Small Talk: The Quiver

[leopardprint]

Pyrex makes glass mixing bowls with lids, plastic, but snap on lids. They are very handy! 

Also, just curious why you don't use foil? Does it make the batter taste weird? 

[statsgirl]

I stopped using aluminum foil when they said that Amazon rainforests were being destroyed to mine the ingredients.  I don't think that's true now but I got out of the habit and it's not recyclable here.   I use parchment paper when I'm baking. It works just as well for most things and goes straight into the green bin.

6 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

The sister (who thinks I'm insane because I've stopped using freezer bags and pack her afternoon tea in reusable boxes) just bought me these food wraps that are made out of beeswax and cotton. You use them like cling wrap but you can handwash them and keep using them. They last for a year and after that they can go in the compost as they will decompose!

They sound wonderful!  What are they called?

I'm lazy when it comes to storing things away. I just put a plate over the bowl if I don't have a lid for it.  Other than covering food when I'm invited to a pot luck, the last time I used plastic wrap was when the kid got lice from someone else's hat and we had to wrap her head after treatments.

[catrox14]

16 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

I stopped using aluminum foil when they said that Amazon rainforests were being destroyed to mine the ingredients.  I don't think that's true now but I got out of the habit and it's not recyclable here.   I use parchment paper when I'm baking. It works just as well for most things and goes straight into the green bin.

They sound wonderful!  What are they called?

I'm lazy when it comes to storing things away. I just put a plate over the bowl if I don't have a lid for it.  Other than covering food when I'm invited to a pot luck, the last time I used plastic wrap was when the kid got lice from someone else's hat and we had to wrap her head after treatments.

I'm so glad I'm not the only person that puts a plate over a bowl! LOL

[Mellowyellow]

Apparently it takes 400 years for aluminium to break down that's why I don't use it anymore. I've even stopped using it to line my roasting pans ( hence needing to scrub them with coconut husks).

@statsgirl they are called Eco food wraps

Good on you regarding the plastic!!!!! Haha makes me feel better knowing there are more greenies out there. I don't let the boys eat anything with palm oil because the Orangutans pay the price for it. 

I'm bad though I drove to preschool all last week because it was rainy and cold. Must get my mojo back and push the kid in the pram! I haaaaaaate winter!!!

[statsgirl]

Thanks @Mellowyellow.  They look very pretty.  There isn't a distributor in my country (there is one in California though) so I'm going to save my pennies and see if I can order some as Christmas gifts.

I like wraps because unlike plastic containers, you don't have to find a place to wash your hands before eating if it's something a sandwich.

I'm sorry you're in the midst of winter. We're having our first real day of summer (25C) and it's glorious!

[Mellowyellow]

Curious question: Do you guys have a culture of anti Made in China products over there?

It's pretty big in Australia, especially with food. We had a big scare where our frozen berries came from China and were contaminated with Hep A.

During the mid Autumn festival we have people buying Australian mooncakes to mail back to China and there is always a shortage of Australian baby formula because people buy it and sell it to the Chinese at inflated prices.

Is it the same where you guys are? Do you avoid China food products?

[Starfish35]

Netflix picks up CW pilot Insatiable

[leopardprint]

@Mellowyellow, In the US, there aren't that many food products, especially fresh food, from China. Most of the produce is from Western US or Latin America. I think frozen fish and shrimp is mostly from Asia. 

There was a dog(?) food scare with melamine contamination and I think some dogs died. 

There is some backlash against Made in China but more because people want things Made in the USA (7000$ iphones not withstanding). 

I feel like the anti-Made in Japan from the 80s was a lot stronger because these days Americans love their cheap stuff from China. 

ETA: There are a lot of restrictions about food from China but I forgot I had read that this administration signed a deal to allow chicken from China. 

ETA2: This probably varies a lot by region. 

Edited June 10, 2017 by leopardprint

[statsgirl]

My daughter won't let me buy cat food bowels from China because she's afraid there's lead that will hurt them.

