m sure I’ll get a few more years out of this one. Maybe this one will croak and I’ll buy me a brand-new one. Again. That’s what happened to the last one–the electronic bits went out and that was the end of it after 6 years of heavy use.
Now, under no circumstances should you use a fancy gourmet vinegar for any of this stuff. My stash of Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar from Oil & Vinegar is tucked away in the back of the still-organized pantry (with the Meyer Lemon Olive Oil) and only comes out occasionally (especially now.)
While I do have some, I’m not using apple cider vinegar for cleaning, either. However, Bragg’s ACV is the best I’ve found, and has the live “mother” in it. While Bragg’s is widely available now in grocery stores (at least, it is here in Houston) Bragg’s website can show you all the products they sell. If there’s something you want but can’t find, you can order it there or on Amazon.com. They have a collection of books as well on not only using their ACV but other health topics as well.
Maybe I should do a blog post on Bragg–whaddaya think?
I heard Patricia Bragg on Dr. Hotze’s radio show one day and have been buying it ever since. She mentioned something about the vinegar for cats, but I missed it, and never got around to finding out what it was. At one point I was putting a tablespoon of ACV in my water, but I kind of got out of the habit.
If you’re interested in more uses for vinegar, you can find lots more info at Capper’s Farmer’s website, Grit.com, and this article on Backwoods Home’s website too (although a website search will give you all the articles, including recipes.) Of course, there’s always the Google search, too. Up to you.
This book on vinegar by Christine Halvorson also has some good tips, like clearing your clogged shower head by soaking it in vinegar. I’ve done that before, too, and it works very well.
Speaking of those magazines, and Mary Jane’s Farm, I’ve got some gluten-free updates coming soon.
Now that I’ve covered the subject of that little kitchen condiment, I’ll close here and let you go find out what it can do for you. Sure, it stinks, but the smell goes away quickly, and it cleans as well as anything you can buy in Home Depot.
So what are you waiting for? Go get some vinegar!!
Good evening, Dear Readers:
My sincerest apologies for taking so long. One thing leads to another, then it’s the holidays, and the blog just gets postponed. I’ll try to keep up on this during the new year.
BRRRRRR!!!!! Seems like the whole world is frozen, at least north of the equator! Australia, however, is having record heat, so they’re sort of learning what Texas is like in the summer. Nevertheless, if you are in need of something warm and tasty, please have some Yeast Free Hot Chocolate and remember to bring your pets and critters INSIDE, or somehow keep them from freezing. Not safe for man or beast anywhere!
If you’re wondering how Christmas went, well, it went much better. Hang on, I have a few other things to tell you about first.
Remember the new cupcake shop down in the tunnel, New Addictions? Bad news—they’ve closed for good. I get to my office via an entry that passes right by that place, and I figured, like a lot of places, they would be closed during the week of Thanksgiving. While several eateries in the tunnel were open, most were closed and I just thought they were going to do the same thing.
And when we returned after the Black Friday weekend, the gate was down, and all the fixtures were gone. All that’s left is the name painted on the wall. What a shame—they nearly always had at least one person in there contemplating a cupcake. A click on their website says that they have closed both locations. I sent them an email expressing my condolences, but I haven’t heard back—and there’s a good chance I won’t.
What happened? Who knows. But I’m sure the Fraziers are up to something else, and it’s likely very tasty, too. I hope they do well in whatever they do next; they’re really nice people.
Also, the HeatCageKitchen garden is doing great–I have harvested three tomatoes before the freeze came, and the little orbs are ripening on the breakfast bar. Garlic is shooting up, and while the Meyer lemon plant just grows green leaves, the sage is coming up, the rosemary is enjoying all this, green onions are growing up straight, the strawberry plant is nice and green (no berries), the aloe vera is fine, and I’ve got flat-leaf parsley shoots popping through the soil. No lettuce yet, but I might try radishes soon. I’ve been inundated with seed catalogs after ONE order from Territorial Seed a month or so ago, where I got the garlic.
If you’re someone who watched the cartoon The Jetsons many years ago, or have seen it in reruns, you were likely treated to visions of a 21st century kitchen. Well, it’s what they thought would be “the kitchen of the future,” with lots of buttons everywhere. We have that, with touchpads on everything from microwaves to iPhones, but I don’t think we’re at the point of taking protein pills instead of having food for dinner. The Wall Street Journal did an article recently on the futuristic kitchen we were promised. And while it’s great that we can invent such things, well, the comments indicate that simple is better.
