You know what I need? A good wooden spoon. I have one I have had for about ten years so it is pretty seasoned and awesome, but I tried to buy a couple from one of those over-pried strip mall stores (I think it was Bed, Bath, and everything Beyond what your wallet and common sense can allow), and all I found were these weak flimsy and overpriced wooden spoons. I’d like a couple solid wooden spoons for sauces and general purposes.
You all were aces with the Peugeot pepper mill (which, hands down, is the best pepper mill I have ever seen or used), so hook a brother up with some wooden spoons.
BTW- made some pesto from the basil in the garden and am having clam pesto with angel hair pasta, but not a traditional pesto because after I make it I always throw in some diced roma’s in to cook down. What can I say- I’m a heathen and I like tomatoes almost as much as I like life itself. I didn’t want to use my marinara wooden spoon, so I have been using a regular plastic fantastic spoon. Hence, this post.
cathyx
I hate wooden spoons. My mother broke several on my behind when I was a kid. I can’t stand them.
Gex
I went through that same thing. I’m almost positive we went to Williams Sonoma to get a decent wooden spoon. Overpriced, sure. But I’d rather spend a little more on what I want than keep throwing away smaller sums of money on crappy spoons.
joel hanes
olive wood
AdamK
I bought a couple of sets of dirt cheap wooden spoons at the grocery store years ago and they’ve worked just fine ever since.
I’m no help at all.
rikyrah
White Privilege…straight up…no chaser.
………………………….
Edward Snowden’s Father Will Travel to Russia, Rejects Idea of Plea Deal For Son
By Imtiyaz Delawala
Aug 11, 2013 12:44pm
In an exclusive interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Lon Snowden – father of NSA leaker Edward Snowden – said he has received a visa to travel to Russia to visit his son, while rejecting the notion of a plea deal for his son to return to the United States.
Lon Snowden and his lawyer, Bruce Fein, said they plan to make the trip to visit Snowden in Russia “very soon.”
“We have visas, we have a date, which we won’t disclose right now because of the frenzy,” Fein said on “This Week.” “We intend to visit with Edward and suggest criminal defense attorneys who have experience in criminal espionage act prosecutions.”
Fein added that Edward Snowden’s Russian attorney said “he’s safe” and “obviously is exhausted. But he’s now needing a period of time where he can recoup his energy level and reflect on what he wishes to do going forward.”
On “This Week” Sunday, Lon Snowden told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he would not be open to a plea deal with U.S. authorities for his son to return to the U.S., saying Edward Snowden should instead fight espionage charges in court.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/08/edward-snowdens-father-will-travel-to-russia-rejects-idea-of-plea-deal/
jeffreyw
Bamboo
AdamK
Wooden spoons are very important to me since metal scraping against metal gives me the screaming willies.
caring and sensitive
Try thrift stores. My wife (whose hobby these days is thrifting) has been incredibly successful finding kitchen gadgets and utensils that either aren’t made any more or, if they are, are complete crap
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
Olive wood spoons from Williams Sonoma.
My husband hates mixers and will, by preference, use a wooden spoon to mix cookie dough and the like. He has yet to break the spoons I found at W-S.
gussie
@rikyrah: Oh, c’mon, wooden spoons aren’t _that_ white.
yellowdogupdater
Yea wooden spoons are the best.
kindness
Williams Sonoma. Pricey but the stuff is good.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@gussie: In fact, my olive wood spoons are pretty damned dark.
Since the thread died while I was posting this:
Just saw a report from my CSA. One of the biggest organic growers in the state is taking a vacation. For the first time in years, he has nothing to harvest in early August.
scav
good wooden ones are grand though. I’m still holding on to some thoroughly ancient ones — all crusty black on the bottom. Beyond keeping my eyes generally peeled (things show up in the weirdest places), I might be tempted to look at sur la table (I keep calling it sous la table for obvious reasons). Even when limited to Seattle, they had their froufrou nonsense end, but last I checked, still managed to have decent tools for cooking alongside.
MazeDancer
Wooden spoons – and other wooden culinary tools – are things often made by local artisans. There have to be some in WV. Whatever is the closest town with a farmer’s market might have a booth with a guy there who makes some. Sometimes local gift or chef’s shops feature local crafts people.
Otherwise, a Google search of “artisan wooden spoons” or “hand turned wooden spoons” turns up a hefty selection or wood workers plying their wares.
NotMax
1) Find the Yellow Pages book
2) Open it to Restaurant Equipment & Supplies
Violet
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: Replied to you in the other thread, but do you know why they have no harvest? Climate? Something else?
BillinGlendaleCA
@rikyrah: Wait, Glen Greenwald’s not going to visit as well?
DocSardonic
The olive wood Williams and Sonoma are good. However, if you want something a little more rustic, try a local craft fair. You might find a wood turner that makes them along with other implements of kitchen mayhem.
joel hanes
@jeffreyw:
Bamboo
yes, bamboo is also perfectly cromulent for spoons, and will probably stand up to a dishwasher better even than olive wood.
do you oil your bamboo utensils ?
The Other Bob
A lot has been discussed on the viability of newspapers since Bezos bought WaPo. It seems to me that if newspapers want any bit of the credibility they once held they should stop trying to be blogs. (Leave the blogging to the bloggers)
Any credible newspaper should first eliminate their online comments section. The merits of a newspaper article or column should stand on its own. The comments sections of newspapers are cesspools of racist and ignorant gibberish, often published anonymously.
