Disappointing Kitchen Accessories

[Doubleyolker]

Love my dishwasher, I have a kitchenaid and I scrape my dishes but no pre rinsing. I cant hand wash them and get them as clean and sterilized. A normal load takes less than 5 gal and I know I would use more if I hand wash. And I HATE washing dishes!!

My slow cooker gets used a lot. I use my knife and cutting board rather than my chopper unless I need large amounts. Love my pro waffle maker I didnt leave when we sold the cafe......along with some knives that will out live me. Cast iron and stainless steel pots . bar keepers friend is the best.oh and the eggie things suck

 

[hennotrooster]

It certainly does, but we have issues with cholesterol here and DH is highly allergic to anything that comes from a pig, so that lets out a lot of that good stuff

Will defintely check around for some Bar Keepers Friend

I throw my pots and pans in the dishwasher...I sort of pre scrub the stuck on stuff and then pop 'em in there. I don't have any cast iron...yet. I'd really like to find a good Dutch Oven, but they're soooo flippin' expensive! It's on the list for Thrift Store treasure hunts, but they are few and far between.

Yard sales for cast iron...

 

[TennesseeChicken]

If you do the homework, real unhydrogenated animal fats have the effect of lowering your cholesterol rather than raising them. This is what made me start using what I use. And the proof is in the pudding. My doctor put my on statins to lower my cholesterol. I took my own self off them, and have been using nothing but real butter and natural fats since. The result? Well she still wants me to take those awful things, but the last blood test, which should have shown my cholesterol through the roof according to current medical belief... didn't.

Allergy though.. whoa that's different.

It certainly does, but we have issues with cholesterol here and DH is highly allergic to anything that comes from a pig, so that lets out a lot of that good stuff

Will defintely check around for some Bar Keepers Friend

I throw my pots and pans in the dishwasher...I sort of pre scrub the stuck on stuff and then pop 'em in there. I don't have any cast iron...yet. I'd really like to find a good Dutch Oven, but they're soooo flippin' expensive! It's on the list for Thrift Store treasure hunts, but they are few and far between.

Yes, I am a believer that healthy animal fats (from organically raised animals) are good for you as well. I think having an elevated cholesterol level is your body's way of trying to 'fix' something, and does not cause heart disease. Now, triglycerides are a different story. If you eat alot of the 'good fat', then you should definitely be doing a lower carb diet, because carbs block the fats from being processed through your body. I think soy is an anti-nutrient...from alot of what I've been reading lately. It is the cause of allergies and alot of health problems in people. It is explained more on our website, www.bowersfarmtn.com . Perhaps the reason why some people are allergic to pork is because of the soy-based feed that is fed to Factory Farm pork. This is the main reason why our farm is soy-free (and-non-GMO) with our hogs and egg-layers.

Back on the subject at hand, I would have to say one of my favs in the kitchen is my cast-iron enamel pot. They are heavy, but you can cook just about anything at a lower temp and nothing sticks! Very easy to clean, too, but still, heavy-keeps my arms strong! LOL

And Kudos for going off of those evil statin drugs galanie!

 

[galanie]

Yes, I am a believer that healthy animal fats (from organically raised animals) are good for you as well.  I think having an elevated cholesterol level is your body's way of trying to 'fix' something, and does not cause heart disease.

AMEN sister! High cholesterol runs in my family. Mother had it, never took statins, and never had a heart attack. Both my older brother and sister dutifully took their statins every day and had a heart attack at about the same age I am now. I would just as soon take my chances, thank you.

And Kudos for going off of those evil statin drugs galanie!

Thanks again! If I do have a heart attack, I am firmly convinced it isn't because of my cholesterol. In spite of everything the doctors have been indoctrinated to believe, there is NO PROOF that high cholesterol is symptom that a person is at risk of heart attack and that the cholesterol level alone needs correcting with drugs.

Insist on getting the full report and look up all the stuff your complete cholesterol report really says, and if you're like me, you might find that your level is actually only "borderline" - and even then if you completely throw out all the results that show you have tons and tons of "good cholesterol" to fight the bad stuff. BAH. Stupid doctors. My BLOOD PRESSURE is the problem. Just because your charts show mine as "borderline high" for my age (hmm.. and so is the cholesterol...) does not mean it's safe for ME. My blood pressure has always, and I mean ALWAYS, from a teen to a hard smoking adult, been lower than expected. And now it's "borderline high" with spikes (really HIGH ONES) during the day. And which are they worried about? yeah. Dumb.

 

[mickey328]

I've believed for a long time that any unprocessed "natural" fat is better for you. Your body knows what to do with butter...hydrogenated fat hits your system and it says "whoa...what the heck do I do with this!?" I don't use butter for frying simply because of the low burn temp, but use it melted on things or for a quick, low-heat saute. My cholesterol issue is simply because, and I admit it, that I don't eat as healthily as I should. Dave's whole family has a history of high cholesterol and even tho he was vegan for many years that didn't drop it even a point.

A couple of years ago, we went out for lunch and I ordered some potato skins. They came with melted cheese and bacon bits. He took one of them, picked all (probably 8 pieces) the bacon bits off and ate it. He spent most of the rest of the afternoon and evening in the bathroom So...just ain't worth it to get him near any piggy stuff. Not likely to kill him, but it's just not a price worth paying

They tried me on one of the statins as well, but it made my arthritis so bad I could hardly move! They've got me on Tricor now...it's not quite as effective but it's helped some and doesn't make me hurt. I could probably get off that and my diabetes meds as well if I had the will power to eat properly. Sheesh, pushing 60 and still no control over myself! But we are at least moving toward producing as much food as we can ourselves...with no additives of any sort except plain old compost which we make ourselves as well. It's a little step, but in the right direction, I think.

