Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[Tom Holmberg]

13 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

 He researched and discovered they aren't eggs cooked in their shells - somehow whites of a bunch of eggs & their yolks are combined separately and then cooked in a tube, so that all the slices will look like they were cut from the center of the egg.

I saw pictures of that years ago in a restaurant industry magazine.  Like a four-foot long tube of reprocessed eggs.  I can't say it bothers me but I like the white as well as the yolk.  If this sort of thing bothers you, don't read those magazines, because a whole lot of things you get at restaurants are not what you think.

16 hours ago, susannah said:

I am not a fan of mixed together food, so I pass on casseroles. But I agree. The sodium levels in canned soups is through the roof.

Prepared soups are just a salt delivery system.  But prepared, salt-free soups aren't much better than eating hot water, no taste.

[nokat]

5 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I hate fresh beans, they are all furry, I find that disgusting.

I'm assuming you don't like fresh peaches and apricots. Some people hate the fuzziness. It doesn't bother me in the least, but I understand.

[bankerchick]

On 8/12/2021 at 10:31 AM, cinsays said:

On 8/11/2021 at 2:26 PM, Bastet said:

It looks like it has been regurgitated, and the combination of ingredients is revolting.

really?  and you judge a dish on how it looks? seems like that would exclude a lo

My ex mother-in-law once made a peach pecan pie.  Granted it was her first time making it but it was revolting looking with brown, mushy peaches and little chunks of nuts.  It's probably been 25 or 30 years but I still remember it as one of the best tasting things I've ever eaten.

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Presentation is everything. The eyes are the key to your appetite.

I don't believe that.  Yeah, I want my food to look nice, but for me, the nose is the key to my appetite.  It can look pretty as all get out, but if it doesn't smell good, I will not eat it.  And if something smells good enough, its appearance is secondary.

20 hours ago, nokat said:

This is so true. Chefs put a lot of effort into presentation. You have that beautiful plate brought to you, you eat with your eyes first.

 

I eat with my nose first.  Chefs are wasting their time on presentation for me.

16 hours ago, susannah said:

I am not a fan of mixed together food, so I pass on casseroles. But I agree. The sodium levels in canned soups is through the roof.

I make a hashbrown casserole that uses cream of chicken soup.  I always get the low sodium version.  And I tend to pick out the little chicken bits.

[nokat]

Just now, proserpina65 said:

I don't believe that.  Yeah, I want my food to look nice, but for me, the nose is the key to my appetite.  It can look pretty as all get out, but if it doesn't smell good, I will not eat it.  And if something smells good enough, its appearance is secondary.

Oh the wonderful smells sometimes when you cook or bake. Nothing I cook is photography worthy but it tastes and smells good.

[bankerchick]

16 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I make a hashbrown casserole that uses cream of chicken soup.  I always get the low sodium version.  And I tend to pick out the little chicken bits.

My first thought when everyone here started ragging on casseroles with cream soup was that I make a great hashbrown casserole (with potato chips on top!)  Clearly not haute cuisine, but it's always gone at the end of the pot-luck.  I use either cream of chicken or cream of mushroom depending on my mood when I'm in the grocery store.

[nokat]

22 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I make a hashbrown casserole that uses cream of chicken soup.  I always get the low sodium version.  And I tend to pick out the little chicken bits.

I try to buy low sodium when I can find it. Easy to find with beans, except for the no-fat pintos, which are so salty. I haven't seen the low sodium cream soup, probably because I gave up on looking. I do have low sodium broths I like to use.

[proserpina65]

16 minutes ago, nokat said:

I try to buy low sodium when I can find it. Easy to find with beans, except for the no-fat pintos, which are so salty. I haven't seen the low sodium cream soup, probably because I gave up on looking. I do have low sodium broths I like to use.

I used to be able to find them at Food Lion, but it has been awhile.

[nokat]

On 8/12/2021 at 9:14 AM, peacheslatour said:

My favorite dish to make with asparagus is to take an English muffin, split it, toast it and butter it. Then I top it with steamed asparagus, fresh Dungeness crab and smother it in home made Hollandaise. 

My husband would love this. He'll have to make it himself. He does cook his own asparagus. I have never liked it but where I grew up we had a tire sized patch and it was so much asparagus at mealtimes.

When we are in the Seattle are, it's Dungeness crab time. I even walked the Dungeness Spit once. I have photos somewhere.

[peacheslatour]

28 minutes ago, nokat said:

I try to buy low sodium when I can find it. Easy to find with beans, except for the no-fat pintos, which are so salty. I haven't seen the low sodium cream soup, probably because I gave up on looking. I do have low sodium broths I like to use.

