Colossal Cookbook

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% | The | symbol is used as a REM statment. That is a Statement that will not | appear when you view a file but is none-the-less there. You use it to | leave notes for yourself, descriptions of how your information is set | up. Or as spacers between segments. Remember in the viewed file these | Lines will not appear. | | The Rule to useing the | symbol is that it must appear either in the lines | second from the top to the line before a Record Heading. Or the lines above | a Record heading. | `Use a Bamboo Steamer Place the steamer basket over a wok containing water, making sure no water reaches up to the bottom slats. Bring the water to a boil. Place food on the bottom slats of the basket. Cover, steam and serve immediately. To Clean & Sterilize: --------------------- Simply rinse to clean -- self-sterilizes with each use. To sterilize your steamer for its first use simply set the empty steamer over a wok of boiling water, cover and wait 2 minutes ~ `Baste Spoon liquid over cooking food to add moisture and flavor, or use baster. ~ `Blanch Almonds The flavor and crisp texture of nuts are best maintained when the nuts are allowed to remain in water the shortest possible time during blanching. Therefore blanch only about 1/2 cup at a time, repeat process as many times as necessary for larger amounts. Bring to a rapid boil enough water to cover the shelled nuts. Drop nuts into water. Turn off heat and allow nuts to remain in water about 1 minute. Drain or removed with slotted spoon or fork. Place between folds of absorbent paper, pat dry. Squeeze nuts between thumb and fingers to remove skins, or peel. Place on dry absorbent paper, to dry thoroughly, shift frequently to dry spots on paper. ~ `Get Help BUTTERBALL TURKEY HOTLINE ------------------------- 800-323-4848 open 6am to 6pm (unfortunately, time zone not specified) Monday through Fridaya through Nov 23; 6am to 4pm Nov 19 & 20; 4am to 4pm Thanksgiving Day; 6am to 4pm Monday through Friday Nov 25 to Dec 23. You can also request the 1988 Butterball Turkey Talk-Line recipe booklet (free) when you call. MEAT & POULTRY HOTLINE (US. Dept. of Agriculture) ------------------------------------------------- 800-535-4555 6am to 2pm (no time zone given) Monday through Friday through Nov. 30; 6am to 2pm Nov 19 and 20; 5 to 11am Thanksgiving Day; 7am to 1pm Monday through Friday year round. FLEISCHMANN'S YEAST TOLL-FREE BAKERS' HELPLINE ---------------------------------------------- 800-227-6202 For questions about baking with yeast (including RapidRise yeast). 7am to 6pm (again, no time zone) Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. NESTLE ------ 800-637-8537 For questions on baking or problems with using chocolate or if you need information on any Nestle or Toll House baking products. 6am to 2pm (sure wish they would include the time zone) Monday through Thursday; 6am to 12:30pm Friday. SWEET 'N LOW DIABETIC HOTLINE ----------------------------- 800-231-1123 November only! Advice on making tradidional recipes suitable for a diabetic diet. 6am to 2pm (time zone unknown) Monday through Friday. 17 (of 173) MARIA D Nov. 17, 1988 at 14:15 (143 characters) ~ `Prepare Sausages Cut the meat into cubes and grind; using the fine knife of the meat grinder. Sprinkle the seasonings over the ground meat and mix well. Remove the cutting blade from the grinder and attach the sausage stuffer. Using a yard of casing at a time; work all but a few inches of casing onto the sausage stuffer. Tie a knot at the end of the casing. Refeed the meat through the grinder and into the casing. Twist into links. NOTE: This sausage should be kept refrigerated since it is perishable. Taken from: The New York Times Cook Book ~ `Prepare Sausage Casings Sausage casings; available in pork stores in metropolitan areas; are normally preserved in salt. When ready to use; put them in a basin of cold water and let stand about 30 minutes. Drain and return to basin of cold water. To determine if the casings have holes in them; fill with water and examine for leaks. Discard sections with holes and use the partial casing. Taken from: Craig Claiborne's Southern Cooking ~ `Prepare Fresh Pumpkin A couple more helpful hints on using fresh pumpkin. I always buy a couple of pumpkins for Halloween, and after they've served as centerpieces I cook them and can the cooked pumpkin for use in Thanksgiving and Christmas pies. You can cook the pumpkin in a large (6 quart) pressure cooker, which does away with a lot of the "get the water out" routine at the end. Put the rack in the pressure cooker, put the (unpeeled) pieces of pumpkin in, and cook at 15 pounds pressure for about 10 minutes (using 1-1/2 cups water). Then when the cooking is finished, reduce the pressure in the cooker, remove the pumpkin, and let it cool slightly. The skin should come off quite easily. Take the slightly-cooled, peeled pieces, and run them through a food mill (one of those hand-cranked jobs) to puree. You don't even *have* to peel the pieces if you use a food mill, since the mill will remove *most* of the peel. If you're picky about a little pumpkin skin in the puree, then take the peel off ahead of time. If you're not going to be using the pumpkin immediately, you can freeze or can it for later use. I have never frozen it,since I don't own one of those big freezers. To can, heat the pumpkin puree to boiling and then ladle it into hot, sterilized jars and put the lids on. If you're planning on long term storage of canned pumpkin, you will have to put the jars in a pressure canner. I never keep it that long, so I let the jars cool on a rack and then store them in the refrigerator. An unopened jar stored that way will be fresh for Christmas, but I wouldn't keep it beyond that. Using the food mill has the advantage of taking most of the strings out. I'll bet you could use a blender to puree the pumpkin too. The difference in taste between fresh and "store bought" pumpkin puree is worth the work, in my opinion. 28 (of 173) THE FOX Nov. 19, 1988 at 6:21 (665 characters) ~ `Melt Baking Chocolate 1. Double boiler: Break up chocolate and place in top of double boiler. Place over pan with 1 inch simmering water. Stir constantly until melted. For small amounts place chocolate in small container in pan or hot water (1/2 inch deep) on low heat. 2. Direct heat: Use heavy saucepan on very low heat stirring constantly. Remove from heat immediately after melting. 3. Oven melting: Place chocolate in small container. Preheat oven then turn off heat. Check frequently while chocolate is melting. 4. Microwave: Place chocolate in glass container. Melt on high. Time varies from 1 to 3 minutes with amount of chocolate used. IMPORTANT: If heat is too high, chocolate will burn or stiffen rather than melting smoothly. Chocolate may be removed from heat before it is completely melted as it will continue to melt with retained heat. Do not mix small amounts of liquid with chocolate while melting or it will stiffen. Taken from a Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate bar wrapper ~ `Sour MIlk Cold sweet milk added to 1T vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup fill to 1c line, stir. Or use BUTTERMILK. ~ `Season Cast Iron Cookware SEASONING: The first step is to remove the pre-seasoning coat applied at the factory. Start by scouring all surfaces with steel wool soap pads and hot water, then rinsing. Repeat until factory coating has been removed, then dry the cookware thoroughly. Begin your own seasoning immediately, since iron will rust if left uncoated. Using unsalted vegetable oil or shortening, coat the inside and outside of the cookware and the cover, if it has one. Next place the cookware upside down over a flat pan or aluminum foil in a 250-degree oven and leave it there for two or three hours. Wipe out the inside of the cookware or its cover with a paper towel and re-oil several times during the heating. After it cools, the cookware