ChefCrash

We've had these in our market for about two weeks. So far they only come in Coors Light and Miller Lite (rain water and slightly flavored rain water). Each holds 5.7 liters (16 12oz beers $18.99 no deposit) and are fitted with a CO2 widget to dispense as well as keep the beer fresh for a whole month (obviously for amateur drinkers). They sit in your fridge and are dispensed in the horizontal position. The thing in the forefront holds a CO2 cartridge. When twisted clockwise the cartridge is pushed against a pin that punctures it. They are not really a good deal since they cost as much as a 24pk. and are really crappy beers. So why am I telling you about them?! Because.. v v v v v v They are reusable! The whole widget unscrews off the heavy duty P.E.T. container. And while the gizmo which holds the CO2 cartridge is designed to twist in with a ratcheting action to prevent one from unscrewing it, I found that giving it a good yank counter clockwise with a pair of Channel locks, breaks the plastic ratcheting pins, and then it is free. If you don't want to buy an expensive Cornelius setup or you just don't brew big batches, this is the ticket. It can be used to carbonate and dispense any brew, alcoholic or otherwise like homemade ginger ale or soda water. If the PET container is ever damaged, the widget fits perfectly on any 3 liter soda bottle with a wide-mouth opening.

Hi Dakki Start with turning off the flash. Place your dish near a strong light source (mine is on the stove under the hood lights). Adjust the white balance manually. Camera's auto balance does a crappy job when you have a combination of light temperatures i.e. incandescent, fluorescent and natural light. This involves switching to manual mode and going to the "custom balance" function in the "function" menu, then point at the object you want to shoot and pressing the "set" button. Don't be afraid to make unusual compositions. Like extreme close-ups and tilting the camera away from horizontal (left or right.

The Claddagh Irish Pub. Excellent Fish n Chips and great beer selection.

Saute 1/2 cup diced onions in 1/4 cup olive until slightly blond. Add fresh whole Fava beans (ends removed and snapped in half). Reduce heat and let the beans cook in their liquid (may have to cover). Season with salt and cook until the peels are tender. If water released by the beans evaporates too soon add water. This dish in not about color. The beans will be grayish green. They will be delicious.

Congratulations on your new home. We changed our sink recently. Things to know: The overall width of the sink is dictated by the width of the cabinet underneath. So it helps to know that when you go looking. Very deep sinks are popular these days, as deep as 10", 11.5" when under-mounted. We found them unattractive and unnecessary for us, my wife is not very tall. We were offered a free 9" sink (from the granite Co.). We said no. We had to look hard to find a 7" sink like the one we replaced that could also be under-mounted. If you're going with stainless, gauge (thickness) is important, I would not go with anything thinner than 16 gauge. The steel is thinner as the gauge goes up i.e. 18 gauge is thinner than 16 gauge and 20 gauge is thinner yet. We are not big fans of faucets with integrated sprayers. They tend to be bulky and our kitchen is small. We're new to granite. It looks terrific. It's not as cold and hard as I imagined it would be. There is nothing wrong with Formica. We installed our previous counter tops 20 years ago and they still looked like new. Hope this helps.

This didn't start as a DIY project. I had hired a father son team to do this as well as a half bath that needed a new cabinet, top, door and sound proofing. Soon after we ordered materials the father suffered a massive heart attack. He still lays in hospital. I had no problem tackling the job myself, having done a lot of work on six duplexes (12 units) I own like the one I live in, but I've never had to do tile work. The son of the above mentioned team, a great guy and just as anal as me, came through. I'm so glad he did. Even though the tiles come on sheets, It takes many hands and eyes to make sure all stay in place. We had to lose this. A very useful addition to the cabinets I made 12 years ago. The back touches the wall. I'll be making another and a second one to go where the toaster was. The next day I removed the tile on both ends of the counter tops.

Thank you. The plan was to divert the vent through the toe kick but wanted to wait and see if we wanted to keep the island in this position. We have the option to turn it 90* and place it against the adjoining wall.

If the lower heating element is shot, I don't see why another one similar in size, wattage and spacing between the terminals wouldn't work. Doesn't have to be in the same square shape as the existing one either.

This morning, the back splash and counter tops removed. Applied one coat Marron Cohiba The blinds' perfect reflection in the island shows how perfectly level it is despite the floor dipping in two directions. Still have to remove the Formica behind the stove and install the glass mosaic back splash. Island cost: 15" base cabinet $131 Panel to cover back and toe kick $34 Wood board used across the top $10 1x3 poplar for the leg $15 Labor to taper leg $40 Granite $595 but one can use butcher block material for much less Total $895 Off to look for 2 kitchen stools.

Thanks fellars for the recommendation but I'm done with that part. Nice to know such a place exists. It cost me $40 to have my laminated leg tapered by a local wood worker. He used a band saw to make the cuts and ran it on his edger to rid it of saw marks. It turned out fine. I bored a hole to accept a 1/2x6" screw. Here painted and the cabinet back covered. Knobs installed and ready for granite.

This looks great Nick. Love the bowl.

