ciddyguy's Profile

Display Name: ciddyguy
Member Since: 6/11/07

Latest Comments...

Another way to remove complex things in PS is using the magnetic lasso, well, according to You Suck at Photoshop where the guy showed how to create a "vacation" scene by inserting a product shot of a hammock into a beach scene with two trees.

I need to locate it again and practice that as I see that being a useful skill to know. :-)


Clipping Magic: Remove Photo Backgrounds Easily
5/21/13 4:20 PM

Liver is just about the ONLY thing I totally distaste, It's both the texture, and taste that make me gag, and it's usually plain ol' liver and onions that ruin it for me even though I grew up on the stuff (yuck).

Tomatoes, avocados, both foods I didn't like as a kid, but now love. I found I liked tomatoes by themselves, or a whole piece on a hamburger back in 1985 when on holiday with my parents and we were at a truck stop somewhere on the Gulf Coast on our way to Jacksonville Fla from New Orleans when I ordered a hamburger and it had a slice of tomato, and never took it out.

After a bite, or two, with a mouth full, I realized that they were quite tasty and have been eating them ever since.

Avocados came about last year sometime when I didn't pick out the pieces in a salad and decided they were good as is, though I've always liked Guacamole. It's because it has tomatoes, lemon juice, and salt and the whole thing is pureed.

I still am not a big fan of Brussel Sprouts though, and it's because they were often boiled ans served with vinegar. Ocra is another veggie I'm not a huge fan of, though I love 'em breaded, and fried, or stewed in tomatoes.

I also disliked beer until 1994 when I had some at a friend's bachelor party, and it was NOT Budweiser et-al, but halfway decent stuff, Henry Reinhardt for starters and now love the GOOD stuff, even Guinness Stout, though I have to be in the mood for it, the taste of it can be overpowering at times.

Thankfully, I was not much of a picky eater as a kid so that was one thing my Mom didn't have to deal with too much.


Can You Learn to Love the Foods You Used to Hate?
5/21/13 4:12 PM

Using the processor to make pasta was how I learned to make it, though I will have to try this recipe as I've had mixed results with the one that was printed in the instructions for my hand cranked pasta machine.

I will confess, I may not have let the dough rest and that may well be part of my problem.


How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn
5/21/13 3:45 PM

Having grown up in suburbia in the 1970's, and early 80's, I didn't have a space like this, though I had my own room to listen to music in, watch TV at times, read, do whatever creative endeavor I felt like doing - and grew up in a 2200SqFt home with 3 older siblings and both parents so space was tight, but we did it.

And growing up, we had an open door policy, with hitches, if we left to go anywhere, we had to let our parent's know, and awoke Mom when we got home from wherever, and we had to get approval too for certain things too.

Essentially there were rules, and expectations we had to follow, but we always had friends over too. They loved being at our house. It wasn't pretentious or anything like that, but it was homey, inviting and fun to be in, and that was what was important.

I went places like school plays, concerts, football/basketball games, played in pep band, did church activities as well. Again, we had to leave a note, or let Mom know when we got home, and most times the curfiew was no later than midnight.

Still I grew up without missing much so that is what I think kids need more than anything else right now.


Using Luxury Rooms to Keep Teens Home The Wall Street Journal
5/21/13 12:25 PM

And another thing, don't fill your pan more than 1/2 way up with oil, like canola or vegetable oil and it won't spill and there has never been a grease fire in all the years my Mom fried that chicken for meals.


Get Over the Fear of Frying: Start with Chicken
5/20/13 4:55 PM

I learned how to fry chicken the old fashioned way by my Mom, though she used a regular electric skillet for that purpose, but a good ol' cast iron pan works just as well.

One trick she taught me is crowd the pan with chicken pieces, it'll help keep it from burning, and yet let it cook until done.

Never had bad fried chicken because it wasn't done enough. After a while, you just learn when it's done, and I go by how golden brown the skin is, as in the photo above, and usually it's cooked through.


Get Over the Fear of Frying: Start with Chicken
5/20/13 4:54 PM

Your sentiments here are very well put, and when my late parents entertained, they had a modest sized home with a dining table that only sat 6, so when needed, a card table was erected, and tacked onto the living room end of the table to extend it.

The table itself was a side drop leaf unit that could not be extended lengthwise.

I totally agree, friends are friends, for a reason, and making them feel welcome, even if they are called in to assist when need be is perfectly fine, especially when you have to move things around to make the party work.

Looked like a fun time was had there.


5 Tips for Throwing a Dinner Party in a Small Apartment Gatherings from The Kitchn
5/17/13 5:25 PM

This is great, a kitchen that is more about function than anything else, and looks good doing so.

Though if it were me, a bit more color, and crocks of utensils by the stove would make it perfect in my book, along with fun artwork - and my Mom's blue apothecary canister set she bought back in the late 1960's.

