Dave Smith wrote:

> On 2018-04-07 5:52 PM, songbird wrote:
> > Nancy Young wrote:
> > ...
> > > This does not excuse liver and tomato soup. Heh.
> >
> > in my case i did make it intentionally from fresh
> > bought liver and the rest, but there really was
> > no excuse for it at all. horrid, horrible, icky,
> > etc.
>
>
> How could that possibly have been a surprise?

People who are not afraid to experiment, sometimes develop wonderful
things, and sometimes just shrug and go 'well that didn't work'.

On 2018-04-06 8:32 AM, songbird wrote:
> i consider a person a good cook if they
> rarely make things that can't be eaten.
>
> i consider someone an excellent cook if
> that happens once in a few thousand meals.
>
> since i'm pretty sure of what i don't like
> and don't cook that sort of thing it is very
> very rare that i can't eat what i cook.
>
> i'm not an excellent cook though because i
> don't take on-demand requests and try to
> satisfy someone else.
>
> that pre-amble said: what have you made
> that was horrid?
>
> for me, liver soup, i don't know what i
> was thinking. slabs of liver in a tomato
> based soup. could not be rescued... the
> worms ate that... this was like 30yrs
> ago.
>
> lesson very well learned.
>
> it's a cold and blustery early spring day
> here, tell me stories.
>
>
> songbird
>
Something I posted here a while back but I made a cake/cookie recipe
using margarine that the recipe specified instead of the butter I have
always substituted. I did it to see if the result was crunchier. The
taste was vile and I binned the lot apart from the tasting bit.
I would like to have binned many of my ex's attempts at cooking but I
didn't - one has to maintain the peace:-)

On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 11:42:02 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> wrote:

>On Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 2:26:12 PM UTC-4, Gary wrote:
>> wrote:
>> >
>> > Me neither. Like you I've undercooked a few dishes but they were easy
>> > to fix. I've never used my stove's broiler... once I hit the Broil
>> > switch only to see if it worked. Long ago I remember the broiler
>> > being in a bottom drawer of the gas stove, it's was a monsterous job
>> > to clean. Even though the broiler is now at the top of the oven I
>> > still have never used it because I realize how it will make a big mess
>> > in my oven,
>>
>> You are obviously a very limited cook if you never use your
>> broiler. Many things don't make a mess at all. Toasted bread
>> topped with sharp cheddar until it almost blackened. Very good
>> but no mess.
>>
>
>I don't use my broiler, either. I use my gas grill.

Me too.

>For toasted cheese, I use the toaster oven.

We don't eat toasted cheese but if we did I'd much prefer it pan
fried. However we do occasionly enjoy Toas-T-Tites.

graham wrote:
....
> Something I posted here a while back but I made a cake/cookie recipe
> using margarine that the recipe specified instead of the butter I have
> always substituted. I did it to see if the result was crunchier. The
> taste was vile and I binned the lot apart from the tasting bit.
> I would like to have binned many of my ex's attempts at cooking but I
> didn't - one has to maintain the peace:-)

yeah. the other week Mom made some rice/vegetables
and chicken combination. i did eat it, but it was
very bland. i said it was ok, but that i'd not make
it again if i had a choice. she did agree with me.
luckily i do have hot sauce and other things avail-
able for giving things more zip/heat if i really
want to go that route. most of what she cooks is
for other people and so it doesn't often matter if i
like it or not, she'll put a few servings in the
freezer for later and all the rest goes out the door.
there's five large pans of shredded potatoes, ham
from the other day. i had a few scoops of that and
that's the end of that. all next week i get to
cook for myself for a change. not sure what i'll
get into. likely a nice pot of beans for filler
around the edges.

as for baking. margarine contains a lot more water
these days if you get some of the mass market brands
they're pretty bad for that. they also have some
rather odd flavorings in them. some other margarines
available in bulk forms are not so full of water.
they're still gross IMO, i don't like any of them. if
i'm baking i want to use butter or other oils
(depending upon the flavors involved).


songbird

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
....
> I think we shop wisely for the foods we eat. We have an excellent
> butcher where we buy all of our meats. If I want it ground or put
> through the tenderizer, I select the piece I want and then have it
> ground or tenderized at time of purchase. Next door to the butcher
> is a poultry shop where we buy the poultry we use, as well as their
> eggs. Very near where we live is a sausage shop that makes all of
> their own products. Some items are fresh, some are cured and/or
> smoked. All three of these shops have been in the same locations for
> over 50 years and are family owned and run.

i'm envious, as of yet i cannot find anyone around here
who does certain kinds of sausages that i'd like to get.
the Polish sausage i like used to be stocked at the
local grocers, but not now. so to get some of that is a
1-5hr round trip depending upon detours (to the peanut
factory , lunch out, etc.). for something i eat only
a few times a year that's ok.

the biggest lack at the butcher place down the road
is their sausages are just blah in general. considering
how much garlic i like in most things there's no way
they're going to get enough in there, but they also
don't really put much of other spices in either. i
gave up on them years ago.

the smoked Polish sausage from the other place, you
can smell that through four bags. it's yum.


songbird

On Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 12:38:41 PM UTC-10, cshenk wrote:
>
> People who are not afraid to experiment, sometimes develop wonderful
> things, and sometimes just shrug and go 'well that didn't work'.