Do you really need a circuit board and touch panel on your refrigerator or built into your dishwasher? Me either. Turn on and run, OK?
Speaking of fun in the kitchen, another WSJ article told me about something I’ve never heard of, called the Bimby. There is also a video, but you have to sign in to see it. Also, this magic machine is NOT, repeat, NOT currently available in the US, and apparently not anytime soon, either. It is available in Canada under the name Thermomix, and one of the commenters says that their power is the same as ours, 110v.
Spinach and cod? Oh, that’s right up there with eggplant lasagna. You have it, OK?
Well, it’s interesting, but not as much fun as the YouTube videos of cats riding the Roomba. More robots at work in our homes, while the cat just sees it as catering to his natural superiority. But seriously, you can kind of do the same thing with a food processor and a toaster oven, or maybe a Vitamix (which I don’t have.)
Now back to Christmas.
As I mentioned last time, Thanksgiving dinner was a gluten-free disaster, thanks in part to my enthusiasm and my guest’s gift of some pretty potent Sangria. However, because the guest knows I’m a good cook, he agreed to give me another chance at Christmas; he was not disappointed this time. He did bring wine, and I had some, but there was no intoxication before dinner, nor after. I did bake the raspberry pistachio cake he hinted at, and he took the whole thing home in a disposable pan.
About a week before, I got an email from The Barefoot Contessa Blog, and one recipe she mentioned was Green Beans Gremolata, so I decided to include that.
I did turkey again, but of course was unable to obtain a turkey breast on the Sunday before Christmas. There was no way I was going to mess with another whole turkey, let alone a 22 pound beast, so I got turkey thighs, which I prefer anyway. They’re kind of down-market for a holiday dinner, but again, no huge beasts for me this time. I went to Ina’s last book, How Easy Is That? and made Herb Roasted Turkey on page 128, just with turkey thighs. Oh, yeah. . . .
Herb Roasted Turkey Thighs
Also in How Easy Is That? I came across Celery and Parmesan Salad on page 62. Pretty darn good!
Celery Parmesan Salad. Must be tasted to be believed.
I also made some more of the Tuscan Chickpea Mash from Foolproof, (page 42) a second cousin to hummus (but with no sesame paste in it.) I made that as an appetizer, and it’s one I really like, but he said, “Meh.” He did try it and said it was good, but just wasn’t interested.
Tuscan Chickpea Mash with cut celery, a nice appetizer.
Because I was baking him a cake the night before, I also decided to use up the rest of the buttermilk and made him some cornbread. It’s an old Martha Stewart recipe from her big green compendium on page 107, and I’ve never had anyone turn it down. Yes, the cake and the cornbread both were NOT, repeat, NOT, gluten free, and no, I didn’t eat it, just made it. (Oh, and Miss Gluten Free was in the grocery buying white flour right before Christmas.)
He doesn’t care, like a lot of folks, so I made him what he likes, which is everything you see here.
No, it’s not gluten free, except for the pie. I emailed this pic to him the night before so he would know I was serious about doing dinner right this time.
I wanted to also make Nigella Lawson’s addictive white bean mash with lemon and garlic, but I just didn’t have the time, even though it doesn’t take too long. Next time, maybe. That steamed chocolate pudding was untouched, and it’s in the pantry for another day.
Dessert was something I wasn’t going to mess with: pecan pie. I was in Erma’s Nutrition Center the Saturday before and decided to go the bought route. I called him to ask what he’d like: pecan, key lime, or pumpkin, which is what they had that day. He said pecan, so I got one.
The Gluten Free Pecan Pie even a manly man could enjoy!
Gluten Free Nation (formerly known as Gluten Free Houston) makes these cute little 5-inch pies that are great. I’ve had blueberry, apple and a few others. This was my first time with pecan, and the pie did not disappoint. A little whipped cream and we had a perfect gluten free dessert. One day I’m gonna visit their store on a Saturday, and maybe I’ll write a whole blog post, too. I’ve met the owner, Randi Markowitz, who herself has celiac disease and created the company to help out folks everywhere who just want to avoid gluten.
After he chowed down on a slice, I told him it was gluten free. He was surprised, and he really liked the pie; but I guess the clue was that I ate a piece, too. No complaints on anything, and he went home happy with a bag full of glutinous munchies, which he later said he enjoyed.
