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10/11/12 2:14 P

I have been thinking about one, but I don't think it would be a good investment since I am in a single-person household

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9/16/12 6:49 A

My new Health Master emulsifier makes getting my 5 fruits and vegetables easy. Now I'm able to get 9 or 10 servings a day with all the fiber! My skin is glowing and my waistline is shrinking.

current weight: 136.6

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8/2/12 10:42 P

Hi Lynn I know nothing about that website. I just wanted you to see the type of popcorn.
Buy carefully...

Update....
I just read the site and I may have to order some soon...My mouth is watering reading those reviews !!!!

Edited by: GEMINI-SKY at: 8/2/2012 (22:46)

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8/2/12 10:34 P

thank you and yes I believe that is what I am looking for..... mushroom popcorn. :) I will be ordering it from the site you sent me..... I hope mine comes without the butterflies though. LOL

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8/2/12 10:14 P

I think you are talking about Mushroom popcorn...
Here's a link...
nuts.com/snacks/popcorn/mushroom.html

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SparkPoints: (36,294)
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8/2/12 6:38 P

I have very simple needs for new items in my kitchen, I have somehow lost my mellow baller, so that will be the first purchase to arm my kitchen.
the second will be an air popcorn popper, making my favorite snack and fiber source much healthier than the now popular and easily used microwave brands. There is a brand of popcorn that provides a fuller pop to each corn so you don't end up with all the little sharp remains of the kernal ( I don't know the name, but I have been told, so I am on a hunt now to find it).

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7/21/12 5:21 A

My very favorite things to can are tomatoes and corn. The tomatoes because I make my own cooked down salsa and Spaghetti sauce, I have created a few recipes that are just fantastic, and we all love the homemade versions better than store bought, The corn because again I have a couple of mouth watering recipes that are so sweet and tasty, that we just can't get enough.

current weight: 208.4

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7/19/12 9:28 A

Grebjack: Yes, my virtual tongue can trip gaily and turn a few phrases. The flip side is that, for products I find absolutely useless, I can be brutal. And in the kitchen, there are SO MANY ridiculous gadgets on the market!

An egg poacher. A pan with an insert and 4 cups. Why take up cupboard space for this redundant contraption? I got one, oh, over 40 years ago as a shower gift and whipped it out twice a month on a Sunday to make poached eggs on English muffins. That is, until I vacationed in Savannah, GA and saw how beautifully an egg poaches just loose in a pan.

My old egg poacher became "pan nongrata" and was banished to the garage. May it "rust in piece."

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Posts: 2,044
7/19/12 9:07 A

A culinary orgasm of smooth richness?!? Wow, you should be in advertising!

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7/18/12 5:22 P

Oh, pleasseee! don't get us started on favorite brands! ...I've sampled most of the brands' plain tubs... and once some Fage slipped between my lips, it was all over. I've forego getting gasoline and walk to the store, to afford Fage. A culinary orgasm of smooth richness... hardly a sacrific to eat yogurt like that!

Uh, but that's also why I went out and bought a yogurt maker. Fage every day would bankrupt me!

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Posts: 2,044
7/18/12 5:18 P

Amen to that - the best thing about making my own yogurt is _I_ get to decide how firm it is, how tart it is, how much sugar is in it... I do like Stonyfield vanilla, though.

SparkPoints: (114,030)
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7/18/12 5:32 A

Thank You 2 for the heads up on using your own yogurt as a starter.
I did forget this and I will make it again...
I loved my yogurt !

Pounds lost: 25.4

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7/17/12 12:55 P

I've now made 2 4-cup batches of yogurt with my new yogurt maker. The directions that came with the unit, as well as directions in a library book, in addition to info found online--all concur that you can begin with a good quality live culture yogurt from the store. It'll say right on the label whether it contains "active live cultures."

Then, the BEST part: just save 1/4 to 1/3 cup of your homemade yogurt to use as the starter in your next batch.

I just did this last night, and it does work.

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Posts: 2,044
7/17/12 12:49 P

Yogurt starter? If you have a batch of yogurt you've made (or a cup of Dannon, Stonyfield, anything else with live cultures) you can just use that as starter.