In the past you could not get a letter to the editor published without your full name and city and they often confirmed your identiy. How once-great papers like the NYTimes, WaPo or the Chicago Tribune tolerates this crap is beyond me.
Violet
I got my wooden spoons for free as part of a wooden utensil set that someone else didn’t want. I also have an old one from my grandmother. I’ve got plastic, metal and silicone utensils too. Different utensils for different cooking. The wooden ones are fine. Nothing special, but work fine.
auntie beak
i see lovely old wooden spoons at antique shops and yes, occasionally thrift stores. again, pricey, if from antique shops, but you just know they’re the real deal and have probably made many the batch of cookies or cake in years past.
Tokyokie
I have several nice wooden spoons, all of which I got from my mother. And I think she might have picked them up at antique stores back in the ’60s. I’m of even less help than AdamK.
mai naem
I see somebody already said this. Go to a restaurant supply place. They have the better equipment. I’m just not sure if restaurants use wooden stuff because of hygiene issues? I would think they would use mostly stainless steel/metal/glass/better plastic stuff.
ant
ours that last well are made out of bamboo.
World Market is where our last set came from.
Francis
Not totally off-topic: Anyone have a good sangria recipe? Here is SoCal it feels like sangria weather.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Violet: It’s been a pretty wet year in most of NC. I’m guessing everything hit at once. I might know more when the newsletter arrives Wednesday.
I found it interesting that zucchini and yellow squash have largely been unavailable this summer. This is the first week I’ve seen squash in about a month. There are usually people begging for someone to take them off their hands.
shelly
I thought for sure John would have a separate ‘Breaking Bad’ thread.
jeffreyw
@joel hanes: No, hadn’t bothered to oil them. I don’t put wooden utensils in the dishwasher, and that includes wood handled knives or turners and suchlike.
Fluke bucket
I have been told these are the best wooden spoons money can buy.
http://www.amazon.com/Bambu-Kitchen-Basics-Utensil-Set/dp/B004AHLXA0/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t
SiubhanDuinne
@The Other Bob:
For the most part I’ve stopped listening to NPR’s “On the Media” (mostly because — this is so shallow of me, but I can’t help it — I just can’t stand Brooke Gladstone’s voice) but I caught a bit of it today and they had a pretty interesting feature on the NYC pressmen’s strike of the early 1960s. That took place just a few months before I moved there, so it kinda resonated.
22over7
Although I still use my crappy cheap wooden spoons, I also recommend silicon. My silicon spatulas are abfab for everything and clean up perfectly.
Also, restaurant supply stores are where you will find everything you never knew you needed.
Mnemosyne
Does anyone know how to get excess crud off wooden spoons, or should I throw it away and buy a new one? I think it’s burned-on marinara sauce, but I’m not sure (it’s definitely something that burned). I’ve washed it many times with no luck.
BGinCHI
Titanium spoons are good, but carbon fiber really allows you to stir faster given the strength-to-weight ratio.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Mnemosyne: Sandpaper?
NotMax
An online option. Pricey, but koa wood will last forever and is darn near unbreakable.
Reclaimed Hawaiian Koa spoons.
(Check out the pix of their cutting boards – they are little works of art.)
Violet
@Mnemosyne: Have you tried soaking it? If the stuff is actually burned on, soaking it followed by scrubbing it with a plastic scrubber should get rid of it. Has the spoon itself been damaged so that the shape has changed? If so, it’s still usable, but maybe you need to sand that bit down?
hilzoy
Like a couple of other people, I have wooden spoons of unknown origin, spoons that have been around since time immemorial. But I did get a bamboo spatula at Sur La Table and it is really great. I do put it in the dishwasher and don’t oil it; it has held up beautifully for several years.
dmsilev
Try a craft fair; I bought a set of wooden spoons and a cutting board from a guy at a local one here, and both have held up very well.
Also, I feel compelled to note that silicon != silicone. One is useful for making computer chips; the other is found in many types of cookware.
Suzanne
Sur la Table is my overpriced-kitchen-crap-of-choice store. I have one right down the road.
However…really? Wooden spoons? I buy the cheap ones and throw them away after a few months. No matter what kind you buy, all of them are going to get germy and nasty. Get some silicone spatulas.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
This is going to sound weird, but may well do the trick.
Go to a decent hardware store and ask for 0000 (four-ought) steel wool. It’s cheap.
Put a little dab of toothpaste (not gel) on the spoon and gently rub with the steel wool.
Four-ought steel wool won’t scratch; the toothpaste is a mild abrasive.
Secondary hint: gently rubbing the spot with toothpaste and a soft cloth is fantastic for getting rid of those pesky white rings on finished wood.
jeffreyw
bamboo
Nora Carrington
My favorite wooden kitchen implement, by far, is something I picked up in a DC metro grocery store in the last 2 years, but I can’t get more specific than that. It’s shaped like a fish spatula, kinda, but it’s flat, angled (shorter on one side than the other) and the business edge of the end is also angled. It’s has a bunch of 1 cm. holes drilled throughout, but not so many as to in any way impair the strength/integrity of the tool. It does everything. Because of the holes it stirs flawlessly, because it’s straight and flat it can be used to flip pancakes and gently turn omelets. Doubles as a wok stir fry tool and deglazing tool because the angled edge is sharp enough to scrape up the delicious bits.
Yatsuno
@NotMax: The prices on their cutting boards ain’t bad, especially converting from AUD. But shipping will prolly be a major nightmare there. Too bad, I’d like to get a decent hardwood cutting board for my mom.
