Smithy

@newchef, this may be an obvious point but I'll make it in case you haven't thought of it: I find that portioning dishes with liquids or sauces into the bag, then freezing the bag, and THEN vacuum sealing makes all the difference between a mess and a good seal. @Lisa Shock, is there anything special that needs to be done with the cooked beans before freezing and vacuum-packing them? I know that cooked potatoes must be mashed before freezing to avoid the weird texture you describe, and I wonder whether there are similar things needed for beans: for instance, freezing with the pot liquor or making sure they're well-drained. I may be able to use this trick in the next couple of days, in preparation for a trip.

I'm afraid I'm in the "too many books" camp, and that blog post has me nailed. Her first rule made me laugh with rueful self-recognition: "Don't open the book. Once you open the book - you are screwed - that looks good, I'll make that some day...". That is exactly what happens to me every time I start to cull. I just made my annual Friends of the Library donation and sent a couple dozen cookbooks, along with even more non-cookbooks, to find new homes and make a few bucks for the library. There are at least 5 books still on my shelf that I opened, looked at, thought "oh yeah, I wanted to make that!" and put back. This time around I marked the recipes. I am getting better, however, at using the "let this book go free so somebody else can enjoy it" attitude.

What are the white streaks in the horse salami? Horse fat?

That protein looks unfortunately similar to some overcooked pork we had a couple of weeks ago. There wasn't a bit of fat in that cut, and by the time it had been cooked it had the consistency of cotton. I'm impressed with the rice wine. Last year when I spent several days at the hospital, the food was surprisingly good and could be selected from the menu. (I've forgotten the specific dishes, or I'd elaborate.) However, there was no wine or beer to be had. I was met with amused smiles when I mentioned that shortcoming. :-D

I use it over pasta, with and without a protein such as chicken or lamb. I also use it to fill out/spice up pilafs with said proteins. I think I've even used it with chicken and no rice or pasta.

These look and sound good. Do you use other fruit when blueberries aren't available? I'm thinking that raspberries might work well here.

The strawberries are coming in! While much of the country is sweltering, northern Minnesota and Wisconsin are still cool. These came up from about 100 miles south, to one of our corner truck stands. It's summer in a bowl, and one of the finest breakfasts I can imagine.

I didn't know there was a group devoted to ERB, but I'm not surprised. I am DELIGHTED at the J.A.N.E.S. Somebody really had to swing to reach that one! I haven't actively tried to participate in the great freezer cleanout venture yet, but today was a step in the right direction. Earlier this year I picked up three 5-pound blocks of frozen Hatch green chiles in varying heat levels. The 'mild' and 'hot' peppers were roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped before bagging and freezing. Today was the day to begin testing the results of my great shopping spree. I pulled the packages from the freezer and set them to thaw. In addition we had a container of frozen sweet corn from last year (5 cups' worth?). We had leftover ham that hadn't been frozen but needed to be addressed. (Irma Rombauer is credited with defining eternity as "two people and a ham" and I'm starting to agree.) We had pasta, cheese, ripe bell peppers and a lot of onion. They were all destined to meet. The mild green chiles were mild indeed; the hot green chiles had a definite kick. Neither had the fruity and acidic heat I associate with good green chiles (NOT green bell peppers) when I began tasting the barely-thawed chiles, but I picked up more of the desired flavor as I worked. To the left: the packages of chopped chiles, thawing. Upper right: onions, celery, ripe bell peppers and Hatch green chile chunks sweating; bottom right: the finished dish, with cheese browning on top. It needed a bit of salt, but otherwise was satisfactory to us both. Good thing, too, because there are a lot of leftovers. I don't think I made any gains on freezer space. "You wrote down everything you did, right?" asked my darling. Of course I did. In the Journal of Irreproducible Results.

This is a fine trip, and thank you for bringing us along! Never mind relativism at Molly's Cupcakes, I'm trying to make sense of the Periodic Table. :-)

Thanks for this message, Andie. The citrus greening disease (I hadn't heard the name 'huanglongbing' or its shortened 'HLB' until now) has been a matter of great concern for our friends who raise citrus in the Central Valley of California. They've been watching the spread of the disease for some years as it's moved closer to them, hoping it can be stopped - or a cure found. Finding the psyllid in the L.A. Basin is bad news. Won't the tulle you mention in your last post also stop pollenation of your neighbor's citrus? If so, is she just figuring that this is the lesser of two evils?

