The Frying Pan

I am going through my pantry and came across Taiwanese rice stick noodles. The first instructions are for frying, then it just says "cooking rice noodles: 1 the same method as that of frying rice noodles but you have to add more water to cook...

when the soup is boiling put the noodles in the pot for one and a half minutes is available."

Cindy

1:15 PM

@FaheemMitha Hi! I seem to have missed you this week. Very long work days this week, so I've just been popping in at random.

Hi @Jolenealaska @Arrowfar!

Faheem Mitha

3:34 PM

@Cindy I hope your kitty is doing well. Is she fully recovered now?

ElmerCat

4:18 PM

Good morning!

rumtscho

hi @ElmerCat

Cindy

@FaheemMitha Yes, she's doing very well. Of course we continue to give her vitamins every day.

Hi @ElmerCat @rumtscho!

ElmerCat

Hi @Cindy and @rumtscho !

Cindy

@ElmerCat So, you got much more snow than expected?

ElmerCat

Yes, they predicted just a dusting, but we got several inches of heavy wet snow — Still, I'm not complaining, after what we got last winter.

Cindy

4:32 PM

@ElmerCat Yeah, last winter was rough for the NE.

Faheem Mitha

@Cindy Good to know. How old is she now?

Cindy

@FaheemMitha We're not 100% sure. Based on the vet's estimate and the length of time we've had her, probably around 13 or 14.

Faheem Mitha

@Cindy Oh. That's pretty old for a cat.

Cindy

@FaheemMitha Yeah, she's not a kitten anymore. But many do live to be much older.

rumtscho

@Cindy she's beautiful. I've always been fond of calicos.

Faheem Mitha

4:39 PM

@Cindy Ok.

Cindy

@rumtscho Thanks. She's very sweet and loving.

@FaheemMitha Especially cats that stay indoors.

rumtscho

does she like to cuddle?

@ElmerCat do you have a cat currently?

Cindy

@rumtscho Sometimes. She's not very needy in that respect, though. She does "talk" and let you know when she wants something.

ElmerCat

@rumtscho Yes, his name is Henry.

rumtscho

@Cindy "talk"? That's sweet.

@ElmerCat you have? that's great. Have you posted his picture here? (a larger one than the avatar)

ElmerCat

4:44 PM

Cindy

@rumtscho Yes, she has "hello" down pat. When she comes out in the morning or when we got out and come back in we are greeted with a great big "hello".

rumtscho

@Cindy you say you don't know how old your kitty is, did you get her from the shelter?

@ElmerCat now that's a serious cat

Cindy

@rumtscho No, someone in the neighborhood moved and left her.

Catija

Anyone have any thoughts on possible downfalls of turning a chiffon cake into mini cupcakes?... other than changing baking time?

rumtscho

also, you have a computer screen above your stove?

Cindy

4:45 PM

@ElmerCat Precious!

Catija

Oh, also, did you see this yesterday:

Look, recipe, if I knew how much was gonna taste good, I wouldn't need you.

ElmerCat

@rumtscho No, that's the kitchen table.

rumtscho

@Catija it will be very well suited. Chiffon cakes frequently need a chimney to bake well, so more surface-to-inside ratio is good.

Catija

@rumtscho OK, thanks! That's what I was thinking but I thought I'd get a second opinion.

rumtscho

@ElmerCat ah OK, I saw the pot and imagined it to be sitting on the stove.

@Catija it's a theoretical inference, maybe somebody else here has tried it and knows more

Catija

4:48 PM

@rumtscho I feel like I've done it in the past without really thinking about it, and, regardless, it will still be cake! :D And if one batch doesn't work out, I have some mini bundt pans I can use for the rest of the batter.

ElmerCat

When Henry was just a tiny kitten:

Kitten "Henry" Bottle Feeding

►

Catija

@ElmerCat So tiny!!! Awww.

ElmerCat

His mother, Loretta, abandoned Henry and his brother Gunther in the basement of my friend's home.

Catija

Such a cute matching pair!

rumtscho

Interesting - my first reaction was that he was a largish cat even as a baby. I've seen kitty infants who'll disappear whole in a man's hand. Oh, and beside that? Cuteness overload.

the white bibs are simply adorable on the babies

Cindy

4:54 PM

They are so cute!

Catija

Have you seen the videos of the baby polar bear that they have at the Columbus Zoo?

I just discovered them last night.

rumtscho

I don't follow any news, so no, no baby polar bear.

