Heather Solos's Blog, page 90

How to Clean a Smooth Top Range / Stove

Dear Home-Ec 101:

I have a glass smooth top stove.  Recently I managed to burn it pretty badly – I think there were some food particles either on the burner or the bottom of my pot, because when I put the pot on the burner it sizzled and then a very bad burning smell filled the air.  I immediately removed the pot from the burner but there were scorch marks on the pot, and 'melted stuff' on the burner.  I was able to scrub the pot bottom clean, but am not sure what to do about the burner, and it's my 'favorite'.  I tried cleaning it with soap and a sponge but that did not help.  I'm afraid to scrub it because these kinds of stoves scratch really easily.  I googled it and there are so many recommendations I'm at a loss where to start.  Suggestions?

I also have a second smaller burner that starting smoking the other day when I removed the pan.  There was a dark line of something across it, but in addition to smoking, it was also releasing a chemically smell, plastic maybe?  I did get the mark cleaned up with soap & water, but when I turned the burner on last night it still has that funny smell.

Signed,
Stumped in Stovington

Heather says:

You're right to be careful, one of the drawbacks to smooth top ranges is their propensity for becoming scratched. There are several cleaners made specifically for the job and you should always defer to your manufacturer's instructions to avoid using a cleaner that voids the warranty.

For what it's worth, GE only recommends Cerma Bryte, which I have used in the past and it is a good product.

Never clean your cooktop while it's still hot.

There are two reasons for this. First, you could burn yourself. Secondly, if you use a room temperature or colder product on the hot surface you may crack the cooktop.

My favorite cleaning product for stubborn, burnt on food is Bar Keepers Friend -who appears to have forgotten to renew their domain, OUCH. BKF is safe for smooth top ranges and glass. Dampen the stove, sprinkle it on and give the oxalic acid a little bit of time to work. Then wipe with a damp cloth. If the burnt on stain is particularly thick, you may need to repeat the application several times. Quick tip: Buy BKF at your local big box store and skip it in the fancy cooking outlets. I've seen it sold for 4 – 5x as much in those places.

For especially difficult, burned on stains, you may need to use a razor scraper. Yes, just like you would use to remove excess paint from a window pane. Hold the razor blade at a 45° angle to the cook surface and carefully scrape away the residue. Then clean and polish as usual.

Regularly polishing your stove top helps make everyday stain removal a little easier. The protective coating fills in the tiny nicks and scratches that we can't see, keeping particles out. Additionally, regularly wiping the burners can prevent oils from polymerizing on the hot surface.

Good luck!

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

How to Clean a Smooth Top Range / Stove is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

How to Remove Baking Spray Overspray

Dear Home Ec 101,

I've noticed that when I use non-stick spray (like Pam) on things that are subsequently baked, I end up with a sticky, brown residue that is really hard to remove from my pans.  This is a particular problem with my muffin tin!

Two questions:

1) Should I stop using non-stick spray on things that are going to be baked (casseroles, cookie sheets, muffin tins, etc.)?

2) Once it's already there, is there a trick to getting it off my pans?  I've found this crud on glass, ceramic, and metal pans, so if the instructions differ by pan type, let me know!

Signed,

Pamtastic

Heather says:

Baking spray is both a blessing and a curse.

If you can, try to remove the residue before it cools. If you catch it before it has solidified, plain old soap and water should do the trick.

The brown residue you've noticed is baking spray overspray that has polymerized in the heat of the oven. Polymerization is the process by which many small molecules bond -in our case under heat- to create large, stable molecules. Most of us see the word polymer and think plastic, but it's important to remember that while all plastics are polymers, not all polymers are plastic.

So what's the big deal about polymers, I just want it off my cookware?

There are two kinds of polymers, some can be heated and reshapes and others can't. The polymer we create with cooking spray is thermoset, meaning once it's there it is going to be a bear to remove. It's a lot like how you can't uncook an egg.

