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Also, I've never done anything with the marrow - I just squeeze the bone as a test to see if I've extracted as much as I can. I don't add marrow to the stock as it makes it cloudy. But also, there isn't enough in there to try to actively remove to eat and would probably require a dentist's pick to do so.

@rotuts I don't use the Ipot, but a regular Kuhn-Rikon pressure stockpot. After an hour at full pressure, the bones are soft but still brittle. You can squeeze the bone between thumb and forefinger and the bone will splinter and break.

No, I don't seek it out. But since i chop chicken thru bones when I make certain braised dishes and stocks, I'm pretty sure I've ingested it to no ill effects.

In the recent past , Ive used CkDrumsticks ( on sale @ Stop & Shop ) in the IDS and iPot for stock . the stock was 2 x or 3 x depending on your accounting methods . no matter , it was delicious and useful over a few weeks . my stock has no seasonings nor salt. thus concentrating it w several iPot sessions ended w just CkStock. Im not much of a fan of some recent terms , BoneBroth is one. but S&S have CkDrums on sale again , so , Ill be making more CkStock over the weekend. it got me thinking of chicken bone marrow , as a flavor to make sure ends up in the iPot. not being a big fan of unadulterated A.I. I goggled to see what G had to offer on Ck BM : first I noted the picture has to have come from one Mighty Big Chicken , and I found a video https://www.google.com/search?q=chiucken+bone+marrow&oq=chiucken+bone+marrow&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13i512l9.4780j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vhid=rZtYCoVU5b2UeM&vld=cid:58c54533,vid:PEjLNUW60ac,st:0&vssid=l getting more to the point : has any one here specifically tasted plain cooked Ck Marrow ? I do recall , possibly @KennethT , suggesting using the iPot for over an hour initially , as it get the CkBones very soft. I think Ill chop the leg bones with a cleaver , before the leg bone [ tibia + fibula ] go into the iPot as see If I can extract any marrow there , w a very small spoon and see how it tastes . Im not a fan of chicken fat , as such , and at least report back that i tasted actual Ck Marrow . anyone here seek this stuff out in their cooking and stocking ?

A repeat of yesterday’s recipe except that, after reading comments from @Kerala about fried bread, I followed the recipe instructions to fry the bread in olive oil in a cast iron skillet instead of just tossing it in the toaster. I also included the Kalamata olives I forgot to add yesterday. The chorizo those sardines are packed in makes them taste remarkably porky!

@Sweet-Tempered I get "pouring fondant" (as opposed to the version that is used to enrobe cakes) from www.lepicerie.com. If you don't know of this resource, I highly recommend it for many ingredients used in pastry and chocolate in manageable sizes for a small business and at reasonable prices (I'm assuming you are in the U.S.; otherwise this idea won't work). I have the Pawkit Aw meter (https://aqualab.com/en/pawkit). When I bought it quite some time ago, it was what was recommended by people here on eGullet, and it was about the only device available at a price less than astronomical. Since then others have bought and recommend less-expensive versions. I don't remember the brand names, but you can find the discussion in this thread:

It's called soft white fondant. Where are you located?

Inspired by the comments about Picalilli, I made some this morning! But the recipe said wait for a month before consuming! I licked the spoon and it was good.

What's the reddish-orange drizzle over the rice with the tuna?

Happy Birthday @Steve Irby. Your dinner at home looked delicious. Monday's dinner was seared tuna with soy sipping sauce, rice, and a salad of lettuce and peppers, which were the only vegetables n the fridge. Last night, miso broiled salmon in a coconut sauce with spinach and summer squash, and more rice

I can be happy with sweet or savory as mood dictates, or availability allows. French toast, certainly. Leftover pizza, why not. Wontons in broth or out, if only. But there's a major caveat: someone has to put iit in front of me. I can barely push down my own toast in the morning.

Happy Birthday, @Steve Irby. I'm 77. My last few birthdays have been similar. I think about going out, but often end up staying home. There's a local bakery that has a chocolate cake I really like. My husband often buys a couple of slices and that's my party. The last time I actually celebrated was for my 70th. We had a party at the family beach house. Of note was great October weather, a lovely apple pie my SIL baked that had a "77" formed in crust. People stayed overnight and breakfast was leftover oysters and key lime pie. My nephew had never had oysters and he was over the moon, which was hilarious. But the real moment of awe came when a red fox was spotted across the street during breakfast. We're talking about a funky little beach town and a funky beach house with a view of the ocean. In all my nearly fifty years of marrying into this beach house this fox was a one-time only event. Deer always. Wild turkeys wandering about the streets, especially the day after Thanksgiving, just to prove they are still alive. But a fox? I'm guessing never again. This year my birthday will be singularly weird. I will be on the tail end of chemo. All bets are off whether or not a slice of chocolate cake will look good.

I don't ever let them get that black before I use them. They are still quite firm when they are good and sweet. These are some that I bought Saturday and they are nice and sweet for eating but I would probably give them two more days before I use them in banana bread. They will still be quite firm but I put them in his zip-top bag and squash them and they are completely ready to use. I showed two bananas with the peel. Sorry I couldn't show you the other banana because I ate it.

