MRambler Central » Food

Truth in Advertising?……

MRambler — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:34:48 +0000

Bought this Mini-Me “Seedless” Watermelon at the market….. Notice anything funny about the labeling?…..

——————————————————————————————–

Happy Pre-Turkey Day!……

MRambler — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:54:47 +0000

Thought I would wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving early….. Hopefully everyone will have a GREAT Holiday – Gobble up the Turkey, but don’t be a Turkey!…. Enjoy the people and family you share it with, even if you don’t enjoy them in particular…… Required Holidays can be confusing and stressful if you let them – So Don’t – Put everything else on the back burner and have FUN!!!!…..

The Beatles Chili

Jek — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:35:30 +0000

We’re about to have our 3rd Annual Chili Cook-off at work and I was working on this year’s poster for our chili when I ran into a previous year’s poster. With all the Beatles/iTunes love, it seems appropriate. Hope you enjoy and get hungry!

The Best Breakfast I Ever Had

Jek — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 17:59:24 +0000

Anon suggested this for a topic and I think it’s great. Check out his first course on this topic. For me, I really don’t have a particular standout in mind. But I will say that my Grandma’s grits and round bacon were the best. Yes you heard right, round bacon. Maybe MR can elaborate on it, as I don’t recall ever seeing the packaging.

Pancakes?…..

MRambler — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 23:33:37 +0000

You can blame this one on Jek…… He suggested “Pancakes” as a topic in my previous post….. Maybe he remembered “Pancake Records and Tapes” in his subconscious since it was a long time ago or maybe he was talking about the eating kind….. Here’s the “Pancake” story…..

We had recorded a few live concerts (including McCartney in 1990) and made a few copies for friends of what you could call “Bootleg Recordings”…. So-o-o, I came up with the name “Pancake Records and Tapes”, a division of “Too-Loose Productions” as the recording company….. Jek and his then college mate, HuskySooner made a recording called “Water Police” under the name of “Thevenin” for a class they were taking….. So-o-o, naturally, I issued a cassette single….. Here’s what it looked like on the “Pancake” label:

As you can see I blocked out Jek and HuskySooners real names, but I think most of us know who there are….. I even got my name (MR) in there on the Mix-Down (Ha!)…… Now, if you want to hear this classic, you’ll have to request Jek and HS to give their permission and I’ll be glad to post it up….. Also, if anyone has a pancake story (food or otherwise), now’s the time to tell it…..

Tim’s!

huskysooner — Fri, 25 May 2007 04:02:37 +0000

One of the things I miss most about Seattle is Tim’s Cascade style potato chips. I’ve regularly had them in Boulder/Denver, and our local Albertson’s carried them for about a week here in central OK. My dear wife brought back from Border’s tonight two snack-size bags of Tim’s. Awesome!

I know they can be ordered through their website, though I’ve never done it.

Turkey and Gravy Soda — Just like Mom’s — Burp!

Jek — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 07:27:37 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, Tarn and I hosted a Jones Holiday Soda tasting party. We had two soda packages from Jones: The 2005 Regional Pack and The 2006 Holiday Pack (9 sodas total), and we paired them with the real dishes.

We also captured the tasting notes of various attendees. Here they are for your enjoyment:

1 Smoked Salmon Paté	Slight fishy nose, overly saccharin, lacks saline quality — 87
1 Smoked Salmon Paté	Too sweet for salmon
2 Sweet Potatoes	No aroma, candied flavor, caramel notes
	Caramel nose & overtones, slightly vegetable quality, candied sweet potato — 90
	Burnt sugar nose, sweet aftertaste
	Maple syrup smell, just tastes sweet, not much flavor
3 Broccoli Casserole	Gravy nose & color of raw sewage, possibly broccoli floaters, more butterscotch than broccoli — 85
4 Corn on the Cob	1st one I dumped
	Smells like butterscotch & tastes like butterscotch & Alkaseltzer
	No body, only thin butterscotch & candycorn flavor — ok but where’s the corn? (and where’s the cob!?) — 85
	Fine bubbles
	Buttery sweet smell but no flavor. Dies on the tongue
5 Turkey and Gravy	More raw sewage color/butterscotch & canned gravy nose with surprisingly similar taste. The closest thing to turkey I can imagine being carbonated & bottled! — 90
5 Turkey and Gravy	Disgusting
6 Pea	All green butterscotch — Where’s the ~~beef~~ pea? — 85
	Citrus finish
	Chemical taste but not in a bad way
	Best color
	Least offensive so far
7 Dinner Roll	The logical progression of Wonderbread: completely lacking a crust and vaguely sweet-butter flavor. Completely awful, but on target — 88
	More buttery than butter
	Little flavor
8 Antacid Flavored	Although it looks more Pepto than antacid, flavor is good and on target — a great break before dessert! — 94!
9 Pecan Pie	More butterscotch, but this time not offensive to the target flavor. Slight moldy overtone — but is it pecan? — 91
9 Pecan Pie	Leaves a weird film in your mouth. I kind of like the smell