Here ya go:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ekateri.../#2c852e4a24bd

On 4/7/2018 5:52 PM, songbird wrote:
> Nancy Young wrote:
> ...
>> This does not excuse liver and tomato soup. Heh.
>
> in my case i did make it intentionally from fresh
> bought liver and the rest, but there really was
> no excuse for it at all. horrid, horrible, icky,
> etc.

It was funny to read, anyway.

nancy

wrote:
> On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 11:42:02 -0700 (PDT), Cindy Hamilton
> > wrote:
>
>> On Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 2:26:12 PM UTC-4, Gary wrote:
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Me neither. Like you I've undercooked a few dishes but they were easy
>>>> to fix. I've never used my stove's broiler... once I hit the Broil
>>>> switch only to see if it worked. Long ago I remember the broiler
>>>> being in a bottom drawer of the gas stove, it's was a monsterous job
>>>> to clean. Even though the broiler is now at the top of the oven I
>>>> still have never used it because I realize how it will make a big mess
>>>> in my oven,
>>>
>>> You are obviously a very limited cook if you never use your
>>> broiler. Many things don't make a mess at all. Toasted bread
>>> topped with sharp cheddar until it almost blackened. Very good
>>> but no mess.
>>>
>>
>> I don't use my broiler, either. I use my gas grill.
>
> Me too.
>
>> For toasted cheese, I use the toaster oven.
>
> We don't eat toasted cheese but if we did I'd much prefer it pan
> fried. However we do occasionly enjoy Toas-T-Tites.
>

Where do yoose buy yoose toast-T-titties at?
Wut sizes? C, D, DD? do yoose get them with or without da nipples?

On 4/7/2018 7:06 AM, songbird wrote:
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> songbird wrote:
> ...
>>> i'm generally omnivore but i'm getting picky
>>> as i get older simply because i got tired of
>>> getting sick. when i changed my ways my health
>>> improved.
>> I think I eat pretty healthy and am rarely sick. What did you
>> eliminate or change in your eating habits?
> i don't eat commercial chicken much at all any more.
> if i eat chicken at a restaurant it is from one place
> where i know they do it right.
>
> i don't buy ground beef/chuck/round often and when i
> do i tend to use the butcher's place down the road
> from us.
>
> if i have beef at a restaurant it is also at the same
> place as for the chicken above and they also do the beef
> right (a chinese place we've been going to for over 40yrs
> - we joke that we've paid for the place). if i buy
> beef at the store is the butcher's place down the road
> and i usually get a chunk sliced up instead of buying
> ground meats.
>
> aside from the place above we rarely eat out at
> restaurants these days because almost everyone uses spices
> (Mom doesn't like 'em) or pepper (black, white, whatever -
> doesn't matter - gives her blisters in her mouth). there's
> a steak place over in Bay City we like but that's a bit of
> a drive for us.
>
> the other diet related things i do is try to eat plenty
> of beans, veggies, fiber, not much meat overall, reduced
> smoked/cured meats by quite a bit and am gradually getting
> away from sugar. it's a longer term thing on the sugar
> because i sure have a sweet tooth and would like to get
> back to 150-155lbs in the next few years. the extra weight
> is tough to carry when it gets hot outside and i want to
> do things in the gardens.
>
> oh and i'm also trying to get away from eating raw
> cookie dough. i'm going to be severely tempted today...
>
>
> songbird

Â* Have you considered replacing the sugar with honey ? Honey has many
benefits besides being sweet , and local honey can help if you have
pollen allergies . The wife has a spoonful in her tea every morning ,
has cut back a lot on allergy meds . Our honey is very local , the hives
are out in our garden .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown

On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 22:37:57 -0500, Terry Coombs >
wrote:

>On 4/7/2018 7:06 AM, songbird wrote:

>> the other diet related things i do is try to eat plenty
>> of beans, veggies, fiber, not much meat overall, reduced
>> smoked/cured meats by quite a bit and am gradually getting
>> away from sugar. it's a longer term thing on the sugar
>> because i sure have a sweet tooth and would like to get
>> back to 150-155lbs in the next few years. the extra weight
>> is tough to carry when it gets hot outside and i want to
>> do things in the gardens.
>>
>> oh and i'm also trying to get away from eating raw
>> cookie dough. i'm going to be severely tempted today...
>>
>>
>> songbird
>
> * Have you considered replacing the sugar with honey ? Honey has many
>benefits besides being sweet , and local honey can help if you have
>pollen allergies . The wife has a spoonful in her tea every morning ,
>has cut back a lot on allergy meds . Our honey is very local , the hives
>are out in our garden .

I'd rather take the meds than get hives.

On Fri, 6 Apr 2018 18:28:42 +0100, Janet > wrote:

>In article >, says...
>>
>> i consider a person a good cook if they
>> rarely make things that can't be eaten.
>>
>> i consider someone an excellent cook if
>> that happens once in a few thousand meals.
>>
>> since i'm pretty sure of what i don't like
>> and don't cook that sort of thing it is very
>> very rare that i can't eat what i cook.
>>
>> i'm not an excellent cook though because i
>> don't take on-demand requests and try to
>> satisfy someone else.
>>
>> that pre-amble said: what have you made
>> that was horrid?
>
> Mushroom and banana omelette :-((
>
> An old friend, very competent cook, told me it was one of his favourite
>comfort foods. I love all three ingredients so gave it a try. It was
>vile.

