Basic Kitchen Questions

[salinqmind]

@ThelmaLou

Now that’s interesting. And different. So you do believe in air circulation?

While we’re pondering that, here’s my next question: how do **you **keep bread? I’m a household of one. Not that I couldn’t go through a loaf of regular sandwich bread or a couple of baguettes in two days, but as a type 2 diabetic, I am endeavoring to low-carb. So I may have a sandwich with one slice of bread. Or not have bread for a couple of days. I definitely won’t have bread twice in one day.

I don’t buy the long, white 1.5-lb Wonder-Bread type loaves, but I’ll get the pseudo-artisan, branded smaller loaves. Or the Genuine Artisan bakery loaves, which are about 1 lb. I’ve been known to interleave the slices with pieces of parchment, re-bag, and put in the freezer, so I can easily take out one frozen slice at a time. That’s the best thing I’ve come up with. Baguettes (especially Trader Joe’s multigrain baguettes) I’ll cut into four pieces and slice through the middle, then pile all of them into a freezer bag. Thaw for 12 seconds in microwave, open flat, and toast. Anyone got something different?

I think you’re doing every thing right, there’s nothing much else that can be done. Bread doesn’t stay good forever, it goes hard, stale… freezing extends the life for a week or so.

[gotpasswords]

@romansperson

(About croissants at $4 each) Good lord, were they made with rare organic yak butter or something?

Thay would be cheap at Disneyland. We were there a couple months ago, and you know that feeling of “I don’t care, I just want X!”? Well, we had that feeling for bananas after a couple days of churros. $1.98 each, and they weren’t even very big. :eek:

[TRC4941]

@DCnDC

Assuming there’s even a ripe one to be had, which, in most supermarket chains, is unlikely. I’ve literally sorted through an entire bin of cantaloupe at the store and not found a single ripe fruit.

I always leave my cantaloupe on the counter for a few days after I buy it. When I can smell it, I cut it. Otherwise, they are hard and tasteless - up here in Minnesota anyway. I’m guessing down south your produce is much better. I wouldn’t even think of buying any kind of melon here unless it was summer.

[ThelmaLou]

What kind of canned tomatoes would you use to make semi-homemade tomato soup?

I used San Marzano crushed tomatoes, added chicken broth, onions, garlic, a dash of sugar, the obvious ingredients… but I gotta say, the end product tasted more like tomato sauce than soup. I feel like I need to add some meatballs and boil up some spaghetti. Does anyone here successfully make tomato soup with canned tomatoes?

[Aspenglow]

@ThelmaLou

**What kind of canned tomatoes would you use to make semi-homemade tomato soup?

I used San Marzano crushed tomatoes**, added chicken broth, onions, garlic, a dash of sugar, the obvious ingredients… but I gotta say, the end product tasted more like tomato sauce than soup. I feel like I need to add some meatballs and boil up some spaghetti. Does anyone here successfully make tomato soup with canned tomatoes?

You’re on the right track, in my opinion.

Here’s my old family recipe, FWIW (It’s not low calorie!):

Put the following into a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive pot:

1 quart (more or less) home canned or commercial canned Italian-style tomatoes (San Marzano, Amish Paste, e.g. with juice
1 large diced onion
3 oz. butter
1 tsp. dried basil
1 to 2 tsp. chicken Better Than Boullion (careful, it can get salty!)
1 clove minced garlic

Simmer and stir often till onions are very soft. It will want to stick, so watch your burner temperature.

Puree mixture using a stick or standard blender till smooth.

To finish the soup:

Add heavy cream to taste (I use about 1/2 cup), 1 tsp. brown sugar, 4-5 TB brandy, salt and pepper to taste. Reheat but don’t boil.

[chela]

I use frozen bread remains all the time, grate them into bread crumbs.

[romansperson]

@ThelmaLou

What kind of canned tomatoes would you use to make semi-homemade tomato soup?

I used San Marzano crushed tomatoes, added chicken broth, onions, garlic, a dash of sugar, the obvious ingredients… but I gotta say, the end product tasted more like tomato sauce than soup. I feel like I need to add some meatballs and boil up some spaghetti. Does anyone here successfully make tomato soup with canned tomatoes?

Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes. Or during fresh tomato season, roast some yourself and use those. The roasting turns some of the starches to sugars and makes them less acidic.

I think you are also missing some milk or cream, which is what you also find in classic tomato soup. You don’t need much.

You can also use your favorite marinara sauce to make a quickie tomato soup.

[ThelmaLou]

Aspenglow & romansperson, I think you are both right. What’s missing is milk or cream. In its current state, it’s lacking “softness.” I can add some when I reheat tomorrow. Thx.

Even in summer, it’s hard to find really great fresh tomatoes. When I do, I make a KILLER blended gazpacho. I’m on my kindle at the moment, but if anyone is interested, I can post the recipe tomorrow.

[guizot]

@Chefguy

And here’s a cite to support your claim. Note that the level of sugar will not change, only the texture.

Thank you. You know, the first two paragraphs of the article say this,

@University of Nebraska

Apricots, bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, nectarines, peaches, pears, plantains and plums continue to ripen after they’re picked.

Fruits you should pick or buy ripe and ready-to-eat include: apples, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, tangerines and watermelon.

I wonder if there is anyone who buys green oranges or green strawberries expecting them to “ripen.”

[salinqmind]

@guizot

Thank you. You know, the first two paragraphs of the article say this, I wonder if there is anyone who buys green oranges or green strawberries expecting them to “ripen.”

I read that oranges are gassed, or dyed orange- when they’re picked when they’re ripe, they are green in color.

[Johnny_L.A]

I put cut onions in a fold-top bag and wrap it tightly. Then I put that into a zip-top bag.

[needscoffee]

In cleaning my fridge today, I found a half onion from 5 months ago, perfectly fresh. It’s in a small ziplock bag with the air squeezed out, inside a small plastic container. It’s a regular yellow onion. There’s no odor from it.

[jnglmassiv]

I’d call myself a pretty heavy onion consumer and have a dedicated onion keeper. I got it as a gift years ago and remember thinking at the time it was a pretty dumb thing to have in the kitchen. I’ve used it every day since and actually need a replacement since the current one is cracked and somewhat bent out of round.

[ThelmaLou]

Onion Ignorance being fought mightily.

Another question: what is your routine/daily maintenance for the mouthpiece of the travel mug (coffee, water) that you likely use all day every day?

I started out with a couple of fancy ones but had to ditch them because the liquid came in contact with the sealing gasket-- milk, sugar, blech. Removing the replacing the gasket was a nightmare (like putting on Spanx).

Even so, a cursory rinse isn’t enough to remove gunk and germs. Dishwashing liquid isn’t great because the taste lingers on the plastic. I’ve had a cough for the past week and every day I take off the top of my ever-present travel mug and pour boiling water on the mouth part. I have a dishwasher, but don’t run it every day.

And storage? I thought I had washed a high-end Zojirushi travel mug quite well before putting it on the shelf, but when I got it down, filled it with coffee a couple of weeks ago and went to drink, I smelled/tasted mold. Ewww…

Y’all’s help with these daily life-maintenance tasks is appreciated. Until I can get a full-time [del]keeper[/del], er, help.

[WildaBeast]

I have a question related to the bread one. I was making meatloaf last weekend, and I had three slices of bread that were kind of old and I wanted to use them up. So I tore them in to smaller chunks and put them in a food processor, and made them into bread crumbs. Great, except this produced approximately twice as many bread crumbs as I needed for my recipe. So how do I keep the remaining crumbs? Right now they’re in a plastic container in my fridge, which I figure will at least delay them from getting moldy for a while. I suppose I could move them to the freezer. But I’m wondering if I can dry them somehow, and make them crunchy and store them without refrigeration, like the store bought bread crumbs.

[Slash1972]

@needscoffee

In cleaning my fridge today, I found a half onion from 5 months ago, perfectly fresh. It’s in a small ziplock bag with the air squeezed out, inside a small plastic container. It’s a regular yellow onion. There’s no odor from it.

I just used the other half of an onion I used last week and kept in a sealed lunch baggy. It felt a little rubbery, but still tasted fine diced on a hot dog with Cleveland Stadium mustard

[TriPolar]

@WildaBeast

I have a question related to the bread one. I was making meatloaf last weekend, and I had three slices of bread that were kind of old and I wanted to use them up. So I tore them in to smaller chunks and put them in a food processor, and made them into bread crumbs. Great, except this produced approximately twice as many bread crumbs as I needed for my recipe. So how do I keep the remaining crumbs? Right now they’re in a plastic container in my fridge, which I figure will at least delay them from getting moldy for a while. I suppose I could move them to the freezer. But I’m wondering if I can dry them somehow, and make them crunchy and store them without refrigeration, like the store bought bread crumbs.

Spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 325F for 10-15 minutes. This is basically making croutons so add some olive oil and herbs if you like. Just keep them sealed up after that and they’ll last quite a while.

[kayaker]

@ThelmaLou

Another question: what is your routine/daily maintenance for the mouthpiece of the travel mug (coffee, water) that you likely use all day every day?

I use a plain, old coffee cup at work. After use I do a quick rinse and put it away. A few coworkers have voiced disgust about this, but I do the same thing at home with both coffee mugs and beer glasses.

[DummyGladHands]

[quote=“ThelmaLou, post:54, topic:844760”]

Onion Ignorance being fought mightily.

Another question: what is your routine/daily maintenance for the mouthpiece of the travel mug (coffee, water) that you likely use all day every day?

I started out with a couple of fancy ones but had to ditch them because the liquid came in contact with the sealing gasket-- milk, sugar, blech. Removing the replacing the gasket was a nightmare (like putting on Spanx).

Even so, a cursory rinse isn’t enough to remove gunk and germs. Dishwashing liquid isn’t great because the taste lingers on the plastic. I’ve had a cough for the past week and every day I take off the top of my ever-present travel mug and pour boiling water on the mouth part. I have a dishwasher, but don’t run it every day.

And storage? I thought I had washed a high-end Zojirushi travel mug quite well before putting it on the shelf, but when I got it down, filled it with coffee a couple of weeks ago and went to drink, I smelled/tasted mold. Ewww…
https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=885683&highlight=coffee

I am on the search for travel mugs with no hidey holes for slime

[Girl_From_Mars]

I don’t think I often have a half onion left over; few recipes I cook call for half? But say that I did, I’d either store it cut side down on a plate, or wrapped in reusable beeswax wrap - we don’t use plastic wrap or plastic bags in the house anymore.