Haha, I am indeed engaged! I have no immediate plans to get married though. Life's been very busy, and I wouldn't know where to find the time (or money!).
If I'd ask, I'm sure some people would already be willing to support that dream straight up. Heck, if I'd told my grandma, she'd tell my mum to send over the money! I wouldn't dare though. Plus, sadly she's at the end of her life, and I can only wish peace for her now. And I'm happy to say she's surrounded by loved ones.
Regardless, I've been doing the occasional reading up on canning. I've only just recently learned you cannot re-use canning lids! I was unaware of that. I thought they'd last longer than one use, especially if you perhaps consume the contents within a certain time-frame. But the science makes sense. I've also ran into trouble that no-one local seems to sell any supplies, so I'd always have to order everything online. Shipping costs are absurd, so you would always have to order in bulk to make it worth your while. Which is a little more than I'm currently bargaining for.
I may attempt water bath canning in one of my regular ol' large pots, and regular jars. I've heard some success stories towards it.
Either way, I'm trying to learn how to cook anyhow. Whilst I can put a reasonable meal on the table, I don't "truly" know what I'm doing. And my kitchen "experiments" don't always (usually) succeed.
In saying that, let's stick to the topic and add another myth!
Adding oil to pasta water stops pasta sticking. Nonsense. When you add oil to water, it will just flow to the top, and be the first thing to pour off when you drain it!
Yes, adding oil to pasta immediately after cooking and draining can prevent sticking, so can rinsing off the starches with cold water. Plus, leaving pasta to dry out on the kitchen bench for an extended time will dry out the pasta regardless, which makes it shrink and/or stick.
Hmm, maybe I should add my pasta salad recipe to the articles page one day (nothing fancy, just something nice with a bbq). My potato salad too!
