Smithy

Mumin, I can't imagine the stress of trying to work while a Michelin Guide inspector is watching your every move. Good luck, and I hope the review is good!

A "moderately severe" case of West Nile? I hope he's all right now. I didn't realize the virus had made it all the way West already. 2" a day of growth makes me think: wouldn't it be fun to set up a camera to do time-lapse photography of a vine growing? Somebody - David Attenborough, perhaps - took such an approach to plants some years back and put it into a show that I never managed to see. The claim was that the plants looked like they were reaching and groping for things to cling to as they grew. I wish I'd seen it. "The Private Life of Plants" - does that sound right? Has anyone seen it?

Fist, add my prayers to the rest.

I'm with Snowangel: drying the herbs doesn't get you nearly as much flavor later. A lot of herbs take kindly to that treatment of whizzing with olive oil in the blender and then freezing. I often also mix compatible herbs - say, rosemary, garlic and parsley (or whatever suits my fancy) into a seasoning blend I'd use, then freeze them in an ice cube tray. One or two cubes go nicely into dishes later, during cooking. I haven't tried the log, but it sounds like it might be more space-efficient than my cubes. By the way, you can chop up basil, garlic and salt with oil in the proportions you'd use for pesto, then add the nuts and cheese later. It saves time and makes a nice off-season treat. You can make a wonderful chive oil that freezes well. I mix chives, garlic, and a touch of salt with olive oil to get a beautiful golden-green oil. I keep a jar of it in the freezer and thaw it periodically to have chive oil to drizzle over roasted potatoes. (Freezing it in smaller containers would have been practical, but I was experimenting.) You can also just freeze leaves - say, from basil or sorrel - but since they'll lose their texture and have to be chopped up anyway, I think it's easier to chop them before freezing. Snowangel, you did say "white wine vinegar"? My sister-in-law made some wonderful herb vinegars using white vinegar. I tried the same thing and ended up with some nicely-scented paint stripper. SIL insists it was white vinegar, not white wine vinegar, that she'd used. That would certainly be cheaper, but I'm reluctant to try it again with anything cheap. Any recommendations of vinegars that would work without breaking the bank?

Thanks for doing this blog, chromedome. It's been interesting reading. I'm especially impressed with the way you managed to keep track of, and respond to, all the questions as they were asked.

I swear, if my house were on fire, this is the first thing I'd grab out of the kitchen. I have an electric reamer that's good for juicing oranges, a plastic-bumpy lid (that I never use) that fits on a Pyrex measuring cup, and another strange handheld juicer that's pretty good - I should post a photo later - but the Wearever (a family heirloom) gets almost daily use juicing lemons and limes. It works reasonably well for pomegranates too, although the juice is a bit cloudy if you don't bother to peel the pomegranate first. This particular Wearever juicer has made gallons of lemon juice for lemonade and lemon meringue pie in my family, beginning in WWII when my mother rescued it from the trash of a navy wife who didn't know a treasure when she had one. I don't think it's very good for orange juice, however; too much of the peel oils get into the juice and turn it bitter. I agree, 100%, with the postings above: if you see one at a garage sale, buy it. And for heaven's sake, if you see one in your grandmother's house, don't throw it away.

All those hazards are known and tangible. Electromagnetic radiation hazards are not. All I can say at this point is that there are those who are susceptible to electromagnetic radiation and we may be among them. ← I hope you're keeping a respectful distance from your computer monitor.

Errm, what hazards, specifically, go with electromagnetic radiation? What will you do about the hazards of explosion, or of incomplete combusion, associated with using propane or natural gas?

That's wonderful, Marlene! You realize, of course, that your next blog will have to feature cooking with what you grew. I just got back from California, where I spent time in the mountains pondering lupines. They seem to to be neither invasive or aggressive in the Sierra Nevada, so I'm guessing the same holds true farther north in Washington and Vancouver. They most definitely are aggressive, non-native and invasive, here in northern Minnesota. (Lovely, but aggressive. Think of your favorite James Bond femme fatale.) The lupines there and here also seem to be different varieties. The advice above about getting gardening information specific to your region is wise.

Your photos are working out nicely! Thanks for taking the extra time required when you have a film camera. As with all the other posters on this thread, I'm amazed that you have the time and energy to blog atop everything else you're doing. Would you please elaborate on the following, listed in order of my curiosity (instead of order of mention) in case you run out of time? 1. Panade. I have one recipe for a panade, I really enjoy making it, and am looking for more panade ideas. Your usage of 'panade' above makes me wonder if we're talking about the same thing. What is it in this case, and how do you make it? 2. Ballotine? What's a ballotine? 3. How will you slow-cook a chicken breast without drying it out? If it isn't a trade secret...

