Apparently there are a couple pit vipers debating something or other but I am not paying attention.
Spent the day working and taking care of things, got Steve groomed, and then made Joelle and I some tuna steaks, some mixed veggies (squash, onions, zucchini), and a mushroom risotto of all things. Weird combo but it was good.
If you want a decent tuna steak, you can not beat the ones from Aldi’s. $4.75 for two pieces, it’s always great quality, and they are actually an appropriate portion size.
I keep getting reminders about how weird I am when I vocalize things like “Hey where is your mortar and pestle?” and “Hey where’s the cheesecloth.” And she just looks at me like I am a crazy person until it sinks in I am the fucking weird one here, not her for not having something that doesn’t appear in 90% of American households.
Other than that, not much going on, although personally I had a major exciting development a few minutes ago. I was brushing my teeth and took a moment to look at myself in the mirror, something I rarely do because yecchh who wants to look at that, and I noticed that I am starting to develop wild old man eyebrows where you get one or two random hairs growing faster and a different color. Think Scorcese or Andy Rooney. I was so excited I hollered for Joelle.
So yeah, when I say not much going on I mean it in every possible way.
War for Ukraine Day 686: Kharkiv Comes Under Fire, Again!
Mrscoachb
Posts like these warm my heart!
Harrison Wesley
Gotta do like Jimi Hendrix – wave your freak flag high.
J.
We used to have two mortars and pestles. Does that make us doubly weird?
RevRick
You might be getting bushy eyebrows, but will they ever be John L. Lewis bushy eyebrows?
Manyakitty
FWIW, my kitchen contains both mortar and pestle and cheesecloth. Wheeee
Josie
I have a mortar and pestle, a molcajete, and a package of cheesecloths. Does that make me triply weird?
Juice Box
I have one old man wild hair growing out of my earlobe. Since I’m not a man and still have a few fragments of pride, I keep it plucked.
BeautifulPlumage
My eyebrows aren’t going weird but the “silver” hairs on my head come in with a life of their own. I now understand those old V-05 commercials!
Yarrow
I have a mortar and pestle and a suribachi and surikogi. But I already know I’m weird.
NotMax
“Mortar and pestle? This ain’t Hogwarts.”
:)
schrodingers_cat
@Manyakitty: I have 2 mortar and pestles, one made of brass and the other is stone. I have a hand blender, Cuisinart food processers in 3 sizes and a regular blender and I use them all. Plus coffee grinders for spices.
HumboldtBlue
I just bought a mortar and pestle and I have a good chunk of cheesecloth.
John Cole
@HumboldtBlue: Of course all of you guys have them, we’re weird.
Y’all didn’t think I was in this shit alone, did you? There’s a reason you folks are here.
Josie
Well, according to John’s calculations, we must have 10% of American households right here on this blog.
hells littlest angel
I subjected myself to a few minutes of the debate, which seems to be a contest to be the pettiest, shittiest, most selfish human being while slagging off your opponent as a coward and a liar. And the prize for the winner is nothing.
Manyakitty
@schrodingers_cat: you are my new heroine 🤩 I have one marble and one wood mortar and pestle, a regular (large) Cuisinart, a mini prep, an immersion blender, and a coffee grinder.
Also, a Vitamix.
dmsilev
Somehow, ‘a mortar and pestle in every kitchen’ doesn’t have much of a ring to it as a political slogan.
Maybe we need to add in, I dunno, a microplane or something.
Martin
Count me in on having both.
Suzanne
@dmsilev: I have a microplane. And a mortar/pestle. And cheesecloth. And a molcajete.
And I have multiple smashy-smash gizmos for garlic.
Ohio Mom
I think there is a period of time in your twenties, when puberty is behind you and you’ve reached your maximum height, when you assume, This is it. This is my adult body.
But it’s an illusion that only lasts a few years. Because your body never stops changing.
Once I was at a conference for parents of disabled kids and found myself in the session on transitioning from pediatrics to adult medicine. Just about everyone loves their pediatrician and this group in particular was very resistant to having their kids change doctors.
The doctor giving the presentation tried explaining why pediatricians are not qualified to treat adult issues, summarizing it as, “Pediatrics is all about development, adult medicine is about decline.” Ouch.
Suzanne
I will also note that Microplane makes a foot file, so you can cheese grate your nasty foot skin.
Alison Rose
Somewhere in a box in my mom’s storage locker, I have a mortar and pestle from my witchier days.
