Mallet

Go with A or C. If you're using a beschamel and NOT ricotta go ahead and assemble it. If you're using ricotta, the tomato sauce may toughen it up and make it less creamy and soft, so use option C. Tell us how it turns out! ← I ended up assembling and baking the lasagna on the final day (I was afraid to lose the crispiness of the breadcrumb topping and the browned fresh pasta), it turned out great: thanks!

Thanks for the reply. I'd love to read a good book on the rise of modern agricultural practice... As for the current state of affairs, the fact that discussions such as the one between Pollan and WF are occuring is certainly encouraging.If they were happening in the national/international spotlight, I'd be much happier, although one can't help but feel that we're standing on the cusp of some sort of profound change.

I'm having people over tomorrow and making lasagne with asparagus and pesto as one of the courses. I won't have time to complete the entire recipe in one day so I need to do some prep today. Is it better to: A) Assemble the lasagna today and bake it tomorrow B) Bake the lasagna today and reheat tomorrow C) Get as much done today (make the sauce, pasta dough, blanch asparagus etc...) as possible and assemble and bake tomorrow?

I think the bigger point is the current system isn't working. It is being propped up artificially. If Whole Foods and Pollan and the rest of the food movement want to have adult conversations, listen, consider a few sides of the issue and really put their best minds to work, I don't see how that's a problem. It may be really easy to criticize but it's not a problem. It's a great thing. ← What sort of data or feasibility studies exist on this topic? How sustainable is small local and organic (sustainable in terms of sustaining us, and not just the environment)? I've always believed (or been led to believe) that the move towards industrial agriculture was more of a profit issue than a need to meet the needs of an overcrowded country (doesn't the US produce an excess of food?).

Wouldn't raw foodists also object to any food that was prepared in such a way as to destroy the "natural" enzymes or "alter" food etc...?? I'm thinking pickles, brines, charcuterie, fermentation etc...

It's the last part that I usually forget...

good luck!

I've been eyeing the same recipe for a while, maybe now I will actually make it!. Stuffing the haggis in sausage casing is genius.

I dunno, sounds a bit risky... Maybe you should come back from your honeymoon sooner ? (congratulations!)

Our patio garden is coming along as well: we've been eating green beans, snap peas, beets, salad, and started pickling cornichons. Tomatoes are looking good (I think ), I think the advice I got upthread about which shoots to pinch out really made a difference. I'll try to put up pictures soon.

When we were in China, we basically took whatever the starting price someone would quote us and divided by four. Usually we would get that although sometimes we would go up to about a third. I could never live without an oven, I use it almost daily! My minimum kitchen would consist of: range+oven fridge chef's knife wooden spoon stockpot, large pot, medium pot skillet sheet pan scale measuring cups/spoons 2 plates 2 bowls cutlery 2 cutting boards

I'll be interested to see what you do with this (I have a 5 pound prime rib in the freezer...)

It works at killing them. My point is that if there is no food source then there will be no fruit flies. I can go for days without seeing a fruit fly but as soon as I leave a glass of wine out on the counter they suddenly appear. ← Well they're not breeding in the wine, that's for sure .

This statement was made in WF's reply to the Pollan letter (link upthread) I can't say I've ever really heard this argument or given it much thought (I would share the 'typical' reaction to out of season asparagus and tomatoes) so I'm curious to see if anyone has any thoughts...

Here's a recipe for blueberry squares (written notes are brief because I'm translating from French): Blueberry Squares Base 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 1.5 cups graham crumbs Topping 2 eggs 1 paquet cream cheese 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Sauce: 3 cups de blueberries plus 1 extra cup 1/2 cups sugar 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tbsp corn starch Mix all the ingredients for the base. Spread in a 9x9 pan. Topping: Beat cream cheese and sugar. Incorporate eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Spread on top of graham crust. Bake @ 300F for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix sauce ingredients and cook until thickened (about 15 minutes), incorporate fresh berries and spread on the cooked base. Refrigerate and top with whipped cream. Eat. Repeat. edit: Added to RecipeGullet

blueberry squares Blueberry dessert my grandmother makes (my aunt added the fresh berries) Blueberry Squares Base 1/4 c sugar 1/2 c butter 1-1/2 c graham crumbs Topping 2 eggs 1 paquet cream cheese 1/4 c sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Sauce: 3 c de blueberries plus 1 extra cup 1/2 c sugar 2 tsp lemon juice 1 T corn starch Mix all the ingredients for the base. Spread in a 9x9 pan. Topping: Beat cream cheese and sugar. Incorporate eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Spread on top of graham crust. Bake @ 300F for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix sauce ingredients and cook until thickened (about 15 minutes), incorporate fresh berries and spread on the cooked base. Refrigerate and top with whipped cream. Eat. Repeat. Keywords: Dessert, Easy, Fruit ( RG1745 )

Hmmm. Would it be a worthwhile thing to vac-pack the non-uniformly dried sausage, and keep it thus, in the fridge for a week or two? I'd expect that sealing it in would be the best way to even out the moisture distribution. You should be well protected against big bad botulism, the worry would be whether any other moulds or other nasties are going to take advantage of the conditions... hence keeping it really cool, while it evens itself out. ← I would be concerned about sealing up salami before the curing is completed: my understanding is that botulinum likes anaerobic conditions, which is what you'd be giving it if you sealed it. Since it's just one salami out of a whole batch, I would think you could pitch it with not too many regrets but if that's not an option rehanging it while keeping a close eye would probably be best. If it's rotten you will know when you cut it open. Maybe you can take a test slice?

I think pork shoulder is probably the best cut to grind up, it has best proportion of fat and meat. If you're going to use your food processor, make sure your meat is well trimmed of connective tissue, silverskin etc... The blades generally won't cut through these very well. Oh, and don't overprocess! Do small batches at a time.

Wow! At least they're better looking than pigeons.

It's a cherry tomato (indeterminate). I forget the variety but I believe the fruit is white.

Prentend it's radicchio . I can't see what you mean by bolting, isn't that when plants set seed/flower earlier than expected? My garden is doing ok so far, I'm really happy with my peas and beans: I bought a tomato plant, but I'm not sure if I should be pruning it yet or where, any thoughts?

Lobster tomalley is awesome! And when you're the only one eating it amongst a group of friends, it's very easy to consume three or four lobsters' worth....

I'm not Michael but I would think that since mold is not supposed to penetrate the casing then it couldn't consume anything in it.

Many european textbooks I've seen list dry ingredients by weight, I figured we were just behind, as usual

it looks like "baies de génévrier" refers to juniper berries and "10 cl de péké (1/2 tasse)" refers to gin.