HungryC

RE: size is relative. The tiered aspect and relatively small size means no pole beans/peas (though I guess you could squeeze in compact bush beans), no spreading vines like canteloupe or watermelon, nothing big & super leggy like tomatillos, no corn (even bantam), no artichokes, no big bushy zucchini varieties....I buy gorgeous hydroponic lettuce from a nearby hydro setup. The butter lettuces are beautiful and pristine. I like that I get them with roots attached, so I can put them in the fridge in a little water and the lettuces stay fresh for days & days.

Sorry you bought the nematode line....subtropical soil everywhere has nematodes. They're controllable through non-toxic means (tilling, using black plastic sheeting to superheat the soil and kill the 'todes). Plenty of crops are grown in FL despite the nematodes. Your setup looks nice, but be prepared for lower yields than promised. Container plantings in the subtropics subject plants' roots to much higher heat than those grown in the ground. Roots three inches below the surface can be as much as 10-15 degrees cooler than roots in a container surrounded by 95 degree air. Add the reflected heat from nearby pavers and concrete surfaces, and your containerized soil gets awfully steamy. I probably would have saved the $$ on a big complicated system and built raised beds in the available area, which would have eliminated the nematode problem and not required electricity, pumps, or tanks of nutrients. And how are you supposed to grow beans, the star of any warm weather southern garden, in those little bitty compartments? Anyway, pay careful attention to the varieties you plant. Make sure you're growing heat-adapted varieties during the hotter months of the year. I've gardened in raised beds in subtropical LA for years and years, and even my raised beds can be too hot. In addition, the small size of the planting compartments mean you should select compact varieties. It looks like a nice setup for herbs and lettuces (though they'll bolt in a matter of days if they're too warm).

This thread makes me appreciate Gulf Coast living. Despite all of its drawbacks, we do have abundant, diverse, and delicious fish....despite (some people's) whiteness. LOL. ETA: though the best retail fish counter in my area is at the Hong Kong supermarket.

Oh, no. I can't endorse dumping edible food straight into the trash. Surely you have coworkers, next door or down the hall neighbors, friends, acquaintances, who would love to receive chocolate mousse? Wow. I can't imagine throwing perfectly good food straight into the trash.

What about corn? Whole-kernel sweet, freeze dried, popcorn, polenta/cornmeal: it would allow participants to work with a wide range of materials, all corn-based.

Yes, charcuterie is ancient and widespread, but it is micro adapted to prevailing conditions. Hence the incredible regional variations in product. Prosciutto exists in places where the raw materials are available and the climate/conditions are ideal. It isn't made in warm, moist, coastal Sicily, for example. If you don't have ideal conditions for the desired product, you will need to simulate them somehow.

I think this is a new policy, rather than a limited time promotion. It's a good deal, as long as you're ordering large amounts.

Yellow 5.5 qt le Creuset, and some E Guittard chocolate feves.

Re: frying/toasting certain things in oil at the beginning of the cooking process: certain flavoring compounds are oil soluble rather than water soluble, so the maximum flavor is extracted from (cloves, cumin, etc) if heated with oil. Their flavors will better suffuse the entire dish if melded with the fat components....

I'm a mathematician, and we have a pretty harsh standard for proof. Not being able to imagine an alternative does not rule out the alternative. So, not to pick on your sentence but it sent me involuntarily reeling. In BBQ circles anything galvanized is a no-no, because it off-gases zinc which is a poison. I don't know what "plate steel" is. Surely, aluminum, copper or cast iron it's not. But all steel is iron plus other stuff, there are many, many different recipes for steel and "plating" in use, and many, many choices for what constitutes the "other stuff." Isn't amateur hour metal work the biggest danger, drinking moonshine? I see many ways to poison oneself here without seeing it coming. Obviously, it is not galvanized. It's hot rolled a36 carbon steel plate. It is made of the same stuff as the inside of my oven, just thicker and not enameled. Though I have the steel plate, I've been using an unglazed baking stone most frequently....preheated at 500, then 10 minuteds with the broiler on high. Lahey details this procedure in his My Pizza, and it works fairly well for my standard crust recipe.

I treat my steel sheet like cast iron...ie, brush it clean and hit it with bar keepers friend if it gets rusty. Then again, mine is ordinary plate steel, so many OCD types would insist it isn't food grade and is a threat to health and safety. No stainless, no polish, just a big ugly plate.

I also use a cast iron skillet, placed in the oven while it preheats. I pour in tap water just after loading the bread, using a metal milk frothing pitcher while wearing a long oven mitt. No steam burns, no spattering, no broken glass. I tried soaking terry towels placed on a sheet pan on the oven floor, but they quickly dried out and began smoldering. Definitely not recommended, though the method appears in the Tartine Bread cookbook.