I'm sure you forgot to mention the garlic, right?! Using canned peas is fine. We use canned pureed chickpeas all the time (Cortas brand). But It's not "real" unless it's made this way: Regardless of how you get to this stage, start with a chickpea puree. ~7 ounces puree ~1 clove garlic ~1 tsp lemon juice ~1 to 2 T tahini (Alkanater brand) Salt to taste Water (chickpea broth, if you boil peas) NO black pepper, none NO oil (not yet) Whizz the above ingredients adding water to get the consistency of very thick pancake batter. Plate. Create a mote. Fill mote with new olive oil. Sprinkle the edges of the plate with Cayenne pepper. Place a mound of chopped parsley or mint in the center.

You first concern is sure true when it comes to turn tables and 8 track combos, but propane tanks and fire?! Really? Seriously now, I've seen road blocks formed of propane tanks lit at the valve, no regulators. Great times.

Char-Griller Duo. The side fire box is sold separately. Amazon price $396, fire box $78.

This is our kitchen. From the other side. There is only one area of the counter that we like to use the cutting board on, roll dough on or do any kind of work. Yes, it's 21 inches between the stove and the sink. Otherwise there is the kitchen table. It served us well while the kids were growing. But now it's just too big for the two of us. Shoved in the corner, makes it easier to access the bottom cabinets and still be able use it for morning coffee. In that position however, it is hard to reach for the pans hanging from the ceiling. We want a counter height island that can be used as a breakfast table. This is the space. 8.5'x4.5', the fourth side defined by the stove and hallway. This is what we came up with. The top is 27"x40" with a radius on one end. It's supported on one end by a 15" wide by 25" deep base cabinet and a leg on the other. It will sit as close to window as possible without interfering with the blinds (4"). The back of the cabinet which has a drawer and a door will be covered with a matching veneered panel. The space underneath will be more than enough for two stools (not necessarily those ) to be completely stowed away (most of the time). Since our floor was installed after the kitchen cabinets (i.e. around them), the bottom of the island cabinet had to be cut (3/8") so the top would be at the same level of the existing counter tops. Originally the top was going to be made of butcher block material. But since we are changing the counter tops to granite, we decided to use the same for the island. That presented a challenge since it would be difficult to mechanically attach the granite to the cabinet and the wooden leg. The solution was, mechanically attach a 1" by 10" by 36" wooden board to the cabinet and leg, onto which the granite would be glued. In this photo, a tongue was formed on the end of the board which fits into an existing groove in the cabinet wall. A groove was made on the bottom of the board which nestles in a notch made in the other cabinet wall. The board is flush with base top. A large 1/2"x5" bolt will be countersunk into the board and into the 3"x3" tapered leg. ' For the leg I laminated 4 pieces of poplar which I think I'm gonna have a hard time tapering on my table saw. In that case I may buy a 4' poplar newel post, cut and paint.

For small batches:

This may help with the first question. Here

..ahem..jewels.. And? Was she spot on?

Hello Peter, Those joules are pretty cheap:) Your presentation looks fantastic. For me I would prefer a more rustic (peasant-ish) preparation. Skewer and grill or dice and fry with salt and pepper then crack a couple of eggs in there. Serve with Pita (or tortillas) and some Arak. I gotta get some.

Aahh.. the fanning. The grills are simple metal boxes with no vents (at bottom or sides )and no racks to elevate the coals above the ashes. They actually prefer to start the fire on a bed of leftover ashes. One's first impression is that the people haven't a clue about ventilation, combustion and air convection. Elementary stuff to anyone who has used a Weber grill or the like. But one would be wrong. These grills work very well for their intended purpose. That is to quickly cook skewers of meat or chicken with lots of smoke and no flareups. The coals are choking in the ashes until skewers are placed over them, fanning is then needed to wake up the embers. Bottom photos are of us grilling at home the same way. In the last photo corn cobs are used instead of coals.

I had a chance to look at these spoons. One can't imagine their size until one sees them. In the photo the spoon on the right is one of my table spoons (which is largish compared to others).

We use it in spinach pies instead of lemon juice. Keeps them from getting soggy. Helps freshly pickled olives retain bright green color.

Purslane is not Homaida حميضه . The name is derived from the word "Lemon" because Homaida is sour. We only ate the stalks. My Arabic/English dictionary says it's: Sorrel. I remember the leaves looking like Clover leaves and the stalks grew as tall as ten inches. Click here for photo.

I'm jealous too. I found food to be much cheaper (compared to U.S.). The best cut of beef runs about $4/kilo (lamb $8/kilo). 50 cents will buy you a kilo of lemons. A case (24pk)of beer about $14, and $12 for a carton of imported cigarettes. Street food is very cheap, the best Shawarma sandwich and a soda will set you back $1.50 US. You'll find small grocery stores, butchers and bakeries on every street corner. For western style one-stop shopping there is 'Spinneys' in Ashrafieh (East Beirut) and few other location. I couldn't find any Horseradish, prepared or otherwise. If you like to make cocktail sauce, bring some. Have a great time.

If it's not too late, boil the wedges in salted water until almost done, let cool then roll them in some oil and roast.