Alex

Foolhardy Attempt at Second Location The Onion, of course.

Thanks, andie. Here's today's FDA report.

I see some posts about the actual food, which is nice and probably helpful, but that's not what Cronker is asking at the moment.

Thank you for some delicious-looking food; I also like the first photo. Also, my sympathies about the rotator cuff tear. I had surgery for that (my dominant arm, no less) about 2½ years ago after PT and other measures didn't have any effect. It took about six months of post-surgery PT for things to get back to normal -- but, fortunately, they did.

Here's ours: a reproduction, alas, not an original.

Welcome, MCM. I like your George Nelson clock!

Pearls Before Swine on Michelin standards

A small haul today: pint of red raspberries ($4), medium cauliflower ($2), large green pepper ($1). The pint is minus a few. Well, more than a few. I also picked up a pound of coffee beans from my favorite local roaster.

It's peak growing season, so check out this looong list of items at tomorrow's market. Try to not drool on the peaches.

Is there anything you're specifically looking to learn?

Thanks. Is that onion or fennel in the container with the half of an avocado?

I think I read that alliums (onion, garlic, etc.) lose their flavor on the bedpost overnight. Wait, that's chewing gum. Alliums lose intensity if they've been cut too early, I think.

As you can see from this YouTube video (there are others), a falafel press makes flying saucer patties, not spherical ones. Here's a meatball scoop.

So was there any customs duty?

What'ss for desssert?

If you want a service for eight of that particular composition, and you want the mugs and serving pieces to match, and you want them to be well made, sturdy, and attractive, then yeah, $350 isn't an entirely unreasonable starting price (i.e., w/o sale or other discount, eBates rebate, etc.). If you want to save some money and you're patient -- it sounds like you are -- you can peruse Craigslist, set up an eBay search notification, check out estate sales, etc.

With pb&j, there are no rules, only preferences. I make my own pb from Planter's unsalted roasted peanuts, stocking up when they're on sale. I prefer two substantial pieces of toast (gluten-free nowadays, but fortunately there's a decent locally baked loaf). Then a layer of pb, a very light sprinking of kosher salt, and finally the fruit right on top of the pb. I'm not sure when I started doing that vs. putting it on the second piece of bread. At any given time we'll have four to eight different fruit concoctions in the fridge, so I guess I don't have a particular favorite, although I'm currently enamored of American Spoon Strawberry-Rhubarb Preserves. Then, of course, in the non-fruit spread category, we have Nutella (I actually prefer the Jif version), sliced banana, some bacon, or a thick slice of an in-season tomato. (I've even tried various combinations of the aforementioned. Yes, I'm odd.) I've made similar sandwiches with almond or cashew butter, but they just don't measure up.

You can make a snake. Or a car. Or an orca (#12)

John, could you give us some specific examples of "using too much stuff to make food" and of what makes you think your organizational skills are lacking?

"Local" pork burgers (home-ground locally raised tenderloin + bacon, with salt, pepper, and Penzey's lamb rub) on locally made gluten-free sandwich rolls. Mustardy cole slaw (farmers market cabbage and carrots) on the side (and occasionally on the burger). Washed down with Château Puech-Haut 2009 (and La Croix flavored sparkling water).

Pearls Before Swine, on taking pictures of one's food.

maarla, could you be more specific about your interest? For example: Do you have some experience in that area and are looking to share ideas? Are you working on a cookbook? Are you new to that type of cooking? Etc, etc.

They do. One reviewer does complain about the difficulty obtaining replacement parts, but there's no indication of how extensive the person's search was.

Top rated by Consumer Reports was, by far, the Breville Sous Chef BFP800XL/A. I have no personal experience with it, but I thought I'd pass along the info.

If you wanted to save some money, at least at first, you could start with this and a Mason jar.