"Vile?" I don't believe that. You just didn't like it. Nothing an
authentic folk song can't cure. Remember to hold hands.

On Fri, 6 Apr 2018 11:24:43 -0700 (PDT), "
> wrote:

>On Friday, April 6, 2018 at 11:55:23 AM UTC-5, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>
>> As much as I like liver, I would never had attempted to cook it in a
>> tomato based soup. Honestly, I think it sounds disgusting. :-)
>>
>>
>EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!

Snowflake.

On Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 12:27:58 AM UTC-5, Bruce wrote:
>
> On Fri, 6 Apr 2018 11:24:43 -0700 (PDT), "
> > wrote:
>
> >> As much as I like liver, I would never had attempted to cook it in a
> >> tomato based soup. Honestly, I think it sounds disgusting. :-)
> >>
> >>
> >EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!
>
> Snowflake.
>
>
When it comes to liver cooked in a tomato based soup, you betcha!

Terry Coombs wrote:
....
> Â* Have you considered replacing the sugar with honey ? Honey has many
> benefits besides being sweet , and local honey can help if you have
> pollen allergies . The wife has a spoonful in her tea every morning ,
> has cut back a lot on allergy meds . Our honey is very local , the hives
> are out in our garden .

luckily my allergies are to only a few
things and i don't need meds.

there's a rinse off/out routine i use
if i get exposed to certain pollens and that
has kept me from needing allergy meds,
decongestants or getting sinus infections
for years.


songbird

"Gary" > wrote in message ...
> tert in seattle wrote:
>>
>> I did something wrong with okra about 25 years ago
>
> Oh yeah. I have a funny one about okra. Years ago, I had only had
> okra once and it was an ingredient in a stew of some kind. Seemed
> like a nice enough vegetable.
>
> So one day, I saw a bag of frozen sliced okra and I bought it.
> Well, I cooked it by itself and put it on the plate as a
> vegetable side. At dinner time, I scooped some up with a fork and
> watched as a slime trail developed from the plate up to my mouth.
> WTF???
>
> I tried another scoop and still saw that creepy slime trail. I
> had never heard of this and I totally freaked out. What's going
> on here, "Did some factory worker spit in this before they bagged
> it for sale?" That's what I figured so I scraped it off my plate
> and tossed the rest out too. That slime just seemed so wrong. lol
>
> Another dumbasian time of mine, I was using a recipe and it
> called for "cream of tartar." I had never heard of it and didn't
> have any so I thought, "cream of..." I'll just substitute milk
> instead. I had no clue that it was a powder. lol another recipe
> fail.

I was going to cook for my former in-laws and my recipe called for marjoram
which they did not have. I asked around and nobody knew what it was. They
kept thinking I was saying margarine!

"Gary" > wrote in message ...
> wrote:
>>
>> Me neither. Like you I've undercooked a few dishes but they were easy
>> to fix. I've never used my stove's broiler... once I hit the Broil
>> switch only to see if it worked. Long ago I remember the broiler
>> being in a bottom drawer of the gas stove, it's was a monsterous job
>> to clean. Even though the broiler is now at the top of the oven I
>> still have never used it because I realize how it will make a big mess
>> in my oven,
>
> You are obviously a very limited cook if you never use your
> broiler. Many things don't make a mess at all. Toasted bread
> topped with sharp cheddar until it almost blackened. Very good
> but no mess.
>
> Filleted fish broiled makes no mess either. My favorite way is
> fillet with onion minced and a bit of lemon then broiled. No mess
> at all.
>
> Do you not use your 50 gallon navy pot to make soup or pot
> roast...only because it would dirty your pot? You really are a
> phony cook, imo. You were never a cook in the navy, you were the
> flunky that just cleaned all the pots and swabbed the floor after
> the cooks finished.
>
>

I never use my broiler. I used to many years ago. Don't think I ever had a
broiled burger. Only pan fried.

On 4/8/2018 12:08 AM, Bruce wrote:
> On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 22:37:57 -0500, Terry Coombs >
> wrote:
>
>> On 4/7/2018 7:06 AM, songbird wrote:
>>> the other diet related things i do is try to eat plenty
>>> of beans, veggies, fiber, not much meat overall, reduced
>>> smoked/cured meats by quite a bit and am gradually getting
>>> away from sugar. it's a longer term thing on the sugar
>>> because i sure have a sweet tooth and would like to get
>>> back to 150-155lbs in the next few years. the extra weight
>>> is tough to carry when it gets hot outside and i want to
>>> do things in the gardens.
>>>
>>> oh and i'm also trying to get away from eating raw
>>> cookie dough. i'm going to be severely tempted today...
>>>
>>>
>>> songbird
>> Â* Have you considered replacing the sugar with honey ? Honey has many
>> benefits besides being sweet , and local honey can help if you have
>> pollen allergies . The wife has a spoonful in her tea every morning ,
>> has cut back a lot on allergy meds . Our honey is very local , the hives
>> are out in our garden .
> I'd rather take the meds than get hives.

