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There are some amazing colors in the photos above, @liuzhou. I'm used to seeing reds, oranges and yellows on mushrooms, but I don't recall ever seeing the blues and greens -- at least, not without some putrefaction. I especially like the teal tones in the first photo of the post above.

I am looking for a small rolling kitchen island for the new house in order to expand my storage/prep space. It needs to be small and fairly inexpensive. I find no stores in the area that have more than one style in the store to see, so I need to order online. I am going to show my ignorance here. I kept rejecting many that looked good because it said the cutting board top was rubber wood. I thought they meant it was some sort of manufactured fake wood-look thing. I finally Googled it and discovered that it actually is wood and is supposed to be sustainable, etc. My question is, do any of you have experience with a rubber wood cutting board? I don't want to buy it thinking I can use it as a cutting board, only to find that it isn't really a good choice for that purpose.

Saturday, my sis and BIL brought me more home-grown tomatoes. Sadly, they were already badly split and very soft. I had one Saturday night and there is another I can slice to eat if I use it quickly. The rest, I peeled and chopped the best I could (not easy when they are so soft). I put in a little EVOO, some shallot, garlic, seasonings and capers and had it over gemelli (because there was a little left in the package and I want it gone). I failed to keep up with photos after I added stuff but this is the beginning.

Beef Tomato Tajine with “Spiced” Rice - beef chuck is braised with diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, ras el hanout, cumin and cinnamon in beef broth. Finished with some apricots and cilantro. Basmati rice is cooked with cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, turmeric and saffron

Here is the Guardian's Felicity Cloake's take on it How to make piri piri chicken – recipe | Chicken | The Guardian

There were a few days that were very dusty. One day in particular was so dusty that you could see it rolling over the hilltops. We all had itchy eyes and sore throats from it, so spent most of that day indoors reading. That’s the nice thing about going back to the same place regularly…if you miss some days due to weather or whatever it is no big deal. The dust really does help with suppression of tropical weather too. There was a tropical wave coming that had potential to develop into a depression by the time it got to us, but the dust and winds broke it up before it arrived. It rained a bit most late nights which I think helped to clear the air as well.

Titanium. Idiotic idea. I do buy this. Seldom use it, but it's very cut resistant and seems kind to my knives. Handy in emergencies.

I watched a few seconds of the video but have no idea what “sauce” you want to freeze. Just the boiled broccoli? Or you want to mash the boiled broccoli and freeze? Or you want to add some pasta cooling water to boiled, mashed broccoli and freeze that? In my experience, almost anything can be frozen well, so yes to that. If kept in the freezer, it will stay well frozen. The texture will change. Plant cell walls will rupture and release liquid so it will be watery compared to before freezing. Flavor-wise, the sulfur-containing compounds in cruciferous vegetables become more noticeable with extended cooking time so you can expect that effect. It’s up to you whether that’s destroyed or just changed. I make this type of pasta often because it’s so quick and easy. It’s never occurred to me to freeze it mid-prep. I have frozen the finished pasta dish, made with a chunky pasta shape. It made for serviceable work lunches but not something I’d choose if I could cook up a fresh batch.

You're not sick you're just in love

There's a pasta dish I make in which the sauce is boiled broccoli with the addition of some oil, perhaps a bit of meat, and some chili pepper flakes. The broccoli is boiled and essentially mashed, and then the pasta, cooked in the water in which the broccoli was boiled, is added. Here, in a few seconds, you can see what I'm trying to describe: https://youtu.be/wCDKnMwPQEk?t=47 Might this "sauce" freeze well for a week or so? Would the freezing destroy texture or flavor, or just ruin the sauce?

I can't sleep. I can't eat. No more CSO's. I'm just spinning out of control. lol. kinda.

Yeah I don’t want cardboard slivers in my food. And I don't want to buy them all the time either, just use a decent board.

On behalf of the environment - thank you…

Last night was not a good experience. I smoked pork spareribs. After two hours at 121C, the ribs looked good to me. Measured with a thermapen the meat was about 95C. But all the recipes I've found call for more time than two hours. I reduced the temperature to 77C and smoked for another hour. The result was unpleasantly dry, although I could still cut and chew it. None of the unctuousness I achieved smoking port belly. Any suggestions for time and temperature to properly smoke spareribs? I have three sections left from the full rack. Meanwhile I ordered a turkey breast from Whole Foods but they were out of stock. Tonight I will probably smoke hamburger again if I can stand the heat.

The interior cavity (X-Y) seems pretty much the same dimensions as the 300N1, but the height (Z) seems a little taller.

But enough good news. As if the abovementioned toast wasn't bad enough, beware of this. It is the dreaded 'toast' again but this time unsliced and worse. It is called 红豆吐司 (hóng dòu tǔ sī) and is flavoured with sweet red aduki bean paste. Very sweet and nasty cake; not what I call bread..

I've never had a pre-packed naan I liked, godspeed in killing off Mission Deli

However dire, offerings are, there are a few honourable exceptions, top of which I give you 馕 (náng). This is a speciality of China’s huge far-western province of Xinjiang which borders Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Russia and Mongolia. Xinjiang is predominantly populated by the Muslim Uyghur people and has a very district cuisine. 馕 (náng) comes from there. In the Uyghur language, they call it نان (nan), meaning bread.. This in turn comes from the identical Persian word for bread. The main type of Xinjiang bread is of course, what is now known in the west as naan, although it was spelled ‘nan’ in English until around the 1970s. This I can find in many of the popular Xinjiang style restaurants found all over China. Again, seldom baked in homes, in Xinjiang it is sold in the many naan bakeries in every town or village. Unlike Indian or other naan, the Xinjiang variety is usually ornately decorated. Xinjiang nang Sadly, I can also get Mission brand Indian style ‘naan’ which is foul in comparison. Sweet and cloying. Indian in appearance only. Mission 'Indian style' naan. I'm on a mission to eradicate it.

From the Cuisinart site: Turbo RoastRoast a 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) chicken in 40 minutes with high-speed convection, steam, and air fry.

My knives cut through paper plates. But - you do you.

Ah that sucks. Sorry.

Yes, I can easily get the necessary. In fact, I used to make my own regularly. In a large toaster oven. However serious health issues over the last few years put an and to that. I'm no longer physically able to.

I use a paper plate to protect my counter. Just the two of us and works fine to chop a shallot, dice a cuke, slice a tomato, take corn of a cob.

Can you get strong flour and yeast to bake your own? (although I seem to remember that ovens aren't exactly common, at least in HK, so it might not do you much good anyway)

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