andiesenji

Correct. That is the reason that vanilla flavoring that includes tonka beans is not legal in the U.S.

I know Native Americans who raise sweetgrass for weaving and shamanistic uses. I have a few plants given to me several years ago to see if it would grown in this area and I was going to try my hand at some minimal weaving. It is supposed to grow only north of the 40th parallel but at this altitude it is doing okay as long as it is shaded for most of the day during the hottest part of summer. It seems to have acclimated well and comes back every spring. The only culinary use I have heard of is it's use in a syrup - to be used sparingly as it contains significant amounts of coumarins which are blood thinners. Here's a couple of photos to show what it looks like. It's very windy right now so it is not standing. Tomorrow I will cut some and take photos in here with a ruler. Most of the blades are at least 20 inches long, some a bit longer. I've coiled some of it in a loose circle so you can see how the blades are long and supple. I should add that I have been told by Native Americans that rabbits will not eat sweetgrass, even if they are starving. Apparently they know it will kill them. Not so dumb animals!

I'm bumping this topic up to let folks know that Purcell Mountain Farms now has Rattlesnake Beans, new crop in stock. They don't usually last long so now is the time. I've ordered five pounds and am thinking of getting more as I use them for baked beans.

My Cuisinarts are old - I have the 14 cup and the big 20 cup "commercial" ones - I had an 11 cup but gave it to my neighbor when hers died. I considered getting the Magimix Cuisine system 5150last spring when Napa style was offering it with a couple of extras for less than $500. - since then the price has increased. As the basic unit comes with three different bowls, 16 cup, 9 cup and 6 cup, I figured I could get rid of my old Cuisinarts, including the mini prep and have everything in one. I forgot about for a while and when I had just about talked myself into it, I saw the price had increased. You can still get the basic model with the three bowls for around $450.00 but not the extras. I know two people who got them when Napa style had that special and they are both very happy with them. One has a very large family (7 kids) and uses it daily and is very happy with it after having a Kitchenaid die after just a few months of heavy use. I can say positively that if my 20 cup Cuis dies, I will get the Magimix.

Whoops! I'm sure it can be replaced- you just need to get some smokiness and umami in there somehow... A great way to add smokiness to beans is to brew some Lapsang Souchong tea and use that as part of the cooking liquid for your beans. I often cook for vegetarians and vegans and have used this method many, many times.

If you put avocados in a brown paper bag with an apple and a banana peel (or a banana) and close it tightly, they will ripen much faster, usually within 24 hours. You can also "soften" them in the microwave, no more than 45 seconds. However this will not ripen them, it will just make them softer so they can be mashed. The flavor will still be unripe, not as complex or buttery

If you don't know precisely what is on his wish list, give him a gift certificate and he can get exactly what he wants. Currently I recommend chefsresource.com They have a wide range of All Clad cook and bake wares at very competitive prices. There are many vendors but I like their customer service better than many.

If the peppers are hot, use just a scant pinch until you know how it will taste in the finished product. Many years ago I began with just McCormick's taco seasoning in the envelopes - and most of the tortillas were fried into chips for my kids. That was before flavored chips were available in markets.

I like to add a pinch or two of ground dried chile - regular red chiles or, if you can find them, my preference is the guajillo chiles, which are reddish-brown when dried but sometimes less red, more of a mushroom color. You don't need much, it's a moderately hot chile but it really pairs well with the flavor of corn. However, if these are not available to you, try some of the hot pimenton or even the smoky type, which is especially good if you are using chicken or turkey for filling.

They look as good as some I have seen made by folks who have been doing them for years.

You can get high heat welding gloves - the ones usually used for arc welding. I have an old pair like these that I needed for handling hot glass when fusing and shaping glass in a semi-open kiln. The glass wasn't handled directly but the crimpers and other tools would get hot enough and the glass itself radiate enough heat that this degree of protection was necessary.

I have posted about my method of preparing slow-roasted "winter" vegetables in previous topics. I've also posted about it on my blog on this page. I always have some in the freezer to add to stews, to fill out a skimpy meal when unexpected guests arrive or I just don't feel like cooking.

Please refer to the following link: Liquid cement. This works when all else fails.

Winco is expanding their locations rapidly and in many places are contending strongly with Walmart, especially because so many people like being able to buy staples in bulk. A friend who lives near Perris, and who cooks for her family plus a group home for young people with mild disabilities, has found that she can produce better meals, without increasing costs, simply by buying at Winco. She has to keep careful records of her expenditures and the board that supervises the home is very impressed with the way she is managing. And the clients are so happy with the food that she has been asked by the board to conduct an instructional "seminar" for other group home managers and cooks in the county. One of my neighbors buys bakery items for club meetings, she belongs to several local women's groups, and is especially fond of their bagels. They may not be truly traditional, but are quite tasty. The pies and cakes are also very popular and I often see them at potluck parties.