Have you paid your dues for this year's membership in the ID 10 T club ?
I was talking about bee hives , as you well know and tried to spin .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown

On 4/7/2018 2:11 PM, wrote:
> On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 13:39:08 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> On 4/6/2018 10:32 AM, songbird wrote:
>>> i consider a person a good cook if they
>>> rarely make things that can't be eaten.
>>>
>>> that pre-amble said: what have you made
>>> that was horrid?
>>>
>>> for me, liver soup, i don't know what i
>>> was thinking. slabs of liver in a tomato
>>> based soup. could not be rescued... the
>>> worms ate that... this was like 30yrs
>>> ago.
>
> I've never heard of liver soup so I looked it up, sure enough there
> are lots of recipes... none look edible to me, and I happen to like
> calves liver and chicken liver... I like liverwurst too.
>
>>> lesson very well learned.
>>>
>>> it's a cold and blustery early spring day
>>> here, tell me stories.
>>>
>>>
>>> songbird
>>>
>> I've thought about this for the last day or so. I honestly cannot think
>> of an inedible meal I've ever cooked.
>
> Me neither. Like you I've undercooked a few dishes but they were easy
> to fix. I've never used my stove's broiler... once I hit the Broil
> switch only to see if it worked. Long ago I remember the broiler
> being in a bottom drawer of the gas stove, it's was a monsterous job
> to clean. Even though the broiler is now at the top of the oven I
> still have never used it because I realize how it will make a big mess
> in my oven, and my oven has a self clean feature but why mess up the
> oven unnesessarily... I've had this stove some twenty years but only
> used the self clean feature once, really just to see if it worked. I
> use my oven often but with over size roasting pans it stays clean.
>
This was an electric oven with the broiler element on top. The burgers
I cooked were on a slotted broiler pan. Same setup as in any other oven
broiler I've used. Using the broiler doesn't make any more of a mess
than anything else. I guess the old bottom drawer gas broilers were
different.

Jill

On 4/7/2018 12:17 AM, songbird wrote:
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> ...
>> My friends and family consider me an excellent cook, but I only
>> consider myself a good cook and baker. My mother was a superb cook
>> and baker, despite the fact that she didn't learn to cook until she
>> was 25. My grandmother had live-in help including a cook and her
>> childen were not allowed in the kitchen. My dad sent her to culinary
>> school for two years.
>
> Mom didn't learn to cook until after she was
> married and Grandma taught her. she is not very
> adventurous when it comes down to spices and
> different cuisines so most of her cooking is
> Italianish or many standard American dishes.
>
My mom didn't learn how to cook until after she was married, either (she
was 25). Dad gave her the 1951 Betty Crocker cookbook and she got
cooking tips from her sister. I have no idea why Grandma didn't teach
her how to cook. Maybe she tried and Mom just wasn't interested.

She was born and raised in western Ohio so she wasn't big on herbs and
spices. I'm a lot more adventurous than that!

> i make up for that, i'll once in a while
> try something, but i only do it when she's not
> around if the spices are really strange as i
> know she won't touch it.
>
Mom could cook some fine meals when she felt like it but she really did
not like to cook. When convenience meals came along (Banquet family
size portions of things like sliced beef or turkey in gravy) she was
thrilled! Just make a batch of instant mashed potatoes or minute rice
and open a can of some vegetable and that was dinner. I think I learned
how to cook in self-defense.

Jill

On 4/8/2018 8:36 AM, jmcquown wrote:
> Mom could cook some fine meals when she felt like it but she really
> did not like to cook.Â* When convenience meals came along (Banquet
> family size portions of things like sliced beef or turkey in gravy)
> she was thrilled!Â* Just make a batch of instant mashed potatoes or
> minute rice and open a can of some vegetable and that was dinner.Â* I
> think I learned how to cook in self-defense.
>
> Jill

Â* My mother had the ability to turn a nice chuck roast into something
closely resembling shoe leather . I also learned to cook out of self
defense .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown

Terry Coombs wrote:
>
> Â Have you considered replacing the sugar with honey ? Honey has many
> benefits besides being sweet , and local honey can help if you have
> pollen allergies . The wife has a spoonful in her tea every morning ,
> has cut back a lot on allergy meds . Our honey is very local , the hives
> are out in our garden .

This interests me. So local honey helps with her allergies, you
say. I can see that as her body would be getting used to the
local pollen by eating that local honey. But the local honey does
not set off her allergies? Or just maybe at first but now she's
building a tolerance to it?

You say the bee hives are in your garden. Your own hives or are
you allowing a local bee keeper to put them there in exchange for
honey as rent? Just wondering.

Bees get a bad rap for the stinging but I've learned (from life
experience) that they are all friendly enough and they only sting
when they feel threatened. Even wasps that are a natural enemy of
the cute honey bees.

On 4/8/2018 5:36 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>
> I was going to cook for my former in-laws and my recipe called for
> marjoram which they did not have. I asked around and nobody knew what it
> was. They kept thinking I was saying margarine!