is ready for use. CARE: To keep your cookware seasoned, prevent rust and help keep food from sticking, use only a mild soap or dishwashing liquid to clean between uses. NEVER PUT CAST IRON COOKWARE IN THE DISHWASHER!! Towel dry cookware after each washing, or reheat for a few minutes on the stove to remove any moisture. Many cooks lightly oil or grease their cast iron cookware both after cleaning and before cooking to help keep it seasoned evenly. Store cookware and covers seperately. RE-SEASONING: Rust, discolored food or metallic taste may be signs that your cookware may need re-seasoning. The process starts with a good scouring with steel wool to remove any rust. Then hand wash the cookware with hot water and mild soap, dry immediately and oil. Repeat the final oven heating process, described above, and use and store as recommended. COOKING: Once seasoned, your cast iron cookware is ready to use. But what you chose for your first few meals can make a difference. Avoid vegetables, stews, and other foods with a high moisture content at first, chooing instead foods with a lot of fat and grease, such as bacon. This will continue the seasoning process you have already started. Whatever you cook, you should expect the cookware to get darker with use. A favorite pot or pan may become completely black after many years, showing that the cookware has been well used and well seasoned. From: Dave Hart ~ `To Time a Turkey PJ's Mom's Never Fail Turkey Timing: Weight Oven Cooking time Unstuffed Temp <min/lb> -------------------------------------------- 6-9 lb 450 16 min/lb 10-14 450 13.5 min/lb 15-18 450 10 min/lb 19-24 450 8.5 min/lb So you just multiply the total weight of your turkey times the cooking time per pound that is appropriate, and that's your total cooking time. Wrap totally in heavy duty aluminum foil to cook, opening up for the last half an hour to brown. You don't really even need to baste this bird, cuz it stays wonderfully moist within the foil. Stuff with your favorite and go <grin>. Honest, Maria, this works like a charm. My first turkey was panic city, with 8 coming over for dinner I was on the phone every 1/2 hour with mom! Since then it's worked every time! 19 (of 173) TOM PETACCIA Nov. 18, 1988 at 8:43 (283 characters) ~ `Dry Herbs in a Microwave Use your microwave to dry herbs..... 1. Wash and pat dry herbs. Remove leaves from stems and measure 1 1/2 to 2 cups of leaves. 2. Evenly spread leaves on a double thickness of paper towel. Microwave on high (100%) for 4-6 minutes. Stir several times during drying. 3. When properly dried, herbs will be brittle and will rattle when stirred Store in an air tight container in a cool dry place. From: Carolyn Velasquez ~ `Clean Cutting Boards There has been quite a few messages about cutting boards and bacteria. Well my dad was a butcher for 40 years and I cant think of any cutting board that is more subject to germs and bacteria than a butchers block. Keeping it clean was simple, at the end of the day I would scrape it down with a stiff wire brush, sweep off the scrapings and sprinkle it with course salt. Small cutting boards I use at home I just wipe with a damp cloth and sprinkle with salt. From: Frank Damiano ~ `MAKE A ROUX About the best overview to making roux is in Paul Prudhomme's first cookbook, "Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen". It is complete with pictures to help you gauge the desired color of the completed roux. One important thing Chef Paul mentions that Socorito does not is a safety warning. The early butter/flour mixture is VERY hot. Chef Paul calls it "Cajun Napalm", and having been hit with a roux, I have to agree. It you are not VERY careful while whisking the roux, you will be splashed. And you will be burned. The roux will stick, and leave a nasty painful burn. So - BE REAL CAREFUL or you might be a sadder but wiser cook! Some more comments. A basic butter/flour/milk roux is apt to be pretty bland, so something is usually done to it. That is why a roux is considered the base to most sauces. If you are serving a delicate food, the roux is cooked gently and just long enough to lose its raw flour taste before adding the milk. It should have a very light color. With more assertive foods, the roux is allowed to cook longer before the milk is added, darkening and becoming richer in taste. In some cases, the roux is allowed to turn black before the milk is added. Chef Pauls says this is good for gumbo. The important thing here is to not let the roux burn, as that off taste is even more offensive than the taste of raw flour. In some cases oils other than butter are used. When cooking meat, game, or fowl the drippings can be used. An especially good breakfast is pan fried quail, home made biscuits, and a roux/cream gravy made with the pan drippings of the quail! (A similar breakfast can be made with ham... but I prefer the quail breakfast.) ~ `MAKE A QUICK ROUX Place the flour in a large plastic bowl that is easy to handle. Place the oil in a large heavy skillet over very high heat. Once it has begun to smoke heavily, whisk in a little four-you must use a whisk for this method, because a spoon will not break up the lumps fast enough. The flour will begin to brown immediately. Continue to add flour. The idea is to control the temperature of the oil, and therefore the darkness to which the flour cooks as it hits the oil, with the rate at which the flour is added: The faster you add the flour, the less the flour will cook. So for a peanut-butter-colored roux you'll be adding the flour a lot faster than for a dark roux. Once the roux has reached the desired color-using this method, any color will take only about 10 minutes-remove it from the heat and cool by stirring every few minutes. CAUTION: Paul Prudhomme describes cooked roux as "Cajun napalm," because it is extremely hot and sticks to your skin; so be *EXTREMELY* careful to avoid splashing it on you; it's best to use a long-handled metal whisk. One other tip, for cooling, you can stir in the vegetables after you have removed the roux from the heat, and continue stirring until it stops getting darker. Also, if black specks appear in the roux as it cooks, it has burned; discard it (place it in a heatproof container to cool before discarding), then start the roux over again - c'est la vie! Alex Patout From: Fred Towner Of 134/8 ~ `MAKE A MICROWAVE ROUX Place the oil in a large microwave-proof bowl. Place it in a microwave oven set on high for about 10 minutes - until a bit of flour dropped in sizzles. Stir in the flour and continue to microwave at medium setting, stirring every 3-4 minutes. Peanut-butter-colored roux will take 20-30 minutes, medium 40-50 minutes, dark 60-70 minutes. Note: it is very important to use the largest bowl your microwave will hold, because the roux will rise as it microwaves until the flour has reached its cooking temperature. I've never used either of these methods, and as you can see, at least as far as the microwave version is concerned, there appears to be no real shortcuts. Still, there is no substitute for a properly made roux. You can substitute a vegetable oil or shortening for the animal fat or lard, but the taste is not nearly as good. I've come to the sad conclusion that Cajun cooking is not for the weight conscious or the cholesterol wary! <sigh> Alex Patout From: Fred Towner Of 134/8 ~ `Give a Wine Tasting Use uniform size clear glasses. Clear, to see the color of the wine, stemmed goblets or tulip-shaped with a 6-8 ounce capacity. For older full- bodied red wines, glasses should be even larger to fully enjoy the bouquet. Ideally there should be a different glass for each wine but that is often impractical. Guests can make do with less glassware simply by rinsing their glasses after each pour. Remember, the idea is not to get intoxicated. You don't have to spit out the wine after tasting each glass but don't drink too much. It can dull the tastebuds. It's best not to taste more than a dozen wines at a