chromedome

I'd bet against that. I have the same ambivalence about it that @EatingBen does...part of me says "wow, I'd invest in that!" and part of me rolls its eyes and mutters "here we go again..." That being said, I think there's enough awareness now of the downside to Keurig's disposability that a new product would probably try to mitigate that criticism in advance. At my home we use refillable, reusable K-cups for those who want the convenience. My mom buys a brand that's in fully compostable pods, and lives in a province that actively composts food waste.

I don't use mine for chocolate, but on the Foodsaver you push a button to put it in manual-vacuum mode and then hold down the vacuum button for as long or as short a period as you wish. When you let go it stops, and then you use the separate "Seal" button to close the bag. I played around with it a few times while trying to seal easily-squished items such as hot dog or hamburger buns, before realizing (duh) that it was easier and better to freeze the buns before vac-bagging them. I'm guessing Greweling uses his machine that way, just holding down the button long enough for the bag to form itself gently around the pieces.

At some point one of the major cookie-makers had a peanut butter cookie called the Nutterbutter, so I suspect that's why the name got changed.

It's kinda food...

...is the first "Keurig for [x]" concept I've seen that I thought was actually a pretty cool idea. Execution will be everything, of course, but still... https://www.engadget.com/2019/03/12/lg-snowwhite-ice-cream-maker-keurig/?sr_source=Facebook

This. When I'm making a big holiday meal the prep dishes/utensils/etc are ready to come out of the dish washer by the time the meal is over, and then the dishes from the meal itself can go in and I fire it right back up again. It makes life a lot simpler and guests don't feel impelled to come in and assist with the washing up, which to me is a worst-case scenario. I appreciate our friends and family, but the kitchen is where I go to maintain a bit of space between myself and them. (From which you might accurately infer that I'm not a fan of those "open-concept" floor plans that look so nice for the TV cameras, but are problematic in real life.)

To be clear, no criticism is intended (explicit or implicit) for anyone who has the necessary budget and level of enthusiasm. The world's economy would collapse if my interests were the societal yardstick.

Yup. The article pointed out that Grubhub orders accounted for about 15% (that number again!) of the chain's business, which is a pretty healthy chunk and presumably worth it on its own merits. The restaurateur's beef wasn't with the size of the cut, but Grubhub's practice of taking that same cut for calls that aren't orders. As an aside, it's yet another example of the mandatory arbitration clauses that have come under increased scrutiny of late. Gee, signing away one's right to sue turned out to be a bad thing...who knew?

She lives in an apartment in town, now, but still washes her dishes in a mixing bowl in the sink. Now she uses tap water, but she's still very frugal in her water management. She doesn't pay for hot water, mind you (it's included in the rent) but old habits die hard.

Well, in my world $249 for a CSO is a price point I haven't yet managed to justify (and I bought my VitaMix used for $25, which is about what it's worth to me). In truth, I've scratched my head over the Thermomix for years and don't really understand its appeal for anyone who isn't restricted to a kitchen the size of a phone booth. Perhaps I'm just a culinary Luddite.

Double is the default here in Canada. I don't think I've seen singles except in really, really vintage houses. Numerous studies have demonstrated that, unless you wash dishes like my Mom, the dishwasher uses less power and water and is the more environmentally friendly option by a considerable margin (my Mom lived for many years in a home with a low-capacity well, and washed her dishes in just a few cups of hot water heated on the wood stove).

Typically lower than that. I've seen varying numbers over the years, and of course a volume-oriented QSR will have a different scenario than a Michelin-starred destination restaurant, but most of the studies I've seen over the years put retained profit at 5-7% for the industry as a whole. The article says it's the commission rate negotiated for that particular regional chain, so clearly it's rate they considered viable when they signed the deal. Presumably, their approach to Indian cuisine yields better than average margins.

The ones I bought were intact, in strips ~1 foot long.

I've never actually seen one "in the wild" anywhere in Canada, and I know from watching reno shows that they're explicitly banned in some jurisdictions. Not sure about Calgary.

I have grandkids, so when my brain encounters "baby [anything]" it automatically fills in the obligatory "doo doo doo doo doo" afterwards.

That's how I generally do it. I crisp the skin side, then finish the "presentation" side. If you have a relatively thick piece, and want pretty grill marks, you can grill the presentation side first and then finish it on the skin side. I'm a huge aficionado of well-crisped skin (that's basically *why* I grill the fish) and care not one whit for grill marks, so I don't do it that way. There's a risk of the fillet being overcooked before the skin crisps properly. YMMV Do you get fresh mackerel in season on your part of the coast? They're a particular favorite of mine for grilling.

That's brutal...a clear example of how the fallacious "restaurants are inherently riskier than other startups" narrative becomes self-fulfilling.

...which is less than the price of oxtail. One day I hope to find out who's the SOB who decided my favorite braising cuts needed to cost more than grilling steaks, and when I do he's going onto a rotisserie over a slow fire. Right beside the guy who decided you don't need to actually be able to retrieve change from the change pocket in a pair of jeans.

Since I work from home, lunch is whatever needs to be used up. Often that's the same thing for a few days in a row, unless I think to package and freeze some of it (assuming, of course, it's freezer-able). Doesn't really bother me much to eat the same thing repeatedly.

The last piece I bought was Maple Leaf. IIRC it cost me $13.99 for a piece that was just about 1 kg. The bucket of corned short ribs is $42.99 for four pounds, but I could only bring myself to do that just once.

My favorite sentence of the day.

Ah, yes, the "undead before it was cool" meme.

No worries, and no apology necessary. As a word-merchant by profession, and a pedant by predilection, I have more than my share of pet peeves. (I also have peeves about my pets, but that's another topic entirely)

Food safety won't be an issue, because in that respect your "freezer life" is essentially infinite, as long as your power never goes out. Freezer burn is the big one, and secondarily the potential to absorb odors from other foods in the freezer. Vacuum sealing is definitely your friend, though heavy-duty freezer bags work well enough if you're really, really diligent about extracting as much air as you can when you package your foods. It can also help to over-wrap with foil, or to enclose your vacuum-sealed bags in a heavy-duty zipper-seal freezer bag. Prepared meals and ground meats are the quickest to become famine food, in my experience (ie you *could* eat it, but probably won't unless starvation is the option). If you have a big slab of frozen ground meat, you can sometimes salvage it by thawing it partially, scraping away the damaged exterior, and then allowing the relatively untainted interior to thaw the rest of the way. You'll still have a whiff of "off" flavor, but it's easily masked in something like a tomato sauce or garlic-heavy meatballs. You can do the same with roasts or extra-thick steaks and chops. Thinner ones, of course, are just too difficult to shave the damaged layer from. If you have skin-on chicken pieces, the damage is sometimes confined to the skin of the chicken and removing that will salvage them. Obviously, these are steps you'll only take if your circumstances warrant the investment in time and/or prohibit just dumping the food in your green bin and buying fresh. In my younger days, when I was feeding my family each month on what most people would consider a week's food budget, that was often the case.