MR is OK

Jek — Sat, 01 Apr 2006 04:31:01 +0000

MR is doing fine. The surgeon told us that they were able to save both of his parathyroid glands. (The ones that regulate calcium.) They also got all of nodule/potential tumor out–along with the entire thyroid. Fortunately it appears the nerve to his vocal chords is fully operational, meaning that he is able to talk/complain. It’ll be a week before the lab processes the nodule to see whether or not it was benign.

It is likely he’ll get out tomorrow. From internet research on thyroid removal, he thought he would only be able to eat soft foods for a few days. It turns out he can eat anything within his normal diet. It’s too bad though; we already bought a few days worth of food. Any one interested in SouthWestern Yam Soup, Lemony Lentil Soup with Cilantro, or Carrot Puree with Kalamata Olives?

Optimum Coffee Storage?

Jek — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 03:10:53 +0000

We’ve been storing our coffee beans in the freezer. A week or so ago, a friend gave us a bag of Torrefazione Italia’s Perugia Blend beans. It sez this on the package:

For best results, use within thirty days of purchase and grind beans just before use. To maintain the exceptional flavor, store in an airtight container in a cool place or at room temperature. We advise against refrigeration or freezing.

Torrefazione’s website doesn’t explain this advice. Quick searching shows that most recommend not storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer, except perhaps for long term storage (like more than a month). Here’s the run down:

Source	0-10 days	11-30 days	>30 days	Bonus Tip
Torrefazione package	airtight container in cool place or at room temp	airtight container in cool place or at room temp	don’t bother	We advise against refrigeration or freezing.
Alpen Sierra Coffee Company	airtight container in cool, dark place	airtight container in fridge	sealed container in freezer	Canning jars or plastic food storage containers work well.
Starbucks Coffee	in an opaque, airtight container at room temperature	in an opaque, airtight container at room temperature		Storing coffee in the refrigerator or freezer for daily use can damage the coffee as warm, moist air condenses to the beans whenever the container is opened.
Vittoria Coffee	airtight container in cool, dark place	don’t bother	haven’t you thrown it out yet?	We do not recommend the refrigerator or freezer for storage of coffee as it may dry out the coffee. Coffee is hydroscopic and will absorb moisture and flavours very easily. If coffee is placed in a freezer the viscosity of the oils are affected altering the flavour.
Caffe Roma	airtight non-odor container in a cool place or at room temp	airtight non-odor container in a cool place or at room temp	place in fridge or freezer
Whole Foods Market	airtight container at room temp	don’t bother	come to Whole Foods and buy some more already	Many believe that keeping the beans or ground coffee in the freezer is a good way to preserve and store it. It isn’t.
Sahara Coffee	store in our specially designed laminated foil, one-way valve bag	place our specially designed laminated foil, one-way valve bag in freezer	place our specially designed laminated foil, one-way valve bag in freezer	Never use a polyethylene plastic container as it breathes and will allow foreign odors to contaminate the coffee.

So we’re going to try storing coffee outside of the freezer. Will it make a difference? This is really a question that America’s Test Kitchen is more suited to answer. I think I’ll send in a request to the show.

Do you eat out on Monday nights?

Jek — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 04:05:04 +0000

I didn’t think so, well not if you live in Seattle and you aren’t having fast food. There is an increase in Monday restaurant closings around here. And I say ARG! Last night, we walked over to get a burger at Red Mill (not a frequent occurrence). Red Mill makes a fine gourmet burger and is closed on Mondays. Phinney Ridge is becoming quite a ghost town on Monday nights with most of the restaurants closed. I understand that restaurant owners may appreciate a day off, but I’d appreciate something to eat and I’d pay more than normal to get it — especially when I’m staring at Red Mill’s ‘Closed’ sign.

What if a special date falls on a Monday? Oh well, gotta eat in I suppose. That’s what happened to Tarn and me on her birthday. Fortunately that time I called ahead for reservations. I like the Italian way to solve this problem: restaurants in little nearby towns alternate weekday closures. Something like that could work on a Seattle neighborhood scale. For example, various restaurants can pick Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays to be off. Then at least you can walk on and get some grub. Rumble. Rumble. Don’t mind that; it’s just my empty tummy.