Category Archives: Forking Thoughts

Random Forking Items of Interest

Lasagna is Forking Easy to Make

 Pomodoro Pizza Lasagna

Pomodoro Pizza Lasagna

Lasagna is forking easy to make. It’s so easy you don’t even need a recipe.

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I start by making the ricotta cheese.

It’s just a combination of milk, cream, fresh squeezed lemon juice(from one lemon) and a pinch of salt. This batch was actually made with a nonfat dry milk (enough to make a quart) and a pint of whipping cream (less fat than heavy cream) and it still forking came out. It was much better tasting than most ricotta cheese I can buy from most Arizona Supermarkets but comes out velvety smooth when cream, whole milk and heavy cream are used. Bring the milk, cream and salt it a slow boil for a few minutes and slowly add the lemon juice to make it curdle.

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Now drain with paper towel lined colander.

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I season the cheese with a small amount of fresh ground sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, a pinch of ground white pepper, a pinch of oregano, small amount of fresh ground nutmeg, about a cup of grated parmesan cheese and one beaten egg and mix to combine.

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Either make fresh pasta sheets (about 1  cup semolina, 1  cup all purpose flour, one egg and salt)

or Boil lasagna noodles

Or use no boil noodles

Or Forking PURCHASE already made Pasta Sheets.

Use your own home made pasta sauce or your favorite jarred sauce.

Coat your lasagna pan with oil.

Start the laying process with sauce in the pan.

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Know lay down some pasta sheets and top them with some sauce.

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Add about a third of your ricotta mixture and just a little sauce.

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Cover with more pasta sheets going in the other direction.

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Top with more sauce and make a different layer.

I cooked up and seasoned up fresh sprigarella but you can use anything like spinach, broccoli, mushrooms or sausage and mix that up with maybe less than a third of your ricotta mixture and top with a delicious blend of mozzarella, provolone and sharp provolone. (my signature blend of cheese is 1 1/2 lb. mozzarella, 1 lb. provolone, 8oz. sharp provolone) That much cheese usually makes two pizzas and one lasagna. leftover shredded cheese stores well in the freezer.)

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Season the cheese with fresh ground sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, oregano and basil and then top with pasta sheets and more sauce, and the rest of your ricotta mixture.

Top the top with sauce and more shredded cheese blend, fresh ground pepper, fresh ground sea salt, oregano, basil  and more sauce, a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cover with aluminum foil that has been oiled lightly. (oiled side goes down and faces lasagna) bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Let cool over night cut, serve and reheat the next day.

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Lasagna is Forking easy to make!

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

Donuts seem to be on the Forking RISE in the Metro Phoenix Area

Glazed Donut from Bosa Donuts Phoenix AZ

Glazed Donut from Bosa Donuts Phoenix AZ

There’s a forking HOLE World of Donuts in the Metro Phoenix Area. All kinds of Donut Shops seem to be to be suddenly rising up everywhere all over the Metro Phoenix Area. Springing up in a similar way that the YOGURT Shops did only a few years back.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Donut Rollover Donuts Phoenix AZ

Peanut Butter and Jelly Donut Rollover Donuts Phoenix AZ

Donuts might be baked or fried and might have a hole or be filled. They are usually iced and are often sweet. Donuts are eaten in almost every culture out there and there’s a lot of love for Donuts in the Metro Phoenix area.

When I did a search for Donuts I found a listing of 651 locations of donuts listed for the metro Phoenix area.

Beyond Donuts and Cafe Glendale AZ

Beyond Donuts and Cafe Glendale AZ

Besides the bigger chains donut shops  like Dunkin’ and Krispy Cream, only JUST a few of the other Donut Shops we have are –  Bosa Donuts, Rainbow Donuts, Lamar’s Donuts, Desert Donuts, Arizona Donuts, Lil Orbit Donuts, Good Donuts, Beyond Donuts & Cafe.

Some off the hook gourmet kind of Donut Places we have areWelcome Donuts and Rollover Donuts that feature forking uncommon flavors of Donuts. These are “Not your Grandmothers Kind of Donuts” These days you might be eating forking Donuts that are SPICY, Bacon, Thai Flavored, Spiced Pear with Balsamic Drizzle, Rose Water Meringue, Apple Fritter with forking Pork Rinds and Amaretto with Cherry Glaze and Spicy Thai Coconut Curry Donuts.

I heard about the Donut Shop called Fractured Prune. It’s some sort of interactive forking Donut Shop where they make Donuts Fresh to Order from a menu you pick from.

Orange Pistachio  Rollover Donuts Phoenix AZ

Orange Pistachio Rollover Donuts Phoenix AZ

These Donut Shop donuts are priced higher than your regular pedestrian supermarket donuts.

