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[CatrionaGrace]

I have a 1956 Frigidaire electric stove. The speed heat burnt out a couple of decades ago and the clock doesn't work, but otherwiise it has been a-okay nifty fine. One version came with a deep fryer in place of the left back burner but mine has the burner. The spring in the oven door had given up the ghost, but my husband recently fixed it.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Soggy fries are an abomination.

Agreed. Take-away fries in a paper bag are particularly prone to this.

The trouble with mashed potatoes in restaurants is akin to the problem with french fries: they're often made with dried "instant" potatoes, from which most of the potato flavor has been extracted.

What the heck is dried "instant" potatoes? *curious* I can't imagine why anyone would make something like this when real potatoes are both instant and inexpensive.

Yes, I've heard of the ancient Incas making dried potatoes in the Andes. But those were real potatoes, only preserved for the winter months.

 

[JLT]

The spring in the oven door had given up the ghost, but my husband recently fixed it.

My wife would probably agree that that's what husbands are for.

What the heck is dried "instant" potatoes? *curious* I can't imagine why anyone would make something like this when real potatoes are both instant and inexpensive.

They're on the shelves of every supermarket here. Just put the flakes in a bowl, add boiling water, and wait a few minutes. Voila! In my student days, I practically lived on them, although I threw a bouillon cube into the water as it was boiling.

They look like this. No idea if they are a thing in the rest of the world.
View attachment 1188

I've seen them used often as camp stoves here.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Voila! In my student days, I practically lived on them,

For me, it was Campbell's chili bean soup, English muffins, diet Pepsi, and whatever fruit was in season at the farm stands on the way to school.

My wife would probably agree that that's what husbands are for.

Oh, he's useful in other ways, too. Cleans cat boxes, makes me laugh, and cooks up a mean pan of King Ranch Chicken.

 

[Homer Potvin]

They're on the shelves of every supermarket here. Just put the flakes in a bowl, add boiling water, and wait a few minutes. Voila! In my student days, I practically lived on them, although I threw a bouillon cube into the water as it was boiling.

I've never seen those served in restaurants, thankfully.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

Instant potatoes is one of the last things in the pantry left by my daughter when she and her family moved to Washington. My husband was just now expounding on possible ways to use up the stuff. I have near-perfect faith in his ability to render it edible.

 

[edamame]

There's a shop near me that sells handmade noodles that I realized sells out during the morning. I had tried both the afternoon and evening to get some. Finally managed to get some today.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I did not get my 2500 words done today. I wimped out and did maybe a quarter of that. I went for a walk along the river with a friend, dug weeds, pruned ilacs and wasted time watching videos of some British guy visit my home state of Arkansas. Oh, and Nate the Hoof Guy videos. I love watching some guy trim cow hooves.

Maybe my brain will unfreeze tomorrow. If not, I'll just have to turn up the heat on it.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

They're (instant potatoes -Ed.) on the shelves of every supermarket here. Just put the flakes in a bowl, add boiling water, and wait a few minutes. Voila! In my student days, I practically lived on them, although I threw a bouillon cube into the water as it was boiling.

They sound ghastly. The bouillon cube probably made them more palatable.

I'm still at a loss as to why anyone would want instant potatoes, when the real thing is just as cheap and just as convenient. Yes, you have to know how to cook them but ... ahh. I get it now. The instant kind is easier to cook because people don't have to know how to cook real ones. *shrug*

Then again, when I was a student, I didn't know jack about cooking either. I lived in 2-minute noodles, sandwiches, salads, and the fast food places on the college campus. (And I survived ... somehow).

College campuses these days have lots of food options that I didn't have when I was a student. (And no, I'm not going to start one of the "When I was your age" rants). ;-)