He also claims there are still stains on his kitchen ceiling from when I was cooking in his kitchen. No true. Nothing I made ever exploded in his kitchen.
Mission accomplished. He spent some time with his kitty cat, we caught up on some stuff, and for a little while, all was right with the world. He promised that next time he’d bring some free-range eggs from his bud’s chicken coop to see what I could do with that. Oh, I’ve got just the thing from Giada de Laurentiis–a frittata!
Next up. . .getting over the holidays.
Happy Dining!
Good evening, Dear Readers:
Please continue to pray for the good people of Boston after the horrific attack on Monday. I saw an article online about how they went about misusing a pressure cooker for this incident. Simple, quick, and lethal. I’ve never bought one myself, but now I don’t think I want to. At least we know if we see one lying about somewhere, well, you know.
Also this evening, reports of an explosion here in the Lone Star State, in Waco at a fertilizer plant. Not much is known yet. Please keep Waco in your prayers as well–the casualties are much higher.
Anyway. . . .
As close friends of mine will tell you, I have a thing about The Woodlands, TX, a somewhat exclusive “planned community” north of Houston. It’s everything Clear Lake could be–clean, intelligent, well-designed, and thought out. I know that sounds like I’m being a snob, but I don’t mean to–I just like to go to The Woodlands. It’s beautiful with lots of trees, and so very nice. These last two days were opportunities to spend a little extra time there. I really did pick a doctor up there, but not because she’s in The Woodlands. She’s an excellent wellness doctor, recommended by Suzanne Somers (long story), and a smart lady, too.
Bragging rights: today’s BP was 120/70; pretty good for someone “over 21” and not on medications. OK, I’ve gained a few pounds back, but that’s temporary, and the least of my worries right now.
There is an area in The Woodlands called Panther Creek. I would like to move there, being a “human feline” (cat person) as I am. (That’s a joke.) But only if there are real panthers walking around; otherwise, it’s just a name. There were people out playing golf in that area, even in the misty rain that kept the wipers going all day. Would have been a nice picture, but other drivers would have been a bit miffed if I’d stopped on Woodlands Parkway just to take a picture. Next time.
I should head up there one day just to spend the day; hotels offer weekend packages in The Woodlands. Since the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion offers great concerts, a hotel room is a great idea after the likes of Def Leppard, Chicago, or any other performance. I was exhausted after Def Leppard–what a show!– but drove myself home and made it safely.
So today I went back to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch again, but I either forgot or bypassed Joan’s Broccoli Madness, or maybe they just didn’t have any. That’s OK–I made it to the chili. Theirs has beans in it, so you know it’s not REAL Texas chili, but it’s pretty good, so I give them credit. After lunch I headed to the nearby Container Store, a place I wish I could live in–everything you need, it’s so neat!
Yes, I know–you don’t get organized by buying a bunch of organizing thingies. I didn’t actually, I bought a few things that I have a use for soon. Such as this item from OXO Good Grips made to clean water bottles of all kinds. Saw it on Facebook the other day, and knew I needed one. I got it because I have one of those large double-walled plastic cups with a straw and a screw-on lid. Use it all the time, keeps water cold for a long time. I discovered that black mold grows and develops in the rubber gasket and the threads at the top. I tried to clear out the straw with hot water and soap but didn’t have anything that cleaned it completely. This kit solved that problem, and now I’ve cleaned the whole thing using all three brushes. Highly recommended!
Since I’m slated to return to the land of the employed soon, I found this little item for carrying salt and pepper in your lunch bag:
If you are thinking the tops come off the unit, think again:
One piece with interlocking lid parts, and they end up closed like this, with plugged holes for safe transport. Neat, huh? (I bought two for good measure, and they were cheap.)
After I left the doctor’s office, I found my way to the Frost Bake Shoppe on Waterway, not far away. (Although I don’t know that much about the topography, I am learning my way around The Woodlands.) Dr. Davis’ office has ordered cupcakes from them on occasion, and they were at the recent Wheat Belly Luncheon passing out samples of their very delicious gluten-free chocolate cupcakes. (They also were liberal in letting me sample during the luncheon.) So today, I made it to first their Waterway location within walking distance from that Marriott. DUH. I could have gone there after the luncheon but didn’t realize it was there. So I asked about the other location, which, coincidentally, was across the street from where I was headed next: the foodie’s cult favorite Trader Joe’s!