Supermarket donuts are usually 2 for a dollar.

Donut Shop Donuts run about $1 up to about $3.00 each.

Donut Shops seem to forking be on the Rise in Metro Phoenix AZ

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

The Forking Truth that Fish Bladder Might be in Your Beer and Wine

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Isinglass is the forking name for fish bladder that has been dried and turned into a powder.

That powder is used to filter out particles in some forking beers…

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And some forking wines.

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Therefor this process leaves these beers and wines forking unsuitable for vegetarians.

The Huffington Post reported that Fish Bladders are used in the production process for Guinness.

It’s the Forking Truth that FISH BLADDER Might be in your wine or beer!

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

The Forking Truth about Potato Salad & other Mayo based Salad Spoilage

Potato Salad

Potato Salad

According to Snopes.com commercially -made mayonnaise is completely safe as it doesn’t really even need refrigeration. The PH in mayo is set at a point were bacteria can not forking survive.

The Forking Truth is that the first question asked to victims of food poisoning is… when did they last eat onions.

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Onions are a magnet to forking bacteria especially RAW ones. Even raw wrapped onions kept in a refrigerator are already contaminated just from being cut.

Both onions and potatoes from potato salad will attract bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will break down.

And that was the Forking Truth about Potato Salad and other Mayo Based Salad Spoilage.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

Forking List of Foods that are HAZARDOUS to Dogs

AJ's Patio Arrowhead Glendale AZ

AJ’s Patio Arrowhead Glendale AZ

Many people are unaware of foods that are forking hazardous to dogs. We’re not born knowing what these forking foods are someone has to tell you. I’m certain that more foods will be added to this list but this was the most current information I can find at this time.

This is the ASPCA.ORG List of foods that are hazardous to dogs.

Avocado

Bread Dough

Chocolate

Alcohol

Grapes and Raisins

Hops

Macadamia Nuts

Moldy Foods

Onions and Garlic

Xylitol

I found a few other foods mentioned at ENTIRELYPETS.COM posted by James Wickboldt

Chocolate, Coffee, Caffeine

Raw Eggs

Xylitol

Onions

Milk, Dairy

Grapes, Raisins, Currants

Mushrooms

Raw Fish, Meat, Bones

Avocados

Macadamia Nuts

Also noted Rat and Mouse Baits can be deadly for pets.

Be cool and forking  remember this list!

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

 

 

Cafe Nordstrom is Forking Better than the Food Court

A few of the house made desserts at Nordstrom's Cafe

A few of the house made desserts at Cafe Nordstrom

At the Scottsdale Fashion Plaza in Scottsdale Arizona there is a very above average cafe located in the Nordstrom’s Department Store called Cafe Nordstrom. (On Nordstrom’s Webpage it’s called the Marketplace Cafe) All the food is made in house and they use mostly organic, cage free eggs and local food as much as possible. (It’s Arizona the forking desert not everything can come from forking here.) The cafe is really a cafeteria and that’s the only bad part if you are carrying packages. You pick up your tray and order from the station you feel like forking ordering from where they fresh make the food for you and then you slide your tray to the cashier and pay.

The bulk of the menu are these really interesting gourmet salads they offer. I’ve had many different ones over the years and am always impressed by how nice they really are. The Cafe offers about half a dozen different kinds of salads, a few sandwiches, soup, pizzas, pastas, couple entries, a special of the day and many made in house desserts. They also serve beer and wine and speciality coffees.

This time I tried the Berry, Blue Cheese and Chicken Salad.

Berry Blue Cheese and Chicken Salad from Nordstrom's Cafe

Berry Blue Cheese and Chicken Salad from Cafe Nordstrom

WOW what a great salad! This sure forking beats anything from the food court. Lots of plump berries, tangy blue cheese, fresh mixed greens, some sort of candied walnut granola croutons and perfectly poached chicken. This salad was satisfying but still seemed light because of the berries. I liked the sweet against tangy thing going on in this salad.

My husband had some sort of Steak Sandwich that came with potato chips.

Steak Sandwich from Cafe Nordstrom Scottsdale AZ

Steak Sandwich from Cafe Nordstrom Scottsdale AZ

The steak was topped with balsamic onions and havarti Cheese. looks like my husband pulled out the forking raw tomatoes. He said it was a really good for a cold sandwich. He would have preferred it warmed up.

When your all done your table attendant presents you with a wrapped mint chocolate.

Cafe Nordstrom is Forking Better than the Food Court!

Worth a Fork

Worth a Fork

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

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The Forking Difference between Cream Cheese and Mascarpone

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Cream Cheese is a soft milk tasting fresh cheese.

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Mascarpone is  a soft mild milk tasting fresh cheese.

