Cleaning Up George's Act

Warning and Disclaimer:  This is a dangerous way to clean your grill.  It creates large amounts of steam that can burn you very quickly.  Please use caution when using this advice.  I do not take any responsiblity for anyone's accidents related to this blog, so don't try to sue me for something I didn't make you do.

A few years ago my son got us a Geoge Foreman grill.  We love this grill.  We probably use it four to six times a week.  Highly possibly considering there are 21 meals in a day.

However, I fell quickly out of love with the grill when I had to clean it.  Anything other than sandwiches and it was days before I wanted to use it again because it was so difficult to clean.  However, I am here to testify that I am back in love with my grill.

Why?

Because I figured out how to clean it!

I remembered back to working at McDonald's and how we used to periodically throughout the day clean those big nasty grills and then at the end of the day how we'd clean them again.  Are you ready for this?

WATER.

We used water.  At the restaurant we poured the water right on the the grill and had big blades that we pushed the steamy (dangerous) mixture off the end into the trap.  The grill were so clean they stuck for a few cycles of burgers and all we used was water.

I decided to try the same with the grill.  At first I drug the HOT grill to the sink and sprayed it with the hose.  That worked but was dangerous and messier than scrubbing.  Then I got squirt bottle full of water and with it plugged in raised the lid about 1/2 way and squirted the lower plate and found that the steam rose up to the upper plate.

The baked on cooked on mess that I had spent so much time scrubbing boiled to the top of the steam and as soon as the grill was cool enough to tough handle I took it over to the sink and wiped it down.

I've done this quite a few times now and there has been a few times when I need to rub a spot here or there, but I have never had to scrub the grill again.  This has made me infinitely happy because I am so crazy about this grill.  We are back using again as often as before.  I will use this grill until it wears out or burns up.  Then I will probably get the one with the removal plates, but I will still use the steam method I learned 20 years ago at McDonald's.

I repeate this method creates a great deal of very dangerous steam and would hope that you would use caution when using my advice.  I do not take responsiblity for any injury created by this blog.

Brownies -- Not From a Box

I got this recipe back in 1984.  It wasn't the best of times, but I did manage to get a decent recipe out of it from a very good friend of my mother's.  When I made the recipe the first time, it tasted a little gross, so over the years I've added some of my own details to it and it's a little healthier, and a whole lot tastier!

For reasons I would only tell my therapist, I lived with the lady I got this recipe from in 1983 I believe it was.  She had four great kids that I still keep in touch with on Facebook.  With that many kids, the odds are against us, but is seems like they have all turned out to be functioning adults which is more than I can say for myself at times.  I'll give you her recipe first and then I will give you my changes.

1 stick of margarine
2 oz bittersweet chocolate or 7 heaping tablespoons of Baker's Cocoa
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cups flour
1/2 - 3/4 C nuts

This is the actual photo of the recipe from the album.
 I think I made this up in 1987.

Here is what I did with the recipe over the year:

1/2 C Coconut Oil
7 heaping tblsp Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
3/4 C Organic Agave Nectar
3 large eggs
2 tsp some kind of Liqeuer
3/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 Pouch of hot cocoa -- favorite flavor "raspberry"
3/4 C nuts

This is what I use for my substitutions. 
You can make the original if you want.

Cream coconut oil, cocoa and nectar together.  Add eggs and liqueuer.  Beat.  Add flour, nuts, mix.  Bake at 350 degrees 20 - 25 mins.  Remove before done.

Removing the brownies before they are done is a little of what makes them moist and delicious.  The flour to egg ratio and the all-purpose flour make the brownies like brownies and not like chocolate cake.  Removing them before they are done allows them not to over cook.  I can't think of anyone I know that likes crunchy brownies.  Not to mention hard brownies.

I got a "newsletter" the other day from the lady that gave me this recipe.  She made it up on her computer with digital photos and a cute font.  I'm sure she believes she is being quite saavy with her digital camera and computer.  I wish she'd just attach the letter to an e-mail so I don't feel so guilty about not reading it and wasting the paper.

A New Home for Some Old Tricks

I'm in the process of moving Kitchen Traditions here.  It may take a while to get everything situated, but soon everything will be updated regularly.

Check back here regularly.  http://andsawmyself.blogspot.com