DerekW

Far fewer surprises these days: After the plumbers unplugged the protein freezer in midsummer and we had to fish through the resultant decomposing slurry in pursuit of a detailed insurance claim I swore that I wasn't ever doing that again. Now there's a white board on the wall above the chest, and what goes in gets marked in and later checked out and wiped off. So far so good. Masking tape makes a surprisingly effective low-cost freezer label substitute, sticks fine to dry things.

I guessed that might be what lay behind the question, but was pussyfooting around the issue since it wasn't my business If you want to go homemade then I'd still suggest tinctures, as being too flavour concentrated for concern. Making them might place temptation in the way though. Commercially, there are numerous concentrated flavourings available intended for home brewers [and home distillers where that's legally allowed, e.g. NZ]. I'd look at those; although I have my doubts about their effectiveness in converting homebrew to Cognac, they might be a useful cooking product. Available hereabouts from homebrew suppliers.

Sounds like an interesting game for the home chemist Perhaps an alternative Jack might be concocted using the oak cubes sold for wine making, some vanilla essence and some caramel? A home made tincture of licorice root for pastis?

Cynthia, our Bluestar has over 60k BTU on the top [ignoring the oven / grill]. We almost never have it running at that level of output of course, but I still can't abide the thought of going back to the day when we had a recirculating hood. In your situation I would do what ever it took to duct and vent to the outside. Oversized ducting, changing the window configuration to obtain some outside surface area for the vent. What ever it took. cheers Derek

Roughly, from quiet conversation up to light automotive traffic.

Haven't had the problem yet, but if relocation isn't a plan then maybe a garbage bag / hose / automotive tailpipe combination might serve? Supposed to be painless, but I'm not speaking from experience there either...

So 'Hotel style' = uh, a legless turkey? Not on 'food' packaging [does food arrive in packages?], but perhaps related. Any item of kitchen equipment bearing the word 'Professional'. Isn't.

We've been running a Sakura 747 centrifugal over our Bluestar range for a couple of years; very happy with it. The four greasetraps are removed in seconds without tools, and it shifts a lot of air. With both blowers running on high it's not all that quiet, but it doesn't need to run for long...

Kentucky, our Americauna, is a warm sandy brown colour, and her eggs [two, now] are a pale green. The Brahmas [Tikka and Korma] are a sort of lacy grey and white - one pale, one dark. The chicken keeper read the breed descriptions out to me from the book, but the information hasn't stuck yet. Ouch! Poor chook. Now I have this vision of a chook with its foot up in traction, sipping a cocktail We're bordering on the semi-rural, and the yard is like the Wild Kingdom - fortunately the girls are learning to make their way up into the roost at night, so we hope that they will be free from interference.I'm working away from home right now, but the phone rang - the chicken farmer calling to tell me that one of the Brahmas laid an egg . The novelty value will wear off soon enough, I'm sure.

You were right - the Americauna did a bit more of the "buawck buawck" & produced our first and so far only egg on day two. They still had not worked out how to get 'upstairs' by nightfall, so under cover of darkness we opened up the tractor and transferred them to the roost area. I was surprised at their complete docility - they made no reaction at all to being picked up and moved.

Thanks, Anne. Yes, that's a tractor. I started off with plans I bough from a chap on the 'net, and modified a little as the building went along. With two handles at one end and two wheels at the other, it moves fairly easily with one person lifting and pulling. Those wheels were recycled from an old kid's scooter. If they end up giving too much rolling resistance on rougher ground then I'll replace them with wheelbarrow wheels. They were laying before being carted to their new home in burlap bags. No doubt they'll need some settling in time before they recommence production I'm looking forward to seeing what they make of various tidbits - thanks for the melon tip, and no doubt the girls thank you too.Ours are going to have to do well in the tractor, since we have no fenced area to let them wander around in. The chap we got them from had them in tractors, and they did well there, so we have high hopes that they'll be fine.