With glass and stainless steel, I use Bar Keeper's Friend and a little elbow grease to remove any polymerized oils. Wet the residue, sprinkle on the powder, give it a quick rub and then walk away for a few minutes. Give the oxalic acid a little time to work before using any of your own energy. If I've been slack for a while, this might take a few repeated applications.

A lot of people recommend using oven cleaner on glass and ceramic to remove polymerized cooking spray, but I would rather use a little energy than create those fumes. Naturally, your mileage may vary.

Do not try to remove cooked on baking spray from non-stick bakeware.

The removal of the cooking spray residue will likely remove the nonstick coating. If you have used baking or cooking spray on your non-stick muffin tins, don't worry too much, you're just going to have ugly muffin tins.

Try not to spray cooking spray on surfaces that do not come in contact with food.

Skip the cooking spray altogether, use parchment paper or silicone mats.

Finally just remember that ugly doesn't mean an item has lost its use.

Thank goodness this is true, right?

The polymerized baking spray isn't really going to hurt anything. The surface of your polymerized cooking spray isn't going anywhere, but it isn't as smooth as a metal or ceramic finish and food may be more likely to stick. Want to take a guess as to the fix?

Quit trying to keep up with Rachel Ray, Ina Garten, and Paula Deen. Yes, they are all good cooks. Yes, they all have beautiful kitchens, but here's the thing. That kitchen is a tv set, not reality. That gorgeous cookware is replaced as soon as it shows the the slightest sign of wear. Companies send them cookware to feature. What you see is not receiving daily use by people with better things to do than perform upkeep on their tools.

I don't have a crew, do you?

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

How to Remove Baking Spray Overspray is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Rational Talk on the Threat of Radiation from the Japanese Nuclear Disaster

Heather says:

I've been monitoring reaction to the potential threat of exposure to radiation drifting across the Pacific from Japan to the West Coast of the United States. I had noticed some extreme reactions and thought now would be a good time to ask my good friend Eugene to comment on the situation. Some of you will recognize Eugene as Imabug from the comments. I've known Eugene for the past five years and my husband attended his presentation at BarcampCHS back in November of 2010: Talking through Radiation FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt). Tim was a nuke in the Navy on an aircraft carrier, so between the two of them, Home Ec 101 has some serious resources when with comes to understanding radiation. If you have questions, ASK them. Both Eugene and Tim will be happy to answer them without drama or fear mongering.

From Eugene:

Radiation from Japan

Disclaimer: I am not a nuclear reactor engineer. I am a medical physicist specializing in diagnostic imaging. I know about radiation.

Do I need to worry about the radiation?

The amount of radiation that has been released from the damaged reactors in Japan is unknown, but you can be pretty much guaranteed that if any of it does reach the west coast of Canada or the US, it will be at very very low concentrations and detectable only by very sensitive radiation detectors. There is a lot of air and weather between the western US/Canada and Japan that will serve to dilute and wash out any radioactive materials in the atmosphere. The time it takes for stuff to blow from there to here also means some of the radioactive materials will decay away, further reducing the amount of radiation that reaches here. It's been over a week since the earthquake and initial explosions at the reactor so any airborne radioactivity would probably have reached the US by now. There have been reports of radioactive contamination detected at various airports around the US, but that is due to the radioactive material coming in on planes and passengers. Radiation monitoring stations maintained by the EPA have not detected any significant levels of atmospheric radioactive material from the Japanese reactors#.
If you've been following the reports in the media recently, you'll have heard people talking about stocking up on radiation or potassium iodide (KI) pills. Some people will tell you it protects against radiation poisoning (which by the way is a completely inaccurate term), others say it protects against radiation exposure or blocks the effects of radiation.
What potassium iodide will do is saturate your body with stable (non-radioactive) iodine so that the thyroid can't take up any radioactive iodine that might be present in your body. That's all it does. It's also only effective when it's taken a few days before the exposure occurs. It's not going to protect your from the radiation given off while the radioactive iodine wanders the body waiting to be sucked up by the thyroid. It's not going to protect you from any other type of radiation. It just keeps your thyroid from taking up the radioactive iodine because there's so much more stable iodine in your body. At this point there is no reason for anybody in the US to start taking KI because of the reactor situation in Japan.