We get a lot more food from China than most people know, including apples which is ridiculous because there's a big apple industry in Canada.  I try to buy as close to home as I can.  Partly because it's healthier and partly because the people in those countries need good food too not to always to send the best away.

But generally it's not a big thing here either.

[catrox14]

7 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

My daughter won't let me buy cat food bowels from China because she's afraid there's lead that will hurt them.

I legit LOL'd at this and then I thought, well, she's probably not wrong about that too :)

[lemotomato]

1 hour ago, leopardprint said:

 In the US, there aren't that many food products, especially fresh food, from China. Most of the produce is from Western US or Latin America. I think frozen fish and shrimp is mostly from Asia. 

Asian supermarkets carry a lot of processed food made in China, snacks like candy, cookies, and chips and tea/instant drink mixes.

@Mellowyellow, I avoid food products made in China because my parents are from Hong Kong and have known for a long time not to trust products from the Mainland. Whenever we bought Asian snacks we'd check the labels to see where they're made. But I don't know if it's common practice even among Asians. 

I've heard about the big demand for baby formula, but my relatives in HK are older folks, so I get requests to bring vitamins when I visit them because they don't trust the stuff sold over there. 

[Delphi]

 As a almost DC native,  I do most of my seafood shopping at the Warf, so my seafood is usually fresh.   But strangely enough do a lot of my other shopping at an Asian centric supermarket.    I don't really think about it.   And yes,  they are a great place to stock up on poki.

[statsgirl]

1 hour ago, catrox14 said:

I legit LOL'd at this and then I thought, well, she's probably not wrong about that too :)

Can I blame it on the (imaginary) autocorrect?

[catrox14]

3 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Can I blame it on the (imaginary) autocorrect?

Well, I just typed the wrong thing in the SPN thread and I'm blaming it on beer and basketball (which is true) ..so...yes!

[leopardprint]

1 hour ago, lemotomato said:

Asian supermarkets carry a lot of processed food made in China, snacks like candy, cookies, and chips and tea/instant drink mixes.

I can't recall any food borne illnesses or contaminants specifically from any Chinese processed food in the US. I actually used to live near a giant Asian supermarket and bought stuff all the time and never even thought about it. 

I do remember the Chinese Melamine milk scare which ended up in Chinese baby formula. I don't think that directly impacted the US but it was all over the news so there was general caution about food made in China but that was years ago. 

[Mellowyellow]

@lemotomato I think it's an asian thing. Every month I get an email from one of my Cantonese friends to watch out for something or other from China. 

Last month it was chemical treated wood ear mushrooms. They were telling me to sniff all my wood ear mushrooms for some sort of smell which meant it was part of some chemical scam from China.

We do use certain dried noodles that we can't get made anywhere else but  made in China. And dried shitakes. And tea.... so much tea. 

Most of our casual restaurants use prawns from China. All the yum cha dishes with prawns use China prawns. They've got signs recently saying they raised prices because Australia has temporarily banned imported raw prawns. 

[BkWurm1]

The only thing I remember hearing warnings on from China was the baby formula, pet food, and children's toys.  That last one something to do with lead content if chewed on.  

Otherwise "Made in China" gets looked down on kind of in a general way as cheap goods that might have meant some factory shut down but it's rarely specific enough to generate specific backlash. And electronic goods are pretty much always exempt from avoidance. Some people take a stand, some don't pay attention.  But I do think personally I'd hesitate at food from China.  I can't imagine there not being a better, fresher option for fresh food and don't make anything exotic enough in the kitchen to NEED something only China could make.   

[lemotomato]

2 hours ago, leopardprint said:

I can't recall any food borne illnesses or contaminants specifically from any Chinese processed food in the US. I actually used to live near a giant Asian supermarket and bought stuff all the time and never even thought about it. 

I do remember the Chinese Melamine milk scare which ended up in Chinese baby formula. I don't think that directly impacted the US but it was all over the news so there was general caution about food made in China but that was years ago. 

