@Kyeh After having none on the trees last year (the fruit every other year), we’re gonna have a bumper crop this year.
I really have to find out if freezing them works. I’ve seen lots of information on doing it, but I need to find out for myself. Maybe this will be the year!
@Kyeh I’ve seen different ways. So, I think this year I’ll try freezing in the skin, not ripe. Freezing in the skin, ripe. Splitting a ripe avocado in two and freezing each side separately.
Of course, using the food saver to package each one.
This will probably be the fourth year I’ve thought about doing this.
@Kyeh@lisaviolet My cats that died in 1998 and 2001 made friends with a squirrel. They on the window sill and a young squirrel made a leap from the side porch steps to the window screen. They fled. Eventually they stayed put when the squirrel jumped onto the screen even when the window was open. The squirrel would hang out on the screen (belly against it) for 15 -20 mins at time, cats would be right there. They’d sniff each other. Was pretty much a daily routine for the squirrel and my cats as the squirrel grew up. Then later that summer the squirrel didn’t come. Cats hung out for ever that day - like hours. They did that for probably a week. And then never went back to that window. I found the squirrel in the street, hit by a car. Very sad.
@show_the_maw I initially thought you meant that, though you didn’t in your younger years, you now thoroughly enjoy looking at clocks to learn the time…
@show_the_maw I LOVED reading when I was a kid. I was a probably a terror too at least three public libraries at once (two counties due to school plus the city one) never mind the school library. My aunt/uncles book store for Christmas. Etc.
Sort of just stopped at some point due to work and internet and life. I think college really killed it. Ironically enough…
I liked long baths until my fingers and toes got all wrinkly, that was fun. The need for naps always confused me, altho I immediately fell asleep. Growing up back in the Midwest, brussels sprouts were unheard of, so nothing there to hate, but I did hate spinach, despite the best efforts of the Popeye cartoons, but now I love it.
@stolicat I hated canned spinach as a kid and hate it now. Somewhere in adulthood I discovered fresh spinach in salads, and love it. I like mixed lettuce and radishes fresh in salads but don’t think I would care for them cooked up and canned.
I hated brussel sprouts and still do. What’s funny is I know my mother made them, that’s how I knew I hated them - but we were just talking about them the other day and she’s says she hates them too!
@duodec Well, that improves most things! It’s like escargot - you drench these little rubbery eraser-like things in enough white wine and garlic butter and they suddenly seem worth eating.
I just wanted to see where wed go. When I was younger I used to say to the girl/woman I was dating that some things were cute. I mean it was meant as a compliment. We were young. But not taken as intended. Adjustments were made.
@chienfou@yakkoTDI I mean it could also go so right. You know with stow and go seating you can fit a full 4x8 sheet of drywall in some models. May be handier then a truck for many people. What people choose to do with that space when they are hauling hard wood… Is none of our business
@unksol
Good point! I have many great memories of my wife’s Dodge Trademan 200 with the fully (shag) carpeted interior and custom paint job from late 70’s!
I think 21 counts as a kid in the scope of things? A sam adams summer ale was absolutely gross the first time I had one. Just the taste. I gave the rest to a friend.
Now I enjoy a variety of beers including very bitter or dark or hoppy ones. Taste is aquired.
Regardless… Unless your kid needs an EpiPen. They should eat what you make and learn to like it or they never will. One of my sister’s husbands just has a thing against green vegetables. And I’m sure he not allergic to chlorophyll. Admittedly he’s fine otherwise. Probably better than I am
Acknowledging there are some very rare out liars but. Probably not your kid.
@unksol HAHAHA. My kid said she hated cheese she love pizza at school. I told her it was cheese. She said it wasn’t because it was brown. LOL I’d hide cheese in tuna and noodles and she loved my tuna and noodles. When I finally told her I made it with cheese she didn’t believe me.
@Kidsandliz I mean… What even is tuna casserole/noodles without some cheese. I dump some frozen veggies in usually just to make myself feel better. But you get what you get and you will eat it.
Or I guess i you can pitch a fit and I’ll eat it as leftovers
@unksol She knew dinner was dinner. Choose not to eat it and she can do without until morning. That being said I tried to make things she liked, introducing one new food (of which kids often have to try new foods several times before they like them) with stuff I know they like. She had to take a decent sized taste of any new food introduced. Usually she was pretty good about doing that.
@Kidsandliz right. It’s the parents who just feed them chicken nuggets cause they think their kid is “special” and fussy. Or worse the grandparents sometimes. Cause they don’t want to have that fight. No they aren’t special lol. Teach your kid food. I get why it happens but.
@unksol I overheard my kid telling a friend once, “You better do what my mom tells you to do because she means what she says”. LOL
My kid got sick of me saying, “There are consequences to choices. If you don’t like the consequence of a choice then pick a choice that as a consequence you like.”. Once I caught her sneaking back in after having snuck out. I started to say something and she said, “I know. I know.” and went to drag her mattress in to my bedroom (door came off the bedroom door too until I discovered she hated the doorknob being removed just as much - easier to take to doorknob out). I asked her why she had done it. She said she had thought about it (that was a first) and had decided that the consequence was worth sneaking out to go to the party. I asked her if that meant the consequence wasn’t ‘bad’ enough and she looked horrified.
@Kidsandliz I mean if she did the cost/benefit analysis correctly. Those were the rules. Changing the cost after the fact would be unfair. Changing it going forward. Meh. Things change.