This is what I actually had, being the newly gluten-avoiding person that I am:
They call it “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.” No kidding. Now, it’s a baked cupcake, but it’s intended to taste like raw cookie dough. Go figure! This is what it looks like when you peel the paper off:
How about that? You bite in–somewhere–and you get a bite of soft cake and nearly liquid creamy icing. Not too sweet, is totally satisfying and melts in your mouth. I’m sorry, you just don’t get this kind of incredible taste from a grocery store. They’re freshly baked and hand-frosted every day. Like a wedding cake, it’s not something one would have every day.
Did I mention that it’s gluten-free? Yes. They can make any variety of cupcakes gluten-free on request, but in the store, they are whatever the baker chooses to make that day. No complaints! I’ll write more on them in a separate post–and post more pictures, of course. Here’s one more:
Isn’t that beautiful? All fondant. . .they’ll make anything you want.
If I could have brought home a cupcake for my two neighbors, I would have. But now that it’s basically summer here in Houston, the icing would have melted all over the floor by the time I got it home.
Trader Joe’s, for those who aren’t familiar, is a California-based specialty grocery store, that’s, well, what I’d call quirky. In a nice way. I was in Seattle 2 years ago and never made it into one, but everyone kept telling me, “you gotta go to Trader Joe’s, it’s so great.” I won’t dispute that–but I will also add that it won’t change your life overnight. Glad I went, great place, and will make it a regular part of my in-town shopping, too.
I did ask to take pictures in the store, but they asked me not to. I agreed, but have shots of some of the products I bought after I got them home. It’s a small store in The Woodlands in the Indian Village area, so I don’t know if that’s the norm or what. (No sign of anyone named Sanjeev, either, or is that not what they meant?) Their stock is mostly store branded, but they do have some national brands as well. Nice people, very helpful, and they enjoy what they do.
I bought stuff I would normally buy, but this included Trader Joe’s branded products that were, by the description, the same as national brands, but less expensive. I saw but did not purchase, a clamshell package of two fennel bulbs completely trimmed and cleaned for $1.99. Trust me when I tell you I definitely WANTED to, but could not remember all the ingredients for my favorite coleslaw recipe, which calls for fennel bulbs. (It’s in Suzanne Somers’ third cookbook on page 220, and is absolutely delicious.) I also bought a bottle of their Italian olive oil, $4.99, and of course, a requisite shopping bag, as I’ve done on several occasions while visiting out-of-town grocery stores like another favorite, Publix.
Their produce section yielded these beautiful little jewels, as well as the best price on Manchego cheese I’ve seen in a long time, as well as goat cheese which will become a Corsican omelet now that the mint is growing back.
Guess where some of those gorgeous heirloom tomatoes went? Yep, on top of the last jar of lettuce, with freshly whizzed-up dressing, which was perfectly crisp nearly one week out. Woo hoo! Don’t worry–I bought more lettuce to seal up in those jars. Here’s the rest:
All told, I spent about $39. Now, this is not retail therapy in the Galleria; these are foodstuffs and sundries I would buy anyway at my local HEB, Target, or Walmart, with the cheeses being a bit of a splurge. Sometimes I go to my local Bed, Bath and Beyond to get sundries because I have coupons that come in the mail. On an ordinary day, it would cost more in gas to drive up there to get these items than I would save by getting them there. However, I was already in The Woodlands today, and there are two more Trader Joe’s in the city, one of which is close enough to be convenient to the Houston Buddhist Center. So just like IKEA and Central Market, I can, if I want, do a little shopping at Trader Joe’s after a Buddhist activity.
Don’t YOU plan your shopping trips that way?
Dear readers, I hope you have enjoyed my adventures this week as much as I have. I’ll write again soon. I’m getting tired and need to hit the sack. Tomorrow I have phone calls to return and fresh lettuce to pack into jars for the week. Today and tonight, though, even though I have stuff scattered about, and the cat’s fussing about her food again, I count my blessings, one and all, and if you’re reading this, I encourage you to do the same.
Enjoy, and happy dining.
Hello, Dear Readers:
If you’ve been wondering, well, yes, I have been sick. Sick enough to fall asleep through a class Thursday. GRRRR. . .thank heavens for recordings. It’s cold, but beautiful outside, and I’m sick. I’ve got fever, a bronchial infection, an EAR infection, and prescriptions. First time I’ve taken a pharmaceutical drug in nearly 3 years.
I am coughing like a smoker. I have never smoked.
