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Many years ago I used a Corona hand grain mill to grind coffee beans and, as I remember, it did okay. I have a brand new one in the attic and maybe I ought to get it out and use it as the Cuisinart electric coffee grinder I have doesn't do a very good job. However, the Corona, especially when milling the harder grains needs to be clamped to something quite sturdy - and at table height as counters are too high to operate comfortably. Though coffee beans are quite soft so sturdiness wouldn't be as great a concern. Here's one for $50 new at a home brew supply place. Should be able to find one for less than $50 though. This Christian website doesn't sell them, but offers them for a $49 "donation". They have what appears to be an independent review. Makes me want to get out mine and start milling fresh grain. The Whole Truth. Here's another independent opinion at a survivalist site. "I love this mill. It is strong, robust and well made. This is the mill I use most often to grind grains and beans here at the homestead ...I give it my highest recommendation." Click here. Finally, a bunch of different hand mills at Amazon.

What he said! Okay. Okay. You guys have shamed me into placing an order with Rancho Gordo if my mate, Beedy, will go along with it. She'll have to help select what beans we want to try. And help pay for them....

RG, Thanks for your comments and I don't mean to put-down your beans and their quality. But with the prices you're charging it's sort of like some of the online places charging so much more for various kinds of meat, and the reality is that what you get from them is often little better than what can be procured locally - if one knows what they're looking for. I realize that heirloom varieties have lower yields than commodity beans and so a premium price needs to be gotten for them. That's what happens here in Maine in the local coops carrying locally produced organic and "natural" meats and produce. But, even though I'm sure your beans are better than many, and I'd certainly like to try some, I'm like many other people who can no more afford to pay $5.50/pound (plus shipping) for your beans than can afford (or will) to pay $30-$60/pound (plus shipping) for Lobel meat. That's not a good comparison as the price for your beans is much more reasonable than Lobel's for their meat - but you get the drift. So far as some commercial beans being many years old, I'd tried to find out about that earlier today but couldn't find anything definitive. It's plausible, but do you know of something that establishes it as fact? And, if it is a fact, do you think those old beans are being sold through reputable stores in the US, or being dumped abroad? All that being said/asked, if some day I can afford to buy some of your beans I look forward to trying them.

Unless a lot of friends come over to help eat it, HungryC's idea is the way I'd go. Plus, that way there's always plenty for ham salad.

There have been a lot of posts about how RG beans are "fresher". At least in the North, there is one crop of beans each year. Except for maybe "bargain" outlets, I'd think most dry beans in stores would be from the last harvest. How can RG beans be any fresher than, for instance, a local coop? I'm not saying RG beans aren't better than others overall, but I can't figure out how they could be fresher unless they sell out quickly and no more until next year.

Maybe one of those things people deep fat fry turkeys in? If it's large enough. If not, it sounds like your friend is pretty handy and maybe he could make something. Of course, it would take a lot of oil...

Doesn't $5.50/pound seem a bit excessive? They have a much richer flavor than Canellini or great Northern beans . Are they worth the extra money? It is all a matter of perspective I suppose. I notice lots of food items that cost as much as twice the price of similar items and they taste better but not twice as good. All things considered, to me, $5.50 is not a lot of money even though it may be high compared to more common beans. It's that all their beans are $5.50. Even ordinary beans such as Canellinis, Pintos and Yellow Eyes. Plus $12 for shipping to East coast. I'd sure hope for that much money they're extra special beans. I was at the local coop today and none of the bulk beans were more than $2, except (organic) Canellinis for $2.29. Got some of those and some Black Eye Peas. Since we're on dry beans, here's an article in the current issue of Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener that's interesting. White Runner Beans – the Northern Gardener’s Lima The author, Will Bonsall, is well known for his work in Maine when it comes to organic gardening.

Doesn't $5.50/pound seem a bit excessive?

Even within one kind of bean the flavor can vary depending on the variety. For instance, twenty years ago I bought some Agate pinto bean seeds and grew them. Those were the best pinto beans I ever tasted. But maybe there are other varieties of pintos that are better. In looking up Agates I came across this Texas Commercial Vegetable Grower's Guide which reports, "Pinto bean varieties currently grown in Texas include: Agate, Bill Z, Cinnabar (D81125), Flint, Olathe, Othello, Pindak, Pinray, UI 114, and UI 116." That's just in Texas and just pintos. Probably it's the same with other kinds of beans. The taste quest could go on forever... eta: The soil and its fertility could have as much, or more, to do with taste than a particular variety.