Not your fault they didn't understand you. Here's a hint: marjoram and
oregano are pretty much interchangeable. They probably didn't have
oregano, either.

Jill

On 4/7/2018 12:22 PM, Gary wrote:
> tert in seattle wrote:
>>
>> I did something wrong with okra about 25 years ago
>
> Oh yeah. I have a funny one about okra. Years ago, I had only had
> okra once and it was an ingredient in a stew of some kind. Seemed
> like a nice enough vegetable.
>
> So one day, I saw a bag of frozen sliced okra and I bought it.
> Well, I cooked it by itself and put it on the plate as a
> vegetable side. At dinner time, I scooped some up with a fork and
> watched as a slime trail developed from the plate up to my mouth.
> WTF???
>
LOL How could you not know okra is slimey? It's fine in gumbo because
you pretty much don't notice the slime, what with all the other
ingredients. The only way I like okra (outside of in gumbo) is
fried. It needs a nice flour/cornmeal coating.

> Another dumbasian time of mine, I was using a recipe and it
> called for "cream of tartar." I had never heard of it and didn't
> have any so I thought, "cream of..." I'll just substitute milk
> instead. I had no clue that it was a powder. lol another recipe
> fail.
>
Oh dear, that's a big mistake. Do you remember what you were trying to
make? The only time I've ever used cream of tartar was when I made my
Grandma's recipe for scones. At least you didn't read it as "tartar
sauce". Tee hee!

Jill

On 2018-04-08, jmcquown > wrote:

> I think I learned how to cook in self-defense.

Perhaps, the best way!

It seems I'm RE-learning to cook "in self-defense".

nb

On 4/8/2018 10:49 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sun 08 Apr 2018 06:18:06a, jmcquown told us...
>
>> On 4/7/2018 2:11 PM, wrote:
>>> On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 13:39:08 -0400, jmcquown
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 4/6/2018 10:32 AM, songbird wrote:
>>>>> i consider a person a good cook if they
>>>>> rarely make things that can't be eaten.
>>>>>
>>>>> that pre-amble said: what have you made
>>>>> that was horrid?
>>>>>
>>>>> for me, liver soup, i don't know what i
>>>>> was thinking. slabs of liver in a tomato
>>>>> based soup. could not be rescued... the
>>>>> worms ate that... this was like 30yrs ago.
>>>
>>> I've never heard of liver soup so I looked it up, sure enough
>>> there are lots of recipes... none look edible to me, and I happen
>>> to like calves liver and chicken liver... I like liverwurst too.
>>>
>>>>> lesson very well learned.
>>>>>
>>>>> it's a cold and blustery early spring day
>>>>> here, tell me stories.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> songbird
>>>>>
>>>> I've thought about this for the last day or so. I honestly
>>>> cannot think of an inedible meal I've ever cooked.
>>>
>>> Me neither. Like you I've undercooked a few dishes but they were
>>> easy to fix. I've never used my stove's broiler... once I hit
>>> the Broil switch only to see if it worked. Long ago I remember
>>> the broiler being in a bottom drawer of the gas stove, it's was a
>>> monsterous job to clean. Even though the broiler is now at the
>>> top of the oven I still have never used it because I realize how
>>> it will make a big mess in my oven, and my oven has a self clean
>>> feature but why mess up the oven unnesessarily... I've had this
>>> stove some twenty years but only used the self clean feature
>>> once, really just to see if it worked. I use my oven often but
>>> with over size roasting pans it stays clean.
>>>
>> This was an electric oven with the broiler element on top. The
>> burgers I cooked were on a slotted broiler pan. Same setup as in
>> any other oven broiler I've used. Using the broiler doesn't make
>> any more of a mess than anything else. I guess the old bottom
>> drawer gas broilers were different.
>>
>> Jill
>>
>
> Yes, the bottom drawer gas broilers were entirely different and a
> real PITA to clean if it had been used to broil steaks, chops,
> burgers, etc. The location was a PITA, too.
>
I had a gas oven with a broiler like that in an apartment I rented in
midtown Memphis. This was decades ago. I can't recall ever using that
broiler.

Jill

On 4/8/2018 9:51 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:

> Â* My mother had the ability to turn a nice chuck roast into something
> closely resembling shoe leather . I also learned to cook out of self
> defense .
>

My mother bought pepperoni once to try it. No matter how long she
boiled it, the sausage did not get soft.

On 4/8/2018 10:49 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:

> Yes, the bottom drawer gas broilers were entirely different and a
> real PITA to clean if it had been used to broil steaks, chops,
> burgers, etc. The location was a PITA, too.