I rinse all of my beans. 

Quote

When we are in the Seattle are, it's Dungeness crab time. I even walked the Dungeness Spit once. I have photos somewhere.

I'm glad you got a chance to visit our fair city although right now it's not very fair at all. Smoke from the wildfires to the east and it's supposed to be an ugly 97F today.

[nokat]

13 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I rinse all of my beans. 

I'm glad you got a chance to visit our fair city although right now it's not very fair at all. Smoke from the wildfires to the east and it's supposed to be an ugly 97F today.

I drain my canned beans, but I hadn't thought of rinsing them.  I do use dried too, and then it is sort, rinse, and soak.

I spent a summer a ferry ride away from Seattle.  I loved the ferry, I loved Seattle. Just walking the streets was fun.

I'm sorry for what you are going through up there. I have a friend in Portland who lets me know what's happening. :(

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by nokat

[peacheslatour]

Quote

I assume it would have to be something like spaghetti, anything bigger than that is bound to get stuck.  Just suck it up like a vacuum cleaner through the nose. You wouldn't have to added any sauce.  It would collect all the sauce it needed on the way down.  Yikes, I even grossed myself out.🤢

*dead*

[Leeds]

On 8/12/2021 at 5:43 AM, GussieK said:

Back to casseroles:  Lasagna is a casserole technically.  I love it.  Also baked macaroni and cheese. 

Shepherd's pie.  Best thing ever.  (Although technically speaking, what I make is cottage pie since I use beef not lamb.)

 

On 8/12/2021 at 11:07 AM, icemiser69 said:

 

One of the fastest to grow is radishes.

 

Which is why they're a favourite first vegetable for children to grow.

2 hours ago, nokat said:

I try to buy low sodium when I can find it. Easy to find with beans, except for the no-fat pintos, which are so salty. I haven't seen the low sodium cream soup, probably because I gave up on looking. I do have low sodium broths I like to use.

Unless I'm using canned beans in soup, I always rinse them to reduce the sodium.

[susannah]

4 hours ago, nokat said:

I have a friend in Portland who lets me know what's happening. :(

Yep, super hot and smoky here too!

[nokat]

3 hours ago, Leeds said:

Shepherd's pie.  Best thing ever.  (Although technically speaking, what I make is cottage pie since I use beef not lamb.)

It's a staple for cafeterias here. It's more like throw in all of your leftovers and cover in mashed potatoes though.

[Leeds]

3 minutes ago, nokat said:

It's a staple for cafeterias here. It's more like throw in all of your leftovers and cover in mashed potatoes though.

I make my shepherd's pie from scratch, including the mashed potatoes.  If I ever find myself on death row, it'll be my last meal.

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, nokat said:

It's a staple for cafeterias here. It's more like throw in all of your leftovers and cover in mashed potatoes though.

There was a deli in the lobby of Fancypants Plaza where I used to have my flower shop that would have "goulash" on Fridays and that's exactly what it was.

[ams1001]

On 8/12/2021 at 4:09 PM, madmax said:

I love fresh beans right from the vine.  We grew them when we had a large garden, but now that we're down to a much smaller one, I don't.  

My parents grow green beans in the backyard, though they're not doing too well this year. (I like them fresh, but I only got one sandwich bag full a couple weeks ago.) The mutant cucumbers are coming up nicely, though...

They also have tomatoes and bell peppers. Lots of tomatoes; apparently my dad has made sauce twice so far.

On 8/12/2021 at 4:23 PM, Tom Holmberg said:

I don't think mac & cheese from a box (the kind we had) in any way qualifies as a casserole.

For my birthday last year I told my mom I wanted her baked mac & cheese recipe. She gave me the recipe (printed on photo paper), a box of macaroni, a container of bread crumbs, and a Pyrex dish of the right size (I already had one that would work fine but I kept it, anyway). She said I could take a package of cheese from their fridge but I had a few at home. I've made it a handful of times (and experimented with different levels of sharpness of Cheddar); might do it this weekend if I have time.

[Leeds]

On 8/12/2021 at 1:09 PM, madmax said:

Mr. Max was brought up on canned peas, which he lovingly refers to as "mushy peas."  He won't eat fresh peas.  

 

Mushy peas are revolting.

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

 

Okay, you got me.  Maybe it is because green beans are both green and fuzzy, and slimy.  I can eat a fresh peach and apricot without a problem.

 

Green yes, but fuzzy and slimy?  I love green beans.

[Leeds]

7 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

My parents grow green beans in the backyard, though they're not doing too well this year. (I like them fresh, but I only got one sandwich bag full a couple weeks ago.) The mutant cucumbers are coming up nicely, though...