Mary G
Thrift shops. Idiot children get rid of good stuff that isn’t made nearly as well now as it used to be. Glass measuring cups are a good example, but they don’t last long since antiques dealers troll for them all the time.
Mnemosyne
@Yatsuno:
Not really — they’re only asking about $6.50 AUD for shipping, which the Magic Google tells me is about $6 USD. I wouldn’t order it shortly before a birthday because it may take a few weeks to arrive, but the shipping rate is quite reasonable.
TheMightyTrowel
My mom gave me a couple of bamboo spoons from Pampered Chef – I really like them – great shapes, pretty sturdy, don’t stain or take on flavours.
Davis X. Machina
Big Chinese groceries… or hardware stores in Chinatowns.
SG
The HIC Harold import wooden spoon at Amazon. It’s rough beechwood and needs smoothing and seasoning, but the handle is thick and strong as is the neck where it connects to the bowl. At $5.51 for the 13-3/4-inch spoon, it’s pretty inexpensive.
Suzanne
@Yatsuno: I stay away from wood because of the germs issue.
Yatsuno
@Suzanne: Totes agree on the silicone, but just make sure they’re one solid piece. Silicone tipped tools fall apart too easily, though I love my heat-proof set I have right now.
Botsplainer
Looking for a compendium of methods people have used to discourage mouthing in puppies. This isn’t teething – he’s inappropriately seeking attention. I’m combining trips to the crate with distracting toys, much exercise, commands to sit and the rare growl. I’m having some success, but it is a little slow.
Anybody have more methods they like?
Southern Beale
Bed Bath & Beyond sells cheap crap made in China. Might as well go to Wal-mart. Go to a REAL overpriced store like Williams Sonoma.
Honestly, it’s a wooden spoon. How hard can that be?
Claessens1
What? Snowden’s father is going to spank him with a wooden spoon?@MazeDancer:
22over7
@dmsilev: Now I feel like an idiot. Silicone, not silicon. dmsilev, you keep me on my toes!
different-church-lady
And this is the blog that makes fun of McArdle on a regular basis?
Southern Beale
@Mary G:
Word. I got several killer iron skillets from the “antique mall,” which is basically a junk shop, and super-cheap. Or yard sales, too.
They don’t make iron skillets like they used to.
Suzanne
@Yatsuno: I bought a set of mini silicone spatulas from the Michael Graves collection when I was at Target a few months ago. I am not into overpriced kitchen crap, as a rule. One of them is my favorite thing ever. It’s both a spatula and a spoon, and is just awesome. I would buy like five more if I could buy just that one, but they only sell it in the set. FEH.
hildebrand
Find a good Amish store. We bought a number of very good, nearly indestructible, wooden spoons from the good folks in Lancaster, PA 20 years ago, and they are still in great shape.
fuckwit
@The Other Bob: I like.
Newspapers should produce REPORTING, which is something that we can’t really do in blogs (we lack resources and training and funding), and blow off the bloviating and commentary and op-ed stuff, which we can do better in blogs and comments anyway (possible exception Krugthlu, though he’s also a blogger anyway, and he could always move that elsewhere).
The only question is how do they get paid? Would we crowdsource/kickstart actual reporters to keep them on the job and paid? Somehow The Nation and Mother Jones appear to be making it financially, but I can’t think of too many other sources of reporting and news that are surviving outside the corporate world.
The fundamental problem is, I think, the advertiser-supported model. Advertisers don’t give a shit about content; they want eyeballs. And any bullshit that’ll generate eyeballs is plenty good enough for them.
As for comment threads, I thought authentication has been done successfully at a few newspapers for their online section. You usually have to have your name/address verified in order to get into their LTE section anyway, so why not online as well. But the only reason they have those is to keep eyeballs on the site so as to sell ads.
Southern Beale
I am SO frustrated, y’all. My cat Quinn, a Maine Coon, has had chronic severe allergies for years. We’ve taken him to specialists and spent literally thousands of dollars trying to get him healthy. We finally hit on Atopica, a pill that was like a miracle drug because for about 2 years it kept him allergy-free. But it stopped working and now he’s having severe reactions to everything again — pollen, food, dust, etc. I spend the whole day cleaning up after he tracked diarrhea all over the house and guess what, he did it again today. And he just threw up his Metronidazole tablet we’d given him.
I’m at the end of my rope. I don’t know what to do, I’m ready to give him the death needle. Not really, but it’s beyond frustrating.
Wonder if anyone has had experience with Irritable Bowel Syndrome in cats … that’s just one of the manifestations of his allergies, he also breaks out in hives and scabs and licks all the fur off his belly. But right now I need to get his GI tract healthy because we can’t give him his skin meds if he can’t hold anything down.
hilzoy
In re silicone: this is one of the more surreal songs ever. (By GE, apparently actual marketing, from maybe the 60s.) Your life is not complete until you’ve heard it.
http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=General+Electric+Silicone+Products+Department+Paradox
Yatsuno
@Mnemosyne: That cheap for international? There must be a catch somewhere in there or else they’re eating it on the charges.
@Suzanne: Wood is for veggies and such. Meat gets cut on silicone boards that can go in the dishwasher. That’s how I resolve that issue.
different-church-lady
Chasseur
@cathyx: @cathyx: lol, so stoked this was the first reply because i was immediately “mom can’t beat my ass if there’s no wooden spoons in the house.” nb:my mom never struck me but twice ever that i can remember, both times with the wooden spoon spontaneously in response to me being a tweenish jerk, and the second time it broke. oh how we lolled at that.
