Tinfoil Chef

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Something that you don’t see in many kitchens these days is the classic waffle iron… I’m not talking about a little bitty modern plastic thing that makes waffles for a while and then falls apart because of how cheap it’s made. I am referring to those great big heavy monsters that felt like it weighed as much as ‘57 Chevy grilles.

Those things would, once heated up, make great waffles better than any toaster pastry thingy that sometimes tastes as good as the box it comes in. For one thing, you knew that if the waffle iron was heated up, there was going to be a LOT of waffles because nobody fired up one of those things just to make one or two.

No, that involved making up a gallon or more of batter and waffles being made until it was gone. Then everybody got a stack of them just like a stack of pancakes. Add in some butter and / or maple syrup and THAT was a breakfast of champions.

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A scientist in the kitchen is a variation on a cooking blog that’s really interesting. It’s written by a molecular biology major with a love of good food.

It’s loaded with interesting recipes like this Pork and red curry stir fry with Thai basil that sounds like a truly tasty dish. In addition to the recipe there is also some educational tidbits about one of the ingredients.

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From the subject of this one you’d think I was talking about an exhaust fan that doesn’t wear out however the real issue is the fact that nothings getting exhausted at all. You know the setup… a hood over a stove top that has a fan built into it. The big problem that I’ve always had with that sort of thing is that I’ve never seen one (in a home setup) where the exhaust fans actually functioned like air cleaners.

Instead when you turn it on it starts pulling grease and smoke filled air away from the stove top and whatever is doing the smoking…. only to spew it back out into the room with most of the smoke and grease intact.

This is because all it does is move the air through a grease trap… which most people don’t even realize is there in the first place and therefore never replace or clean it… and back into the room. To my way of thinking, running it through a grease trap is ok.. IF the thing is built so that Joe User can see it and know it’s there and needs cleaning. The main thing however is to expel that smoke and grease filled air to the outside.

Really, it’s kinda stupid to be recirculating it back into the room anyway.

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This is something that a lot of people talk about but not many people pay a whole lot of attention to. It’s also true that even those who Do regularly handle knives safely will slip and cut themselves but it’s unlikely they’ll manage to cut off a finger or something the way you can by not handling the knife properly. Fortunately with just a bit of time going over the safe way to do things will keep you from needing a high risk life insurance policy before you pick up a knife to dice an onion or something.

The first thing to consider is that the knife should be sharp. I know that doesn’t quite sound right but a knife that’s dull or nicked is a lot more likely to slip or stick when you’re cutting something. If the knife isn’t sharp, take a minute to sharpen it. Whether you buy a knife sharpener or just use the sharpening stone that’s built into even the cheap electric can openers. You want a good, even edge on both sides of the blade.

Never run you finger along the blade or poke your finger to test the sharpness. It is possible to carefully drag a thumb or fingertip across the blade to sense the edge but if you’ve never done it before or your hand isn’t rock steady, you’re better off trying the knife on a sheet of paper.

Always cut on a firm, steady surface. Use smooth, even motions and never cut in such a way that the sharp edge could move toward you if it cuts through or your hand slips.

When slicing and dicing always remember to curl your fingers under your hand … away from the blade as it approaching down the stalk of whatever it is you’re chopping. I know that can be a pain to learn the technique, but it’s well worth doing.

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For the first post about specific spices I’m going to start with one I’ve never heard of before. I read about this one and I’ve added it to the list of spices that I’d like to try someday.

Ajwain, also called “Bishop’s Weed” is popular in India. Both the the fruit and leaves are used. The fruits are hard, small and oval in shape and are said to look like cumin or caraway in shape.

It’s pungent and slightly bitter taste that is supposed to have a musty character between that of Anise and Oregano. Rarely used raw, it’s usually dry roasted or fried in clarified butter. It’s also said to reduce the (ahem) “gaseous effects” of beans. (THAT ought to make it popular all by itself!)

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Another one of the things I want to talk about here is something that I’ve become fascinated with in the last few years… Spices. Like herbs, spices are used in cooking to impart different flavors to the food that they’re cooked into. They can range from mild to potent, sweet to hot and peppery.

A spice is an aromatic part of a plant that has a very concentrated flavor. Spices are found in the form of roots, bark, resins, pods, fruits, seeds, berries or flowers. There was a time when the trade of spices was a source of great wealth. Today spices are still extremely valuable and yeah, they can get expensive too but their greatest value is in what you can do with them in the kitchen.

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Mint is more than just a popular flavor to mix with chocolate and candies. It’s an herb. Specifically there are a couple of main varieties of mint. Spearmint and Peppermint.

Spearmint has pointed oval leaves with serrated edges, a deep green color and the flavor is cooling without being pungent.

Spearmint is used in a wide variety of recipes ranging from something like a mint sauce for lamb or in certain cold soups and beverages as well as in salads, spice mixtures and more.

Peppermint is a natural hybrid of Water Mint and Spearmint. It’s got smooth oval leaves, serrated edges, a dark green color and a strong flavor that’s both peppery and cooling.

Peppermint is used in the production of menthol. Peppermint oil is used in candies and sweet liqueurs where it balances the sweetness of the sugars. Peppermint is also considered a perfect compliment to chocolate.

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Having had an occasion to think about it recently, I have to say that there’s really only one thing that can be a downside to learning all sorts of new stuff about food and cooking… and that is what it can do to the number you see when you step on the scale. Now honestly, I’m not going to say what it says for me except that it’s more than I want and nobody’s going to look at me and think I’m the guy in the pictures on this page of bodybuilding supplements unless they think I used the supplements without bothering to do the exercise.

Honestly though, I have to say that the big reason is because I like things like Pizza, burgers and high carbohydrate foods like pasta a whole lot more than I should.

On a semi unrelated note, If you looked at the before and after pics in one of those ads, I have t say that I’d be pretty satisfied to look like the “before” pic.. (minus the shaved head)

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Simple Daily Recipes is one of those food blogs that I’m going to be going back to. It’s loaded with a wide variety of recipes from desserts to main courses and just about anything in between. There’s another feature that I want to start using here as opportunity permits and that’s some really good pictures of the finished product.

My first introduction to the site was “Creamy Lemon Oat Bars“, The first thing I saw was the picture that made me want to run to the kitchen and make up a batch of them.

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Because I saw some Kohls coupon codes and spent some time looking around the Kohls website for a while I ended up paging through their Kitchen & Dining section.

I think it was about a little over a year or a year and a half or so ago when we discovered the food network and started watching a bunch of it. It was great, they had one really good chef after another teaching all kinds of things from recipes to tips to trivia and things that help you understand the “why” of many things cooking.

The one thing that I think that they’ve all got in common however is that every one of them has the most complete set of pots, pans, cutlery and assorted kitchen gadgets & appliances that you can possibly name. At first there were a bunch of things that I hadn’t the first clue what they were. And some things that didn’t make sense at first… like the mixing device (that I still don’t know the correct name for) that Emeril calls a “Boat Motor”.

Then there’s the rack or wooden block with a full range of ever type, size and shape of knife. Every standard type of pan, pot and skillet and several that aren’t so standard. I’ve spent a lot of time over the last year or so mentally filing away assorted tidbits about stuff like this that I hope to one day use when designing (ahem) The “ideal” kitchen.

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