Catija

theguardian.com/world/video/2016/feb/05/…

rumtscho

But I absolutely love polar bears from an aesthetical point of view

Catija

She was abandoned by her mom, so they've had to hand raise her.

rumtscho

4:56 PM

they are somehow liquid. They don't stride, they glide over the tundra. Very graceful.

ElmerCat

@Catija Adorable!

rumtscho

I am right now looking around the room for something to cuddle.

Catija

I don't think I realized that they start out so tiny.

ElmerCat

She has the same name as my coffee grinder!

rumtscho

My dad used to call me "baby bear" when I was little, although he has certainly never seen one - I think I will send him this video now

Catija

5:05 PM

Awww, that's sweet.

rumtscho

also recommended watching: BBC's documentary "Earth" has footage of baby polar bears emerging from the cave for the first time in their life. I don't remember which episode.

rumtscho

5:47 PM

for the first time in a while, I have a nice dinner in the oven

I made dough and stretched it like a pizza

then smeared a bit honey thinned with orange juice

strewed almond "petals", rosemary and black pepper on top

then put two pieces of length-sliced zucchini on top, slightly preroasted to dry out a bit

a fresh catfish filet

and two more zucchini pieces

then closed it up like a stromboli, or more like a beef wellington

and now that whole thing is baking

ElmerCat

@rumtscho That sounds really fabulous! — Do you have a name for your creation?

rumtscho

none

I dreamed it up while I was walking the supermarket isles today

I hope it will taste well, but not 100% sure yet

ElmerCat

The catfish was raw? What temperature are you baking it at?

rumtscho

220 Celsius

yes, it was raw

do you think the dough will overbake by the time the fish is done?

Pastry dough is pretty forgiving in that application, but I needed a yeast dough

Catija

What's that question that explains that cooking doesn't kill everything, so recooking bad food doesn't make it safe to eat?

Your dinner sounds really great!

rumtscho

5:55 PM

started a lievito madre after I killed my fresh sourdough starter, and today was the time to discard the first bit

ElmerCat

I hope you'll post a picture.

rumtscho

so I had 100 g dough I could either throw out or bake with

@ElmerCat it's not as pretty as it sounds. The dough tore a bit.

2

Q: What exactly does cooking meat do as far as sanitation goes?

I know there are government recommendations for foods to reach certain internal temperatures so that they are "safe to eat". But if the meat has spoiled already, or has been dropped on the floor or something and contaminated with other things, cooking it will not make it safe. Or will it? How mu...

I suspect we have others too @Catija

ElmerCat

@rumtscho The most delicious things aren't necessarily the prettiest.

Catija

@rumtscho Hmmm... That guy with the stew question was asking for more information... so I wasn't sure what to tell him.

0

Q: Stew in a sealed container left unrefridgerated overnight - OK to eat?

My wife used the slow cooker to make a beef stew - once it was done she put it in a sealed container and then left it in a cold bowl of water to cool before putting it in the fridge. Except she forgot to put it in the fridge, so for about 10 hours it has been bobbing around in water. Can we still...

food-safety

ElmerCat

@rumtscho "lievito madre" is that just a sourdough starter that spontaneously blooms from your own flour?

rumtscho

6:02 PM

@ElmerCat it's a dense starter made with honey

it's supposed to taste very different from standard starter

ElmerCat

With honey? Wow, that sounds interesting.

rumtscho

@Catija I linked the tag wiki

rumtscho

6:19 PM

OK, my dinner recipe needs improvement

1) it needs a preheated pan or pizza stone, the bottom was a bit doughy

and 2) the zucchini was quite dominant and unhandy because of the thick slices I used

I think either thin slices or grated zucchini mixed with the honey sauce will work better

Jay

@Jefromi after you cut the puff pastry into circles, what did you do with the extra puff pastry?

ElmerCat

@rumtscho I would imagine the fish gave off a lot of moisture as it cooked, which might have added to the doughiness.

Jay

@Jefromi instagram.com/p/BBdGDATryPx/?taken-by=agdron1989

I think i needed a thicker egg wash

I already baked it an extra 10 minutes and it still didnt get golden

Catija

6:44 PM

@rumtscho Thanks! I didn't realize the tag wiki was so well fleshed out!

Jefromi

@Jay Huh, I maybe went 5 minutes extra and it was golden-brown.

rumtscho

@ElmerCat no, surprisingly little

and the top part is OK

Jefromi

I've never actually checked my oven, I wonder if it's slightly on the hot side.

rumtscho

I'm pretty certain the problem was the cold pan below

Jefromi

The extra bits I put egg wash on then cinnamon sugar and baked them on another sheet at the same time (they took less than half as long since there's not all that stuff inside).