I mean also life is not fair but. Still. It should be
@unksol Oh I didn’t change the rules at that incident. I just asked her that question. There was no way I was going to add a consequence right there and then. Consequences need to be known in advance of the act (or in this case bad act). She had thought through her decision for the first time ever (well that I knew of) and that behavior I wanted to encourage. We did sit down later and discuss how to change the consequences so she’d be less likely to make the “wrong” decision.
@ircon96@yakkoTDI may have to try that. What I mostly like about Sriracha vs other table top hot sauces is the flavor vs excess vinegar in that application.
Looks like no sugar which. Should not be needed.
Obviously if you want heat you wouldn’t be looking at Sriracha or Franks anyway lol.
@ircon96@unksol The excess vinegar is why I can’t use regular Tabasco but I like their chipotle flavour. Of course Cholula brand is better than Tabasco in any flavour.
As for heat I like a nice afternoon on the hammock in the sun kind of heat better than the South Florida, middle of August, locked in the car kind of heat.
@unksol Yes, a pepper mill is definitely the way to go, although, considering how much pepper i tend to use on certain foods these days, i really should get an electric one to avoid repetitive stress injuries!
I do prefer spiciness on the more reasonable side so you can still taste the food, but i could never get used to sriracha, it had a weird background flavor to me. Otherwise, it’s just the right level of heat; i don’t remember the amount of vinegar, but i do like a healthy amount of in my hot sauces.
The “hot” sauce I’ve eaten the most is Frank’s Red Hot Wings sauce, cuz it’s relatively mellow but still has a kick & is ready to use right out of the bottle. My version of quick, cheap “Buffalo wings” is baking chicken thighs, cutting bite-sized pieces & dipping them in Frank’s wings sauce, then in Ken’s ranch dressing. Heaven! Damn, I’m making myself hungry.
They really are a game changer - for cooking especially. Fresh ground pepper is great, and when your recipe calls for a tablespoon it’s a real PITA to grind by hand. Bought a set for SWMBO and she liked it so much she requested another that could be dedicated to the kitchen so we can leave the other on the dining room table. We buy the big container of peppercorns from Sam’s and generally use them up before the best by date!
@chienfou@ircon96 i just decided to spring for a nice hand grinder last year although I would think for bulk pepper/spices a cheap coffee grinder would work. If just used for spices.
I mean I haven’t given up on franks. Aquired tastes and all. I do have this because Amazon coupons and subscribe and save.
I kind of figure it can’t go bad with the spice/vinegar acetic environment. Worst case I doctor it up to a wet rub.
bulk pepper/spices a cheap coffee grinder would work
I bought a cheapo coffee grinder from WM to use to grind up the chipotles I make in the smoker (to make chipotle powder). Works great! I also use it to pulverize eggshells to use in the garden on the tomatoes.
But fresh ground pepper is SO good on salads, pasta, meats etc…
@chienfou@ircon96@unksol@yakkoTDI
Have you tried Korean Gochujang or Middle Eastern Harissa? I love them both, and I think it’s partly because they’re low on acidity.
@chienfou@ircon96@Targaryen@troy
Ummm … Meh staff, did you see this? I’m not sure who makes buying decisions, but you could probably sell some electric pepper grinders here!
@chienfou@ircon96@Kyeh@yakkoTDI I’m not sure if I could find those or not. Just Walmart/Kroger. One way there is a large mexican community and I noticed a store I might want to stop in. There might have been an asian one. I’m sure the other direction has some Asian and African grocery stores.
But these are both 45 minute trips one way and I still have an old chicken in the bottom drawer to cook so I don’t get to things like I should.
I should start cooking more and get more organized a one a month “trip” could make a lot of sense
@chienfou@ircon96@Kyeh@yakkoTDI when I cook I tend to cook in bulk. I will make a whole crock pot of chicken stew. Bones in and all to get a really good broth. Or roast it and then put the bones and scraps in the pressure cooker for hours with vegetable scraps to make a stock to freeze. Giant pot of chili. Much less large just a standard 13x9 casserole.
I have no issues eating that huge pot of chilli for a week. It does not go bad. Maybe cause there are no kids to introduce bacteria.
And yes I know portions could go to the garage freezer.
It is more fun to actually cook for a 4-5 person family group… And have someone help.
Right up until you find out the way they were raised was to just shovel food in the trash they didn’t eat. And they ignore leftovers. And it’s just a normal family sized meal not my giant pot. Look… Eat the food you took on your plate. Don’t put food in the garbage to attract bugs. And racoons. And I guess now cats. That’s an internal issue … If you throw liquid in the trash. I will look for you. I will find you. It will not be good. There is a sink or a drain somewhere. You barbarian
@ircon96@unksol I was pondering one of those fancy Peugeot pepper mills for a long time. Then I read something that said they do amazing and consistent fine grinds, but not coarse grinds at all.
Maybe I’m weird, but I want a very coarse pepper grind.
I really like it. It’s very satisfying and quick. This is as course as it goes with the tension I have set. Standard sour cream lid for visiblety/scale. And just a couple quick turns. I think it looks pretty good. If I wanted to just crack them I would put them in a cereal bad and smack em with a cast iron skillet. You can zoom all the way in there and see how big the grains are.
@ircon96@unksol Thanks for the demo. The very largest pieces there are what I’d prefer for my normal grind. And my no-name cheapo does that pretty well.
