Subj : Re: moving or not To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Thu Nov 07 2019 00:42:44 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 30-Oct-2019 09:50 <=- BM>> I'm not trying to be stereotypical but the thought of a BM>> Spanish or Mexican family running a Chineese restaurant doesn't quite BM>> work. Even following the recipes as written there are techniques and BM>> 'unwrittens' one would not be aware of. "A pinch of salt" -- a little BM>> between thumb and forefinger or more between the thumb and two fingers? NB>> It could have worked, but as you say, chances were good that it NB>> wouldn't have.... they might have had the recipes, but didn't really NB>> understand the subtleties of Chinese cooking... ;) BM> Right. "Roll into a tube" doesn't say anything about how tightly, how BM> long the tube is, etc. Quite sure the Hispanic couple watched the BM> Chinese couple prepare the food, but the inevitable forgetting/mis- BM> remembering of details: dough too thick for the amount of food and the BM> flavour is off, or the dough shell has to be cooked longer and that BM> means the stuffing is overcooked, etc. Or the wok isn't heated hot enough, or enough oil (or the right kind) used.... NB>> But I have a Chinese friend that can cook just about any ethnic NB>> cuisine, including Mexican/Spanish or even French, Italian or NB>> Greek.... :) BM> As for your friend, some people just have the knack. He certainly does... :) he helped me make a steak and kidney pie at the Cooking Echo picnic... I was going on my remembering doing it years ago, he was going on remembered tastes from years ago... no recipes, but he does have years of doing all sorts of techniques, and used what was needed for our project... Came out very nicely... :) BM> We watch Martha Stewart on Saturday noon because nothing else on at BM> that time -- she has the occasional comment of adding a little water BM> if needed because of the weather conditions -- so just how does one BM> know if the dough needs more water? Looked the same to me before. BM> (One can't feel on TV.) If that was in regards to baking bread.... I've done that... although more often, I've just added less flour...... when it's humid, you might need less water/more flour... when it's dry, the flour will absorb more.... I tend to add the last few cups of flour while I'm kneading the dough by hand, so I can feel how dry or wet the dough is as I'm doing it... :) BM>> As for the "not the same", when we ate out more often and so a BM>> higher repeat rate at specific restaurants we could tell when there was BM>> a different chef in the kitchen from the usual as the meal didn't taste BM>> quite the same. NB>> And sometimes that can be bad, other times good.... and sometimes just NB>> different.... ;) BM> Right. Maybe we prefer what other customers don't. We tend not to be BM> overly picky: a medium wil be accepted when ordered medium rare; if BM> well done that will be rejected (and don't recall the last time that BM> error occurred). For some things, I've become more picky over the years... how done a steak is is one of those things, especially when there's a blurb in the menu that describes what they are supposed to be supplying when you order a particular doneness... I'm happy with blood rare to medium rare... but if I order it rare, I expect it to be no more than medium rare... and I will send it back if it's medium or worse... The steaks are usually pricy enough that they really should be doing things right... and I don't feel right spending that kind of money for something I have to choke down because they cooked it wrong... BM>> Depending on how young the two boys might help at certain times - BM>> thinking "do you homework for 45 minutes and then help clean for 15", BM>> (You'd probably notice that schedule!) Or perhaps they helped when BM>> the restaurant was closed. NB>> Before things got as busy as they are now, the middle boy would sit NB>> at one of the tables, and happily read a book... ;) The youngest is NB>> still pretty young.... I think they now are doing their schoolwork NB>> and such in the kitchen where they are out of sight... or possibly NB>> are at their grandparents more.... BM> Possibly, as long as the grandparents aren't in the back helping to BM> cook! Pretty sure they aren't... :) BM>>> Well AFAICT your apple allergy is worse. Simple to avoid a glass of BM>>> milk or milk in cereal (order oatmeal!) but from earlier discussions BM>>> apples show up everywhere in food and drinks. NB>>> Well, that is true... more effort to avoid apples than to avoid milk... NB>>> but as an avid milk drinker, I'd find that hard to take, too... ;0 BM>> If you had that taste I had you'd avoid! NB>> Maybe... or figure out some way to cover it up... ;) BM> Well I also covered up a bit: I needed milk to do some cooking so had BM> a quart of milk in the refrigerator; would periodically try to see if BM> got rid of that nasty aftertaste; found if I didn't pour too much into BM> my cereal so was still relatively dry (not soggy) and the last bite or BM> two was cereal and not a spoonful of milk the taste was covered up. I'd probably mix in chocolate, or molasses... ;) NB>>> I enjoy milk in all its forms... :) And we generally have it NB>>> with our meals at home... At restaurants, it's almost impossible NB>>> to find whole milk offered, so we go for something else there... BM>> Yes, if you were regular regulars they might buy a quart of milk just BM>> for you two. Now that you mention it I don't recall seeing milk even BM>> listed in the beverage section of a lunch or dinner menu. NB>> It generally is there, but most likely 2% or less.... at least at most NB>> American-type restaurants, such as diners, or at chain restaurants... BM> I'll try to remember, though when we eat out we generally don't do BM> beverages other than water (with lemon), though sometimes something BM> 'exotic' which already have a hankerin' for and so order without BM> referring to that section of the menu. Many of them do carry chocolate milk, but that is generally lowfat as well... I'm more likely to order water with lemon now also... unless I find out that they do carry whole milk... :) NB>>> I often try not to use taglines on messages to the person I snagged NB>>> them from... but it does happen from time to time... ;) BM>> 99% of my taglines have been snagged from others or extracted from BM>> various sources so if you gave me one of 'my' taglines it probably BM>> originated elsewhere. NB>> Like most of mine... :) BM> Right. I found the trouble with snagging that great tagline was BM> everyone else has snagged it too, so not such a great catch. It might not have been seen in some other echo, though... ;) NB>>> ... Law of Basic Economics: you can only spend it once. BM>> Though in "advanced Economics" they talk about how the $1 a tourist BM>> spends becomes $5 (or whatever amount) because the tourist gives the BM>> $1 to the first vendor/shopkeeper, that person spends the $1 at Shop BM>> #2, that one spends at Shop #3.... NB>> Ah, but still the first person can only spend it once.... :) BM>> True. I'm more concerned with what I have and can spend than what BM>> everyone else can. Likewise... :) NB>> ... A classic is a book that is praised but not read BM> It looks good on the shelf! Which is how some companies earn their money... selling books that look good on the shelf, so people can pretend that they are reading all these good books... :) ttyl neb .... Knowledge is the food of the soul. --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .