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It looks as if on the flat-topped version the power cord is removable from the body of the unit.

Locally sourced artisanal pasta in a gratin of cheddar/gouda Mornay sauce. Or Mac and cheese made with Wegmans elbows and the little stubs of cheese other members of my family leave about.

Slightly off topic, I recently dumped my Zoji as the bowl was starting to get a few scratches and for some reason, they insist on using non-stick coatings in their bowls and one cannot get one without. I found a brand called Buffalo with very high ratings which has a high quality stainless steel bowl. Makes rice just as good as the Zoji, in less time. Food for thought!

Ours does not let you choose what you get, but it is delivered to your doorstep, rather than being picked up. They also offer specialty add on shares throughout the year. At this time of year, we also subscribe to their corn and fruit share, and their tomato share. The standard box comes weekly, and their specialty shares come on the weeks you choose (though you must choose and pay for a set number of weeks). This week was just a standard box week. We got two eggplants, two cucumbers, one tomato (I was hoping for more), two heads of lettuce, three yellow summer squash, two regular green zucchini, one massive green zucchini that is going to be annoying to deal with, two sweet onions, and four ears of corn. We opted to subscribe year round and prepay for our CSA for four years, which got us a 20% discount off the standard price.

How much butter/oil do you use per pancake?

Ive noticed that Zojirushi currently , and I think for some time has two styles of induction rice cookers : Flat Top : https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NW-QAC10-Induction-Cooker-Capacity/dp/B0BXZ72MTM/ref=pd_ci_mcx_pspc_dp_2_i_2?pd_rd_w=DKpRz&content-id=amzn1.sym.bebcafe0-c366-4ea6-8b04-33715b51f0b4&pf_rd_p=bebcafe0-c366-4ea6-8b04-33715b51f0b4&pf_rd_r=E5FB3EPNG2MCQ35KGGJT&pd_rd_wg=Uv5Ic&pd_rd_r=a6b8b12c-6fa9-4294-8b0f-5f6f5c5f8b21&pd_rd_i=B0BXZ72MTM&th=1 and more traditional , dome topped : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VAG84O2?ref=emc_s_m_5_i_atc&th=1 I have the 3 cup dome induction, and its a pleasure to use. I also have a 10 cup , older , Fuzzy , that produces very excellent rice. Im fairly sure , w accurate , local measurements , and good quality rice , I might not be able to tell the difference on my plate . but the newer one , has a very wonderfull feel to it. my question , to R.C. cognescenti : other an appearance , what's the difference ? the only thing I see is that the flat top comes w a steamer tray .

Flushed with success, I decided to use it today for sausages and eggs. I had a package of 6 square sausages (don't laugh, that's what they are called) that i picked up at the British Store that needed to be cooked. I used the grill pan - they fit perfectly. After they were cooked, I switched to the griddle pan for the eggs. What was handy about the griddle pan was that thanks to the rectangular shape, I could keep 2 of the sausages warm while cooking the scrambled eggs. My new CSO 500 made perfect toast and voilà breakfast was served. Clean-up was easy as nothing sticks. I've made room for it on my counter. Tonight I'll make the batter for yeast-raised pancakes which will make use of the pancake pan. I'm not sure what to do with the takoyaki pan other than to copy @lemniscate' use of it to make meatballs and egg bites. Time to re-read this topic.

That lima bean photo has me inspired, I think that bean is on deck for cooking. Thanks!

my local Tj's , via circular , is pushing Sugar Sweet melon. Ill try one should I remember. I grew up in California, melons , in season were plentiful , and perfectly ripe if you know what you were doing. then came Gala , originally from Israel . then planted locally. finest melon Ive ever had .

Cheese drawers don't need help, only a lack of self-restraint (usually around 2am)

So what is this dish? (I have a cheese drawer which needs help too)

I used to buy those containers whenever they went on sale. Sizes didn't matter. The idea was that when I had guests over for say Thanksgiving, Easter, etc. I could package up the food in these and send them home with my guests. Each 'family' would get either a bigger container or several containers. If one family didn't like on of the veggies, I prepared, they didn't get a container of that. I kept some for my own leftover dinners. The beauty was that I told everyone that they didn't have to return the containers.

Thank you It isn’t a thing over here as far as I'm aware. Bit of a shame, as it sounds like a grand idea, but maybe it will take off in the future.