Reliable information sources:

Health Physics Society – http://hps.org/fukushima/International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – http://iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.htmlEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) Japanese Nuclear Emergency: Radiation Monitoring – http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) – http://www.nrc.gov/Understanding radiation unitshttp://xkcd.com/radiation/#http://people.reed.edu/~emcmanis/radiation.html#

 

Rational Talk on the Threat of Radiation from the Japanese Nuclear Disaster is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Retro Saturday 3/19/2011

Heather says:

I hope everyone has had a great week. Personally it's been a very emotional one with lots of news of the good, the bad (not unexpected, but still not fun), and the stress of the book's release. Throw in a little visit from out of town relatives -they arrive in a few hours- and you've got a recipe for hectic. I know the posting was a little off-kilter last week, I'll do my best to get everything back on track for the coming week.

For now, let's dive back into Home  Ec 101 history and see what was covered in years past.

All the way back in 2007 I shared my recipe for Albondigas, a Mexican Meatball Soup and explained How to Fix a Smelly Garbage Disposal.

In 2008 Ivy explained The Catbox Rule and shared Spring Cleaning Tips for Disastrously Messy Homes.

2009 brought 25 Babysteps to Frugality and Tightwad Tips. Do you think maybe the recession was on our minds?

Finally in 2010 we Dished on High Fructose Corn Syrup and then explained How to Clean up After Potty Training Accidents.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Home Ec 101 Skills for Everyday Living is now in stock on Amazon, order today. If you already have it, please take a moment to review it. Thank you.

Retro Saturday 3/19/2011 is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Can You Make Your Own Powdered Sugar?

Heather says:

Yesterday a reader commented on Beet Sugar vs Cane Sugar:

Where do you purchase organic beet sugar? Have you found it in powdered form? I have only found it on an Austrian site so far and would prefer to buy US grown if it exists.

As I am not, nor was I ever, a pastry chef, I began to research.

It turns out the only difference between granulated sugar and powdered sugar is the size and shape of the grains. Commercial powdered sugar often contains corn starch, to prevent clumping.

Twitter user @MadatMama was quick to point out that you can make your powdered sugar by running it through the food processor. This morning I've done a little more research and it appears as though people have the best luck making small batches of powdered sugar in their blenders.

There is a caveat: I have the feeling that unless you are especially careful to blend each batch very thoroughly, there may be an inconsistency of texture¹. Any frosting made from homemade powdered sugar may have a slightly grainy texture. However I believe that slightly grainy frosting is superior to no frosting.

¹Well that is unless you have a Blendtec. You have seen the Will it blend videos, right?  Enjoy.

 

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

Have you checked out the new forums?

Can You Make Your Own Powdered Sugar? is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Mind the Bar

*If you choose to drink, please do so responsibly.
This has been a public service message from Home-Ec101.com*

[image error]Brian says

It's a difficult task to entertain guests when throwing a house party, but the task can be doubly difficult when you have the responsibility of running the bar. Whether it's a marble-topped masterpiece you designed from scratch or a mini bar on wheels, the priorities remain the same: be concise, know your limits and keep the party happy.

Lots of the cold stuff.

Ice. Pure and simple. Have plenty of it on hand whenever you're entertaining guest. Unless it's Ernest Hemingway, most party goers are going to want a drink that includes ice and something to mix their alcohol with. You'll all have to take into consideration that there will be guests that will not be imbibing the good stuff but will still need ice to cool down hot sodas or seltzer water. When in doubt, remember this ratio: 10 lbs. of ice for every 5 guests. Oh, and you don't have to worry about whether it's cubed, chunked or what have you. It's a house party, not a speakeasy.

Pack a punch!

Even college students know this one. If you make a large batch of alcohol-ladened punch, you'll have an easier time serving those that require something with a little more effort. A good go-to punch for the spring would be a gin fizz kind of concoction. It's lighter, tasty and pairs well with light sodas like 7-Up or Fresca. A fair warning, though: be mindful of how much alcohol you put in it; a punch is meant to serve as a buffer between well drinks, not the main event.