They were horrible. Now that it's in the oven I still rarely use
it but it's certainly much more accessible and less icky.

nancy

On 4/8/2018 9:51 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
> On 4/8/2018 8:36 AM, jmcquown wrote:
>> Mom could cook some fine meals when she felt like it but she really
>> did not like to cook.Â* When convenience meals came along (Banquet
>> family size portions of things like sliced beef or turkey in gravy)
>> she was thrilled!Â* Just make a batch of instant mashed potatoes or
>> minute rice and open a can of some vegetable and that was dinner.Â* I
>> think I learned how to cook in self-defense.
>>
>> Jill
>
> Â* My mother had the ability to turn a nice chuck roast into something
> closely resembling shoe leather . I also learned to cook out of self
> defense .
>
One thing my mother could cook nicely was a chuck roast. Her sister
told her to cook it on the stovetop in a deep skillet with a lid.
Tender, delicious every time. She browned then braised it. (She did
still serve it with instant mashed potatoes. LOL)

I don't ever recall her cooking chuck roast in the oven; I suspect if
she had it would have turned to leather, too.

Jill

On 4/8/2018 9:40 AM, Gary wrote:
> Terry Coombs wrote:
>> Â Have you considered replacing the sugar with honey ? Honey has many
>> benefits besides being sweet , and local honey can help if you have
>> pollen allergies . The wife has a spoonful in her tea every morning ,
>> has cut back a lot on allergy meds . Our honey is very local , the hives
>> are out in our garden .
> This interests me. So local honey helps with her allergies, you
> say. I can see that as her body would be getting used to the
> local pollen by eating that local honey. But the local honey does
> not set off her allergies? Or just maybe at first but now she's
> building a tolerance to it?

Â*Â*Â* I have no idea what the mechanism is , just that since she started
using our honey
Â*in her tea she's taking less allergy medication during the usual times
- like right now .
>
> You say the bee hives are in your garden. Your own hives or are
> you allowing a local bee keeper to put them there in exchange for
> honey as rent? Just wondering.
>
> Bees get a bad rap for the stinging but I've learned (from life
> experience) that they are all friendly enough and they only sting
> when they feel threatened. Even wasps that are a natural enemy of
> the cute honey bees.

Â* These are our bees , we got them in June of 2015 . We bought from a
local breeder that has developed a line of varroa-resistant bees , I use
no chemicals in my hives . We harvested 9 gallons of very light honey
last summer from 4 hives - and sold all but enough for ourselves and
some gifts . This year due to losses (all my fault ...) we're starting
out with 3 hives , soon to be split into 6 hives . There's a saying "you
can make bees or honey - not both" so this year is going to be focused
on building colony numbers . We'll still pull a few frames of honey for
us and family , but probably won't be any for sale . BTW , we live out
in the woods , very little agriculture near us , but millions of trees
and wildflowers . My mentor believes from the characteristics of my
honey that the bees are foraging heavily on black locust trees . I don't
care what they forage on , as long as the honey is good .

--
Snag
Ain't no dollar sign on
peace of mind - Zac Brown

On 4/8/2018 11:07 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sun 08 Apr 2018 08:01:14a, jmcquown told us...
>
>> On 4/8/2018 10:49 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> On Sun 08 Apr 2018 06:18:06a, jmcquown told us...
>>>
>>>> On 4/7/2018 2:11 PM, wrote:
>>>>> On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 13:39:08 -0400, jmcquown
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 4/6/2018 10:32 AM, songbird wrote:
>>>>>>> i consider a person a good cook if they
>>>>>>> rarely make things that can't be eaten.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> that pre-amble said: what have you made
>>>>>>> that was horrid?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> for me, liver soup, i don't know what i
>>>>>>> was thinking. slabs of liver in a tomato
>>>>>>> based soup. could not be rescued... the worms ate that...
>>>>>>> this was like 30yrs ago.
>>>>>
>>>>> I've never heard of liver soup so I looked it up, sure enough
>>>>> there are lots of recipes... none look edible to me, and I
>>>>> happen to like calves liver and chicken liver... I like
>>>>> liverwurst too.
>>>>>
>>>>>>> lesson very well learned.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> it's a cold and blustery early spring day
>>>>>>> here, tell me stories.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> songbird
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've thought about this for the last day or so. I honestly
>>>>>> cannot think of an inedible meal I've ever cooked.
>>>>>
>>>>> Me neither. Like you I've undercooked a few dishes but they
>>>>> were easy to fix. I've never used my stove's broiler... once I
>>>>> hit the Broil switch only to see if it worked. Long ago I
>>>>> remember the broiler being in a bottom drawer of the gas stove,
>>>>> it's was a monsterous job to clean. Even though the broiler is
>>>>> now at the top of the oven I still have never used it because I
>>>>> realize how it will make a big mess in my oven, and my oven has
>>>>> a self clean feature but why mess up the oven unnesessarily...
>>>>> I've had this stove some twenty years but only used the self
>>>>> clean feature once, really just to see if it worked. I use my
>>>>> oven often but with over size roasting pans it stays clean.
>>>>>
>>>> This was an electric oven with the broiler element on top. The
>>>> burgers I cooked were on a slotted broiler pan. Same setup as
>>>> in any other oven broiler I've used. Using the broiler doesn't
>>>> make any more of a mess than anything else. I guess the old
>>>> bottom drawer gas broilers were different.
>>>>
>>>> Jill
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yes, the bottom drawer gas broilers were entirely different and a
>>> real PITA to clean if it had been used to broil steaks, chops,
>>> burgers, etc. The location was a PITA, too.
>>>
>> I had a gas oven with a broiler like that in an apartment I rented
>> in midtown Memphis. This was decades ago. I can't recall ever
>> using that broiler.
>>
>> Jill
>>
>
> My aunt had a family of six and used to make large batches of toast
> in a bottom broiler. She never used it to broil meat,
>
I can imagine using it to make toast, I suppose. When I lived in that
quaint old apartment building, built circa 1920, it was my first and
only venture into gas cooking. I wasn't broiling meat. I was on a
shoestring budget. I know I cooked a few pots of chicken & dumplings on
that gas stovetop.