I've never rendered or used fat/suet. I don't know if we could even get a hold of any around here. It's almost impossible to find a grocery store with an actual butcher shop in it any more. They almost all get all their meat in pre-cut and packaged. And to find just a "butcher shop"??? pffft...good luck with that one! What might be possible is some of the places that process animals. There's a lot of hunting in this area and a LOT of people keep a cow or two to process for their own freezer or for a little sale. Might be able to swing a deal to get some of the leaf fat from them.

Not wanting unearned kudos, I'll point out that those two quotes were Tennessee Chicken, not me...but I do concur wholeheartedly

And, while they choose a number for cholesterol, I think it's a generality and not necessarily good for every person. All our bodies work differently when it comes to specifics...my last labs showed my "bad" cholesterol under control, they'e now concerned that my "good" cholesterol isn't high enough. My BP is high as well, but well controlled with my meds. I will say though, that my doc doesn't get his knickers in a know over my cholesterol...he's concerned but not freakishly so. He is worried about heart disease primarily cuz I can't get off the nicotine. As he's fond of saying, he'd hate if we finally got everything else under control only to have me croak from a stroke or heart attack because of the cigarettes, LOL.

I don't like what I hear about soy, either...so other than Dave using soy milk on his cereal, it doesn't come in our house. We moving toward growing most of our own non hybrid, heirloom veggies, and going with non-gmo grains for feed for our chickens and rabbits. I'm not quite ready yet to commit to getting our own non-gmo grains to grind to bake bread yet, though, LOL. Still, we're wanting to move toward a mainly "real" food household. Some "improvements" aren't really improvement and I can see doing natural selection to get better yield and such but when you really start meddling with Mother Nature I think you're taking too big a chance.

 

[hennotrooster]

Mickey328 what is being said about soy...my son and daughter in law have become vegan and I would like to know what you know they claim that soy is good and they get a lot of good stuff their. I disagree. My dad kept telling my husband to stop buying the cigarettes he finally did after using all the patches and other help aides cold turkey is the way to go. It has been 9 years he had one good craving about 4 years ago smoked a cig and was sick for about 2 weeks, had the shakes, headache and just couldn't shake the nauseated feeling. He is cured.

 

[TennesseeChicken]

Here is a good summary about why soy is bad:

www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert/soy-alert-brochure

 

[galanie]

Mickey328 what is being said about soy...my son and daughter in law have become vegan and I would like to know what you know they claim that soy is good and they get a lot of good stuff their. I disagree.   My dad kept telling my husband to stop buying the cigarettes he finally did after using all the patches and other help aides cold turkey is the way to go.  It has been 9 years he had one good craving about 4 years ago smoked a cig and was sick for about 2 weeks, had the shakes, headache and just couldn't shake the nauseated feeling.  He is cured.

 

Cold Turkey is the only way to go. All that "support" and gum and patches is Bull Hockey. Just decide you really want to quit, and put the danged things down. That's the only way that works.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Here's my quitting the cig's story - I never started with the smoking, so if has to be about my dad.
My dad quit the cig's cold turkey about a year after my mom died, I was 9. He had a bet with a co-worker and if he quit for 6 months he won a steak dinner. He walked around with an open pack of cigs in his shirt pocket for over a month before he threw them off the dam (he worked maintenance on hyrdoelectric dams). He won the bet, the friend brought along a blind date for him and she is the most wonderful step-mom in the world!

Back to the kitchen accessories - the pasta extruder attachment for a Kitchenaide was a dismal failure for me. The pasta dough kinda cooks in place because it heats up trying to squeeze the dough out the little holes. I am saving up for a pasta roller setup for the kitchenaide. My supervisor says that the roller works great.

 

[mickey328]

I have to disagree, Galanie. We're all different and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. I did the cold turkey thing once and ended up in the hospital with an asthma attack...the only one I've ever had before or since. It was the stress. I know a lot of people do it this way successfully, but it sure didn't work for me. I know others who just gradually cut down...doesn't work for me either. If I decide I'm only going to have, say 1 per hour...I spend that entire hour watching the clock. For me, I either smoke or I don't. The gum and losenges make me sick to my stomach, but the patches so far have done the best.

WYO, I too have not have good luck with any of the "extruder" type machines. I'd like to get one of the rollers, but...dang they're expensive! LOL...definitely on the "gotta save up for it" list.

Thanks for that link, TC ...saves me searching. One of the things that stuck with me from a long time ago was the business about the phyto-endocrines. Now, having an estrogen sort of thing might be great at the beginning of menopause to help ease the symptons, but I'm well into it and prefer to let my body get used to being without...if I put more in, it'll just drag the thing out longer, and longer. I still think most of this dietary info for all sorts of foods needs to be a personal decision, based on personal research. I would never presume to "push" what I think on others...I just throw things out there that I've seen and let folks decide for themselves if they want to follow up or how they choose to interpret the available info. So, if folks believe in soy...go for it! None of us are necessarily "right" or "wrong"