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It is cool! The first winter in my new house, years before I met my darling, friends came up for a winter camping and skiing trip. They brought a mini-keg of beer as a house-warming gift. It's too long ago now for me to remember its size, but it was probably a couple of gallons' worth. Opening it was a bit of a mess because none of us had messed with something like it before, but the mini-keg was cool and it did keep the beer in good condition. Not that the beer lasted long enough to go off. 🙂

Amusing signs seen around Alamagordo:

Well. I think someone should start making those barrel containers on a smaller size. I think the oils would keep for longer. Plus it's cool.

I think that may have happened to me once, but I'm a slow learner.

If you mean the big barrels, I think those are for tasting and supply. They pour into the squarish bottles of the size you choose, and then give them a special stopper that requires a bodacious press to shove it in. When I wondered aloud how I'd get the stopper back in once I'd opened a bottle, she told me that it has a built-in pour spout. I haven't taken the wrapper off one to see it yet (each bottle has a black plastic shrink-wrapped cap atop the stopper) but when I do I'll show you a photo of it.

Yeah....either I'm a wimp (probably) or (or also lol) I think they get hotter because of different growing temps. etc. I've gotten the mediums and they sometimes would blow my head off. You showed incredible restraint.

I LOVE this OMG the oils and vinegars--I LOVE the containers. Just like my wine. Do they sell them like that or is it only for tasting purposes? I would assume they stay fresher--like my wine advertises that it can last months. Which I can only attest to the fact that they last days around here 🤣

It all began because I wanted roasted and peeled Hatch green chiles. Well actually, that's not true. It all began because I realized one night that the ham and potatoes I'd cooked before leaving home were on the verge of going off...er, the potatoes had gone off but I thought I could salvage the rest of the ham. So I trimmed and diced the ham, and made mac 'n' cheese 'n' ham, more or less according to my darling's and my favorite proportions. (It was sobering to realize I probably hadn't made this since he died. I had to refer to my notes!) I used some really good white cheddar cheese, and this was dinner that night. It was okay, but bland compared to the usual. In the night I began dreaming about "Jim's Famous Green Chile Burgers" in Hatch, NM. I'd be passing near there. I've never had that burger, just heard about it. I love green chile cheeseburgers. Maybe I should take a detour through there. Maybe I could find some of those chiles roasted, for my own purposes. I asked my camp hosts the next morning, and learned that I shouldn't need to go to Hatch, or even stop in Las Cruces, for those chiles. I could probably get them at the local Lowe's grocery store. So away I went. For roasted green chiles. Can you guess the outlines of this story? 🙂 It was either Valentine's Day or the day before, and the place was geared up for the event. (There were more overtly Valentine's Day delicacies, like chocolate-dipped strawberries in heart-shaped plastic boxes, but I rushed past them.) This Lowe's is quite large and well-stocked. I was told that they'd recently renovated, and that may account for why they're nearly unrecognizable from their counterparts that we visited in past years and other cities. I got past the sweets-bakery section and ran full into the breads. Wow. It smelled good. It looked good. The jalapeno-popper-sourdough loaf caught my eye. "How hot is that?" I asked the man at the counter. He didn't know. I decided to find out, and that's what you saw in this morning's brunch. (Answer, a little kick, not much.) Across the way from the bread bakery is a staggering selection of wine, beer, and other spirits. Aisles' worth! I picked up a couple of bottles of Malbec. Then, on I went to the produce area. It's also quite well-stocked and attractive. The prices are good. Chiles? Did I want chiles? I had my choice of fresh or dried... ...but this is what I'd come for: All mild. I'd been hoping for medium heat, but now that I've had some I'm glad they only offered mild. The meat section was interesting. I've just remembered that collages like these have fuzzy detail. If anyone's interested in more detail from the labels, like prices, let me know. I'll post a better photo of the item in question. I was on my way out, more or less having stuck to my shopping list, when I passed by their tortilleria. Wow. This was a new experience for me! I didn't manage to get pictures of either of the gentlemen working the equipment, and probably should have asked. They were quite friendly and probably wouldn't have minded showing off their smiles! This machine was fascinating. At the front end (far back in the photo, top of collage) one man was kneading, rolling and shaping each tortilla, then loading it onto the conveyor belt. From there it went through the oven, came out puffed onto the blue curved conveyor in the center image, and then went through the traveling grid of cooling screens you see in the front of the photo (bottom of the collage) until it came out to the second gentleman. He'd inspect. If it was torn or split, he dumped it into a waste bucket. If it looked good, he stacked it. He watched me watching. The smell was wonderful and the machine was fascinating. I guess I've heard of tortillas puffing like this, but I've never seen them do it. The entire process reminded me most nearly of what we used to see in Egypt when pita bread was being made. "Would you like a sample?" he grinned. "Sure," I said, "hand me the next torn one you get." "Oh no," he responded as his buddy at the front end of the equipment laughed. "Only the best for customers!" Well. Let me tell you, you have't had a proper flour tortilla until you've had a hot, fresh, recently puffy one. I had no idea! I said so, and said "You're a great salesman!" as I grabbed a bag of ten tortillas. They both laughed and we bade each other good day. So that's my story of Lowe's in Alamagordo. I'm happy to report that the green chile is exactly what the mac 'n' cheese 'n' ham needed, with a slice of yellow cheese for extra cheesy flavor and color. I just wish I'd gotten more than one package of those chiles.