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7/17/12 9:46 A

I, also, made my own yogurt...
The starter go so pricey that I stopped...
But for those who do make their own, here's a tip for flavoring.
I used unsweeted flavored Jello and stirred it in the mix.
Lime & raspberry are my favorites.

Pounds lost: 25.4

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SparkPoints: (14,907)
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7/17/12 7:53 A

Speaking of electric stoves... and stove in general...

Rivulets of Green Envy drip off me when I think of those Sparkers fortunate enough to cook on gas stoves. Here I am, 60 years old now, always having wanted a gas stove and only once in my life was I privileged to enjoy the control gas heat allows. And that was in West Africa! --not the best place to stock up and enjoy a kitchen, but at least I had the propane-powered stove!

When I remodeled my kitchen several years ago, I decided the smooth cooktop was the way to go. Although it's aesthetically beautiful, I consider it a Big Mistake for anyone who seriously cooks. The heating elements keep turning on and off. When you stir pans, they spin around uncontrollably unless you hold onto them or they have extremely flat bottoms. AND they have to be cleaned every single time you cook, or they look messy.

The worst part is that I don't dare tell my husband how unhappy I am with the thing, after making the decision to install it. I can only hope it, like so many other high-priced appliances we now buy, has a planned obsolescence built into it and it'll die before I do!

Pounds lost: 6.2

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7/17/12 7:02 A

I just Love My FoodSaver...
I buy meat in bulk, freeze my garden goodies, etc.
Things last longer in the freezer...

I have silicone mats that go on my cookie sheets, so I'm helping to save the environment.

I bought the glass rubbermaid containers and slowly getting rid of my plastic ones.

I have a dehydrator and dry carrots, celery, onions, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, jerky, etc....

I, also, have a pressure canner. Just learning how to use it. My stove is electric so it's hard to control the temp.

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Posts: 2,044
7/16/12 6:01 P

Yes, I do have my own garden, although I'm bad about taking care of it in May and June, so by summer when I have time, the weeds are winning and I rarely harvest more from the garden than I can eat fresh. But I do the u-pick thing for tomatoes and then can my own salsa and spaghetti sauce (I actually prefer the taste of canned spaghetti sauce to fresh - I like how the flavors mingle). I also can peaches for cobblers in the winter. This year I'm going to try canning a shrimp fra diavolo sauce that I love but that is a lot of work - it will be the first time I've canned any animal product and I definitely wouldn't attempt this without pressure.

Are you a canner, too?

Posts: 48
7/16/12 10:42 A

Do you have your own garden? What is your favorite thing to can?

Posts: 2,044
7/15/12 3:09 P

I had to giggle when I read about bread going stale before you have time to eat it without a freezer. I typically bake two loaves at a time, and MY problem is that one gets eaten immediately - ALL of it - when it's fresh and hot from the oven. I don't even want to think about how many calories that is!

My favorite new kitchen tool is the pressure canner I bought last fall. I can can ANYTHING now, even the green beans my mom scared me to death about as a kid. (tomatoes never grow botulism; poorly canned beans, if you ask my mom, are a death sentence.)

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7/8/12 2:13 P

KPA1B2:

A yogurt maker isn't a new concept, since I got one as a shower gift in the 1970's. Who knows what happened to that one now.

I ordered the Eurocuisine Automatic Yogurt Maker through Amazon.com: Walmart, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond sells the same brand, but Amazon's price was best. I bought the model that has a timer and an automatic shut-off, which was a few dollars more than the plain model.

It should be delivered next week. Can't wait to try it out. I got spoiled eating Fage 2% Greek Yogurt, naturally not one of the cheaper brands. So I have high hopes of my homemade yogurt being as delicious.

If you do try your hand at yogurt making, keep in touch! We can compare notes.

--Nancy

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Posts: 283
7/8/12 10:15 A

a yogurt maker? I've tried making yogurt, but have never been successful. Now if there was a yorgurt maker, maybe it'd work! I'm going to check it out. Thanks for the idea.

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7/5/12 12:00 P

Keep me in the loop if you find any useful information, as well as how your experiments turn out.

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Posts: 48
7/5/12 11:56 A

My rice cooker is way too small for me to even think about setting up a steamer with it. But I am going to research homemade yogurt using a crock pot since I have at least 4 if not 5 of them. LOL Might as well use them for something healthy.