They also have tomatoes and bell peppers. Lots of tomatoes; apparently my dad has made sauce twice so far.

 

I love mutant veggies!  Especially kinky carrots.

 

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I love mutant veggies!  Especially kinky carrots.

 

This is what it looked like sliced:

[nokat]

14 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

My parents grow green beans in the backyard, though they're not doing too well this year. (I like them fresh, but I only got one sandwich bag full a couple weeks ago.) The mutant cucumbers are coming up nicely, though...

They also have tomatoes and bell peppers. Lots of tomatoes; apparently my dad has made sauce twice so far.

For my birthday last year I told my mom I wanted her baked mac & cheese recipe. She gave me the recipe (printed on photo paper), a box of macaroni, a container of bread crumbs, and a Pyrex dish of the right size (I already had one that would work fine but I kept it, anyway). She said I could take a package of cheese from their fridge but I had a few at home. I've made it a handful of times (and experimented with different levels of sharpness of Cheddar); might do it this weekend if I have time.

What a sweet mom. :) I used to get bags of tomatoes from a woman from where I leased a horse at her farm. They were so good. We buy from a farm stand now. No room to grow anything other than what can go into a planter.

I love cucumbers and bell peppers. I'd happily eat the mutant cucumber.

There is a site that shows some of the mutant vegetables people get. If it's edible, fine.

[nokat]

5 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

This is what it looked like sliced:

Looks edible, and interesting. Fancy cucumber sandwich anyone?

[nokat]

Have any of you had an egg with a double yolk, and you think jackpot! Extra toast dipping!

[ams1001]

48 minutes ago, nokat said:

What a sweet mom. :) I used to get bags of tomatoes from a woman from where I leased a horse at her farm. They were so good. We buy from a farm stand now. No room to grow anything other than what can go into a planter.

I love cucumbers and bell peppers. I'd happily eat the mutant cucumber.

There is a site that shows some of the mutant vegetables people get. If it's edible, fine.

Too bad I don't like tomatoes; I'd be set for the summer. (I'd take some homemade sauce, though.) They just have a row of plants along the length of the deck; a trellis with beans at one end, cucumbers next to them (I think my dad said they did four), then a green pepper plant (haven't been offered any so I don't know how well it's doing, though there were three on it last time I was over there), and lots of tomatoes. Then on the deck there's a small planter box, with some kind of lettuce and some herbs.

The mutant cucumber was delicious. 

There's also Misfits Market.

7 minutes ago, nokat said:

Have any of you had an egg with a double yolk, and you think jackpot! Extra toast dipping!

I don't like runny eggs, but I got one with a white yolk once!

[nokat]

3 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I don't like runny eggs, but I got one with a white yolk once!

Now that's interesting. I've never seen that.

I do over easy so the white is cooked, but the yolk ready for toast dipping. Not everyone likes their eggs that way.

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, nokat said:

Now that's interesting. I've never seen that.

I do over easy so the white is cooked, but the yolk ready for toast dipping. Not everyone likes their eggs that way.

I only eat them scrambled (or hard boiled in egg salad).

The color of the yolk apparently is influenced by the chicken's diet. Maybe this one didn't get enough marigolds. 

[madmax]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

My parents grow green beans in the backyard, though they're not doing too well this year. (I like them fresh, but I only got one sandwich bag full a couple weeks ago.) The mutant cucumbers are coming up nicely, though...

 

Our cukes were pretty mutant this year.  We actually had one grow thru the fence, so it was skinny on one end and fat on the other.

All we planted were cukes, tomatoes, jalapenos, banana peppers and kohlrabi.  Nothing has done great.  The cukes were going like gangbusters, but the plant just started to die.  I think I touched it too much.

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

Mushy peas are revolting.

Green yes, but fuzzy and slimy?  I love green beans.

That's not the mushy he eats.  Just canned peas, simmered on the stove for a good bit.

And yea, I've never seen a fuzzy or slimy green bean.  

[nokat]

Just now, ams1001 said:

I only eat them scrambled (or hard boiled in egg salad).

The color of the yolk apparently is influenced by the chicken's diet. Maybe this one didn't get enough marigolds. 

Yes, the oranger the better.

[Bastet]

25 minutes ago, nokat said:

Have any of you had an egg with a double yolk, and you think jackpot! Extra toast dipping!

I don't like yolks, and only use the white when I'm making fried or scrambled eggs (I use the whole egg in baked goods, as a binder in meatballs, and stuff like that, but to sit an eat an egg, just the white), so I'd be pretty bummed.

