Mr. Grummp

There are so many people who come on Y!A and pose a question without ever reading the rest of the questions. They don't realize that their question has been asked a MILLION times before! One good example is, "I don't have any baking powder, can't I just use baking soda instead?" Or how about, "Can I substitute margarine for butter?", or "How do I cook pork ribs?"

If the section had a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) at the top of the page somehow, maybe (yeah, I know, but still MAYBE) people would read these questions before asking the same thing over and over again.

Thoughts, anyone?

I understand that only four angels are mentioned by name in the Bible. Who are they?

I've heard rumors that because it is biodegradable (since it is made from plants) it is acceptable to pour vegetable oil (cooking oil) into the garden.

Has anyone here done this? Does it attract ants? Does it harm your plants?

I've heard rumors that because it is biodegradable (since it is made from plants) it is acceptable to pour vegetable oil (cooking oil) into the garden.

Has anyone here done this? Does it attract ants? Does it harm your plants?

About carbs and fiber: Anyone ever heard of this claim?

I have a package of "Carb Balance" tortillas made by Mission. On the package it says, "When counting carbs you can deduct the grams of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrate grams to get the net carb count."

Then they go on to give an example of their own product: "19g total carbohydrate minus 13g dietary fiber = 6g net effective carbs" And then below, "The net effective carbs are the carbohydrates that affect blood sugar"

Has anyone ever heard this claim before and does it have any scientifically sound nutritional research to back it up? Or is it a marketing scam to sell more tortillas?

I have a package of "Carb Balance" tortillas made by Mission. On the package it says, "When counting carbs you can deduct the grams of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrate grams to get the net carb count."

Then they go on to give an example of their own product: "19g total carbohydrate minus 13g dietary fiber = 6g net effective carbs" And then below, "The net effective carbs are the carbohydrates that affect blood sugar"

Has anyone ever heard this claim before and does it have any scientifically sound nutritional research to back it up? Or is it a marketing scam to sell more tortillas?

When proofing yeast in warm water prior to adding it to the bread dough, most recipes I have seen call for sprinkling the yeast on top of the water instead of mixing it into the water. Can someone please tell me why it is better to do it this way?

I always gently stir the yeast into the water because it seems that not all of the yeast gets wet if I just float it on top of the water.

I saw a cooking show recently that featured a blueberry tart recipe. Unfortunately, I did not write it down as I watched (which I normally do) and now I cannot find the recipe and do not remember upon whose program I saw it.

I do remember that she (Sunny Anderson, Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, Nigella Lawson, Sandra Lee?) specifically started the crust with "...18 Graham crackers, cinnamon flavored..." in a food processor and then drizzled with melted butter (1/2 cup?). The crust was then formed in the tart pan and baked for 10 to 15 minutes. Blueberries were added later.

After that, my mind is a blank. Can anyone help me remember?

I want to slice home-cooked turkey breast really thin like they do in the deli, to use for sandwiches. I don't want to buy a motorized slicer, so I was thinking that I would buy a mandolin. Has anyone tried this? Does it work, or would the meat get stuck in the blade?

Why do so many people ask for bread recipes that contain no yeast and no gluten? I know that some people are gluten intolerant, but is it also a vegetarian issue? Do people believe that gluten-free bread is healthier somehow? Why?

And what about yeast? I've never heard of anyone who is allergic to yeast. Is that even possible? Or is that also a vegetarian issue, because yeast is a "living organism"?

Will someone please enlighten me?

Remember when Sears & Roebuck had a counter in their store and they sold fresh roasted nuts of all kinds? They also sold candy. The only candy I remember (besides, I think, peanut brittle) was some kind of bon bon type candy, coated with chocolate and with a fluffy (maybe nougat?) center. The insides came in various colors and flavors, and you never knew what you were getting until you bit into it. Does anyone know what these candies were called, and if anyone else sells them today?

You know, the semi-aquatic rodent native to South America that was brought here in the 1930's to be raised for fur. The meat is said to be "lean and low in cholesterol", and I was just wondering if anyone here had ever tasted one. If so, how did it taste?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coypu

And if so, is it still called "American cheese"?

I bought a Deni battery operated cookie press to make Christmas cookies. I like the way it is constructed, I like that you get two dough tubes and 25 dies for different shapes, but the motor is just not powerful enough to squeeze the dough out through the die. I used the recipe that came in the instruction booklet, so I don't think the recipe is the problem. I'm returning it to the store tomorrow.

I would prefer a manually operated cookie press, but I don't know which one to buy. I want one that is sturdy, has plenty of dies, and is easy to operate. Does anyone have one that they really like?

If Lord Percy (or anyone else) disagrees with someone's answer to a question (not asked by Lord Percy, but by a third party), and then proceeds to verbally chastise said answerer via e-mail, is it cowardly for him to remain hidden behind Y!A's "Does not allow e-mail" setting in order to avoid a rebuttal? To me, this seems rather one-sided and infantile. Does anyone else agree?

When I make buttermilk biscuits they are light and fluffy and they taste good enough, but they don't have the "tang" that I remember from the homemade biscuits of my youth.

I suspect the problem may be with the "cultured" buttermilk they sell in the stores today, as opposed to the "real churned" buttermilk of yesteryear. Does cultured buttermilk have less acid than churned, or is it my imagination and faulty memory?

I tried adding cream of tartar, I tried adding a little white vinegar, but nothing seem to give me that acid tang that I remember so fondly.

Suggestions, anyone?

If you've been anywhere near Popeyes Chicken on the internet, you know that Al Copeland, the founder, named his Louisiana style chicken restaurants after Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a character in the movie The French Connection, starring Gene Hackman as Doyle.

What I want to know (and cannot find) is WHY he chose the name of a movie character for the name of his restaurants. Did the character Jimmy Doyle especially like spicy fried chicken? Was it his dream to retire and open a chicken stand? Was he originally from New Orleans?

I have to admit, as much as I like Gene Hackman, I have never seen the movie.

I had a dish that I think was called pergoies (or maybe pergories). It is NOT a mispronunciation or misspelling of pirogi, which is a pastry shell stuffed with things.

The pergoies were small fried things, the size of a golf ball, orange-ish on the inside (maybe mashed potatoes seasoned with curry or tumeric?) with a very strong flavor of cumin and smoked paprika. The chef said they had onions in them, but because of his accent I couldn't really understand what it was he said they were called.

When I try to Google it, I always end up with, "Did you mean to Google perogie?", which I did not.

If anyone has a recipe for these, or knows the ethnic or regional origin of these things, please answer. I've never had anything like this in the U.S. before.

Is it self-RISING flour, or is it self-RAISING flour? I use Gold Medal Self-Rising Flour for biscuits, but I've seen people here write "self-raising" so many times I had to go and check the spelling on the bag. It's definitely "-rising", with an "i". Is someone else somewhere in this country (I live in California) selling flour as "self-raising"?

Here is a list of questions I would like to see permanently banned from the Cooking & Recipes section of Food & Drink:

1) Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

2) What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

3) How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

4) What should I make for dinner (or breakfast, or lunch, or snack time)? [How would anyone else know the answer to this question?]

They are a waste of time and bandwidth. They may have been funny the first time they were posted, but by the twenty- or thirty-thousandth time, the humor escapes me.

Whenever I read one of these questions, I shall insert a line of z's, to indicate A) My boredom with reading the same un-funny question over and over again: and B) My desire to physically remove the question from this forum, like a buzz saw cutting a rotten branch off of a tree.

Is anyone else with me on this, or am I over-reacting?