re: Beano
Beano used to have the warning to people who were allergic to penicillin in
the fine print, but it has been gone for several years now. Years ago, I
called and they told me the concern was about a similar chemical makeup,
Beano never contained penicillin. At any rate, I'm allergic to penicillin
and survived Beano many a time. Actually, if I don't pick up a new bottle,
it won't be my survival at stake ;-)
Pressure cookers-hee hee! Sorry, I'm sure it wasn't funny then, but what a
story! Anyway, I use the new generation of pressure cooker with multiple
safety releases, none of which I have ever needed. However, I carefully
follow the manufacturers dictum to never, EVER, leave the room while the
cooker is coming up to pressure. Think of it as a tea kettle on high
rather than a simmering soup pot (I melted a kettle once while
upstairs...try explaining molten metal on the burner to your spouse) It
takes a such a short time to come to pressure and cook, and you can leave
it while the pressure comes down on a cool burner. Split peas, BTW, take
only about 6 minutes at pressure. I cook lentils, too, no problem. My
pressure cooker has a mark about 2/3'ds of the way up that is the maximum
fill line, and I keep it at the halfway point for lentil soup & split peas.
Anyone ready to adventure into pressure cooking really ought to buy one
of Lorna Sass' vegetarian cookbooks before they even buy their cooker, they
are full of instructions!
Anne Cox
------------------------------