Baldur

Happy Birthday Aldo Ray!

Baldur

I rely on a lot of dried herbs here mainly because our growing season is so short. Basil is what is the hardest to get around by substituting dry. The flavour is so different
Dry basil is good to use, it still tastes wonderful. It's just a different type of wonderful..as if it were a different herb

Baldur

The herbs that Baldur tends not to use are the forementioned savory (both Winter and Summer varieties, cilantro (which is evil) and tarragon.
Never understood what people see in that one at all.
If served something tarragonized Baldur will eat it out of politeness, but without relish.

Baldur

It is true that herbs lose their potency, but some in the culinary zoo are a bit hypersensitive to the issue. I've heard they should be replaced at the very least every year. Baldur replaces them when they are gone.
I too cannot trust that the ones in the market are not already 5 years old.

In my cabinet if something is older a year old it means I do not use it very frequently. So why would I run out and buy more to sit wasted and possibly never used at all before the next annual discardarama?

..and who can afford to do that anyway?

Baldur

I have ancient jars of ground mace, caraway seed, dill seed, chervil and star anise.
Perusing through the spice catalog, I long to add more and more. Sometimes succumbing to this odd desire...
How often will I really use asofoetida, black sesame seeds or orris root?

Baldur

This is the time of year I stock up on winter baking supplies. Each week I will get a jar of molasses or a box of either prunes, raisins or dried apricots.

Has anyone noticed in their area that large jars of molasses don't exist anymore? It used to be sold in a jar that seemed larger than a quart. Baldur cannot remember the exact number of ounces. Now the biggest available is a 10 oz jar and of course the price has trebled in recent years.

Dragon

I don't recall seeing molasses in jars before. We always get it in little cartons (like milk cartons) with a screw off cap to pour (or ooze as the case usually is) out. I don't remember how we got it when I was a kid though. My mom used to frequently make molasses crackles and I remember eating them very clearly but I can't recall the details of making them. It's possible she shooed us all out of the kitchen before embarking on something involving thick gooey semi-liquids which would easily make a large mess in the hands of small children.

Dragon

I wonder if Baldur (or any of his listeners) have any advice on planting flower bulbs in the fall. As we didn't move into our house until Nov last year all my bulbs got planted in spring this year. I had varied results and I'm very much hoping that everything comes up well next year. I recently bought some Crocus and Dwarf Iris bulbs and I'm just not sure how long I should wait into fall to plant them. I also have some Columbine seeds that also like to be planted in fall too.

Baldur

Plant them right now, they need time to develop a root system before the ground freezes solid.

Dragon

Thanks. I'll get them in pretty soon here, before this Indian summer goes away and the snow starts flying.

Normal

In sympathy with Baldur's molasses quandary - recently stood and howled with laughter in our local mart. Finally found where they hid the pre-cooked bacon. The maker had reduced the pieces from a standard 15 to 12 or 13. Then had the effrontery to print on each and every box 20% MORE BACON!!!"

Dragon

Jeez, wonder what they were putting in there before!

Baldur

Baldur has a question about Alphabetization.
I recently added a CD by 'the Dave Matthews Band' to my collection.
Here at Boughbreak discs are shelved alphabetically by the artist's name.
Were it just a recording by Dave Matthews it would get filed as Matthews, Dave.
Baldur however thinks it changes in this instance and should be considered 'Dave Matthews Band, the'
Is there a librarian in the house?

sandm

Im not a librarian, so my answer might be unsufficiant fo you, but I see it the same way.
Considering this deep problem practically and may be philosophically I mean, it would be more important for the searching person to know the used rule, than to use the "right" rule.

Normal

Right she is! I think Matthews, Dave, Band should do it.
DAVE makes no sense.
BAND would take forever as you may have many which end that way.

Dragon

If it were in my collection I would put it in the M section as that is where I would look for it. And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who alphabetizes my CD's. Thank you Baldur for making me feel like my OCD is a little more normal.

Normal

And none of us have un-alphabetized spices, right???

sheftali52

Heh heh, Normal. Years ago my Mom alphabetized my many spices, but they never stayed in order after she departed. And now? More or less in order, but never quite so.

Baldur

Somer of mine are not only alphabeticized, but labeled in Latin too

sheftali52

Latin, Baldur? I am impressed. (As she slinks over to the pantry to view her semi-sorta-alphabetized spices) Most vestiges of my high school Latin have been buried in the depths of my brain, rarely to be retrieved.