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Indeed. And have done so for decades. Back in 1970, as a student, I had a lousy summer job in a London candy/chocolate factory. Everything went through a metal detector. If you cut your finger, you had to use a special Bandaid type dressing with metal wires embedded within so that if it fell off into the mix, it would be detected. Put me off chocolate for years. That was almost 60 years ago!

I managed to score a proper crock at a second hand store last week. Yesterday we mandolined half a large cabbage and two fennel bulbs, massaged them with salt and crammed into the crock. Hope it works, cross fingers for me please 🙏

This week we had Friday night with the Carolines for a change. Here is a plate of smoked rainbow trout with a spread of cream cheese, yogurt with capers and garlic chives, some cornichons, lightly pickled red onion and sourdough baguette on which to build one’s tasty bite. Last night I made a salad with mango, fennel, rocket and blue cheese, dressed with a vinaigrette and scattered with toasted walnuts. Served with a lobster tail smothered in garlic butter and some more of the red onions for colour.

I just loved the one cup sakes available everywhere in Japan. Your food all looks fabulous.

@Duvel Aside from personal reasons, your son's friend lucked out when he gets a regular invite to dinner with your family!

Yes, please write an update once you've used them a bit, especially with the control freak.

Life goes in mysterious ways. I was fed up with moving all the stuff around my freezer so I could lay in the containers of freshly prepared meals to freeze, so from BestBuy I bought a small 7.1 cu ft freezer on 30th Dec which was delivered on 2 January. Naturally, it came incomplete which took hours and hours of communicating with an AI interface to talk with a human and get parts shipped, hence so long between my batches. I was in a hurry to abandon my computer so I could attend to the day's batch of Meal Prep for Freezer cooking. I had recently signed up for Windows 10 ESU and so have not been afraid of system messages that I need to upgrade o/s. However what the d### upgrade did was upgrade me to Windows 11! So I didn't touch my computer. Nor it seems did I take any photos beyond these first two. Contents were Bacon, cabbage, RG Super Lucky black eyed pea, lots garlic 2 ways, onion, yukon gold potato, gouda, cheddar. Sauce made with cream cheese, sour cream and bean water. The dish has quite a complicated layering of semi-cooked ingredients. No idea if it will make a difference. If you're interested to know, PM me and I'll send along what I did. Here are the 20 empty containers.

In this post, I erroneously identified the contents of the photos with a partial description of an other batch. That other batch was a lamb casserole done on 2025/12/21. I have 3 separate mentions of what might be in the batch but I believe it has: Lamb shank, stock, barley, Rancho Gordo Good Mother Stollard beans, onion, celery, carrot, fresh corn, slow roasted and fresh cherry tomatoes, and green pepper.

I do it all the time. I freeze the rice separately. Edited to add that I use the recipe from Alon Shaya’s book. This looks to be the one.

I believe so. I'm not sure I've done it, but I can't see why not.

Can I freeze red beans + rice?

This post is wrong. Where I wrote "In case I made the jpg too small to read, this dish has . . ." the photos belong to 2025/12/28 Duck w Stamppot: potato + sweet potato, carrot, crème fraiche, cream cheese, duck fat. Base: Duck, Rancho Gordo Mayocoba bean, was fresh corn, endive, pea, baked garlic baked in duck fat + wine, Penzey's air dried shallot (14). Used Breville Paradice 9 to cut veg, didn't mash garlic; Bamix to mix Stamppot; Instant Pot to soak and cook beans.

Hi Shel, In a recent video Chris Young mentioned that he has one and likes it. I think Uncle Scotts Kitchen has a video on them also. I’ve ordered the 3 piece frying pan set to use with a new Control Freak if it ever ships. Anyway, the frying pans are on the way. I’ll update once I’ve spent some time with them.

Little one had a friend over, who stayed for dinner. I offered hot docs; little one requested gyoza. Soooo … Japanese diinner: I picked some dried hoya (sea pineapple) a snack. The perfect accompaniment to sake .. I am not sure if I ever mentioned tgat beside housing my whiskey collection and my cookbooks, the mancave is also home to a rather extensive collection of one cup sakes ? Tonights treat … And foodwise … rice crackers: Excellent menma … Gyoza: Ajinomotos pork one. Simply no comparison 🙏 Tuna tataki & salmon sashimi ..: Chicken tebasaki … Yamitsuki cabbage … Soinach with black miso-sesame dressing … And Dan Dan Udon … And for dessert: Melty kiss … very melty, very good ! No complaints 🤗

Most food products go through a metal detector looking for metal fragments prior to packaging. I don't know if hot dogs do, but most candy/chocolate bars do. If the bone was finely ground, I can't imagine it would be harmful - just some extra calcium (although maybe not absorbable)...

I finally got around to trying the Kitchen Mamma on smaller cans now that I have a very healthy ( lower salt ) supply of them : works quite well . this is very worthwhile as getting the ' firmer ' contents out of this type of can , w the rim that's left if using the pop tab , is a PITA contents that readily pour out of a can , are fine w the pop tab . K.M. just tripled in value for me !

@weinoo Im no sure I do . hey toss out any bins a bones // steel chips out. they should cut the bin contents in 1/2 , and X-ray again , etc. some some potential Dogs.

Why do you think they're so delicious?!

Cauliflower beef fried rice, using last night's leftovers with shallot, chiles, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, black soy sauce, scallions, and an egg. Gloriously ripe mango to go with

@Steve Irby Thank you for that video ref.

This has been sandwich week with yesterdays lunch being pork steak served over a very nice grilled focaccia slathered with delicious labne. The steaks were trimmed from a portion of a Boston butt and were cut about an inch thick and tenderized with a Jaccard type device then grilled. I got the inspiration for the tenderized pork steaks, and Nuremberg Rostbratwurst, after watching the YouTube channel Moodi Foodi Berlin. Here's the link if you have a couple of spare hours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaRwZ7anorg

Funny, but more, thank you for sharing this. I knew that Mandarin Chinese was tonal but didn't know specifically what that meant. Here's the kicker - in basic post-retirement, I teach adult swimming and have a number of Chinese students. They put up with my meager "Nǐ hǎo ma" and "Xièxiè", and have been kind when I've tried to wade in deeper when I've asked "how do you say?...." Now I'm guessing I've butchered everything far worse than I'd thought.🫣

Those noodles back up the thread look so silky and delicious. @liuzhou We had ratatouille again and lamb cutlets again. I’m obsessed with feta at the moment and put little sprinkles of it on lots of things. Sourdough breading for mopping up the juices.

Below…..Breakfast of poached egg, ham and pea shoots with feta bits. I’m using olive oil for splashing on when plated like the TV chefs do (hello Jamie Oliver) more often, and although very late to this particular party, I am enjoying it.

Vietnamese tonight for a guest with a mild palette. I can't remember the last time I cooked a meal with no chiles whatsoever. 😬 Napa cabbage and shrimp soup: Soup stock was sauteed onion and dried shrimp with fish sauce and salt. Simmer Napa cabbage until done and then poach shrimp at the end. Finished with white pepper and scallions Beef stir-fried with cauliflower: Marinate thinly-sliced strip steak with fish sauce, soy sauce, black pepper, and cornstarch. Stir-fry onions and garlic, sear the steak, and remove. Stir-fry parboiled cauliflower florets until heated and then mix everything together until the steak is just done. Garnish with cilantro