Community Sponsored Agriculture. It’s supposed to be an arrangement where you give a farmer money in exchange for a share of the harvest. Usually a box of whatever they have ready that is picked up weekly. In all honesty, mine is a fake CSA, aimed at the carbon conscious but culinarily inept. They let you choose what you want each week rather than forcing you to contend with a giant pile of turnips. The farm grows about 1/3 of the stuff there and buys the rest locally

Community Supported Agriculture. Generally, you sign up with a farm, pay a set fee for a season and receive a regular box of produce. Variations abound. See more here.

As mentioned previously, some good melons and stone fruits at TJ's here: Dulcinea KANDY

Last night, with dinner: Sweet spot, at just around $15 a bottle. Rosé of cabernet franc. Domaine Stéphane Guion. The Borgueils he bottles are also a favorite here.

Sorry - what does CSA mean?

Well pizza of all types is one of his five core food groups, so I am sure he will be exploring that style while there! He has been driving to his destination, and should get to his apartment by tonight. I would not be surprised if pizza is his dinner. 🙂 Last night we had a green coconut vegetable curry using up some of the CSA bounty: zucchini, eggplant, peppers, cilantro, and onions. I aded some cashews for crunch, and served it with lemongrass rice. Last night

Another attempt to control the cheese drawer. Served with corn from the CSA. Best corn of the season so far.

Elsie, that looks wonderful. Oh, how envious I am that you have the deep pan!! Darn those Box people!!

Aw hell yes, I've been sorely missing that "colostrum yellow tinge" in my ice-cream.

@TdeV you could SV that chicken. but w a brine like that , it will taste better roasted.

That's pretty much McD's ace-in-the-hole here, too (it's sure as hell not the food!). Lure in the kids with Happy Meals, toys, and genuinely solid in-restaurant playgrounds, and they'll drag the parents along. Then, as they grow up, of course, they're "imprinted" and tend to think of the chain as a comfort-food sort of thing. I had an afternoon with the grandson recently, which involved some time in town running errands, and given a whole city's worth of lunch options, he chose... yup, McD's. I had a McChicken sandwich, which used to be the most edible thing on the menu, and it was pretty vile. Much smaller and sadder than I remembered (mind you, the last time I'd had anything other than a soft-serve cone at McD's was probably around 2008).

Several years ago I was having a dinner with a group of Chinese students and asked what they thought of western food. Few of them had knowingly eaten it. Those who had only knew McD’s and KFC and thought it disgusting. This didn’t surprise me. Most Chinese visit once out of curiosity then never return. Yet these two chains do well here – by catering to children at celebratory birthday parties and by giving ‘gifts’ of toys to children on regular visits. The kids then pester their parents to return, not for the food but for another ‘gift’. The gifts are cheap crap. China’s government has criticised the practice but done nothing about it. And Chinese parents are notorious for never refusing their precious little darlings anything. Western non-chain restaurants in China are 95% execrable and run and cheffed entirely by people who have never eaten western food. The few good ones never last outside of large cities with an ex-pat presence. But back to those students. I asked them what they thought western people eat. Bread, steaks, pizzas and hamburgers were the top answers. I said I rarely eat steaks, seldom hamburgers and told them they’d never eaten real pizzas. Chinese pizza place’s offerings are bizarre and Pizza Hut are no better. Durian pizza, FFS? So I asked them if they eat bread, fish, pork, beef, shrimp, etc., listing the common proteins. Yes, they said (as I knew they would). I then went on and listed common vegetables, then starches, then spices. Yes, yes, yes,… When I told them we eat all the same things, they were astonished. When I said we eat rice and noodles they were dumbfounded. They thought only Asia eats rice and didn’t know that tomatoes and chillies originated in the Americas as did many of the fruits they eat. And these weren’t dumb people, by any means. They were master’s degree or PhD candidates. They didn’t know that potatoes (also from the Americas) are a staple food in much of the world. I explained that if my mother served a meal to my father without potatoes, he would have thought she had lost her marbles, just the same as they would if their mothers served dinner with no rice. This misconception I kind of understood. For a start, China produces more potatoes than any other, with 25% of the market, but most of that goes to animal fodder or some industrial uses, Until very recently potatoes were only regarded as peasant or emergency food for humans. Still, they are only ever used a yet another vegetable in Chinese cuisine; never as a staple. They only real difference between western food and Chinese food is the serving. Nearly all meals are served family style with sharing plates to be sampled bite by bite at random. I’m not trying to put my students down. Most western people know little about food in China. Even chefs!