PeterZ from Tennessee's Profile

Nonna, the wide mouthed green bottle was a brand called Mickey Big Mouth, and it was not the finest expression of the brewer's art. Rolling Rock is actually not bad, but for me the ultimate regularly available is Pilsner Uruquell.

Sara Kate, I'll have to try this this weekend. In truth, though, I am more of a wine drinker. Are there any recipes for "wine bread"?

Microwaves, gamma radiation, visible light, ultraviolet light, and radio waves are all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Our use of that spectrum ranges from the extremely high frequencies - gamma rays - on down through X-rays, on to UV, visible light, infrared and down to ultra-low frequencies that can pass through the earth.

Some of these portions of the electromagnetic spectrum are dangerous, but danger is a relative thing. A single chest X-ray is not particularly dangerous, but a daily dose of high X-ray treatment for 30 days, common in breast cancer treatment, can actually fuse tissue inside the body. 30 minutes on a bright sunny day outside without sunblock can feel great, but 6 hours can result in a severe sunburn.

We are constantly exposed to low levels of microwaves. Not only does the sun emit them, but they are now commonly used in communication tower relays. Driving past one of those towers won't hurt you, nor will living near one, but if you climb the tower and stand right in front of the transmitter you will be cooked. That's why you cannot turn your microwave on with the door open. The units are shielded to prevent the escape of high intensity microwaves.

The important thing to understand is that electromagnetic radiation, be it gamma rays or microwaves, leaves no residual. Once the source is turned off the object of the source emits nothing it didn't emit before the exposure. Microwaving food, or exposing it to gamma rays (which is how they sterilize "Meals Ready to Eat" (MRE's) for the military) does not make it radioactive. It kills anything living while it is being exposed, but otherwise doesn't change it from a nuclear standpoint.

Back in the days when Pullman railcars were the preferred mode of transportation in the country all Pullman porters were named George after George Pullman. Pullman cars were not sold to the railroads, but leased, and the porters were employees of the Pullman Railcar Company. George Pullman wanted the porters to be familiar to the riders, so all responded to the name George.

A young salesman of baking goods asked "George" how they could get the breakfast biscuits ready so fast and was told that the company supplied all the dry ingredients pre-blended. That salesman commercialized Bisquick.

As a child, every Saturday morning my dad made Bisquick hotcakes using 50% more milk than the recipe on the box called for. Every Saturday I did the same for my kids. They are grown now, and one day they will do the same for their kids.

The best pancake recipe is the one we grew up with. It may not be yours, but it is mine.

NANKIE, dried bay leaves keep forever. just keep them sealed up airtight. Personally, I go through them by the hundreds - they add a distinct flavor to so many dishes. You don't taste the bay itself so much, but if it is not there you know something is missing. I buy 1/2 oz at a time from a top online spice merchant.

As a wedding present (33+ years ago) we received 3 Sabatier carbon steel chef's knives, six, eight and ten inch. I used them for years, but after repeated sharpening the part of the blade near the tang has become concave and no longer touches the cutting board. They remain, however, incredibly sharp.

Perhaps I should take them out to the woodshop in the garage and use my bench grinder to grind the tang down so the concave area can be honed out. The 6" especially, would be great for mincing shallots and garlic. I currently use a 3 1/2" Wustof paring knife for that purpose, but it doesn't have the heft and sharpness for fast work.

I'm also considering buffing off the patina. The surface is very rough, due to irregular corrosion over the years, creating a drag as they cut. I could buff them smooth and then treat them with a liquid called gunsmith's cold bluing.

I have lots of kitchen knives, but this post has inspired me to bring back some of my old, retired tools.