Possibly mine also started out warmer... I'm not in a wintery place so by the time I got it all assembled the pastry was pretty soft.

Jay

6:46 PM

@Jefromi Oh the cinnamon sugar is a good idea :D

Jefromi

I tend to do that with spare pie crust too.

...or I just bake it plain or eat it raw but

Jay

haha that works

Jefromi

roasted zucchini with orange-rosemary vinaigrette (olive oil, orange juice, golden balsamic vinegar, dijon, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper)

Stephie

8:27 PM

@rumtscho So how did your dough with the LM behave? Smooth? Stretchy? Taste-wise?

@Jay. That tarte looks fabulous! Hope you have a nice party tonight!

Jolenealaska

8:52 PM

@Jefromi Take a look at the comments here: cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/4091/…

Or @rumtscho.

I'm afraid SAJ put his foot in it on that one.

I'd like to see the snarkiness (as unintentional as it was) removed.

Stephie

Apart from that, the whole discussion is moot:

oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/chemist

(My five cents.)

Jolenealaska

@Stephie Yes. I'm surprised it went on as long as it did. Even I know pharmacists are called chemists in Britain. Furthermore, I remember as a kid getting cinnamon oil from a pharmacist to flavor toothpicks.

Stephie

You know what? Let's get over there and flag the whole shebang as not "constructive". (Assuming that this is the right flag?)

Jolenealaska

Flag it for moderator action and link to what we just said.

Stephie

Just did.

Jolenealaska

9:06 PM

That'll work :)

Stephie

We wasted an afternoon here trying to buy a sofa.

Jolenealaska

New?

Stephie

Yeah. After over a decade we are replacing our stuff from student days.

Jay

This is beautiful

Stephie

And in this case we are talking about hubby's old bed-disguised-as-sofa combo that is so run down that it has only a few original parts left.

Jay

9:10 PM

nationswell.com/gregory-kloehn-homes-on-wheels-for-homeless

@Stephie Thanks! I just wish it was slightly more golden

Stephie

@Jay they will never know if you don't tell them ;-)

Jefromi

@Jolenealaska is that okay?

rumtscho

@Stephie the dough was nice

Jay

@Stephie "Only professionals can pull off baking it to a 'blonde' stage. Most amateur overbake it and it turns golden."

rumtscho

I used the normal amount of yeast, etc.

this was the first discard only, so I don't think it contributed to leavening

I used 1050 flour and 80% hydration, it was a tad too wet

and boy, was that honey noticeable

Jolenealaska

9:13 PM

@Jefromi Yeah, I'll leave a comment about chemist=Pharmacy

rumtscho

@Jolenealaska I saw your flag and purged all

was that too quick?

Jolenealaska

@rumtscho Nope, that's fine. I'll just leave a small comment now.

rumtscho

I just watched a film

loved it!

Stephie

@rumtscho details, please...

rumtscho

@Stephie "Only lovers left alive"

dark, surreal, little action - perfect for me

I've been watching lots of much more typical stuff lately, and only now did I realize how I have missed something different

Stephie

9:17 PM

Good!

Jay

Oh? Vampire love story?

rumtscho

@Jay yes. But quite the opposite of sparkly vampires.

visually stunning, all of it

slow, moody

ElmerCat

Stephie

I see Jim Jarmusch and Tilda Swinton, 'nuff said.

rumtscho

@Stephie I've heard the names before, but I think it's the first time I've watched something from/with either of them

so @Stephie what should I understand under "nuff said" when I hear about them?

Stephie

9:23 PM

@rumtscho Simply that both are not representatives of typical Hollywood cookie cutter happy ending stuff. So both combined is bound to be multi-layered and complex.

Jay

@rumtscho Typically its a positive thing.

No more explaining to do. Their names speaks for themselves

Oh will is here to pick me up

BYE!!!

Stephie

Bye!@jay!

rumtscho

I would absolutely pay for a second flatrate service if I knew one for independent and European movies. Netflix has so few of them :(

Stephie

Honestly, I envy you. Currently I don't have the energy for challenging stuff. Once the kids are in bed and the last chores done, I'm a "Mombie". Almost brain-dead.

rumtscho

I tried that for a while, didn't work. Now I'm leaving half my chores undone and taking time for myself.

probably not an option when there are others depending on you, I know

Jefromi

9:34 PM

@Jolenealaska I had left one I think but I guess I didn't manage to dismiss the flag (mobile)

Jolenealaska

It's fine now.

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