Now I kinda want it back.
schrodingers_cat
@Manyakitty: And both my mortar and pestles are from India. They came in this country via checked in luggage.
piratedan
@dmsilev: i’m not sure if there’s a venn diagram needed for the mortar and pestle….
you use them to crush pet meds into wet food and treats to fool your other household members into consumption
you use them because you still dabble in illicit drugs for your own personal needs
both
laura
Years ago I pinched Roadie Brother the Younger’s “bonsai” bud trimmer snips and they, along with a wee bamboo panda comb, have been the spouse manscaper tools as he goes full Andy Rooney these last decades. His hairs are funny because they are so asymmetric and vigorous. Back in the Day, Jerry Brown came by our Local to interview for an endorsement and I got a photo with him on his way out- despite my eyes being closed, his brows were wildly unrestrained and I had an overwhelming urge to groom him.
Manyakitty
@schrodingers_cat: much more impressive than mine, which almost certainly came from outlet mall kitchen ware stores 😁.
HumboldtBlue
@John Cole:
Indeed, and we ask ourselves the same question every day; why?
On another note, the weather is getting angry and the mountains are expected to get slammed in the coming days.
Here’s some video from the Straits of Juan de Fuca.
Princess
I always wondered what held this island of misfit toys together. Now I know it is mortars and pestles and cheesecloth — all of which I too own. And John, of course.
dmsilev
@Suzanne:
I’m primitive that way; I just use the side of a heavy knife.
Old Dan and Little Ann
6 weeks ago a deer ran into my wife’s side mirror and wrecked the driver and passenger door. 5 grand to fix and she just got it back 2 weeks ago. This morning she called me 15 minutes after leaving for work screaming that she hit another one. Fucking Bollocks! She’s fine but the front grill was decimated and she was barely able to make it home after work because it was handling like garbage. The tow truck had to come to our house.
Jeffro
re: ‘wild old man’ stuff…did I already tell y’all about Fro Jr. wanting me to hear this great new rock band he’s into…Greta van Fleet?
I told him I thought they were pretty good and now that I think of it, they might have just dropped a new single. Long-ish intro, but classic Fleet!
He said we should check it out, so I pulled it up on Spotify on my iPhone but didn’t let him see the screen. He totally dug it and when “Over the Hills and Far Away” finished, I showed him my phone’s screen.
He just got up and walked out of the room. =)
eclare
@Ohio Mom:
Whoa. That is an in your face statement. And probably true. Sigh.
wmd
If you’re looking to equip Joelle’s kitchen with a mortar and pestle try Cost Plus World Markets. They have nice marble ones for a reasonable price.
And yes, I have both M&P and cheesecloth in my kitchen.
WaterGirl
@Old Dan and Little Ann: Is she hitting them or are they hitting her?
eclare
@Old Dan and Little Ann:
Oh that is horrible! Your wife must be traumatized.
Nukular Biskits
Welcome to geezerhood.
eclare
No mortar and pestle, but I do have a garlic press/slicer and an immersion blender. As for cheesecloth, I use pantyhose (unworn) instead.
NotMax
Takes inventory.
Mortar & pestle? No.
Cheesecloth? Yes.
Mini food processor? Yes.
Full size food processor? Yes.
Coffee grinder? Yes.
Mandoline? Yes.
Microplane? Yes. In fact, two sizes.
Stand mixer? Yes.
Immersion blender? Yes.
Classic style blender? Two. One as yet unused, an emergency back-up in case the one dating back some 60 or 70 years ever goes kablooey.
.
Oh, and the waffle iron from the 1940s, complete with original cloth-clad cord.
TeezySkeezy
@Juice Box: I wish I had just one. Those were the days.
Quinerly
@Manyakitty:
My kitchen too.
I do miss Aldi’s. Loved them in St. Louis. None in New Mexico.
Scout211
I have a mortar and pestle and two packages of cheesecloth, of course. I have utensils for garlic but I finally gave that up and now I buy the giant jar of minced garlic from Costco. We use a lot of garlic in our dishes.
As men age, their eyebrows grow more hair and when women age, our eyebrows get thinner. In the
sagewhiny words of TIFG, “it’s very unfair!”Mr. Scout’s barber (me) cuts his hair, trims his beard and cuts those wild hairs in the ears and eyebrows. I am adding up all the money he’s saved by not paying for a barber over the years and I plan to cash in some day. Plus tips!
TeezySkeezy
@NotMax: Just learn to eat every veggie from onion to bell pepper like an apple or like Bugs bunny eating a carrot, and those slicers and processors can all go away.
Terrible advice? Deliciously terrible.
Timill
The small mortars and pestles are in the display rack to the left of the sink along with the nutmeg grater: the large ones are in the bookcase in the dining room.
The cheesecloth is in the drawer to the left of the miscellaneous implements drawer (whisks, wooden spoons, spatulas etc) along with the foil, parchment paper and ziplocs.