I found an unadvertised sale on ham this week and happily took advantage. Not only was it plenty of ham for this week’s Ham & Spinach Crustless Quiche CFM, but I am left with a ham bone with lots of ham still attached for the freezer and future meals. Most of the ingredients for the crustless quiche, baked hash brown patties, and satsumas/cuties/mandarins/citrus. I was using two hotel pans and decided I would compose each one separately. Each hotel pan got 30 eggs, a pound of diced and sautéed button mushrooms, one diced and sautéed red bell pepper, and a pound of chopped and sautéed spinach, plus a little over 2 pounds of ham (in each pan). I really thought the care I took to get rid of as much liquid as I could from the vegetables before adding them to the mix, but there was still more liquid released than I would have preferred. I really wanted to get this posted today, so my narrative is short. Hope to edit in more info later.

@gfweb but no ' CIA ' just yet. Ill work myself through them , from time to time , just in case.

Still more noise than signal in this one, as you say.

Thanks for the reviews and insight into this product, you saved me from some disappointment.

Of course you cook with concepts. Unless you just follow directions without thinking about them. This concept works with an unsalted bird. Or unsalted meat from a different source. It would work for making something stock-adjacent that you don't mind having some salt in. Like soup. I don't make stock with salt either, and this was my first concern with the video. That's not an argument that there's no use for what he's demonstrating. And if Chris Young is advocating for it, I trust the result tastes good.

@gulfporter Yes, I realize duck is difficult to source some places. I'm lucky to live in duck central. Duck is the cheapest meat available here. 🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆🦆

We live in a small backwater village (mi esposo's description) an hour outside Guadalajara. I have never seen duck in any form sold in any of the mercados or butcher shops here. Only a few local restaurants offer it on special from time to time and I would guess they obtain it from a local farm or small poultry ranch. Years ago a Frenchman who lived in Guadalajara came to our village's weekly open air market, selling duck products....really nice confit and rillettes. He opened a B&B and stopped coming out to our village. It's likely there are ducks and duck products available at the abastos (large city market) in Guadalajara. But since we own a US home that we commute to every other month, I simply buy and enjoy my duck when I'm there. Your burgers sound excellent! Ahhhh, duck fat. I will fantasize about that the rest of the day.

Chris Young, the Costco stock guy, worked on Modernist Cuisine as well. I priced out the stock made using the posted MC recipe, and it was quite a bit more expensive than the Costco stock in my area. The posted MC recipe yields 5 cups of stock at a greater cost than the Costco stock and takes twice as long to make. I'm not advocating the Costco stock as better, although it could be in certain situations, and as for me, it's not the only choice I use, but there are times when it's advantageous.

Duck leg meat is my go-to for burgers. I debone the legs and hand chop the flesh. Served with duck fat fries, of course.

Good on you. Had I had (and I have had) a disaster like that, I would declare the kitchen closed and go out to eat or order in! You are a trooper! !

Just missed! I did get chile paste up my nose 😆

Been there!!!! Hopefully none of it got in your eyes!!!

Lunch was an adventure. I was using the blender to make a red curry paste. When I removed the lid to check progress, I accidentally bumped the "on" switch. Kitchen instantly looked like a chainsaw murder scene. So after lots of words I won't repeat here, extensive clean-up (thanks, Mrs. C!), and a shower, I remade the paste. Ingredients included Holland chiles, garlic, galangal, red curry paste, tamarind, and palm sugar Red curry shrimp with peas, carrots, cilantro, and Thai basil

I spent a few days in Alamagordo, New Mexico, which is near White Sands National Park; Alamagordo also has a space museum and some pretty nice scenery. White Sands is good for a fairly quick driving tour, or for extended hikes. I saw folks doing both. The sand is unusual because it's gypsum, very fine, very round grains, and good for sliding down like you're sliding down a snowbank! The Visitor Center rents out sledding disks, but I borrowed one from the KOA where I was staying and enjoyed a few rounds of sliding as well as hiking, and watching other folks slide. The Visitor Center has good informative displays, as well. I'd intended to picnic there, but had forgotten the food! It was just as well. By the time I left, around 1 pm, the wind had come up and rain had started. I drove through the rain, a few miles past the other end of town, and arrived at the Heart of the Desert Pistachios and Wine place I'd noticed on the way to Alamagordo the day before. I'd also noticed a place called Pistachioland that looked interesting, but Heart of the Desert was closer to town so I stopped there. My interior photos aren't as good as I'd thought. Somehow, I missed the wine tasting room, the display of pistachios and candies, and the bags and bags of variously treated pistachios. You could taste almost anything there, and folks were enjoying the wine tasting when I arrived. I didn't try it; I concentrated instead on the infused olive oils and the nuts. The stuff isn't actually produced there; the gift shop is a cooperative of sorts. Still, you can sample and taste and enjoy. The oils and vinegars aren't cheap! I tried a Green Chile olive oil that nearly blew my head off. When I exclaimed, "OOFda!" the woman helping me laughed. She'd lived in Minnesota for a few years and her Norwegian mother-in-law had used that expression a lot. I tried a few other infused oils, but settled for some small bottles of straight varietals: If I have any sense, I'll use them as finishing oils but be sure to use them before they go rancid! The herb blends didn't impress me. These are samplers to be opened and sniffed. Maybe they were old? Their aromas seemed blunted. There are other doodads to be had: funny soaps, serving dishes and non-food gifts like sunglasses, and bags of pistachios with various flavor treatments. I bought a small bag of roasted pistachios and a smaller bag of chile-treated pistachios for an extra heat kick, and some biscotti that I'll try to save until my sister visits: Then I headed home to unpack my goodies, finally eat something, and admire the rainbow near sunset.

Lunch at nearby eatery in Ajijic Centro. One special was Hamburguesa de Pato. Never had (or seen) a duck burger before. Ground duck patty with bacon, goat cheese and caramelized balsamic onions. It was great. But to get the duck flavor, we had to break off a piece of the burger.

Love the mug 😊

Cashew celery with kale and teriyaki tofu from Tenderheart by Hetty Lui McKinnon