@chienfou@ircon96 Any recommendations on electric pepper grinders? I bought this one from Amazon, and it works, but it’s slow, and has a very small capacity (just the clear part).
@chienfou@unksol@yakkoTDI @Kyeh I’ve heard a lot about harissa (not so much about gochujang, I’ll have to read up on it) & I’ve always wanted to try it, but never got around to it. I tend to stick with things for a long time once i find something i like, usually by getting inspired by a recipe or an interesting cooking technique. Maybe one of these days…
@chienfou@ircon96@unksol@yakkoTDI
Gochujang has miso in it, so it’s thick, salty and a bit sweet. I love it. Do you have any Korean restaurants around? They serve gochujang with bibimbop, which I also love. When I was a kid, a Korean exchange student lived with us for a while. Her mother would send her big jars of gochujang and she’d slather it on everything!
I also have to say brussels sprouts. First, all I had experienced back then (in the 60’s) were the blocks of packaged frozen, not fresh. But I distinctly remember an incident when my mom got distracted during dinner prep and scorched a pan of (mushy, partially thawed) sprouts and that burned sulfur smell alone put me off of them until I tried proper fresh ones years later as an adult.
Vegetables. Anything besides lettuce I didn’t eat until I was probably 23-25 years old. Even the nasty dreaded broccoli I learned to cook properly a couple of years ago and now eat.
@unksol
That’s one thing I will never eat is steamed broccoli with melted cheese. My mom made that when I was a kid and I would sit at the dinner table all night bc I wouldn’t eat it.
@Star2236@unksol Last night, I cut up medium chunks of fresh cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrot and onion, tossed them in some olive oil and seasoned, then oven roasted them until browned on a sheet pan, along with some sliced up bacon. Yum!
I chose brussels sprouts, because I’d never had them roasted until adulthood, but I also hated avocado as a kid, and man, was I a weirdo. Avocado is amazing.
@jitc I’m not saying it’s unavailable just. I don’t recall it being a thing ever. Isn’t it delicate/hard to ship? Maybe I’m remembering wrong/conflating the ripening window with time.
Maybe it just wasn’t a thing here lol I’ve never done game day as an adult
@jitc Kroger says I can get a medium ripe avocado for .89 and a large ripe for 1.69. so maybe it’s just a how you were raised thing. Maybe I’ll look next time I go shopping. And get one just to figure out what to do with it.
@jitc@unksol It’s popular smooshed on toast these days. Good topped off with Kinder’s Blend (it has salt, pepper and granulated garlic - my favorite topping.)
There’s a lot in the actual spice cabinet plus garlic in freezer to grate. I don’t claim to know what I’m doing sometimes I just start chucking things in. But it’s usually good. Curry seasoning seems to work well in the chilli. I forget what I bought it for.
@yakkoTDI “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”
@blaineg and got to have the malt vinegar with the fish.
Also reminded me of when I was working with a guy from England who came to the US, and he was very disappointed when he asked for chips and they gave him a bag of our potato chips (which they call crisps there, apparently)
When I was there in the early 80’s fish & chips still came wrapped in newspaper (it was generally wrapped in white paper, and overwrapped with newspaper). But the mommy government banned newspaper a few years later as a health hazard.
@blaineg@pmarin Similar issue with biscuits/cookies.
A visiting relative from New Zealand was confused when we went out for breakfast and the server asked her if she wanted biscuits with her eggs.
@blaineg@pmarin@werehatrack I generally have better luck making good biscuits than good scones.
(Which, BTW, is pronounced skahns by the people who invented them. )
@blaineg@macromeh@werehatrack That reminded me of a story from 7th grade math class, about 40 years ago. We had a fun math professor, Mr Lindauer( I have no idea why I still knew that.)
There was a student from Scotland who had moved there. At the beginning of class one day, Mr Lindauer asked him if he liked scones (rhymed with cones). The guy was puzzled and didn’t understand what he was asking. they went back and forth a few times, eventually describing bready pastry things. Finally the boy yelled « Oh, Skahns! » yes of course, I like them.
Long road trips in the car.
Also wasn’t fond of flying since I seemed to get airsick every time I flew to France to see family. Finally figured out it wasn’t the flight, it was the idiots that smoked in the plane that caused the nausea. That stale cigarette odor did me in!! “NO SMOKING” on planes was a game changer for me. I love flying now.
@chienfou I don’t fly much but when I was a teenager we used to get to go camping/hiking/boating in Canada for like two weeks as part of a church group. Middle of nowhere, had to take a train to the drop off point. Just walking through a car where anyone has been smoking made me sick. Thankfully you could just go stand out on the platforms between cars. IDK what it is but it’s definitely a thing. And not an option on a plane lol
Sports on TV
I didn’t understand anything about sports and was mostly not around people that did. So it was something that pre-empted my television viewing on the 3 channels we had. Games often went to overtime or extra innings. And I learned that the last 2 minutes of a football game can take 1/2 an hour meaning you missed your show.
Now I watch a lot of sport(s) on TV but hard to say if that’s better. The DVR and net era has made it easier plus there are 100 options at any time — again, hard to say if that’s better…
@pmarin i mean it’s totally an option to just not watch the sports balls. I find them unnecessary. It’s good to have a cursory understanding of the rules so you can watch or converse with the crazy people if you have to
@pmarin@unksol I have ups and downs about rules. It’s why I fall in and out of football (both gridiron and soccer) as well as hockey. There are so many addendums and technicalities that the game looks exciting one minute, then drags on the next.