Re: Global knives : ive had a few , and used to hand sharpen using wet stones back then , getting fine edges on all my on all my knives Global's were difficult for me to sharpen this way . a knife forum suggested the steel was ' sticky ' so I invested in an EdgePro system . edgePro is simply a jig system , that holds the edge angle via the jug not the operators hand. Globals were now razor sharp . I think they are fantastic knives when kept razor sharp . but that's a bit of work .

@Jim D. Thank you for your reply. I imagine just one bad incident with mold would be more than enough. Do you have a recommendation for an AW meter? I remember looking into them and got overwhelmed with what is out there and not having a working knowledge of what I'm looking for. You are correct about the rising cost of ingredients, particularly couverture. One of my first thoughts was, "I've picked a fine time to start all of this." Then, I am reminded that I am surrounded by an encouraging community. They are always asking what I'm cooking next. Thank you for the recommendation of Chef Jungstedt's courses. I have been curious about them. I will follow through with that. No apologies are necessary. I forget a lot and very much appreciate reminders.

One quick thought ... if I'm spending any real money on a pairing knife, I want one that doesn't have a bolster, and that has its heel separated from the handle. Like those Geshins Btbyrd shows. Otherwise sharpening is too hard. You want to be able to reach the whole length of the blade with your stones.

They're also among the most difficult knives to sharpen or to thin. And not because the steel is so hard, which is what their marketers will tell you; it's a bug, not a feature. The steel has a gummy consistency on sharpening stones; it makes a huge burr that's especially hard to get rid of. Dave Martell at Japanese Knife Sharpening had a notice on his site that all Globals would be sharpened on a belt sander, not stones, because he didn't have the patience otherwise.

Yesterday was my birthday (#71) and we had reservations for dinner at a nice restaurant. As the day progressed, and the energy levels dropped, we decided to hang at the house and have a light supper. I ended up preparing a simple salad with hoikkado scallops piccata. Dessert was a flourless chocolate tart from Publix that was very good. We also had a scoop (or two) of B&J Pistachio Pistachio ice cream since we were celebrating.

local meat packer has 2/pk pork tenderloins on sale for $5.00. The package I cooked last night was 36 oz: supper last night and lunches today. A friend has a cottage in northern Manitoba and they just picked up a container of new harvest of wild rice. So supper was rosemary marinated and grilled pork tenderloin, cranberry, wild rice, and barley pilaf, and a pile of mixed veg. Eaten with my cranberry apple orange chutney

They are progressing well and all appears to be normal.

@Kerry Beal I'm shopping online for the correct fondant. I've found cream fondant with sucrose & corn syrup ratios of 80/20 & 90/10. Are those what I'm looking for? Do you know which ratio will be better for making fudge? I'm still researching, but your input is appreciated.

Let me second Kerry's welcome. As you have no doubt discovered already, this time in history is a particularly difficult one to begin making chocolates, but I think all of us here have experienced that urge that will not go away and continue to make chocolates, regardless of the cost of the base product. Particularly at the beginning, I would stick with recipes from trusted sources, Peter Greweling being one of the most trusted. When you start to experiment (such as using a cider reduction instead of purée), you are dealing with water activity (and eventually shelf life). Ideally you would purchase a water activity meter, but the expense of that instrument means putting that in the future and, in the meantime, using trusted recipes. I recommend looking into Kalle Jungstedt's online courses. He is obsessive about detail and quite confident about his own methods, but he clearly knows what he is talking about. He provides recipes with water activity stated. Other recipes can be found in Ewald Notter's book and in the giant volume from Jean-Pierre Wybauw with hundreds of recipes. I also recommend the Danish chocolatier Tine Forst, whose ebooks contain lots of basic information and recipes. Recipes that I particularly like can be found on Mats Rajala's Instagram page; he provides water activity readings. And, about the apple caramel: I make one using apple cider jelly, which has a bit less water than juice. Another apple recipe uses apple pâte de fruit with ground dried apples to decrease the water activity dramatically. You will also find many chocolatiers (Tine Forst, Mats Rajala, and Melissa Coppel being some) who use sorbitol, a sugar alcohol that has marked influence on water content. If I seem overly concerned about water activity, it's simply because I have had an experience with mold in a chocolate and have not forgotten that episode. Forgive me if I am providing information you already know from the course you completed.

This is what they look like today. The one on the bottom, second from the right is completely black so I assume that one is ready for baking and the rest should look like that before I use them? I've tried two along the way to this point. The first was starchy, not very sweet. The second, half black, was really sweet at the ends but hard and still starchy in the middle. The ripe ends, however, we're amazing. Also, the peel is quite thin. Is that normal?

@Honkman I first added hot rice to top some spinach that was not cooked tasted good and had interesting textural differences . then tried the same thing w cooked ravioli on top of the rice , which was on top of the spinach. the textural difference between the rice and the ravioli was also interesting . but its probably more the difference between the texture of the rice and the creamy sauce

Sausages, I think. I asked the lady behind the counter. "Yes, my love! Fried bread is deep fried. We can do you toast if you'd like?" I sent for the healthy option today: a hash brown!