Another blog from our neighbors to the north! Cool! Chromedome, I look forward to hearing about (and later seeing) the sights of Edmonton, especially as they relate to food. I also look forward to hearing about your work week, and your thoughts on career changing. Congratulations on waking up and deciding to steer instead of drift. As an aside: Here in Minnesota our seasonal swings are quite large, compared to what I grew up with (central California). We tend to make the most of the long summer days, when weather permits, to make up for those long winter nights. You Canadians, and our European neighbors, have even more extreme swings. I'd be interested to hear how that plays into your daily plans, if at all, and whether it influences your cooking. Blog on!

Funny, I hadn't thought about the resale value issue, but you're probably right. My personal objection is that I have some pet pans, inherited from one or two generations back, that wouldn't work with it and I don't want to give them up. I've been thinking that a portable unit like Andie's might be a fun way to increase my kitchen's capabilities, though, and give me better simmering capability. OTOH, we already have a gas grill with the side burner outside.... I just realized what your avatar is up to. Nice photo! My cats like the bathroom sink.

As I understand it, the great temperature control refers only to the way the burner goes instantly off or on, as with a gas stove and not at all as with a standard electric stove. You get the quick response of a gas hob without the gas hookup, and when you turn it off you're just left with the residual heat in the pan. I don't think the pan itself will cool down any differently, so you'll still have the slow cooling of a heavy pan and the quick cooling of a lightweight pan. If I've missed something, I hope someone with experience will set us both straight.

We had the same fine weather up here, and I got my plants into the ground - or, in most cases, pots. We go the other way on the lawn vs. garden business: He Who Mows wants uninterrupted space. She Who Grows wants more space for plants, but is no great shakes on weeding. So there's one smallish plot in a raised bed, a few renegades tossed out into the woods to fend for themselves (although I did give the horseradish some special treatment this time), and the rest is in pots. Everything got planted yesterday, with help of dubious value from the cats and dog. 3 Jingle Bells peppers (new this year), 3 Patio tomatoes, 1 middle-sized tomato (name escapes me now), more basil, 2 kinds of parsley, 2 kinds of thyme, tarragon (but last year's is coming up again! Yippee!), 3 rosemaries, 2 sages, more sorrel. A few weeks ago I realized an onion was starting to sprout, so I stuck it in a pot with some good dirt. It's putting up wonderful shoots. Now my question is, what will I do with it? Will it eventually turn into a confined onion bed? Or will it just put out nice greenery and maybe a pretty flower?

Jack, this has been so much fun. Thank you for wonderful photos and a fine glimpse into your world. It would have been wonderful even without the Suicide Sunday photos and menu. I do have more questions, if you're still awake over there: 1. The rose is 'scambling' in a greengage tree? Is this a Shakespearean usage of which I'm unaware (there are many), or is 'scambling' some new word I might be able to bring into my own vocabulary? Please define and use in another sentence. 2. This may require too much of an answer, but I'll ask anyway. What are the advantages of cold smoking vs. hot smoking? How would one choose between the two for particular meats or applications? You mention upthread that certain meats need to be hot-smoked to melt the collagen. Are there other considerations? 3. Have you ever tried smoking fruits? Pears, for instance, might lend themselves to a smoky flavor. I saw somebody upthread mention figs as a possibility, either fresh or dried. Once again, I thank you. Well done, Sir Jackal.

Interesting that so many Microplane votes have come in. I may have to decide that I got $5 worth of decorative value out of this thing without gaining a useful too. Still, I hadn't thought of squeezing the threads to get more juice out, as Adam suggests. Andie, I'd appreciate a photo demo. Based on Tejon's comments I wonder whether I'm just using much stringier stuff than you're using. My ginger strings came off on the little spikes instead of staying with the ginger. WineSonoma, I see what you're saying about the plastic. It sounds to me like an easy way to add some Saran low-cal seasoning to the ginger paste! Do let us know how it works out. Adam, I agree with you about the ease of cleaning this thing compared to a grater. That was part of its charm. You say "different tools that get different results". Do you think the final product is all that different?

Fat Guy, you've touched a nerve. We do have a lot of vinegars, and we experiment with them. My salad dressings never contain white balsamic - at least, not at the start. When my sweetie starts adjusting things to his taste, in goes the white balsamic. Occasionally it really grates on me, and occasionally he'll leave my dressing alone. I keep things in perspective by realizing that it's a sign of a good marriage when this is the biggest thing I can complain about.