Manyakitty
@Quinerly: it takes all my self control to not buy every kitchen gadget I see. Lol.
Last time I stopped at Aldi, I found a set of gravity salt and pepper grinders. I really like them.
TBone
This may have happened:
https://crooksandliars.com/2024/01/nice-girls-who-poisoned-46-russians-escape
Old Dan and Little Ann
@WaterGirl: The 1st one ran into her car. The 2nd one ran in front of her car and she hit it. Maybe the next one will fall out of a tree on top of her car.
Timill
@NotMax: Full size food processor? Yes.
Coffee grinder? Yes.
Mandoline? Yes.
Two slightly distorted guitars?
Quinerly
@eclare: love my immersion blender!
NotMax
@Scout211
Seconded. With gusto.
For the rare occasions when only thinly sliced fresh garlic will do have a small handheld whatchamacallit originally sold to trim doggy nails.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
I have the mortar and pestle, the cheesecloth, the minifood processor, the blender, the garlic press, the coffeebean/spice grinder, the French press, the microplane, and the mandoline.
I raise you an electronic milk frother.
Mart
A real punch in the gut for me the first time my hair cutter said you want me to trim the eyebrows?
TBone
Women of a certain age have to start tweezing chin hairs, and that’s no small feat when your eyes are so bad you have to find them by feel. Geezerhood is weird.
Quinerly
@Manyakitty:
Aldi is so freaking cool. Especially around holidays. Sometimes I think I moved to a 2nd world country. Even the one Trader Joe’s is tiny and missing so much stuff.
am
I am a lurker but you may be my damn spirit animal. \m/ old man eyebrows.
Quinerly
@NotMax: but do you have pecan sheller from the 1950’s? Or a shrimp deveiner from the 1970’s?
zhena gogolia
I wish I could remember who here gave a recipe for roasted cauliflower & carrots with walnuts. It’s delicious! Definitely has entered the rotation around here. Thanks, whoever you are!
Scout211
So what are the kitchen utensils we all just had to buy and now are stuck in the back of a cabinet, a drawer or the pantry shelf just collecting dust?
Pannini grill
Ice cream maker
All the canning equipment
Quesadilla maker
At least 4 of the 6 meat and candy thermometers I own
Numerous little gadgets that I can’t even remember what the heck they are for
NotMax
@Chacal Charles Calthrop
Do baby androids dream of electronic milk?
:)
Manyakitty
@Quinerly: the aisle of shame is a wonder. 😁
Quinerly
@Scout211:
melon baller?
catclub
I have a wonderful wooden M&P from Uruguay.
catclub
By contrast, there is now a tiny curve in one of our knives from repeated sharpening. They are over 40 years old and at this rate have 5 or 6 lifetimes left in them.
Jay
@HumboldtBlue:
When I was a kid, we did a winter trip, (swim team) from Cape Breton, across the Northumberland Straight.
During loading, all the vehicles were chained down to the deck, front and rear.
Waves were coming over the bow and smashing into the Bridge.
At the entrance to the bow deck, there was a steel bulwark on the right, and another one on the left, forward from the other by about 3 feet.
So my brother and I would hide between the port bulwarks, wait for a wave to break, then run across the bow and take shelter behind the starboard bulkhead.
Our sis, who was about 8 at the time, was disgusted, because she went to the washroom, and the entire floor was covered with vomit.
I think that we were the only 3 people on board, not violently sea sick.
catclub
Cup size containers that fit on full sized blender!
Is minifood like the tiny corn on the cob in ‘Big’?
Rose Weiss
@Scout211: I gave a lot of those items away after my honey died. He and I liked to cook together, plus I suddenly felt really old, so now, some years later, I cook 99% of my meals in the microwave and/or the toaster oven. No mortar and pestle or cheesecloth or tortilla press or standing blender needed!
catclub
But then I cannot make delicious baba ganoush! Eat it while it is still warm.
frosty
OMG Yes! My reply was “No, I want to look like a Physics professor.” He finally got them on my last visit, unfortunately.
kindness
I trim those crazy eyebrow hairs back. Nose & ears too. I don’t want to be that grandpa yet
And of course I have a mortar, pestle and cheesecloth in my kitchen. Jeez!
Narya
@Quinerly: I use mine to get seeds out of squash and pears! Works better than anything else. NoM&P, but most of the rest of these lists. Mini drop bottom tart pans. Bannetons. English muffin rings. Full size pastry bags and tips. Etc.
like a metaphor
No wonder the pasta tasted so funky
NotMax
@NotMax
0oh, ooh. Nearly forgot about the flessenlikker.
Also the rarely used but happy to have when it is needed utensil which in another time Torquemada would drool over.
wjca
Time to start a shopping list:
Or you can start with @NotMax‘s list.