I agree. This is not craftsman work, it sounds like an amateur and the effect will only become more visible with time. Insist that he remove all the misaligned tile immediately and do it over on his time. You are paying for an expert job and should not allow slip-shod work.

I make a lemon concentrate with no salt, just sugar - well-washed and scrubbed lemons, roughly sliced or in big chunks, layer of lemons, layer of sugar till jar (gallon, large mouth) is full of lemons and extra juice, smash lemons down with something that will fit in the jar. (I have a round potato smasher.) This is left to sit at room temp for a few days and it begins to ferment just a little. The juice is drawn off and mixed with seltzer for a very refreshing drink. This was my great grandmother's favorite summer drink - she didn't believe in iced tea - tea was hot or not at all.

I had a brainstorm a few months ago and ordered a pickle press in which to process my preserved lemons. I did one batch of lemons and it worked just fine. Rather than stack them partially cut, I cut them all in quarters and got three layers.

I buy the fresh at a local market, spread them out on a tray and lightly spray with a little oil. I drop a few at a time into rapidly boiling water, stir briefly then half-way through the cooking time and have had no problems with nesting.

My butcher block counters are hard rock maple, supposed to be very hard and an excellent surface to extend the life of knife blades.

Today's email from Gear Patrol included this interesting meat tenderizer It looks like it belongs in a torture chamber (along with some of the antique gadgets I have collected.

This is a link to a lovely sweet potato gratin that I prepared year before last and was so impressed I have repeated it several times since. I've taken it to potluck parties and noted that the first helping was very small but people would return for a generous serving and the dish was always scraped clean early on. I have done some variations - I used pistachios instead of pecans on one occasion and got raves. I've used other cheeses - Asiago was lovely and I also used some very hard Manchego that turned out very nice. And I have also used a combination of onions and shallots - about 2/3 onions and 1/3 shallots which gave it a slightly different flavor. I've also added some spices - pinch of ras al hanout or 1/2 teaspoon of mace and once chopped a few needles of rosemary with the nuts. I think you can make as many variations as you please, it is a very forgiving dish.

You can speed up the process with a pressure cooker. The flavors seem to blend nicely when cooked this way without the prolonged simmering. I have made a couple of the recipes on this site in a pressure cooker with excellent results. and this section from the Pressure Cooker Cookbook has more recipes.

If the inside of the bagel or any part is shredded or not sliced cleanly then the blade is dull. That's why I have purchased 3. I have excellent serrated knives that cut any kind of bread cleanly. I CAN'T hold a bagel with my left hand securely enough to cut it cleanly with a knife. If you have full strength in both hands and can handle a knife without harming yourself, then you don't need a bagel slicer of any kind. I do and I have tried all the various types - the ones with a slot for a knife (both wood and plastic) and even tried one of the newest types, the "Brooklyn Bagel slicer" which was a joke and was returned immediately. It is useless unless you have a very thin bagel.

I have one of the guillotine bagel slicers and I use it all the time, in fact I'm on my third because I use it so much the blades got dull and they were not all that expensive. Although the most recent one is a "commercial" model with a replaceable blade. The original Bagel Biter was supposed to have a blade that was replaceable but the replacement was flimsy and bent after a few weeks of use. Must have been that pumpernickel bagel. Oh yeah, I have arthritis in my hands and my left hand is weak due to nerve damage in my neck so holding a bagel was chancy at best.

I had a "say it ain't so" moment and checked -- nowhere could I find the thickness measured in millimeters. So you must be right. "Extra thick" is not a measurement. It is an opinion. Compared to quantum particles, 0.5mm is "extra thick." That explains why I tend to gravitate to my Falk pieces. MetroKitchen Mauviel pagefor the M'Heritage line. I intended to post the link to this page. I have purchased from them in the past and received exactly what I ordered. I've got one piece of Falk a frypan and I personally don't care for it as for me, the balance is off, the handle seems at the wrong angle or something. I just don't use it and I don't like the finish. I much prefer Bourgeat or Matfer Bourgeat, but that's just my personal preference. I have some Bourgeat pots made in the 1920s and in spite of being used by three generations of cooks, are still good as long as the tin lining is occasionally replaced. The sugar pans and my huge jam pot never had a tin lining. For some uses, you don't really need a 2.5mm copper shell. It IS necessary for high temp stove top cooking but I can guarantee that a 2 mm shell is not going to wear through with normal household use for many decades and I am sure will outlive anyone on this forum. I've got a fish poacher that is less than 2mm and it works just fine as it is not subjected to high flame burners and it is way older than me (I'm 72) and got a lot of action in the last century and will be passed on to my daughter and grandchildren and will probably last into the next century - if people are still cooking on stovetops or in ovens then. It is more important to get pieces with cast iron or bronze handles - don't get brass. If you can, get to a store that sells the cookware and feel how it fits in your hand and how it feels when you lift and move it. I think this is very much a personal preference thing. You have to choose what feels good in your hands and which is easy for you to use. If you spend a lot of money on something that never gets used, it is a huge waste.