qrn

try these guys,,,http://www.rampfarm.com/catalog.htm Bud

listening to BBC last night and there was a story about a group of Brits going to Deligh (sp) to teach them how to make "British Curry".... That is the style I guess I have been doing all these years.... Bud

after wrestling with brines /rubs, and the final,finished salt levels, I use a dry cure amount based on the weight of the meat. My current finished salt level in bacon, is 3.5% in the finished meat , so, I weigh the meat and add an amount of cure that contains 3.5%(of the meat weight),in salt plus what ever else I want for flavor..,,Then I put the meat in a plastic bag , in the reefer and let it cure until all the cure is absorbed.. (well over a week),Bag needs to be rotated every day or so...In the end, the salt level is always right on, and is never wrong......(If using Insta cure#1 or 2 you need to take the salt weight in that, into consideration in your calculation as well) For brines I calculate the total weight of the meat, the salt , the liquid, and other ingredients, and cure until the whole thing comes to equalibrium.(I made an excel worksheet to calculate that).. Bud

Zero,,,I always cook the whole box of whatever, and freeze the excess in plastic bags for another day...At this altitude it saves lots of time to just thaw in hot tap water before use... Bud

just remembered, Fannie Farmer Boston cooking school Cook Book Little Brown and Co (1922). Bud

just measured the FS bags, smooth side is .0025, side with grooves is .007 (inch) Bud

As several before ,,, ME ...House built !955, I built first new kitchen in 1976 and the current one from scratch, last year... Bud

I use them all the time, and have since they first opened the first store West of downtown Denver Near the Platte (river)...The store in downtown Littleton is across the street from the feed/tack store where we buy bird seed...always stop...amazing selection, don't think I have ever been "shutout" on something I needed...Nice knowlegeable Folks...Smells good too... Bud

I forgot about thatmake up air thing, My furnace/Hw heater is in a sealed area from the rest of the house so no problems there, but a funny story,,When we got the hood/ fan unit installed the first time we used it we had a fire in the fire place and all the smoke from the fire came from the living room to the kitchen....DuHHH!!!now we make sure to crack open the window right across from the island so it does not empty the house of all its warm air..(and dont use the fireplace anymore anyway) Bud

with 1400 cfm you need at least a 12 or 14inch duct. especially if it is a long run...I have a roof mounted 1200 cfm blower that has a 10 inch and the duct is only about 5 feet long...it serves a 35k btu gas grill on the island and a 6 burner cooktop next to it..when grilling chicken and stuff its working 100% to keep the smoke alarms from going off... Bud

Since dry pasta takes nearly a half an hour to cook here, I cook a whole 1 lb package, and then drain in a colander, use what we need for that meal, and put the other two pounds in a thin gallon bags, in serving size portions, and off to the freezer... its put in so its not a big ball , but a thin layer in the bag, Then when we use it, it goes a bowl and very hot tap water will thaw it very rapidly, then drain and serve... Bud

The briskets from the stores have already been corned, the little packets dont have enough stuff to do much of anything,,I do mine in a Pressure cooker I add at least a third of a cup of pickling spice and a couple of cloves of garlic..and water to just cover,then cook for at least an hour, at max pressure. If you want to corn your own,from scratch, that is another matter...look on the Charcuitrie thread and there is probably some direction... Bud

Nickery,,,Thanks for the link, I looked it over and will try some of his stuff....That is a really great book.... have a good winter in "VK "(your ham radio callsign area ) Bud

A report Back, on Nickery's "col. Herberts curry powder".. Very, Very good, I made some Chicken curry with it the other day and it came out Really good... I just made a new batch of it with a few minor changes....I added the equivalent of 1 pound in the original recipe, salt,star anise,cinnamon ,and clove.... 1.5 lb equivalent of fennel seed, and 2 Lb equivalent of garlic powder.. Will report back.... THANKS AGAIN for posting it!!!!!!!! Bud

I buy 50 lb sacks of flour from a rest. supply place and store them in 20 Quart pails from another rest.equipment supply house. You can get 46 pounds in each pail if, as you are filling, it you pick it up and drop it from 3 or 4 inches to pack it in. I buy one bag of High gluten, and one bag of a lower gluten and mix them in near equal parts to make a white crusty bread. Since they have air tight lids I have had no bug problems,,, best of all ,depending on the current prices, a 100 lb is only about $35... Bud

snow tonight and tomorrow...we have a nursery that starts tomatos early, and we buy them at a large size ( some have even set fruit) in mid May.(last average frost) gotta get the San Marzanos,,,they are the best, sliced on pizza and for general eating.. and they freeze well for winter pizza( need to let the slices thaw and drain before putting on the pies),,,We Also get a couple other varieties as well.every thing else will start from seed in the garden, we do start,inside, a bunch of savia , and agastache for the flower beds and the Hummers... Bud,, (at a Mile high, on the edge of the Rockies.......

INfrared thermometer...I use it all the time to check if pans are hot enough to sear, and if the cast iron grill is up to 750º and if the steel plate I do Pizza on is up to 700º You can even use it to see how hot/cold walls/ ceilingsare in the house to gauge the effectiviness of the insulation... Bud

We probably need Chufi for this , but, how do these compare to Dutch Bitter Koekjes (kookies??), other than there is a filling between two layers??? The dutch cookies are almond paste folded into beaten egg whites with a strong Almond extract taste from the almond paste..My Dutch grandmother used to make em for us 60+ years ago...Just curious... Bud

I just made 20.5 grams of your curry powder from the above book,,,Damn, that tastes just like what I am looking for... I had all the spices for it in the rack, so I roasted and ground them (1 gram per pound in the recipe)and will cook up somthing in a few days and report back Thanks afor posting it!!!!!! Bud

I have been trying to find the British powders from 20 years ago to no avail, I found Rajah and Sun brand, but they are not close to the ones from the old days.... Gonna make a trip to some Indian markets in the next week or so and see what else I can find...I have many many whole spices in the rack, but don't seem to be able to duplicate the old time Brit stuff...Oh well, hope springs eternal... Bud

Great!!Thanks for the direction, They are just starting to get the spring growth spurt, so I will start on the thinning out of the things,,,, again,, I really needed some advice from someone who was really aware of what I was talking about!!! Bud

Good topic, and timely...I have a laurus nobilus that is in a pot that I have had for at least 15 years,, I also have two other plants that I have propagated from the original plant that are just getting going. Anyway the question,,, some(most of the older leaves on the original plant ) dont seem to have much flavor. I wonder if I were to strip a goodly amount of the older leaves so I would get more new leaves, will the plant survive???? I have done evergreen bonsai, and thus, am aware that if you take to much growth off of them the chemical that goes back into the plant from the green growth, is not there, the plant will die.. ..Is that going to be the case with the L/N, if I cut lots of leaves from it???? Any direction would be appreciated! I am in Colorado, and the plants are esentially indoor plants, except for some time in the summer on the patio in a light area.. Bud

Yea, last year was no good here either,(really cold till much later)...I cheat, because there is a great place here that gets theirs started real early so when I buy em on May 15 (average last frost) they are really big,,,some usually already have some fruit set,and they have a great selection including San Marizano.(my fave) Bud

I have not timed the cuts but I am sure its not much more than that #.. Its just one cut on each side of center, 5 or 6 inches long...4 squeezes total.. Bud

for backs, Henckels Poultry shears...I have lotsa knives but use the shears,, much easier, faster,and a better, more accurate job... Bud