Both Cream Cheese and Mascarpone have  high fat contents.

Cream Cheese is basically milk, cream, skim milk, whey, stabilizers, gum and carrageenan.

Mascarpone (Belgioioso Brand) is made of milk, cream, and citric acid.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

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Stop# 3 – The Search for Lox in Metro Phoenix – Part 3 – Partial Success

My forking search for Lox means a Deli that serves a proper tasting Pastrami on Real Rye Bread, A traditional Potato Knish and of course Lox. Since the closing of Abe’s Deli in Scottsdale AZ I haven’t found anyone that actually serves real hand carved Lox. The word lox is a lose term and all that I found available anywhere so far has been Nova or Nova style salmon to be technical.

We stopped in at New York Bagels and Bialy’s in Scottsdale AZ. I ordered a Whitefish Plate with an Onion Bialy.

I received forking this.

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Look close and notice all the bloodline and how DRY the fish is.

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I never forking seen a bialy that looked like this.

I was expecting something like forking this.

Picture from www.thefreshloaf.com

Picture from www.thefreshloaf.com

When the waitress checks on us I do mention how dry the fish is.

The manager soon runs over and is very upset because her help accidentally gave me the forking fish ends you don’t serve people and runs me out some fresh fish.

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The fresh fish is forking better and not dried out and fishy and condensed with salt.

My husband got a 1/2 corned beef, half pastrami on their house made rye bread.

The corned beef was a little weak tasting but OK and not bad. The Pastrami was almost the same in taste as the corned beef.  I didn’t taste the rye bread but my husband said it was the fluffy kind that doesn’t really taste like rye. I’m certain some people prefer the sandwiches this forking way and they are perfection to them.

We took home some lox, cream cheese and 6 bagels.

So the next morning I ate this.

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The fish was better quality than what I found at my previous stops and also cut much nicer too.

I liked the size of the bagel it wasn’t too big but it tasted like it was missing salt and lacked the chewy doughy texture that you look for in bagels. Maybe on some days it’s better than other days.

I didn’t try a knish on this stop but I do consider this partial success because the lox was good.

At this point I doubt I will be able to find Good Lox and a Good Pastrami on Rye in one location but I still will forking try.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

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The Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer verses The Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer

Veggetti

Veggetti

I just got a Veggetti spiral vegetable slicer. It’s basically built like a pencil sharpener for zucchini. You insert the zucchini and twist and then you have pasta shaped vegetable strands in spaghetti or linguini shape. They suggest you can use carrots but I tried one and got the forking thing all jammed up.

I also have the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer.

Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer

Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer

The Paderno also promises to do carrots but it doesn’t. The Paderno has three easy to clean blades for small or thicker strands and it also can do ribbons.

Pros for the Veggetti

The Veggetti is easy to work

The Veggetti takes up less room

The Veggetti cost less (about $12.00)

The Veggetti does produce a thinner strand

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CONS for the Veggetti

The Veggetti is VERY HARD TO CLEAN. The Blades are almost impossible to clean and the vegetable gets the whole forking middle all clogged up.

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Pros for the Paderno

The Paderno is easy to work

The Paderno cuts the zucchini three different ways

The Paderno is very easy to clean

CONS for the Paderno

The Paderno takes up more room

The Paderno cost more (about $30.00)

I’m not so sure I’ll ever forking use the Veggetti again. I do prefer it’s thinner strands but I doubt I’ll ever be able to get it clean again.

In my forking opinion the Paderno Wins over the Forking Veggetti.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

 

 

In Phoenix You (almost) have to Kiss Your Forking RYE BREAD Good-Bye

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Rye Bread has been around since the Middle Ages.

Rye Bread is High in Fiber and very low in fat.

Rye Bread taste particularly good with Swiss Cheese and Pickled Meats.

You Forking NEED Rye Bread if you want to eat a Patty Melt or a Reuben Sandwich.

I can’t imagine Corned Beef or Pastrami on any other kind of bread.

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I didn’t know that when I moved to Phoenix that Real Rye Bread would be so forking difficult to purchase.

Just Last Week I visited most of the bakery sections at the Grocery Stores near were I forking live.

No Rye was to be found at the Safeway Bakery.

No Forking Rye was to be found at the AJ’s Whatever The Fork they call their Bakery.

No Forking Rye was to be found at Sprouts Bakery.

I did find something called Rye at Fry’s but it didn’t look like rye so I didn’t buy it. The bread was very fluffy and forking white and almost seed free.

The only Rye Bread I can FORKING purchase within a half hour drive was to be found at TRADER JOE’S.

In Phoenix you almost have to kiss your Forking Rye Bread Good-Bye!

Forking Truth

Forking Truth