Smithy

Toasties: sourdough slice, lightly toasted. Spread with Dijon mustard, then a layer of cheese slices. 20 seconds in the microwave. Tomato slices topping it afterward. Accompanied by a Bartlett pear that was about to turn, to my surprise. The outside still felt firm and there wasn't much aroma. Glad I checked it out. Its partner is in the refrigerator. This is far more, and far earlier, than I usually eat for breakfast. Now I want to go into a food coma! But I'm waiting on a service call -- which is of course open-ended, both for the start and finish times.

Sorry, I'm breaking the shrimp theme. Maybe I'll be the night's outlier. I've been pecking away (heh) at a rotisserie chicken I splurged on a day or two ago, so by the time dinner time rolled around I only wanted vegetables. Green beans -- already trimmed several days ago -- and tomatoes demanded to be used. This was loosely based on a favorite green bean recipe from the Cookie + Kate web site. Brown chopped walnuts or other nuts in a dry wok. Remove them from the pan; throw in the beans and a bit of water; slap the lid on it, cook until the beans are tender-crisp, then remove the lid and let any remaining water boil off. Add a lemon vinaigrette, feta cheese, and in this case the forlorn tomatoes that also needed to go. Stir. Serve. Add the forgotten walnuts, and remember how much good crunch and flavor they add. Tasty. Crunchy. Got some refrigerated goods out before they went off.

I expect it would be fine. I once opened a can that was even farther past its best-by date, and it had turned a caramel color on its own. After reading the discussion here about making dulce de leche in the can, I wonder if that's what happened to it. I threw it away without trying it, but now in the same situation I'd probably at least taste it. I doubt anything unhealthful could have grown in it.

As always, the photos are beautiful. The menus and food are inspiring! This bit surprised me, though: I would be annoyed at raisin bread with fish or any other savory filling that I can think of. Do you like it? Is this common in the islands? What am I maybe missing?

If you're looking for even larger bags of flour and don't mind online shopping, Amazon has some options: 100% Organic Whole Dark Rye Flour - 25 lbs… (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) from Central Milling, for $65 Great River Organic Milling, Whole Grain, Rye Grain, Organic, 25-Pounds (Pack of 1) (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) $44 (Note: it says it's discontinued by manufacturer, so that may account for the lower price compared to Central Milling) There are other sizes and prices available, if you go to Amazon and search for Rye Flour. King Arthur offers it, of course, but the largest size bag I see listed is 3 pounds. The Bob's Red Mill packages are also relatively small although you can buy them bundled.

Lovely to see you getting a youngster invovled when he's interested and receptive!

That's my question, too! In addition, I'd like to know specifics about your baked potatoes. How long did they take? Did you need any special steps for them? Thanks for reviving this topic, by the way.

They do have nice linens. And other stuff. As it happens, I'm over-linened (table linens and aprons) so I'm able to resist. It's fun to look, though. I'm glad you found something!

Sur la Table is having their anniversary sale. I only just woke up to it, and it's nearly over, but there's a lot here (up to 50% off, they say) to help set up or upgrade your kitchen! Sur la Table Anniversary Sale

That's a very good question, and one I hadn't considered as far as the uniformity of the mix goes. Here, for comparison, is the can of Apicius (Ancient Roman Blend) before and after stirring: Before After You can see that a lot of fines had settled into the mix during transit. So yes, I think I'll mix/stir it, take what I want, and then put the rest back in the can for later. I don't plan to grind more than I'll use at once. Incidentally, this stuff smells wonderful!

The elk looks wonderful! Shame about the carrots. What was wrong about them?

I've had a houseful of guests for the last nearly 2 weeks, with far too much food being purchased. After most of the group left, my sister and I went touring and sightseeing, occasionally dining out and usually bringing home leftovers. Now that everyone's gone, I'm gamely trying to whittle away at the refrigerator stock before it goes off. Tonight's dinner: a Vietnamese spicy shrimp coconut curry with rice. The rice and curry were packaged separately. I microwaved the rice first with a bit of water until it was getting hot, then added the curry and reheated it all. It has a spicy kick to it: partly from the yellow curry and partly from the peppers used, I'm told. It was all too spicy for my sister. In addition to the shrimp there are potatoes, broccoli, water chestnuts (delicious crunch) and bell peppers and some sort of red pepper. (Pardon the presentation, but it's either this candid shot or none at all.) Interestingly enough, the wasabi sauce from yet another meal out actually helps tame the heat and smooth out the dish!