I slept a quite a bit yesterday and decided to do a little sewing last night. Made a potholder that, well, wasn’t exactly to spec. It’s because I’ve taken to making my own bias tape, and when I make it, I like it a lot wider than the book says to make it. but that’s just me. What’s wrong with double wide bias tape? Used up a little bit more fabric and gave me an idea of what it will look like if I ever make one or two for a gift. Trust me when I tell you NOBODY has one exactly like mine.
I like it that way.
It started Wednesday with a wicked sore throat that made it hard to eat, drink or breathe much, and then I got tired. Got lost trying to go somewhere, and when I got home, I knew I was infected. I started using Peaceful Mountain Throat Rescue on Wednesday, and Thursday afternoon I woke up from one of my naps to have no more sore throat. (It’s also available from Amazon.com in a two-pack.) A medicine cabinet essential.
But while the sore throat is gone, thank heavens, now I just have the standard cold symptoms–sneezing, stuffy nose, and going through a LOT Of tissue. I also have pain when I cough, that being the bronchial infection (which moved into my ears–first time that’s ever happened.) My hands are seriously dried out from washing them so much. Don’t forget the headache from all that sneezing and blowing, and now my hearing is affected–feels like my ears need to pop, but can’t, because of the ear infection. Plus there’s the the general fatigue that comes along with it (your adrenals take a hit when something like this happens.) Turns out that SIX women I know who are all connected to me on Facebook are also ill. Therefore, we conclude that Facebook is spreading the germs.
Don’t get too close.
So while I was watching TV and stitching up my new potholder, I saw an advert for a newly invented kitchen gadget that helps you make “perfect” pies. No kidding. the most bizarre thing ever, called the EZ Pocket. I kid you not. You lay the dough out, fill the pockets with the filling you want, put the top crust on, use the little rotary thingy to slice the pie crust according to the grid, bake it off, and you have “perfect” little pies in perfect little shaped portions. You can even make six different fillings at once (long as you can tell the difference later for the fussy child who *only* wants cherry.)
I give the inventor credit for making something new, of course, but. . .WHAT? Of course, if you watch the infomercial, you’ll see a woman botching and bungling a pie crust so bad it would make Martha Stewart sick. Pie crust ain’t that hard if it’s made correctly!! With a food processor, you can’t mess it up. Watch a YouTube Video on how to do piecrust. But with the EZ Pocket, you use STORE BOUGHT PIE CRUSTS. Ugh. What a way to make healthy food for your family. And you can bet anyone who does that thinks it’s perfectly healthy.
It’s not. Yuck.
If EZ Pockets is just your thing, great–but please, learn to make your OWN pie crusts. Read the myriad ingredients in pre-made pie crusts and you’ll see what I mean. Do it in the food processor–it couldn’t be simpler. I started doing that with the Barefoot Contessa books. You can find Ina’s Perfect Pie Crust here; quick and easy, and will work with these silly looking contraptions.
You can find all manner of cooking inventions on As Seen On TV’s website. (Ronco Veg-A-Matic, anyone? Yes, they still make those.) If you’re a foodie, be careful, and hang onto your Visa Card!
Well, anyway. . .it got me thinking about other kitchen gadgets. While I try not to do this, I do have a number of kitchen gadgets, bought over the years, likely on sale. Some have been better successes than others.
While I haven’t tried this one, I almost did. The Xpress Redi Set Go just looked like a great thing for a single woman to have. When I saw it, I had a boyfriend, and thought it would be great for cooking for just us when he came over, or even at his house. It came with recipes and instructions, and if you watched the long infomercial, it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I was ready to go get me one. . . .then I got on Amazon.com and discovered via the comments that it wasn’t as fabulous as all that.
Saved from a bad buy. This time.
Another time I bought the infamous Eggstractor. If you’re not familiar with this one, it came out at the apex of the low-carb thing in about 2003 or 2004. It’s a little thing to help you peel large quantities of hard-boiled eggs. There’s a trick to hard-boiled eggs, but never mind. I thought this would be a great thing to have, but. . .well, it didn’t work out too well. You have to smash the top real hard, and between me and the man of the house, it didn’t really do the job well. I returned it about a week later.
When I told my brother about this, he was curious. Then I sent him the link, where the infomercial was running. He couldn’t stop laughing and never lets me forget The Eggstractor. To this day. Out of the blue, he asks about The Eggstractor.