Francis
@Botsplainer: My puppy was really nipping hard taking treats from my hand. My vet recommended putting the treat on a spoon. It worked great. She bit down on the spoon maybe twice and figured out that wasn’t so much fun. She became much less mouthy overall.
RSA
Lucky me: My wife is interested in crafts, and we live in North Carolina, so we’ve made lots of visits to Asheville for various craft fairs. I have spoons, salad tongs, and other kitchen implements that are almost works of art, and I’m happy to support the traditional craftspeople making the pieces.
Sorry, that’s not really advice–unless it’s to check out a local craft fair.
HinTN
We bought three wooden spoons (very substantial) and have been VERY happy. This MAY be the place: http://www.thenewenglandtradingcompany.com/store/p/798-24in-Long-Solid-Cherry-Wooden-Spoon-Clearance.aspx?gdftrk=gdfV22967_a_7c779_a_7c4838_a_7c24LWSCH_d_CLR&gclid=CLn3n7XX9rgCFenm7AodTBgAog#.Uggw_W1LhJJ or maybe not, but the picture of the spoon is the right article. EXPENSIVE but worth it!
joel hanes
@Suzanne:
I stay away from wood because of the germs issue.
Intuition has let you down, then. Wood inhibits transmission of human pathogens, and is actually safer over time.
New plastic and new wooden cutting boards can both be effectively cleaned so that they don’t transmit pathogens.
Scuffed and scarred plastic cutting boards provide hiding places for pathogens, and cleaning does not seem to prevent transmission.
Scuffed and knife-scarred wooden cutting boards trasmit no more pathogens than new wood or plastic cutting boards.
One study here, others can be found with a little effort.
normal liberal
I got a set of the cherrywood spoons from Shaker Workshops for my brother (he takes the beat-things-to-hell approach to cooking, and utensils quail at his approach). Found here: . I like them better than the W-S olivewood ones.
Mnemosyne, a variant on the other suggestions; very fine sandpaper (I’m a little leery of steel wool on wood) until the crud is gone and the surface is smooth, then coat the spoon with butcher’s block oil, sand some more with the oil and let it soak in. Wipe off any excess oil. I tend not to put wooden tools in the dishwasher, given how much chlorine bleach there is in dishwasher detergent.
Amen on the thrift store/flea market suggestions. I have some serious cast iron skillets acquired that way. All I need now is some sort of winch over the stove so I can use them without risking injury.
Mnemosyne
@Suzanne:
You’d be surprised — science seems to show that wooden cutting boards are just as safe as plastic. In fact, they may be slightly more safe, depending on what you’re preparing, since the bacteria are a little more likely to find a home in plastic.
normal liberal
And of course I screwed up the link. I suck at these internets.
Ruckus
I bought a set from a craft fair in Christchurch a few years ago. The wood is rimu, which is pretty dense and strong. Also have a bowl turned out of burl, the wood is no longer taken from live trees but from root or dead already downed trees.
It is gorgeous and strong.
nancy graham
John, I don’t have time to read the thread, but I recommend bamboo utensils. I got a set more than a year ago—spoon, slotted spoon, spatula, etc,—and I love them. They are cheap and environmentally a good thing since bamboo grows so fast.
Mnemosyne
@Yatsuno:
What they do is send it the Australian equivalent of parcel post (ie the cheapest way to send it from the post office). So it takes a long time to arrive, but it’s not expensive. Getting FedEx or UPS to/from Australia is frickin’ expensive.
ETA: Also, too, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a mark-up built in to the price of the board itself that helps defray the shipping.
gogol's wife
@joel hanes:
that’s interesting. I was just thinking that my old scratched up wooden cutting boards and spoons don’t seem to be making me sick.
BruceJ
I got a couple for $4 at World Market a bunch of years ago…I think they were from Czechoslovakia or Poland. They’ve lasted ever since, gotta be since ’92 or so. I’m even evil and toss ’em in the dishwasher. Rub ’em doen with mineral oils once in a while and they’ve held up wonderfully.
NotMax
@Mnemosyne
@Yatsuno
And Mom is worth a little extra.
:·)
Violet
@Southern Beale: Have you changed his diet? My friend has two cats that are getting older. One started having quite a few health problems including terrible skin problems. One area on his back, the fur was almost all gone. He couldn’t climb like he used to do either.
The vet said she didn’t think he had long to live, but out of desperation my friend switched both their diets to a raw food diet. She buys chickens or rabbits, grinds them up, freezes them in individual portions and puts them out that way.
Both cats are doing amazingly better. Even the cat that didn’t have as many problems acts much younger. The vet was really surprised.
max
I’d like a couple solid wooden spoons for sauces and general purposes.
OXO Good Grips set of 3, 14.99$. If those don’t work (and they should), throw them out and try again.
What I want: Pasta server for 11.99$.
What can I say- I’m a heathen and I like tomatoes almost as much as I like life itself.
Well, without the clams but with almonds (not pine nuts) you made Capelli D’angelo con Pesto alla Trapanese (Pasta with Sicilian Pesto, although you’re supposed to use spaghetti, bucatini, or linguini.). I can’t think of any tomato sauce with clams AND nuts, although I suppose there’s always one somewhere. Kinda weird.
I could go digging around in the other book but it’s downstairs and I’m tired from shoveling.
max
[‘The spell-check doesn’t like bucatini. Fuck ’em.’]
Southern Beale
iPhone app that measures your sexual activity. DO NOT WANT.
