Inflation. or treating shoppers as gullible?

[karadekoolaid Profile]

helped no doubt by including cafés, always a winner.

You bet. Findlay Market in Cincinnati is a covered market, with a seated area where people can sit down and eat from the 4 or 5 cafés inside: apart from a huge array of (German) sausages, there´s also an authentic Thai café, an authentic Mexican café and a Greek place.
Outside the market ( which doesn´t open until 10am on a Sunday) there are lots of little cameo stores. One which does a thousand varieties of tea. A wine bar which offers 3 different "wine of the day" options at very reasonable prices - plus tapas. A Caribbean joint ( ´scuse the pun!), a Colombian place that sells arepas, a Philippine takeaway and a Pulled Pork , good ole, Southern sandwich place. Plus a bar which serves a different star Artisan beer every week.
All this in a small city with less than 800,000 inhabitants. That´s what pulls ´em in !

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I hope nobody will pop the metal tray in the microwave


I think we are probably missing the point of the stuffed butternut squash

As it is part of the "festive" offering I suspect it is aimed at the parent or grandparent who has acquired their first Christmas vegetarian, and need to provide an addition to the Christmas dinner they have been cooking for years, but which still panics them. I think they will happily pay £9 to reduce their anxiety level to manageable


Yes, I know a Vegetarian is for life, not just for Christmas

[Binky Profile]

Re. metal in microwaves, I found our American guest had put a bottle of beer in the microwave to bring it up to room temperature. The beer had a metal 'crown' cap.

I told him to take it out as it would cause sparking and/or damage the magnetron. He was most put out and said a few seconds would be OK. I said I wasn't taking the chance.

Can our US posters comment if this is normal American behaviour?

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Apart from the metal, it was a presumably an unopened bottle?

Putting anything hermetically sealed into a microwave is a no-no, genuine risk of explosion

I a US microwave cookbook that says it's ok to use scraps of foil to shield parts of food at risk of over cooking but I never do it

[Binky Profile]

Sue, yes it was an unopened bottle. I was immediately worried about it as i remember trying to warm some butter in a microwave (this was many years ago) and the foil caused arcing.
Lord knows what would happen to a bottle of beer under pressure.

[Pampy Profile]

I've seen UK microwave recipes that advise shielding parts of food with foil to stop it getting over cooked.
One of my Neff ovens is also a microwave and can deal with metal as long as it is at least a couple of inches away from the internal walls - and the metal shelf doesn't cause any problems either. Don't know how it works, though.

[patpoyntz Profile]

I hope nobody will pop the metal tray in the microwave


I think we are probably missing the point of the stuffed butternut squash

As it is part of the "festive" offering I suspect it is aimed at the parent or grandparent who has acquired their first Christmas vegetarian, and need to provide an addition to the Christmas dinner they have been cooking for years, but which still panics them. I think they will happily pay £9 to reduce their anxiety level to manageable


Yes, I know a Vegetarian is for life, not just for Christmas

I think you have hit the nail on the head exactly there Sue. If I am doing the family Christmas this year, and having, as you say, one new vegetarian I possibly would be tempted myself!

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I´d definitely avoid putting anything metallic in a microwave. My wife once put an empty tub of cream cheese in the microwave with some butter in it. However, there was a small amount of residual silver paper round the edge - from the packaging - and it was Nov 5th all over again.
Put a BEER in the oven? Has the man lost his marbles??

[Renee Profile]

You've gone all Christmassy KK!

Pampy, when microwaves first became available, there were instructions to put small pieces of foil to prevent certain parts becoming overcooked. I can remember doing this to a whole chicken many years ago after reading the instruction book. It was the very last time that I microwaved a whole chicken!

[mark111757 Profile]

Binky....

In the words of that 70's show character, red forman, "what a dumbass".....I was taught never use tin foil in a microwave. With a risk of Sparks et Al...we are not all like that. Some.of us think....

[jeral Profile]

I know I've read "Don't, but it's OK if..." so logically the dumbasses are those who suggest that, don't you think?

There's an explanation re foil in microwaves here:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/alumi ... rowave.htm

I once put a thin porcelain plate in the microwave to warm, so with no moisture, which is perfectly safe for a minute, all that's needed. I inadvertently clicked 10 mins instead of 10 secs. Oops.

[Pampy Profile]

I'd love to know how my microwave deals with metal. As I said in an earlier post, the manual says you can use metal as long as it's at least a couple of inches from the walls. It recommends always putting a spoon in a container with liquid in it to stop it boiling over.

[jeral Profile]

Pampy, I think I sneaked in momentarily before you, but my link I believe explains.

[Pampy Profile]

No - that article mainly deals with how foil can and thicker metals can't be used in a microwave - but they can in mine!