Kakugori's Profile

For pink Rice Krispies treats, use the pink strawberry flavored marshmallows, or add some strawberry flavor or puree into the mix.

Thank you for posting this - I wasn't expecting it to be (this is the internet, after all), but this is good, responsible advice that many people can use.

Take care of your wooden furniture! It's #1 enemy is you - no, really. Light, heat, cold, moisture/humidity, insects and mostly people. General rule of thumb is that if you are comfortable in your space, your things should be as well. Paste wax good. No Pledge, ever ever. Ever. I dunno about the mayo.

/conservator's kid.

Also, I like those blue and gold teacups and saucers.

I realize that this is a heresy for a lot of people, but I like cottage cheese in lasagna in place of ricotta, which can be too finely textured or grainy.

Uh, you know you don't really need specific direction to make any bread recipe by hand. The most important part is knowing the correct 'feel' or texture of the dough when it is fully kneaded and/or developed and when it has risen - things you should know for any recipe, for mixer or by hand.
The tools make the work easier, but the knowledge is still required. Which is not to say that bread making is difficult.

Looks lovely, but it's just a repaint, maintenance, not a restoration. (This word...I do not think it means what you think it means.) Restoration would imply they researched the home's original coloring and details - and original Victorian colors were often very garish! Our 100+ year old home was originally mustard yellow with brick red trim, our neighbors home would have been lighter yellow with red, and my father's office cottage is pale grey with red and two shades of green trim (original colors!). Finding original colors is absolutely do-able, by the way, as long as there is existing original siding and trim to sample from. In cases of a personal home, where live-ability and personal preference trump the historical accuracy, this doesn't factor quite so much, but still.

My technical gripes aside, the house looks lovely and the painters look to have done very careful work among the details. I like it - the colors are similar to our home's current paint scheme (pale blue/white/black).

Don't forget about Chinese sausage! It's my favorite, and it does NOT have to be cooked into an Asian type dish. Put it with Brussels sprouts or broccoli, eggs, potatoes.

@Shawnamuffin and @Jess13: The metal does not have to be super thick, but there does need to be a base of some sort underneath the metal. You can see in the pictures here how it's glued down. Stainless steel is a great counter surface and working with a local metalworker is IMO the best way to get what you want for a good price.

If you don't like the look of stainless, but like the idea of it as a surface, look into powder coated steel. This is what we have in our kitchen. It's almost impossible to hurt, as long as you don't cut directly on it. Hot pans, water, spills - no problems.

To take this a little farther, I have some low-profile plastic trays on one shelf in the fridge. They hold items like sour cream, yogurt, cream cheese, pickles, jams and jellies (you know, those little things that get lost but don't belong in the door). There are 3 side-by-side on the shelf, and they are long and narrow. I can just pull out one tray to get to items in the back without digging around. They've been amazingly useful.

Sounds delicious, especially with the sweet potato. I do think it would work with many other starches, including rice (white, brown, jasmine, basmati...all good), pasta or with naan or another flatbread on the side if you're not in for the extra vegetable. As for the coconut milk, you could sub in whole milk, half and half or even heavy cream (or a nut milk, like almond) depending on how rich you want to make this.

We have a stupid, impossible to keep clean, glass top range. It's a Frigidaire. Love having an electric oven, but I despise that stove top. It stays hot for quite some time after you turn the burners off, which is annoying - have to be careful not to set anything on top, even after the 'hot element' light turns off. If there's a single drop of anything, even just water, that splashes the surface you've got a spot there that will be very difficult to clean off later. It also does not distribute heat all that well, and you don't have nearly the control like with a gas stove. God forbid you have a pan that isn't perfectly flat, because the damn thing gets hot spots.

I've cooked on an electric with the coils, and besides the cleaning it wasn't too bad. I'd like to see what a new one would do, as the one I used was old/underpowered. But I'd rather clean a coil electric than a glass top any day of the year.

Induction is nice, but so expensive, and then there's the electricity issue. It does solve some of the temp control issues of an electric top, though.

Gas range FTW.