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Toasted in Japan
Hey Anton!
My husband is in the US Military and we are stationed in Japan. We don’t have a
traditional oven, only a large “toaster oven” to bake in. How does this effect the
cooking times?? HELP!!
Toasted in Japan
Baking in a toaster oven has many variables. There are many different kinds of ovens
out there these days. The major factors to consider are convection vs. non-convection
followed by the wattage of your particular oven as well as the number of heating
elements and what type of element.
In general, convection toaster oven cook times can be reduced by about 30% when
compared to conventional toaster ovens. Since a convection oven uses a small fan
to circulate the hot air throughout the oven, there is less need to turn your food
in order to achieve uniform browning.
The oven wattage and type of heat source will dictate how fast your oven will get
to the desired temp as well as the recovery time it will take to return to that
temp if the oven door is opened or after you put whatever you are baking in the
unit. A general rule is, the higher the wattage, the faster the recovery time. Another
consideration is a regular heating element versus an infrared heating element. An
infrared element will drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to preheat
your oven, as well as recovery time.
The # of heating elements will determine how evenly the food cooks. Obviously, the
higher the number of heating elements, arranged evenly throughout the oven, the
more evenly the food will cook
Toaster ovens were designed to cook smaller meals and therefore that is really what
they should be used for –smaller meals and snacks. In actuality, a toaster oven
is not the best choice for toasting bread. The heating elements are generally too
far from the food tray and often you will need to turn the bread to achieve uniform
browning. A toaster oven really should be looked at more as a broiler or small oven.
Generally, bake times for recipes can be followed exactly as long as your oven is
achieving and holding the temperature that the recipe calls for. You should
start the baking time from the point in time that the oven reaches the desired temp.
For example, if you put a small casserole in the oven that has been refrigerated,
it may take 20 minutes for the oven to get back to the desired temp after you put
the dish in. You should therefore add 20 minutes to the baking time. Again, these
ovens are really designed for smaller portions. Think Cornish hens as apposed to
a chicken or small turkey. For some good recipe ideas, check out The Gourmet Toaster Oven: Simple And Sophisticated Meals for the
Busy Cook ,
written by Lynn Alley (available in paper back). Happy toasting!!
Dry clean ONLY???
You know Anton, sometimes I think that my fancy designer clothing says “Dry Clean
Only” just because they want me to think that it is so darn fancy. I mean some are
100% cotton or a poly/cotton blend! What fabrics are OK to wash, even if they do
say “Dry Clean Only”?
Fabric Phobic
Personally, I feel that some clothing manufacturers often put “Dry Clean Only” on
their products to help CYA (cover their asses) in case you, the consumer, are in
the habit of throwing everything haphazardly into the washing machine. Quite frankly,
certain fabrics and construction methods just can’t handle the spin cycle. The following
are some general guidelines on what to wash and what to dry-clean.
• Cottons like jeans and hot t’s, casual tops and bottoms (tee hee), and knits should
be hand washed in cold with care (or on your machines gentle cycle with a gentle
detergent like Woolite). Lay them flat to dry and follow up with ironing if you
want that extra sharp look.
• For those cottons, linens and wools where you want to maintain a pressed, tailored
look - Dry Clean. There is an exception. Linen table napkins – NEVER!! The chemicals
used in the dry cleaning process coat the napkins making them unabsorbent, not to
mention unpleasant on the lips and NO ONE wants THAT!
• Luxury fabrics like cashmere, silks, velvets and for some of us, sequins, ALWAYS
Dry Clean
A couple more good rules:
1. if you just spent the farm on your absolute favorite fashion find, DRY CLEAN
IT! It will keep the garment looking newer, longer
2. Even Dry Cleaning can damage your favorite pieces of clothing. Be sure to look
for a quality cleaner.
No BOOZE? At a WEDDING??!!?
Hey Anton – I have a friend who recently got engaged to a born again (ugghhh) and
the wedding reception is going to be boring and dry of any booze. Is it totally
inappropriate to sneak in a little booze? What’s the best way??
Don’t Want the Wedding Blues
As we all know, it’s always important to relax and have a good time. If a little
“booze” helps, it is time to be creative on how to allow it to be a part of your
celebrating. Hosts who throw dry parties or events generally do so for a good reason
and it is very important to respect this. Simply asking the host prior to the event,
if you could “possibly bring a little bottle of *whatever* and leave it in the kitchen
with the caterers” often will be OK’ed and will leave you guild free as you enjoy
the event in between your mysterious trips to the kitchen. If this seems like too
much work (or you expect a firm NO from the host) flasks come in fabulous designer
styles www.gayfood.com/boozeflasks and prove a fun accessory item slipped in a breast
pocket, or under a garter belt.
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