time. Large tastings are tiring and confusing. Arrange the wines in order to be tasted. Always taste from dry to sweet; youngest wines before old; reds from the lightest to the heaviest. Serve baskets of french bread or unsalted crackers and generous carafes of water. Never serve cheese during the tasting. It is a superb accompaniment to wine but may overpower or mask deficiencies in the wine. Needles to remind, "NO SMOKING ALLOWED!" Written by JEAN BURGGREN ~ `Save an Aluminum Pot I have a heavy gage 12 inch aluminum saute fry pan that was left in dish water over night. Next day it was black. After scrubbing with steel wool pads for 1 hour I was about to give up on it. Then I got a Idea!!!! When you cook any kind of tomato sauce in a aluminum pot the pot always shines. So I mixed 1/2 ketchup with 1/2 water some hot cayen pepper sauce and poured into the fry pan. Brought it to the boil covered it and let simmer for 20 Min. threw out the mixture. and lightly scrubbed with steel wool pad. And it shines again. <Frank> ~ `Grow Sprouts To save you some time and some steps, you might try the method we use. Take a section of plastic screen meant for a screen door. You can buy a 6" square of it for about a nickle at a hardware store. Lay the screw-on portion of a 1 quart mason jar lid on the screen and cut around it so that you have a circle of screen about the size of the outside of the lid. Put your seeds to be sprouted into a clean 1 qt. mason jar, put the screen over the mouth of the jar, and screw on the lid. Voila! An instant sprouting jar that will last for many, many years and hundreds of pounds of sprouts. You need only to run fresh water into the jar, through the screen, "swizzle" the sprouts around to wash them, and then turn it upside to drain. After it's drained considerably (you never get all of the water out), we turn it over in a small bowl so that the jar is tilted and only a part of the lid contacts the base of the bowl to allow air to get in through the screen. We place this in a brown paper bag which we loosely roll at the top (sprouts like darkness) and place it on top of the refrigerator (sprouts like warm places, too). We've had our original sprouting jar for 10 years and have only had to replace the screen once. From: Danny Scriven ~ `Make Herb Vinegars they are basically white vinegar steeped with the herbs of your choice. probably the most common one is tarragon vinegar, but most any herb will impart its flavor to vinegar. you use them anywhere you would use regular vinegar, except when making pickles. usually they are used in salad dressings. we have hot pepper vinegar, we use it for soups. tarragon vinegar, basil vinegar, and cranberry/spice vinegar in the refrigerator on a regular basis. did I leave anything out, Ted, other than the recipe? I'll see if I can dig up a proportion list for you. basically, I bring the vinegar to a boil and simmer the herbs of my choice for 10-15 minutes. I let it cool, strain, then add a fresh sprig of whatever herb I used when I bottle it. for freshness, I store it in the frig. From: Socorrito Baez-Page ~ `TOAST NUTS IN THE MICROWAVE Place 1/2 cup of the desired nuts in a 2-cup measure.Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power about 3 minutes or till toasted, stirring frequently. From: Rich Harper ~ `BLANCH ALMONDS IN THE MICROWAVE In a small nonmetal bowl, micro-cook 1 c water, uncovered,on 100% power for 2 to 3 minutes or till boiling. Add 1/2 c Almonds to water. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power for 1 1/2 minutes. Drain, rinse almonds with cold water. Slip off skins. From: Rich Harper ~ `TOAST COCONUT IN THE MICROWAVE Place flaked or shredded coconut in a 1-cup measure. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power till light brown, stirring every 20 seconds. Allow 1 to 1 1/2 minutes for 1/4 cup and 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for 1/2 cup coconut. From: Rich Harper ~ `WARM ICE CREAM TOPPERS IN THE MICROWAVE Spoon topping into a custard cup or 1-cup measure. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power till warm, allowing about 15 seconds for 2 Tablespoons, about 25 seconds for 1/4 cup, or about 45 seconds for 1/2 cup of topping. From: Rich Harper ~ `SOFTEN ICE CREAM IN THE MICROWAVE Micro-cook 1 pint solidly frozen ice cream, uncovered, on 100% power about 15 seconds or till soft enough to serve. From: Rich Harper ~ `PLUMP DRIED FRUIT IN THE MICROWAVE In a 2-cup measure micro-cook 1 cup water, uncovered on 100% power for 2 to 3 minuted or till boiling. Stir in 2/2 cup desired dried fruit. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. From: Rich Harper ~ `SOFTEN BUTTER OR MARGARINE IN THE MICROWAVE Unwrap butter or margarine and place in a small nonmetal dish. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 10% power, allowing about 30 seconds for 2 T or 50 seconds to 1 minute for 1/4 c of butter. From: Rich Harper ~ `MELT BUTTER OR MARGARINE IN THE MICROWAVE Unwrap butter or margarine and place in a 1-cup measure or custard cup. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power allowing 25 to 30 seconds for 2 T or about 40 seconds for 1/4 cup butter or margarine. From: Rich Harper ~ `SOFTEN CREAM CHEESE IN THE MICROWAVE Unwrap on 3-ounce package cream cheese and place in a small nonmetal bowl. Micro-cook, uncovered on 30% power about 1 minute or till soft. From: Rich Harper ~ `MELT CHOCOLATE SQUARES IN THE MICROWAVE Unwrap chocolate and place in a small non metal bowl or custard cup. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power till melted, stirring once. Allow 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 for one 1-ounce square or 1 3/4 to 2 minutes for 52o 1-ounce squares of chocolate. From: Rich Harper ~ `MELT CHOCOLATE PIECES IN THE MICROWAVE In a glass measure or custard cup micro-cook chocolate pieces, uncovered, on 100% power till melted, stirring once. Allow 1 to 1 1/2 minutes for 3 ozs or 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for a 6-ounce package. From: Rich Harper ~ `MELT CONFECTIONER'S COATING IN THE MICROWAVE In a small non metal bowl or custard cup, micro-cook confectioner's coating, uncovered, on 100% power till melted, stirring once. Allow 1 to 1 1/4 minutes for one 2-ounce square or about 1 1/2 minutes for two 2-ounce squares confectioner's coating. From: Rich Harper ~ `MELT CARMELS IN THE MICROWAVE Unwrap carmels and place in a glass measure. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power stirring once. Allow 45 seconds to 1 minute for 14 carmels (about 1/2 cup) or 1 to 1 1/2 minutes for 28 carmels (about 1 cup). From: Rich Harper ~ `FLAME LIQUEUR IN THE MICROWAVE Place 2 T of desired liqueur (at least 80 proof) in a 1 cup measure. Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% power for 20 seconds, ignite and pour over desired food. From: Rich Harper ~ `PEEL TOMATOES IN THE MICROWAVE In a 2-cup measure micro-cook 1 cup water, uncovered, on 100% power for 2 to 3 minutes or till boiling. Spear 1 tomato with a long tined fork. Submerge into hot water; hold about 12 seconds. Place tomato under cold running water, slip off skin. From: Rich Harper ~ `PEEL PEACHES IN THE MICROWAVE In a 2-cup measure micro-cook 1 cup water, uncovered, on 100% power for 2 to 3 minutes or till boiling. Spear 1 peach with a long tined fork. Under hot water; hold about 12 seconds. Place peach under cold running water, slip off skin. From: Rich Harper ~ `MAKE SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK 1 c. instant non-fat dry milk 2/3 c. white granulated sugar 1/3 c. boiling water 3 Tb. softened butter Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Refrigerate until chilled and slightly thickened. Makes 1 1/4 cups (about the same as the amount in one can).) From Gigi Mcgrath to All 06-Dec-8 ~ `Clean Ceramic Sharpeners... Someone (I can't recall who...) asked for tips on cleaning the ceramic rods used to keep a keen edge on a knife... The best method I've found is