@pakopako@pmarin I figure as long as you understand the basics of the game you can function socially at you know a tailgate or watch a Superbowl or a game party. or what ever.
I could not care less about the specifics. The commentator will explain the call the refs made, then someone rooting for the other team will complain about why it’s bullshit. I’ll have no dog in the fight cause. I don’t know any of these rich people chasing a ball. So. Eh.
School/college sports I guess can be a little different but. School pride or… whatever. Even then. Meh. Nevermind the NCAA
Hot dogs. Kids are supposed to love hot dogs but I hated them… except for the hot dogs that Montgomery Wards lunch counter had; those were good but everyone else in my family said they were the worst, nastiest hot dogs ever. They haven’t become my favorite but they make for a decent, easy dinner. And the Berkshire Pork dogs from Wild Fork are actually awesome.
@pakopako Hmm - I like coffee and never found celery bitter, but I do dislike bitterness in alcohol. Can’t stand IPAs, and Campari makes me think of bile.
@Kyeh@pakopako That is interesting this stuff is bitter. I hated the smell enough of coffee didn’t want to taste it. Hate alcohol too (been decades since I tried any and that would have been about one drop type of trying with friends harassing me until I did and then spit it out). I hate anything bitter. And also stuff too sour, hot spicy, garlic (or anything else with an after taste)… And don’t even get me started on fish sauce. My kid loves that and OMG it stunk up the house so incredibly badly. Someone sent us a bottle and didn’t pad it. It broke and the post office called me to find out if they needed to go to the ER due to the smell; touching the wet cardboard.
wearing shoes
Avocadoes
@Kyeh After having none on the trees last year (the fruit every other year), we’re gonna have a bumper crop this year.
I really have to find out if freezing them works. I’ve seen lots of information on doing it, but I need to find out for myself. Maybe this will be the year!
@lisaviolet Huh, it doesn’t seem like they’d freeze well, but that would be great if they did! Maybe if you smoosh them and freeze the paste?
@Kyeh I’ve seen different ways. So, I think this year I’ll try freezing in the skin, not ripe. Freezing in the skin, ripe. Splitting a ripe avocado in two and freezing each side separately.
Of course, using the food saver to package each one.
This will probably be the fourth year I’ve thought about doing this.
Oh, look! A squirrel!
@Kyeh @lisaviolet Oh look! A cat chasing the squirrel!!!
@Kidsandliz @lisaviolet
@Kyeh @lisaviolet My cats that died in 1998 and 2001 made friends with a squirrel. They on the window sill and a young squirrel made a leap from the side porch steps to the window screen. They fled. Eventually they stayed put when the squirrel jumped onto the screen even when the window was open. The squirrel would hang out on the screen (belly against it) for 15 -20 mins at time, cats would be right there. They’d sniff each other. Was pretty much a daily routine for the squirrel and my cats as the squirrel grew up. Then later that summer the squirrel didn’t come. Cats hung out for ever that day - like hours. They did that for probably a week. And then never went back to that window. I found the squirrel in the street, hit by a car. Very sad.
@Kidsandliz @lisaviolet
!
Ohhh …
Reading time. Sometimes I just want to put all responsibility on hold and read for an hour.
@show_the_maw I initially thought you meant that, though you didn’t in your younger years, you now thoroughly enjoy looking at clocks to learn the time…
@show_the_maw I LOVED reading when I was a kid. I was a probably a terror too at least three public libraries at once (two counties due to school plus the city one) never mind the school library. My aunt/uncles book store for Christmas. Etc.
Sort of just stopped at some point due to work and internet and life. I think college really killed it. Ironically enough…
Refrigerating my batteries.
True story.
/image blue cheese
@shahnm I still hate that.
@Kyeh @shahnm I loved it as a kid and still do.
@Kyeh @shahnm @yakkoTDI I don’t think I knew it existed when I was a kid, but I’ve loved it since I found it.
The dark side.
@shahnm Except for the cookies.
@shahnm @werehatrack
@rockblossom @shahnm @werehatrack
@blaineg Everyone wants to be a Storm Trooper, even the plastic baskets I left to dry on the back porch:
@blaineg @rockblossom
That’s fantastic!
@blaineg @rockblossom @shahnm Yep, they lied about the cookies, and that’s what we still don’t like.
I liked long baths until my fingers and toes got all wrinkly, that was fun. The need for naps always confused me, altho I immediately fell asleep. Growing up back in the Midwest, brussels sprouts were unheard of, so nothing there to hate, but I did hate spinach, despite the best efforts of the Popeye cartoons, but now I love it.
@stolicat I hated canned spinach as a kid and hate it now. Somewhere in adulthood I discovered fresh spinach in salads, and love it. I like mixed lettuce and radishes fresh in salads but don’t think I would care for them cooked up and canned.
I hated brussel sprouts and still do. What’s funny is I know my mother made them, that’s how I knew I hated them - but we were just talking about them the other day and she’s says she hates them too!
@Kyeh Broiled with bacon grease and bacon bits make awesome brussels sprouts…
POPSOCKETS! ROAD ROCKETS! SONNY CROCKETT! AWESOME!
@duodec Well, that improves most things! It’s like escargot - you drench these little rubbery eraser-like things in enough white wine and garlic butter and they suddenly seem worth eating.
Girls uh mean Women. Girls back then when they had cuties. Women now, now that they have… I should stop digging.