"Stretch and fold" will develop the gluten as effectively as kneading in a high hydration dough. It is easiest to perform in a large container. Stir the ingredients together, allow to sit for a bit to auto lose, then grab one side of the mass and pull it upward. Fold this section over to the opposite side, then do the same motion about a quarter turn from the first "grab". Chad Robertson promotes this sort of kneading in his Tartine Bread book. If you google stretch and fold, you will find videos, etc. his doughs are made with a young sourdough leaven, so the stretch and folds are performed every 30 minutes for several hours. The length of time a dough can sit at room temp depends on its composition....doughs with very little yeast can go 12-18 hours. Check out the famous Lahey no knead bread to get an idea about long rises.

Instant ClearJel is the way to go. It is modified food starch. It won't set wobbly or firm, just thick and, as the name says, clear. But perhaps you don't need it at all....you may need to tweak your pecan pie filling recipe. What are you putting into it? Properly made, it shouldn't be runny, even when thick. Have you tried using more pecans? (My pet peeve is a "veneer" pecan pie, where a thin layer of nuts rides atop the filling. Use more nuts and they'll add some structure to the wobbly middle.)

The dishwashers rinse and heated dry cycle works well.

I routinely cook for two, and I dislike eating leftovers in the same state as the original dish. So with a little planning, you can cook something substantial and recycle it through various editions later in the week. I frequently cook a main protein (say, a roasted or poached chicken) on Sunday nights, then use the leftover chicken to make soft tacos on Monday, diced small for a chicken salad on Tuesday, and then turn the remains of the carcass into chicken & veggie soup on Wednesday. The same applies to braised beef: pot roast on the first night...second night, shred some of the beef and veg and reduce the broth with wine & additional aromatics for a quick pasta sauce. Third night, shepherd's pie with the leftover beef as a filling w/mushrooms and tiny peas. Or use it as a ravioli or dumpling filling if you like to make fresh pasta. Black beans: over rice, then as a burrito filling, then pureed into a soup, then in a chili. Multi dishes along a theme keep you from getting bored and from throwing out the last bit of anything--you get good at turning it into something new. I was raised by two working parents who did cook from scratch, so thinking like this is ingrained in me. I also freeze things in smaller containers for later use.

Poached/boiled is the way I'd go, since you're pairing it with rich, buttery croissants. If it was a stand-alone salad on a lettuce leaf, or tucked inside squishy white bread, the roasted chix would deliver more browned flavor. If you're concerned about it being too bland, spike the mayo with spices.

Add me to the Bialetti moka stovetop list, with Chemex as an "after dinner" or weak dessert coffee. But it's usually a shot of espresso from the Breville machine, though my better half wants desperately to trade up. The Bialetti makes a nice cup with substantial body, without any moving parts or stuff to break. Do get a "real" Bialetti, though: the cheaper moka pots aren't as nicely fitted.

I was thinking about smoked nuts as a component in a cake or cookie...

I use a pot atop the stove....most often Campbell Farms popcorn rice or Jazzmen rice , both grown in Louisiana. My fallback is Mahatma's long grain. I never rinse and I generally do a ratio of 1.5 water to 1 part rice.

Since you're cutting out salt & fat, you need to pay more attention to texture and variety within a dish. Nonfat greek yogurt can be a great textural & flavorful contribution to a low-salt, lowfat diet. Try mixing it with your favorite dry, salt-free spice blend to use as a dip, and thin it w/milk or water for a salad dressing. Penzey's has a long list (several dozen) of salt-free seasoning blends: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/c-Salt_Free.html?id=zAxSz4Zu Plus Penzey's is now offering free shipping on all orders over $30. I like the "mural of flavor" and "arizona dreaming" blends...both include some citric acid for a bright, perky flavor that's good on tuna or plain chicken. Fruit falls into the lowfat/low salt category & delivers plenty of flavor---think of savory ways to use cooked fruit. Apples & pork, p

A microwave roux tastes exactly like a traditional roux. For that matter, so do the jarred rouxs (dark, medium, light, and dry) available at my local stores; it's just fat and flour, browned: not a terribly complicated thing. Most of the flavor is determined by the kind of fat used.

Roux in the microwave is hardly modernist or innovative in south LA...Cajuns have been microwaving rouxs since the micro hit the market in the 70s. SOP is to use a large Pyrex measuring cup with a handle, use equal parts oil and flour, mix together, then zap for 5-8 minutes, stirring after the first three or four minutes. Total cooking time depends on microwave wattage, and of course, how dark you want your roux. There are a slew of microwave roux recipes online.

Did lemon almond biscotti yesterday, and I have a batch of ginger cookies in the fridge, will roll and cut later. Thinking of some apricot jam thumbprints and something chocolate after that.

Nice looking gratons....have you ever tried the twice fried method? You cook the pieces down until the fat is rendered and just beginning to turn golden. Then you remove from the lard, drain, and allow to cool. Return to a pot of hot fat, and you will end up with a nice puffy, light crackling.