to wrap a piece of emery cloth around it, and give it a couple of strokes. Then rinse it very well under running water. This doesn't restore the new appearance, but gets it back to cutting like it should. From Joe Thibault to All 10-Dec-8 ~ `Clean Crabs It is a cleaning process. You take the live crabs and place them in a tub full of clean tap water with table salt added to make a brine solution. Not too strong. The crabs swim around in it and mainly begin forcing the water over their gills. It helps clean silt and other junk out of the crabs before cooking. One nice thing to remember. Once you boil the crabs, never ever place the cooked critters back in the dirty hamper or tub that you took them from when they were alive. It is a real quick way to come down with a case of Cholora. Proper cooking and placing the seafood in a clean serving container removes any chance of getting sick. Glen From Glen Strecker to John Hartman 06-Dec-8 ~ `Make Fluffy Scrambled Eggs adding in salt, pepper, and half-and-half (perhaps a quarter cup half & half to 4 eggs, or to suit yourself). Get the skillet good and hot, and use your favorite fat in the bottom of it. It doesn't take too much, a tablespoon or two, depending on the size of the skillet. Enough so the skillet is well coated. Add the eggs all at once to the hot skillet, lifting and turning as the eggs harden on the bottom of the skillet. It helps to use a larger skillet when cooking more eggs. The trick is to keep the cooking time short. I've never timed it, but I would guess it would be around 1.5 minutes. Take the eggs from the skillet as soon as they are no longer wet. I've found that when the temperature is too low, and the eggs take too long to cook, that fluid cooks out of them leaving them dry. Also, they tend to break up then into smaller clumps. Happy eating! From Judy Haight to Heidi Waldmann 20-Nov-89 19:36 ~ `TO CARE FOR YOUR CUTTING BOARD The best way to take care of an unfinished cutting board is to oil it. First clean your board. If it is scratched and scored, use a fine grade of sandpaper to smooth it out. Then take a cup or so of a household cooking oil (with preservatives is best for reasons I'll mention later). Heat the oil until it is hot. Not so hot that it will hurt you to put your hand in it, just hot enough that you'd be uncomfortable. Dip a cloth in the oil and rub it onto the cutting board. Keep the wood pretty well moistened for about 10 minutes. Some, perhaps a lot, of the oil will be absorbed by the wood. After about 10 minutes or so, wipe the excess oil off the board. Now then, what about that crack in your board? Oiling the board would have helped to prevent it. I won't say that it would have prevented it, as at times it seems that some wood is just going to crack and that's all there is to it. But now that it's in the wood, there's not much that can be done about it. Is the crack a problem? Maybe yes, maybe no. If the crack is clearly visible, it is of course an aesthetic problem, and may make you want to discard the board. In a less obvious location the problem may be a health question. Irregularities in the board's surface tend to trap food juices and particles. This aids the growth of germs and other unpleasantness. How bad this is dependant on the food on the board and how long the food is on the cutting board. A juicy roast beef is more of a problem than bread. Some people also wash their boards with a bleach soloution, which is a good idea. Now then, what about those preservatives? When a cup of oil is spread over a board it has a much greater surface area than when it is minding it's own business in a bottle. This helps the oil breakdown and become rancid, as a lot of this breakdown is dependent upon contact with air. A preserved oil will last a lot longer than one that is not. Hope this clears up some problems. From Mike Avery to Betty Kington 07-Dec-8 ~ `Bake Gingerbread in the shape of cylinders gingerbread sculpture Hi all! I decided to get creative this year with the gingerbread and not make your standard house - I'm attempting a "popped up" jack-in-the-box. Should turn out cute, now that I've found a solution to the biggest problem: how do you get gingerbread to bake into cylinders (for drum shapes, or toy-soldier torso's, etc)? Well, a simple answer - use empty tomato paste cans, or other cans. I took my standard dough, rolled it out thin, cut out a very long rectangle to fit the can, and carefully rolled it around the outside of the can (& sealed the seam). I was afraid, at first, that it'd melt and pool around the bottom of the can (I baked the cans upright), but they turned out great. Watch out, though, for the bigger cans (anything larger than 4-5" across); bake the dough a little longer than normal so it comes out crispier the first time. I attempted to re-bake a large cylinder off the can and it looked like a melted candle. The canless re-baking did work with the 2" cylinder, though. Once they're baked, cool and slide them gently off the can (use a tall glass on the inside of the bigger cans and apply even pressure downward on the sides until it comes off. Sort of the way you get the frozen Sarah Lee cheesecakes out of the containers, except you have to support the gingerbread). Can't wait to assemble the whole thing...and then decorate! BTW, for those of you still using the icing-sugar glue to cement the pieces, try melting some sugar in a pan (be VERY careful!) and dip the edge to be glued into it. QUICKLY stick it against the matching piece and hold for a couple of seconds. It should hold the seam so well that the gingerbread will break before *it* does. This method is also considerably quicker, too, and you'll get no sliding roof or chimney pieces! Julie From Julie Fountain to All 10-Dec-8 ~ `To make semi transparent windows in Gingerbread Houses more gingerbread tips I just remembered, too, how to get semi-transparent windows in your constructions. Finely crush some hard candies (lemon or orange work well, and I suppose the whitish peppermint ones would, too) and sprinkle them into the holes left for the windows when the dough is ready to go into the oven (use a non-stick cookie sheet or you may have trouble). The candy will melt and stick to the window frame. If a part of the window has a hole in it, just sprinkle some more candy into it and briefly re-bake. Be very careful to loosen the window before trying to take the piece off the baking sheet. Good luck! Julie From Julie Fountain to All 10-Dec-8 ~ `Proof bread Dough (with Electric Oven) Well, having an electric range, I don't have pilot lights. Havefound that if I soak the bowl in very hot water before putting the dough in,it acts like it was sitting over a pilot light. The crockery bowl stayswarm enough to feel warm for about 1/2 hour. From Rich Harper to Merrilyn Vaughan 17-Dec-89 ~ `Make Curd You know, curd is really easy to make, and it makes a nice substitute for meat or tofu. All you do is heat milk till it just begins to boil, then add caps of lemon juice and mix gently until it separates. (The curds should float and the whey will be clear.) Run through cheesecloth, and let dry for some hours under weight. This will stay in fridge a week. By itself, curd is not very tasty; but it can "absorb" spice flavors well. Indian cooking often uses curd for a curry base. The whey should be saved for soups. From Jonathan Kandell to All 18-Dec-8 ~ `Make Play Dough #1 From a book my wife has: 1/2 cup salt 3/4 cup warm water 2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour 1. Mix water and salt; let stand 5 minutes. Add flour all at once; stir until evenly moistened. 2. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead 7-9 minutes or until smooth, pliable ball is formed. Add flour as necessary during kneading to prevent sticking. Knead-in coloring if desired. 