searchingforclues

I made deli type dill pickles this year in a crock with a brine consisting of water, salt, vinegar, dill, garlic, and pickling spices. This is the first time I have done them this way. After I put the ingedients in the crock I put a plate on top, and, looking around for something heavy to weight the plate with to hold the cucumbers under the brine, I grabbed a sharpening stone and placed it on top, then put the whole thing in the fridge because I was going away for the weekend. The recipe said to leave it on the counter and skim off any scum or mold that might appear on the brine surface. I thought I should put it in the fridge to be safe, since I would be away. Well, when I got back I found that the brine had seeped up on top of the plate - the plate was now a little sunk in the brine and the sharpening stone was surrounded by brine. So now I'm concerned that the metal (could it be lead? or steel?) could have contaminated the brine. Should I discard my lovely pickles? I removed the sharpening stone right away and the pickles sat on the counter for another 2 -3 weeks before I put them in an industrial sized jar in the fridge. I tasted one and they're very good, by the way! What would you do?

Food That Really Schmecks by Edna Staebler was the first cookbook I ever bought. I still have my copy.

I love the peach or pear upside down cake from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It uses ground up almonds which go great with the fruit. Brown sugar and butter give it a carmelly crunch around the edges. Great with fresh cream or ice cream, served while still warm.

We have two Moka pots - a stainless steel Bialetti and also a stainless Alessi. This is the only way we make coffee in our house. We only buy whole beans and grind our own. Our very old Krups blade grinder has died and we need to get another grinder. I've been reading about various grinders and I'm confused. Since this is not really "espresso" that we are making, I don't think we neccessarily need a high end machine that grinds beans to espresso fineness. However, I was thinking maybe we should step up to a burr grinder. But from what I've been reading, an inexpensive burr grinder can be worse than a blade grinder. Should we just go with another Krups blade grinder and call it a day?