You're right that there haven't been any incidents reported here in the US. I'm biased because I grew up with parents that followed news from China very closely, so we heard about a lot of the food scandals there (that may not have made it to Western news services) and didn't want to take any chances. There's a pretty extensive list on wikipedia, and the NY Times did a write up. 

29 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

@lemotomato I think it's an asian thing. Every month I get an email from one of my Cantonese friends to watch out for something or other from China. 

Last month it was chemical treated wood ear mushrooms. They were telling me to sniff all my wood ear mushrooms for some sort of smell which meant it was part of some chemical scam from China.

We do use certain dried noodles that we can't get made anywhere else but  made in China. And dried shitakes. And tea.... so much tea. 

The one I thought was most outrageous was fake chicken eggs. Eggs! I mean, not that the US would ever import eggs from China, but I'm just amazed they'd go through the trouble of counterfeiting something so common. 

Do you get imports from Taiwan? They're usually the ones I go with for dried noodles and tea at Asian markets.

[Mellowyellow]

I know a friend of a friend who ate one!!!!!

Fake rice is a thing too according to Hubby's colleagues.

I try for imports from all other countries before giving up to use stuff from China. Taiwan, Cambodia, korea, Japan etc for most asian ingredients. I've just weaned myself off Lee Kum Kee soy sauce which is deliciously full of chemicals but tastes sooooo good. 

Tea is tricky because they produce so much tea. We have an excellent loose leaf tea chain in Australia but some of their teas are from China. 

I'm a sucker for chrysanthemum flowers in my Pu'er tea and everytime I drink it I think "Omg I'm going to die from whatever they sprayed on these flowers!"

[bijoux]

The forum looks different. At least on iPad. I liked the old look better.

[Morrigan2575]

Board looks Different...going to take some getting used to...I don't like change ?

[bijoux]

You can tinker with it a bit, but it's still odd.

http://forums.previously.tv/announcement/38-s-m-l-xl-themes-now-available-in-light-and-dark/

[tv echo]

13 minutes ago, bijoux said:

You can tinker with it a bit, but it's still odd.

http://forums.previously.tv/announcement/38-s-m-l-xl-themes-now-available-in-light-and-dark/

Thanks for this link!  My forum was on S when I signed in, and the tiny font size was driving me crazy. I reset it to the default M.

Edited June 10, 2017 by tv echo

[leopardprint]

9 hours ago, lemotomato said:

The one I thought was most outrageous was fake chicken eggs. Eggs! I mean, not that the US would ever import eggs from China, but I'm just amazed they'd go through the trouble of counterfeiting something so common. 

That's crazy! I wouldn't even think to consider there could be fake eggs. I bet there are quite a few Chinese food sources in American products as you get deeper into the supply chain. 

[Morrigan2575]

Adam West died ??

http://www.tmz.com/2017/06/10/adam-west-batman-dead-at-88/

Edited June 10, 2017 by Morrigan2575

[BkWurm1]

5 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Adam West died ??

http://www.tmz.com/2017/06/10/adam-west-batman-dead-at-88/

:( 

I became a fan in his later life. I so enjoyed his wit and warmth that he brought to his voice over characters.

[Morrigan2575]

21 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

:( 

I became a fan in his later life. I so enjoyed his wit and warmth that he brought to his voice over characters.

I think I'll miss him most as Mayor West

[Mellowyellow]

Thank you so much @thegirlsleuth and @lemotomato for all the San Jose recommendations!

Hubby enjoyed Philz for the coffee and pastries! He bought himself a salmon poke bowl at the San Pedro Square Market and loved that and he tried and enjoyed Dia de Pesca.

He also tried pho in San Jose but says both my chicken and beef phos are better =P

He's eaten my pho for ten years though so that's what he's used to. 

He is on a plane back to me now and I can finally hand over the kidlet again WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Claims he can do a full day with the kidlet after a 14 hour flight! 