Chicken breasts cooked this way, cubed and turned into a salad - with or without pasta - have become a favorite for me. Thanks to sous vide, boneless/skinless chicken breasts have new potential.

Using a cake pan for an egg-baking dish: now why didn't I think of that? The eggs with ham and cheese look very appealing that way.

Welcome, @blbst36! I think you'll find this community very helpful; members range from professionals to enthusiastic amateurs, and they live in all parts of the world. (Well, I don't think we have anyone in Antarctica or Greenland.) If you want help cooking fish, you'll find help here. If you're just cooking for yourself most of the time and looking for strategies, there's a topic for that as well. You get the idea...we like to talk about food and drink. Come on in, look around, and join the conversations! If you need help finding things or figuring out how the forums work, don't hesitate to ask a host (I am one) by Personal Messenger or ask in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum.

Welcome, olofliddin! This is a good opportunity to tell us a bit more about yourself, if you wish: do you cook for others, or only for yourself, or not at all? Do you have family? Do you rush off too the nearest corner store for the night's dinner? If you have any questions about navigating the forums - how to search, where to post, or other questions - don't hesitate to reach out to a forum host. I'm one, but there are others.

I'm on my third batch of yogurt made using the Instant Pot, and based on the first two batches I'm very pleased with the ease of making it and the final product. I've tried using the whey in bread baking. I read somewhere (probably here) that the whey from yogurt is considered "sour" (it certainly is tart!) whereas the ricotta whey is "sweet". What difference might that make to the bread? So far my bread using yogurt whey may have a tighter crumb than if I only use water, whether I want it to or not, but I'm not sure I can tell a difference otherwise.

It looks to me like a bean pot, or a stew pot, for cooking in the fire. I'm not a food or cookware historian, though: it just reminds me of earthenware I've seen in Egypt. I'll be interested to learn more information. What a cool find!

Cheerful and bold colors, and glorious tilework - very pretty!

I love the stories in this book, and I think Emily Kaiser Thelin captures Paula's 'voice' and character perfectly. I don't know Paula well, but met her once and conversed with her on the telephone enough that I can clearly hear her in the stories. The recipes look enticing as well. Recently my darling and I had dinner guests who also had met Paula and her husband Bill. I served the Potatoes Dauphinois from that book, and gave them a copy of the book. Last night they returned the favor, and served Paula's Deconstructed Hummus as an appetizer at their dinner party. They sent half of the leftover hummus home with us. I just finished it. I almost wish our hosts had disliked it, so I could bring it ALL home. Both these photos are of leftovers just before they disappeared. They were just as good the next day as the day they were cooked. \

That is a funny writeup. I haven't seen that model (or the others mentioned already) but I've been reasonably happy with my Starfrit chopper of a similar design. It doesn't seem available any longer on Amazon, but the basic concept seems to be well-established.

We keep our mint under control with the lawn mower, but it quite definitely would spread out from around the deck posts otherwise. I made the mistake of planting some around a thriving, healthy clump of chives a few years ago. Can't find the chives any more, and had to establish a new bunch elsewhere.

Hello, jeffrey30, and welcome to the forums. I used to work in El Monte. I can't say I was crazy about the area, but I enjoyed going to the airport at lunch time and watching the airplanes. What sort of food do you like to eat? Do you like to cook, too? What's the food truck scene in El Monte these days?

Would that I had been part of that tragedy.

Welcome! Would you be better at an introduction if we asked you a few questions? If so, here goes: what kind of food do you like to eat? Do you like to cook it, too? What sort of food research are you doing? If none of that sort of thing gets you going, then just accept our welcome. If you have any questions about how the forums work, or where to find things, feel free to PM a host (I am one) or ask in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum. Otherwise, just come on in and join the fun. :-)

That all looks good, @patris. Am I correct in thinking you'll need to reheat that grilled halloumi in the lunches? If so, please let us know how that works out.

Guess I needed to have more coffee and look again!