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I have one last question , for now at least : Zo has two ( made in Japan ) styles : the dome and handle ( a tan color ) and a flat top ( black ) the fat is newer , and generally cost a bit more over the Dome : here 478 dome vs 577 flat . for pressure RC's but not in the case of the 5C induction : dome $ 360 flat $ 332 . if you understand the price differences , as dollars , ie more $$ might get you , at least a useful gain . Id like to hear from you here.

@DesertTinker many thanks for that ref. and as I though , just like @KennethT ( thank you ! ) people who ear more rice than I , pre-soak . then decided on new 5 Cup , based on using the extra space in the cooker ( after cooking ) for mix-ins , when making Not-Fried-Rice .

Haytaliyeh this morning: Not quie a failure and not quite a success. Let's call it a learning experience. I followed the recipe pretty closely: https://plantbasedfolk.com/haytaliyeh-vegan-lebanese-milk-pudding/ with the following exceptions. I made my own almond milk, something I've been doing for many, many years, and I used about half the total amount of sugar that the recipe calls for. The dish could have used a bit more sweetness. It would have been the better for it. However, for my taste and preferences, it was acceptable, but just barely. The biggest issue was the texture. The result was quite thick and lacked a certain lightness. You can probably see from the image how thick this pudding is. The recipe called for 100 grams of cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of water. My instincts told me that was too much. That feeling was based, at least in part, by a chocolate pudding recipe that I perfected over the years and in part by seeing just how much cornstarch 100 grams is. Watching how quickly the pudding mixture firmed up, and how "ploppy" it was, told me that this was going to be one heavy pudding. I was also concerned that the amount of rose water and orange blossom water would be a bit much, but it wasn't. That worked out well. And the aromas realy perfumed the apartment ... nice! So, next tme I'll adjust the sweetness and cut back on the thickening agent, perhaps using but half the amount. Any suggestions on that point? The dish needs work, but I feel it will eventually make a very nice dessert.

I don't have a Zo, but I do manually soak both my jasmine and basmati rices for 10 minutes prior to a thorough washing.

@rotuts Most of the Reddit thread you linked to is just folks speculating about how the umami cycle works, but there is this LINK to an article that seems like a pretty solid explanation.

branzini - I like to stuff the cavity to keep the fish moist - this is the ultra-quick shortcut: stovetop stuffing . . .

still trying to decided on ' umami rice ' : https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/24yvim/how_do_rice_cookers_with_umami_settings_work/ unfortunately I can't get to reddit . but I suspect the link is info from manufacturers sites , thus , a bit suspect . it seems some Zo RC's have this setting , inc the pressure $$$ ones. the setting takes longer , and include a water-soak stage . that' I can do manually Zo also makes a Micron Zo : https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NL-GAC10-Cooker-5-5-Cup-Metallic/dp/B08ZHRMGJ2?th=1 as I understand it , Micron Zo's are manufactured in China , vs Zo's made in Japan. so , unless I hear differently from the eG Ricer's its mostly hype , but not 100 % : 80 - 85 % seem about right ? Ill manually soak my next batch of rice and see if I can tell any difference.

Prissy is well-named. The bun bun pictures almost killed me with cuteness

Absolutely top tier. Maybe the best.

Lots of rosés these days: ' The 2024 "Camille" is a pretty, very pale pink/orange color with aromas of wild strawberry, raspberry, rose and citrus, with a hint of stone fruits as well. The palate is light and elegant with subtle berry fruits, a hint of citrus and stone, and has nice density and length. This is a light and lovely rosé for all year enjoyment, sipped by itself or with grilled fish, white meats, salade Niçoise and mild cheeses - and it's a fabulous value! Just over $15!

My Bad : on further investigations , the Umami button is only on Zo pressure induction machines . those cost more than my InDoorSmoker !

According to the manual for my model (NP-NWC10):

@Maison Rustique in my area , a Meat Loaf mix is frequently mentioned in the various flyers. Ive never asked what 's in the mixture , its supposed to be beef // pork // veal . its a commercial brand , mixed elsewhere . if it has veal , wonder where that comes from veal has pretty much disappeared from meat counters in my area . true , I dont look very hard for it , as veal USA is in no way similar to veal EU.

@weinoo which model ? so , what exactly is different w the umami setting ? ' porridge ' is simply a slow cooking setting . probably no different than steel cut oatmeal after all , way way way back when , I got the 10 C fuzzy for cooking steel cut oats w milk button : porridge.

It's the burnt hair which makes it special....

Hi all I would so appreciate some guidance because I'm driving myself crazy trying to perfect the art of chocolate transfers backed with sprayed white cocoa butter - sometimes they come out perfectly and sometimes they fail and I cannot for the life of me figure out what is the variable that makes them work. So I have home made chocolate bar moulds that I can put printed transfer moulds into the bottom of and I have been spraying the back of the transfers with white cocoa butter to make sure the print is visible on milk chocolate. The trouble is that once I demould the chocolate bars, quite often the edges are messy (not every time - sometimes they are perfect) and I am left with visible milk chocolate because the cocoa butter and therefore the image doesn't adhere right to the edge. Every time I think I have cracked it it goes wrong again and what I thought was making the difference obviously wasn't. I temper the bottles of white cocoa butter by heating them to 45ºc and then putting the bottle in iced water for intervals then shaking vigorously and repeating until the temperature is down to about 26ºc then I try and keep it between 28 and 30. I check the temper of the cocoa butter before using and it seems fine. I spray using a spray gun heated (but not too much) with a heat gun. The sprayed cocoa butter seems to set up fairly quickly. Then I pour in tempered chocolate at 32ºc to fill the moulds. I have tried increasing and decreasing the temperature of the cocoa butter before it goes in the spray gun, putting the sheets in the fridge before filling with chocolate or not, putting the chocolates in the fridge for varying amounts of times, spraying a thicker and thinner layer of cocoa butter. Like I say, sometimes they come out perfectly but I don't know why - often half of a batch that (as far as I can tell) has been processed the same will work and half not. Am tearing my hair out and if anybody has any advice as to what might be going wrong or other variables I could try and control I am all ears because I am totally stumped. I hope this makes sense and I have attached a picture to give you an idea of what my problem is around the edges of the bars. Please help! Thanks so much in advance. Katherine

I haven't tried this, but it's always available. Just FreshDirect Meatball and Meatloaf Beef/Pork Mix, Raised w/o Antibiotics

My inherited cooker has the umami setting, which I have never used. I'll give it a try next time.