@hchavers oh please dig away. FYI girls have cooties. A Woman it turns out may not like the word cute in some context. Which… Is fair
@hchavers @unksol When you boys have dug a deep enough hole us girls will fill the dirt in. With you both in it. Problem solved. (snicker)
@hchavers @Kidsandliz
Sounds you like you may need to go over here
https://meh.com/forum/topics/murder-shirt
I just wanted to see where wed go. When I was younger I used to say to the girl/woman I was dating that some things were cute. I mean it was meant as a compliment. We were young. But not taken as intended. Adjustments were made.
I liked naps then and I like naps now.
@Salanth I don’t like to take naps, it’s too hard waking up again.
But in the past few years naps have started taking me, whether I like it or not.
Peanut butter.
Spaghetti. I have no explanation for it, I just didn’t like it until I knew better.
@2many2no I couldn’t eat it mixed together as a kid. Had to do just the noodles with butter/parm and sauce in a completely separate bowl.
@2many2no @PHRoG really depends on what you mean by “spaghetti”
I always ate it but it you are including the tomato sauce it can be done a ton of ways.
Never mind the normal taste bud adjustment
/giphy nobody likes brussels sprouts
@haydesigner Doesn’t look like John Wick.
Has he ever killed someone with a Brussel sprout?
Mushrooms!
Brussel sprouts (eat the shit out of them now, lol), teriyaki and cheesecake.
White van man.
@yakkoTDI hoping your husband/wife drives a white van?
@unksol @yakkoTDI
that can go wrong in SO many ways…
@chienfou @yakkoTDI I mean it could also go so right. You know with stow and go seating you can fit a full 4x8 sheet of drywall in some models. May be handier then a truck for many people. What people choose to do with that space when they are hauling hard wood… Is none of our business
@unksol
Good point! I have many great memories of my wife’s Dodge Trademan 200 with the fully (shag) carpeted interior and custom paint job from late 70’s!
@chienfou @unksol @yakkoTDI Well in the UK, “white van man” means repairmen, construction workers, etc.
With yakko, I’m sure it’s something more nefarious.
@blaineg @chienfou @yakkoTDI I mean it can but also
/image free candy van
Hence when you were a kid very bad. When you’re an adult…
I think 21 counts as a kid in the scope of things? A sam adams summer ale was absolutely gross the first time I had one. Just the taste. I gave the rest to a friend.
Now I enjoy a variety of beers including very bitter or dark or hoppy ones. Taste is aquired.
Regardless… Unless your kid needs an EpiPen. They should eat what you make and learn to like it or they never will. One of my sister’s husbands just has a thing against green vegetables. And I’m sure he not allergic to chlorophyll. Admittedly he’s fine otherwise. Probably better than I am
Acknowledging there are some very rare out liars but. Probably not your kid.
@unksol HAHAHA. My kid said she hated cheese she love pizza at school. I told her it was cheese. She said it wasn’t because it was brown. LOL I’d hide cheese in tuna and noodles and she loved my tuna and noodles. When I finally told her I made it with cheese she didn’t believe me.
@Kidsandliz I mean… What even is tuna casserole/noodles without some cheese. I dump some frozen veggies in usually just to make myself feel better. But you get what you get and you will eat it.
Or I guess i you can pitch a fit and I’ll eat it as leftovers
@unksol She knew dinner was dinner. Choose not to eat it and she can do without until morning. That being said I tried to make things she liked, introducing one new food (of which kids often have to try new foods several times before they like them) with stuff I know they like. She had to take a decent sized taste of any new food introduced. Usually she was pretty good about doing that.
@Kidsandliz right. It’s the parents who just feed them chicken nuggets cause they think their kid is “special” and fussy. Or worse the grandparents sometimes. Cause they don’t want to have that fight. No they aren’t special lol. Teach your kid food. I get why it happens but.
@unksol I overheard my kid telling a friend once, “You better do what my mom tells you to do because she means what she says”. LOL
My kid got sick of me saying, “There are consequences to choices. If you don’t like the consequence of a choice then pick a choice that as a consequence you like.”. Once I caught her sneaking back in after having snuck out. I started to say something and she said, “I know. I know.” and went to drag her mattress in to my bedroom (door came off the bedroom door too until I discovered she hated the doorknob being removed just as much - easier to take to doorknob out). I asked her why she had done it. She said she had thought about it (that was a first) and had decided that the consequence was worth sneaking out to go to the party. I asked her if that meant the consequence wasn’t ‘bad’ enough and she looked horrified.
@Kidsandliz I mean if she did the cost/benefit analysis correctly. Those were the rules. Changing the cost after the fact would be unfair. Changing it going forward. Meh. Things change.
I mean also life is not fair but. Still. It should be
@unksol Oh I didn’t change the rules at that incident. I just asked her that question. There was no way I was going to add a consequence right there and then. Consequences need to be known in advance of the act (or in this case bad act). She had thought through her decision for the first time ever (well that I knew of) and that behavior I wanted to encourage. We did sit down later and discuss how to change the consequences so she’d be less likely to make the “wrong” decision.
@Kidsandliz I assumed that was what you did but you know what assuming does etc etc
@unksol Mom always made us take at least a “thank you bite”.
And she was completely ok if we “starved” if we didn’t want to eat what she cooked.
@unksol Well as I have stated before I am the same parent who has also told her there are good reasons why some species eat their young too.
Scotch!
@rtjhnstn Ah yes. I remember being forced to drink scotch as a kid. My parents wouldn’t let me leave the bar until I finished my whole glass.