[chessiegal]

If a green bean is fuzzy and slimy, it's gone bad. Green beans are neither fuzzy nor slimy. 

[nokat]

Misfit's market doesn't sell to my state. :( But if you've ever had a garden you'll pull up something and wonder what's been going on here at night?

[Leeds]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I don't like yolks, and only use the white when I'm making fried or scrambled eggs (I use the whole egg in baked goods, as a binder in meatballs, and stuff like that, but to sit an eat an egg, just the white), so I'd be pretty bummed.

Do you throw the yolk away?

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Leeds said:

Do you throw the yolk away?

Only if I can't avoid it; I'm pretty dedicated to minimizing food waste.  My cat eats a little, but mostly I give them to a neighbor who does a lot of baking and ice cream making (so I get goodies in return).  If she's gone or overloaded when I have some to give away, I'll post on Nextdoor and Freecycle offering them to anyone else in the neighborhood.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Bastet

[ams1001]

8 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Would you care to share the mac n cheese recipe?

 

[Leeds]

6 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

 

My dad grew green beans for years and there is a hair like texture to them when cooked fresh.  They aren't smooth, like a spineless cucumber. Whatever you want to call it, I don't like the outside texture of fresh green beans.  It feels gross on my tongue.

?

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

That was very kind of you.

Thank you.

You're welcome :)

Personally I prefer it without the breadcrumbs (my mom never used them when I was a kid), but one of my tests used them and it was still yummy. I usually use Cabot cheese; 6 oz. block is the right amount. I've used Farmhouse Reserve, New York Vintage, and Seriously Sharp (didn't love that last one but that's just me).

Enjoy!

Re: fuzzy green beans

I know what you're talking about; I don't mind the fuzz. According to https://answerstoall.com/popular/why-are-my-green-beans-fuzzy/, "Yes, that’s normal. They tend to feel that way when they’re young and fresh, although they don’t look ‘furry’. If you leave them on the plant until they’re very smooth they can get a little tough on the outside."

(For the record, these are the kind of beans I'm talking about:

they don't look fuzzy but you can feel it.)

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, icemiser69 said:

Thank you for this.  I thought I had entered The Twilight Zone.

I was expecting to hear in my head Rod Serling's voice over where I had landed in a world where fuzzy green beans were everywhere, and everyone around me had come to the conclusion I was off my rocker, because fuzzy green beans didn't exist.  I end up getting locked up in a mental institution, and when I look out the window, all of the fuzzy green beans in a nearby garden are laughing at me.

The fuzz is real!

[susannah]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

When I was in school, one of the lunch items was what they called American Goulash, which consisted of elbow macaroni, stewed tomatoes, onion, and something that passed for ground beef.  It was all mixed up in a pot.

My mother used to make that sometimes when I was a kid, including corn. I imagine it was an economical kind of meal for 5 people. Plus she canned tomatoes, making it cheaper yet. We got Spanish Rice at school, which I never liked.

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

It looks like you crossed a cow with a carrot.

It looks like transplanted fingers!

[Gramto6]

My mother used to make her version of Chow Mein.  All these years later, I can barely remember what she put in it.  Ground beef, peppers, onions , maybe carrots with tons of soy sauce served over rice. As a child no clue what it was really supposed to taste like. Later married a Chinese man whose mom taught me how to cook their food...sheesh no comparison!!

Mom was WI born and raised so I have to give her a pass. In those days 50's-60's there weren't that many Chinese recipes around.

Second hubby was Hungarian learned how to make goulash the right way and other great family dishes. Nothing like the drivel that was portrayed as Hungarian food back in the "day".

[nokat]

10 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

What is goulash?  Yes, I have heard of it.  When I was in school, one of the lunch items was what they called American Goulash, which consisted of elbow macaroni, stewed tomatoes, onion, and something that passed for ground beef.  It was all mixed up in a pot.

Yes, this is the goulash I remember.

[EtheltoTillie]

12 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I don't think you want me to go there.  Apparently the Shepherd already has.

--

On a more serious note, it is horribly frustrating that I can't catch my spelling errors and grammatical errors the first time around.  I try to clean them up later, but man it totally frustrates me, and it must be a brain thing.  No matter what I do, no matter how many times I proofread, I just can't get it right.  I don't want to rely on software to make the corrections when it is something I should be able to do.