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue: Eastern WA is told to expect snow. Fine.
Plus windchills in the negative 20s. 🥶🥶🥶
dr. luba
Wait……there are people who don’t own cheesecloth or a mortar and pestle? How do they survive?
Now I wonder what other rare items lurk in my kitchen……
dr. luba
@NotMax: Yes.
Manual food grinder?
An apple corer/peeler/slicer?
Assortment of stainers in a variety of sizes?
Teabag squeezer?
Odie Hugh Manatee
My wife has a mortar & pestle and cheesecloth so I guess she’s weird too. That’s OK, so am I! Fuck tongs, I like peeling ice cubes off of my fingers.
“… I noticed that I am starting to develop wild old man eyebrows …”
Congratulations! Wait until you’re standing in line somewhere and one hair decides that it’s time to kink up and put one of your eyes out. Morning are amusing, too. Nothing like looking in the mirror and seeing Yosemite Sam’s eyebrows are now on your face.
Glidwrith
@Manyakitty: Me, too! Proudly weird!
Glidwrith
@Scout211: Anyone have a yoghurt incubator? Mine’s collecting dust.
Delk
I go to a Turkish barber. He clips my eyebrows and waxes my nose and ears.
Glidwrith
Reading upthread, yes, I also have a melon baller, candy thermometer, blender, spice grinder, immersion blender, garlic press AND the giant jar of garlic from Costco.
prostratedragon
So this is how we define ourselves. No molcajete, but I do have mortar and pestle, cheesecloth, butcher’s string, immersion blender, coffee grinders, and a mini Cuisinart, all of which get occasional use.
prostratedragon
@Scout211: An Instapot. I have used it, but decided it doesn’t beat a good, heavy dutch oven. Should probably sell or give it away.
prostratedragon
@Old Dan and Little Ann: Deer magnetism
TEL
Huh. I have a tiny kitchen and both cheesecloth and mortar and pestle. And you don’t want to know how many spices- I went on a spice buying binge during COVID when I cooked pretty much every day.
TEL
@prostratedragon: Finally gave away my instapot – didn’t use it much and had to make room for all the kitchen stuff I do use.
sab
@Quinerly: I have 3 manual ice crushers. Two are older than me, and the other one is older than my 99 yo dad.
NotMax
@prostratedragon
Instant Pot (the original)? Life changing convenience in an appliance in this kitchen. Stews, soups, pasta and more (such as chicken cacciatore using frozen chicken thighs). And only a single pot to clean.
sab
It has been fifteen years since I used my foreman grill.
sab
@dr. luba: I have a cast iron manual food grinder. I used to use it to make hash, but my husband of 22 years claims he hates hash although he has never actually tasted it.
wjca
I, too, have a manual ice crusher. Being a claw hammer, it is multiuse.
NotMax
@sab
Classic April the first grill goofiness.
:)
KrackenJack
@sab:
Hold it! Is this one of those logic puzzles?
thalarctosMaritimus
@zhena gogolia: that was mousebumples.
Ascap_scab
I have a steel mesh strainer and coffee filters. Will that pass for cheesecloth?
lowtechcyclist
Are there situations where this is not the appropriate reaction?
:d&r:
Ramalama
@Old Dan and Little Ann: I used to commute every week through the wilds of new Hampshire and Vermont to get to Montreal. My partner had this whistle attached to the front part of my car that apparently only wildlife could hear. I mentioned the whistle to a rideshare coming with me ( literally had hundreds of people in my car) – she was from the UP Michigan. Road kill deer a thing up there. Said whistle for cars works. I said really? She asked me how many deer I’d hit. None. Profit! You might want to look into that for your wife and you.
zhena gogolia
@thalarctosMaritimus: Thank you! I will thank them next time I see them.
WaterGirl
@Old Dan and Little Ann: Doesn’t sound like either one was her fault, but she must be rattled to say the least! Yikes.
Joelle
I have a mandolin and therefore not a philistine.
Paul in KY
@Old Dan and Little Ann: Did y’all butcher it (if dead)? Here in KY, that’s about the only plus to killing one with your vehicle.
Paul in KY
@Jeffro: I’ve seen them twice. Fine band. Their lead singer can sure belt out a tune.
Edit: Ha! See now you played him some Zep! Good one. Some darn good songs by The Fleet are:
Highway Tune
Anthem
The New Day
Flower Power
Paul in KY
@Old Dan and Little Ann: That’s about the only scenario left…
Paul in KY
@sab: Here in the KY, we call those ‘a hammer’.
The Kropenhagen Interpretation
I was checking recent posts for signs of acrimony until I realized you were talking about Republicans.