@shahnm Ahh, yes. Children’s Night at the local bar! Buy two adult shots of whiskey, get a child-sized shot for free. Another tradition lost.
Black pepper & spicy foods. Basically, stuff with flavor.
@ircon96 do you have a pepper grinder? Def worth it. How do you feel about sriracha?
Very low on the spice end and excellent on the flavor
@ircon96 @unksol Sambal Oelek is better than sriracha. Heat is about the same but the flavour is better. Huy Fong Foods makes the best of both.
@ircon96
I still don’t like spicy food but I get very bad heartburn from that kind of stuff too so that’s another reason I stay away from it.
@ircon96 @yakkoTDI may have to try that. What I mostly like about Sriracha vs other table top hot sauces is the flavor vs excess vinegar in that application.
Looks like no sugar which. Should not be needed.
Obviously if you want heat you wouldn’t be looking at Sriracha or Franks anyway lol.
@ircon96 @unksol The excess vinegar is why I can’t use regular Tabasco but I like their chipotle flavour. Of course Cholula brand is better than Tabasco in any flavour.
As for heat I like a nice afternoon on the hammock in the sun kind of heat better than the South Florida, middle of August, locked in the car kind of heat.
@unksol Yes, a pepper mill is definitely the way to go, although, considering how much pepper i tend to use on certain foods these days, i really should get an electric one to avoid repetitive stress injuries!
@unksol @yakkoTDI @Star2236
I do prefer spiciness on the more reasonable side so you can still taste the food, but i could never get used to sriracha, it had a weird background flavor to me. Otherwise, it’s just the right level of heat; i don’t remember the amount of vinegar, but i do like a healthy amount of in my hot sauces.
The “hot” sauce I’ve eaten the most is Frank’s Red Hot Wings sauce, cuz it’s relatively mellow but still has a kick & is ready to use right out of the bottle. My version of quick, cheap “Buffalo wings” is baking chicken thighs, cutting bite-sized pieces & dipping them in Frank’s wings sauce, then in Ken’s ranch dressing. Heaven!
Damn, I’m making myself hungry.
@ircon96
They really are a game changer - for cooking especially. Fresh ground pepper is great, and when your recipe calls for a tablespoon it’s a real PITA to grind by hand. Bought a set for SWMBO and she liked it so much she requested another that could be dedicated to the kitchen so we can leave the other on the dining room table. We buy the big container of peppercorns from Sam’s and generally use them up before the best by date!
@chienfou @ircon96 i just decided to spring for a nice hand grinder last year although I would think for bulk pepper/spices a cheap coffee grinder would work. If just used for spices.
I mean I haven’t given up on franks. Aquired tastes and all. I do have this because Amazon coupons and subscribe and save.
I kind of figure it can’t go bad with the spice/vinegar acetic environment. Worst case I doctor it up to a wet rub.
@unksol
I bought a cheapo coffee grinder from WM to use to grind up the chipotles I make in the smoker (to make chipotle powder). Works great! I also use it to pulverize eggshells to use in the garden on the tomatoes.
But fresh ground pepper is SO good on salads, pasta, meats etc…
@chienfou @ircon96 @unksol @yakkoTDI
Have you tried Korean Gochujang or Middle Eastern Harissa? I love them both, and I think it’s partly because they’re low on acidity.
@chienfou @ircon96 @Targaryen @troy
Ummm … Meh staff, did you see this? I’m not sure who makes buying decisions, but you could probably sell some electric pepper grinders here!
@chienfou @ircon96 @Kyeh @yakkoTDI I’m not sure if I could find those or not. Just Walmart/Kroger. One way there is a large mexican community and I noticed a store I might want to stop in. There might have been an asian one. I’m sure the other direction has some Asian and African grocery stores.
But these are both 45 minute trips one way and I still have an old chicken in the bottom drawer to cook so I don’t get to things like I should.
I should start cooking more and get more organized a one a month “trip” could make a lot of sense
@chienfou @ircon96 @unksol @yakkoTDI
Yeah - it’s hard to get motivated if you’re just cooking for yourself.
@ircon96 @Kyeh @unksol @yakkoTDI
It’s hard enough to cook for just 2! I’m sure it is extra un-motivating to just cook for yourself…
@chienfou @ircon96 @Kyeh @yakkoTDI when I cook I tend to cook in bulk. I will make a whole crock pot of chicken stew. Bones in and all to get a really good broth. Or roast it and then put the bones and scraps in the pressure cooker for hours with vegetable scraps to make a stock to freeze. Giant pot of chili. Much less large just a standard 13x9 casserole.
I have no issues eating that huge pot of chilli for a week. It does not go bad. Maybe cause there are no kids to introduce bacteria.
And yes I know portions could go to the garage freezer.
It is more fun to actually cook for a 4-5 person family group… And have someone help.
Right up until you find out the way they were raised was to just shovel food in the trash they didn’t eat. And they ignore leftovers. And it’s just a normal family sized meal not my giant pot. Look… Eat the food you took on your plate. Don’t put food in the garbage to attract bugs. And racoons. And I guess now cats. That’s an internal issue … If you throw liquid in the trash. I will look for you. I will find you. It will not be good. There is a sink or a drain somewhere. You barbarian
@ircon96 @unksol I was pondering one of those fancy Peugeot pepper mills for a long time. Then I read something that said they do amazing and consistent fine grinds, but not coarse grinds at all.