It was a charming little apartment with hardwood floors and a large
butler's pantry. There was still a little door in the walk-in pantry
that opened onto the hallway. It was for milk and butter deliveries
back in the day! Ah yes, 1920's. There was a claw-foot tub in the
bathroom with a shower head. French doors closing off the bedroom from
the living room (I hung curtains on the glass doors for privacy). There
was a telephone nook in the hall between the bedroom and bathroom.
Charming!

Wayne, you might remember Overton Square. This apartment building was a
few blocks down the street from the Square, Madison @ North Auburndale.
A long, long time ago.

Jill

On 2018-04-08 9:51 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:

> Â* My mother had the ability to turn a nice chuck roast into something
> closely resembling shoe leather . I also learned to cook out of self
> defense .


When I was at the Y the other day the day manager told me about her
mother in law's Easter dinner. She had roasted a one rib prime rib of
beef for 2-1/2 hours. She made Yorkshire pudding to go with it but
mixing up the batter, pudding vegetable oil into the cold pans and then
pouring in the batter and sticking it into the oven.

On 4/8/2018 11:15 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> My mother bought pepperoniÂ* once to try it. No matter how long she
> boiled it, the sausage did not get soft.

That's funny stuff. Now that I think of it, are there sausages
that become softer with cooking?

Reminds me of the people who returned a gooseneck gourd to the
farmer's market because they cooked it forever and it never
got soft.

nancy

On 2018-04-08 10:47 AM, jmcquown wrote:
> On 4/8/2018 5:36 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>> I was going to cook for my former in-laws and my recipe called for
>> marjoram which they did not have. I asked around and nobody knew what
>> it was. They kept thinking I was saying margarine!
>
> Not your fault they didn't understand you.Â* Here's a hint: marjoram and
> oregano are pretty much interchangeable.Â* They probably didn't have
> oregano, either.
>


Yeah... nobody in Bothell other than Julie has heard of Marjoram. I
would have expected that an experience writer and gourmet cook could
have explained that it is a herb in the mint/oregano family and found a
stocking clerk or grocery manager who knows what he orders and stocks.
Personally, I think it is just more bovine crap that Julie thought would
make an amusing anecdote.

On 2018-04-08 9:51 AM, Terry Coombs wrote:
> On 4/8/2018 8:36 AM, jmcquown wrote:

> Â* My mother had the ability to turn a nice chuck roast into something
> closely resembling shoe leather . I also learned to cook out of self
> defense .

One of my aunts lived with my grandmother. We were visiting them one
day and my aunt started preparing dinner, probably as a hint that it was
time for us to leave. She browned the chops in a pain and then added
some water and put a top on the pan. She was planning to cook them like
that for an hour and a half.

We have a bunch of lamb chops for tonight's dinner. I think they will
get about 3 minutes each side and served nice and pink in the middle.

songbird wrote:
>
> because i sure have a sweet tooth and would like to get
> back to 150-155lbs in the next few years. the extra weight
> is tough to carry when it gets hot outside and i want to
> do things in the gardens.
>
> oh and i'm also trying to get away from eating raw
> cookie dough. i'm going to be severely tempted today...

heheh If your goal is to lose weight, you might want to stop
baking cookies for a start. lol But I know how you feel. Just
eating less calories each day is a good start. Make your cookies
but eat 2 instead of 3 each time.

jmcquown wrote:
>
> This was an electric oven with the broiler element on top. The burgers
> I cooked were on a slotted broiler pan. Same setup as in any other oven
> broiler I've used. Using the broiler doesn't make any more of a mess
> than anything else. I guess the old bottom drawer gas broilers were
> different.

No. I have the old bottom drawer gas broiler. It's not messy at
all. I don't use it often but never a problem if I do. I won't
broil a steak with it only because a pan fried steak turns out
just as good.

On Sun, 8 Apr 2018 10:47:23 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 4/8/2018 5:36 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>> I was going to cook for my former in-laws and my recipe called for
>> marjoram which they did not have. I asked around and nobody knew what it
>> was. They kept thinking I was saying margarine!
>
>Not your fault they didn't understand you. Here's a hint: marjoram and
>oregano are pretty much interchangeable. They probably didn't have
>oregano, either.
>
>Jill

They're both in the mint family but I think Oregano imparts a
different and much stronger flavor. I use much more marjoram than I
do oregano. About the only use I have for oregano is tomato pasta
sauce, and in fact I no longer buy oregano, for Italian cookery I much
prefer Penzys Italian herb blend.
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catal...-24/p-183/pd-s
Penzeys prices have gotten outrageous, I can buy most herbs and spices
in restaurant size containers at BJs for 1/3 Penzey's prices. The one
spice blend I like from Penzeys is Adobo (can't cook pork without),
but it has more than doubled in price during the past 2-3 years, I'm
sure I can make my own and I intend to give it a whirl soon. I used
to buy it in the one pound size for like $5. It doesn't contain any
pricy spices that warrents their price and I can buy all those
ingredints at BJs in large containers for less than half Pensey's
prices.
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catal.../c-24/p-1/pd-s
Just last week I bought a 13 ounce container of McCormick black
peppercorns at BJs for $6.49... even that shrunk from a full pound.
Penzeys price is more than double, and they too shrunk the pound to 13
oz:
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catal...24/p-1387/pd-s
I think Penzeys is due for a name change... Greedys!

