pickles

pickles, 8 months ago

My vote is for a 10-12" traditional cast iron pan. I’ve used every type of pan out there, and the one I leave sitting out on my stove is my trusty cast iron skillet that was my great great grandparents’. It will oulive me too!

Buying:

I would recommend to not buy new. Buy an old used one that ideally has a smooth surface, not a rough one. (The newer ones have a dimpled surface due to how they’re molded and they take longer to season up in my opinion.) Check the old pan for bulges, cracks, and extreme rust (like the whole thing is orange). If there’s a few rust spots, that can be fixed with a good scrub, a thin coating of oil, and an hour in a 400 degree oven. That’s it! If you are cooking with the same pan a lot, you don’t need to worry about it rusting ever again. Just always coat it in a thin layer of high heat oil. (I prefer avocado or safflower.)

Cooking:

Never put food in a cold pan! Let it warm up first. Put a bead of water in to check if it’s ready, it will sizzle when the pan is hot. If food sticks, add liquid or oil and scrape the bottom good with a metal spatula. You don’t have to be gentle with cast iron!

Cleaning:

After cooking, turn off your burner and immediately remove all the food (do not leave it in the pan to cool! Harder to clean) and run it under blazing HOT tap water (I wear kitchen gloves for this step!) The temp change won’t be high enough to damage your pan. Scrub it out with a copper chore boy or very stiff brush all over, then put back on the still warm burner (if you use electric) or turn the burner on low and wait for the water to evaporate off, it’ll only take a minute or two. Then rub the pan lightly ALL OVER, every bit, with a high heat cooking oil. I keep a small rag in some oil for this purpose. Done! It takes me like 3 min to clean the pan, tops.

This cleaning method is sooo much easier than having to deal with any of my other pans. If you wash it hot and keep it seasoned, nothing will stick and it’ll last forever!

pickles, 8 months ago

Tonka beans are illegal to sell in food, but you can get them shipped online and use them in your home kitchen. I’m in the US and I have some in my pantry right now. I’ve tried them in cookies but I’ll try them in ice cream too, thanks for the tip!

pickles, 8 months ago

Yes the belt is amazing, I just noticed the knotted cord they are dangling from too! Feel free to post any outfits you find inspiring or any of your own fits :)

pickles, 8 months ago

Yes that sub was my inspiration, I missed it after I moved to the fediverse. I hope more people eventually find their way here!

pickles, 9 months ago

Ahhhh nothing is better than a cute dog who feels safe and loved enough to ask for belly rubs. 💜💜💜💜

pickles, 9 months ago

A few extra tips: don’t put any cruciferous veg into your stock bag, like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels, etc. They will make your stock smell sulfurous. Bread pudding is another great use for stale bread and dairy.

My newest scrap discovery is using the liquid from canned fruit and leftover yogurt to make homemade popsicles.

pickles, 9 months ago

Baby’s first loaf

pickles, 9 months ago

Me too!! I especially love the asymmetry of their lips. It’s the antithesis of using makeup to ‘correct your features’, I love it so much!

pickles, 9 months ago

Historically antique pockets are very similar to this, tied around the waist instead though. So modern pockets are ‘pockets with extra steps’ not the other way around.

pickles, 10 months ago

My brain:

• I want to eat cheese.
• Shit, I accidentally made eye contact!!
• When I make my stuffie chair/coat/abomination, precious blahaj will be prominently featured.
• etc.

pickles, 10 months ago

Wow I’ve never heard of these types of toys!! I just went down a rabbit hole looking at people playing with them. They look very elegant. Do you have a fave?

pickles, 10 months ago

I’m ace 🙃

pickles, 10 months ago

The first obvious post by someone with a vag here and I get condom comments. Can’t say I’m surprised.

pickles, 10 months ago

Thanks so much for sharing!! ;) ;) IMO I think a much more useful and important carry everyone should have is tampons. After all, almost everyone has someone in their lives with a menstrual cycle, and menstruating happens roughly once a month. They can also be used in non-menstrual situations, such as getting badly cut, nosebleeds, or plugging other unwanted leaks. I find O.B. tampons to be the most space saving and eco friendly, as they don’t have an applicator that takes up unwanted space. That does mean that you have to use your finger as an applicator, but if you also carry some wet wipes that’ll take care of that issue, no problem. Make sure you carry one of each variety, as not only can each hold varying amounts of blood, but using a tampon that is too large for the amount of flow can cause toxic shock syndrome. Subscribe for more tampon facts!! /s

pickles, 10 months ago

Thank you! I am always curious about what other people have in their bags and pockets. REI is the best!! Unfortunately I got my bag over a decade ago at a thrift store, but I did find a similar one on poshmark. Mine is an earlier iteration of this one with a stitched logo, but everything else looks the same. It’s indestructable, the only wear is the coating on the innermost pocket is beginning to peel, and the printed design on the front has faded off.

pickles, 10 months ago

Thanks! What’s your ‘old faithful’ bag, if you have one?

pickles, 10 months ago

I hope you feel up to rocking that satchel sometime! It’s unfair that a lot of masc folks can feel limited in how they dress/accessorize.

Yes, the needle and thread has come in handy twice, once a button popped off, and a friend’s skirt seam started splitting in the back. I actually need to reload some black thread.

pickles, 10 months ago

He looks positively putrid! I would like a Festus to protect my garden from rodents.

pickles, 10 months ago

An omniverous plant that also eats garbage?? Sign me up! 😂

pickles, 10 months ago

No washing, the boiling water sterilized anything nefarious on the eggs. I don’t wash my cast iron either, just rinse and kill it with fire on the stove.