Righto, you Enablers...my spice cabinet has to make room. 🙂

Thanks to the Enablers on the Imported Italian spice blend topic, I now have an interesting set of spice blends that I have to find room for. My spice cabinets are as packed as @lindag's freezer apparently was. (We won't talk about *my* freezers.) The little Cajun Spices sampler at the right was thrown in for free.

They were certainly big where I live. I caught up with them a few times when the truck was parked someplace, but the subscription / delivery idea never worked for my household. Scheduling difficulties were part of it, but there weren't many products that really appealed here. I won't miss the service, but I'm sorry to see the company disappear.

They know you well. Lucky you, indeed!

I can attest that canned salsa lasts well for several years. I believe my canned tomatoes, back when I did those, also lasted over a year. There may eventually be a deterioration in quality, but as long as the seal is still good I'd open and eat them. Thanks for jumping in here, @FauxPas. I hadn't spotted the question before now. I think your answers are all good ones.

@TdeV, since you'll be looking in the thrift stores you probably can't afford to be too picky about brands or models. I got lucky with mine because Cuisinart had triggered my lust over a decade ago and that's what I spotted. I wouldn't have turned my nose up at a Brevillle! As far as model numbers, though, that's getting pretty specific. I agree with @rotuts about making sure the nonstick coating seems to be in good shape. Whatever the brand, I'd look for something that opens flat and has flippable surfaces (flat and ridge). I'd also look for something with temperature controls. (Mine does; though I suspect it doesn't get as hot as it claims, it gets hot enough for my uses.) A removable drip tray is also a plus. The little plastic brackets for winding the cord for storage were broken on mine, and that isn't a problem for me.

My sister is visiting from Reno. We've gone out to eat once, eaten a lot of family dinners while my husband's family was visiting, and been exhausted. Last night it was another dinner of exhaustion, now that we're alone. Panini press to the rescue! She was impressed, and enjoyed the story of how I acquired it. The meat doesn't show well, but it was thickly-sliced ham from a local grocery store that smokes their own. Best ham either of us has ever had. My dearly departed husband was the first to discover this ham, but it's now a favorite of mine as well. I added sauerkraut to mine after cooking, but my sister preferred not to. Green salad was also on the table. I didn't bother with photographing it.

It looks tasty! I'm interested in the pomegranate seeds. I've never associated pomegranates with Mexican food. Thinking about it now, I realize that the climate should be good for them in some parts of the country at least. Are pomegranates commonly grown and eaten in Mexico, or is this a special case?

I'm bumping this up to see whether anyone has updates. My sister, in Reno, ruined the tinning in her copper teakettle and things she may want to get it retinned so that it's functional rather than merely decorative. Rocky Mountain Retinning Company seems to be still in the business. Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop does not. Has anyone worked with a copper retinning business in the past few years? Got any recommendations or warnings?

Update: In a fit of classic eG enablement, I made the leap of faith that my life will calm down enough again. Last night I ordered this set of plastic cheese meshes (eG-friendly Amazon.com link).

I haven't really found those weights to be weighty enough to do their job. If/when my life calms down enough to work on preserving foods again, I want to look into the screen ("cheese mesh") that @FauxPas dicussed here.

I've used them. I like them. I have sets for wide-mouth and regular-mouth Mason jars. I think they work well. One word of caution: they do allow "burping" out the pipe top, and some liquid as well as gas may escape. To be safe, put your fermentation jars in some sort of containment. Here's what I did last February. Edited to add: I too like the ability to ferment in small batches. Quart-sized jars work well for me. Note however that there are also half-gallon and gallon Mason jars with the same top size, and the Pickle Pipes will work on them as well.

...so Charlie thought it was good, but not AS good as its predecessor? Makes life easier for you!