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 I don’t want to buy anything new that I don’t need to buy!  But I’ve had that diffuser for at least twenty years, so I did get my money’s worth out of it!

I did find diffusers online for a decent price and ordered two of them.  They arrived in the mail yesterday and I need to handwash them in hot soapy water before the first use to prevent them from smoking.  I didn’t have time to do that yesterday, so that is on my “to do” list for today!

Moral of the story – please folks, do not use diffusers for direct contact with food!

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 – she made a ton of it!  Even my hubby, who hates anything with onions in it said it was delicious!  But then again, no one told him there were onions in it!  Shhhhh….. don’t tell!

In addition to the sour kraut, we had ham, corn pudding, baked pineapple casserole, fresh green beans almandine, fresh baked sourdough bread, and home-made macaroni and cheese.  It was a true feast!

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!  I pulled the diffuser out from under the pot to take a look at it.  Someone in the household had obviously tried to cook something directly on the diffuser and had put some kind of grease/oil on it!  I don’t know if it was butter, or non-stick spray, but it was definitely covered with some kind of grease!  I tried wiping it off, but it still smokes like crazy!  Well, now I’m afraid to use it because I’m afraid it will catch on fire!

I’ve never washed the diffuser before – never needed to!  Well, now I’m going to run it through the dishwasher – I hope it doesn’t ruin it.

As for who in this house tried to cook with it – no one is admitting to it.  This is very upsetting.  I wish that people would own up to their mistakes.  I may have to buy a new one now, and I’m not sure if any local stores carry them.  So now I’m doing a slow burn in more ways than one!

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!  So now I am going to have to try to re-create it.  I did take notes on what I did differently, but the measurements weren’t exact.  I’m sure you know what I mean – a handful of this, a dollop of that!  I think that the part that was disappointing was the thyme.  I had substituted equal parts of parsley and oregano in place of the thyme for the first try.  I did buy thyme and used it for the second recipe, and that was such a different taste.  Don’t get me wrong – the roast was perfectly edible and none of it got thrown away.  It just wasn’t as super yummy as the first one that I “winged.”

Funny how that happened!

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 pans that come with the fitting plastic lid on them.  I store the brownies right in the pan – just cover it with the lid.

I try to buy the least expensive mix.  After all, I am on a food budget and just having brownies is a luxury!  But when my budget allows it I will buy a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.  I stir in 1/2 cup of each into the brownie batter just before pouring the batter into the pan.  My family loves these brownies!