ks sunflower's Profile

To Jess13, Silpat does seem to worry people. I find it easy to wash if I simply keep it on the cooky sheet washing rinsing each side as I go, then rinsing off the front side again. Then I place the Silpat on a kitchen towel and simply roll it up. Dries quickly.

Don't worry if the Siplat still feels oily - that is the nature of the beast. It is safe and sanitary after you wash and rinse it.

After it is dry (takes just a few seconds for the towel to absorb the rinse water), I simply roll it up and slide on a rubber band (well, I use a silicone rubber band designed for the oven, but only because this way I know where it is). I then store it on a shelf.

I use my Silpats a lot more now that I have down this technique. Hope it helps you.

Thanks jaybee6! I bookmarked that recipe. Sounds fantastic!

Thanks, Faith, for the link to that gorgeous and delicious Carrot Slaw. It will be perfect, and is a much improved version of my beloved childhood memory of carrot and raisin slaw. That was good, but this is better.

The jars are adorable, but at a buck and half for each jar with the lids extra, they are far beyond my budget.

Nice idea. Just not accessible for some of us. Thanks for the mason jar hint, but those are probably too big even in the smallest size.

I join jess13 in worrying about the chalk getting smudged. Still, a cute idea.

I will see a recipe calling for a liquor which I go out and buy, and even if the recipe turns out I don't always have the occasion or desire to repeat it quickly (there are so many recipes to try and so little time!).

I don't know how long a liquor can last. For example, I have some Chambord that is now several years old. Anyone know if it's still good or safe to use?

If anyone knows of a resource that tells how long you can keep booze of various types, I sure appreciate knowing about it.

Although I like the materials and the simple design, I think the price is horrendous. An apron this simple would be a snap to make at a fraction of the cost. Goodness, sixty-five dollars for a simple, simple apron???

I haven't used pepper in years because my husband is allergic to it. He has gout, which is can be triggered by stress, alcohol, and various things in his diet such as black pepper. He can easily avoid alcohol and can manage stress, but black pepper is so widely used that it severely limits our ability to eat out - even at the homes of family and friends.

Black pepper is one of the major triggers to horrendous swelling and pain for him. White, pink and cayenne are lesser, but still potent, triggers. The pain and swelling can cripple him for days. Once the reaction starts only heavy-duty steroid medications such as prednesone can offer any relief whatsoever and those meds carry significant risks of their own.

Therefore, there are not many restaurants, fast food places, or even other homes where he can safely eat. People don't take the allergy seriously. My own mother would scoff at it and feed him pepper whenever we visited. Not wanting to create a scene or hurt her feelings, he'd eat her food, but we'd have to leave shortly after a meal and I'd have to drive us home because the reaction would begin within a short time after ingestion.

We realize that this allergic response is extreme, but I noticed I started feeling better after I stopped consuming it as well. A few years ago, I came across a study from Europe that suggested pepper could be a carcinogenic. I certainly hope that is not possible because pepper is so widely and thoughtlessly included in almost every dish.

Over the years, the doctors who have treated him suggest the following as possible reasons for the widespread, unquestioning use of black pepper:

1. It's pungency can mask the flavor of meats that have gone off. This was important in times before dependable refrigeration.
2. The body seems to become addicted to allergic triggers. Although seemingly counter-intuitive, haven't we all met people who crave that which causes problems for them? In the case of pepper, it could simply be habit - a recollection of tastes one has become accustomed to - memories from childhood, etc.
3. Marketers for the pepper industry may have suppressed negative studies regarding the impact of pepper upon our health.
4. We haven't been adventuresome enough to try alternative herbs and spices, that may actually be better for us and may pair with our foods much better. It takes a certain confidence and entails a certain risk to try new things - particularly when your good budget may be limited, tastes may be engrained through habit or memory, or so many processed foods contain a trigger such as black pepper that it is difficult to change our expectations of how a dish should taste.

There may be many other variables, but for us, at least, the swelling, pain and joint damage is enough for us to stay away from it.

That is not to say that I don't have tasty childhood memories of eating pork chops blackened with pepper, but, upon reflection, I wonder how much of that memory was colored by the love for the person who made them.

Taste is a complicated issue with many psychological threads woven into it.

I am just relieved that, by making simple choices to exclude and avoid black pepper whenever we can, my husband can enjoy eating again.

I have had to educate myself as to which foods are processed using pepper (bye-bye corned beef), and I have to read every label carefully - even those I come to deem as "safe," because formulas change and all too often black pepper is hidden amongst categories such as "spices." When in doubt, I simply avoid.

Penzey's carefully lists all the ingredients in its herb and spice mixtures so I can use many of their mixtures without fear. Only a few of their products include pepper under the generic category of "spices," and I can easily avoid those that do list it as an ingredient. I know of no other manufacturer I can trust as reliably as Penzey's.

Thank you for the this article. I hope it raises awareness that black pepper usage should be a conscious decision, not a blind and thoughtless habit.

I used to make all sorts of things from scratch, partly because I had no choice (family allergies, lack of money, lack of access to products - we lived in a rural area at the time) and partly because I had lots of time as a stay-at-home wife and later mother.

Now, however, when I find a product that is less expensive in terms of both time and money which does not affect any of my family's allergies, I use the commercial product because of cost considerations, ease of access (we live in an urban area now), and less time to cook and bake.

I still love to make most things from scratch, but we use so few condiments such as ketchup that it just doesn't make sense to pay more and use more time to make it from scratch.

Your approach is more "semi-homemade" because you are using commercial tomato puree. I used to make my own puree and sauces so please make that clear.

Also - people could reuse the squeeze bottles that they had from commercial ketchup for their homemade product. Just two things need to be considered: date the bottle, because homemade products usually don't have the same shelf life, and alert people if you have used pepper (cayenne and black pepper) because more people are developing reactions to it.

Many whiskey and whisky sites admit that add a small splash of water opens up the flavors of the if the water is spring or filtered water (best if the same spring water with which the liquor was created). No one seems to advocate using tap water because of the added chemicals and impurities.

In Gaelic, whisky supposedly means "Water of Life," therefore adding a bit of the same vital ingredient may indeed enhance it. It does allow you to smell and taste more of the flavors.

However, that said, it's probably comes down to personal taste. Everyone's palate is different affected as it is by personal chemistry, conditioning and experience. The point is not to drink for drinking's sake, but to enjoy drinking to enhance a moment, an experience, or a meal.

The USDA has been consistently underfunded and weakened by anti-regulation corporations over the past decade (at least).

Until there are more boots on the ground (certified inspectors), our family will be using less meat - or meat imported from Canada or countries where health concerns are given a higher priority.