http://letlindacook.com Linda gets cooking for you Fri, 28 May 2010 03:18:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Not very long ago I decided that peeling potatoes by hand was a huge waste of time and energy.  I much prefer just baking potatoes.  But lots of people like having mashed, boiled, or roasted potatoes, and I have to agree that all of those are yummy.  But peeling potatoes ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=42 We had two very over-ripe bananas, and so I decided to make banana bread.  My favorite banana bread recipe calls for three bananas (most call for only two) so instead of using my favorite tried-and-true recipe, I decided to try a bread-machine recipe for banana bread that only calls for ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=40 I had thought that someone else in my large extended family would have Easter dinner planned out this year, but when I started asking around it became clear that if I wanted to be going to a big family Easter celebration, I was the one who had to throw it!  ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=38 I recently received the new Southern Living Annual Recipes cookbook for 2009 in the mail.  I was really excited - I LOVE Cookbooks!  So I settled down for what I hoped would be a good read with a cup of tea and cracked open the book.  I have to say ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=36 Well running the diffuser through the dishwasher didn't help.  The diffuser was still smoking badly when I put it on the stovetop.  I really was afraid it would catch on fire!  Well, I let it cool off in the sink and then threw it in the trash.  In today's economy ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=32 We had a family dinner here yesterday afternoon.  Mom brought a dish she had made that I've never had before.  It was a sour kraut dish with kielbasa, apples, potatoes, onions, and apple juice (or maybe it was apple cider.)  Everyone loved it!  She left about 1/2 of it behind ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=29 Last night I wanted to cook some rice on very low heat on my gas stove.  As usual I pulled out my diffuser to slip under the pot so that the heat would be really low.  I could not believe my eyes when smoke started pouring out of my diffuser!  ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=27 I finally got around to buying all of the ingredients for that pork tenderloin recipe and cooked it exactly as directed in the recipe.  No one in the family like it as much as the recipe that I had done a few weeks before when I had to substitute ingredients!  ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=22 Over the years I've been frustrated by many failed attempts to bake good brownies.  I tried metal pans.  I tried glass pans.  The brownies were always too dry or too moist.  Then I decided to buy one of those double-walled insulated pans.  Perfect brownies every single time!  I love the ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=17 One of the most valuable tools I have in my kitchen is a stove top heat diffuser.  I cook with a gas stove (I love cooking with gas!) and I frequently find myself needing to use a diffuser to help keep delicate things from boiling and/or scorching.  I'm always surprised ... http://letlindacook.com/?p=15