On 4/7/2018 12:22 PM, cshenk wrote:
> Terry Coombs wrote:
>
>> Â* I can't remember that last time I cooked something that was truly
>> inedible , but there are some recipes that I won't make again .
>> Latest was a shrimp creole dish that I made recently . Got a good buy
>> on some giant shrimps and thought I'd do something other than the
>> usual Scampi . The other half of the package made some really good
>> Scampi ...
>
> Entering late to the thread but last time I made something inedible, it
> was an attempt to stretch some eggs with tomato paste and water. I
> have to laugh at the mess I made. I was 17 and pretty hungry so I
> dumped it into a pot and added rice and more water and that worked ok.
>
Yikes! I can't imagine trying to stretch eggs with tomato paste and
water but I'll give you the excuse you were 17.

Jill

On 4/7/2018 5:56 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2018-04-07 5:31 PM, Nancy Young wrote:
>
>> Which leads me to my other thought, people who wind up with something
>> inedible probably are good cooks because they try to make recipes
>> with what they have on hand.Â* It's not always going to work out the
>> way they pictured it.
>>
>> This does not excuse liver and tomato soup.Â* Heh.
>
>
> Who in their right mind might have imagined that it would turn out good?
>
Someone wrote it down. Songbird found it and tried it. Didn't work out
so well.

I'm pretty sure most recipes (good or bad) started out with someone just
trying a little something different. Some of them worked and became
classics. Others were just plain bad, but they're still out there.

Jill

On Sun, 8 Apr 2018 11:01:14 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 4/8/2018 10:49 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> On Sun 08 Apr 2018 06:18:06a, jmcquown told us...
>>
>>> On 4/7/2018 2:11 PM, wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 7 Apr 2018 13:39:08 -0400, jmcquown
>>>> > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 4/6/2018 10:32 AM, songbird wrote:
>>>>>> i consider a person a good cook if they
>>>>>> rarely make things that can't be eaten.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> that pre-amble said: what have you made
>>>>>> that was horrid?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> for me, liver soup, i don't know what i
>>>>>> was thinking. slabs of liver in a tomato
>>>>>> based soup. could not be rescued... the
>>>>>> worms ate that... this was like 30yrs ago.
>>>>
>>>> I've never heard of liver soup so I looked it up, sure enough
>>>> there are lots of recipes... none look edible to me, and I happen
>>>> to like calves liver and chicken liver... I like liverwurst too.
>>>>
>>>>>> lesson very well learned.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> it's a cold and blustery early spring day
>>>>>> here, tell me stories.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> songbird
>>>>>>
>>>>> I've thought about this for the last day or so. I honestly
>>>>> cannot think of an inedible meal I've ever cooked.
>>>>
>>>> Me neither. Like you I've undercooked a few dishes but they were
>>>> easy to fix. I've never used my stove's broiler... once I hit
>>>> the Broil switch only to see if it worked. Long ago I remember
>>>> the broiler being in a bottom drawer of the gas stove, it's was a
>>>> monsterous job to clean. Even though the broiler is now at the
>>>> top of the oven I still have never used it because I realize how
>>>> it will make a big mess in my oven, and my oven has a self clean
>>>> feature but why mess up the oven unnesessarily... I've had this
>>>> stove some twenty years but only used the self clean feature
>>>> once, really just to see if it worked. I use my oven often but
>>>> with over size roasting pans it stays clean.
>>>>
>>> This was an electric oven with the broiler element on top. The
>>> burgers I cooked were on a slotted broiler pan. Same setup as in
>>> any other oven broiler I've used. Using the broiler doesn't make
>>> any more of a mess than anything else. I guess the old bottom
>>> drawer gas broilers were different.
>>>
>>> Jill
>>>
>>
>> Yes, the bottom drawer gas broilers were entirely different and a
>> real PITA to clean if it had been used to broil steaks, chops,
>> burgers, etc. The location was a PITA, too.
>>
>I had a gas oven with a broiler like that in an apartment I rented in
>midtown Memphis. This was decades ago. I can't recall ever using that
>broiler.
>
>Jill

You'd have remembered if you used it without cracking the broiler door
halfway and had a powerful exhaust to the outdoors.
My mother's gas stove had the bottom broiler but she never used it,
instead she had an electric countertop broiler; a round contraption
that was very retro looking all in shiny chrome with black bakelite
handles/trim. Those predated the toaster oven. Similar to this but
older:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VTG-CHROME-...AOSw2gxYpeW Z