Activity for Monica Cellio
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Question | — |
Should posting on Meta affect reputation? When we launched this community, we did not yet have the ability to set different reputation grants for different categories. We've had this for a while but we failed to follow up before now, sorry. Do you want us to change posts on Meta to not award rep for upvotes or subtract it for downvotes? ... (more) |
— | 10 months ago |
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A: (When) is cross-posting ok? This is my personal opinion and not an official position of Codidact. I have sometimes re-asked questions when I asked them somewhere else and didn't get the results I was looking for. What I usually do in this case is: - Wait a reasonable amount of time -- give the original question a chance... (more) |
— | 11 months ago |
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(When) is cross-posting ok? This community sometimes gets posts that are copied from other sites. We delete those because copying from somewhere else is plagiarism. How do we want to handle cases where the author does the copying? If somebody says "I am the person who wrote that Quora/Reddit/SE/etc question and I want to ask... (more) |
— | 11 months ago |
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How do I make my braided egg bread more moist? I made a braided challah that came out reasonably overall but tastes a little dry. I'm not sure which parameters I need to adjust. The recipe I followed specifies the following ingredients: - 3/4 C water - 4 C flour[^1] - 2 eggs (I used large) - 1/3 C oil (I used vegetable oil) - 4 T sugar (... (more) |
— | 11 months ago |
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A: Cooking potatoes in an air fryer Since you mention cutting them, I assume you're not asking about making whole baked potatoes in the air fryer. (I understand that's possible but I haven't done it.) Here's what I do. This gets me crispness that's consistent with oven-roasting, not with deep-frying. I start with baby or small ... (more) |
— | 11 months ago |
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Is any amount of salmonella-tainted flour dangerous, or is there a lower threshold? There was recently a recall for certain flour, due to risk of salmonella contamination. The CDC announcement says not to cook with the flour. Naturally they are going to be conservative, and they might have in mind uses like cakes and cookies where flour is a major ingredient. I don't know if my... (more) |
— | 12 months ago |
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A: Bread maker bread without yeast? Recipes I've seen for this tend to use baking powder, not baking soda, even though you're supposed to be able to use baking soda plus acid in place of baking powder. Perhaps that's more fragile than using baking powder? Breads that use baking powder as leavening instead of yeast are sometimes cal... (more) |
— | over 1 year ago |
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Can you get the starchy byproduct of canned beans starting from dried beans? Canned beans (like great northern beans or black beans) come with fluid that is thicker than water. I believe this thickening is starch being leached out of the beans into the water during the canning process. When I cook with canned beans I usually drain them and then rinse them. A friend makes... (more) |
— | about 2 years ago |
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How do I protect my face while working with hot peppers? Tonight I was preparing poblano peppers for baking (with stuffing). I wore gloves to protect my hands from the oils, and (after a recent case where that wasn't enough) I also ran the vent fan. However, after cutting and seeding the peppers (at the counter next to, but not directly under, the vent f... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
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How can I freeze bread dough? I would like to be able to freeze unbaked bread dough, so that at some later time I (or someone I'm giving it to) could thaw it out and then bake it. (Fresh-baked bread is nicer than thawed already-baked bread.) If I'm going to do this, when in the process should I do it, and are there any special ... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
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How can we grow this community? Codidact's communities have a lot of great content that is helping people on the Internet. Our communities are small, though, and sustainable communities depend on having lots of active, engaged participants. The folks already here are doing good work; our challenge is to find more people like you ... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
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How do I get vegan "cheese" to melt? I sometimes cook for someone who needs to avoid milk products, so I got some plant-based "cheese" (listed as cultured vegan cheese) to use instead of the real thing. I'm having trouble getting it to melt properly; is that just how these imitation cheeses are, or does it require a different technique... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
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How long does home-made sauerkraut keep in the fridge? About a year ago, I attempted to make sauerkraut for the first time following a fermentation process (cabbage, salt, its own extracted juices, but no vinegar). When it seemed to be "done" I ate some of it and put the rest in the fridge. The lid is screwed on tight but not otherwise sealed; I figure... (more) |
— | over 2 years ago |
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Why does a "rapid" preheating mode require no more than one oven rack? I have a Whirlpool wall oven with (optional) convection settings. It has three racks. The obvious place to store oven racks is, of course, in the oven. The oven has two preheating modes, "rapid" and "standard". The documentation says to use the "rapid" mode with only one rack (removing the othe... (more) |
— | almost 3 years ago |
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Freezing garlic: to peel or not to peel? I have heard that one way to preserve fresh garlic cloves is to freeze them. I've seen some places that say that a frozen clove will be a little mushier when it's thawed later but is still fine for cooking with. But I've seen conflicting advice about peeling first. What are the effects of peelin... (more) |
— | almost 3 years ago |
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Why is my bread now deflating when I slash vents before baking? I make bread once a week from the same sourdough starter, which lives in the fridge between feedings. On the day before baking day I take it out, feed it, wait until it's fully active, take some of that for the levain, and put the rest back in the fridge. For the last two weeks, my dough has rise... (more) |
— | almost 3 years ago |