3. Store in plastic bag until ready to use. May be refrigerated 1 to 2 weeks. (To make a HARD form: Shape the dough; place on heavy cardboard which has been sprinkled with salt. Sprinkle pieces lightly with salt. Microwave at 1/3 power until just about dry, rotating cardboard once. Time = # of pieces plus 2 minutes. Cool/dry. Brush off salt; glaze, decorate and paint as desired.) The one she likes best though, is to combine one 16 oz. box of baking soda, 1 cup cornstarch, and approx. 1 cup of water (may need more water). Mix together; heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. It's done "when it's the consistency of mashed potatoes." Take the resulting "lump" out and let it cool on a sheet of wax paper covered with a wet cloth. When cool to touch, knead it, adding food color if desired. Done. The first one is good for decorations, but the last one is better for the old-fashioned playdough. From Bob Fiegel to Kelly Sullivan 22-Dec-8 ~ `Make Play Dough #2 1 C. salt 2 C. flour 1 TB Alum 1 C. boiling water Mix well. Add 2 TB baby oil and food coloring. Knead until smooth. Store in airtight containers. From Kathi Parvin to Kelly Sullivan 22-Dec-8 ~ `Raise Hogs Pointers on raising pork, OK... My own experience only, I am a financial manager, not a full time farmer. But I have raised some first rate tasty animals here, of several varieties. Pigs are heat and water sensitive. They do not have sweat glands like people, I try to keep a pond or at least a mud puddle for them to cool off in during hot weather. Of course that is somewhat rare here in Oregon. The rain does most of the cooling off that we need. They consume a lot of water, and a lick faucet is much better than an open container. An open container they will crawl into if possible. I feed mine commercial hog feeder most of the time, and finish on cracked corn. They will get out and under most any fence, I have had them get out under an electric fence I strung six inches above the ground to prevent them from rooting under the main fence. Squeeling all the time. I let half a dozen have about a half acre fenced yard for them selves. Commercial hog raisers try to confine them so that they do not waste any energy doing anything but putting on weight. I like to let them have more room, I think that it produces a better product, even if it is more expensive in feed. Profits are marginal to non existant, I got started as a means of consuming excess goat's milk when we were dairying. If you can locate a source of cheap or free food, then it can pay well. Contact the farmers in your area. Or restaurants or dairys. Other than that, watch for disease and worms, a little precaution goes a long way. One vet bill can kill a whole lot of profit. Most people either breed sows and sell pigletts, not raising them to market, or buy the piglets and raise them, leaving the breeding to others. Few do both. Keeping a boar means keeping several sows to pay for his feed, then you are in the breeding business big time. Due to the possibility of disease transmission, obtaing breeding service for your sow is difficult. Have fun, enjoy. Let me know how it turns out. From Jim Birken to Trude Duckworth 26-Dec-8 ~ `Make Tortillas Masa is a specially prepared corn before it is ground. It is processed in lye (or is it lime - too much celebration last night - hope your New Year is all you are hoping for). This changes both the consistency and texture of the corn. The quaker product is OK, but not ideal. When someone around here really wants fresh masa, they go to the "Green and White grocery" (a 60 year tradition in Austin - a small family owned grocery store) and buy fresh masa. Some people also go to the tortilla factories in town that make and sell their own masa. The purists (who aren't quite pure enough to make their own) feel that even day old masa is inferior. But better than corn meal. Corn meal may work, but it won't produce the same thing as masa, much as substituting whole wheat graham flour for white flour may work, but will produce a very different product. As to how to make tortillas, I tend to use the Quaker mixes. A friend raved about his wife's tortilla's and was going to get the recipe from her to give to me. However, his balloon was pretty well punctured when she told him she'd stopped making her own 10 years before, and when she made tortillas at all, she used the Quaker mixes. Mix the mix with water, as instructed. Knead the dough, as instructed. Then pull off a small piece of dough, roll it into a ball. Then put it between two pieces of waxed paper and either roll it with a rolling pin, mash it in a tortilla press, or both. Then drop it into a hot dry (ungreased) skillet. Turn it over after a few seconds. Remove from heat after a few more. And then enjoy the third best tortilla in the world. It is better if you make it from scratch, and better yet if a professional makes them. (A number of area restaurants make their own on premises. Often, you can watch them being made.) All this reminds me of a story. A co-worker went to Mexico. She and her husband went to a small restaurant, where they had the best tortillas she had ever had. Better than anything she had imagined being possible. She asked the waiter where they got their tortillas and was told the cook made them. At that point, she had to thank the cook. "No, really, there's no need!" she was told. But she would not be put off. Into the kitchen she went where she saw the fattest woman she had ever seen. The woman was sitting on the dirt floor. Surrounded by a mountain of flour and dough. With her skirt pulled up to the top of her thigh, and her thighs covered in flour. Rolling tortillas on her thighs. My co-worker paused. Her stomach started to rebel. And then she remembered that they were excellent tortillas and thanked the woman on the floor. I don't go into restaurant kitchens.... From Mike Avery to Gigi Mcgrath 01-Jan-9 ~ `Make Homemade Pasta This pasta works for me, but you can change the flour used. Semolina (Durham) is the best, but can be finicky. I use AP, or half AP, half whole wheat. Once you eat homemade, you will never eat store bought again. Pasta 2 cups flour 1 t salt 2 t olive oil 2 eggs 2 T water - Mix the first three ingredients, then beat in the eggs, (a food pro, or a mixmaster does this very easily). When well combined, add all of the water. Work until this becomes a dough ball, and then knead for two minutes, stretching out the dough, and folding it. Put in a plastic bag, and store in the frdige for at least a half an hour. Divide the dough into four pieces, and run through the machine, adding flour (this is a good place to work in some semolina) so that the dough is not sticky. After kneading on the widest setting for about 10/15 passes, reduce the size of the roller one step at a time until you reach the thinnest size. Put through the cutter of your choice, and dry on a rack or a line. Use fresh, or freeze unused portions. Easy, and quick and impresses the hell out of your guests! I sometimes add thyme, or oregano to my dough when mixing (about 2 t) and this adds nicely to the taste of the dough. MK ... From Beyond The Event Horizon From Mark Kaye to Donna Veno 18-Dec-8 ~ `Make Rendered Butter In order to remove the salt and cream from the butter, cook butter (one pound salt or sweet) in a deep saucepan on low heat for 30 minutes or until all foam disappears from the top. When butter is clear, turn off heat and let stand. Then remove any foam that still appears on top. Pour the pure butter into a measuring cup, being careful notto pour the residue. Butter should be warm and in a pourable state when being used for pastry and cookie recipes. ~ `MAKE -CREME FRAICHE There is a recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1 (p. 16 in my addition). 