Blood in, blood out.

I know it might be hard to resist a drink or two when throwing an event like this. I mean, it is your house, for cripe's sake; you should be able to do what ever you want to! Here's where you'll have to cast aside your candor in favor of something a little more controlled. If you must have a drink or two (or three), be sure to replace what you take out. Always have a glass of water or Gatorade on hand to keep you hydrated. It should be one glass of water for every beer or drink you consume.

Face time.

This should be a given, but you"d be surprised how many amateur bartenders fail to interact with their "customers". I realize that these are your friends and you probably interact with them several times a week, but that shouldn't keep you from keeping a rapport with your guests. People can get so caught up in the process of making drinks that they forget to just breathe every once in a while. Remember, the one person that should be the most relaxed in a high-stress situation like that is you.

Mind the Bar is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Announcement! Home-Ec 101 Skills for Everyday Living is now in Stock

Heather says:

I have big news! Home-Ec 101 Skills for Everyday Living is now in stock!

You can order Home-Ec 101 from the following places, while the Home-Ec 101 the book is now available in the US, it's still in preorder for international distribution.

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk – Still in Preorder

Barnes and Noble

Chapters Indigo - Still in Preorder

Booktopia – Still in Preorder

It's been 18 months since I first received the email asking if I would be interested in turning this site into a physical book. It's been stressful and exciting, nerve-wracking and amazing. Thank you all for hanging on for the ride.

I've scheduled my first signing, it will be held at the Charleston County Library in historic Charleston on May 16 at 6:30pm. I will be speaking on Lifeskills as a Tool for Empowerment and I'm asking attendees to consider bringing an item to donate to My Sister's House. To see what kind of items are appropriate for this women's shelter, please check out their wishlist.

I am starting to organize a small tour, but to do this effectively, I'll need your help. Right now I'm considering locations within a day's drive of Charleston, SC. In the summer when childcare is more manageable (as in I can bring my sitter along) other locations can be added.

How can you help?

If you have a contact at your library, with a women's group such as Mothers and More, MOPS, or have a contact at a local college or university please send me an email and we'll see what we can put together. As with the signing here in Charleston, I would love to be able help causes that make sense. As an example, later this year I'll be working with Cooking with the Troops in an effort to help military personnel and their families learn basic cooking skills. I can't tell you how excited I am to work with this organization.

Announcement! Home-Ec 101 Skills for Everyday Living is now in Stock is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Thoughts on Emergency Preparedness after the Japanese Quake

Heather says:

Last week's earthquake in Japan is a horrific reminder of why I try to convince you to be have at least some basic emergency preparations in your home.

Building codes saved lives during the quake and at first it looked like things were going to be fine.  Then we saw the footage of the tsunami, now we hear of radiation. We hear of people with nowhere to go, no food, and no water.

I'm not trying to be a fear monger. There are various states of preparedness and I don't expect everyone to sit around and plan on getting through TEOTWAWKI. I don't live on a compound and I certainly don't live in fear waiting for the black helicopters. However I do know that having the ability to hunker down in your home for at least 72 hours or having the means to get to safer ground is invaluable.

Most of the time disasters are small, personal, and mostly an inconvenience. Perhaps the flu has made the rounds and no one is well enough to go to the store. Other times diasters are local, maybe your town was hit by an ice storm that knocked out the power for forty-eight hours. Both of these scenarios are played out in many homes and cities each year.

Every June I remind my fellow East Coasters to get ready for hurricane season.

Right now I'm asking you to do a few, reasonable things.

Put together an emergency pantry, including your medications.

You don't want to be out adding to the confusion if you don't have to. Think how nice it would be to never have to deal with the bread and milk lines at the grocery store ever again.

Try not to let your vehicle's gas tank drop below 1/2 full.

The object is to stay out of lines if evacuation is ever necessary.

Keep an emergency kit in your car.

Let Japan be a lesson here. Not every disaster is polite enough to provide advance notice, earthquakes and chemical spills come to mind.

Plan a rally point.

What if your spouse is at work and you have to leave and the cellular networks are jammed? Do you know where you would go and how you would get there? What if the traffic was so bad that the main route was not an option, how else would you get there? Does that seem unlikely? It happens, especially when mandatory evacuations are ordered. If you know where your loved ones are headed, you may be spared many agonizing hours if there is no communication.

These basic plans can't overcome every disaster, but for most they can help you stay out of harm's way when confusion and anxiety are at their highest. These points are also not meant to be all-inclusive, they are simply a starting point.

Ready.gov also has some great tips and checklists.

This isn't the first time we've talked about emergency preparedness here on Home Ec 101, back when no one was sure what was going to happen with H1N1 I wrote: Let's Play Disaster Scenario.  I don't play off the headlines hoping for Google traffic. My goal is to raise awareness and reduce anxiety. I bring up these conversations when I feel people may be more receptive to the idea that sometimes bad things happen and there are things you can do to lessen the impact. I don't believe the world will end tomorrow, I'm fairly confident that 2012 will be just another year -maybe more like 1999 / 2000 with lots of hype.

What about you? How prepared are you?

 

Thoughts on Emergency Preparedness after the Japanese Quake is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

A Guide to Cooking and Using Chicken

Heather says:

Some of you may know that I have weird taste in fiction, one of my favorite authors is Margaret Atwood who specializes in near-future dystopia -think of it as the opposite of a utopia. In two of her novels, science has reached a point where the chicken has been engineered to be little more than a mouth that produces meat called chickie nobs. I suppose it's supposed to be a dark parody of our society. Lots of people I know will only eat the hygenic, pre-frozen 15% sodium solution boneless skinless chicken breasts; I can't help but wonder how long until someone introduces the chickie nob concept.

Some would say we're already there. To counter that I want to challenge you to try something new with chicken.

I believe if you're only consuming the chicken breast that you're missing out on the best the chicken has to offer.  I also think those of us who choose to eat meat ought to be at least mindful of the process and part of that is not being wasteful.

Did you know that cooking chicken on the bone yields more tender and flavorful chicken?

Bones contain a lot of moisture and when the chicken is heated, this moisture is released. Think of it as internal basting without all that pesky effort. *Note* I do not actually recommend basting as a technique with chicken, it's more effective to just leave the oven door closed.

What's the difference between light and dark meat in chicken?

In chicken, white meat is the breast and wings. White meat has less connective tissue and fat than dark meat. White meat can be cooked by many methods, but over cooking will leave it dry due to its lower fat content.

The thighs and legs of a chicken are the dark meat. These parts contain more fat and connective tissue than its white meat counterpart. Lower heat and wet cooking methods will give the most tender results IF the bird is mature. In the US most chickens are butchered quite young, so the maturity and tenderness concern is usually a non-issue.

Do you have a recipe for one type of chicken that you would like to use for another?

Great, I found a wonderful chart explaining how to convert chicken recipes and cooking times.

Whole Chicken Ideas

How to Roast a Chicken – this is a great first step. Roasting is a great technique that can be used for company meals and simple dinners at home, it's a technique all cooks should master.

How to Spatchcock a Chicken – use a sturdy pair of kitchen shears to cut out the spine of a chicken. This allows to the chicken to lie flat for roasting or grilling. With more surface area, this technique significantly reduces cook-time.  It's also sounds like a dirty word which adds to the fun.

How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken – If you purchase chicken from a local farmer, whole chicken may be your only option. Cutting up the chicken gives you many more options for preparation. For others, sometimes purchasing whole chickens is simply more economical than buying parts.

Recipes for Cut Up Chicken

Chicken Marinated in Balsamic

Chicken with Onions, Peppers, and Mushrooms

Chicken Bog

Chicken on the Cheap

Chicken Thighs and Legs with Garlic and Brown Sugar

Chili Honey Chicken Thighs

Oven Fried Chicken Thighs

Garlic and Soy Chicken Thighs

How to Remove a Chicken Thigh Bone – only do this if chicken thighs are somewhere around half the cost of boneless skinless chicken thighs

Using All of the Chicken

Save your bones, wing tips, and chicken backs to make homemade stock. You don't have to make the stock the same night you cook the chicken. Keep the leftover bones in a freezer bag or other container in your freezer until you have enough for this project. You can use either raw chicken bones or cooked. Some people even roast the bones prior to making stock to get a darker, richer stock. It's all up to you.

How to make chicken stock – the Asian method

How to make chicken stock – the French method

More thoughts on making chicken stock

Why does my chicken stock taste like water?

How to Use Leftover Cooked Chicken

Chicken Noodle Soup + How to make dumplings

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Salad- please keep in mind I took that picture well before I knew *anything* about food photography.

Jambalaya - did you know most Cajun recipes were simply methods of making the most out of what was on hand? You don't need the exact recipe, think of it as a technique and feel free to substitute to your heart's content.

Chicken Pilau

A Final Note

If you're a bit squeamish, know that familiarity helps. It won't make the process enjoyable, but the more you have to deal with it, the easier it gets. If you're pregnant, pass the job on to someone else. I couldn't bear to deal with poultry during any of my pregnancies. It's a temporary situation and it will pass . . . eventually.

Feel free to share your techniques in the comments.

A Guide to Cooking and Using Chicken is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011

Kitchen Logistics 101

[image error]Brian says:

For some men, the kitchen can be a very scary and awkward place. For a small few, it's even forbidden to step into the kitchen for anything other than a thoroughfare. The rest of us? We tend to find ourselves on one of two sides: the curious, closet chef or the unabashed kitchen connoisseur. Well, this post is for the former. It's a big world in that little ol' kitchen of yours, but with the right tips and tools, you can conquer almost any culinary frontier you find yourself in. For example:

Clean as you go.

Preparing a meal for a group of people can be a daunting task. To go a step further, preparing a meal for just yourself can be just as daunting. One thing I find that helps with the process is to take a few seconds during prep and cook times and clean up after yourself. Finished with a counter top for the time being? Wipe it down with a dish towel or damp cloth. Know you're not going to be using that saucepan for the reminder of the process? Rinse it in some hot water and stick it in the dishwasher (if applicable). The point is to keep your cooking surfaces as a available as possible, it will help you transition seamlessly from one step to the next and reduce the amount you'll be left to clean up at the end of the night.

Always have a Plan B.

It's Murphy's Law centered in the microcosm that is your kitchen space. Something will always go wrong. Granted, the degree of severity may vary, but that doesn't mean it still won't put something of a wrench in your original plans. Above all else, be prepared. If you're running lower on a specific ingredient than you once thought, try and substitute. There's nothing more reassuring than the confidence you'll acquire when you make that spur-of-the-moment decision while in a pinch; extra points if everything turns out as if you weren't in a dilemma at all.

Fill up first.

Like grocery shopping, wine tasting and exercising, you should never cook on a empty stomach! Prior to preparing a meal, indulge in a small, but light snack of some sort. This will "center" you, so to speak, when it comes time to create the main course. Think about it, when shopping while hungry, you tend to purchase things that you'd love to have right then and there, not taking into account all the things you originally came to the grocery store for; the same concept applies to cooking. You'll be so adamant about finishing your dish that you're bound to fudge it up somewhere. This will not bode well for the final product. Do yourself a favor and grab a can of Pringles or a few pieces of fruit. It will definitely help you out in the end.

Brian Wilder is a writer for Home Ec 101. You can also find him at Things My Grandfather Taught Me.
If you have a question you'd like Brian to answer send it to Brian@home-ec101.com.
Don't forget to stop in and say hello on the brand new Home-Ec101 Forums.

Kitchen Logistics 101 is a post from: Home Ec 101 ©Home Ec 101.com 2007 - 2011