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A: Is cooking beef and coconut milk together kosher? The prohibition is on combinations of meat[^1] with actual dairy milk. Almond milk has a long history as a substitute, and more recently, soy milk. So long as the coconut milk contains no actual dairy milk, using it does not violate the prohibition against combining meat and milk. There is an ad... (more) |
— | about 3 years ago |
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How much honey do I substitute for granulated sugar in bread? I have a recipe for a whole-wheat sourdough bread that works pretty well, but it's not very exciting -- it's a basic bread. I've had honey-wheat bread that I've liked, so I'd like to adapt this recipe. At what ratio can I substitute honey for white sugar, and are there any other changes I need to m... (more) |
— | about 3 years ago |
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A: February Challenge - protein I keep forgetting to take pictures of my food, but tonight I remembered! (This meal was prepared before the end of the month UTC, but then we ate and cleaned up and had to post. :-) ) Pistachio-crusted cod -- trust me; there's cod under there. I can't post the recipe because it's from a book, bu... (more) |
— | about 3 years ago |
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A: Why are tags for the singular and plural of each noun? "Why" would be that somebody created one without noticing the other existed. That's unfortunate. We should try to figure out how to detect and prevent those. But right now this can happen and we rely on people noticing. Moderators can merge tags, so when you see cases like this, please flag a p... (more) |
— | about 3 years ago |
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Bok choy overflow: how can I prevent it from going bad? In today's produce box I was expecting a baby bok choy, but it actually contained a giant super-adult-size bok choy. (This was my error.) I can't use that much boy choy in the next few days; what are my options for preserving it? Can I freeze it? If so, do I need to parboil it or do some other pr... (more) |
— | about 3 years ago |
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A: Why's coconut milk used to base curries? Broth (whether vegetable or meat) is thinner -- it makes a good soup, but unless you thicken it with flour or cornstarch, it won't produce that thicker texture that characterizes curries. Broths also don't have the high fat content of coconut milk. Because of these factors, coconut milk produces a ... (more) |
— | about 3 years ago |
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A: January challenge - Veggies! Vegetarian stuffed peppers. Got an unwanted green pepper in the produce box (eww, but spouse likes them), so got a red one for myself and made these. Judging the amount of stuffing is inexact. peppers just out of oven (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: How don't most gas grills heat up enough to grill squid? (I have a little experience with grills but none with squid.) Gas grills have a temperature dial that usually goes up to 450-500F. Whether you actually achieve that temperature depends on a number of factors, but the top temperature is around there. A charcoal grill, on the other hand, doesn't h... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: January challenge - Veggies! Stir-fried veggies with tofu (over Himalayan red rice): on plate in skillet Fresh: sugar snap peas, diced carrot, diced shallots, minced ginger. Canned (leftovers from something else): baby corns, bean sprouts. (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
| Question | — |
Why sift confectioner's sugar when making fudge? A recipe for fudge called for sifting confectioner's sugar into the pot rather than just adding it. The recipe also called for whisking continuously, so the sugar would be distributed immediately. I didn't have a sifter, so I just added it slowly from the bowl into which I'd measured it. This wo... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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How do you slow-cook soup in a multipot without it venting out too much liquid? I mostly use my multipot as a pressure cooker, but today I used its slow-cooker function to make soup. The manual says that when using it as a slow cooker, leave the pressure vent open (not closed like for pressure-cooking). I did that, and it vented most of the liquid in my soup out, leaving me wi... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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December(ish) challenge: baked sweets December hosts several holidays, including the end of the year. In the northern hemisphere the temperatures drop and the nights are long, and thoughts turn to curling up with a mug of hot chocolate and cake fresh out of the oven. In the southern hemisphere it's picnic season, and cookies are a nice... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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What is the best way to ripen green cherry tomatoes? About three weeks ago we had our first night of temperatures below freezing, so I picked the remaining viable cherry tomatoes on my plant. The ones I picked were close to full-size but green. (I was told that the tiny ones wouldn't develop, so I skipped a few of those.) This was my first time gr... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: November 2020 - Bread I've made this rosemary bread a few times now, with substitutions for milk to keep it dairy-free. Today I used half of the dough to make this loaf and the other half to make rolls (not pictured). I brushed the loaf with olive oil right before baking, rather than the egg wash called for in the recip... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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Vegetarian stuffed peppers I had some assorted produce that needed to be used Real Soon -- a couple (yellow) bell peppers, a small butternut squash, a couple small russet potatoes... I could have made a hash, but instead I decided to make vegetable-stuffed peppers. Ingredients - 2 large bell peppers that can stand up o... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
| Question | — |