Tom
Cooks Illustrated likes a bamboo one too. Their comparison reviews are pretty great. Such awesome kitchen nerds.
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment/overview.asp?docid=41201
e.a. foster
there is now a B.C.. Canada company which is making wooden spoons, from Poplar grown in eastern Canada.
you might want to check with crafters in your area, who carve spoons, etc. they may be more expensive but you will be spending your money locally and employing local people, instead of supporting multi national corporations which have no interest in providing fair wages, conditions to anyone.
dance around in your bones
Breaking Bad! Breaking Bad! Breaking Bad is starting!!
Ok, I’m done for a while.
Because Breaking Bad is starting!!
P.S. Walt has a beard! uh-oh SPOILER!!!
Southern Beale
@Violet:
I have changed diets but nothing that radical. In fact, we were thinking the diet change is what sparked this current flare-up.
The problem for me diet-wise is that I have 6 cats so if one cats’ diet changes, everyones does. And I’ve had issues with some cats not tolerating what other cats eat.
I’m so over this shit.
joel hanes
@different-church-lady:
blog that makes fun of McArdle
One difference is that the wooden spoons we’re discussing cost five to fifteen dollars, tops, and will get used daily, while Mcmegan’s Thermomix costs $1400 retail, and probably stays in the cupboard 360 days a year.
NotMax
Cannot believe the price.
Have to (much as I dread it) make a trip to NY in Sept.
Round-trip fare from Hawaii came to $340.
Fully expecting to find a set of pedals below the seat, if there even are seats.
horse dave
About 20 years ago, after having broke yet another olive wood spatula, I found one made from red oak (I think). It has been great. My other half occasionally puts in the dishwasher but it keeps on going. I prefer to hand wash wooden utensils. I think it came from Target or a similar store. I have never seen one since and would buy another for when the current one passes on. I also would like red oak cooking spoon.
Ruckus
@Yatsuno:
They use that evil government postal service. Same with NZ. A ship doesn’t take that long and is really cheap. Or there are enough air freighters that a lot of postal stuff can go that way when there is an opening. I’ve shipped small stuff from NZ to the states and it arrives via the USPS in about 2 weeks.
Was going to ship a motorcycle there and back and it was around 3 weeks LA to Aukland. Cheaper and easier to rent there though.
YellowJournalism
Just putting my vote in for bamboo. I always find the neatest stuff at Home Sense here in Canada, which is like Ross for housewares, only better.
Southern Beale
@NotMax:
How did you negotiate that?
Mnemosyne
I should bring my bicycle in from the balcony and put it back down in the garage, but there is a menacing-looking bee circling around outside the sliding door. And we get those goddamned killer bees out here in So Cal, so I’m very wary of startling them lest they call their friends out from the hive.
I guess the bike is going downstairs tomorrow. Or after sundown, when the creepy bee heads home for the night.
Mike in NC
Never mind about the frickin’ wooden spoons; went with the wife to a golf specialty store today and she dropped $169 on ONE frickin’ club (#1 driver). I’m told clubs can run as much as $400-500 each, but still. This is a game I plan to avoid forever.
NotMax
@Southern Beale
Miles accumulated cut the going rate in half.
wasabi gasp
Forget wood, John. These are the spoons:
http://www.amazon.com/MIU-France-Mixing-12-Inch-15-Inch/dp/B0000DZCJC/
Constance
@Southern Beale:
There are several brands of cat food with no grains. I use Evanger’s low grain pheasant and whitefish kibble. Before Grain and Evanger’s wet food. Good results from all.
Violet
@Southern Beale: Sorry to hear that. What did you change their diet to? Sounds very frustrating!
gogol's wife
@NotMax:
Why do you dread it? NYC can be fun.
lojasmo
Well, spoons have been discussed enough. My dog was sleeping on the floor, and the cat jumped over her from the table to the couch. In mid jump, the dog awoke, lunged upward, and caught the cat in her jaws, shaking him like a great white shakes a captured seal.
The cat lived.
SiubhanDuinne
Tell you what I want is one of those textured rubber circles that you could put around any jar lid or bottle cap, no matter how tightly affixed, and even the frailest 90-pound weakling girly-girl could open anything. A.NY.THING.
I used to have about a dozen of them. Had one in just about every room, and in the car. Can’t find a one, now, and nobody seems to sell them. They were great.
Ruckus
Also have a bamboo set I bought at Ralphs(Kroger) for I think 5-6 bucks for 3 pieces. Seem to be fine, although I did sand them a bit to finish what the manufacturer didn’t.
Bottom line – they work and my food tastes the same. Plus as someone pointed out above bamboo is a very fast growing plant so is cheap, strong and works. Know someone who makes bamboo bicycles and they are works of art, strong and light. Worked so well he went to Africa to teach people how to build bikes. Now they have an industry that they need, building everyday products that people can afford using mostly material they have in abundance.
SiubhanDuinne
@lojasmo: Good heavens. Glad the kitty lived, but that’s pretty scary, especially given quite a few of the thread discussions here the past few weeks.
Xantar
@All the people proclaiming the benefits of silicone:
I have never seen a silicone implement that wasn’t bendy. While that’s good for many applications, there are times when I definitely don’t want my spoon to bend.