I have seen those little Eggies, where you crack the eggs into a plastic boiler, then remove them when done. I have not bought those. On the other hand, maybe it would be a good idea. . .I think there’s another version that makes them square, but I won’t swear to it.
Now, some friends of mine have the Nu Wave Induction Oven, and have used it, but I don’t know that they are completely thrilled with it. I recently saw the Nu Wave Induction Cooktop, and of course it looks like the best new thing, but. . .I’ll wait a while on this one, too. Turns out induction cooktops have been around for some time. Makes me wish I’d bought one by now; I just don’t need all those extra pans.
When I got married (in 1996, the last time) one of the things I put on my registry was the Braun Open Master. So cool, so contemporary, and safely opens cans. My grandmother bought it for me, and I loved it. I still have it and use it, but at some point, cans were re-designed, so it only works on about 50% of the cans now. Braun, of course, doesn’t make them anymore, but it was a great product.
Another favorite is the Braun Multi Mix. Braun doesn’t make these anymore, either, but I still have mine. Actually, I have more than one, sort of. I have, unfortunately, used the heck out of mine, and have replaced it, so I have a second set of accessories. Okay, actually, I’m on my third (and obviously last) one. Hope I can buy a suitable replacement one day, or I’m just going to be buying multiple items. The mixers work great, but do one thing wrong and it doesn’t work right anymore.
I really USE my gadgets.
The former husband believed himself to be of a certain sophistication, and insisted we have an espresso/cappuccino machine. Well, I don’t have the husband anymore, but I still have one; it’s about ten years old. Once in a while, I actually use it. See, I don’t keep cow’s milk around, I have almond milk. I don’t know if it will froth, so I don’t use it very often.
Many years ago, I was also given a black KitchenAid stand mixer, just like the ones you see on The Food Network. It was secondhand, but works perfectly, so who cares? I was saving up to buy the copper model, but this one is just perfect.
I have two food processors–one from Wal-Mart, bought when the one I had prior gave out the day before Thanksgiving, and a smaller one that came with the Cuisinart Deluxe Duet blender, bought with a coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond. The one I bought in like 1991 or so finally croaked.
The Toaster Oven. Now, I always thought this was a bit more than I needed, then someone gave me one and I was hooked. I took to roasting chicken leg quarters in mine, and it didn’t heat up the kitchen. YES! I’m on my third; this one came with a convection setting, so I use that occasionally too. I can bake all manner of stuff, cook dinner in it in the middle of summer and it’s great. If you have the room, get one. I have the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven, again, bought with a coupon at BBB a few years ago. I didn’t want the convection part, but that’s the one they had when I went to buy it. If you have the room, I can highly recommend having one around. This one has an even-heat sensor, a timer, and lots of bells & whistles. You may want one not quite as pricey, but if you like to cook, it’s certainly worth having to bake/cook/roast smaller items, especially in the summer.
I really love ice cream, and although I don’t get to use it regularly, I do have this wonderful Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. I had a couple of gift cards a couple of years ago from Macy’s and decided to splurge on this baby. The old one I had used ice and salt and all that; this just has a bowl you stick in the freezer. And since I have a small freezer, well, you see why I don’t get around to using it as much as I’d like. However, I’ve also made gelatos and fruit sorbets with it, adding Somersweet instead of sugar. Cuisinart also has a more expensive model that has it’s own self-contained compressor so you don’t have to freeze the bowl, you just plug it in. Well, they don’t sell those at Macy’s, or maybe they didn’t when I went to buy mine. Next one I get will be that one, you just plug it into the wall and go for it.
For the best ice cream recipes, I highly recommend Bruce Weinstein’s Ultimate Ice Cream Book. Canteloupe sorbet? Yes, it’s fabulous, and it’s nothing like store bought.
A few years ago I was asked to make an apple dessert for a party. Well, I had to peel a lot of apples for it. I mentioned it to a gent I worked with, and he offered to loan me his apple peeler/corer. He went on vacation for two weeks, and um, I broke it. I didn’t know how to contact him, so I went online and bought an identical item. THEN, seeing as they were not expensive I bought one for myself! I’ve used it once or twice since then, but haven’t done a lot of baking lately.
Then there’s the grill thing. That same brother bought it for me, a knockoff of the George Foreman Grill, and while I’ve used it a few times, it’s very hard to clean. So it collects dust. Likely to go out one day. . .
