On 8/18/2015 12:38 AM, The Real Bev wrote:
On 08/17/2015 11:57 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 8/17/2015 9:57 PM, The Real Bev wrote:

OTOH, I don't "do cleaning"! : I don't eat the sweets, either! SWMBO,
as primary beneficiary, grumbles that I always leave the counters a mess
after one of my late night bake-a-thons. My retort: I could STOP baking...
That usually ends the discussion -- WITHOUT me having to pick up a cloth!

She'll have a mess to clean tomorrow morning! As I made another
cheesecake just a week ago -- and biscotti a few days ago -- the
"cleaning" tends to be a frequent source of dismay... (and reward?)

I love cheesecake, but not enough to actually make it. Trader Joe has a very
good one, quite reasonably priced.

I find it disgusting. I look at all that cream cheese and realize it's
all just *fat*! ick!

My cheesecake is very light and (relatively) low in calories. I think
it's about 4 pounds and just 5,000 calories. Not the "block of solid
cream cheese" that (e.g., New York style) is more commonly encountered.

I also use pineapple which seems to be different than most expectations.

[An amusing anecdote: I have an uncanny tendency to wear *black*
when baking (which noticeably shows the flour, etc. that ends
up on my clothing) and *white* when working on the cars (which
noticeably shows the dirt and grease).]

Masochism unless you or your wife loves doing laundry.

I do my own laundry. What is annoying is the realization that
I have made this STUPID mistake, yet again, shortly after I've
put on the new, clean shirt.

Sort of like remembering the surgical gloves *after* changing
the oil filter.

[The last cheesecake went to a friend's mother for her 95th bday. Packed
in dry ice for the 1000 mile drive! In addition to being something that
tastes good, it also demonstrates, to her, that her son has folks around him
that care enough about him that they would go to the trouble to bake
something for his *mom*! (my friend lost his wife, recently, so is
essentially "alone", here)]

Very nice. Mommies worry about their children no matter what age they are.

Exactly. My friend (and his now-deceased wife) is a great guy. The sort
you are *reluctant* to ask for a favor out of fear he'll do *too* much!

When his wife died (unexpectedly) it threw him for a loop. He had a
houseful of guests for ~two weeks -- just to avoid being alone, etc.
As *he* wasn't much of a host, under the circumstances, I would drop
off something freshly baked each day so his guests had something
"special" to nibble on. (It was a LONG two weeks! : )

Grate 1 potato. Press down into pan and fry in butter for 10 minutes or less.
Flip and fry on other side for 5 minutes. Salt and eat. Adjust time depending
on whatever it depends on.

Sounds similar to kugelis.

Not at all (I looked it up). More like a big hash brown pancake. The thinner
you make it the crisper/browner it gets, but the inside should still be moist.
Potatoes only. Some might put ketchup on it...

Kugelis is similar but spicier. Some folks make it in a baking dish
but we always made it in a "pancake" form. It's "an acquired taste" :

Boil corned beef and cabbage for 5 hours. (Live-in consultant likes 5-hour
cabbage.)

Jalapeno jelly. It hasn't jelled so far, so I use cornstarch and make jalapeno
pudding. Next batch will be perfect.

Not fond of corned beef. Nor (hot) peppers of any kind. Cabbage is OK with
galumpke.

The pepper jelly is made with 4 bell peppers (whatever color is on sale) and 4
jalapenos, which are much smaller. It's not really all that hot, and you can
change the ratio with impunity. Trader Joe's red pepper jelly is hotter.
Sesame crackers with cream cheese and jalapeno jelly are really good.

Again, not fond of cream cheese. My inlaws were big on "heat" in food.
FinL grew hot peppers -- to the exclusion of all else! He'd eat a
bowl of peppers sauteed in olive oil just before bed each evening
(then, wake up a few hours later looking for the Pepto Bismol...
and GENUINELY WONDERING why his stomach was upset!)

The friend I mentioned earlier has been dropping off various pickled
veggies lately for us to taste. While many are unusual (pickled
onions??), they tend to be tastey. Except the pickled peppers. X-(

It's been said that some folks eat to live while others live to eat.
I'm firmly in the first camp (get it over with as quickly as possible).
Even the meals that I truly *love* are just "brief experiences" :-/

We graze. It's been a long time since I cooked an actual 'meal'. I did once
make mu shu pork that Chinese friends found acceptable, though.

We make an oriental-ish meal every Sunday for lunch. Probably the one
meal that we look forward to each week. Otherwise, our tastes are
different enough that we're usually "compromising" to some extent.

ObAutoRepair: I used to do it, but not any more.

I try to do everything that I can -- which is usually a lot! I have
learned to distrust folks hired for most repairs. If you want it done
right, best to do it yourself.

I recall having some folks do a brake job on a car many years ago.
Some time later, I lost a front wheel bearing while driving. That,
of course, rendered the brakes largely ineffective. I leaned on
the "emergency/parking brake" -- only to find the pedal fall to the
floor!

Turns out, the folks who did the brake job forgot to install the
parking brake link that leverages the primary shoe against the secondary.
As a result, the brake cable was just "tugging on air"! Or,
no brakes! :