This is my blogchalk:
United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

Subscribe to this blog in Radio:

Friday, October 11, 2002

Wow - I just made a nice discovery! Reading through the manual that came with the VillaWare strainer, I noticed there is an optional electric motor attachment (which the Amish at Lehman's probably don't stock). It looked remarkably like my Marcato PastaDrive. I got it out and, sure enough, it fits. That means I can work the strainer without having to crank it. It cranks easily, but it's nice to be able to work with both hands. (Have I mentioned that I'm a sucker for kitchen appliances?) The pizza sauce is still cooling, 3 hours after coming out of the pressure canner. Some things continue to boil after they come out, but this didn't because of the thickness. It boils (or appears to) because the stuff in the jar superheats to 250F under pressure, then the vacuum after sealing lowers the boiling point. Some stuff will "boil" for an hour. Anyway, no runout on any of the 12 jars and every single one of them sealed. Liz just got back from a training seminar in Greenboro and I'm meeting her for a beer in about 15 minutes. This has been a great day. 4:01:39 PM    comment []

pffft....pffft...pffft...the rattle of the weighted guage 3 to 4 times a minute. I like the sound because it reminds me of the pressure cooker my mother had. Did you know it was invented by Denis Papin in 1679? The one my mother had was not that old. The pressure canner I have is 10 years old. After 2 failed attempts to get it rattling, I determined it needed a new gasket. I happened to have one in the utility closet. Now we're cooking, under pressure. 12:39:07 PM    comment []

Table 3. Recommended process time for Standard Tomato Sauce in a weighted-gauge pressure canner. Canner Gauge Pressure (PSI) at Altitudes Style of Pack Jar Size Process Time 0 - 1,000 ft Above 1,000 ft Hot Pints 20 min 5 lb 10 lb or 15 10 15 Quarts 10 15 Not Recommended Wow - this chart copied perfectly! I am processing "or" sized jars. Got the wine for the sauce, a not-so-nice chianti by Ruffino. I was tempted by straw-basket chianti, 'cause the empty bottle and a drippy candle would time-warp me back to the 70s, in honor of Jimmy Carter winning the Nobel. Perfect timing. I thought Daschle was rolling over and playing dead for Bush when he promised a vote by Oct. 11, which he delivered. Now Carter the peacemaker is stealing all the thunder. Anyway, the Ruffino tastes okay and it helped the sauce. Paul's first rule of cooking with wine: Always be drinking what you're putting in the food, that way you'll never be tempted to put in too much. 10:44:16 AM    comment []

More on PC. A friend sent me this telegraph.co.uk review (register- free) of Christie Davies' The Mirth of Nations. It is always good to read someone's description of the seemingly endless waves of contadicting thoughts that eventually culminate in a simple reaction. Here is my reaction: Ethnic jokes can be inside-joke tribal bonding or open recognition by outsiders (as in Brian's Song, Brian Piccolo breaking the ice by calling Gale Sayers a "n^gger"). The problem with ethnic jokes is that they can be used cruelly and too many people laugh at that instead of the humor, like the Nazi cartoon Jews prior to Kristallnacht. Discretion is required. It needn't be thrown under the lumpy blanket of "PC" or out with the bathwater. Good article. It makes you ask the question instead of giving you the answer, which I have thoughtlessly tried to do in this dumb note...   Whatever discretion originally went into my pizza sauce is being modified by politically-correcting the seasonings. I left the burner on low all night, enough to keep the sauce hovering above 140F so nothing dangerous starts to grow in it. It was still grainy this morning, so I ran a hand blender in it a few minutes. It had a nice consistency, but didn't taste rich enough. The herbs were there and so was the garlic, as a subtle aftertaste. What it needed was more tomato taste, which rhymes with tomato paste, which meant a trip to the store in the rain (hearing flash flood warnings on the car radio). I also picked up a couple of backup onions, and wondered why the white onions cost nearly twice as much the Spanish onions I selected. Back home, the tomato paste gave the sauce both the flavor and consistency it needed. I'd purchased 3 cans, a throwback to the days when Contadina was three cans to the dollar - even though this store brand sold for 43 cents a can. Only one small can was required. The volume is approaching the 12 pint goal, just the right amount for a box of pint Ball jars. Now, does it need red wine? Do I? 9:08:40 AM    comment []