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We are just getting into berry season here and it is a huge industry in this area - a lot is grown for commercial purposes ie. frozen berries, jams, jellies, etc. There are still plenty available at u-picks, farm stands and local farmer's markets. Strawberries are the current crop, soon to be followed by raspberries, then blueberries which last well into fall. Then, around the beginning of October, cranberries are harvested.

For a long time after biang biang mian appeared on the streets of China’s ancient city of Xi’an in the early 2000s, signs or menus utilising the name were all hand painted. It appeared in no dictionaries and was impossible to enter as a computer character. However the dish was far from new. I ate it often when I lived in Xi’an in the 1990s, yet never saw that name. It was 油泼扯面 (yóu pō chě miàn), literally ‘oil-splashed torn noodles’ and very popular. Some restaurants in Xi'an today sell 油泼扯面 to the locals and Biang Biang noodles to the tourists at a higher price! Today the character used to describe them is more famous than the actual dish. It is said to be the most complex character in Chinese, made up of 42 separate strokes in the most widely accepted version. The character is said to be onomatopoetic, ‘biang’ resembling the sound of the smack of the dough hitting the table when they are being stretched. The trouble is the character is a new and unofficial invention. Its origin is murky, with a cited notion that it was invented in the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) having been long debunked. There is no record of it before the 2000s. The most likely and accepted story is that it was invented as a marketing tool by one of Xi’an’s more imaginative noodle shop owners (although no one agrees which one). There is another story believed by some that it was invented by a local university student as a way to pay for a meal he could otherwise ill afford. Again, which university, and Xi’an has several, is never identified. It took until March 2000 for the character to be added to Unicode in version 13.00, but that version has still not been adopted into all platforms or fonts. However, it is now here on eG. 𰻝𰻝面 (biáng biáng miàn) Rather idiotically in my view, some clown has gone on to develop a Traditional Chinese version, 𰻞𰻞麵. (‘Traditional’ Chinese). However, the size can't be altered in the trad font. hmmm. Apart from the question as to how can anyone invent a new ‘traditional’ anything, Traditional Chinese is very rarely used in mainland China where the dish’s new name concept was invented. Also, others have sought to ‘improve’, on the original by adding even more strokes, with versions including up to 70 strokes. I have only given the most accepted version (and the ‘traditional’ one for itsslight amusement value). Here is my local biang biang shop. As you can see they couldn’t write biang biang other than in Roman letters The shop name 忆长安 biangbiang 面 means Remembering Chang’an Biangbiang Noodles, Chang’an being the ancient name of Xi’an and in the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) the largest and richest city in the world. And their noodles. PS. The character 𰻝 still appears in no Chinese dictionaries.

How unusual. I've been photographing Guinness for years on three different continents and never seen anything like that. It must be a peculiarity of the light rather than how the pub serves their Guinness. Coloured light, perhaps.

Sorry, but I guess that’s the way they serve Guinness in that pub in Ireland because it was definitely Guinness and as @liuzhou mentions that the small amount left in the glass in the first photos shows Guinness and that’s the same glass. The light is reflecting off the glass not through it.

@MaryIsobel Thank you and they sure are a versatile cake base for a variety of different toppings. At this time of the year, my focus is pretty much what’s coming in locally. I’m fortunate in having a very good FM .

I don't see a sale price. Do I need some sort of code?

Hot milk cake is my go-to for the base of so many desserts - love the way you've topped yours.

If you happen to be in the LA area, Epicurus Gourmet has these 10 flavors of Bordier butter for 30% off thru Thurs 6/26: The algues (seaweed), yuzu and piment d’espelette are particularly nice. Unfortunately, the basic demi sel and doux aren’t included. I know this is useless to most but I couldn’t resist!

Made a nice big tray of Iraqi dolmas. 275/100% steam for 45 minutes. I’m not gonna flip it

Sponge cake with freshly made apricot jam, warmed diced apricots in jam, raspberries, sour cream and pistachios. A tender fine textured crumb , the cake was made yesterday and was equally delicious to the first day version. Adapted from KAB hot milk cake.

Pretty sure I linked specifically to the salt free blends? The first one listed has neither orange peel nor salt. my apologies if it wasn't helpful

I hope you don't but if you do, you'd at least know what to do about it!

I recently bought this one from a thrift store for $2.49. It too is over 800 pages. I hope this store gets more of these.

one other thing : isopropyl alcohol , on a paper towel , works nicely at cleaning the window , etc and does not leave a ' perfume ' like commercial branded cleaners. works better , and is cheaper.

Spicy soft-scrambled eggs with onion, garlic, chile serrano, pickled jalapeno, tomato paste, and feta cheese. Served with toasted rye bread. Egg and tomato tastes good but rarely looks appealing.

@JoNorvelleWalker I used the packet that came w the unit , I dont recall what they called it the smoke was sweet , so some sort of fruit wood. did have the aroma of cherry . that went into the several turkey breasts I made. very nice flavor , not harsh , sweet , pleasantly lingering. I two bags from https://cookinpellets.com/ one is https://cookinpellets.com/premium-wood-pellets/ the other 40 lbs is 100 % Hickory. that one might move down to the WHPS some day. I dont know what the shipping charges are for several of their 3 lbs bags. Home Depot sells some , as does walmart and Amazon. look for a fruitwood blend. go for 10 lbs bag , as its considerably cheaper.

Shared on FB by my daughter, the horticulture student...

William Sonoma has the Pizzaolo on sale now.

I succumbed to all the attachments, including the prep tray. Not sure what my next experiment will be. Someone on another forum asked me to try something big that would smoke for several hours. But as you say, not in this heat. What woods have you been using?

A recent post by @blue_dolphin reminded me of these dishes that I've not used in ages. I think I'll use 'em next week when I'll have a guest for dinner.

You'd have to eat a LOT of orange peel to get much K+

We enjoyed her as well. Apparently she was found in the shower with pills surrounding her.

Your yellow plate reminded me of some neat plates that I have squirriled away and that I might want to use when having dinner with a guest next week.

I'll let you know when I take the bandages off. To add insult to injury, I had a bowl of ice water next to me on my chair so whenever the pain got bad, I'd stick my hand in it. Well, at one point I got up, forgetting the bowl was there and the bowl tipped over, soaking my chair. It's still soaked this morning.

@Dejah, check SpiceTrekkers in Montréal. I have written to ask about their salt-free blends. Will let you know.