Also, I’ve never found a silicone implement that was literally “heatproof.” There are many that are supposed to survive up to 400 degrees or whatever, but sometimes I want something that I can use to stir food in the skillet and then just leave it there without any fear that the super hot edge is going to leave score marks in the handle. Tell me what I’m doing wrong and maybe I’ll reconsider (well, truthfully probably not but I might learn something).
wasabi gasp
With a shorter stem, but a larger bowl, than a traditional wooden spoon, this is a good silicon spoon:
http://www.amazon.com/iSi-Basics-Silicone-Utility-Spoon/dp/B000S1723Y/
Suzanne
@Mnemosyne: I use glass only, no wood or plastic cutting boards allowed. Just have to get the knives sharpened.
Suzanne
@Mike in NC: To paraphrase DFW, golf is a supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again.
A good walk, spoiled.
EmanG
Late to the party as usual, but if not mentioned above, check out ruhlman.com. A fairly good food site from a more authorial perspective. He’s got a) his own line of wooden spoons and b) very strong views on not using round wooden spoons. Views I agree with btw. No matter which route you go just remember round wooden spoons are about as useful as tits on a bull for scraping the bottoms of pans and getting that lovely fond up for decent gravy. Get yourself a set of flat ones and you’ll see what I mean.
Suzanne
@lojasmo: Was it a pit bull?
Okay, I swear, NOW I’m done.
rammalamadingdong
@Southern Beale: About two weeks ago I was in the same place with one of mine. continuous diarrhea, a smell that cannot be described. I boarded him at the vet hospital for one week. They treated him for colitis – gave him fluids, antibiotics, a probiotic called Proviable, metronidazole, and Methimazole. Also put him on Hills Prescription Diet i/d Feline Gastrointestinal Health Canned Food for about ten days. He is rallying and eating about 3 cans of regular food a day now. They also did an ultrasound and he has a 2 cm growth in his intestine, but that will just have to wait for another day. I have another friend who is having some luck with liquid Pepcid prescribed by her vet. Hope it helps. You love them but living in a home that is being destroyed by cat butt is no fun.
joel hanes
@SiubhanDuinne:
Searching on Amazon for “rubber non-slip jar opener” finds a selection of rubber and silicone offerings.
wasabi gasp
Also, DIY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3NRdZ8J24Q
gelfling545
@SiubhanDuinne: Buy the textured, rubberized shelf liner that keeps dishes from sliding around & cut it into the shape you want. I’ve been using this for a few years now as I have arthritis in my hands & it works well.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Southern Beale: Don’t have any ideas, but I’m dealing with a milder version of the same situation. I’ll be interested to see what you turn up.
NotMax
@gogol’s wife
Don’t like flying at all.
Grew up near and lived in NYC for some time. Decision to move 6000 miles away was not unrelated.
It’s a family-related thing which necessitates the trip. And we don’t play well together when in the same room. Or the same state.
Southern Beale
@rammalamadingdong:
I already shelled out the $500 for an ultrasound a month ago and they found nothing. But maybe I’ll have to try some of the other stuff you mentioned.
nancy darling
While on the subject of bamboo, do any of you have bamboo flooring? I am considering it and wondering how it would hold up with a large dog. I sometimes spend long hours in the kitchen and at my age, I can no longer deal with a tile kitchen floor.
rammalamadingdong
@Southern Beale: In total I spent about $1300k with the ultrasound. Sigh.
AnneW
@gelfling545:
And if you’re crafty, you can make it pretty: http://knit-frog-knit.blogspot.com/2012/04/but-i-am-hungry.html
MazeDancer
@Southern Beale:
Raw diet can definitely help. Though with 6 cats it won’t be cheap. But neither is the vet.
Premium wet food, with no filler is a start. Like Wellmess. And no dry food or grains. Wellness makes big cans – sometimes store has to special order them – so using those with 6 will save.
Mike in NC
@Suzanne: Currently reading his book by that name.
Jackie
@jeffreyw:
LOL! I’m “old school, too,” and never wash wooden anythings in the dishwasher. Nor my Revere-ware – copper bottomed pots and pans. Hand-wash anything with wood on it and hand-wash plus copper cleaner/polish on my Revere-ware pots and pans. The bonus? Wood that’s still supple and not dry-cracked from the dishwasher and pots and pans that glow with shinny brass and still look and behave like brand-new. Even tho, they’re 35 yrs old+
Jay S
I found these at Costco Business:
http://www2.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11190973&whse=bd_115&Ne=4000000&eCat=bd_115
Not much to look at but very sturdy. You might want to cut down the handle on one or more for a more convenient size.
dms
webstaurantstore.com
farmette
Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/127754685/big-manly-wooden-spoon-carved-from?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga_search_query=wooden+spoons&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmadewooden+spoons
farmette
Etsy. Here’s a cleaner link:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/127754685/big-manly-wooden-spoon-carved-from?ref=shop_home_active
currants
@joel hanes: Yes, or some sort of hardwood. The cheap ones are crap wood.
Also, don’t use them in boiling water if you want them to last.
dww44
@normal liberal: I did the same thing on a comment 2 days ago. Still don’t know what I did wrong. If you find out, please remember to post a comment that explains. Are there some rules of behavior about when to use the link button and when not?
Anne
My wooden spoons are from Williams Sonoma and Sur la Table. One is for savory things, the other for sweet things. Both beech (now with a lovely patina), made in France, and worth every penny I spent on them. Not that good wooden spoons are that expensive in the first place.
I also have some wooden spatulas–with a flat edge, good for scraping delicious browned bits off the bottom of a skillet or pot–that I use frequently.
My new wooden kitchen tool love is these paddles. I have one each of the large and small and two of the medium (which I use most frequently). They are awesome. I’ve started giving them as gifts to my friends who enjoy cooking.