1 tsp commercial buttermilk 1 cup whipping creme Stir together, and heat to lukewarm (not excede 85 deg). Pour in loosely covered jar and let stand at not over 85 deg and not under 60 deg until thickened. (5-8 hrs on hot day, 24-36 if cool). Stir, cover and refrigerate Good eating (sorry, Bon appetit!) By the way, see next message from me on buttermilk. From John Guest to Richard Bash 06-Jan-9 ~ `ROAST AN EEL Take a large eel, and scour him well with salt. Skin him almost to the tail; then gut, and wash, and dry him; take a quarter of a pound of suet, shred as fine as possible; put to it sweet-herbs, an eschalot likewise, shred very fine, and mix it together with some salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg; scotch your eel on both sides, the breadth of a finger's distance, and wash it with yolks of eggs, and strew some seasoning over it, and stuff the belly with it; then draw the skin over it, put a long skewer thro' it, and tie it to the spit, baste it with butter, and make the sauce anchovy and butter melted. . . . . . . . . by the way, these recipes come from The Compleat Housewife by E. Smith, published in M.DCC.LIII by Ware, Birt, Longman, Hitch, Hodges, F. & F. Rivington, Ward, Johnston, and Cooper in London. A fascimile edition (which I found in a used bookstore) was put out in 1968 by T. J. Press, Ltd., London. ~ `MAKE A RYE-BREAD PUDDING Take half a pound of four [sour??] rye-bread grated, half a pound of beef-suet finely shred, half a pound of currants clean washed, half a pound of sugar, a whole nutmeg grated; mix all well together; with five or six eggs: butter a dish, boil it an hour and a quarter, and serve it up with melted butter. . . . . . . . . by the way, these recipes come from The Compleat Housewife by E. Smith, published in M.DCC.LIII by Ware, Birt, Longman, Hitch, Hodges, F. & F. Rivington, Ward, Johnston, and Cooper in London. A fascimile edition (which I found in a used bookstore) was put out in 1968 by T. J. Press, Ltd., London. ~ `MAKE A LUMBER PIE Parboil the umbles of a deer, clear all the fat from them, and put more than their weight in beef-suet, and shred it together very small; then put to it half a pound of sugar, and season with cloves, mace, nutmeg, and salt, to your taste; and put in a pint of sack, half as much claret, and two pounds of currants washed and picked; mix all well together, and bake it in puff or other pastry. . . . . . . . . by the way, these recipes come from The Compleat Housewife by E. Smith, published in M.DCC.LIII by Ware, Birt, Longman, Hitch, Hodges, F. & F. Rivington, Ward, Johnston, and Cooper in London. A fascimile edition (which I found in a used bookstore) was put out in 1968 by T. J. Press, Ltd., London. ~ `MAKE A SWEET BAG FOR LINEN Take of orrice roots, sweet calamus, cypress roots, of dried lemon-peel, and dried orange-peel; of each a pound; a peck of dried roses; make all these into a gross [probably large-grained, as groB is German for 'large'] powder; coriander seed four ounces, nutmegs an ounce and a half, an ounce of cloves; make all these into fine powder and mix with the other; add musk and ambergrease; then take four large handfuls of lavender-flowers dried and rubb'd; of sweet-marjoram, orange-leaves, and young walnut-leaves, of each a handful, all dried and rubb'd; mix all together, with some bits of cotton perfumed with essences, and put it up into silk bags to lay with your linen. . . . . . . . . by the way, these recipes come from The Compleat Housewife by E. Smith, published in M.DCC.LIII by Ware, Birt, Longman, Hitch, Hodges, F. & F. Rivington, Ward, Johnston, and Cooper in London. A fascimile edition (which I found in a used bookstore) was put out in 1968 by T. J. Press, Ltd., London. ~ `MAKE A CHESNUT PUDDING Take a dozen and half of chesnuts, put them in a skillet of water, and set them on the fire till they will blanch; then blanch them, and when cold put them in cold water, then stamp them in a mortar, with orange-flower water and sack till they are very small; mix them in two quarts of cream, and eighteen yolks of eggs, the whites of three or four; beat the eggs with sack, rose- water, and sugar, put it in a dish with puff-pasty; stick in some lumps of marrow or fresh butter, and bake it. . . . . . . . . by the way, these recipes come from The Compleat Housewife by E. Smith, published in M.DCC.LIII by Ware, Birt, Longman, Hitch, Hodges, F. & F. Rivington, Ward, Johnston, and Cooper in London. A fascimile edition (which I found in a used bookstore) was put out in 1968 by T. J. Press, Ltd., London. ~ `COLLAR BEEF Take a flank and cut the skin off, lay it in pump-water, with three handfuls of bay-salt and an ounce of salt-petre; let it lie in the brine three days; then take some pepper; two nutmegs, and a good handful of green sweet- marjoram, half a handful of sage, some rosemary and thyme, all green, with a good handful of parsley; chop the herbs small, then lay the beef on the table; cut the lean piece, and put in the thick fat part, strew it all over with the herbs and spice; roll it up as close as you can, tie it very well with tape bound about it; then put it into a long pot, and fill it up with the brine it was laid in, tie a wet paper over it, put it in an oven when your bread is drawn, let it stand all night; next day heat your oven hot, and let your beef stand four hours, then draw it out, and let it stand in the liquor till it is half cold, then take it out, and strain your tape and bind it up closer: you must put two middling handfuls of salt into the herbs when you roll it up besides the brine; the rosemary ought to be chopt fine by itself; and then with the rest of the herbs. . . . . . . . . by the way, these recipes come from The Compleat Housewife by E. Smith, published in M.DCC.LIII by Ware, Birt, Longman, Hitch, Hodges, F. & F. Rivington, Ward, Johnston, and Cooper in London. A fascimile edition (which I found in a used bookstore) was put out in 1968 by T. J. Press, Ltd., London. ~ `COOK A WHOLE DUCK (A few Chinese Tricks) Cooking a duck can be intimidating to home cooks. Unlike chicken, there's a layer of fat that can cause problems. When duck is simply roasted, it often cooks unevenly, leaving a lot of excess fat. In addition, much of the potentially delicious skin is discarded. Chinese cooks slove these problems by applying two or more cooking methods to melt away most of the fat while enchancing the flavor of the meat. As a bonus, this technique can produce duck skin that is succulently crisp. For example, a duck may be seasoned and hung overnight in a cool, airy place, then steamed, perhaps smoked, and finally fried to a golden brown. Or, a duck may be browned over high heat in a wok full of oil (which melts away some of the fat), drained, and finally simmered in a wine/soy/rock sugar sauce, which is reduced at the end of the cooking time to a syrupy glaze. Sometimes just the skin is stuffed with boned duck meat, which has been mixed with glutinous rice or barley, mushrooms, Chinese dates, lotus seeds and ham; then the whole thing is steamed. The famous Peking Duck, which many rank as one of the world's greatest dishes, begins by easing the skin away from the meat then pumping in air so the whole duck inflats like a balloon. The duck then is scalded in a honey-vinegar mixture and hung overnight to dry before being cooked. This dish is not a good choice for the home cook because the duck is best roasted suspended in a special clay-lined oven. The lacquered-looking ducks that hang in Chinese delicatessens, somethimes mistakenly thought to be Peking ducks, actually are Cantonese roast ducks. After basting the skins and hanging the ducks overnight, they are roasted to golden brown perfection -- a sauce of five-spices, star anise, wine and garlic simmering in their cavities. For not much more than the price of an uncooked duck, these, by the half or whole, make excellent take-out food. The method that follows for making Sichauan Crispy Skin Duck is typical of Chinese duck cookery. It requires a few steps over a couple of days, and two cooking procedures, but it's not difficult - although frying a whole duck in a wok full of oil may be a new experience. This is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle by Bruce Cost about the Chinese philosophy of cooking duck. From Stephen Ceideburg to All 01-Feb-90 ~ Directions