What caught my eye, was him, bowtie and all at the top of the post, a handsome gent who happens to cook/bake as well.


Scott's DIY Kitchen Renovation on a Budget Kitchen Tour
5/17/13 11:53 AM

Yep, but it has to be the GOOD stuff, not this instant crap, i find a lot of them lack the full flavor of the real thing, even though to do the real thing takes some time to cook, but in the end, it's worth it in my opinion.

I grew up with southern raised parents so they knew all about it and Mom would often serve, when she can find the decent stuff, which became harder to find as the years went on for some reason up here in Washington State so she had to resort to having some bought locally down south and shipped up.


Grits, Demystified: A Brief Look at a Southern Staple
5/16/13 3:50 PM

I was fortunate I had a mother who taught me the basics, and spent many a Sunday afternoon watching TV chefs, such as Julia Child do their thing back in largely the 1980's and early 90's, so gleaned much of what I know now from them.

That said, lots of good suggestions here. Alton Brown's Good Eats, also don't forget Julia Child's early show, the French Chef as she demystifies many cooking techniques (and French cooking for that matter) down to it's basic elements, and shows you many basics such as how to cut an onion, a potato, and also mushrooms, and how to wash a knife and what to recommend (yes, back in the 60's and early 70's, she was dispensing advice like this) and many times she'll demonstrate a recipe, precisely because it has several techniques that once you learn them, you can do a whole bunch of other recipes as these techniques often are often widely used in a variety of dishes/situations.

Take for instance, Mouse Au Chacolat, in it she shows you how to whip the egg yolks to a creamy, light yellow consistency so they don't actually cook, how to melt chocolate morsels to use in said recipe, and how to whip egg white, and how to separate the eggs before beginning - and later how to fold the whipped whites into the rest of the batter so as to not deflate them, as once you master these, then you are ready to try other recipes, and she's remarkable for that kind of thing.

But also, just observe HOW others cook, be it on TV or in real life and again, begin at the basic level of obtaining a GOOD chef's knife, and again, not need be terribly expensive, but a GOOD solid knife that can take, and hold an edge and be comfy to use in your hand, get a decent cutting board, plastic or wood, and avoid any of the glass ones, and never, ever cut ON the counter itself as it'll either damage the blade, or the counter (or both) and then learn basic knife techniques.

AT has plenty of videos here on some of the basic techniques from Emma and others so hunt around and get some good, but basic cookbooks, and lastly, don't let the various techniques intimidate you as once you see how each one does, cooking suddenly doesn't look so complicated.

Good luck.


I Want to Start Cooking. Where Do I Start? Good Questions
5/16/13 11:07 AM

Ladidi,

I have NO problems dealing with fresh spinach, yes, destemming them can be a bit time consuming, but hey, once done, it's quickly into the pan, toss with tongs in olive oil, and garlic until cooked, about 3 minutes or so, maybe, it's done, all I have to do is salt, pepper, and add parm cheese, or feta if I have that and it's ready for the table.

Just use a large pan, such as a chicken fryer pan to hold them all.

The ONE thing I don't like is that it reduces down from a good sized bunch to maybe a cup to a cup and a half of cooked spinach, and it's not quite enough for me in one sitting.


5 Ways To Make Frozen Vegetables Suck a Little Less
5/14/13 8:05 PM

And I should say that if you are busy, or having guests over, you may not WANT to be washing dishes right away (or like Faith), have an open kitchen/dinning area and thus have to eat while the dirty dishes are in PLAIN VIEW), especially true if one (or both) dishwashers are full/running already.


How I Hide the Dirty Dishes In My Open Kitchen
5/14/13 4:23 PM

People, please quit automatically assuming everyone has a dishwasher. Many older apartments still don't have them as that's my situation, and many an older home with out a newer kitchen still won't have one either.

That said, I go along with Faith's answer here, if you can't get everything in the sink, at least neatly stack everything on the counter so it looks less like chaos and reads you are reasonably neat, not a slobby/messy person (but you DO cook).

I will also put the dishpan in the drain basket, and toss flatware (sans knives), and many plastics in it and either leave it until I can do the dishes, or will move to the sink, once it's cleared and then begin to fill with hot soapy water and begin washing.

I have a small, double sided galley kitchen and while it isn't closed off from the dining area (no door to close), it is not visibly seen from the living room so that helps, and I will leave the light over the stove, and sink on so you won't notice the kitchen as much when it's got stacks of dirty dishes, and yet you can see to get something as needed.


How I Hide the Dirty Dishes In My Open Kitchen
5/14/13 4:21 PM

While I'll agree that fresh veggies are better than frozen, frozen veggies do have their place, and I'll agree to GET your kids to eat their veggies, serve them the real mcCoy's, ones you buy fresh and prepare.