One of Hester's little kits has been getting out of her cage, and yesterday when I went up to feed the critters it was on the ground again, hiding in the doorway of the barn. After I'd corralled it, I dropped it into my shirt pocket so I'd have both hands free for the door and my water bucket. The little one, probably tuckered out after a cold and scary night on its own, immediately curled up and went to sleep in its warm, cozy little carry pouch. So I left it there, because whatcha gonna do? And also... awwwwww. You know that feeling when a baby falls asleep on your shoulder, that warm little body going limp in total trust and comfort? Yeah, like that but on a smaller scale. After the wee one had slept for a few hours I put a little plastic food container on the desktop for her, with some fresh greens, and then watched in amusement as a Very Small Rabbit ate a Very Large Breakfast... ...and then helped me with my article (yes, sadly, my desk is that cluttered). I'd finally located the spot on the cage where the little one had been escaping, and repaired it at lunchtime. So now the wee one is back with her mama and siblings. I'd decided that a "pocket bunny" must necessarily be dubbed Polly (my daughter loved Polly Pocket toys when she was little, and granddaughter has some now), and if in fact Polly turns out not to be a girl, well... Paulie also works. I've mentioned before that the youngest and skinniest of our original flock of chickens was a white Leghorn pullet which we inevitably named Miss Prissy, since we'd grown up on those vintage Warner Bros cartoons. Prissy has been setting a clutch of eggs for several weeks, and a couple of days ago got her reward: a single chick. I have occasionally had writers describe a character as fussing over something "like a hen with one chick," and now I'm seeing it IRL. My GF came in laughing from the chickens' run that afternoon, telling me that little Prissy (still the smallest and scrawniest of the adult birds) had bullied the entire current flock of 50+ birds all the way back into the sheltered roosting area at one end of the run. If any other bird dared step out for water or food, she'd be on it in a split second, in a berserk rage. She'd mellowed a bit by yesterday, and had taken up a position near the base of that quail condo I'd constructed (see photos upthread). When she needed to get up for any reason, the little chick (otherwise firmly ensconced under mama) would scuttle underneath the quail condo, where none of the others could follow. When I fed them all, the others stepped out gingerly toward the feeders, keeping one eye on Prissy the whole time, instead of swarming me as they usually do. The whole thing was rather amusing, though I *did* make a point of rearranging the feeders and waterers so the flock wouldn't either starve or keep poor Prissy in a continual state of advanced agitation. Here are mama and the little guy: He's a bit fuzzy, partly because I had to use the zoom pretty aggressively to get this close without triggering the Wrath of Prissy, and partly because... he's a bit fuzzy. We popped for enough 7-ft deer fencing to completely surround my garden, and I hope to have the other half of that installed by this afternoon, after which the chickens will once again have the opportunity to free-range for a portion of each day. I'm less enthused about this than my GF (I think we'll probably lose some of our half-grown birds), but the flock is her project/responsibility, so I'll roll with it and we'll take what comes.

@JoNorvelleWalker I D/L'd the three manuals : 3 cup induction , the one I have , 5 cup induction , and 5 cup pressure . here are images of the control panel , w instructions : 3 Cup Induction 5 cup induction 5 cup pressure . on the 5 C pressure , I dont see an Umami Am I missing something ? clearly there is a different interface , but all the choices on the 5 C can be done on the 3 C : Porridge is the selection for steel cut oatmeal like to hear more about the umami , as someone has a birthday coming up . and Amazon would have to drop the price > $ 10 as it had a lo0wer price just the other day . Umami , here I come , maybe. Wait ! it also have a self standing rice scoop !

I used to go to SLC every year for a business conference. I'm surprised I never heard about it--I'd have made a point of going, for sure! Mind you, I always drove there and back, so I wouldn't have been buying any of those things to transport back to KC.

I can recall years back finding blends of beef and pork--and often veal--sold for making meatloaf, meatballs and the like. Sometimes they were be separate types packaged together so you could mix it to your liking. Haven't seen it sold like this in years.

The problem with Indian restaurants in the UK is that few are Indian. Most are Bengali or Pakistani. However there are a few good'uns. Chutney Mary at 73 St James's Street, St James’s near Buck House is a great Punjabi restaurant, but not a cheap choice. Instead a treat. Tayyabs at 83-89 Fieldgate St, Whitechapel, is legendary and more affordable. Best to book as it is extremely popular. Their lamb chops are beyond legendary! For authentic Indian vegetarian food check out Drummond Street just west of Euston Train Station. I'm no vegetarian but my London home is nearby and for many years I worked even nearer. Went there a lot.

Can see it on the horizon if you look South West

Frikadelle with Cucumber-Kohlrabi Salad - frikadellen were made with ground beef (why can’t you buy premixed ground beef and pork in the US like you would use in Germany), seared onions, parsley, marjoram, eggs, yoghurt and mustard. The salad is thinly cut cucumber and kohlrabi with a yoghurt dressing (with milk, white wine vinegar, parsley and a hint of sugar)