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7/5/12 11:33 A

ELBOWE77: If and when I DO get an upgraded rice cooker, I'll be sure to post the details. Right now, my "mental back burner" is playing with how to create a steamer in the one I've got. Problem is that it's so small, rigging up any kind of a rack will make the space left ridiculous--maybe enough room for some chopped carrots and a couple salmon fillets. Maybe. Plus, my new yogurt maker should arrive in a day or two. That's my latest kitchen toy, and I've got high hopes for making Greek yogurt and saving all sorts of money in the process.

Did the article suggest a yogurt maker as a handy tool for a healthy kitchen? I don't remember now. But, now that I went and ordered one, I've heard mention that you can make yogurt in a crockpot... would have tried that, had I known.

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7/5/12 10:14 A

I have to agree with getting one larger than 6 cups and also one that can be used as a steamer would be a great kitchen tool. Mine too is only a small basic one but boy it is wonderful and you are so right about it eliminating the boil over problem.

Let me know if you find a larger one that can be used as a steamer and how you like it.

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7/4/12 4:54 P

DANCEANDSING2:

When you DO acquire a rice cooker, you can say goodbye to boiled-over and boiled-out rice. Inevitably my pot on the stove would boil over, putting me in a bad mood over the chore of cleaning it up. Or I'd forget about it and end up with a mess stuck to the bottom of the pot.... grrrrr. That was my original motivation for buying a rice cooker.

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Posts: 102
7/4/12 4:47 P

Thank you so much for your reply.
I will start googling and see what I can come up with. I often cook rice on the stovetop but would like to be able to have a machine that multi-tasks (ie steaming, etc).
Mary

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7/4/12 10:09 A

DANCEANDSING2:

Unfortunately my rice cooker is a very basic Proctor Silex 6-cup one gifted to me by a well-meaning relative who knew I'd wanted one. Had I bought my own, I would have gotten one with a larger capacity and the steamer basket. I'll probably eventually give this one to one of my sons, and get myself the one I want... it's on "the list." Doesn't everyone have a "list" of things-to-do-but-not-today?

I'd google "rice cookers" at Bed Bath & Beyond, or Target, or Walmart, or Amazon.com--or wherever you like to shop online. Then go to the store and take an up close and personal look at them so you get an idea of their physical size (gotta store it somewhere, so consider cabinet and/or counter space) and see how you like it in its 3-D form.

Features to look for are 1) capacity--I'd vote for 10 cup or more (you don't have to fill it up to use it, but it's nice to have the larger capacity available not just for a large batch of rice or beans, but also to steam/poach bulkier vegetables, meats and fish); 2) removable AND nonstick coated pot; 3) automatic shut-off; and 4) steamer basket insert.

I hope this helps. Perhaps someone who now uses a more elaborate cooker will respond and give us both some input!

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Posts: 102
7/4/12 9:39 A

Do you have any brands of rice cookers with those extra features?
I'm in the market to purchase one, but I really want it to do double/triple duty to deserve the counter space.
Thanks-
Mary

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7/4/12 9:27 A

Today's article suggested a RICE COOKER as a helpful kitchen tool. I'd amend the suggestion to get one with a removable pot to ALSO spend the little extra and get one with the steamer option. That makes a simple rice cooker so much more versatile.

I think of my rice cooker as a mini-crockpot.

Pounds lost: 6.2

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7/4/12 9:24 A

As long as we're discussing helpful gadgets ("big girl toys") for the kitchen, without discussing their prices, the appliance that opened up a new world of opportunity for me was to FINALLY get a stand-alone freezer.

Now I can buy roasts when they're buy-one-get-one. Now my bread doesn't go stale before I can eat the whole loaf. Now I can cook efficiently because there's a place to freeze leftovers--and I've got enough freezer space to actually be able to rotate my leftovers instead of eating the same thing for days on end. Now I save my vegetable cooking liquid and fish poaching liquid and make my own stocks. Now I can buy up vegetables on sale, blanch and freeze them for future use. No canning for me: been there done that in younger decades.

Freezers come in all sizes and shapes. The challenge, once the affordability issue is behind you, is to find a spot to put it. For me, I'd have it in my living room if that were the only place it'd fit! it's that important for me.

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