Our girls arrived today: One Americauna and two feathery footed ones - I don't recall the breed name. It's dark out there now, and they don't appear to have found their way "upstairs" to the roosting perch. Hopefully they'll settle in soon.

Kedgeree.

Posting so you don't wonder if Chris was 'just lucky' What Chris said. I've flown back and forward to Europe with my knife roll in my checked bags. There's no problem.

Here's a link to a page of pictures of other peoples "chicken tractors", good and well... interesting. There's plywood and plywood. We build boats out of it. If you used decent stuff and it's painted adequately then you may be pleasantly surprised at how long it lasts.That said, the nice chap next door has had his chooks in pens made from scrap pallet lumber for a good while now - Mmm Duck. Mind you, I'm confident enough that I'd be able to administer the coup de grace to a chicken; I'm not so sure that ducks wouldn't be able to play the 'cute' card too effectively for me.

Shorts and a t-shirt [my regular attire], don't own a real chef's jacket, BUT, I do have a curious snap-neck pullover smock in cotton or similar non synthetic feeling fabric. It has some "Chef's wear" label in it [it came from the second hand store] and I like to quickly don it when fat is spitting and flying. Beats the 'fleabite' burns on the otherwise bare arms. If I could work out what it was supposed to be I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

This will be our first season with a few chooks in the yard, at least since the ones that my wife's mother used to keep a long time ago. We're going to try the "chicken tractor" thing. A nice chap a couple of properties over from us has a lot [20? 30?] of girls in tractors and it seems to have been working well for him. He's going to supply us with a few layers to get started, and Santa brought the tractor plans and timber so we will be ready to go fairly soon [once the snow is past]. An idea whose time has come [back], it seems. I'll look forward to reading about your successes.

I've thought about doing this on a small scale, and there are a couple of those small oak casks sold as tourist bait currently sitting on the shelf at home. They turn up in second-hand stores from time to time, or you may know someone who could bring one back from a vacation. They hold water just fine for long periods, and don't appear to have been treated with any kind of sealant. My next step was to buy a bottle of sherry or two and start seasoning the casks...

Liquid centre bonbons for the person who keeps helping themselves unbidden to the candies: cookie-dough thimbles filled with anchovy essence, crimped closed and dipped in dark chocolate. MMM mmm.

A couple of thoughts.... The 'bombe' shape of the sauciére pans gives them a much smaller flat area on the bottom than a straight sided saute pan of comparable diameter.As to weight, I suggest that you load up one of your existing pans with bags of sugar or w.h.y. to feel what shaking 8 lbs plus requires of your wrists. My wife would tell you that I'm not averse to buying cookware, but so far I've managed fine without a Falk [or similar] fry pan. I imagine it depends on your cooking habits. What would you do with it which could not be easily accomplished in one of your other pans? I sear, and deglaze and reduce in one or other sauciére*; for me, frying is usually eggs and other breakfast food which can be done in the solid aluminum non-stick fry pan.*Or the dutch oven, or a shallow saucepan - depends what's happening next.

I'm fond of our Ice-O-Mat. Sure, it's a one drink at a time process but I enjoy it being 'part of the ritual'. Made by Metrokane, I found ours remaindered.

Great Canadian Superstore often has frozen goat meat. I've never bought it [yet] so can't vouch for quality.

Will this one from the Babbo website suffice?

We have two of the Falk Belgium "bombée" pans, the little 1.5 quart one sold as a "try me" by the American distributor, and the 3 quart 9.5 inch one. I really like them both, but if I was doing it again I'd be tempted to go for the "Mijoteuse" version [two loop handles, same pan shape] of the large pan, and would definitely do so if buying the 11 inch version. An easier fit in the oven for one thing. Before dropping the money, I'd recommend loading up one of your existing pans to simulate the weight, and wave the result around for a while before deciding. Dry, the 3 quart pan is an honest 5.75 lbs. The 4.5 must be about 8lbs dry. cheers Derek

Bruichladdich 1991 / 14 Year old / WMDII - Yellow Submarine ? Still listed by The Whisky Exchange. Don't know if they actually have any, mind you.