for Marketting -------------------------- `Chuse Beef. If it be true ox-beef it will have an open grain, and the fat, if young, of a crumbling, or oily smoothness, except it be the brisket and neck pieces, with such others as are very fibrous. The colour of the lean should be of a pleasant carnation red, teh fat rather inclining to white than yellow, and the suet of a curious white. Cow-beef is of a closer grain, the fat whiter, the bones less, and the lean of a paler colour. If it be young and tender the dent you make with your finger by pressing it, will, in a little time, ri{se again. Bull-beef is of a more dusky red, a closer grain, and firmer than either of the former; harder to be indented with your finger, and rising again sooner. The fat is very gross and fibrous, and of a strong rank scent. If it be old it will be so very tough, that if you pinch it you will scarce make any impression in it. If it be fresh it will be of a lively fresh colour, but if stale of a dark dusky colour, and very clammy. If it be bruised, the part affected will look of a more dusky or blackish colour than the rest. from THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE or ACCOMPLISH'D GENTLEWOMAN'S COMPANION From Judy Haight to Craig Clemmons 01-Feb-9 ~ `Chuse Venison. Try the haunches, shoulders and fleshy parts of the sides with your knife, in the same manner as directed for ham <sorry, I'm too tired to type in everything! -- Judy>, and in proportion to the sweet or rank smell it is new or stale. With relation to the other parts, observe the colour of the meat; for if it be stale or tainted it will be of a black colour intermixed with yellowish or greenish specks. If it be old the flesh will be tough and hard, the fat contracted, the hoofs large and broad, and the heel horny and much worn. from THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE or ACCOMPLISH'D GENTLEWOMAN'S COMPANION From Judy Haight to Craig Clemmons 01-Feb-9 ~ `Pickle Oysters. Open your oysters, get the grit from them, and stew them in their own liquor in an earthen pipkin till they are tender; then take up the oysters, and cover them, that they may not be discoloured; then increase the liquor with as much more water, and let it boil till one third is consumed; then put your oysters into your pot or barrel, laying between the rows some whole pepper and spice, and a few bay-leaves; and when the pickle is cold, put it to your oysters, and keep them very close covered. from THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE or ACCOMPLISH'D GENTLEWOMAN'S COMPANION From Judy Haight to Craig Clemmons 01-Feb-9 ~ `Make Mushroom Liquor and Powder. Take a peck of mushrooms, wash and rub them clean with a piece of flannel, cutting out all the gills, but not peeling off the skins; put to them sixteen blades of mace, four cloves, six bayleaves, twice as much beaten pepper as will lie on a half crown, a handful of salt, a dozen onions, a piece of butter as big as an egg, and half a pint of vinegar; stew them up as fast as you can, keeping them stirring till the liquor is out of your mushrooms; drain them thro' a colander, save the liquor and spice, and when cold bottle it up for use; dry the mushrooms first on a broad pan in the oven, afterwards put them on sieves, till they are dry enough to pound to powder. This quantity usually makes about half a pound. from THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE or ACCOMPLISH'D GENTLEWOMAN'S COMPANION From Judy Haight to Craig Clemmons 01-Feb-9 ~ `Stew Pigeons with Asparagus. Draw your pigeons, and wrap up a little shred parsley, with a very few blades of thyme, some salt and pepper in a piece of butter; put some in the belly, some in the neck, and tie up the vent and the neck, and half roast them; then have some strong broth and gravy, put them together in a stew-pan; stew the pigeons till they are full enough; then have tops of asparagus boil'd tender, and put them in, and let them have a walm or two in the gravy, and dish it up. from THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE or ACCOMPLISH'D GENTLEWOMAN'S COMPANION From Judy Haight to Craig Clemmons 01-Feb-9 ~ `Stew Pigeons. Season eight pigeons with pepper and salt only; take a middling cabbage cut a-cross the middle, and lay the bottom with the thick pieces in the stew-pan; then lay on your pigeons, and cover 'em with the top of your cabbage; pour in a pint of red wine, and a pint of water; let it stew slowly an hour or more. Another. Stuff your pigeons with sweet herbs chopp'd small, some bacon minced small, grated bread, spice, butter, and yolk of egg; sew them up top and bottom, and stew them in strong broth, with half a pint of white wine to fix pigeons, and as much broth as will cover them well, with nutmeg, whole pepper, mace, salt, a little bundle of sweet herbs, a bit of lemon-peel, and an onion; when they are almost done, put in some artichoke bottoms ready boiled, and fried in brown butter, or asparagus-tops ready boiled, thicken up the liquor with the stuffing out of the pigeons, and a bit of butter roll'd in flour: take out the lemon-peel, bunch of herbs, and onion. Garnish the dish with sliced lemon, and very thin bits of bacon toasted before the fire. from THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE or ACCOMPLISH'D GENTLEWOMAN'S COMPANION From Judy Haight to Craig Clemmons 01-Feb-9 ~ % `Make Chicharron you parboil the skin and underlying fat to render the drainable oil, then you fry it at high temperature to make is lighter and crispier. exactly as appetizing as the chicken skin ones you brought up. you don't eat the chicharron as a large slab either, you break it up and snack on it or use it to add crunch and flavor to other recipes BTW, I thought we had decided not to pass judgement on other people's food preferences or tastes..... From Socorrito Baez-Page to Blanche Nonken 19-Mar-9 ~ `Replenish SourDough Starter The following excerpt is from JAKE O'SHAUGNESSEY'S SOURDOUGH BOOK: Replenising a starter - Once a starte is up and going, it should be kept in the refrigerator between uses. This will keep the wild yeast from growing too much and partially dying. Refrigeration helps eliminate this problem by slowing yeast growth. Each time a starter is used, what is taken out must be put back in the form of all-purpose flour and water. This provides the wild yeast in the starter with new nourishment and also insures that a starter is perpetuated so that you never run out of it. Putting flour and water into a sourdough pot after a like amount of starter has been taken out is called replenishing. If your starter is lumpy, the yeast will smooth it out again. A newly replenished starter is also very active. If left in a warm place, it will double in bulk and this is why a starter container of 1-qt capacity is recommended. Most recipes call for either 1 cup or 1 tbsp of starter. It is a good idea when removing any of these two amounts to stir the starter so gas bubbles are knocked out. This gives a more accurate measure. The removal of 1 cup of starter is replenished by adding 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water. This might seem as though it's too much, but when the two are mixed they equal about a cup. To replenish the removal of 1 Tbsp, discard all the remaining starter but 1 Tbsp. Mix this with 2 cups of flour and 1.5 cups warm water. Always remember, the Golden Rule of sourdough cookery : The amount of starter taken or discarded must be replaced with a like amount of flour and water. Nevertheless, even the most proficient sourdough cook forget this replenishing rule at one time or another. Should this happen to you , don't panic. A small amount of starter can go a long way. SWEETENING THE POT (New hope for feral starters) Discard all but 1 Tbsp of starter, saving it in a separate container. Wash out the sourdough crock, then fill with 2 cups flour, 1.5 cups warm water and the reserved 1 Tbsp of starter. Place in warm spot for 24 hours, and you should be back in business again. From: Chris Mccormack ~ `Grow and prepare Green Tomatoes We Oregonians can definitely relate! Here are some hints re: green tomatoes that come from one of the Master Gardeners at our County Extension Office. First of all, it is temperture, not sunlight (which of course helps to raise the temp.) that hastens the ripening of tomatoes. 