For years I've minced my ginger by hand or grated it on the fine holes of a cheese grater. The cheese grater has worked satisfactorily: juicy ginger bits go through the holes, fibers stay on my side. Recently, however, I purchased what's supposed to be a real ginger grater or shredder. It's ceramic with little molded spiky bumps that come up off the bottom. You run the ginger over it. The little molded spikes rip the ginger apart and sort out the threads. It's supposed to be The Real, the Classic, the One True Way to Deal With Ginger, by cooks who know their stuff. I tried it tonight and was impressed with how speedily and easily I could shred the ginger. Then I discovered the problem (which, by the way, I had foreseen with this kind of shredder until I found one too pretty to resist). How do you get the juicy bits of ginger out from all the spikes without bringing the fibers along? This thing is sealed on the bottom, so nothing gets through; it all has to come off and out from around the spikes, and there's only one way out. My asparagus ended up with ginger juice and ginger strings all over. What am I missing? Can someone 'splain to me how I'm supposed to be using this $5 wonder?

Did you address Scotch eggs farther up? I've forgotten what they are. Oh, I can't help myself. Just how hot are these faggots? Or, to put it a different way, is there something aside from the name that requires a sense of adventure to try them?

I'm really glad you pointed out the Fine Cooking photo. Those particular olives were not on the ta-ze.com web site when I went to look at it, and that's why I was confused. I guess I'll have to order several types of olive from them! Maybe our next house party will be an olive-tasting party.

In Egypt the accent is on the first syllable, as you assumed, with the broad a sound of your 'ah'. The 't' at the beginning is stressed such that it's almost, but not quite, a 'd'. I hear it as "TAA-jeen" or "TAA-geen" (with a hard 'g') depending on the area. Chefzadi, I apologize for apparently misunderstanding you.

I've had a number of tagines in Luxor at various restaurants. I may have had them in Cairo also. They aren't at all like Moroccan tagines in flavor or cookware, but they are stews of various sorts (lamb tagine, fish tagine, chicken tagine, etc.) I won't make a sweeping judgment about how it works all over the country, but in these particular cases I don't think they're trying to evoke Morocco, since the restaurants are Egyptian and make no reference to any other country. Finally, my moussaka pot (Egyptian) is *always* called a tagine in Luxor; that word specifies a particular type and size of pot. It bears no resemblance to the Moroccan tagine. Perhaps the word "tagine" is drifting across countries and taking on new meaning?

This morning as we went for a ride on our tandem (best marriage counselor ever; it'll make or break you probably about as well as a kitchen remodel will) and talked a bit more about the swing-up/fold-down section. He assures me that supporting a swing-up will not be a problem. He's also thinking that this section would be perfect to make out of a different material, such as marble, and we could even put it at a slightly different height (a touch lower than a standard countertop, because I'm short enough that when I roll dough on my pastry board on top of our counter, my shoulders go up around my ears.) But this is the part I think is really neat. One of my concerns about a swing-up was that the working surface is on the outside, where it can get bumped, bashed, shin-whacked, or worse. His plan now: build a sort of cabinet around the swing-up, with a door that looks like all the other cabinet doors. Then, when you want to use the swing-up, you'd open the door---which would then block the doorway to prevent people from trying to come through and banging their hips on the swing-up. A multi-tasker! (Depending on how things are set up, the door may also help to support a fold-up backsplash.) MelissaH ← That's bloody brilliant! OK, I'm a convert now! ...and I agree with you about the tandem; try tandem kayaking sometime, too!

To my taste it's distinctly sweeter as well as less pungent. My husband and I differ slightly on where we prefer flavors - he likes things slightly sweeter, I prefer more tart - so he's forever adjusting my salad dressings and sauces with a touch of white balsamic. What's funny to me about this (funny or annoying? you decide ) is that he cannot resist making comments about empty carbohydrates when I use sugar, but the white balsamic has sugar added to it. Does anyone know if all white balsamic has sugar added? Or are we just getting the cheap stuff? Edited to add: if you wanted to keep the white appearance of the salad dressing but get a more complex flaor, you could try mixing white balsamic with a more tart white vinegar - sherry vinegar for instance, or maybe just white wine vinegar.

An oil-burning stove for cooking! What weight oil are you talking about? Oh - now maybe I'm waking up - are you using what we call kerosene? Sorry if this sounds silly; I've visions of Bunker C being kept warm and pumping into your house, lots of BTU's but pretty heavy stuff. Please describe the Aga and its operation more for me, and for other readers who might not know why it's so wonderful. It certainly looks impressive, and the rest of your kitchen looks very comfortable and fun to work in. I am such a fool for animals. I looked at your bantam chick photo and said "awwww"