That said, I agree as part of a dish, sure, why not. I make a casserole that is canned artichoke hearts, frozen spinach, cream cheese, and parm cheese on top being the main ingredients, very good, and all I have to do is drain the hearts, cut into smaller sizes if need be, and thaw the spinach and then squeeze out as much of the water so they can be spread about as a layer in the dish and it's quite tasty if you ask me.

I like frozen lima beans as they are easy to get, and I just heat them in some water in a pot until fully heated through and add to cooked rice for a simple, southern dish/meal, along with salt/pepper, and perhaps some shredded parm cheese.

Otherwise I don't do frozen too much, a few canned ones I'll do, like green beans, and I just drain and rinse those before heating in the microwave.


5 Ways To Make Frozen Vegetables Suck a Little Less
5/14/13 3:53 PM

I largely know how to wield a knife, thanks to watching cooking shows like the Frugal Gourmet, Galloping Gourmet, and Julia Child, but also Iidia Bastianich and a few other more modern chelfs.


How To Master Basic Knife Skills:
The Video Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

5/14/13 12:50 PM

I live in Seattle and can't utilize the markets year 'round unless I high tail it to Pike Place Market, but even there, I doubt much in the way of local fruit/veggies are sold outside the relatively short growing season here.

That said, I do utilize other places, besides the supermarket when I can. Places like Big John's PFI (Pacific Food Importers) for bulk grains, cheeses, pasta, and dried spices/herbs as they have great prices on stuff, and quite a large selection of stuff while at it.


Tips For Making the Farmers Market the Only Place You Shop
5/14/13 10:55 AM

My first memories, and some of my most favorites came from my childhood home while growing up.

As a youngster, I remember most was Mom getting up at what to her was o' crack dawn thirty (too early) to fix us all breakfast, and make our lunches during the school year. Breakfast even then was as simple as cereal and toast, other times, bacon, eggs, toast, and the eggs varied from fried, to soft boiled, to scrambled.

The kitchen itself was a small eat in kitchen that sat at the top of the stairs as it was a run of the mill split entry home with the living room/dining room on one end, bedrooms on the other, and at least 1 bedroom, and a bath and family room downstairs and we'd eat breakfast and often lunch in that kitchen, around a home brewed kitchen table that was nothing more than a piece of plywood screwed to an old wine barrel for several years, and while it normally sat 4, it sometimes had as many as 6 bodies squeezed in around it.

And during the school year when my 3 older sisters were still home, Mom would have a pot of soup of some kind on the back burner, rolls in the oven keeping warm, fruit and milk on the table and we'd come and eat when we could as my sisters all had rehearsals for a play, or musical, pep band and choir so they came and went, and on Fridays in the fall and winter, that was football, or basketball, and the games started, at I think 7:30pm.

During the summer months, remembering my youngest sister making bread from scratch and sitting outside with a fresh slice fresh from the oven when done.


What's Your Best Kitchen Memory?
5/9/13 7:13 PM

Very cool! Just more fodder for my creative leanings! ;-)


Pro DIY Project: David Stark's Patterned Party Luminary from the Printer
5/7/13 5:00 PM

I'm finding I'm actually cooking MORE now, mostly because of life circumstances last year has me wanting to get back to it more than I have in the past few years, even if just for me as I live alone, and I don't mind the leftovers, though I'm not exclusively a meat and taters kinda guy so it's pasta etc dishes, and other fun stuff too.

To help that along, I did clean out my spice cabinet on Sunday as I realized that having spices in both larger containers in the pantry, and in small spice jars in the cupboard was getting rather, shall we say, redundant so I did a reorg of all that and yes, the 2 cup Rubbermaid containers I have my spices in (not all as yet) fit just fine, and I think will work even better than the previous system.

We'll see once I get the rest of the spices into their containers, and out of the bags that are in 2 baskets in the pantry fit in the new space.

So that will help inspire me to cook, and I did make spaghetti sauce over a week ago as I was out. Another reason is restocking the freezer of dishes that I make large batches of and then divvy up and freeze, such as aforementioned the spaghetti sauce.

I hope that once I can finish my permanent grocery list (of things I buy and like to keep on hand all the time) finished and on my phone, I hope to really stock the pantry good, and be able to do more with less $$$ towards food - hopefully.

I did make cookies midweek last week as I had all but eggs handy to save money, and be of better quality than store bought cookies. That was fun to be able to do on a whim, and not have to BUY just about everything to do so.

That helps me to keep on cooking if nothing else.


When Do You Lose Interest in Cooking? And 3 Tips for Beating the Springtime Slump
5/7/13 11:08 AM

CARZ,

If you don't like the tour, then put YOUR house on here and see if you can handle someone saying they don't like it.

That being said, can't really cover the AC if it's in use as it's also the way the cool air gets circulated into the room.

I'll agree I'd have gone at some things differently, but I like much of what has been done here, though for me it'd be colors other than varying shades of gray, just for starters.


Merrick's MCM in Minneapolis House Tour
5/6/13 8:52 PM