Maybe I’m weird, but I want a very coarse pepper grind.
@blaineg @ircon96 I bought the 23485. I was thinking it was closer to $40 but camelcamelcamel says it varies from 35-55. $55 seems excessive the reason I went with this one is you select the size of the grind at the bottom instead of fiddling with the tension at the top.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RADVJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I really like it. It’s very satisfying and quick. This is as course as it goes with the tension I have set. Standard sour cream lid for visiblety/scale. And just a couple quick turns. I think it looks pretty good. If I wanted to just crack them I would put them in a cereal bad and smack em with a cast iron skillet. You can zoom all the way in there and see how big the grains are.
@blaineg @ircon96 @unksol Oh look, SideDeal was listening to us.
https://sidedeal.com/forum/topics/sidedeal-daily-cuisinart-t10-touchscreen-burr-coffee-grinder
@ircon96 @unksol Thanks for the demo. The very largest pieces there are what I’d prefer for my normal grind. And my no-name cheapo does that pretty well.
@chienfou @ircon96 Any recommendations on electric pepper grinders? I bought this one from Amazon, and it works, but it’s slow, and has a very small capacity (just the clear part).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z6NX7D5/
@chienfou @ircon96 The LED light is a fairly useless feature.
@blaineg @ircon96
Electric Pepper and Salt Grinder… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBFC8G44?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
That’s the one we got. We quite like it
@chienfou @unksol @yakkoTDI
@Kyeh I’ve heard a lot about harissa (not so much about gochujang, I’ll have to read up on it) & I’ve always wanted to try it, but never got around to it. I tend to stick with things for a long time once i find something i like, usually by getting inspired by a recipe or an interesting cooking technique. Maybe one of these days…
@chienfou @ircon96 @unksol @yakkoTDI
Gochujang has miso in it, so it’s thick, salty and a bit sweet. I love it. Do you have any Korean restaurants around? They serve gochujang with bibimbop, which I also love. When I was a kid, a Korean exchange student lived with us for a while. Her mother would send her big jars of gochujang and she’d slather it on everything!
@chienfou @Kyeh @unksol @yakkoTDI Salty & sweet sound right up my alley! And bibimbop also sounds tasty.
I also have to say brussels sprouts. First, all I had experienced back then (in the 60’s) were the blocks of packaged frozen, not fresh. But I distinctly remember an incident when my mom got distracted during dinner prep and scorched a pan of (mushy, partially thawed) sprouts and that burned sulfur smell alone put me off of them until I tried proper fresh ones years later as an adult.
Vegetables. Anything besides lettuce I didn’t eat until I was probably 23-25 years old. Even the nasty dreaded broccoli I learned to cook properly a couple of years ago and now eat.
@Star2236 you mean
/image steam in bag broccoli
Add cheese for goodness
@unksol
That’s one thing I will never eat is steamed broccoli with melted cheese. My mom made that when I was a kid and I would sit at the dinner table all night bc I wouldn’t eat it.
@Star2236
You’re missing out. How about cauliflower?
@Star2236 @unksol Last night, I cut up medium chunks of fresh cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrot and onion, tossed them in some olive oil and seasoned, then oven roasted them until browned on a sheet pan, along with some sliced up bacon. Yum!
@macromeh @Star2236 sounds delicious. I have some bacon fat on standby. Hmmmm
@unksol
Nothing with melted cheese
I chose brussels sprouts, because I’d never had them roasted until adulthood, but I also hated avocado as a kid, and man, was I a weirdo. Avocado is amazing.
@jitc was?
Jk. I probably still have not had avocado. Just cause it’s not a thing in the Midwest. Lol
@unksol I guess it depends on where in the Midwest you are. I grew up in the Midwest, and avocado graced our table not-infrequently.
@jitc I’m not saying it’s unavailable just. I don’t recall it being a thing ever. Isn’t it delicate/hard to ship? Maybe I’m remembering wrong/conflating the ripening window with time.
Maybe it just wasn’t a thing here lol I’ve never done game day as an adult
@jitc Kroger says I can get a medium ripe avocado for .89 and a large ripe for 1.69. so maybe it’s just a how you were raised thing. Maybe I’ll look next time I go shopping. And get one just to figure out what to do with it.
@jitc @unksol It’s popular smooshed on toast these days. Good topped off with Kinder’s Blend (it has salt, pepper and granulated garlic - my favorite topping.)
@jitc @Kyeh lol yes I’m aware with what millennials do with avocados.technically I am one but
/youtube elder millennial
Also I don’t do social media or emojis. You all are my social media. Take that how you want
@jitc @unksol
Same here!
@jitc @Kyeh @unksol I like to make avocado toast like this (top to bottom) -
Sriracha
avocado
(melted) cheese
toasted english muffin
@jitc @Kyeh @unksol Additional social media would really be overload. Take that how you want
@Kyeh idk what kinders ratio is but I usually have a 7:2:2 ratio shook up in an old spice bottle for general seasoning. More garlic is better
https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/everyday-spice-mix-721-mix/
There’s a lot in the actual spice cabinet plus garlic in freezer to grate. I don’t claim to know what I’m doing sometimes I just start chucking things in. But it’s usually good. Curry seasoning seems to work well in the chilli. I forget what I bought it for.
@unksol Sounds similar. I pour the Kinder’s into a pepper grinder because it’s coarser than I like.
Bourbon
@davea510
just how young were you when you first tried it???