Do not beat yourself up. Take it from this former magazine editor:  it’s a human impossibility.  On our staff we had at least ten people reading and rereading every issue before it went to press. Pre digital age. At least three and four go rounds. This was a major national publication. You’d be amazed how many things didn’t get caught till very late in the game. We only very rarely had a typo appear in print, though.  I can remember two times. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by GussieK

[EtheltoTillie]

12 hours ago, ams1001 said:

 

This is pretty much your basic recipe, and it’s one of my favorite foods. You make a white sauce and mix in your grated cheese and bake over the macaroni. A little cayenne is good. I have a good Martha Stewart variant that is a real favorite among my family. Use large pasta like penne or ziti. I don’t know why but it works better in this version. Add a little goat cheese and Parmesan with the cheddar. 

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, GussieK said:

Do not beat yourself up. Take it from this former magazine editor:  it’s a human impossibility.  On our staff we had at least ten people reading and rereading every issue before it went to press. Pre digital age. At least three and four go rounds. This was a major national publication. You’d be amazed how many things didn’t get caught till very late in the game. We only very rarely had a typo appear in print, though.  I can remember two times. 

I majored in English literature, so there was lots of paper writing. Most of my classes did some sort of peer review process, at least for the big papers. It's harder to proof your own writing than someone else's. I think part of it is that you already know what it says so your brain sees what you expect to see instead of the typo that's actually there.

2 minutes ago, GussieK said:

This is pretty much your basic recipe, and it’s one of my favorite foods. You make a white sauce and mix in your grated cheese and bake over the macaroni. A little cayenne is good. I have a good Martha Stewart variant that is a real favorite among my family. Use large pasta like penne or ziti. I don’t know why but it works better in this version. Add a little goat cheese and Parmesan with the cheddar. 

I had saved a recipe for "creamy stovetop mac & cheese" or something like that, and I looked at it after my mom gave me that and realized it's basically the same except it's not baked. Not sure how it would be as just a sauce. Maybe I'll try it one of these days. But now I'm craving baked mac & cheese...not sure if I have enough elbow macaroni; might do rotini this time around.

[bankerchick]

13 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

When I was in school, one of the lunch items was what they called American Goulash, which consisted of elbow macaroni, stewed tomatoes, onion, and something that passed for ground beef.  It was all mixed up in a pot.

My American cousins (I am Canadian) always referred to this as American Chop Suey (or Chow Mein, I forget which.)  Either way, it's delicious.

[ams1001]

5 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

As for the second part of your post, I very much agree.  Except that in my case, sometimes I will read the words as being there, when a word or two are missing from a sentence.

I do that, too. I feel like it's related to the phenomenon where you can still read a sentence where each word has the first and last letters in the right place but the letters within each word are mixed up. The first time I saw that (probably as a meme on facebook) it didn't even register what was wrong with it until I finished reading it.

You write a sentence, and you reread it a few times, and it just looks like it "should" and not like it is, because you already know what it's supposed to say. Kind of the opposite of seeing a word so many times it starts to look wrong.

[Bastet]

38 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

You write a sentence, and you reread it a few times, and it just looks like it "should" and not like it is, because you already know what it's supposed to say.

I do that (I think everyone does), and my biggest proofreading problem is I probably only spot 75 percent of my errors on a screen; I need a printed version to catch all or close to all of them.  I hate the paper waste - even with e-filing, we still generate a lot of paper in the legal field, and it pains me to print something I know is headed for the shredder and recycling bin - but my eyes/brain aren't going to get any better about it after all these years.  I almost always print only one draft, and double-sided, so it could be worse, but I wish I didn't need to. 

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I do that (I think everyone does), and my biggest proofreading problem is I probably only spot 75 percent of my errors on a screen; I need a printed version to catch all or close to all of them.  I hate the paper waste - even with e-filing, we still generate a lot of paper in the legal field, and it pains me to print something I know is headed for the shredder and recycling bin - but my eyes/brain aren't going to get any better about it after all these years.  I almost always print only one draft, and double-sided, so it could be worse, but I wish I didn't need to. 

I have that issue, too. I proofread a newsletter for my dad and I sometimes will print it just because it's easier to read that way.

[Prevailing Wind]

I've found that no matter how many times I proofread something I've written on the computer, I find more errors once I print it out.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I understand why that commercial can be considered offensive, but I have seen worse.  And given when that commercial aired, and IIRC pulled, a couple of years later, All in the Family premiered, and ran from 71-79.  There couldn't have been a more offensive character than Archie Bunker.

I was really young when All in the Family premiered, but as a middle-aged person I can say that Archie was often the butt of the joke, the loudmouthed buffoon who really didn't know any better. Offensive? Maybe, but he was also good-hearted at his core. And really, no worse than  his son in law Mike, who was just as fast to judge, it was simply that Mike was (allegedly) more evolved.