For Thanksgiving, and other rare occasions that I think about it, I have one of those big turkey roasters. Really, it’s great for roasting two chickens at once, and this one has take-out dishes for things like stuffing and veggies that you can leave in and keep warm. I keep it around. . . .
When I got married in 1981 (the first time), someone gave us a waffle iron/griddle that was just wonderful, similar to this model (but not so god-awful expensive.) I don’t know what happened to it, but in a divorce, I think you can figure it out. . .I used to have another one, but when I quit doing grains, I gave it away. Then I got ahold of the second Babycakes book, and suddenly I needed a waffle iron! (The gluten-free waffles in this book are fantastic, and real maple extract for the syrup is worth hunting down.) I now have a $10 waffle item from HEB. What I’d like to eventually get is Cuisinart’s Griddler, even though the waffle plates are sold separately. Admittedly, it will be quite some time before I get mine, even if I go to BBB with a coupon.
Several years ago I re-discovered the French Press coffee pot. I was at work one evening when one of the ISS people put some hot water in it. I used to know someone who used it, but that was a long time ago. Had no idea what I was missing., and now I own five. I got a small one and put decaf Eight O’Clock Coffee in it, and was amazed at how great it tasted. No more Mr. Coffee for me–and, it’s ecologically friendly, since the filters are metal. The one I use most regularly is this 4-cup French Press from Bodum, so I keep a spare glass around since I’ve had one break. I also have the 3-cup Chambord that stayed at my desk so I could have decaf in a non-decaf office, a 3-cup Brazil model for travel, an 8-cup Bodum Shin Bistro (for when I used to have a boyfriend to make coffee for) and this 8-cup model from Cost Plus World Market that I left at his house for the weekends I was there. (He brought it back but kept my coffee cup. No great loss.) I made cozies for both 8-cup pots to keep the coffee warm, as well as the 4-cup pot. Maybe I should sell one or two of them soon.
Now, many kitchens have a teapot on top the stove, and admittedly, I had one too–but then you had to turn on the STOVE to heat it up. This baby from Hamilton Beach solves that problem, and boils water faster than Superman can by looking at it. Boils and then cuts off, and cuts off if you pick it up off the heating element. Clean it once or twice a week by filling it halfway with water, halfway with plain white vinegar, boil, and let it sit for an hour or more to clean. Rinse it real good, and you’re ready to go. I love this kettle.
One more gadget–my electric indoor grill. Also a wedding present in 1996, it’s ceramic base tends to crack, and you can’t adjust the temp, but it works great for grilling. There is a heating element in it that’s similar to one on the stove, but bigger. And you just clean it and put it away. I have it on my big shelf. . .and when I think about it, I dust it off and use it. But I forget about it most days.
I love my kitchen stuff. In a small condo. Nevermind the books.
Well, that’s it for tonight. I’ve got to concentrate on healing and getting rid of whatever bug I managed to pick up this week. I’ll be missing a religious activity tomorrow, because I just don’t want to make babies, children and elderly Japanese ladies sick. Hopefully I’ll be writing another post soon.
Happy cooking!
Greetings, Dear Readers:
Once again, I have been OBE (overcome by events) and not had much to write about. I think winter may be over here in Houston, darnit. But earlier this evening, I was prowling on Amazon, Half.com and eBay looking for something (never found it.) I also was on Suzanne Somers’ website, because I need to get more Somersweet. I glanced at her section on Cooks Tools, and when I looked at the hand mixer and ice shaver, two words came to mind.
Suzy Homemaker.
For those who are not old enough to remember Suzy Homemaker, it was a line of toys produced back in the 1960s and early 1970s, back when women were still considered primarily homemakers. (There was eventually a doll with the same name, second in popularity only to Barbie. Source: Wikipedia.) These were working appliances–mixers, blenders, irons, and other everyday domestic appliances–adapted for a kid’s use with adult supervision. I myself had both these items:
And, yes, I used them, along with the iron, when I started sewing. It was the early 70’s. We hadn’t yet been told to take off those aprons (and get splattered with tomato sauce) and be free from our domesticity.
OK, I’ve benefitted in some ways from said “liberation,” as we all have. But bear with me on this one.
Eventually it happened, and women began to shun the finer points of homemaking. Toys of this sort fell out of favor, although were still produced in different forms.
I also had one of these in yellow, which I used with great joy to make itty-bitty cakes (until Mom stopped buying the itty-bitty mix boxes; we didn’t have Amazon.com back then):
Light bulb technology. Worked like a charm. Just make sure you watch it, because there was no timer on these.