My Mom loved reminding me that I was such a fussy eater that I wouldn’t eat chocolate chip ice cream, “because it had specks in it”.
What an idiot!
@blaineg
Our parents are so wise.
@yakkoTDI “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”
–Mark Twain
@blaineg @yakkoTDI
I also hated fish when I was a kid, because the only fish I’d tasted was school lunch fish on Fridays.
As a kid I could never figure why fish on Fridays anyway? Utah’s not exactly a Catholic state.
Anyway, when I landed in London, English fish & chips made a quick convert of me.
@blaineg and got to have the malt vinegar with the fish.
Also reminded me of when I was working with a guy from England who came to the US, and he was very disappointed when he asked for chips and they gave him a bag of our potato chips (which they call crisps there, apparently)
@pmarin Yep, all true.
When I was there in the early 80’s fish & chips still came wrapped in newspaper (it was generally wrapped in white paper, and overwrapped with newspaper). But the mommy government banned newspaper a few years later as a health hazard.
One of many modern crises in the UK.
@blaineg @pmarin Similar issue with biscuits/cookies.
A visiting relative from New Zealand was confused when we went out for breakfast and the server asked her if she wanted biscuits with her eggs.
@blaineg @macromeh @pmarin And our biscuits are not an equivalent for scones, though I honestly prefer our biscuits myself.
@blaineg @pmarin @werehatrack I generally have better luck making good biscuits than good scones.
)
(Which, BTW, is pronounced skahns by the people who invented them.
@blaineg @macromeh @werehatrack That reminded me of a story from 7th grade math class, about 40 years ago. We had a fun math professor, Mr Lindauer( I have no idea why I still knew that.)
There was a student from Scotland who had moved there. At the beginning of class one day, Mr Lindauer asked him if he liked scones (rhymed with cones). The guy was puzzled and didn’t understand what he was asking. they went back and forth a few times, eventually describing bready pastry things. Finally the boy yelled « Oh, Skahns! » yes of course, I like them.
@macromeh @pmarin @werehatrack Utah scones.
Smothered in honey & butter, or honeybutter.
Long road trips in the car.
Also wasn’t fond of flying since I seemed to get airsick every time I flew to France to see family. Finally figured out it wasn’t the flight, it was the idiots that smoked in the plane that caused the nausea. That stale cigarette odor did me in!! “NO SMOKING” on planes was a game changer for me. I love flying now.
@chienfou I don’t fly much but when I was a teenager we used to get to go camping/hiking/boating in Canada for like two weeks as part of a church group. Middle of nowhere, had to take a train to the drop off point. Just walking through a car where anyone has been smoking made me sick. Thankfully you could just go stand out on the platforms between cars. IDK what it is but it’s definitely a thing. And not an option on a plane lol
Sports on TV
I didn’t understand anything about sports and was mostly not around people that did. So it was something that pre-empted my television viewing on the 3 channels we had. Games often went to overtime or extra innings. And I learned that the last 2 minutes of a football game can take 1/2 an hour meaning you missed your show.
Now I watch a lot of sport(s) on TV but hard to say if that’s better. The DVR and net era has made it easier plus there are 100 options at any time — again, hard to say if that’s better…
@pmarin i mean it’s totally an option to just not watch the sports balls. I find them unnecessary. It’s good to have a cursory understanding of the rules so you can watch or converse with the crazy people if you have to
@pmarin @unksol I have ups and downs about rules. It’s why I fall in and out of football (both gridiron and soccer) as well as hockey. There are so many addendums and technicalities that the game looks exciting one minute, then drags on the next.
@pakopako @pmarin I figure as long as you understand the basics of the game you can function socially at you know a tailgate or watch a Superbowl or a game party. or what ever.
I could not care less about the specifics. The commentator will explain the call the refs made, then someone rooting for the other team will complain about why it’s bullshit. I’ll have no dog in the fight cause. I don’t know any of these rich people chasing a ball. So. Eh.
School/college sports I guess can be a little different but. School pride or… whatever. Even then. Meh. Nevermind the NCAA
Hot dogs. Kids are supposed to love hot dogs but I hated them… except for the hot dogs that Montgomery Wards lunch counter had; those were good but everyone else in my family said they were the worst, nastiest hot dogs ever. They haven’t become my favorite but they make for a decent, easy dinner. And the Berkshire Pork dogs from Wild Fork are actually awesome.
FOOLS! TOOLS! JEWELS! AWESOME!
I actually liked sprouts as a kid; they were crunchy.
But bitter foods with strong smells (coffee, celery, bitters) irked me; still do, though I can power through it.
@pakopako Hmm - I like coffee and never found celery bitter, but I do dislike bitterness in alcohol. Can’t stand IPAs, and Campari makes me think of bile.
@Kyeh @pakopako That is interesting this stuff is bitter. I hated the smell enough of coffee didn’t want to taste it. Hate alcohol too (been decades since I tried any and that would have been about one drop type of trying with friends harassing me until I did and then spit it out). I hate anything bitter. And also stuff too sour, hot spicy, garlic (or anything else with an after taste)… And don’t even get me started on fish sauce. My kid loves that and OMG it stunk up the house so incredibly badly. Someone sent us a bottle and didn’t pad it. It broke and the post office called me to find out if they needed to go to the ER due to the smell; touching the wet cardboard.
@Kidsandliz @pakopako My mother made kimchi a few times when I was a teen. Not quite as bad as fish sauce, but …