What's an efficient way to peel ginger? There's nothing like peeling a pound of ginger root to make one wonder if there's a better way to deal with all the branches and knobby bits. I normally peel ginger with a paring knife; for larger "knobs" I break them off to make peeling easier, and for smaller ones I cut down on each side and sort ... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: November 2020 - Bread I was finally able to get my hands on some rye flour that wasn't exorbitantly priced, so I tried a rye sourdough recipe for the first time this past week. The recipe uses molasses, which darkened the dough even before baking. There is also an egg wash. I didn't place my loaves quite far enough apa... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: October 2020 - Seasonal Cooking! Today was a cold, rainy day, so I made this hearty vegetable stew to compensate. Contains miscellaneous vegetables from my latest produce box. photo, served over couscous (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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Hearty Vegetable Stew (Vegan, gluten-free) A hearty stew of (mostly) root vegetables is just the thing for a cold rainy day. This recipe serves four as a main course. The exact veggies can vary based on what's in the delivery box that week. When substituting, consider "hardness" and texture alongside taste. I... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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How do I protect my knuckles when grating vegetables like carrots? When grating harder foods like carrots or parsnips, I have a problem protecting my fingers when I get down to the last couple inches. Raw carrots are too hard to hold with a fork (at least with sufficient leverage to grate) and too irregular to hold with tongs. If I try to protect my fingers by wea... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: How can I better incorporate baking into my daily life? Baking inherently takes time, so I can't help with the desire to get from a cold start to baked goods in twenty minutes, but I've been doing more baking (especially bread) over the last several months while stuck at home, so I can offer some tips on workflow, timing, and the mess factor. First, ab... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: September 2020 - National Cuisine Challenge: Greece Fasolada This Greek soup is made with white beans, vegetables, and olive oil in a tomato base, flavored with paprika (I used smoked). I get most of my fresh vegetables from folks who sell "ugly" produce that stores won't take because it's too big, too small, weirdly shaped, etc. Soup doesn't car... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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What can I substitute for milk in a bread recipe? Today I tried a particular sourdough bread recipe for the first time. For a 1.5-pound loaf, in addition to the usual dry ingredients, dried herbs, and sourdough starter, it called for the following wet ingredients: two eggs, half a cup of milk, and a quarter cup of olive oil. I liked the results,... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: How to get my cheese to melt completely Recipes for cheese soup, sauce, and dip usually call for heating the liquids first and then adding the cheese, rather than starting with cheese and liquid in a cold pot. In this queso recipe, milk (with aromatics and seasonings, but I don't think that affects the outcome) are brought to a boil and t... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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A: Ideas for new cooking challenges Seasonal produce Inspired by farm-share deliveries and local produce, share dishes that use substantial amounts of whatever is in season at the time of the challenge. This is a challenge idea that could be used more than once, spread throughout the year. What's in season will vary by people's lo... (more) |
— | over 3 years ago |
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Grilled vegetable hash with eggs I always thought of this as "standard stuff, nothing special", until I was chatting with a friend who wanted to know more. So I figured I'd share. This is ideal for using up produce odds and ends. The only trick with ingredient changes is to vary when you add vegetables to the pan by how long th... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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Why should one wrap bread dough in a towel during the last rise, instead of some other material? I've made sourdough bread a few times following the same ("beginner") recipe. After the dough rises overnight in a bowl you put it on a floured surface, fold it in on itself to shape it, and let it rise again for a few hours. For this final rise, the recipe says to take a bowl or bread basket, put ... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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A: How do I get broth out of my pan after I put in too much? Depending on the size of the stuff you want to keep in the pan and the time-criticality: - Strainer. You mentioned that your pasta strainer's holes are too big. I have colanders with holes of two different sizes, a larger conventional one and a smaller one with smaller holes. (I use the latter ... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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How do I prevent clumps when using cornstarch to thicken a soup? I've made cold cherry soup a few times from a recipe that calls for thickening it with a little cornstarch, but I always end up with some small clumps of what I presume are the starch in the finished soup. I don't cook with cornstarch much, so I don't know where in the process I'm going wrong. Th... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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A: Should questions about nutritional composition be off- or on-topic? I think comparisons between ingredients that affect cooking decisions should be on-topic. (And by the way, I too have wondered about the sea-salt fad and whether it actually makes a difference.) If ingredients A and B are different that probably has implications for when to use which, whether it's ... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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How do I get darker sourdough without burning it? I made my first sourdough bread recently. The friend who gave me the starter also gave me a basic recipe attributed to Ed Wood, which I followed (1 cup fed starter, 3.5 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup water). The dough behaved as I expected through the two rises. I baked it on a coo... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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A: What do you think of a monthly cooking challenge? Cool idea! I like the tie-in with the recipes category, too. A challenge answer could describe the meal and what the person learned along the way, linking to the recipes. Over on Writing the challenges are usually multi-faceted: write something on this theme or using one of these words or incorp... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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Parmesan-crusted tilapia This is an easy way to make tilapia, a thin fish fillet, without it drying out. This recipe is scaled for two people. Quantities for the topping depend on the size of the fish pieces, so adjust as needed, proportionally. Ingredients - two tilapia fillets - 3 tablespoons butter, melted - 1/3... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |
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Basil as a pizza topping I've eaten pizza that has basil leaves as a topping, and the leaves come out bright green and tender. I used fresh basil from my garden on pizza for the first time today, and -- predictable, in retrospect -- my basil leaves dried out and were more browned. I put them on top of the cheese, like I've... (more) |
— | almost 4 years ago |