Stella B.
@Botsplainer: they grow out of mouthing. It always makes me sad when they do. If they were baby people, they would be feeling you with their hands and trying to yank the earings out of your ears.
I own a few sturdy wooden spoons from somewhere, but really prefer the silicone stuff. I especially lov my Kitchenaid silicone tipped tongs.
Pesto can be made with any type of nut. As a Californian, I prefer pesto made from good California grown pistachios rather than expensive Chinese pinenuts which taste mighty funny to me.
diana
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism: where are you?
diana
@joel hanes: never knew this. Interesting. Thank you.
different-church-lady
@NotMax: The ticket is only $340. The fees will bring it up to an even 2 grand, especially if you need any form of luggage.
Keith G
It’s a bit late for this thread, but just in case…
Anyone here have experience roasting a large (8lb) bone in pork loin? From what I can gather, not too much different from boneless. I just wanted to see what temps and times folk have had success with.
CatHairEverywhere
Here’s a guy on etsy who carves some very sturdy- looking spoons. Nice to support small business, too.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/KitchenCarvings?ref=l2-shopheader-name
dww44
@SiubhanDuinne: nobody sells them; I’ve two right now and only because I attended a health fair at my MIL’s Assisted Living facility a few years ago and some business/company was giving them away. That’s about the only way one can get them. I weigh more than 90, but I couldn’t get along without those handy helpers to open jars. I’ll send you one of mine if you’d like. For real.
different-church-lady
@Stella B.:
Plate o’ shrimp moment: not 6 hours ago I learned for the first time about “Pine Mouth”
JW
John, take a look at http://www.woodspoon.com/index.html. These guys make spoons of various sorts out of hard maple and cherry wood. Pricey, but they’re most like heirloom tools.
2liberal
@NotMax:
nobody keeps the yellow pages any more. amazon – search for wooden spoons, reviews included!
NotMax
@different-church-lady
Just one small carry-on.
Only going for 10 days to do some work helping with packing and moving (not planning on attending the opera and have made it very clear that I do not want to go into the city for any reason) so a few days’ worth of everyday knockabout clothes and use of the washing machine there will suffice.
At this point don’t even own any long pants, or footwear other than sandals.
wolvesvalley
@SiubhanDuinne:
I hope this link works.
I have both sizes of these, which are wonderful:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_11?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=trudeau%20jar%20opener&sprefix=trudeau+jar%2Caps%2C143&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atrudeau%20jar%20opener
Edit: I meant the first two items, the Trudeau openers.
NotMax
@dww44
ACE hardware
Redshirt
Jeebus! Talk about First World Problems! Whittle your own wooden spoons, people! Your great-grandparents did, and they saved the world!
dww44
@NotMax: Thanks. Altho I’ve got two of the free giveaway ones that I hope to hold on to for some time. LOL. Actually, though, I never thought about looking to purchase a jar opener. I’ve a nearby Ace and just ordered a Bissell floor sweeper (none can be found in any local stores, Lowes. Home Depot, Target, Wal-mart, K-Mart BBB) for my MIL’s sitters to use to clean up the inevitable bits of food she drops when eating. Who’d have thought that finding a non-electric human powered floor sweeper would have been so difficult.
Stella B.
@different-church-lady: Yes, I was eating a lot of pinenuts for a while due to a very kindly intended gift. The metallic taste occured whenever I swallowed anything. It was awful. That is when I learned about pistachio pesto from one of my Italian language classmates. Very nice, shelled, CA grown pistachios are cheap at Trader Joe’s (of course).
Scott Alloway
My gripe of the day:
Psted on My Facebook geL sralloway
Today I am told Homeland Security has iced one of my staffer’s accounts because she has contacts with Islamic female journalists.
WTF?
Story soon in Germantown newspapers. germantownnewspapers.com
Part 1
As she wrote:
“Hi–Apparently what President Obama said the other night on Jay Leno wasn’t exactly true: I have been flagged by the feds for god knows what–likely related to my recent writing on the NSA and Bradley Manning, I guess, and a recent connection in the past few days with some Muslim writers via email and Eid Saeed messages I sent out on Friday to a few acquaintances. So my email account that I have had for literally 20 years: [email protected] has a government lock on it.
Yes, a government lock.
What’s more, I seem unable to get an email address in my name via a different account with AOL,Yahoo or Gmail. I tried setting up accounts in my name at each place only to have those be blocked as well when I tried to actually email from them.
This is, as you can imagine, super creepy, and all went down late Friday night, just before midnight EST. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with India, assuming it was an AOL issue, but after doing all their magic, I saw the same thing happen to them and they informed me of the lock. They could not unlock my account due to it.
So: I am currently a woman without an email country.
DO NOT SEND ANYTHING TO MY … ACCOUNT. I don’t want anything to happen to any of you for contacting me. Plus, of course, I can’t access anything in that account. If you receive anything from that account that is dated past August 9, do not open it.
I am contacting as many people as whose email addresses I have committed to memory and fortunately I have a terrific memory, but it’s all pretty distressing. I have no idea what happens next.
This is my partner, xxx’s email address and she is letting me use it as she doesn’t use it for much except work as she Facebook’s everyone. So please contact me here for the time being until I can re-establish my own identity. Just put xxx in the subject line before whatever other subject you are writing about so I know that it is for me.
For now, please avoid sending anything related to the NSA, Manning, Snowden or anything Islam-related as I don’t want anything happening to Maddy’s email.
Also, if I haven’t replied to an email you sent in the past few days, please re-send that to this email address.