[bijoux]

On 09. 06. 2017. at 5:54 AM, statsgirl said:

I've never tried coconut oil but you've persuaded me. 

The British show, How Clean Is Your House taught me about combining dishwashing liquid and baking soda as a cleaner.  I was trying to clean out my bathtub once when I was sick and I only got the combination on the tub and  had to rest before cleaning it off. When I came back 2 hours later, the stains had lifted off on their own. My kind of cleaning.

Thanks for this tip, I just tried it out. Very nice.

While looking for instructions on how to make the solution (which I ended up ignoring), I came across a tip to add baking soda to laundry detergent. 1/2 cup for top-loading, 1/4 cup for front-loading washing machines. Has anyone tried that and what are the results? I can see benefits for whites, what about colors? The site says it's supposed to make colors brighter, but I'm afraid it might wash them out.

[lemotomato]

7 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Thank you so much @thegirlsleuth and @lemotomato for all the San Jose recommendations!

Hubby enjoyed Philz for the coffee and pastries! He bought himself a salmon poke bowl at the San Pedro Square Market and loved that and he tried and enjoyed Dia de Pesca.

He also tried pho in San Jose but says both my chicken and beef phos are better =P

He's eaten my pho for ten years though so that's what he's used to. 

He is on a plane back to me now and I can finally hand over the kidlet again WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Claims he can do a full day with the kidlet after a 14 hour flight! 

Yay! Glad he liked the suggestions. Did he have time to pick up any local goodies to bring back to you?

[leopardprint]

5 hours ago, bijoux said:

While looking for instructions on how to make the solution (which I ended up ignoring), I came across a tip to add baking soda to laundry detergent. 1/2 cup for top-loading, 1/4 cup for front-loading washing machines. Has anyone tried that and what are the results? I can see benefits for whites, what about colors? The site says it's supposed to make colors brighter, but I'm afraid it might wash them out.

I've used 1/2 cup of baking soda as a "de-linting" agent when I washed towels or bath mats but I honestly can't recall if there was a difference in the colors either way, maybe try it on some towels first? 

[bijoux]

Hold up, what's this? Where does it come from? I love it already.

[Morrigan2575]

Downton Wars Episode 1 or 2 not sure.

 

[bijoux]

Oh, hey. Good night vodeos. :)

[Mellowyellow]

7 hours ago, lemotomato said:

Yay! Glad he liked the suggestions. Did he have time to pick up any local goodies to bring back to you?

He got us all these little packs of American chocolate to try in all the different brands, dinosaurs for the kidlet that we can't get here (I am SOOO jealous of your Amazon) and a whole bunch of kitchenware that's "Made in USA" for me! Sounds silly but I get super excited when I find kitchenware that's not made in China! 

ETA: Super Daddy has taken the kidlet sand boarding after a 14 hour flight! I am telling the world because he is amazing! I do a 2 hour flight and I sleep when I get home! 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Mellowyellow

[BkWurm1]

5 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Downton Wars Episode 1 or 2 not sure.

 

How weird and wonderful.  Thanks for sharing!

[lemotomato]

19 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

He got us all these little packs of American chocolate to try in all the different brands, dinosaurs for the kidlet that we can't get here (I am SOOO jealous of your Amazon) and a whole bunch of kitchenware that's "Made in USA" for me! Sounds silly but I get super excited when I find kitchenware that's not made in China! 

ETA: Super Daddy has taken the kidlet sand boarding after a 14 hour flight! I am telling the world because he is amazing! I do a 2 hour flight and I sleep when I get home! 

He sounds like a keeper :D You should make him your pho!

[Starfish35]

Psych and Chuck fans might enjoy this:

Psych Movie: Chuck's Zachary Levi Joins Revival Cast as the Big Bad

[BkWurm1]

1 minute ago, Starfish35 said:

Psych and Chuck fans might enjoy this:

Psych Movie: Chuck's Zachary Levi Joins Revival Cast as the Big Bad

That set would probably be fun to work on.   

