crunchygran0la's Profile

@CriscoDisco - wüstof knives do demand blood tribute. at least once yearly. which is why i keep mine as sharp as i can. that way the ensuing slice into my finger is almost surgical and it heals quickly.

that's the most important thing i've learned. surprisingly enough, sharp knives inflict less damage.

omg! my mom had that yellow bowl in the upper left, and the orange one that was bigger AND the brown one that was smaller! not to mention all manner of tumblers, pitchers, s&p shakers... and that sh*t is indestructable. when she passed away and i had to go through her stuff, i donated all of it. had i known there was a market out there for the vintage stuff, i would have put it all on ebay! :)

the slower one cooks scrambled eggs, the better they are. i've even done them in a double boiler when i was feeling extra patient.

another thing a lot of people do that adversely affects their scrambled eggs is add too much dairy, esp. if that dairy is on the "lean" side. definitely don't add more than 1 T per egg. higher fat dairy is more forgiving (less water), and tastier, which is why cream works so well here.

i heart deb... and have you seen her munchkin? what a doll!

i know a homeowner can do anything they want to the facade of their house (unless they live somewhere like irvine, ca where there are rules about that stuff... and ick!), but why do some people insist on doing stuff like this home's previous owner?

i live in long beach, ca and there is a neighborhood of cliff may houses here. some people have done some really egregious shit to those houses, like put windows like that in them. there's nothing worse than a mash-up of cliff may and cape cod!

people, respect the architecture of your houses!

so obvs, i'm with bepsf. that whole window needs to go. otherwise, the place is looking pretty sweet.

I would definitely say Long Beach if you can get a job either 1. in Long Beach, or 2. in downtown LA. You could take the blue line to downtown.

I live in Long Beach, and there's more to the city than just the Shore. Bluff Park/Heights, Belmont Heights, Bixby Knolls (which is actually very walkable), etc.

One thing - you'll find that $1200 goes quite a bit farther here than in most of the other places mentioned. AND, lots of pet-friendly apartments and no coyotes!

I have no idea what brand my cast iron pan is. I got it from my Grandma about 10 years ago, and she bought it the year her first child was born - 1938. She said the best way to clean it is to wipe out the remains of whatever was cooked in it, and then pour in enough table salt to make a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. I usually let it sit a few minutes while I'm cleaning up the rest of the mess, and then I use something totally dry (a paper towel, a dishrag, whatever) to give it a "scrub". Grandma said I should never get it wet, and seeing as that pan cooks better than any other one I have, I'm going to do as she said.

@Elizabeth - if you haven't, you *must* make cornbread in your cast iron pan. OMG is it good!

If the beer is on the darker side and not especially hoppy, I'd make beef carbonnade, a Belgian stew of beef, onions and beer.

A flavor profile would have been helpful, you know? Because if the beer is something like, say, IPA, it might make it harder to cook with.

i don't want to sound like a total b*tch here, but unless your dad doesn't go to bed until 2 in the morning, he should be eating dinner a lot earlier than 9pm. the mushroom bourguignon from smitten kitchen someone mentioned might be worth a go since it would probably reheat for you quite well.

@melissakay - i've done that many a time when making everything but pancakes/waffles. i always make sure i have buttermilk when i make those! however, the vinegar trick has saved my ass many a time when making cornbread :)

f**k me. if i weren't already pooped and i had some ground chipotle, i'd soooo be making these to munch on before dinner tomorrow.