This is your tax dollars at work, people, so…keep that in mind next time you vote.
thanks—”
Part 2
“I could only alert people whose email addresses I could remember from memory, like yours and some close friends and some other editors. ALL MY ADDRESSES ARE LOCKED IN MY AOL ACCOUNT, which I have no access to. I just remember the ones I use daily or close to.
The creepiest part of this … as in THIS WEEK–became acquainted with some Muslim women journalists who I had exchanged emails with and tweets. I had emailed Eid regards (because I’m a nice person and it was appropriate–but of course I had to look up what the appropriate sayings were on Google) maybe an hour before my email was locked down.
Coincidence?
I just tried to open yet another email account under a pen name I frequently write under when I wrote gay male fiction. It’s a name nothing like my own. I created a fictional birthdate, etc, for this as well as new security questions.
THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED WHEN I TRIED TO USE THAT ACCOUNT. Everything went through nicely, but when I tried to email out: suddenly blocked.
I rarely use profanity, but JFC.
So–that’s the story. And in 2013, not having an email account is disastrous.
I’m angry, upset and truly flipped out.”
Your editor is not flipped out. He is pissed. Phone calls on Monday to Homeland Security. Don’t fuck with my people.
Love, Scott
I Heart Breitbartbees
Wooden Spoon? If memory serves, Queens Park Rangers were the wooden spoon in the English Premier League and were relegated. They never found their form.
If you mean a literal, instead of figurative, wooden spoon, I prefer bamboo.
Fred
Thrift/secondhand stores are a great resource for finding stuff the World Wide Corporate Cartels don’t stoop to make anymore. Iron skillets, big stainless steel pots, spatulas that won’t break when you scrape at some burned on egg, hair dryers as well as good old clothes, all for near free. I’m still hunting for a pair of old computer speakers to hook up in my paint studio so I can listen to Steely Dan while I paint without having to unplug my downstairs pair but all my local shops have stopped taking in used computer stuff for some reason. Guess I’ll have to go to the department store for that.
But yeah, Salvation Army has it all.
patty \
i’m sure living in w virginia there are a number of woodworkers close to you. ask around and find one and he will be glad to make you all the spoons you want.
Montarvillois
Prices of wooden spoons are all over the map. I last purchased a fine 12″ specimen two years ago from an upscale store specializing in French imports, cost $5.
Mothra1
I don’t like the feel of wooden spoons on my skin – I also hate wooden popsicle sticks. I use stainless steel utensils I got at Target about 20 years ago for almost everything
bemused
@Fluke bucket:
Yes! I love my angled Bambu spoon and need another one. I seem to use this the most. Thanks for the link!
I also have an inherited wooden spoon from my mother so it’s been around for a very long time. I use it for folding in chocolate chips/etc into cookie dough. I love it’s old darkened color and it always reminds me of my mom when I use it.
oth, I am devastated that my big old (inherited from mom) Texas Ware melmac bowl fell on the ceramic tile floor and broke. I thought it was practically indestructible and would hand it down someday. I sure miss the blue beauty but this is an item I will definitely have to search for in antique shops if I can find one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
AdamK
@Southern Beale: I have such an allergic cat. The main thing that helped was switching him to hydrolyzed protein hypoallergenic cat food and eliminating treats and human food of all kinds.
The skin problems were addressed by a vet dermatologist who charged a lot but prepared a twice-a-month allergy vaccine injection. Pill-giving issues were addressed by a compounding pharmacy who prepare hypoallergenic liquid suspensions you can squirt in his mouth with a syringe.
A cat-CAT scan revealed that this creature has one kidney and an enlarged pancreas. By means of these strange organs he produces the stinkiest substance ever identified by science.
Unfortunately he’s lovable so I had to put up with all this crap and expense. Fortunately he loves hydrolyzed protein cat food–better than the grocery store cat food he used to eat.
YellowDog
The olive wood spoons from Williams-Sonoma are excellent. I separate those I use for pastry from those I use for soups, rice dishes, and so on. I also have wooden utensils–spatulas and a ladle–from Appalachian Spring. They are made of cherry by Jonathon Simmons.
Bex
@SiubhanDuinne: Have you tried Vermont Country Store?
Lisa Mayhew
Cherry spoons are the best. You can find a big selection at Cedar Creek Gallery a gallery run by artists in the sleepy town of Creedmoor, NC.
Call and ask for Jennifer Dolan – she will send you images and have whatever you need shipped out asap.
http://www.cedarcreekgallery.com/Events
JT Dunphy
Allegheny Treenware. They have a web site and are from West Virginia. Great product and swell people. Tell Sue and Stan JT sent you there.
Karon
John, I’ve been loving the bamboo spoons you can get at any store, big box or grocery. Can’t tell you why but I love ’em.
Also, even – been thinking of you, holding you in my ‘good thoughts’ brain portion.
Take care,
fidelio
John, if you don’t end up going the local craftsman route, I concur with the recommendations for World Market–they have, per their website, plain beech, olivewood, fancy beech, and bamboo, with free shipping in some cases.
J.W. Hamner
Round wooden spoons are for chumps. I’d get either the Spootula from Bambu or Ruhlman’s “spanker” set.
brantl
Have somebody make you some, or coping saw / carve your own. Or had someone rough you some out,and do your own carving.
MikkiChan
Probably too late, but I’ve been wanting a set of these:
http://www.qvc.com/Mad-Hungry-2-Piece-Bamboo-Spurtle-Set.product.K39434.html