Remember, domesticity, we were told, was bad for us girls. REALLY? Guess what? The Easy-Bake Oven is still made by Hasbro, and marketed as the Easy Bake Oven For Girls. That’s what it says on the home page. You can also buy the mixes and accessories on their site as well as Amazon.com.
What I really wanted (but never got) was this one:
Oh, the things I could have whipped up with this bad boy! I was the oldest of four, with two bruiser brothers and a fussy baby sister–I could have cooked for all four of us! But no, I had to stick with what I had. Still, I did OK. Kept me out of Mom’s hair for a while. And, eventually, I started cooking on the regular stove in the kitchen, much to Mom’s chagrin.
I dreamed of one day having the entire collection of Suzy Homemaker appliances. A fully functional kitchen. In my room. Basically, I wanted my own apartment.
These images are from current sales on eBay. If you look on some of the listings, you’ll see how much these now-antique items are going for–YEOW. A lot more than they sold for new. Many of them also work–but it won’t replace your KitchenAid stand mixer, OK?
In addition to what I’ve shown here, there was also a dishwasher. If I remember correctly, there was an entire kitchen assembly, similar to what you might see as a freestanding kitchen in IKEA. (IKEA actually carries three kid versions, too–you can see one here.)
Are you starting to get where I’m going with this? Keep reading. . . .
The term “Suzy Homemaker” eventually became a feminist insult to be thrown at women who did the domestic/child raising thing, but women still did it despite all that. So how did all those “Suzy Homemaker” generation women and girls turn out?
Take a look at the great mixing bowl you can get from the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy’s. That color is, reportedly, Martha’s favorite, and figures into quite a lot of her collection (as well as packaging and labels) at Macy’s, Kmart, Staples, Michael’s and other stores that carry the Martha name. Heck, it even backs up her website.
It’s the same color as the Easy-Bake Oven and the Suzy Homemaker stove. Are you still wondering?
Today we not only have the Food Network, and it’s digital cable child, Cooking Channel, we have a million websites devoted, in one way or another, to cooking. In addition to very modern home diva Martha Stewart, there is the gorgeous Nigella Lawson, whose book How to be a Domestic Goddess was a best seller, as were others–with good food in them. There’s the movie-star-lookalike Giada de Laurentiis, who also writes cookbooks with easy Italian food. The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, whose cookbooks have tried-and-true recipes that really are foolproof. There are many others, like Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, Rachael Ray, Tyler Florence, as well as others you may not have heard of, like Rose Levy Berenbaum and Barbara Kafka.
And then there’s me, who cooks out of every one of them and loves to eat, as well as write about all this stuff.
Sure, men cook too, and very well–but after all that fuss about cutting the apron strings, we’ve come around again. Fifty years after Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique was published, launching the second wave of feminism, more women love to hang out in the kitchen again, want the best appliances and cooking tools, buy cookbooks and use them (as well as apps for recipes and videos for technique) and enjoy cooking delicious and healthy meals for their families, as well as have fabulous meals for holidays.
I really can cook, despite what my brother says. Honest.
We’re more sophisticated now–we buy sugar snap peas, free-range chickens and eggs, grass-fed beef, almond milk, agave syrup, and other things our mothers and grandmothers didn’t have. Stores like Target, Wal-Mart, Bed, Bath and Beyond (never mind the myriad of websites) are filled to the rafters with not only sophisticated cooking tools, but endless amounts of home decor for discriminating decorators.
I myself own five French press coffee pots of varying sizes. Long story.
Homemaking is still an art, however you enjoy it, whether you’re a man or a woman, wherever you live.
And hey–men join them in the kitchen to cook, help out or do the washing up. They have their own decorating styles, from the minimalist to the sophisticated “man-cave.” There is now equality in the kitchen, with like-minded spouses. We are again getting suited up, booted up, and into that kitchen to cook–with aprons, people!
There are also a number of blogs called “Suzy Homemaker,” too. Take your pick.
For your entertainment, I found an original Suzy Homemaker video on YouTube. Check it out for some antique marketing. Here’s another, and another. (I really wanted that ice maker thing, too, so I could make snowballs at home for the fam.) Here is a longer one introducing new colors. . .circa 1971.
OMG–I was just a little bitty kitty!
Suzy Homemaker is still around. She never really left. She’s just been waiting to make a comeback. And, she has, finally.
Long live Suzy Homemaker!
Enjoy!
