chromedome

It's at least something. A couple of towns in my native Nova Scotia proudly proclaim that they're exactly halfway between the North Pole and the equator, which is perhaps even sadder.

Very large country, relatively small population. It adds a lot of km for a modest payback. My daughter runs into this all the time, ordering big-girl clothing (when your bra size gets into the second half of the alphabet, you can't just get 'em at Walmart).

I had a friend years ago who wanted to name his band "The Kosher Cheeseburgers," but he didn't think enough people would get the joke (starting, first and foremost, with his bandmates).

I've just put mine in as well. I suspect your climate is not that different from mine, despite your balmy southern location. Maybe tomorrow, if I can get my act together, I'll show you pictures of my fall-planted garlic vs. my spring-planted garlic. It's quite an eye-opener.

Meilleur Ouevriers de France. Master craftsmen, in this case chocolatiers. It's not an easy distinction to earn, in any field.

Given that the nutrient quality of conventionally grown crops is known to be in decline, it's worth taking a decent look at the literature surrounding aquaponics (and hydroponics). A handful of the top results: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0570178316300288 http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/10/467/htm http://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/3/2/32/htm

I'd completely forgotten about those. I used to love them, though I don't really think of them as Halloween candy. MoJos were another favorite of mine as a kid. Five for a penny, when I started school. Last time I remember seeing them, they were a nickel each.

I think they're a pretty niche thing. My father grew them, and I have a small mason jar of pickled mouse melons he put up last year. I also have the leftover seed, and will try to grown them in next year's garden. I can see them being a big hit with the grandkids.

For some reason my brain initially interpreted "sprouts" as a verb, and I had a hard time understanding where you were going with that. Obviously my caffeine consumption today has been inadequate.

I haven't, no. It's just...lower. My daughter's cheapie Walmart branded slow cooker used to do a full rolling boil at Low, now it simmers. In my case it's more complicated because mine has 2-, 4- and 6-quart inserts, and it bumps the heat up a wee bit for each of them. I typically fudge that by using the 4-quart setting for the 6 and the 2-quart setting for the 4, and not using the 2-quart insert much at all. Energy usage? Unwanted heat in the kitchen? Not my question to answer, but those are the two factors for me.

I've "hacked" mine and my daughter's through the simple expedient of cutting a wire coathanger and shaping it to fit the inside of the slow cooker. The "crock" sits on top, and it cools down the cooking temperature to something a bit more reasonable.

The Speerville mill here in New Brunswick does an organic "Whole White," from locally grown wheat, which is quite good. If the Bob's should become unavailable, PM me and I'll find out how much shipping would be to send you some. It's stone-ground, so texturally it'll be slightly different, but it makes good bread. I found it to be a bit soft, so I picked up some gluten from Bulk Barn and added a wee bit of that to each batch.

I feel for you. Condensing my mother's two chest freezers into the smaller 7 cubic-footer was a heck of a challenge, and set me pretty far back in the quest to empty my own.

Alas, wait staff can't treat that as an indicator of "done-ness" any more, because too few diners understand that particular convention. Heck, half of the time we're lucky if they know how to use cutlery at all. I die a little inside every time I watch my (don't get me started) son-in-law using an overhand, trowel grip to fork food into his open-while-chewing face. (...it's not his mother's fault, btw, she raised three kids single-handed after kicking their father out. One boy is full-on autistic, the daughter was every caricature of the teenager from hell, and my SIL is a slug. I respect her greatly, but you only have time in the day for so many battles and table etiquette didn't make the cut.)

Growing up we never did a turkey because nobody in my family cares for it much, but now my nearest and dearest are big on the traditional meal. This year I got to do the turkey, so I separated the breast and dark meat and roasted them in separate pans. Mashed potatoes, boiled carrots, baked squash, rum & butter glazed sweet potatoes, roasted local late-season asparagus, broccolini from my backyard garden, greens from my backyard garden, pan-caramelized parsnips, a whole roasted cauliflower, and plenty of stuffing and gravy. Also I made a braided loaf, "just for nice." And there was homemade cranberry-orange sauce. Y'all can tell I like my side dishes, right? For dessert, apple pie and carrot cake. No photos, because I didn't think of it.

I read that initially as "amberjack on banana loaf" and had a bit of a moment.

A good choice, as long as you have a strong bladder. Supposedly back in the Algonquin days nobody wanted to leave the table, for fear of the maliciously perfect things she'd say behind your back.

Most CBC Radio shows are downloadable as podcasts from this page. The direct link to download Fridge Light is here.

Actually, many do sing but many do not. I guess it comes down to confidence in one's own voice, or at least one's ability to sound feminine while singing.

From the glorious silliness that is "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert":

One more for everyone's delectation: Authentic Chicken Parmigiana

I think this is legitimate for our thread, since it addresses at least the "drink" side of food and drink... http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/drunk-man-arrested-claims-he-time-travelled-to-warn-of-aliens-1.3619979

In fairness, the same could be said of Julia Child...she had the training, but was not a restaurateur. Nonetheless, she used her pulpit to change how millions thought of, and understood, cooking. In his less-exalted way, whatever one things of his on-camera persona, Alton is doing the same.

Well, just to put that into context for you...I'm a chef and former restaurateur, and my lunch most days is whatever leftovers are in the fridge (usually slopped onto a plated, or into a bowl, and microwaved). I eat oatmeal for breakfast almost every day, and dinner usually involves kids and grandkids, so lunch is my opportunity to make leftovers go bye-bye (my GF, bless her heart, simply doesn't see them). On days when I'm caught up on the leftovers situation lunch might be a sandwich not unlike yours, or if I'm really pressed for time and energy I'll just nuke a hot dog. Not that I won't do a nice lunch if there's a reason, you understand, but it's the exception rather than the rule. I'm sure the same holds true for a lot of people here, so post away whenever the mood strikes. We won't judge.

I didn't remember the raisin rant and resulting thread, though I was here a lot in those days. I used to be surprised when people told me they hated raisins, but now I'm merely resigned. More for the rest of us, is all I can say (I cook 'em into my oatmeal, which is my near-invariable breakfast). Also, I'm the polar opposite of several posters on that thread...I'm sorry, but chocolate chip cookies are in no way comparable to a perfectly executed oatmeal-raisin cookie, the greatest exemplar of the home baker's art. Cake? Pie? Pudding? I value them all, but if there's an oatmeal raisin cookie on the table it's the first thing I'll try. I also (just to emphasize the point) love raisin pie and raisin squares. In fact, I sometimes make a recipe that came from author Lucy Maud Montgomery's personal notebook, called "Mock Cherry Pie." It's made by cooking equal quantities of raisins and cranberries in sugar syrup, then thickening the syrup and adding a dash of almond extract. It's pretty good, if not easily mistaken for real cherries. One of my texts in culinary school was Bo Friberg's The Professional Pastry Chef. In his discussion of brownies, he mentions that in an earlier edition -- as a European-trained baker without North American cultural context -- he'd suggested raisins as a perfect add-in for brownies. As he ruefully expressed it, "I haven't been in that much trouble since I used someone's fabric scissors to cut paper..."