Try cooking with some cut-up buttercup squash and maybe a little seaweed - kelp or alaria (aka wakame). A little good tamari added to finish when they're cooked is good - if you like tamari. Miso might also be good when finished cooking, but I've never tried it. eta: Butternut squash might work as well as buttercup but, either way, it should be good sweet flavorful squash.

Alan Scott died a while ago. Good man and we hung out together for a few days when he came to Maine a long time ago. He lived in Marin near an old friend of mine and used to trade his bread for my friend's eggs. Well, my friend's chickens' eggs...

Unless an area is closed due to red tide, the season shouldn't matter. And pretty rare to have a closure due to red tide at this time of year. Like Weinoo wrote, there shouldn't be any problem with farmed mussels.

Sure is. Think how good it would look with a better camera and lighting...

As always, Prawn, beautiful work. And, I bet, absolutely delicious. The duck breast slices just right too.

Why not post a pic of your own (typical) fillet? I've been filleting my own fish for thirty years or so and maybe I could learn something. mm84321's looked okay to me for homecooking.

I like mine with saltines too. But, I'm posting because there's a short piece in today's Wall Street Journal on canned sardines. Here. Don't need subscription. Six brands covered. About one brand... "Les Mouettes d'Arvor is known for its sardines millésimées, or vintage sardines, which are linked to a specific catch and are intended to be stored in the cupboard for up to 10 years, until the fish reach optimal flavor." Holding sardines in a can for ten years??

Sometimes I can't remember it either!

Generally called Cryovac. the local slaughterhouse, butchershop, meat store here has been using it for years. Works great - so long as no punctures. Sharp bone ends should be covered with butcher paper before packing. Pretty much the same as a Food Saver, only industrial scale.

Too wordy. Trying too hard to be an artist of letters rather than provide a decent (and more concise) review of the restaurant and what he had to eat, service, etc.

Tikidoc - I'm pretty swamped with stuff to do right now, but I'll post the liver paste recipe later. It's an old recipe that includes putting the liver through a hand grinder three times.... But, there are probably easier ways to do it with modern appliances. I know what you mean, raising those Cornish crosses. Years ago, I grew them for a couple of years and they could barely get around outside. By the time they were ready to be killed they'd worn off all their breast feathers. Pitiful, really. More meat, and decent meat, but it wasn't a pretty sight seeing them trying to get around.

tikidoc, Up above, in a previous post, you mentioned that you do Cuban roast pork. If your recipe comes even close to the taste of the pork used in the Cuban sandwiches in Key West I'll gladly swap my Danish grandmother's old recipe for what she called "liver paste" (Pâté) using pork liver. Some of the best I ever had. Edited to add: Polyface farm is close? Lucky you. Have you gone over there and visited?

Depends. Maine soil is quite rich, so potatoes grown there wouldn't develop the hairs in their search for nutrition. Here in the Andes, the most marginal of soils is where the spuds are planted, and they do develop hairs. There are also roots that chain tubers together, and these also leave scars in the harvesting process, particularly if the farmer is digging by hand (as is the standard here). This said, I've found they're a bigger problem on the Atahualpas and Criollos (red-skinned varieties) and almost absent on Oro Morado (purple skin, white flesh), Locro (yellow soup), and Chullo (yellow friers). I've also found accretions on some Mashua, Melloco, and Ullcu (native tubers). Maybe it comes down to soil type and how the potatoes are handled during and after harvest? Thanks. I thought maybe things might be different down there, which is why I added that I was referring to Maine. Your region (South America) is the potatoes' home and I've heard, for years, of all the different varieties there. It must be truly wonderful! In Maine, we're much more limited in choice. We don't get root hairs, and maybe we have better soil, but we definitely don't have the wide varieties and choices you have. And I'll bet many of your potatoes taste better than what we grow here. So far as "scab" and "scurf", maybe there's no difference to us home-growers. It's all scab to us. But, I think it's mainly due to soil fertility and make-up. Imbalances mostly.

This has been my favorite of all the food blogs and, like so many others here, really, really makes me want to visit there! Thanks for all your time and so many great pics!

In the meantime, try checking out the pics on this Google search for potato scab in case that resembles what you were looking at. Some of them have lots of scab, but the left potato in the group of three all the way to the left is closest to what I usually see around here. Organic potatoes are most likely to have scab because we don't use all the chemicals that big commercial (industrial) farms use.

Root hairs? I've been growing potatoes for quite a while and I've never seen root hairs on potatoes. Carrots, yes. Potatoes, no. At least in Maine.