68°F is the ideal. I'm not going to discuss coldframes, greenhouses or methods for "helping" tomatoes along whilst there on the vine, but will share what I have gleaned about those that have been plucked. The exception being what I thought was a great hint/tip/trick, and that is to surround the base of your tomatoe vines with applesauce, apple parings, or rotting apples! This will release ETHYLENE gas which is important in the ripening process...good for the soil, as well. The information I received is as follows: Pick all green tomatoes before the first frost, and ripen MATURE green tomatoes indoors. Mature green tomatoes are those that have begun to show even a "hint' of yellow and ones that, when cut open, reveal a gelatinous quality to the juice and have seeds that can easily be dislodged with a knife. Immature "greens" will Never ripen and are best eaten fresh. FT> Green tomatoes are a way of life, and every window sill FT> and spare nook and cranny in virtually every household in Calgary FT> is filled beyond sane capacity. Ripen mature greens indoors in a 55-75°F spot _Out_Of_Direct_Light_. They should sit flat, with the stem ends up. Put in a few whole or sliced apples to increase the ethylene gas levels, as well. _Do_Not_ put them in a windowsill to ripen...that just dehydrates them, says Ms. Patterson. She also recommended several varieties to plant which seem to do well in our type(s) of climate, and shared some hints on early planting and such. Since that topic teeters on the brink of being actual cooking, I'll not go into it here, but would be glad to drop the info to you netmail if you like. ~ `Prepare Cooter Cooter, in the South, has three meanings: It can be a small black colored bird that likes to float on the water. It also refers to a turtle, which is what I think you are refering to. The flesh does have a rather fishy taste. Southern gopher or softshell (other turtles) has an excellent flavor without any gamey taste if fixed properly. The third meaning is unmentionable in mixed company. Armadillo tastes similiar to pork. The flesh, if ground up into patties like hamburgers are not that bad... I don't talk a whole lot about my youth, it was a rather painful experiance. But, I was able to get through the first two years of my college education on turtle (which I caught) and rice... By the way, I ended up with a 3.75 grade average from Duke's School of Medicine when it was all over. You remove the shell by cutting it between the front and back legs (if you know where to slip the knife in at, it is rather easy) To fix the turtle make sure you remove all of the fat..it leaves a fishy/gamey flavor if you don't. Cut the feet off, their not worth your time or trouble to fix. The eggs have a fishy flavor no matter how you fix them. I don't really recommend them. Besides, when you boil them (no matter how long), they don't turn solid like chicken eggs. Each piece is a quarter or thigh with a bone going down through the middle. Dredge the meaty pieces with flour and brown with your favorite oil in a skillet. Place the pieces of meat in a crock pot, add a little water, carrots, onions, potatoes and some salt, pepper and garlic. After it has cooked, you can thicken the juices with a little cornstarch and serve. You'd swear your eating roast beef! From Bill Mathews to Ellen Cleary 29-Nov-8 ~ `Prepare a SMITHFIELD HAM . Verbatim from the Williamsburg Cookbook: "Williamsburg visitors who plan to carry home a Virginia ham as a souvenir are advised to heed these preliminary directions or they may be sadly disappointed: . Scrub the ham to remove the coating of seasonings; cover it with water and soak for 24 hours. . Place the ham, skin side down, in a pan with enough fresh water to cover; bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes per pound. . When done, skin the ham and trim off excess fat. . Note: These directions apply to a Virginia ham that has been cured for at least 12 months. If the ham has been cured less than 12 months, follow instructions on the wrapper or hang the ham and allow to age." I've never actually done one myself, but brought one from Virginia to my sister one year and this is how she did it and it turned out delicious. The recipe that followed the preparation sounds unappealing to me. I'm sure someone else can provide a good way to cook it once you've gotten the preparation out of the way. From Barbara Zack to Stephen Ceideburg 27-Nov-8 ~ `How to Preserve a Husband Be careful in your selection. DO not choose too young. When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use. Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. THis may make them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter; ever poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good by garnishing them with patience, well-sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.... From Marleen Madar to All 14-Jan-9 ~ `How To Corn Or Pickle Beef Or Venison It is best to cut the meat into 4 - 6 lb pieces. Have barrel ready and spread a layer of salt on the bottom. Rub each piece of meat wtih a mixture of salt and pepper and pack down in layers, covering each with a layer of salt. The top layer should be of salt. Let stand overnight. In the morning pour on the following brine: For 25 lbs of meat. 3 lbs Salt 1/2 t Saltpeter 1/2 c Brown Sugar, Packed Or Molasses 1/2 t Baking Soda 2 Gals Water Dissolve the ingredients in 2 gallons water, stir until salt is dissolved. Test with an egg; if it floats, fine if not, add more salt. Pour over the packed, salted meat and if necessary, pour on more water to cover the meat. Invert a dish over itand put a heavy weight on it, to be sure that the meat will not float. It maybe used in 2 to 3 weeks. For 100 lbs of meat, double all ingredients. Now, I have seen it done with the modern methods and it consists of shooting a blast of steam on the meat and then adding the brine and letting it cure for about a week. Then it is off to the market in those plastic bags. I am sure that the taste is not the same and not sure which would be better. From Rich Harper to Michelle Bass 08-Mar-90 ~ `Catch Crawfish If the water's clean, they most certainly can be eaten! My favorite method of catching crawdads is as follows: Take one wire coat hanger and stretch it out to a circular shape. Stretch an old clean pair of panyhose over the hanger and tie a knot in each leg about halfway down. Place a chunk of bacon or hamburger that's gone "over the hill" in each leg just above the knots. Put the contraption into the stream/river/body of water with the opening facing upstream. Crawdads LOVE carrion and can crawl into the trap but cannot back out because of the sharp points on their carapaces. Go away for the day and come back later to a full trap. Bring a large kettle to boil with some Old Bay Crab Boil seasoning, drop in the crawdads and simmer until bright red. Drain & serve. Eat by grasping crawdad with both hands and twist briskly, separating head from tail. Dip tail in melted butter and enjoy. Hope this works as well for you as it does for me - they are tasty little devils! From Power of Pasta, Olwen Woodierto Janice Norman 19-Mar-90 ~ `Disable Call waiting I suppose that this is about the umpteenth reply you've had to this, but what's one more, hey? <grin> Most telephone systems will temporarily disable call waiting if you touch *70 or dial 1170. I use a long distance code on my dialer and insert a comma (*70,). That way it disables the call waiting, waits for the second dial tone and then dials the number. BTW the call waiting is reinstated when you hang up. From Bill Wise to Linda Mcbee 25-Feb-9 ~