[statsgirl]

They're probably going to have a blast making the Psych movie.

For the cast, and anyone else visiting Canada from the U.S., 7 Canadian snacks you can't get in the U.S. and the backstory on why.  Some are variations on things you can get in the U.S, (Smarties), some are just in Canada (ketchup chips, Jos Louis, coffee crisp, Big Turk and pink cream soda) and some you can't get for legal reasons (Kinder Surprise chocolates are seized at the border because they contains a small toy.)

Edited June 14, 2017 by statsgirl

[apinknightmare]

We have ketchup chips, Coffee Crisp and Smarties (at least in DC)!

[Mellowyellow]

You guys aren't allowed Kinder Surprise?

Or you just can't bring them in the country?

Isn't all creaming soda pink?

On another note I'm finding US chocs a bit grainier than Aussie chocs and Lindt. But I am eating the super market stuff though. 

[Delphi]

3 hours ago, apinknightmare said:

We have ketchup chips, Coffee Crisp and Smarties (at least in DC)!

But why would you choose ketchup chips when we have Crab Chips.  #justsaying

 

And no @Mellowyellow,  our cream soda looks pretty much like ginger ale. 

Edited June 15, 2017 by Delphi

[Mellowyellow]

3 hours ago, Delphi said:

But why would you choose ketchup chips when we have Crab Chips.  #justsaying

 

And no @Mellowyellow,  our cream soda looks pretty much like ginger ale. 

I did not realise that! It's a bright shade of pink in Australia! That's how we know it's creaming soda!

Are your crab chips crab flavoured potato chips or are they like the shrimp/prawn chips from the asian grocery stores?

[Delphi]

Regular potato chips flavoured with Chesapeake Bay crab seasoning actually.   We have the Asian shrimp/ prawn chips too.   But in the DMV (District,  Maryland and parts of Virginia)  we take everything to do with Chesapeake Seasoning/Old Bay Seasoning to pretty much the next level.   It goes on eggs or pizza or tacos.   We're crazy. 

[apinknightmare]

10 hours ago, Delphi said:

But why would you choose ketchup chips when we have Crab Chips.  #justsaying

Hey, I choose both!

[BkWurm1]

Quote

I did not realise that! It's a bright shade of pink in Australia! That's how we know it's creaming soda!

Is "creaming soda" a typo for Cream Soda or is it really called "creaming"  and if so, how do 12 year old boys not go around snickering in grocery stores? 

Bright pink here usually means strawberry soda.  Or pink lemonade.    

There used to be a product called Big Red that was basically bright red colored cream soda but they stopped carrying at least in my state at least 10 years ago.    

[catrox14]

5 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Is "creaming soda" a typo for Cream Soda or is it really called "creaming"  and if so, how do 12 year old boys not go around snickering in grocery stores? 

This not 12 year old *coughty* something woman also snickered LOL

[Mellowyellow]

Lol I didn't think of it being rude! I think it's an Aussie thing!

https://www.woolworths.com.au/Shop/ProductDetails/317387/kirks-creaming-soda-sugar-free-cans

https://www.bundaberg.com/brew/burgundee-creaming-soda/

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/pink-creaming-soda/eace53a8-7b34-40b1-898c-038310e1f4a1

Our 12 yo boys probably wouldn't snicker because they probably have never heard of it as they're not allowed sugar, salt or gluten by their Mummas! Ok I exaggerate but it's not far from the truth! 

[Delphi]

29 minutes ago, BkWurm1 said:

Is "creaming soda" a typo for Cream Soda or is it really called "creaming"  and if so, how do 12 year old boys not go around snickering in grocery stores? 

Bright pink here usually means strawberry soda.  Or pink lemonade.    

There used to be a product called Big Red that was basically bright red colored cream soda but they stopped carrying at least in my state at least 10 years ago.    

You know,  I was curious so i googled it.   Canadian and Aussie cream soda seems to combine vanilla with fruit flavours.   So that's probably why its pink.